Facebook commands a massive user base and is still the largest social network. The latest Facebook stats show that the platform currently boasts 2.89 billion monthly active users. That’s 2.89 billion users you could miss out on reaching if you failed to maintain a proper Facebook business Page.
A Facebook business Page is central to any Facebook marketing strategy. It’s where you can share information about your business and promote your new products. Moreover, your Page serves as a channel to provide your customers with assistance. In this guide, we show you the step-by-step process of building a Facebook business Page that attracts your audience.
Table of contents:
- What is a Facebook business Page
- How to create the perfect Facebook business Page
- Tips to maintain an engaging Facebook business Page
What is a Facebook business Page
A Facebook business Page is a public Facebook account that represents a commercial organization. You can use the Page to share information about your business such as your address, contact details and hours of operation. Additionally, it’s the perfect place to share updates about your business and promote products, services and events.
As such, a Facebook business Page allows you to create a space to connect with your audience. Additionally, by setting up a business Page, you’ll gain access to Facebook Shops and advertising tools. This allows you to list your products for sale on the platform and even create paid advertisements to grow your reach.
Meanwhile, a personal Facebook account represents the individual. It can either be private or public depending on your settings. While people can Like and follow a business Page, they can only add a personal profile as a friend. Moreover, a personal profile doesn’t come with marketing and advertising tools that are available on business Pages.
How to create the perfect Facebook business Page
Ready to create your very own Facebook business Page? Follow the steps below to get started.
Step 1: Create a new Page from the “Pages” section
From your Facebook homepage, click on “Pages” in the left-hand panel. This will open up a dashboard to manage all your Pages and profiles. Click on the “Create New Page” button under “Your Pages and profiles.”
Step 2: Enter your Page name and category
Next, enter the name of your Page. This should be similar to your official business or brand name so your audience can instantly recognize it. In other words, choose a name your customers will use when searching for your brand.
After this, you’ll need to include a business category. Type in a keyword or two in the given field and Facebook will offer a few relevant suggestions. You can select up to three options to categorize your Page. This is essential to help people understand what your business is all about.
Step 3: Add your Page bio
While the bio is an optional section, including a short description of your business can be helpful. This is where you can provide more information about what your brand does and what it stands for. Your bio can only be about 100 characters so be sure to keep it clear and succinct.
The bio will show up prominently below your Page name, so it needs to be catchy and relevant. Consider using your brand slogan here instead of coming up with a new bio. Once you’re done, click on “Create Page.”
Step 4: Include your business details
Now that you’ve created the Page, it’s time to make it more complete by including additional details about your business. To finish your setup, you’ll need to include the following information about your business:
- Website
- Phone number
- Email address
- Physical address
- Hours of operation
After you’ve filled out the details, click on “Next” to get to the next step of your Page setup. Optionally, you can skip this step for now and add those details later.
Step 5: Put together your profile imagery
One of the most crucial steps is customizing your Page with high-quality imagery. Your Page’s visuals are what will help you make an impression on your audience. So it’s important that you carefully choose images that truly represent your brand and are instantly recognizable.
The first thing you’ll need is a profile picture. As highlighted in our social media image size guide, this should be at least 180 x 180 pixels. Remember that this picture will come out as a circle, so avoid including any important details in the corners.
Ideally, businesses should be using their brand logo as a profile picture. This helps the audience to instantly associate the Page with the brand they already know. Alternatively, local businesses may consider including a picture of the storefront or the owners. Some may even use a picture of their best offering instead.
As for your Facebook cover photo, the recommended size is 820 x 312 pixels. Any photo smaller than this will appear stretched and distorted. Consider using existing templates from photo editing tools like Canva to ensure that your cover photo is perfectly sized.
You can also choose to include an action button to show up at the top of your Page. This will help direct Page visitors toward the action that you want them to take. Perhaps you want them to book an appointment, view your shop, call your business, send a message or even get tickets. Choose the most relevant option, click on “Next” and hit “Save.”
Other optional steps include connecting WhatsApp to your Page and inviting your friends to Like the Page. You can choose to skip these steps for now and hit “Done.” But keep in mind that you’ll still need to complete those steps later on to improve your Page health.
Improving your Page health is essential to create a business Page that people would want to engage with. At the top of your Page, Facebook will provide you with suggestions on what actions you can take to make improvements. Your Page health will improve as you complete these actions.
Now your Page is all set up so you can start creating posts or even run ads to promote it.
Tips to maintain an engaging Facebook business Page
Setting up your Facebook business Page is the easy part. What’s challenging is getting your Page off the ground and sustaining that growth to build an engaging business Page. Here are some social media management tips to help you out.
Keep your business info updated
Remember that people use your Facebook Page to learn about your business. They may use it to find out where you’re located or when you’re open. Make sure to include the most updated info about your business so your Page becomes a reliable source of information. If you’re changing your operating hours for the holidays, for example, make sure to add that detail.
Set specific goals
Working towards something specific can give you a sense of direction with your Facebook marketing. Start by thinking about the purpose of your Facebook page and who your target audience is. Are you looking to support a community of current customers? What about attracting new ones?
Decide on specific goals that are achievable and can contribute to your Page growth. These goals will ultimately inform every aspect of your Facebook strategy. This includes the resources you put behind your Facebook business Page to your overall content strategies.
Create a Facebook content strategy
Given what we know about the Facebook algorithm, brands must be cautious of being over-promotional. Knowing when and how often to post on Facebook is critical.
Based on our research on how often to post on social media, most brands post at least a few times per week.
Moreover, it’s not enough to just keep creating content that you want to create. Think of what your audience wants to see from you so you can come up with a content strategy that delivers results.
Here’s what consumers want to see from brands on social, according to the latest Sprout Social Index.
Engage with your customers
It’s important to realize that your Facebook page is not something that you can “set and forget.”
You may get customers commenting on your posts and asking you questions via Messenger. Failing to respond to customers promptly could result in lost sales or followers.
So you have to be present on social media and be ready and willing to engage. This doesn’t mean you have to answer every single question posted to your timeline or in your inbox immediately. It does mean you need to keep a close eye on notifications and conversations.
This would involve investing in social media management tools that can help you stay on top of those messages. For example, Sprout offers a Smart Inbox where you can keep track of all your incoming messages, comments and social media mentions in one place. From here, you can quickly see and respond to your Facebook messages and comments.
Use analytics to chart your path forward
Your Facebook Page Insights can tell you a lot about how your current Facebook strategy is working. It can show you how people are engaging with your posts and how your Page is growing. Use these insights to inform your decisions and make improvements to your existing strategy. For example, you may want to share more videos because your analytics tell you that people are engaging a lot with your video posts.
Once you start running ads from your Page, you’ll be able to see how your promoted posts are performing. Experiment with different variations of your ad copy, placement and creative to see what has the biggest impact. This will allow you to build a Facebook advertising strategy that keeps evolving.
Start growing your Facebook Page
The tips highlighted above can help you get the ball rolling and build an engaging Facebook business Page. Make sure you use them alongside a solid marketing strategy to grow your audience. Check out our guide on how to use Facebook business manager for more tips and tricks to help you out.
The post How to build a Facebook business Page that attracts customers appeared first on Sprout Social.
