First of all, your Facebook Business Page needs to be a “Page”, not just a “Place” or “Group”. The biggest difference between these is that “Pages” have an “About” section where you put your business address and phone number, not just a short business description.
Adding business info to your Facebook Business Page helps customers discover you and see what your business is about. And it makes it easier to find your Page on Facebook and with search engines.
- Revise Your “About” Section
While you are in your “About” section updating your contact information, be sure to check your “Category” so that it doesn’t just say “Category” under your business name in the header. Go to “Page Info.” under the “About Tab” and choose a sub-category that is highly relevant for your page.
Then, in that same section, change your Facebook Web Address to your business name. For example, mine is www.Facebook.com/WebsitesByRobyn.
Then check and update your address (which will automatically provide a map for your customers), phone number, business start date, short description, long description, hours, price range, parking, email, and your website address.
Note that if you select the Local Business category when you create your Page, customers can rate your business and write reviews.
- Make your Profile Photo and Cover Photo Relevant
Photos show customers what they can expect from your business. The first impressions people will see are your profile photo and cover photo.
Your profile photo, the photo that is in the small box on the left of your header, will show up on all of your posts, so make it relevant to your business. Your logo, your face, an object that represents your business clearly, are all good ideas for your profile photo.
Using your business logo is really the best idea. Branding your business (having a look and the style that people recognize as you) is imperative when marketing yourself. For example, no one questions who is advertising when they see golden arches, right?
Go to: www.facebook.com/CoverPhotoSize to see the exact dimensions both photos should be and how the profile photo sits on the cover photo. Having your profile photo cover up an important part of your cover photo looks unprofessional so be sure to arrange it nicely.
- Set a Featured Video
Having a “Featured Video” on your Facebook Page is the newest must-have for businesses. It will appear at the top of your About box in the upper left area of your page, and also at the top of your Page’s Videos section.
To set a featured video for your Page:
- upload the video you’d like to display into your Video section.
- Click Videos below your Page’s cover photo
- Click Add Featured Video
- Select the video you want to feature and click Add Featured Video
- Once you do that, you can click the pencil icon at the top right of the Featured Video on the Videos tab to add a description to your video. It is particularly important to add a description to your Featured Video since anyone who clicks to watch the video will see it. Think of it as a “call to action”. The description wording also shows up in search engine results!
Note: This feature isn’t available to Pages that have age or country restrictions.
- Add a Call-to-Action
A Call-to-Action button is a way to get your Facebook audience to interact with your business. This allows you to display a specific “thing for people to do” next to your page’s Like button. Currently, these are the Call-to-Action buttons available on Facebook: Book Now, Contact Us, Use App, Play Game, Shop Now, Sign Up, Watch Video. Some of the things you can use these buttons for are to advertise and sell a product, drive traffic to your website, book an appointment with you, or show a video related to your business. You can add a call to action to your Page at no cost.
To set up a Call-to-Action button, simply go to your Facebook page’s cover photo and click Create Call to Action. Also, you can set up a separate call to action for a website, iPhone, and Android users.
- Allow People to Privately Message Your Page
While this feature has been around for a while, some businesses don’t realize its value. Think of messaging as a great reputation-management tool. People might be more likely to click the Message button on your page with a complaint before posting something publicly on your page.
To enable this feature, go to your page’s General settings and check the box to allow people to privately message your page.
6: Use Facebook’s Publishing Tools to Help you to Post on a Regular Basis.
It is important for brands to build online communities and connect with their target audience through social media. You want to continuously make sure your Facebook page has new posts for your fans to enjoy.
You can always invest in a third-party tool and pay them to post content for you, but will that really be an accurate representation of your company? You need to have your hand on the pulse of your advertising.
Good news! Facebook has a built-in Publishing Tool that is perfect for busy business owners!
This set of tools allows you to schedule posts, so you keep your page updated regularly. All you have to do is take a little time one day a week to write some great updates for your page. Then schedule a new post to publish each day.
To access this feature:
- Go to the Publishing Tools tab, select Scheduled Posts and click the Create button.
- From the Scheduled Posts section of the Publishing Tools tab on your Facebook Page, click the Create button to start your scheduled post.
- Compose your post and then select Schedule from the Publish drop-down menu.
- From the Publish drop-down menu, select Schedule to schedule or backdate your post. Select the date and time to schedule your post.
- When you’re finished, click Schedule.
Once your posts are scheduled, you will begin to receive notifications and comments that you can monitor. The post updates will keep your page fresh and open the door to engaging with your customers.
Remember that your Facebook page represents your businesses, so make sure every post is fresh and exciting, accurate and truthful, and includes an “action item” that encourages them to engage with you.
7: Writing Awesome Content
One of the most effective ways for brands to increase their popularity on Facebook is to consistently post quality content.
Your audience will get bored with posts that basically say, “Buy my Stuff!”, “Come to my Store!” The best way to a consumer’s heart is to offer them something for free. Now, don’t give away the cow….but a cup of milk will leave them thirsty for more. Get it?
Write up free article give-aways. A hair salon may write: “5 herbal secrets to perfect hair”; a wine store may write: “Heart Healthy Wine Diet”. Create your Facebook post, promoting your free tip give-away. On that post, have a link to your website page which has yours with a pdf download button! Now you have not only created engagement on Facebook with a click-through, but you’ve also got a potential customer to visit your website!
Similar to Google, Facebook puts a lot of emphasis on content quality and relevance. When deciding which posts to include in a user’s newsfeed, Facebook looks at engagement metrics, such as likes, shares, and clicks to determine the quality of each post. Typically, higher quality content yields a higher click-through-rate (CTR) and generates more likes and shares.
8: Use Facebook’s “Post Booster”
We’ve all heard of the dilemma, “I can’t get a job without experience, but I can’t get experience unless I have a job.” You may run into the same type of dilemma with online advertising.
Facebook factors in how many times people have gone to your page. The more people engage with you, the more likely your page’s content will appear in that user’s newsfeed. This is why it’s so important for businesses to consistently (but not obnoxiously) post quality content. The better the content, the better the results.
But how can a page boost engagement when no one sees their content? This is where I would recommend experimenting with some paid promotions.
Facebook allows you to “boost” posts so they appear higher in your followers’ newsfeeds. The engagement you get for promoted posts helps to establish your credibility and effectively increases your organic reach.
To boost your Facebook Post:
- Go to a post you’ve created and then click Boost Post in the lower-right corner.
- Choose your audience and budget based on how many people you want to reach and how long you’d like your boost to run. You can also change your payment method.
- Click Boost Post.
9: Advertise Your Business on Facebook
Facebook is a fantastic interface that helps you to create an ad that works. There are a few steps to go through in order to create your ad, but it is well worth your time to create your ad with purpose. http://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/facebook-paid-ad-checklist has a wonderful list that walks you through the process step-by-step. It’s not just about being a great artist. These are the steps Facebook walks you through:
- Choose the right Objective. There are 10 different objectives to choose from. The list includes everything from sending people to your website to getting installs of your app to raising attendance at your event.
- Target the Audience you feel would be the most interested in your product or service. Some options include Location, Age, Gender, Education, Type of employment, Interests, etc.
- Set your Budget. Facebook will pace your spending over the time period you set for the ad to run. You can also schedule what days (before a holiday) or what times (lunchtime or after work when more people are on Facebook), etc.
- Then you create your ad….with Facebook’s help. Choose your photo (or group of photos you want to slideshow), your wording, the links to your website or App.
- Once your ads are running, you’ll want to keep an eye on how they’re doing. To see their results, you’ll want to look in: the Facebook Ad Manager, a sophisticated dashboard that provides users with an overview of all their campaigns. Check on your costs and the number of people who are engaging and clicking through on your ad for more information. If your click-throughs are low, tweak your ad, change the photo, change the wording, until you begin seeing results.
10: Create a Facebook Video Ad
Use the power of video to get build your email list, and therefore get more sales for your business on Facebook. 64% of buyers are more likely to purchase a product after watching a video that explains it. (Data from comScore)
There are lots of ways to create a video. You can record yourself or another person talking about your product (the “talking head” video), or you can use images and animated text. You can get started with a short script and basic gear and improve as you go. Remember that people relate more to authenticity than to perfection, so just have fun with it.
Giving away something for free is the easiest way to get a customer to give you their email address.
Step #1 – Writing your ad and script:
First, decide on your free gift and write ad wording for the Facebook ad. A weight loss clinic may structure its script like so:
-
- Are you struggling with your weight? Are you too exhausted to even try to follow a diet? (State a problem people commonly have that your business can fix.)
- Power up your body, lose weight fast and safely! (Then state what makes your product fix it that is unique to others.)
- Download your FREE healthy power shake recipe! Thousands have tried it already! (Then offer your free item.)
The goal of your video ad is to entice people to sign up for something free. They get their free gift and you get their email address for future advertising of products for them to purchase.
Then write your video script:
Hi, do you struggle with your weight?
My name is …. and I’m the founder of ….
I’ve created a protein and vitamin Power Shake that tastes good, fills you up, and aids you in quick weight loss.
65,432 people have already tried it and have reached their goal weights.
Just click the Download button in this post to get instant access to your free shake recipe.
A video script like this will be approximately 30 to 45 seconds. Practice it over and over until it flows smoothly and feels natural.
Step #2 – Set up your Equipment
Your equipment doesn’t need to be fancy. An inexpensive webcam or even a nice cell phone can video your ad. Make sure your background is plain and not distracting. Good quality audio is very important. Use a USB mic. Lighting is also very important so light your room well. Use a combination of overhead lights and lamps so there aren’t any strong shadows.
Step #3: Record the Video
Hit the Record button. Remember you can record it over and over and then edit the best sections together. Talk directly to the camera and feel comfortable like you’re talking to a person inside the camera.
Step #4: Edit wording and photos into your Video
There are lots of free video editing software programs out there. Simply upload your video, edit it down to the clips you want. Add in light music, product photos, etc. To look very professional, overlay your company logo onto the bottom of your video. End your video with a photo of the download button that you want them to click. Visually explaining what action you want people to take can make a big difference in your click-through rate.
Step #5: Start your Ad Campaign
Upload your video to Facebook!
11: Create Infographics
www.digitalinformationworld.com has brilliant online tools for Infographics that can make your Facebook Post content and photos too fun for anyone to pass up! Get better click-through on your posts by using some of these great online tools:
- Topsy.com
Social media has become extremely important in content marketing in the last few years. So, you really have to know what the trending topics are to cash in on this enticing new playing field. Twitter is one of the top social networks around, and the beauty of it is – you don’t have to say much; you just have to know what is getting a lot of attention. - Portent’s Title Maker – Portent.com
A great blog title can get you the attention you need, and this online app makes it so easy, it’s hilarious. It gives you pointers on why the title rocks, and even does it in an entertaining tongue-in-cheek fashion. If you don’t like the first suggestion just click on the refresh icon and it’ll give you another one. - Edugeeksclub.com
Content writing may not be on the top of your skillset, but with a little help from the pros from Edugeeksclub, you can come up with great posts. If you find yourself pressed for time, you can get them to make your content perfect by having their professional team do the proofreading, editing, or writing it for you. - Venngage.com
Using infographics is an excellent way to highlight important points, and get your audience to pay attention to what you are trying to say. Venngage helps you create an infographic if you are an absolute zero in image editing and manipulation. You still have to input your own charts and stuff, but they give you templates to use so you don’t have to do it from scratch. - Nimbus Screenshot (Chrome Extension)
Sometimes you need to take screenshots to illustrate a point. Most people know that the PrtScr key on the keyboard captures your whole screen so that you can paste it in Word or Paint. That’s fine if you want the whole screen; otherwise, you have to edit it. This add-on tool (Chrome, Firefox, Android, and Windows) gives you more control over what you capture. It also allows you to save, edit, and share your screenshots easily. - Pixabay.com
Images that break up your text and provide visual interest are an excellent way to increase the readability of your post. Unfortunately, you have to contend with copyright issues to use images on the Internet, or you have to pay to use stock photos. Pixabay offers copyright and royalty-free images you can use any way you like, and you don’t even have to attribute them. - Fotor.com
If you get images from Pixabay, or you have your own, chances are you want to tweak them to make them unique. Fotor helps you do that even if you know nothing about image editing. This online photo editing service is quick and easy to use if you just want a basic edit and maybe a few enhancements. While it does not have the power of professional editing tools, it won’t give you a headache, either! - WeVideo.com
Videos are a great addition to any website, especially if you have tutorials. This cloud-based video editing service allows you to make your own multimedia content easily. You can save your raw footage in the cloud, such as Dropbox or Google Drive, and edit from there. It is mainly compatible with YouTube and other online video services, so you can upload directly. - Piktochart.com
Another tool you can use to make infographics, posters, and presentations on your site is Piktochart. You have templates, icons, images, videos, and charts. You can work in blocks and then compose the whole thing into an infographic when you’re done. - FontFace.Ninja
We have all come across other websites with interesting font types that we would love to identify. FontFace Ninja is a Chrome and Safari extension, which will let you identify any website font type you encounter, try it in different sizes, and even download it.
12. Create unique art to capture attention for your Facebook Posts
a. Create Word Clouds
Word clouds, also known as text clouds or tag clouds, are pieces of art created with just words. The clouds give greater prominence to words that appear more frequently in the source text. You can enter your own words, or enter a document, and the program with choosing the words that show up the most. You can tweak your clouds with different fonts, layouts, and color schemes. You can even make your word cloud in a shape that reflects the topic of your Facebook Post.
b. Cutomize Images with Wording
Canva makes image creation super easy (especially for non-designers) with their premade templates, custom image sizes for every social media channel, drag-and-drop interface, cool fonts, and more. Design presentations, social media graphics, and more with thousands of beautiful layouts. It has everything you need for amazing design. Millions of Images – Design with millions of stock photographs, vectors, and illustrations. You can even upload your own. Photo Filters – Edit your photos using preset filters or get advanced with photo editing tools, you’ll never be stuck for choice. Free Icons & Shapes – Use icons, shapes, and elements with ease. Choose from thousands of elements for your designs, or upload your own. Hundreds of Fonts – Access a great selection of fonts perfect for every design. All ready to go and accessible within Canva.
c. Screen Capture
The go-to screenshot tool — Simply click and drag over the area you want to snip. You can circle things, point to things, blur things, and add text with just a couple of quick clicks. A product of Evernote, Skitch lets you save and store all screen captures into an Evernote folder of your choosing.
d. Make Gif Animated Art
http://ms-gif-animator.en.softonic.com
Make your own gifs! Gifs are .gif files – drawings that appear to move. It’s a very simple tool, as much in design as in usability, with which you will be able to create your own animated Gif. It’s created by Microsoft and it’s free!
e. Create your own Infographics
www.easel.ly www.visual.ly www.piktochart.com
These are interactive layouts that allow you to embed charts, photos, and more. You can get started with a prebuilt template (and then customize yourself) or you can go truly bare-bones and build the entire infographic however you see fit. These programs come with a vast number of icons, shapes, and objects that you can drag-and-drop into your editor.
f. Create a Meme
Create your own Meme around a concept and idea that pertains to your business. A Meme is a humorous image, video, piece of text, etc. that is copied (often with slight variations) and spread rapidly by Internet users. Browse the most popular memes on the internet and then create your own meme.