Pretty much all you need to do is provide content related to your product line. So if you sell bags? Share tips on organization. Clothing or jewelry? Fashion tips! Nutriceuticals? Healthy living tips. See? It’s pretty easy to identify the need that your products solve, and provide additional information related to that.

But what if your goal is to recruit? Then what should you share on your Facebook Page?

What you should NOT be doing is simply highlighting all the great things about your opportunity. While it’s fine to occasionally mention your opportunity, if that’s all your Page consists of, you may as well send people to the opportunity page your company provides on the website and call it a day. A Facebook Page is more about creating a conversation, building relationships, and highlighting how great it would be to work with you. It takes work and commitment if it’s to be effective.

So what should you include on your Page? Here are some ideas:

• Share tips about running a business. These can range from time management to working at home with kids around to organization. These little training nuggets give people an idea of what it would be like to be trained on your team.
• Share inspirational quotes. These are things that are motivating, and they show that you’re a positive person that’s great to work with.
• Highlight stories about people on your team. Recognize the great things they’ve accomplished as part of your team. This shows prospects that you recognize people for their efforts, and helps them feel like they can accomplish great things with you too.
• Provide links to business articles. These might be articles your company provides, or they might be from other places around the web. They could be about how to use technology for business, the good news about direct selling, charitable campaigns your company has run, etc. All of these articles highlight the value of working with a direct selling company, and you in particular.
• Oh, and talk about your opportunity too. On a Page, you can occasionally talk about how great your opportunity is, because the people who follow it have opted in. But don’t beat people over the head with it. Rather, focus on highlighting what you love about the opportunity, as well as some of the benefits someone would experience as part of your company. Instead of “Join now” (which is really more about you) focus on “If you have this problem, here’s a solution provided by the opportunity” (which is more about them.) See the difference?

A Facebook Page designed for recruiting still has to be valuable. So be really clear about who you want to attract, and then provide content that will be valuable to that audience. Ask questions and comment on all activity in order to encourage more.

And make sure you’ve got a way for them to convert. Have a tab on your Page that allows them to sign up for a newsletter you’ve designed specifically for prospects interested in the opportunity. (I’ll talk more about that in another post.) And make sure you’ve included a link to your opportunity page on your website, where they can sign up immediately. Conversion is the most important part!

Ok, so now that your page is set up, here are some tips on driving traffic to your site!

1. Write great, engaging content. The more interesting and engaging your content is, the more people will interact with it. The more they interact with it, the more likely it is to show up in the News Feed. The more it shows up, the more likely others will see that their friends Like your Page.
2. Add a Welcome tab. People are 47% more likely to Like a Page if it has a Welcome Tab. An effective Welcome tab tells people what the Page is about, and the benefits of Liking the Page. It also encourages people to hit the Like button. You can get a free Welcome tab at Pagemodo.
3. Occasionally tag your Page from your Profile, inviting folks who are interested in learning more about the topic you are sharing about to come and Like your Page. This lets your current friend list know you have a Page without beating them over the head with business spam. (To tag your Page, simply type the @ sign, and then begin typing the name of your Page. Once your Page pops up, select it. It will become a clickable link in your status update.)
4. Invite every customer you work with to Like your Page. This is the group you’re most interested in reaching. Let them know the benefits of liking your Page.
5. Ask your current fans to share your Page with their friends if they find your Page valuable. Do this through occasional status updates on your Page such as, “If you find the content on this Page valuable, won’t you tell your friends about this Page? Just share this link in your status update: http://facebook.com/jenfongspeaks (Fill in your Facebook URL here.) Thank you!”
6. Once you get 25 folks who Like your Page, add your Facebook Page URL to your business cards. Point it out to everyone you give your card to, and invite them to come check out your Page.
7. Comment on other Pages as your Page to drive interest in your Page.
8. Use the “Suggest to Friends” link on your Page. (Warning, this only works occasionally.)
9. Swap Likes with other Page owners. To begin the momentum, form a collective. Get a group together who will all “Like” each others’ Pages. This will help you get to your 25, so you can get a custom Facebook URL.
10. Find opportunities to share your Page on other Pages, when invited. For example, I will occasionally invite people to share their Page links on my Facebook Page. I know other Pages do this as well. Look for these opportunities, and take advantage. (But don’t share your Page if you haven’t been invited. That’s spam.)

The most important part of all of this is the great content part. People will only be interested in your Page if there’s something in it for them. A steady stream of ads won’t do it. So focus first on solving problems for your target market, and the rest will come.