Ready to market on Facebook?
Then you need to start with a great Facebook page! Every few years, Facebook comes out with new updates to their business pages—a process that seems to have been ramping up recently.
In 2018, some experts even speculated Facebook would eliminate brands from the newsfeed entirely and move them to a new “Explore Feed.”
That hasn’t happened yet, but brand pages are seeing a lot of changes. Whether that’s updated photo dimensions, new tab options, or a complete redesign, there’s a lot to keep track of.
Today, you’ll learn how to create an amazing Facebook page using the most recent updates on the social network.
Whether you’re just starting from scratch or already have a page set up, this will explain what you need to make your business succeed on the world’s largest social network.
Let’s get started!
Get your photos right
Humans love visuals, and that’s especially true on social media.
When it comes to setting up your Facebook page, the saying is true—a picture really is worth a thousand words. Here’s how to get the right kind of photos on your page to draw in visitors and keep them engaged.
Cover photo
On most Facebook pages, the cover photo is the first image people see. It’s the large image that goes across the top of your page, and it’s critical to get it right.
With cover photos, you have three options: a static photo, a video, or a slideshow.
Of course, you can use what works best for you. But videos tend to be the best at engaging people. Plus, you can show a lot more about your company and brand with a video instead of just a picture or series of pictures.
It’s also a good idea to keep mobile in mind. Don’t choose an image or video that’s too tiny to see on a smartphone screen.
Facebook’s guidelines for this are simple. It’ll display at 820×312 pixels on computers, and 640×360 pixels on smartphones. The image needs to be at least 400×150 pixels, but a bigger resolution is better.
So, what should you include in your cover photo? Well first, make it custom for your brand. Don’t use clip art or what seems interesting—make it fit with your brand’s style, voice, and message.
That said, most cover photos usually include the product or people using the product. But really, anything works—the page is limited only by your creativity.
For example, some brands coordinate their cover image to go with a call-to-action button. For example, the Domino’s page mentions in the cover photo you can order online, then has a “shop now” button to do just that.
If you’re still not sure what to do, check out your competitors. You’ll get a good feel for how others in your industry are using their cover photo real estate.
Profile picture
This is the smaller image that shows up on the side of your page. And the advice here isn’t complicated—it needs to be your logo, plain and simple.
According to Facebook, this image will display at 170×170 pixels on computers and 128×128 pixels on smartphones. It’ll usually be square, but on news feeds and ads is cropped to a circle.
Here’s the example Facebook gives to show how the cropping works.
This isn’t hugely important for most pages, just don’t put anything critical in the corners—they won’t show up.
How to create a killer “About” page
The next area to improve is your about page. There’s a lot of information here, and every piece can be used to maximize your brand’s reach.
For example, here’s the about page for Lamborghini.
Let’s break it down and see exactly where the biggest opportunities are.
Contact info
This is where you can increase the click-through rates most quickly—by including the right contact info.
Include the basics like phone number and website, as well as links to connected brand profiles on Instagram and Messenger. Sure, it might not be the most exciting information, but if someone’s looking to contact you, you want to make sure it’s all here.
A great description
For those new to your brand, you can provide a detailed description of what you do. Make this interesting and appealing. You can also include a snippet that goes directly underneath your profile picture.
You can also enter tons of other details, depending on what makes the most sense for your brand.
I’d recommend filling out as much of this as possible, if relevant to you and your business.
Why?
Because even if you don’t think it’s that important, it might give a positive impression to just a few people, or answer a question someone has.
It doesn’t take more than a few minutes to add awards or products, for example, but might generate a few sales with just that information.
Isn’t that worth a few minutes of your time?
Local business info
If you’re a local business, there are even more ways to expand your reach on Facebook.
Notice how this local business—Jules Maes Saloon in Seattle—has a number of extra info pieces on the about page.
If you have a local business, you can work to incorporate all this information onto your about page. Customers often find you through Facebook, and if you have details like location and hours, you can find customers that very day.
To start, choose your location and select “customers may visit my address.”
You’ll also want to add in hours, too.
You can also add other details like services, prices, menus, and other content. Again—the more details you add, the more people you’ll likely convert.
Set up your tabs
In the early days, Facebook had a pretty messy tab system. The default pages didn’t have much functionality, so lots of companies created custom tabs.
Today, that’s a very different landscape. Facebook doesn’t even allow custom tabs unless you have 2,000 or more followers, or are already whitelisted.
Thankfully, Facebook has added a number of new types of tabs in recent years. Many of these allow any size business to get the benefits of a custom tab without the expense or complications.
Here are the best ones to use if you run a business on Facebook.
Post an event
Regularly have events at your business? You can’t miss out on this tab. With more and more people learning about events through Facebook and other social networks, you’re missing out on customers without listing your events.
Here’s an example from the Seattle Opera.
Notice how it includes both upcoming and past events—this is a great way to show your business is active and has ongoing things to do.
You can also add custom calls-to-action here, like the “Get Tickets” button next to each event on the Seattle Opera page.
Sell something on a Shop
If you run an eCommerce business, Facebook Shops is a game changer.
According to 2018 data by Kleiner Perkins social media is changing the face of online retail. For example, social referrals to eCommerce sites have been climbing for the last three years.
And Facebook alone keeps pushing the eCommerce click-through rate higher and higher.
This is great news if you’re in the eCommerce space, but only if you start making the best use of what Facebook offers—and that means getting started with eCommerce on Facebook.
To do that, you’ll want to create a shop and start listing products. For example, DressLily has a complete listing of products, including featured “What’s Hot” list on their Facebook Shop.
If it seems too overwhelming, just start with your most popular products and add from there.
Post an offer
If you want to grab the attention of your followers with a new deal, Facebook’s Offers tab is the place to be.
Here’s an example of a Cyber Monday promotion by Pimsleur language programs.
One of the really neat things about offers is that followers can subscribe to notifications with each new offer.
Timeline and posts
There are a few new features to brand timelines and a few that have been retired in the last few years and months.
Here’s what you need to know.
Pin important updates
If you’ve written something important on your Facebook page, you can make it more prominent by pinning. This keeps the post at the top of your page all the time, which makes it easier for others to see the post.
To pin a post, click the three dots next to an update. From the drop-down menu, select “Pin to Top of Page.”
If you’re posting a link to a new landing page, for example, this could be a great strategy to keep driving people to the signup form even after you’ve posted new content.
Backdate if needed
Sometimes you’ll want to change the date on a post. This might be useful if you’re posting company info that happened years ago, or want to share information from an event that’s already passed.
To do this, click on the three dots, then “Change Date.”
From there, you can choose a new date from the drop-down menu.
Keep things fresh
In the early days, people wouldn’t see your most recent posts first if they visited your brand’s page.
Today, that isn’t the case. If you haven’t posted in a while, it’ll be the first thing people notice when they visit your page.
For example, the last Facebook post from now-defunct news blog Gawker is years old.
Of course, for a company that closed it doors years ago, that’s expected. But if you aren’t posting at least a few times a month, you might leave people to wonder if your business has suffered the same fate.
Listening to customers
Finally, the way you interact with your customers has changed with Facebook’s newest updates.
Here’s how to talk with your customers in the best way possible, without getting bogged down with work.
Decide if you want to let visitors post
First and foremost, you need to decide if other people can post on your Facebook page. Either option is fine, it just depends on your brand’s voice and style.
You can also take a middle option and allow users to post, but with your approval before their messages show up on the page.
Recommendations and reviews
You can also choose to allow recommendations and reviews. If you allow them, they’ll typically show up near the top of your Facebook page for new visitors.
Here’s an example from KFC, with recommendations and reviews for the brand from different locations nationwide.
Note that these are unfiltered, so keep that in mind if you choose to allow them.
Messenger reply speed
Finally, you can get a badge to display how quickly you respond to messages.
This example from Schwinn bikes shows they respond in about a day.
The faster you reply, the more you can demonstrate you’re ready to listen to your customers.
Conclusion
Whether you’re just getting started with Facebook pages or you’re a wizened expert, there’s a never-ending stream of updates and changes to keep track of.
But with a few basic tweaks, you can transform any page into a brand-building social media presence.
Keep your company information up to date, use eye-catching photos, and put a focus on listening and communicating with your followers. Use Facebook’s built-in tabs for events and products, and look to keep people engaged with everything you post.
What steps will you take to create a great Facebook page?
About the Author: Kristi Hines is a freelance writer, professional blogger, and social media enthusiast. Her blog Kikolani focuses on blog marketing for personal, professional, and business bloggers.
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