When it comes to Social Media Marketing, Facebook still reigns supreme. With over 2 billion active users and 65 million businesses using the platform every month, there is no denying the importance of creating and maintaining a page for your small business. Decked out with special features, including targeting metrics and other ways to reach potential customers, having a business page is a great way to market your company. Unfortunately, figuring out how to set up a Facebook account for your business isn’t as straightforward as one would think. Here is a handy tutorial on how to start a Facebook page for your small business.
Before You Start:
Before sitting down and working on your business’s page, you will need to have a personal Facebook page if you don’t have one already. This may seem a bit odd, don’t worry. The two pages are completely separate. You are only using your personal account to access the pages feature. None of your personal information will be shared on your professional page. All of your business's interactions with fans of your business will be as your business. So, there is no need to worry about your privacy or safety.
Now that you are all set with your personal page, it is time to create your business page.
This is also the time to choose who will have an admin role on the page if anyone else will have an admin role. Clearly, if you are a small one-person operation, this won’t be something you need to think about. However, if you are a larger start-up or scale-up, having more people as admins means more people to stay on top of things and engage with people as your page grows.
Getting Started:
There are two ways to access the page area. One is through your personal page and the other, which is far easier, is through facebook.com/business. This is the one we are going to use for the sake of simplicity.
Once you are on the Facebook business-main page, you will see two options: business or brand and community or public figure. Be sure you chose the business or brand option.
After clicking on the get started button, you will be asked to choose your page’s name and business category. Using your actual business name is, of course, ideal. However, sometimes there are companies from other parts of the world with the same name. So, maybe consider adding your location like bobsbakerywitchita or chaptersbookstoreie to ensure you get the name you want.
Once you have chosen a name for your page, it is time to choose a category for your company. Start by typing in what sort of business you run. An autofill menu will pop down, allowing you to choose from a number of selections of industries related to your business. For example, if you type in “bakery,” everything from a bakery to cupcake shop to chocolate shop will pop up, meaning you will have the option to let people know exactly what sort of bakery you own.
The final step in getting started on the process is entering your address and phone number. If you are a strictly online business, don’t worry. There is the option not to show your physical address. It will only show which city your business is located in.
Profile and Cover Photos:
Now that you have the who, where, and what all sorted, it is time to pick a photo. This will make it easier for people to find you and know you are the business they are looking for. It should either be of your storefront if you are a brick and mortar small business, or your logo.
Once you have your profile photo uploaded, you should pick out a cover photo. According to Facebook, pages with a cover photo tend to perform better than those without. Just like your profile photo, your cover photo should reflect your business. Just make sure the photo you chose is high def and professional.
Filling in the Blanks:
Now that your photos and bare basics are up, it is time to fill in the rest. On the left side of your admin page, you will find links to various extras that will help people get to know more about you and your company. While videos and photos will come in time, the most important section to focus on at first is the about section.
This is where you can add your website, about us, directions on how to find you (if you have a physical location), and a ton of more useful information. It even has a place for you to put up your menu if you are a restaurant. Remember, the more information you give, the more like people will be engaged with your page and business. So, fill out every section relevant for your business because the more informative your page is, the more views it will get.
Quick note, when creating your “about” text for Facebook, keep it as tonally close to the “about us” section on your website as possible. The last thing you want is for there to be a disconnect between the two texts. Your Facebook about us doesn’t have to be as long or as in-depth as the one on your website, but they should match.
Adding an Action Button:
Facebook’s action button can be a great way to get potential customers to reach out or learn more. Just click the button on your cover photo's bottom right and choose from everything from messaging you on Facebook to downloading your app if you have one.
Having a call to action button upfront and easy to find can encourage people to follow up and drive up click-through rates. It also helps to focus customers' attention where you want it to go. Always a big plus.
Creating Your First Post and Getting Followers:
Now that your page has all the information ready and your call to action button, it is time to publish your first post.
The first post is important for a number of reasons. It helps you test the waters. It can help get your page's early fans to get engaged and responsive. But, most importantly, it lets people know your business is now on Facebook. You will want to create a post that gets people interested and interacts with the content.
There are a number of ways you can help people get involved with your first post. You can have a competition post between two items or ideas, using like or share to see who the winner will be. Or create a poll about several different items or products you offer.
Or you can use impactful or cute images to get noticed. By featuring a visually interesting product is a great way to get people talking about your Facebook page. Or why not add a cute animal?
When it comes to getting followers, make sure you add the Facebook button on your webpage with a call to action for people to like you. Also, don’t be afraid to share with your friends while creating an ad. Ads can be a great way to use marketing practices to get your new page in front of the right eyes.
Thanks to Facebook marketing targets, you can create ads that can be as wide or as narrow as you want. You can include age, location, gender, and interests related to your business in the targeting framework. This helps weed out people who wouldn’t be interested, allowing you the potential for higher ROIs.
While it may seem overwhelming at first, creating a Facebook page for your business is easy to do. Plus, in this age of social media and online engagement, not having one can be a huge mistake in marketing your small business.
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