So, your business has a Facebook page. Or you’re thinking about one. But have you ever wondered what successful Facebook page owners are doing right? Well, look no further.

This post examines some of the top Facebook pages from brands you’ll surely recognize. But regardless how large – or small – your business is, hopefully you’ll discover some great ideas that will help you take your Facebook experience to the next level for your fans.

Each of these pages has incorporated unique features that have attracted hundreds of thousands (or even millions!) of fans, as well as the notice of major media publications. That’s no small feat, considering how many new pages are popping up daily on Facebook!

It’s important to remember, there’s no need to reinvent the wheel with your Facebook presence. Instead, why not check out what others are doing, and tweak these strategies to make them your own?

#1: Red Bull

The Red Bull team is very much in tune with their target audience. This is evidenced by their unique content and the custom apps used throughout their page.

Red Bull delivers what they know their audience will respond to best. For example, they’ve created a series of online games for their fans, very aptly called the “Procrastination Station.” The games are geared toward sports and extreme, high-impact competitions.

Red Bull also created a web TV program that’s featured prominently on their Facebook page. There are many different segments, many which spotlight the lives of sponsored athletes. Not only does this web TV show align the brand with celebrity athletes, but it also incorporates video into the page, which gives the audience another way to interact with Red Bull.

Another smart feature of Red Bull’s page is their welcome tab. When a non-fan lands on their page, they see the image shown below. They creatively encourage fans to “Like” their page with this attention-grabbing image. Also, they only put one thing on their welcome tab, making it very clear what action step they want to happen. If you have too much information on your welcome tab, your fans will get confused and are not likely to take ANY action. So less is definitely more. Stick with just one call to action.

Facebook Tip: One area you should consider spending a bit of money on is the creative design of your page. When design is done right, it can really make a great first impression with non-fans. Also, when you design your Facebook page, pay close attention to your call to action, specifically the all-important “Like” button. What can you do to grab the attention of your new visitor and encourage them to click on your “Like” button quickly? The creative design on Red Bull’s welcome tab does just that!

#2: Uno Chicago Grill

Uno Chicago Grill has taken full advantage of the Facebook app FBML to highlight their menu options in an extremely appealing way. They have many tabs dedicated to specific areas of their menu and use imagery to entice their fans. In addition, on their welcome tab they link to the most important areas of their website, including locations and online ordering options. When non-fans come to their page for the first time, they get an instant snapshot of Uno’s offerings.

In addition, Uno has incorporated a Fan of the Week contest on their Facebook page. Fans get their photo posted directly on the profile image of the restaurant’s wall.

This is great exposure and a lot of fun for the fans that participate and get selected.

To take it one step further, Uno does something unique with their Fan of the Week contest—they ask fans to post photos of themselves while at an Uno restaurant, thereby encouraging fans to come in and dine.

This is a great strategy to bring online fans into their brick-and-mortar establishments!

Facebook Tip: If you have a brick-and-mortar establishment as well, think of creative promotions to entice your fans to visit in person. Contests and special offers are all great ways to invite new fans to come in and check things out!

#3: Coca-Cola

Coca-Cola has taken a spot near the top of many “best-of” Facebook page lists due to their unique promotions and fun, innovative and interactive features.

During June-August, their promotion focused on the Summer Snapshot contest, where they encouraged fans to take a photo with the summer Coca-Cola cans. Not only did this get their fans involved with their page, but of course the contest also integrated photos of their products with fans into the page.

Photos are viewed more than any other type of content on Facebook. They go viral quickly because when a fan posts a photo, that photo is then sent out to the news feeds of all of their friends. Many thousands of potential new fans ultimately see these photos.

Here’s an example of a photo posted by a fan for the Coca-Cola contest. Notice how others can vote on each photo? This allows *everyone to get in on the fun!

Facebook Tip: When creating a Facebook contest, keep it simple! The less information your fans need do to enter, the better. Make it easy, fun and make sure to incorporate a sharing component so your contest can spread virally.

#4: Oreo

Another brand which does a fantastic job of creating unique experiences for their fans is Oreo. They know that their cookies have been part of many people’s lives since childhood, and they utilize this angle to create a sense of nostalgia with fans. And it’s working, since they have over 8 million fans to date!

A recent campaign was their “Back to School Memories” initiative, where they asked their fans to share their memories and photos directly on their Facebook page. Once again, remember how important photos are. And by offering unique experiences like Oreo has done with their back to school campaign, brands create a connection to the fans, who become loyal followers and keep coming back for more.

Facebook Tip: You’ll usually get the best response when you ask fans to share something about themselves. Ask them their opinions, thoughts and feedback and you’ll be pleasantly surprised how quickly they start talking!

Other great Facebook pages include Jones Soda, the Travel Channel, the promotions for Toy Story 3 and the Twilight series of films, Burt’s Bees and Uno Chicago Grill. Check them out, and get ideas that you can use in your own Facebook promotion!

And remember, if you don’t have the staff or other resources to manage your own Facebook campaigns, you can bring in experts like Hat Trick Associates to help you and your brands create social media campaigns that connect with, and engage with, your fans.