If you’re considering creating a Facebook fan page, or already have one and want to improve it, here are a handful of tips to help you get the most out of your efforts:

1. Specifically ask people to “Like” the page.  It’s been shown that Facebook pages that specifically ask people to click the “Like” button are much more successful at acquiring fans.  Lets face it, there’s lots to look at on the average Facebook page – people are easily distracted by ads, or notifications, or even your content – so reminding them to “Like” you page in a clear way help you cut through the clutter.

2. Create a great Profile picture.  You have the opportunity across all tabs of your Facebook page to display a profile picture – don’t waste that opportunity!  This is basically advertising space – and while you don’t want it to read like a banner ad, you want to use that space to reinforce your brand.

3. Make sure to get the optimized URL.  Pages with more than 25 fans can get a shortened URL for their page.  Not only is this easier to remember, it’s easier to reference throughout the rest of your online & offline collateral.  To get the URL once you have 25 fans, visit http://www.facebook.com/username

4. Keep your page updated! You can have a great Facebook page design, with a custom tab and a killer profile pic, but if you’re not regularly checking in to participate in conversations with fans, or share interesting content, there’s little reason for people to ever visit your page again.  Your Facebook page is an opportunity to keep you and your business active in people’s memories – if they see an update in their feed from your page, they’re much more likely to visit and participate and pass it on.