Despite being the largest social networking platform currently in existence, a large number of people still do not utilize Facebook for marketing their businesses. With over 1.96 billion people connected around the world, Facebook is estimated to reach 2.5 billion users by the end of 2018.
If you are still wondering if this is the right time to join the Facebook Marketer’s bandwagon, we would say this is an opportune moment!
In order to start marketing your business on Facebook, you need to build a page and proceed from there.
What is a Facebook Page?
A Facebook page is your product’s profile that can be accessed via your personal Facebook account. A page has its separate presence that can be useddiscreetly to promote your business orbrand on Facebook.
Since pages are meant exclusively for marketing, they enjoy a couple of additional features that are missing in Profiles, such as analytics, post scheduling and advertising. It is recommended that you use every feature on this list to ensure that your page is set up for success!
1. Setting up a Facebook Page
To begin creating a Facebook page for your business,
a. You need to log into your Facebook profile and click on the Home button that is displayed next to your name.
b. Locate the Pages tab under the Explore section on the left-hand sidebar below your profile bookmark.
Clicking on this link redirects you to the main page section where you can
- Explore invites to other pages
- View top page suggestions
- View pages that you have liked
- View Pages that you are already managing
- Create a new page
Click on Create Page and Facebook will prompt you to choose a page type from among the six categories that are on offer, which are :
- Local Business or Place
- Company, Institution, Organization
- Product or Brand
- Cause, Event or Community
- Entertainment
- Artist, Public Figure, Band
Every category has an extensive list of sub-categories that you can select to further describe your page. Be very careful while selecting a category for your business, as after going through the sub-categories you might find that your page belongs under a completely different section. Remember that every category has their unique features. Take your time deciding the category that best suits your business.
There is no reason to panic, as you can always go back and change the category once the page is created.
Fill out the name and the other marked fields and click on Get Started to proceed to the next page.
Your Facebook page is now active. You might want to unpublish the page and work on giving it the final touches,away from the public eye. To unpublish a page
- Find Settingsin the top navigation bar
- Open Page Visibility
- Click on Unpublishand save the changes
You can now work on the page discreetly and unveil it once all the work is done.
2. Adding a Profile Picture
The display picture on your profile can be a lot of things depending on your strategy. You can use
- Your logo
- A photo of your product, or your finest work if you are offering a service.
- A professional headshot of yourself or the business owner
Whichever option excites you, do not go overboard with editing as it makes an image difficult to recognize.
The optimal size of a Profile Picture is 180 x 180 px. You do not need an expert for image optimization thanks to free tools like Canva.
Once your image is optimized, head back over to your Facebook page and click on the Add a Picture prompt. Simply follow the steps mentioned and upload your Profile Picture.
3. Uploading a Cover Picture
The Cover Picture commands an extensive amount of real estate on the home page. Make sure to use this space for displaying your best work. Apart from optimizing the image to 828x315px, the process of uploading a Cover Picture is the same.
In order to make your Facebook page mobile-friendly, stick to 560x315px for any text overlay that you have on the Cover Picture, or else it will not show on smaller devices.
Do not forget to fill out the Description section,as this is a valuable piece of real estate. Use this section to share a price point or tagline, or include links to an important landing page on your website.
4. Inserting a Call-to-Action Button
Adding a CTA button makes it easier for the viewers to sign up for the Newsletter, giveaway or other similar activities. Once you click on the Add a Button prompt, which is located towards the bottom right side of the Cover Image, you will be prompted to choose from seven types of buttons that are available.
5. Compose a Description
The Descriptions section of the page is for you to explain to the world in 155 characters what your business is all about. The more information you provide, the more likely people are to stick around. You might want to research the most-used keywords and include them in the descriptions for more organic searches.
Click on the Add a Short Description prompt and unleash your inner Shakespeare in two sentences! Once you are done, click on the save button.
6. Create a Username for Your Business
Every Facebook page has its unique identifier at the end of the generic URL. This makes it easier for people to specifically search for your page. A typical example of a Facebook URL is
https://www.facebook.com/Your-Page-Name/
You can customize the latter part of the URL with a unique Username.Just remember to keep it short. Here is the example of Searchmetry’s unique Username in Facebook’s URL.
https://www.facebook.com/Searchmetry/
7. Adjust Privacy and Security Settings
Now that your page is ready for the big unveil, a few final tweaks are needed to complete the process.If you plan on hiring external help to run your page, make sure that your page is secure and the roles of the people managing it on your behalf are well-defined.
Here is a list of some of the important policies that you can alter according to your requirements.
a. Enable Shortcuts to pin your page to the Shortcuts tab of your profile.
b. Open Visitor Posts and Allow people to publish photos, videos and posts on your page. If you are worried about unethical content, you can enable Review Posts by Other People to let you approve any content before it is posted.
c. Allow your viewers to communicate with you via Messenger, by enabling the Message Button on your page.
d. Allowing people to tag your business is a great way to market yourself for free. To enable this featurecheckthe Others Tagging This Page
8. Finalizing the Content Before the Big Unveil
Before going live, verify each and every detail that you have entered. The following options need a special mention
a. Under the Contact Information tab, make sure to add a few external links to your other social media profiles for the viewers to follow you.
b. Connect the profiles of your team members to create a stronger brand value.
c. You can showcase any awards that you might have won, insert a menu or add a product description according to your needs.
Once you are satisfied that everything is in place, it is time to send the page live and start posting content!
Marketing your business on Facebook makes it easier for potential clients to locate you, communicate with you and finally purchase from you.
You can follow these steps to create your own Facebook Page, or you can hire us to buildand maintain your digital presence across multiple social media platforms. For more information on Searchmetry, schedule a free consultation with us TODAY!
