How To Build a Business on Facebook

Getting Your Business On Facebook

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In the current climate one of the most cost efficient and easy ways to start advertising something you do, is to make a Page for it on Facebook. The feature is user friendly and free to start up, so why not give it a go?

With this article I'll take you through: 

1.      Set up

2.      Boosting & Promoting

3.      Accessing Your Page from a Mobile

4.      Removing Your Page

Set Up

First, you want to go to the top, right hand side and select ‘Create Page’ on the drop down menu that appears.

There’s no limit to how many pages you can manage and there’s no need to get a whole new Facebook account to use this feature. It’s easily done through your personal account and they don’t interfere with each another.

The first step is deciding what category you fall into: Local Business or Place, Company, Organisation or Institution, Brand or Product, Artist, Band or Public Figure, Entertainment or Cause or Community.

Once you select your category, this form appears asking for basic details. If you run your business from home, just put your home address here. You can hide this from the public at a later stage, if you want to.

The next stage is a little more specific.

a.     About

-          Add up to 3 categories that best describe your business. There’s a huge list of handy suggestions ranging from “Gluten free food” to “Yoga and Pilates.” This will ensure your business comes up when these categories are searched for, so make sure they’re relevant!

-          Add a description. You don’t have many words so keep it succinct, catchy and to the point.

-          Put in a link to a website or Twitter page.

-          Pick a unique Facebook web address. Make sure this is sensible and as near to your company name as possible. This helps keep everything as professional looking as possible.

b.     Profile Picture

Simply upload an image from somewhere on your computer or import one from any other websites you have. The import option is a helpful tool which manages to source images from the chosen URL and then brings them up for you to use again. This is particularly handy if you don’t have any original images on the computer you’re using.

c.      Add To Favourites

Another handy Facebook tip for quick access is to add your page to your favourites. I’d definitely recommend using it. It will put a link to your business at the top left hand side of your Facebook home page, below the ‘News Feed,’ ‘Messages’ and ‘Events’ tabs.

d.     Target Audience

It is important to be specific here, or you will be bringing traffic to your page that isn't interested in your product.

Do some research into who your target audience may be? 40% of 18-25 year olds drink coffee daily. Are women more interested in health food? Who lives in your area? Are there office workers and commuters travelling through the city that could make good clientele for your business?

For the interests, I’d suggest having as many that are relevant to you.

An extra tip: if you hover over an interest such as “coffee,” for example, it tells you that there are 314,160,600 people on Facebook talking about or expressing interest in coffee at the moment. This is one way to see what’s trending and what might be beneficial to focus on.  

e.     Final Touches:

Invite your friends to share and like your page.

It is important to update your page regularly and you can change your profile picture and upload cover photos to make your page really look the part.

In your ‘About’ section at the top of your page you can add more details to your business. You can add opening hours, a longer description, menu and much more all in the ‘Page Info’ section. There are endless ways you can personalize your business page.

2.    Boosting & Promoting

There are options to boost your posts and promote your page, but you have to spend a minimum of £1 a day in order to use this feature. The more money you spend, the more people your boosts will reach.

Promoting your page will send out adverts onto people in your chosen area’s Facebook page. You can pick new images, or use the ones you have on your page at the time. Make sure to edit the text as there is another word limit.  Add interests again, making them as specific and target orientated as possible.

Once you've carefully selected your advert details you can edit your budget and time scale.

Boosting your post is done using similar prices and details, except you are boosting one post/status in particular not the whole business.

3.    Accessing Your Page from a Mobile

Whilst this “How To” has been all about using Facebook on a desktop computer, it is just as easy to do everything from your mobile phone or tablet.

Facebook has a Help Center under the Managing a Page section of their site which offers not only Desktop help but also Feature Phone, Mobile Browser, Android, iPhone and iPad help.

4.    Removing Your Page

If you ever want to delete your business page, all you have to do is go to the page and click ‘Settings’ in the top, right hand corner. Then, under the ‘General’ section, right at the bottom is the ‘Remove page’ option. Click ‘Permanently Delete’ and your page is gone forever.

But remember, there are no limits to the number of pages you can manage, so don’t click delete unless you’re sure, because you won’t be able to get it back. 

Megan Herdson

Megan is a country girl who moved to the city with some big dreams. She is studying her MA in Creative Writing whilst also managing an American Football Team.  She loves her blog and wants nothing more than to have her words read. That and to win the Championship, obviously. Follow her @MeganAtSMF

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