How to Create a Facebook Page to Promote Your Business
Here’s the big question everyone is asking: Should I create a Facebook profile, a Facebook page or a Facebook group? The short answer is that a business must have a Facebook page. Facebook groups are for people with similar interests and supporters of a particular cause or event and Facebook profiles are for your personal profile only. Everyone (business owner or not) must sign up for a Facebook profile to get started.
What is the difference? Facebook Pages are for businesses in the same way that Facebook Profiles are for individuals. Facebook groups that are joined by people who share the same interests or support the same cause. Pages are like a one page mini website for your company. The pages are well organized and go straight to the point for local businesses, services, and even musicians and bands. Pages allow you to reach a target audience in an organized, fast, and efficient way.
Have you ever visited a company’s Facebook page and noticed that it has thousands of likes, but the page itself has little to no content? This is a social media phenomenon in the sense that the follower of said Facebook page does not necessarily like the business or product, but by clicking the “Like” button, the product or business is exposed to all that person’s Facebook friends and thus further defines that person’s interests and likes.
So let’s get down to business, how do you use a Facebook page to promote a business? Just follow these simple steps.
- Setting up your page: Log in to Facebook. Click on “Ads and Pages”. Click on the “Pages” link with a small flag icon next to it. Select the type of business from the dropdown list and enter a name. Click the “Create Page” button.
- Customize your new Facebook page for your business (Hours, Directions, Parking, Description, Website, Phone).
- Connect your Facebook page to a Twitter account.
- Suggest your new page to your friends. Groups of friends, colleagues and family.
- Run a Facebook ad campaign to promote your page. Pay per click, target market, demographics, etc.
- Create your first wall post.
- Add a like box to your website.
- Use Facebook Insights and Analytics to measure data and user interaction.
Now that we’ve covered how to set up your Page, how do you use it to promote your business? There are a couple of articles that I recommend.
First, make sure there is a visible hyperlink to your business website located somewhere highly visible on your page. Do not name your page:
“yourbusiness.com”, since we are not setting up a page for your website, but for your company. An appropriate page name would be “My Name Business, Inc.” or “Widgets, LLC”, etc.
Second, be sure to clearly post the business type in the dropdown menus at the top of the “About” page. This will help to clearly define the style template that Facebook Pages will apply to your Page.
Third, post your hours of operation. Be sure to mark which days you are open and which days you are closed.
Fourth, post your local phone number(s). Fifth, write a complete description of your business. Feel free to include a description of the most popular products and services you offer as well.
Fifth, start engaging with your Facebook page. Create a few wall posts and make sure you have a handful of photos uploaded, especially a profile picture. I recommend using your company logo to keep it professional. Do not use your personal photos on your Facebook page.
And finally, be sure to invite all of your Facebook friends! This is important. If you don’t send invites, no one will be able to find your newly created Facebook page. Going beyond this step, you can hyperlink to your Facebook page on your business website and also add a “Like” box. Facebook offers about a dozen different ways to integrate with your website. Good luck out there.
