Get your Business Facebook Page Up and Running Like a Pro!

Transcription

1 Get your Business Facebook Page Up and Running Like a Pro! The time has passed when it is just a good idea to use Facebook for your business. Today, it is almost essential to your marketing strategy and success. Facebook is the number one social networking site in the U.S. with 68% of internet users accessing the platform (StatisticBrain, 2013). This article will provide step-by-step instructions on how to set up a business page on Facebook. If you already have a personal account, you have some background on how to create a profile. Whether you already have a personal Facebook page, or are just starting to get into the social media trend, these steps will help you get your business Timeline (aka your Facebook profile) up and running like a pro. 1. Logging onto Facebook You will first need to log onto Facebook. Open up your internet browser and go to When you get to the Facebook screen, you will click on the Create a Page link towards the bottom of the right-hand corner (Photo 1). 2. Choosing a Classification The second step in creating your page is to choose a classification for your business (Photo 2). Choosing a page type allows you to build your profile with more relevant information and help people search for you more easily. You can choose one of these six options: Photo 1 - Local Business or Place: This option is best for businesses Photo 2 that have a physical location. It provides a long list of business categories to choose from and lets you put in your address and hours of operation. Also, you will have the option to have people Check-In which allows customers to post and share where they are with their Facebook Friends. If you have an online business you will want to select the Company, Organization or Institution category instead. - Company, Organization, or Institution: If your business does not need to attract foot traffic to your physical premises, or you have more than one location, then you should choose Company, Organization, or Institution as your business type. If your products are sold through multiple websites, resellers, and/or retailers then the Brand or Product page type may be a better match.

2 - Brand or Product: This is for a business that sells products through more than one website or more than one retail location (or will be in the future). For example, brand names such as Apple, Cover Girl, Coca Cola, and Adidas have a Brand or Product page. - Artist, Band, or Public Figure: This option is used for focusing and/or promoting a public figure, artist, or band. - Entertainment: This is for businesses classified as entertainment such as TV shows, movies, books, radio stations, or magazines. - Cause or Community: This is used only if you don t fit into any other page type or category. It is suggested that you carefully go through the categories under Company Organization or Institution and also Local Business or Place to find relevant categories that fit your classification (Gervai, n.d.). Now that you ve selected one of the six options for your classification you will have to fill out your business name (or brand or company name if you select one of the other options). With the business option you will have to enter further location information. It is very important that you type the name of your business carefully and select your category wisely because once you enter this information in you will not be able to change it. If you do have to make changes to your name or category you will have to delete your original page and start a whole new page. Trust me, you DO NOT want to have to do this! 3. Entering in Basic Information Next, you will need to enter some basic information. The two things that are essential in this step are uploading a Profile Picture and writing in your About section. Your About section should be a small paragraph that serves as the main description of your business. It will show up on your main page so make it descriptive but concise. This is a great spot to include a link to your business website or other social media sites (i.e. blogs, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn, etc..). Also keep in mind that this section is viewers first impression, so it is recommended that you differentiate your brand and make your page appealing to potential followers. Facebook will prompt you to upload your Profile Picture which is the main picture on your page. This picture appears as your icon every time you comment on a post or appear in news feeds. Ideally, this should be your business logo.

3 4. Filling your Page with Content Next, you will begin filling your page with content. First, you will want to upload a cover photo. Click on the Add a Cover button (Photo 3). The dimensions of the cover photo are 851x315pxls. Make sure to select a creative horizontal image that will appeal to viewers when they see your page. There are 3 basic rules of what not to do for your cover photos (Belosic, 2013): 1. Don t overcrowd the space: Focus on one idea at a time. Make sure your text is organized, readable and makes sense. Don t try to cram everything in at once. Instead, highlight one idea per photo. Focusing on one thing at a time also motivates you to change your cover photo frequently. 2. Don t be too sales-driven: There was a time where Facebook did not allow a call to action in cover photos. Although they have removed this guideline it is still good practice to be careful to not over-sell in your cover photo. Try to think of some creative ideas to promote your products or contests. For example, instead of saying New straightener, BUY NOW! try something like Still have bad hair days? We ve got the solution you need at [insert website]! 3. Don t forget the power of a picture: People respond more favorably to images than to text. When you update your cover photo that image comes up on your fans news feed. Just because you can fit a bunch of words on a cover photo doesn t mean you should. Photo 3 5. Create Custom Tabs Now it s time to create your custom tabs. These are located under your photo cover. The larger red arrow in the picture below shows where the tabs are located (Photo 4). You can have an unlimited amount of tabs but only the first four will appear on the page until the viewer clicks the arrow to view more. You should be selective as to which tabs you want to appear. To edit tabs, simply click on the dropdown box (Photo 4) to change the settings of your tabs. After you finish making your tabs you should start posting on your page. Photo 4

4 6. Start Posting The key to successful postings is to vary what you post including status updates, photos, relatable links, and sharing useful information from other sources. When you post something such as new product launches, business anniversaries, or any other major events for your business you will want to highlight these events by simply clicking on the little star from the drop down menu in the upper right corner of any post you create (Photo 5). This will make it appear larger and have the look of a cover photo on your page (Photo 6). Photo 5 Photo 6 Also, consider is strategically liking or following other business or brand pages. If you use a certain brand or product in your business you should see if they have a Facebook page and Like them. This will help your followers know what brands or products you carry. If those other business or brand pages post something that you think will be relevant to your customers then you can Share it on your page. 7. Build an Audience Your next step is to build an audience. This is most likely going to be your biggest challenge. It s a good idea to start by filling your page with content first- meaning posting statuses, sharing photos, etc. After you have posted a few things invite your business advocates and loyal customers to start engaging with that content. To do this, go to the top of your Admin Panel and select Build Audience (Photo 7). This will give you a drop down menu that will allow you to either invited contacts you have from your account you used to create your Facebook page (which is a free option), or let you create an advertisement for your page (which will cost you money). If you have linked your personal Facebook account to your business Facebook account then you also have the option to promote your business Facebook page to your Facebook friends (which is another free option). Once your page has some interactions invite more fans and contacts, and they ll be more interested in your page and more likely to Like it and start Photo 7

5 following you when they see the buzz going on. After that, it is up to you if you want to take advantage of Facebook s advertising tools to further promote your page. You are now at a point where you have successfully built your business Facebook page. This article has given you the basics of setting up your profile. Stay tuned to read the next article about your business Facebook page which will go into more detail about how to enhance your profile including monitoring and viewing insights. If you have any questions about this article or would like assistance on setting up your social media, please contact CRES.

6 References Belosic, J. (3 July 2013). Facebook changes cover photo rules (again): Things you still shouldn t do. SocialMedia Today. Retrieved from Gervai, A. (N.d.). What are the types of Facebook pages and which category is right for your business?. Marketing Gum. Retrieved from Statistic Brain. (23 June 2013). Facebook Statistics [Data file]. Retrieved from