With numbers like that it is clear that Facebook is still very much a global player in the social media space, so for business users it is worth posting content and maintaining their accounts. Making your business known by using the tools and utilities that Facebook provides can reap big rewards.
Here are some tried and testing methods that will keep your page fully optimized and drive user engagement.
1. Check the basics
Make sure that your Facebook bio contains all the necessary information about your company. Unlike platforms like Twitter and Instagram, Facebook allows quite a long description for you to share details of your business and the products or services that you provide, so take advantage of the opportunity to provide an in-depth description. Make sure that your page includes contact information like your physical address and email address. Facebook has the capability of connecting with services like Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp. So if these are messaging applications that you use frequently to communicate with customers, connect them to your page.
2. Create a business page
You are most likely familiar with your personal Facebook profile but don’t fall into the trap of using it as a business page. Even though it seems that it might be easier to combine business and personal pages, there are a couple of reasons why you shouldn’t do this –
1. You most likely have personal friends and relatives on your page and it may not be the best idea to allow them free access to comment on your business posts.
2. By the same rule, you may have personal information, photos or posts you have shared that your clients don’t need to see, or worse, may look unprofessional.
3. Facebook pages are designed for business purposes. They look professional, come in different formats, and offer tools and capabilities that are not available on your personal profile page.
3. Select page template and action button
Facebook gives its users the ability to add buttons and tabs to business pages so select your page template with care to align with your page. A really nice feature is that the ‘action button’ , that long blue button that is featured just below the page header, can be set to perform a specific task. These can direct your Facebook followers to a shop, send you an email, or call your business number. You can also link it to booking services like Calendly to schedule appointments or sign up for a service.
4. Use page roles
Depending on who is managing your page you may want to assign different roles to staff members. Facebook has 5 different roles that can be used including Admin, Editor, Moderator, Advertiser and Analyst. These can be hugely helpful if you are delegating tasks to employees or if you are having a social media agency like Smarcomms manage your social accounts. Each role has varying levels of access so you can choose the things that the user is capable of accessing and those that are off limits. It allows you to keep good control over your pages activity without having to monitor and check every action.
5. Plan and schedule
Keeping your Facebook account fresh and active will be essential if you are hoping to attract new users. Make a content calendar and keep your post varied to create interest. You may share posts that go beyond the normal content and share more about your business and the people who work for it. Live posts, stories, and interactive posts that encourage participation can all be effective in attracting people to your page and gaining more likes and follows. Facebook has convenient built-in schedule tools so you can plan your posting calendar easily and quickly and view your content mix at a glance.
6. Make time to connect
It can be a little harder to gain followers on Facebook than on other platforms so you will need to make sure you maintain an active presence. When someone makes a comment or asks a question you will need to be able to provide an answer. Develop a habit of checking your Facebook a couple of times a day to like and respond to posts. Commenting on other people’s posts can help you reach an entirely new audience, all just by being active and visible. Keeping up to date with your social accounts is important to maintain engagement, if a potential customer reaches out then doesn’t receive a response for 3 days, they probably won’t stick around long, so make sure you are reviewing your feed for new activity routinely.
7. Stay relevant and on-brand
Even though it can be tempting to fill up your feed with lots of different posts, try and refrain from posting content that has nothing to do with your business. Professional content should be meaningful and reflect your business or your company goals in some way. If you want to inject a bit of fun and lightheartedness in to your content that is fine, it keeps things interesting, but try and tie the content back to your business somehow. If you are using custom graphics or user generated posts to promote your company, keep them on brand by using uniform colours or adding your logo to each image.