Your Guide to Facebook Business Pages—and What's Changing | Social Joey
Odds are, if you’re operating a franchise or another small business, you have a Facebook page.
Why do we say that? Well, the numbers show it’s true. More than 80 billion small businesses in the world had a Facebook page as of last May.
That’s a whole lot of businesses! And they’re on Facebook for good reason. As the top social media platform, Facebook has more than 1.73 billion users every day. A 2018 stat showed that 60.6% of all internet users also use Facebook.
If you’re not marketing your business on Facebook, you’re missing a vital opportunity to connect with your audience. Setting up a Facebook business page is step one of your journey toward meeting customers where they are.
Assuming you already are marketing your business on Facebook, there are still steps you can take to up your game. That’s what we’re talking about in today’s blog.
Facebook Business Page Basics
Before we take a deep dive into steps you can take to improve your Facebook marketing, let’s first explore some basics. If these feel a little too basic, zoom right past to the next section.
First off, be sure your business is set up with a business page. Why does that matter? Facebook business pages offer many features that a personal profile does not.
Facebook has tools to help you promote your business, connect with your audience, find potential new customers and even analyze return on investment. Those options aren’t available on a personal page.
Second, ensure that you take full advantage of your page. Ultimately, Facebook and other social media platform pages serve as an extension of your website. So, you want them to serve a similar purpose—providing your customers and potential customers with answers about your product or service, helpful information, and ways to contact you easily.
Flesh out your business page, then take a careful look at it. Are there any questions left unanswered? Is it difficult to determine how to take action? You’ll want to fix those potential hiccups.
Once you’ve got your business page up and running, you’ll want to start publishing content. As we discussed in a recent blog, these published pieces of content are called “posts.”
There are a few basic best practices for Facebook business posts:
- Keep them short and snappy.
- Make them engaging and relevant.
- Publish consistently.
- Include a mix of outside articles, photos, videos, and an occasional call to action.
Giving Your Facebook Business Page a Boost
OK, so you already have a Facebook business page. We aren’t looking at your Facebook page right now, but if we were, we’d probably find a few places you could improve.
Like every other aspect of a marketing strategy, it’s important to remember that social media is not a “set it and forget it” proposition.
Even if you partner with a rockstar social media marketing agency (😉), your page and posts still need refinement and attention. It’s just that when you have a team of experts handling your marketing, they take on the day-to-day updates of what you’re posting.
So, what do you need to be doing to give your Facebook business page a boost? Start here:
Review the information on the page. At the start of every new season—or even more often—review all the basic information on your business page to make sure it’s up-to-date. The most common area where incorrect information appears? Your business hours! Those are often adjusted seasonally, or even during bad weather, and Facebook gets forgotten.
Give your look an aesthetic update. Now that you’ve got the words under control, consider the looks of your page. While it’s OK to stick with a featured image and profile photo you just love, it’s a better practice to change those up occasionally. Is there a more seasonally appropriate featured image you could be using? One other thing to consider when reviewing these images: Are they representative of the audience you’re seeking? Diversity is important, so be certain you’re including a full spectrum of people in your imagery.
Think about changing your user name. This may be something you never even thought about when creating your business page, but it’s something to consider. When people are searching for your business, it’s handy to have a catchy user name for them to search—or an easy-to-remember Facebook URL. If you’re an admin on your business page, you can select a user name. There’s a bonus, too: Once you have created a user name, you can also create a unique URL to make it easier to send people to your Facebook business page.
Add a CTA button. Directly underneath your profile image, you can add a clickable button, allowing people to take an action. Facebook offers a few different options there, so take a look through and determine the best action for your business. Earlier we mentioned that your Facebook business page should offer a way to easily contact you—this is a simple way to get that set up.
The Latest Changes to Facebook Business Pages
There’s a saying that “the only thing constant is change.” We think that saying applies perfectly to the never-ending tweaks social media platforms make!
Facebook recently unveiled some changes they’re making to Facebook business pages. What will that mean for your business page?
The layout will look different and is designed to be simpler for users to navigate and find what they’re looking for.
It’ll be easier for you to go between your business and personal pages.
Business pages will now have a news feed allowing your business to engage with your audience and other businesses.
Page “likes” are going away, and people will need to “follow” your page instead.
A new Q & A feature is being introduced, allowing you to answer follower questions and then have those answers featured on the page for others to read.
There will be more admin tools and capabilities, allowing for better notifications and moderation of spam and other questionable content.
Need some help navigating these upcoming Facebook business page changes—and the rest of your social media marketing? Let our team of social media experts take the reins! Get in touch today.