How to create a Facebook Page for your Business and Optimise it.

To set up a page on Facebook you will need to set up your personal profile first. Once you have done this you need to click the down arrow next to the padlock icon and select

Create Page

You will then be taken to this page where you need to select your type of business. If you have a physical address then you can select Local Business or Place otherwise you need to select one of the other options. When you select the option you

Unless you are a Local Business or place you will be asked to add just your page name and a category from a drop down list. If you are a local business or place you will need to add the address of the business.

Information for local businesses, claiming your Places Page and the nearby Places tab.

There are many advantages to having this type of Page particularly with the nearby places tab for mobile which allows Facebook users to see which establishments are nearby to them at any time. With the nearby tab you can:

Find a business and find directions.
Check in when you arrive.
See who of your friends have visited previously.
Like the business.
Recommend the business.
Share with your friends.
Call the business.

When creating your Page it is really important to complete all the sections about your location so you maximise the opportunity of your business being found. With the introduction of Facebook’s graph search it is likely that businesses who have the highest number of check-ins and recommendations will be ranked higher in Facebook search.

You will then need to add a description about your business and communicate concisely exactly what it is that you are offering. You can skip this section if you like and complete it later.

Naming your Page

Your page name is what is going to appear in your fans news feed every time you post or make a comment. It’s incredibly important to get this right from the very beginning as once you reach 200 fans it cannot be changed. You need to use your business name or a name that truly represents your brand. You may find it advantageous to use your business name together with your own name as people like to connect with people.

It may be tempting to cram your page name with lots of generic keywords to get found in search but this is not a good idea since people are unlikely to like or share pages which look impersonal. There are lots of opportunities for adding searchable generic keywords in your description and about section. It is also important not to choose a generic term as in Facebook’s terms it states that Page names must not consist solely of generic terms. Facebook are cracking down on this and they have actually blocked publishing rights for some pages due to a violation of their terms and conditions. You are also not allowed to use or include unusual capitalizations, character symbols, numbers, professional titles and trademark designations.

Another thing to consider is that even though you have up to 75 characters for your page name it maybe important to keep it shorter particularly if you are going to advertise, as the Facebook advert titles only allow a maximum of 25 characters.

Profile Picture

Your profile photo can be either your logo or a photo of yourself depending on what you are promoting. This image is embedded in the cover photo so both these images need to compliment each other. If you are a personal brand then a photo of yourself is often a better choice rather than a corporate logo as people tend to connect much better with faces than logos. It’s worth spending time to take a really good head shot of yourself in well lit surroundings. Once you have this you can use it on all your social platforms to keep your brand recognisable and consistent.

Whichever image you decide upon it needs to be at least 180 X 180 pixels and it will be automatically cropped and displayed at 160 X 160 pixels. If the image is smaller than this then it will be stretched to fit the space which will not look good. Once added you can click on your image and add a description and URL.

Add to Favourites

You can then add your page to your favourites so you can easily access it.

Promote your Page

You can promote your page but it's a good idea to skip this section for the time being.

You will then be taken to your page and you can manage everything on this page. You can then 'like' your own page.

The cover photo area

Your cover photo is the most valuable area of marketing real estate on your page. This is where you can really shout out and promote your brand and use this space to communicate visually exactly what your business is about and how you can help your ideal customer. Many businesses miss out on this opportunity by just uploading a fairly generic image without any message and the visitor is left feeling they have no real reason to press the like button. This is not what you want. When it comes to your cover photo you have two main goals:

1. To get your visitor to like your page

The action of liking a page is important not only because you get to stay in touch with your fans but also the action of liking your page is very likely to be seen in the Newsfeed of your fan’s friends. This word of mouth advertising is one of the most powerful forms of advertising.

In many cases the first time your visitor arrives at your page may often be the only time they actually see your page in its entirety, after that they may not have a reason to actually return to the page itself. It is therefore of paramount importance that whatever you put on your cover photo impacts your ideal customer enough to get them to like your page. In order to do this you need to grab their attention by choosing a compelling image and creating a message that connects with them emotionally. Your message needs to let them know immediately that they have arrived at the right place by stating clearly how you are going to help them or offer them a solution to their problem. The right image and the right message is a winning combination and if you are targeting the right audience they are very likely to press the like button.

2. To get your visitor to sign up to your email opt-in

One of the most important things to realise with any social media profile is that you don’t actually own it, changes are taking place all the time and although social media is incredibly powerful there is nothing more important than building your own list of ideal customers. Your next goal is therefore to get your visitors to opt-in to your email list, this way you have permission to communicate with them on a regular basis through their email inbox. You can do this in two ways, you can either send them to another page within Facebook using a custom application (instructions about how to do this later) or send them to a separate landing page off Facebook where you can collect their email address.

Using your cover photo to collect leads within Facebook

You can use your cover photo to direct your visitors or fans to a custom page within Facebook which houses a form where you can collect their name and email address or any other information you require. By adding the details of your offer on your cover photo with a clear call to action and an image of an arrow, you can direct your visitor to a custom tab below your cover photo. Custom apps are also featured on the left side of your page with images. When they click on the custom tab they will be taken to a page with your custom page. Custom pages are created by using custom applications which allow you to add virtually any type of page to promote your business or products. These pages can also be used for a competition, an email sign-up page, a sign-up for a Webinar or for a competition or contest.

One of the best ways to use your cover photo is to promote a ‘like’ gate. This is where a user needs to ‘like’ your page and complete an action of entering their name and email before claiming an offer. This could be anything from an ebook to a money off coupon. You can easily set up the page so that when the user clicks the ‘like’ button another page is revealed where they can redeem their offer or download an offer. To do this you need to find a web developer who can set up an application or you can use one of the many websites on the internet like www.heyo.com , www.shortstack.com or www.grosocial.com who create custom applications. Some email service providers like www.constantcontact.com www.mailchimp.com also provide apps for social campaigns like this.

You can also use a company called www.leadpages.com and for a monthly or annual fee you can create unlimited landing pages for lead capture using any of their templates and you can also publish these pages to a custom tab on Facebook.

Using your cover photo to collect leads outside Facebook

The other effective way of collecting leads is to send your fans or visitors to a page on your website where you have a compelling offer and a form to capture their name and email address. You can use your cover photo to promote your offer by adding the details of your offer to your cover photo. When you click on any cover photo you are then taken to a page with the cover photo image and a comment area. This is where you can add the details and benefits of your offer together with the URL of the webpage with your offer and your email capture page. You can then add a call to action to your cover photo with the image of a button on your cover photo. When your fan or visitor clicks on the button image they will be taken to the page with the details of the offer.

Designing your cover photo

To make your photo stand out and look as professional as possible it’s important to keep it as clean and crisp as possible by using a strong, colourful and bold image. When you add text it’s important to keep it to a minimum so you can make the message you want to deliver as clear as possible. Since Facebook lifted their rules governing what your are allowed to put on your cover photo, this area is even more valuable. You can now add your website URL, email address, pricing information, contact information and a call to action.

There are many inventive ideas for cover photos. Just by browsing other Facebook pages you can find inspiration and there are also many custom tools available on the internet for creating cover photos like www.pagemodo.com . Using a graphic designer to create your image may be a good idea and they can size it to fit all your other social profiles as well. The dimensions size of the image you need for Facebook are 315 X 851. Once you have added your image you can reposition it and then if you click the image you can add a description and URL.

You can change your cover photo whenever you wish. You could do this for a special offer that ties in with a special occasion, season or holiday. Not only will your new fans see this when they arrive on your page but also your existing fans will see your new photo in their news feed as well which is a great way of reminding them about your brand.

Your business descriptions

With the introduction of Facebook’s graph search never has there been a more important time to make sure you complete all the written descriptive sections on your page and make the most of every bit of space available. All Facebook pages are indexed by Google but with the new Graph Search it is even more vital for you to be found within Facebook by as many keywords relating to your niche as possible. You can edit all your descriptions by clicking Settings and then Page Info.

The About Section

The ‘About’ section of your page can be viewed by clicking About under your cover photo and also on the left side of your page. Depending on the type of business you are, Facebook will pull in different types of information into your ‘about’ section. If you are a ‘Places page’ then details of your address, telephone number, opening hours and type of business are going to be displayed here.

With other types of business the ‘About’ information is pulled in from the short description. The information you offer about your business needs to be concise and thoughtfully put together so your audience knows exactly what your business is about after reading the first sentence. In your short description you need to include a brief description of what your business is, how it will benefit your fans and your website URL. You can expand on business in more detail in your long description. The more relevant keyword rich and search engine friendly information you include the better but most importantly you need to make it interesting reading for your audience.

Start Date

The start date does not need to be the start date of the page but can be the start date of your business. A great way of adding interest to your page is by giving a brief history or the story about your business by adding events or milestones which have already passed. You can do this as long as you have created your start date sometime in the past.

Choosing a vanity URL for your Facebook Page

When you have created your Page, Facebook will automatically assign a URL with a number. However you can change this to something more memorable like facebook.com/yourbusinessname which will be much easier to direct people to. To change it you will need to have 25 fans on your page then you can choose your vanity URL or Facebook username. To set your username simply click on your 'About' page and then click on Facebook web address. It is best practice to use your business name or if that is not available then something that is going to be easy to remember. After you have set your username you may change it only once. If your trademark name has been taken you can notify Facebook with a view to retrieving it.

Your message settings

You can choose whether or not users can send you a message on your Facebook page. If you do choose to allow users to send you messages then this will be clearly displayed on your Facebook page with a message box below your cover photo. To change whether you want to allow people to send you messages simply click on Settings and then General and you can edit your message settings there.

It is definitely advisable to allow your fans to send you messages. If you do not then you are cutting off possible communication, turning away opportunities to connect and it makes your business look cold and unwelcoming.

Admin Roles

If you are going to have a team of people managing your Facebook page you can set up admin roles. Facebook allows you to set up unlimited admin roles. As manager you can assign different levels of access depending on what each person is allowed to do.

To find this section simply click on Settings and then Page Roles. There are 5 admin roles: Manager, Content Creator, Moderator, Advertiser and Insights Analyst. Each role has different permissions so you can control what each person is allowed to do as follows:

Admin can manage admin roles, send messages and create posts as the Page, create adverts and view insights.
Editor can edit the Page, send messages and create posts as the Page, create adverts and view insights.
Moderator can respond to and delete comments on the Page, send messages as the Page, create adverts and view insights.
Advertiser can create adverts and view insights.
Analyst can see who created or commented on a post and can view insights.