Many small businesses do not recognise the need to have their business on Facebook as a BUSINESS PAGE, your personal page and your business page on Facebook are two different things… imagine looking at Tesco’s Facebook page and seeing a picture of the local store manager on the beach with his family, a professional business should be separated from any personal content.
It is surprisingly easy to set up a Business Page on Facebook, all you need to do is put a small amount of thought into what your potential audience and clients will see and you’ll end up with an online presence to be proud of.
Stage 1 – The sign up
Go to https://www.facebook.com/pages/create and click on the Get Started button under the Business or Brand icon.
Under the Page Name section enter your business name, this is the name that people will search for you under so don’t be tempted to add anything extra like exclamation marks.
Now type in your Business Category and as you add a few letters then Facebook will offer suggestions, if there are multiple options then choose one that you feel most people would look for you under and you can add further categories later in the process.
After choosing your category the box will open and ask for additional details such as address and telephone number, this is not compulsory and you can just add city and county of you prefer not to make this public information.
Stage 2 – Adding pictures
Click on Upload Profile Picture and select an image from your gallery, this image can be your logo if you want as it shows alongside your business name in the search results and also when you message other users and also appears on the top left of your Facebook page.
Click on Upload a Cover Photo to choose your cover image which is the prominent pic on your Facebook Business page, it will display at 820 x 312 pixels on desktop and 640 x 360 pixels on mobile and the recommended size to upload is 720 x 315 pixels.
Stage 3 – Creating a username
Click on Create Page @Username in the left side of the menu and type in your chosen username and do not be tempted to use all 50 characters, your business name is the ideal option or at least a derivative of it.
Click Create Username in the bottom right of the screen, a box will show you the links people can use to connect with your business on Facebook and Messenger.
Stage 4 – Your business details
Click on Edit Page Info in the top menu.
Description - Type a short description that will appear in search results, It allows up to 255 characters so a brief description is ideal and you can add a longer description later in the process.
Categories – Facebook will show the category you selected earlier in the process, you can now add categories to help people find your page.
Contact – Add in your website, email and telephone number, this will all be made public so take care and get it right.
Location – You can now plot your location on a map so customers can find you, also you can show your catchment area if required.
Hours – Add in your opening hours or leave blank if you prefer to, this will show on search results.
You can click on Save Changes under each section to implement your changes as you go.
Stage 5 – Your story
Click on See More in the left menu, then click About and then click Our Story on the right-hand side, enter a headline and text for your story and then upload a pic.
You can describe what your business offering is and additional information to help customers, when you have finished click on Publish.
Stage 6 – Post, publish and be proud
You can now create your first business post so make it worthwhile, it’s the equivalent of creating the first impression when you meet someone new.
Click on Share Now at the bottom of the screen to send your message to the world, now click on the Publish Page button in the left hand menu and your Facebook Business Page is live.
You can now start inviting your existing Facebook friends to like your page and Use your other social media platforms and your website to promote it as well as adding follow us links on emails and promotional materials.
Well done... you are now one step further ahead than you were yesterday!