How to Create a Facebook Business Page

With over 700 million users and even a blockbuster movie inspired by its creation, Facebook stands as one of the most visited websites in the world. If you're a business, that's an immense pool of potential customers. But how can you reach this market? How can you target specific segments for your marketing efforts? We're here to break down the Facebook business page trend, guide you through getting started, and help you maximize your marketing efforts.

This raises a crucial question. If you're a business or organization, why should you create a Facebook business page? Isn't Facebook just for sharing weekend updates? It's true that many users waste time on the platform, but that doesn’t mean your business needs to fall into the same trap. When used strategically, Facebook can open doors to an enormous audience, plus help you build your network and boost your visibility by zeroing in on specific demographics.

Before diving into the steps, let's first clarify what a Facebook business page really entails. At its core, it's a profile that represents your company or product. It's quite similar to a personal profile, but instead of being an individual, you are recognized as a page when interacting with Facebook. Unlike personal accounts, you won’t be able to explore individual profiles casually. As a business, your view is more expansive, allowing you to see the bigger picture, while individual users engage with your business according to their preferences.

Starting out is straightforward, with a couple of options available. If you already have a personal Facebook account, you can easily create a business page through it. This works well for small businesses and individual entrepreneurs. However, for larger companies, a potential issue arises when the person managing the page leaves the organization. Suddenly, the business page could be left in limbo. A more reliable approach would be to set up a personal profile based on a role in the company, not an individual’s name, and create the business page from there. This way, the page is not reliant on one person’s account.

If you're ready to set up your page, hold off. Not just yet. First, take a moment to consider who will be responsible for managing it.

Setting Up a Facebook Business Page

So, you've made up your mind about creating a Facebook business page. It's simple to set up, and no paperwork is required. However, that's just the beginning. A Facebook business page isn't something you can simply launch and forget about — especially if you expect to see any meaningful results.

Managing your Facebook page will require daily attention. Depending on how much traffic you get, you may need to devote even more time. Treat your business page like a garden that needs constant care. If you want to build a loyal following, keep nurturing it. We'll dive into how to handle it later, but for now, remember that it will need regular maintenance.

If managing it alone becomes too much, you can easily add more administrators. Just click the 'edit page' button, then select 'manage admins.' Make sure they 'like' the page first. Each admin should choose whether to post as an admin or under their personal profile, depending on your preference.

If you're skilled in JavaScript and enjoy programming, you can do a lot with Facebook’s API [source: Reeken]. This has replaced Facebook Markup Language (FBML), which was previously used to enhance your page. This serves as a reminder of why it's essential to stay updated. Facebook is constantly evolving, just like its users. If you're considering creating a business page, it's also worth committing time to keeping it current. If you're not up for that, it might be better to skip it altogether.

If you're feeling overwhelmed and thinking, 'How am I ever going to manage this?' you're not alone. That's why there are plenty of third-party services that are eager to sell you tools to help you manage your page [source: DiMarino, Lasica]. For a basic business page with posts and links, there's no reason a non-programmer can't handle it themselves. However, the more complex you get, the more likely you'll need some assistance. Since your customers likely prefer interactivity over a static page, it's worth considering hiring outside help.

Now that you have a better understanding of what’s possible, it's time to think about what you really want to achieve. What are your goals with your Facebook presence?

How to Use Facebook for Business

You wouldn't jump into a pool without checking if there’s water in it, right? Well, diving into social media without a clear plan could be just as damaging to your brand’s reputation.

What do you want your page to accomplish? If you expect to quickly amass thousands of followers, you might be disappointed. Facebook business pages are meant to foster engagement with your current and potential customers in a social environment.

When you start creating your page, you'll encounter several options. Are you representing a band? A coffee shop? Or do you want to focus on marketing a specific brand? They are all classified as business pages, but they aren't identical. For instance, creating a community page comes with major limitations, such as not allowing content edits. In contrast, setting up a local business, company, or brand page gives you far more flexibility and control (which you’ll need).

In the beginning, your main goal should be to grow your following. As your audience expands, you’ll have more opportunities to engage with them as a group, through contests and other interactive activities that require higher levels of participation. Keep in mind that for most voluntary organizations, and your followers are certainly there by choice, a participation rate of 10 to 15 percent is typical. Don’t be discouraged if not all followers participate in every event. This can be frustrating, but it’s simply part of the process. If your participation is higher or lower than expected, take note and adjust your approach for future events based on what resonates with your audience.

Once your page is up and running, it’s time to add some flair and promote it. There are numerous ways to make it more attractive and marketable.

Marketing

What’s the point of having the best page around (which surely yours is) if no one knows it exists? It’s time to spread the word—and at least reach your target audience—about your readiness to engage. Luckily, Facebook gives you the tools to define that audience and connect with potential customers.

Consider creating an advertisement. One great feature is that when you define your audience, Facebook will tell you how many people your ad will reach. You can target based on location, age, gender, interests, or other factors. Just be careful not to narrow your focus so much that you end up advertising to just a handful of people. Ad costs are based on a bidding system, so take the time to learn the ropes and manage your budget effectively [source: Facebook].

Once you've defined your target market, the next step is figuring out how to engage them. Regularly updating your status is essential—don’t skip that—but also make sure you don’t treat your posts as nothing more than advertising space.

That doesn’t mean you can’t promote your products. If you approach it in a fun and engaging way, like with contests or exclusive discounts for your followers, you’ll get a more positive response and appear less pushy. Remember, you’re a business, not a charity. Use Facebook’s apps and social plugins to enhance your page and make it more interactive [source: Silverman, Shin].

Another effective way to increase your visibility is by tagging other businesses in your posts. Simply type the @ symbol before the business name, and your post will appear not only on your page but also on theirs. This allows you to be seen by their audience too. Done correctly and with relevance, this reciprocal promotion benefits both businesses [source: Lawson].

After spreading the word and getting your page set up, what happens when people start following your posts and liking your business? In the next section, we'll explore how to manage user feedback effectively.

Handling Comments

One of the worst mistakes you can make with your new business page is mishandling comments. It's a delicate balance. Should you let visitors comment on your posts? Will deleting negative comments make you seem unresponsive? Or will leaving them up make your business look terrible?

As a business, it's important to maintain a consistent voice. Even if several people are authorized to post on your page, the page manager should ensure that no one is contradicting each other, posting duplicate content, or otherwise making your brand appear unprofessional.

If you're about to make a significant change that your customers might see as detrimental to them, take a note from Netflix. When they adjusted their pricing structure in July 2011, increasing the monthly subscription by over 50% for many users, their Facebook page was bombarded with complaints [source: Suarez]. While not every business has the vast number of customers like Netflix, you may still want to temporarily disable user posts before making such a big change. Alternatively, leaving the posts open could offer valuable insights to reconsider your offerings.

It's worth mentioning that moderating posts is something Facebook doesn't allow. You have a few options to control what users can post, such as limiting the content type or blocking specific keywords. There are also companies that offer tools to help manage your page.

Whether you opt for a third-party tool to manage your page or handle it yourself, you'll need a strategy for responding to user comments. While positive comments require little attention, it's important to acknowledge them so your audience knows you value their feedback. Unfortunately, positive comments aren't always the majority.

Negative comments can cause significant harm to your brand if handled improperly. Addressing valid complaints and suggestions can improve your image. You can either delete negative comments or, if there’s a recurring theme, leave a representative comment and respond to that one.

It may feel like a lot of effort, and truth be told, it is. So, how can you determine if you're succeeding? Fortunately, there are tools available to help you track your progress, which we’ll dive into on the next page.

Tracking Your Success

As you've discovered, creating and maintaining a page requires significant effort. How can you determine if all of this hard work is actually yielding results? If you're managing the page, you'll want to present concrete metrics, not just gut feelings.

Facebook offers a feature known as Facebook "Insights", which gathers and presents all those essential numbers. To access this free tool, simply click on the "Insights" option in the menu on your home or profile page. This dashboard delivers basic data on new and total users, as well as their engagement with your page [source: Lawrence].

Just like the content you share on your page, real value comes with effort. The basic features of Facebook Insights are simple to use and just one click away. You can view statistics for individual posts 24 hours after they go live. However, the insights provided are somewhat limited in scope and depth.

Facebook's query language (FQL) is a powerful tool that allows you to dig deep into your data. It helps you access details such as who has recently checked in, the demographics of your active users, and which applications or plugins are being used. With this data, you can identify the parts of your page that attract the most attention and optimize your content accordingly. Offering visitors different actions on your page can also help reveal their preferences.

If you decide that you need more granular statistics but lack the expertise to analyze them, outsourcing is always an option. Many companies specialize in helping businesses navigate the world of social media metrics. These services vary in price, so it's essential to assess your actual needs before committing to a contract. Many offer free trials, so make sure to take advantage of them, but only after doing your research to determine what data is genuinely useful and what is unnecessary fluff [source: DiMarino, Lasica].

As mentioned earlier, your business page is a tool to help expand your business, not a separate product in itself. How does it integrate with your broader business strategy?

The Bigger Picture

While you're putting in the effort to grow your Facebook business page, don't forget how it fits within the bigger picture of your overall business strategy. The page is meant to serve your goals, so ensure that it does. There are several ways to make sure it aligns with your objectives.

First, make sure to link your business page to your main website. This also applies to your blog or any other online platforms you manage. Encourage people to engage with your discussions and special promotions on your newly established Facebook presence.

On your business page itself, always include links that lead back to your main site. However, as mentioned before, only add these links when they’re relevant and provide something valuable to your audience. Otherwise, it might come across as excessive and disingenuous, like the boy who cried wolf. You might drive traffic once, but they’ll soon realize you’re just pushing for clicks, which won't help you build genuine relationships with customers.

In the end, the goal of your page is to boost revenue. While this might not happen immediately, engaging people and sparking interest in your business increases the likelihood. You can promote events or use responses to comments as an opportunity to link to relevant blog posts or pages on your main website. If the content is appropriate and the volume aligns, you can even combine efforts by sharing your blog posts as status updates on your business page [source: Belicove]. However, don’t overdo it, as the repetition may alienate those who follow both your blog and your page.

Ultimately, many Facebook business pages fail to generate the expected traffic. If your page isn't performing the way you'd hoped, what can you do? If you have no followers, deleting it is a low-risk option. Perhaps your target audience isn’t as active online as you initially thought.

In most situations, it's just a matter of trying a different approach. Take a step back and reassess your entire plan. You did create one, didn’t you? Even though the site is free to use, it doesn’t mean you shouldn't allocate resources to develop it. Like a thriving garden, it needs care, attention, and time to flourish.