What do you think of when you see Facebook? Probably a place to share status updates, photo albums from this year’s vacation, pictures of the kids on their first day of school—that kind of thing, right?
While Facebook is the undeniable leader in connecting people, it’s also a gold mine for small businesses thanks to its community-minded features. If your small business doesn’t have a Facebook business page, you could be missing out on a huge audience of potential customers.
In this blog post, we’ll go over why you need a Facebook business page and how to set one up today.
Let’s Talk Numbers + Benefits
First, the facts:
- More than 3 billion people across the globe use social media.
- On average, those people spend about two hours per day on social media.
- Facebook has over 700 million active users and more than 50 million business pages.
- 80% of small businesses are already using the platform.
- 93% of consumers’ purchasing decisions are influenced by social media.
If your business isn’t already on Facebook, that means you’re missing out on a channel that your potential customers (and possibly competitors) are using heavily. Next time you’re on Facebook and feel curious, check out some of your favorite brands—they’re likely already on Facebook and active almost every day, posting new status updates, sharing relevant articles or interacting with their followers. They understand the benefits of maintaining an active social media profile, including:
Making their business or brand personal.
Interacting with your customers on Facebook ads a human element that can help you build rapport and credibility.
Boosting their SEO efforts.
Staying active and posting regularly will catch Google’s eye and signal that you should rank higher in search results.
Beating their competition.
Your competitors are likely on the platform, as well, and having a Facebook business account puts you on equal footing. If your competitors aren’t on Facebook, you’re ahead of the game!
Building their credibility.
Facebook makes it easy for your customers to leave recommendations on your business page. That’s word-of-mouth advertising your whole community can see.
Saving money.
Unless you’re paying for ad campaigns, promoting your business on Facebook is completely free. That can amount to a huge return on investment.
All of these benefits amount to more exposure for your business and a chance to win over more potential customers, turning those social posts into jobs. Not bad for a free platform, huh?
How to Set Up Your Facebook Business Page
Luckily, Facebook makes it easy for you to do what your favorite brands are doing! You can make a Facebook business page for your small business today. Watch the video below and follow our instructions, and you’ll have a Facebook Business Page ready in a matter of minutes.
- First, log in to your personal account and visit the home page.
- On the left side, under Explore, click Pages.
- Click on Create Page in the upper-right corner.
- Choose the Business or Brand option and click Get Started.
- Fill out the basic business information, such as business name, category, address and phone number.
- You can skip the next two prompts and come back to them later—or you can go ahead and do them!
That’s it! Now you can start filling out your business page with pictures, your hours and calls to action to get your potential customers to get in touch. Remember: it’s important to stay active if you want to reap the benefits of having a business page. Post content relevant to your industry at least twice per week to boost your SEO campaign and stay at the forefront of your potential customers’ minds. That can include posting news articles, idea boards, project suggestions and upcoming specials and promotions.
You’ve Got Options
Keep in mind that these regular posts aren’t the only methods of engagement Facebook offers. With a Facebook business page, you’ll have access to a variety of paid ad campaigns, including:
- Image ads. These get three times more engagement than ads without images.
- Video ads. While less than 1% of ads use video, they account for 7% of reach.
These paid campaigns aren’t required to engage your potential customers effectively, but they can certainly boost your reach! You have tons of options for promoting your business on one of the world’s most popular social media platforms, and it all starts with creating a Facebook business page.
Need Some Professional Help?
We offer social media management and social media advertising services. If you’re busy and don’t have time to post regularly or want an expert to handle your image or video advertising campaign, we can help. Fill out the form below to start a conversation with one of our digital marketing pros.