According to recent reports, Facebook has 1.96 billion daily active users, so it’s understandable how businesses are fighting tooth and nail to get exposure on this channel – it’s a goldmine of opportunity, and that’s putting it mildly.
More than 200 million businesses are already using Facebook’s free (correct, they are totally free) marketing services, including Facebook Business pages.
When you optimise your Business Page properly, you’re effectively laying the groundwork for improved brand awareness and growth, and of course, much more effective marketing for your brand in both the short and long run.
The process of creating a Facebook page for business is actually quite easy, once you know how to go about doing it.
What is a Facebook Business Page?
In case you need to cover the basics, a Facebook Business Page is a public account on Facebook which brands, artists, organisations, public figures, etc. use to promote themselves. However, beyond just the promotional aspect, it can serve multiple purposes, such as:
- Posting the latest status updates
- Sharing content
- Sharing contact information when required
- Promoting specific products and services
- Promoting events
- Connecting better with existing customers
- Connecting with new customers or prospects
Quick and easy steps to creating your Facebook Page for Business
In order to have a Facebook Business Page, you must have a personal account in Facebook because it acts as a doorway to your Business Page. Your personal account information will not be publicly visible as it is only required internally by Facebook.
Step 1 – Sign up for a Facebook Business Page
Simply go to this link to create your Business Page.
The left panel is where you will enter your business information. The cool thing is as you type all the information in, the page preview will update live on the right to let you see how it looks to anyone visiting the page.
In the Page Name field, you can either enter your actual business name or the name people might enter to find your business. Next, you need to select a category. Just type in a word or phrase that best describes your page and Facebook will pop up a few suggestions. Up to three categories are available.
Once you have selected your categories, write a short description of your business in the Description field.
All done? Just click Create Page.
Step 2 – Add the right pictures
Once the basics of creating your Business Page are complete, you must add a relevant profile image and a cover image. Always remember to include high-quality images, and at the same time, images which are 100% brand-focused – your audience is going to judge you initially based on the main profile and cover photo, so photos of you and your favourite pet are not the best idea even if you are running a pet shop or veterinary clinic!
First, let’s upload our profile image. It’s very important that you choose this carefully as this is the image which pops up beside your business name when people find you in search results and when you interact with them. It also appears on the top-left of your regular Facebook profile.
If your brand is relatively well-known, it is a good idea to use a logo. However, if you’re a public figure or an artist, for example, then an image of your face will work just fine. Similarly, if you are a small local business, then a high-resolution image of your main offer will work as a good profile image. The end goal is to help potential customers and followers recognise your page at first glance.
For Facebook, the ideal profile photo size is 180 x 180 pixels. Since Facebook crops profile images into a circle, there’s no point in having a photo which has important business details around the corners. Once you’ve chosen a fantastic-looking image that does justice to your brand, business or offering, click on Add Profile Picture.
We can now move on to your Facebook cover image, which is in fact, the most immediately noticeable image on your Business Page.
Remember, like we said earlier, the image needs to convey your underlying brand philosophy and personality, as well as the unique products and services you offer. Facebook says that the ideal cover size image is 1640 x 856 pixels. So keep this in mind and pick a cover image that showcases your brand’s personality.
Once you’ve uploaded both images, use the preview page option (top right of the page) to see how your profile and cover image will show up on desktop and mobile devices. You can adjust the position by dragging both images in the left column.
After you’re happy with the choice if images and positioning, click on Save.
Optional step – Connect with WhatsApp
As soon as you upload your profile and cover images, you will see a pop-up window asking you if you want to connect your Business Page with WhatsApp. This is entirely optional although one advantage of connecting is that you can integrate a WhatsApp button into your page, so that prospects can connect with you via the messaging app after viewing your Facebook ad.
Step 3 – Create a username
The user name or “vanity URL” is to let people know where to find you on Facebook. This can be as long as 50 characters, although you definitely do not want to create a user name that’s too long or complicated to remember. Your business name will work fine in most cases but if you want to get creative, you can use a variation of it or something along those lines.
Now click on Create Username and that’s it but do make sure that the green checkmark appears next to it as that indicates it is available to use.
Step 4 – Add business details
You might feel tempted to leave out the business details for now and just get to them when you have the time, but this can potentially be a mistake. Many prospects do view your Page’s About section at length as genuinely interested ones would always want to get as much information about you as possible.
For instance, if a prospect is looking to buy from a business which also has a physical storefront, they will check the About section to find the required details. If this happens to be you and the physical address isn’t there, they’re going to move on to another business which does. It’s that simple. So, better to fill out all these details now rather than later.
If you scroll down to ‘Set Your Page Up for Success’, and then expand the ‘Provide Info and Preferences’ item, you can start filling out all the necessary business details.
The first thing you want to do is click on Add Website. Next, key-in your physical business address, business hours, and contact number.
You’d also want to add a CTA or call-to-action button as it encourages prospects to learn more about what you do, visit you online, download freebies, book a consultation, etc. Click on Add Button and choose what kind of CTA button prospects will see.
There are many other details that need to be filled out, so take your time. If you’re not ready to fill out all of them just yet, you can do so later. Simply navigate to the Manage Page menu on your left and then scroll down to Edit Page Info when you want to get back to it.
You can even take your Business Page for Facebook offline while filling in details. Go to Manage Page, then Settings, and then General. Click on Page Visibility and change it to Page unpublished. Once the relevant details have been entered, you can make your page visible again.
Step 5 – Let’s create our first post
Your page is almost ready so go ahead and post your first message or content.
It’s always a good idea to create a few useful posts before inviting prospects to like and follow your Facebook Business Page. You could always come up with a fresh post or two, or share content from influencers and experts in your sector.
You could even create posts around an event or job opening. The Create Post button at the top of your page allows you to create your first post. Before publishing anything, make sure that it offers your target audience value and builds a sense of trust. This way, they are more likely to continue visiting your Facebook Business Page and also share it with others.
Step 6 – Invite your target audience
Time to build an audience. Invite your current Facebook friends to visit and like your page. The bottom of the Set Your Page Up for Success box has an Introduce Your Page section. Go here and then click on Invite friends to see a list of all your current Facebook friends. Choose the ones you want to send the invite to and then click on Send Invites.
In addition to your website, you may have a Twitter or Instagram account as well. You can use these to promote your Facebook Business Page. Simply add “follow us” logos to your promotional materials and email signature; you can also ask people to leave reviews on your Business Page for Facebook.
That’s it, our work is done!
To learn more about how to get the most conversions, likes and shares for your Facebook Business Page, talk to our digital marketing and Facebook post design team. They know exactly what kind of posts to create to help you build a massive following.
