No I’m not talking about putting together a better Facebook personal profile. I’m talking about pages. Pages for a brand, business or cause etc. The marketing side of Facebook if you will. Putting together a Facebook page that works requires skill and effort, so much so that most Facebook pages never “make it off the ground” and fail before they ever really start.

What I’m about to share with you are 5 specific tips that will help you get the most out of your Facebook page and your overall Facebook marketing strategy. But one important thing I must mention first… these tips can in no possible way compensate for a poor brand and/or a poor product or service. If you don’t have your “ducks in a row” on that side of things, you’ll fail on Facebook. Period. But if you do have things in order with branding and/or your product or service then keep reading.

1. Great, not good Graphics

Your avatar has to be catchy and your main banner needs to be appealing enough to draw people in. Enough so that they actually hit that wonderful “Like” button to subscribe to your page. I highly recommend working with a professional web designer to help you put together something cool. Find some other pages that you like and share those with your professional designer to give him/her something to work off of.

2. Post 2-3 Times Per Day

Posting once per day is not enough and posting 4 times per day is too often. It’s really that simple. Leaving 2-3 times to be the true sweet spot for most successful Facebook Page marketers. Use Facebook analytics to test and find your best times of the day for posting.

3. Focus on Posting Visual Content

Just words as a status update… blah! Just a headline and a link for a status update… more blah! People on Facebook love visual content i.e Photos, Videos, Memes, Infographics etc. Give the people what they want! Quick SEO tip: many SEO companies are using the visual content that gets the most engagement from their Facebook page as link bait for their websites. A pretty cool way to build more links!

4. Respond To Every Comment

Now I know what you’re probably thinking… really? Every comment? Yes, every comment! This takes effort and consistency above all else. But doing so will really produce more results for you than you can imagine. Running a successful Facebook Page is like being a parent, you can’t pretend to be there! You have to actually be there to make a difference.

5. Pay For Some Facebook Ads

You don’t have to spend thousands of dollars to build your Facebook page up to a substantial amount of followers, but you do need to plan on spending hundreds (save the rest of your money on good SEO or SEO reseller packages). Simply run ads that either a) promote specific posts that you think will be the most popular or b) promote the Facebook page as a whole. Facebook’s Ad Manager will let you do both!

Again I can’t overemphasize the importance of having good branding and good products or services. Doing so helps make your Facebook marketing strategy much more natural and seamless. I often have people tell me that marketing on Facebook is a waste of time and money. And it is. I agree! Unless you a) know how to do it right (reference the strategies above) and b) are willing to put time, money and effort into improving your brand and improving your products and services. And with that said… good luck in your Facebook Marketing efforts and with your Facebook page!

This article was contributed by Nicole. She has been writing about SEO and social media for years.

Social media is a huge marketing tool for businesses that know how to use it. Websites like Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter can help a business gain publicity for a fraction of the cost of more traditional media, like television, newspapers, or even website advertisements. The only cost is time, and if you are doing social media the right way, that cost will be barely noticeable – because it will be fun!

Twitter is one of the best sites to build a stronger brand identity. It is a great place to spend your social media time, but it is important that you do it right. Here are seven steps to building a stronger brand identity on Twitter.

1.Pick an easy to remember and easy to find Twitter handle. Some people get creative with their Twitter handles, but if you are a business you want to be easy to find, easy to Tweet to, and absolutely no muss no fuss. So go with your business name.

2.Use a solid, explanatory tagline. When you show up in a list of someone’s followers on Twitter, all people see is your name and your tagline. Leaving one out is a huge mistake, but so is using the wrong one. Tell people what you do or what your business is. Be funny if you can, but not if it’s inappropriate to your brand.

3.Put up a great photo. On a personal account, use a real photograph of yourself, but stay away from overly professional looking headshots. You want to look like a human being, not an avatar and not a phony. For a company account, use the logo or another image that will be recognizable as part of your brand.

4.Choose a good background. You can change the background on your Twitter profile easily, but be careful. Don’t use anything that is hard on the eyes – nothing too graphic or too bright.

5.Follow the experts in your field. Twitter is all about interacting with other people, so build the right Twitter community around yourself. Feel free to follow friends, celebrities and anything else that interests you. But also make sure to follow the experts in your field or industry. If you are trying to establish yourself as a fashion guru, for example, follow other established fashion mavens like Rachel Zoe or fashion mag editors.

6.Participate in the conversation! Twitter isn’t just about posting your own thoughts, it’s about reading and responding to other people too. You should reply to and retweet tweets that are relevant your brand or that you find interesting.

7.Stay relevant and interesting. If you want to gain new followers and keep the ones you have, make sure your tweets are interesting. If you want to hone your brand, make sure the tweets are also relevant to whatever that brand is. Not every single tweet needs to be both interesting and relevant, but the majority should be one or the other.

About the Author: Tom is a marketing expert who has been reviewing internet service for businesses for several years.