With its widespread usage and versatility, Facebook has come to be a popular and effective marketing tool for businesses. However, as the platform evolves, making the most of Facebook for your business is getting more involved. In the past, creating a Facebook business page was fairly simple. Now, there are additional features, channels, and methods of integration that—as confusing as they are—can bring additional benefits to your business. In this post, we’ll go over how to fully set up your business on Facebook so that you can take advantage of all of its features.
Related: How to Make Facebook Work for Your Business
1. Set Up Your Facebook Business Page
There are countless benefits of having a Facebook business page. Below we’ll walk you through setting one up for your business.
Business Name
When setting up your business’ name on Facebook, consider what identifier you want to use for your Facebook link when people type the link into the web browser. When you create your handle on Facebook, it should be the same or as close as possible to other handles that you use on social media platforms (such as Twitter and Instagram).
For example, if your business is Robert’s Roofing, consider making your Facebook link www.facebook.com/RobertsRoofing, especially if @RobertsRoofing comprise your other social media handles. This will help current and potential clients find you faster, and not confuse you with another business with a similar name.
Business Category
When you set up a Facebook Page for your business, you’ll have the opportunity to choose how you would like to categorize your business. There are six options for types of businesses to choose from, but the three categories that will be the most applicable to small businesses include:
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Local Business or Place
This will likely be how you categorize your business when setting up your Facebook page if you have a brick and mortar store. If you click this option when setting up the business page, you will be given further options to choose a more specific category. Some of the options you will be able to choose from are:
• Food/Grocery
• Local Business
• Restaurant/Café
• Spa/Beauty/Personal Care -
Company Organization or Institution
This is one of two options for your business if you predominantly sell your products through online methods such as Etsy or another website.
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Brand or Product
Similar to Company Organization or Institution, this will be another popular option if your business does not have a brick and mortar location.
Contact Information
Just like with directory listings, you should fill out your information as completely and accurately as possible when setting up your Facebook business page. You can include contact information such as the address and hours of operation for your brick and mortar location, your business’ phone number, homepage, and any links to other social media accounts for your business.
Business Description
Think of the short description for your business’s Facebook page as the equivalent of your elevator pitch. Your short description should be no more than a few sentences that summarize what your business does and what you offer to your clients.
Cover and Profile Photos
For the “headshot” of your business page, go with something that represents your business and is easily recognizable. A great example of a profile picture for your business page is just using your business logo.
For the cover photo, you may want to add a little more personality. You may even want to change your cover photos frequently so you can highlight certain promotions and products that make your business stand out. Some ideas for cover photos include:
- Photos of new products or services that your business offers
- Photos of new displays in your store
- Your store front with your slogan in a text box
- A photo representing a value or cause that is important to your company culture
Call to Action
Now that those who visit your page know who you are, what you do, and how to contact you, it’s time to set up your call to action. The call to action will tell current and potential clients exactly what they need to do in order to start building a relationship with your business and move forward with becoming your client. Examples of call to actions are “order now,” “take advantage of this special offer”, or “call today.” The idea is to create a sense of urgency for your customers to contact you sooner rather than later.
Related: Facebook Marketing for Business Owners
2. Or…Convert a Profile Into a Page
Another approach for setting up your Facebook business page is by converting a profile into a page. This is applicable if you’re a business owner whose name is the name of your business, and/or have been using your personal profile to promote your business. When you convert your personal profile into a business page, the name, cover photo and profile photo from your profile will automatically transfer to your business page. You then have 14 days to directly transfer the rest of the information, after which you will then have to do it manually.
3. Activate Features on Your Facebook Business Page
Now that your Business Facebook page has been set up, it’s time to turn on applicable features for you to run the page and effectively communicate with your audience.
Messaging
One of the best ways to build a relationship with your Facebook fans is through messaging. To turn on Facebook messaging:
1. Go to “Settings” at the top of your page
2. Go to General → Messages
3. Select whether or not you would like people to message you through your page by checking or unchecking the box that reads “Allow people to contact my Page privately by showing the Message button.”
4. Click “Save Changes”
Services
Aside from the messaging feature, you have the option to set up a services feature to your page to let your Facebook fans know exactly what your business has to offer. To set up services:
1. Click “Services” on the left side of your page
2. Click “Add a Service”
3. Enter information about the service that your business offers
4. If you would like to add another service, click “Add a Service”
5. When you are finished listing your business’ available services, check that “Visible” on the right side of the page is turned on
Other features for your business page includes menus and a shop section that allows your Facebook fans to shop from your business directly from your Facebook page.
4. Last Steps
You’re almost fully set up on Facebook (congrats!), but if you want to get the most out of Facebook for your business, you have two more steps to take. These include:
Set up your Facebook Place
This one’s a bit too extensive to fit into this post. We’ll cover it in another one!
Link Instagram to Facebook
If you have an Instagram account, be sure to link your Instagram account to your Facebook page.
Plan Your Feed
Your posting schedule will undergo some adjustments as you obtain new insights, but it’s better to start with something to put structure around your Facebook marketing. Create a posting plan to ensure you are posting regularly according to your time budget and that your content will, in fact, increase engagement among your followers and visitors.
Facebook is constantly changing and coming out with new features. Follow these steps so that you can take full advantage of all of its features and maximize its marketing benefits.
