Any business can get on Facebook, and social media is an essential marketing tool, but simply creating a Facebook business page does not secure immediate benefits for your business. To get Facebook to facilitate your marketing goals, you need a strong business page that represents your brand and engages your target audience. Here are ten essential elements of a successful Facebook business page that will allow you to reap the benefits of social media for your business.
1: Impressionable Cover Photo
Your cover photo will be the first thing that visitors notice when coming to your page. Make sure that you use a photo that captures the essence of your organization and leaves no doubt they are in the right place. Choose a high quality photo that has a clear focal point and will not appear pixelated. The photo should also be sized appropriately or Facebook will automatically stretch the photo to fit and skew the proportions of the image. An ideal cover photo size for your business page is 828 x 315 pixels.
You can also add your logo or other text to the image. Less is more, so be careful not to make the image too busy by adding too many elements. Keep it simple and also be sure to put a link to your business website in the description of the photo. This could be your homepage or anywhere else on your website you are trying to direct traffic.
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2: Simple Profile Photo
Your profile photo should be considered a design element of your cover photo. Instead of adding your logo to the cover photo, you may instead use your logo as the profile photo. Again, you want the image to be recognizable and to immediately reassure your visitors they have found the correct page. Be sure to place a link to your website in the description of this photo as well.
3: Concise About Section
Pay attention to the details when completing the “About” section of your Facebook business page. Just like with any business listing, your information needs to be complete, accurate, and consistent with other listings. Check (and double-check) for accuracy, especially as it pertains to your phone number and website link. Some businesses change their hours seasonally. Be sure to update this part of the about section as needed. Also, be concise with your descriptions about your company and its offerings. Don’t tell visitors everything about your company on your Facebook business page. Tell them what they need to know, what benefit you bring, and how they can learn more.
4: Call to Action Button
At the top of your page just underneath your Cover Photo is a where you will be able to select the type of button you would like to use for your call to action. The choices are:
• Buy Now
• Shop Now
• Sign Up
• Call Now
• Contact Us
• Send Message
• Send Email
You will then be able to link these buttons to any web page you want to direct potential customers to view. This could be a product page, landing page, or homepage to name a few. You would be surprised how many Facebook business pages do not have a call to action button enabled. Make it easy for your customers to take that important next step with just one click!
5: Engaging Timeline
A successful Facebook business page doesn’t just attract visitors. It keeps them there and gets them to come back again. The key to retaining visitors is an engaging timeline. To build an engaging timeline, be sure to regularly post content that is interesting, useful, and easily digestible.
6. Integration with Instagram
If your business uses Instagram, make sure you link your Instagram feed to your Facebook page. By doing this, any photos you post to Instagram will automatically post to your Facebook timeline as well. This is essential for adding visual elements to your timeline and cross promoting your social media channels. Facebook owns Instagram, so the linking process is fairly easy.
7. Meaningful Milestones
Creating milestones on your Facebook business pages is another essential yet underutilized feature that you should put into action. Milestones showcase the important achievements, anniversaries, and awards of your business. Not are these important to your reputation, they tell the story of your business and equip users to paint a more complete picture of your brand.
8: User Likes
When someone likes a Facebook business page, they will by default be following it unless they change their settings. Encourage your customers to “like” your page so that you can keep them informed about special events, sales, changes in hours or new products and services you are offering. The more people who like your page, the more brand awareness you can create. Also, likes provide social proof that will encourage additional users to like your page.
9. See First
Even if someone is following your Facebook page, they still might not see all of your posts. This is because just like search engines, Facebook uses an algorithm to prioritize the information that shows up on a users’ feed. This might seem unfair, but without the algorithm, the average user would get between 1,500-10,000 posts on their newsfeed, and your posts would get buried anyway!
There is however a “see first” feature on Facebook whereby users can choose particular accounts to show up first in their News Feed. Inform and remind your followers that if they add your business to their “see first” list, they won’t miss out on important events, promotions, and announcements.
10: Pinned Posts
This is a fantastic way to give new life to great content that you have previously posted on your Facebook business page. With pinned posts, you can keep a specific post at the top of your timeline for seven days. After that, it returns back to its original position on your timeline. If you have content that you know resonates with your audience, or previous posts that generate engagement and shares, try pinning it to the top of your timeline.
Follow these ten tips when you design your Facebook business page and you can take your social media game to the next level!
A Facebook business page can only become a marketing tool if you put in the time and effort required. Build your page with these ten essentials in mind and you’ll be on track with getting Facebook to facilitate your success.
