Take a look at some Facebook fan pages that apparently started a few days or weeks ago and are not just surviving, but actually thriving. They are full of funny or witty discussions, photos, and comments. You may wonder… I have a fan page. Why doesn’t my page act like this? How come they can do it and I can’t?

We get lead requests every day from people asking us to optimize what they’re doing with their Facebook fan pages.

As most Internet users have already discovered, the best customer is the engaged customer. Your Fans on your Page/Group (or “likes”) have voluntarily reached out to you to tell you that they support your products and services. Ultimately, it’s a statement about your brand. Social media is all about engagement and that means conversation. So your job as a manager is to get people involved.

For starters, consider the length and speed of ongoing conversations. When you look at the people whose Fan Pages are thriving, you’ll see some remarkable similarities.

Here are 4 tips to get your Facebook fan page engaged:

1. Talk less and listen more! We’re good at the first part (speaking)…not so good at the second. If you’re an admin of a Page, your job is to add to the conversation. If you’re dominating the discussion, people will shut down and tune out quickly. Think about the insurance salesman you met at the last party you attended (sorry, but that was my experience) and how he acted. Don’t be that guy! The result is fewer fans overall and fewer crazy advocates for your product or service.

Believe it or not, your job is to be informative and not be in a full cut sales mode. Think about that the next time you’re on your page.

Action item: Go to your Page, click Options/Settings and make sure to select “All Posts” for the Default Wall View. You don’t want to miss or overlook some great feedback.

2. Be a conversation starter! Do what the greats do! Bring someone who is respected in your niche and provide a place for questions and answers. This is easier than it seems. Because when you ask someone to do this, their ego and vanity almost always make them say yes. You’ll need to do a bit of promoting to let people know about it, but it should reap some dividends on top of being seen as an authority figure in your niche. “If you want to be an authority, go with those who are” Your ability to do this shows it.

Another approach is to ask for their opinion. As we’ve learned on the web, there’s no shortage of them and it’s very likely to get people engaged without you having to master.

Please note that this requires regular monitoring. Don’t expect people to be fully engaged when you only visit your site a few times a month to communicate with people. You should be visiting and answering questions every day!

Action item: You can find a “sponsor” for this type of forum. Don’t be afraid to ask someone to sponsor parts of your blog or fan page. You’d be surprised at the results… especially if you can see that people are regularly participating and visiting frequently!

3. Match the content and promotions! You can achieve this through what are called immersive conversations! This is a great tool that you can use to get people’s attention in a non-overt way. As such, you are part of the conversation without being distracted or taking over the conversation. You see this in more places than you think.

Let’s say you’re going to have an expert come in and ask some questions and answers within your niche. What if you had some simple banners to let people know about an upcoming class or promotion that deals with the same topic? You have inserted your message where the people who relate to your message come from. By doing this, you are letting visitors know that you understand their interests and what they are talking about.

Action item: Do you have a product or service that you can promote during one of these events? Don’t expect a huge return from this (but also don’t be surprised if it’s very successful). What this does is build awareness of your brand or service and your event just solidified that with your audience.

4. Show appreciation! Never forget who got you to this point. You can have 100 or millions of thousands of fans. But guess that? If they feel unappreciated or feel like they are nothing more than a wallet, they will not just disengage, they will go elsewhere. So please be humble and acknowledge those who take the time to write on your fan page.

Action item: Take a moment today and say thank you to the people on your page. Tell people both as a group and individually that you appreciate their support and business. Post some photos and tell people how you feel about them.

Your conclusion of this post…

Think of your fan page as a cocktail party. You don’t hide behind a corporate brand when you go there. Don’t do it on your page either by hiding behind an anonymous post.

Remember that social media and fan pages in particular are all about the conversation. There is more than one way to get everyone involved. Look at what your overall goal is in this space and with your marketing in general. That will help guide your actions.

At the end of the day, this is an action that takes time to succeed. If you can’t give it the time it takes, get someone qualified to do it for you!