Facebook is the world’s largest social network and an essential marketing tool for small businesses. There’s so much you can do to promote your business on Facebook: set up a business page, participate in Facebook groups, promote content with robust audience targeting, schedule events and so much more.
While it’s true that Facebook has moved to a pay-to-play model, there’s still much value to be gained from organic posts. This is especially the case when you’re just getting started and trying to legitimize your business. And if you do go on to create ads, you will see better returns because you properly set up your Facebook business page.
Let’s set up your business page and promote your small business on Facebook!
Quick Links
- Create a Facebook Business Page
- Set up Page Roles
- Add an Action Button
- Organize Page Tabs
- Add Contact Info, Open Hours, and More
1. Create a Facebook Business Page
You probably already have a personal Facebook page that you use to keep up with friends and family. However, if you’re a small business looking to establish a presence on social media, you’ll need to create a Facebook business page. To start building your Page now visit the following link – https://www.facebook.com/pages/create/.
You’ll land on a page that looks like the feature image of this blog post.
Next, fill in the information in the left sidebar:
Page information
In most cases you’ll want to enter your legal business name.
If you plan to use other social networks such as Twitter, LinkedIn, or Instagram check to see if your chosen page name is available as usernames on those sites too. Try to be consistent with your names so that it’s easy for customers to find you no matter what social network they are using.
If your business name is common you could try to distinguish yourself with a location (e.g. Mac’s Pizza Store – Northwest Arkansas).
Also, keep in mind that there are a few restrictions on what you can call your Page.
Note: Your business name will also make up the URL of your page.
For example, the URL for my Facebook page is https://www.facebook.com/inboundmate because the name of my Page is InboundMate. If your Page name includes multiple words, like Great British Bake Off it will appear as one word in your URL – https://www.facebook.com/greatbritishbakeoff.
Category
You can find an extensive list of acceptable categories for your Facebook page here. Sometimes, it can be challenging to select the right category. Think of it as a high-level way of describing your business. If your small business provides marketing consulting services to other businesses you could pick ‘Marketing Agency’ or ‘Business Consultant’. Just make sure it accurately describes your services or product.
Note: You can now pick up to three categories. I would recommend sticking with one unless your company offers a range of different services / products.
Description
Add 1-2 short sentences describing your business. This is very important because if your business name doesn’t include what you do your audience will be looking for a description to learn more. Keep this section updated as your business changes and grows.
Note: You are limited to 255 characters so make each word count!
Click “Create Page” and you’ll be ready to start adding photos!
Photos
Now it’s time to add some photos. You’ll need to upload a Cover Photo and a Profile Photo. Photos are essential for establishing the brand and identity of your business. If you have a presence on other social networks you should try to stick with the same imagery so that your business is easily identifiable.
Add a cover photo
A cover photo is the large, horizontal image that takes up the top space of your Facebook page. You can choose to keep this space fresh by updating it frequently with a photo of your latest product or service offering. The official dimensions of a Facebook cover photo are 851 x 315 pixels. Some creators find that the image is pixelated and choose to upload a photo that is double the size 1702 x 630 pixels to enhance the quality.
Add a profile photo
Most businesses will upload their logo here. The recommended size for a profile photo on Facebook is 180 x 180 pixels, however increasing this slightly will help maintain quality. Although it seem counterintuitive you need to upload an image that is square, even though your image will be shown as a circle.
Note: Facebook occasionally updates its Pages, which impacts the sizes of your cover and profile photos. Stay on top of the changes otherwise your images could look blurry or poorly cropped.
Create a Username
The last step is to create a username for your Page. A username will allow others to tag your page in comments and give you the option to personalize your Facebook Page URL. For example, if you do have a long business name you could shorten it to an acronym. Example: Great British Bake Off could be simplified to @GBBF or facebook.com/gbbf.
To setup or change your username go to Page Settings > Page info > Username
Avoid changing your page name and username. Doing so will break any previous tags and links going to your previous page name.
Note: Your username must be 50 characters or less and not be used by anyone else. Good luck getting the username you want!
2. Set up Page Roles
This step is essential if you intend to have someone other than the owner running your Facebook page. Some small businesses like to give everyone limited access to their Facebook page so they can maximize responsiveness to message and upload relevant content on the go. Page roles allow you to assign and revoke publishing rights to your Facebook page.
There are various roles you can assign with varying levels of access: Admin, Editor, Moderator, Advertiser, Analyst, and Custom (make your own role with specific permissions).
Be very careful about who you assign as an Admin. Ideally, you have only one Page Admin and that’s you – the owner of your small business. Admins can permanently delete your page or even delete other Admins!
You can learn more about each role on Facebook’s dedicated Page roles page, which includes additional information on Facebook tools access.
3. Add an Action Button
What do you want your Facebook audience to do after visiting your Facebook business page? You can now add an action button, otherwise known as a call-to-action (CTA) button to your Facebook page to encourage people to visit a link outside of Facebook.
This link could be anything: a webinar registration, product page, website blog, etc. The action button will appear on the top right section of your Facebook page.
You can see on the screenshot below that I have a “Learn More” button on the InboundMate Facebook Page. This button leads directly to my website.
To add or change your action button click on the “Edit” button and select the action you want visitors of your Page to take. There are many options to choose from including Follow (great choice if you’re trying to build your audience on Facebook!), Start order, Contact Us, Learn More, etc.
4. Organize Page Tabs
When people visit your Facebook Page they’ll see a many of tabs, which will link them to different sections of your Page. Customizing these tabs will help people take the actions you want them to take. Think of them as navigation links on your website.
To change the tabs on your Page, go to Page Settings > Templates and tabs. Choose from Facebook’s preset default tabs, or add custom ones. If you have some talented developers on your team you can also create a custom app and link it to your Page via a tab.
5. Add Contact Info, Open Hours, and More
Do not skip this step. It is vital that you include all of your most important information. Depending on your business that might simply be your address, email, phone number, open hours and website link.
If you’re a restaurant you will definitely want to list your open hours as well have an your action button linking to your menu or online ordering service.
Consumers frequently use Facebook to check if businesses are still open based on their recent activity, or verify business hours listed on Google. Ensure that all of your information is kept up-to-date, that there are no broken links, and that your information is consistent across Google, Facebook, and any other social network you are using.
Next Steps
If you managed to make it through each of the five steps above you are already doing better than most businesses on Facebook Pages! If you’re taking the time to market your business through Facebook it is absolutely vital that you keep your information up-to-date and your Page looking fresh and new. Remember, many customers won’t even look for your website first, they’ll search on Google or Facebook for your open hours and contact information.
So what’s next?
It’s time to start planning your content! Read our blog post, “How to Create Engaging Content on LinkedIn” for inspiring ideas that will keep your team busy, your lead pipeline full, and your audience engaged.