Everyone knows that social media is the key to easy, affordable marketing for your business. With plenty of opportunities for organic growth and sharing information on what your business offers, business owners are constantly looking for ways to grow their businesses’ reach on facebook. This, of course, begins with setting up a Facebook page for your business that is optimized for directing visitors to your website, interacting with your posts, and expanding reach. Responsival - the experts of content marketing in Pittsburgh - is here to break it down for you step by step, showing you the most important aspects of setting up your business’s Facebook Page for success.

Images

A seemingly obvious first step in creating your business’s Facebook page is choosing images that best showcase your business. For your profile image should be at least 180 x 180 pixels, square, and:

• High-Quality: It’s best to avoid using images that are highly pixelated, blurry, or dark. Use a crisp image with bright colors for best results.
• Recognizable: Ever notice that most businesses use their logo as their profile photo? That’s because logos, by nature - are easily recognizable symbols that trigger association to the business. The more frequently you use your logo, the more recognition your business will garner from the public.
• Simple: Nothing is worse than an overly-busy profile photo. Not only does a detailed shot of your entire staff or your building often lack recognizability and quality you want, but it lacks the simplicity that will keep your page looking fresh and clean.

Cover photos, however, you have a little more leeway. With the cover photo being much large and not visible until visitors open your facebook page, you can have a little more fun with this. Of course, you should still look to find the highest quality image possible, but you can use a photo with more detail. Many businesses use a picture of their store, happy customers, their staff, or a graphic that compliments their profile photo. The options are much more open here, and if you have trouble finding a quality image, try sourcing one from a royalty-free stock image site.

About Sections

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One of the most important parts of building a quality business facebook profile is filling out all of the necessary information. With more than 2 billion users and more ways than ever before to recommend a business, share a business’s information with friends, and review businesses with ease, it’s important that visitors have easy access to your business’s information.

The About section of your business’s facebook page is where visitors find information like your founding date, mission, location, hours, phone number, and more valuable information that can lead to a booking or sale.

The basic rule of thumb: fill this information out as thoroughly as possible.

Have the about section filled out as thoroughly as possible. When writing mission statements or your business’s story, take a second to establish your tone. Professional? Laid-Back? Humorous? Finding the balance between being informative whichever tone you choose can easily make or break a sale. If you need some help setting up this part of your profile, we’re always here to help you get your social profiles set up for you.

Create Your “@”

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When someone wants to tag your business in a post to thank you for your excellent service, they tag you using “@[whatever name you create].” Your ‘@’ has to be unique from every other business on facebook, but should also be easy to find based on what someone calls your business.

For instance, this AirBnB located in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania is known as “The Farm at Clearfield Lane,” or more colloquially: “The Farm.” However, creating an ‘@’ with just “TheFarm” is already taken and nonspecific. By using “@thefarm.clearfieldlane,” users will begin by searching for the colloquial name and easily be able to locate the specific facebook page they want.

To create your ‘@’ you view your business’s facebook page. Directly below your profile image, you’ll see a button for claiming your ‘@.’ Click, try out a few options, and save. Voila!

Automated Responses

We get it --you’re a busy business owner and don’t always have time to answer facebook messages immediately.To improve your response rate, set up automated responses that are there to respond to messages from potential customers when you aren’t available. This is super easy to do and makes sure that page visitors feel seen and heard.

On the top toolbar when you are viewing your business’s facebook page, click Inbox. On the left hand side, click Automated Responses. From here, you edit messages - much like an old-fashioned AIM away message - that Facebook sends to visitors who message your business after a certain amount of time without a human response. Complete all automated responses that you see fit by customizing text, adding images, and links that lead them to more contact information.

Create a CTA

A Facebook page, many times, is the first step in getting visitors to your website, and eventually make a sale. Facebook pages allow you to add a CTA, or ‘Call to Action’ to your page directly below your cover photo. Your CTA is the simple button people click to learn more about your site and is an absolute must-have on your facebook page.

To set up a CTA, click ‘+ Add A Button’ beneath your cover photo. From there, you’ll be able to select the CTA - contantus, learn more, shop with us, and more - and copy the appropriate link to your website on the following page. Page visitors will now have easy access to your site through a CTA.

Dummy posts

Last but certainly not least, it’s time to create dummy posts. You want to make sure your first visitors don’t have to view an empty page, so it’s a good idea to create 5 “dummy posts” to get your profile started. Here’s a few ideas for getting you started:

• Meet the Owner: a photo of the owner and a brief biography about what made them want to start the business
• Recent Event: a photo album from a recent wedding your business planned, job fair you attended, or employee appreciation brunch.
• Our First Facebook Post: a text post welcoming people to your page, thanking them for allowing your business to grow, and encouraging them to invite friends.
• Share an Article: Share a local article or news story that mentions your business. If that doesn’t exist, get in touch with the experts of content marketing in Pittsburgh -- we’ll get those going for you.
• Post a story: post a facebook story of your office, staff, or an exciting part of your workday.

When it comes to your business’s digital marketing strategy, Facebook is an absolute must. Getting started isn’t always easy, but following this guide is a great start. If you need a little more help and want to make sure your Facebook is working just as hard as you do for your business, contact Responsival -- the experts of web design, social media management, and content marketing in Pittsburgh.