Get Set for Success: Creating your Facebook Business Page following Best Practices
Before you welcome your guests to the party, you want to make sure that the space is decorated, the snacks are out, and the playlist is ready to go. Properly setting up your Facebook Business Page is like doing that for your business.
And if there’s any question about whether or not your business needs a Facebook Business Page, the answer is: Yes. 80 million other businesses are already finding success on Facebook. And data shows that consumers rely a lot on social media to influence their buying decisions.
So don’t miss the opportunity to connect with your target market in a meaningful (and measurable) way on Facebook—turning strangers into fans and followers and then into leads and ultimately into happy customers and brand evangelists.
If you already have a Facebook Business Page, you should review it right now against these set-up best practices to make sure you aren’t missing any opportunities for customization and optimization. And if you don’t have one, you should set one up right away.
REMEMBER: It’s possible to create a Facebook Business Page in minutes, but actually each of the Page’s components should be given very careful consideration. After all, your Page will be an important representation of your business. And often it’ll be the first place people meet (and make decisions about) your brand.
So make it good (engaging, complete, consistent and complementary) and ensure that all pieces (branding, imagery, copy etc.) are set-up with your social media marketing goals, target audiences and key messaging in mind.
Let’s do it!
Personal Profile: You’ll need a Facebook profile to do this. You likely already have one, the account you use to check out pics of your cousin’s cats and spy on your high-school sweetheart 😉 Your personal profile will be connected to your Business Page in so much as it’s how you’ll create and access it, but they’re not linked publicly.
- Log into Facebook using your Personal Profile username and password
- Create a new Page: First click “Pages” in the left-side Column and then “Create Page” in the top right of the window, or type facebook.com/pages/create into your browser’s address bar
- Choose a Page type, and then follow the prompts…
- Give your Page a name (likely your business’s name; 75 characters or less)
- Choose a Category (from the existing list that Facebook provides)
- Enter your business’s address and contact details
- Take a moment to review Facebook’s Pages, Groups and Events Policies
And then keep customizing. It’s quick and simple, and Facebook walks you through the process with guided prompts. Your new Business Page will be pretty plain to start. Click the blue “Set Your Page Up For Success” box for further guidance.
To get around:
- Click “Settings” in the top-right
- From Settings > General, you can manage your Page’s privacy and security settings and more
- From Settings > Page Info, you can add more info about your business
- Clicking “Page” in the top-left will take you to your Page as it appears to visitors
- Clicking “Edit Page Info” in the top-right will take you back in for further customization
Take advantage of every opportunity to add information about your business. Some key pieces and best practices are as follows:
Vanity URL: When you give your Page a name it automatically generates a URL that looks something like this: facebook.com/pages/Most-Delicious-Soup/525608714436. You can give it a Vanity URL instead, something easier for people to find and remember, like: facebook.com/mostdelicioussoup. It’s easy. Click the “Create Page @username” link beneath your Page’s Profile Photo and follow the steps to create a 50 character long Vanity URL for your business.
Note: If you’re setting up several social profiles for your business (ie: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn), consider giving them all the same name—like …com/mostdelicioussoup. That’ll make it easier for people to find you across different channels. In some cases, your business name will be too long or someone else will already have claimed it for themselves. You might have to get creative, but still aim for consistency.
General Info: Add everything you can here to make it as easy as possible for people to do business with you, including Business Info, Hours, Contact Info, and more.
The next parts of your Page are important and will be made exponentially better if you set them up with your goals, target market and brand messaging in mind.
Profile Photo: Just like your Personal Profile, your Business Page will get a Profile Photo. It makes sense to use your logo here (the most immediately recognizable representation of your business), but you’ll likely have to create a version that fits. (Most of the time, it’ll be shown in a circle, so triple-check that it displays well in that way too.)
On your Business Page, your Profile Photo displays at 170×170 pixels on computers, 128×128 pixels on smartphones and 36×36 pixels on most feature phones. Spend the time it takes to make it perfect—eye-catching, attractive, cropped correctly and in the highest-resolution possible so that it’s crisp and clear.
Note: If you’re planning to use your logo on your Cover Photo too, you may want to mix things up with your Profile Picture.
Cover Photo: Your Page’s Cover Photo is like a billboard for your business and, as above, it’s worth spending the time to design and upload something perfect. Remember that your Profile and Cover Photos are important representations of your business. They should get the same careful consideration you applied to your headshot, for example, or your business cards and website.
Your Cover Photo will display best and load fastest for users when it’s an RGB JPG file that’s 851 pixels wide, 315 pixels tall and less than 100 kilobytes. It can be a single photo, branded graphic (ie: a photo or image with text and graphic overlays), or even a video. If you’re going to customize it, make sure to use a template so that important elements don’t get covered-up, cut-off, or skewed. Note: It’s appropriate (even recommended) to change up your Cover Photo every once in a while to keep things fresh.
There are lots of resources online for learning about and creating great Profile and Cover Photos. Here’s a good one that includes guidelines, tips and access to templates: 11 Best Practices for Facebook Cover Photos & Videos.
A CTA Button: At the top of your Business Page, beneath the Cover Photo, there’s an opportunity to add a call-to-action (CTA) button—a persuasive little hint that tells Page visitors what action you want them to take, like visit your website or give you a call. Here’s how to set one up.
About & Story: While all of the information you add to your Business Page is important, the About (Description) and Story represent key opportunities to tell your story.
About: From “Settings” > “Page Info” you can add a 255 character long Description for your Page. It will appear in the “About” section, which visitors access from your Page’s left-side column. Here, provide a short summary of your Page, business or products/services. 255 characters is short, so work hard to make sure it’s succinct and engaging. In essence, say a lot without saying a lot.
Story: From your Page’s About section, click the blue “Tell people about…” link. Here, you’ve got a ton of space to provide information about your business, and there’s a real opportunity to make it persuasive! Tell people your Story, provide your USP, your mission statement and more.
Reviews/Recommendations: Great online reviews are one of the most powerful tools in a marketing toolbox, and Facebook is a great place to gather and share them. However, whether or not to turn on this feature is a big decision—there are as many possible pitfalls as there are benefits. Learn more about Online Reviews before you turn this feature on.
Well, look at you!
- You’ve created a Facebook Business Page and given it a Vanity URL
- You’ve added a beautifully-branded Profile Photo and Cover Photo
- You’ve provided all of your business and contact information
- You’ve created an engaging About/Description and a persuasive Story
Once you’ve completed these basic set-up steps, make sure that people can find your Page. Link to it from your website and email signature, tell your personal Facebook contacts about your new Page, and mention it to existing contacts and customers.
Next steps…
Now that you’ve got your Page set-up and perfected, learn more about how to use social media marketing to reach your business growth goals.
Check out our free online resource, “Intro to Social Media for Business Growth” here. It’ll walk you through creating a social media strategy to guide you to success!