Social Media for Business- Facebook
This post was originally published on January 13, 2019 and has since been updated.
It’s no secret that social media, while always evolving, is here to stay. Not only do platforms like Facebook and Instagram change their layouts and algorithms, new social media channels are coming into fruition and it’s important to understand and adhere to each platform’s intended purpose. While it’s not always practical or even necessary for every business to be on every social media platform, be sure to read the entire Social Media Platforms for Business Series to understand the differences between social media platforms and how to implement best practices.
If you’re interested in improving your online presence, read on to learn about:
I almost ALWAYS recommend Facebook as a business’s go-to social media platform. The site boasts over 2.89 billion active users, their ad platform is simple to use, and users have infinite posting possibilities. It is also super simple to click over from your personal profile to your business account. That’s right, you need a separate business account.
When should a business have a Facebook page?
Facebook Business Page Functionalities
Promote posts and run ads
When you have a Facebook Business Page, you are able to set up Ads Manager and run different ads based on different objectives. You can run ads with the goal to grow your brand awareness, incite engagement on a specific post, get page “Likes,” generate leads, and more. You can even upload lists and create custom audiences to target. If you are planning on spending money on ads and targeting specific areas or demographics, you have to have a Facebook Business Page.
View insights and analytics
Whether you’re running ads or focusing on organic reach, you can only view insights, such as post performance, from Facebook Business Pages. Consulting your Facebook Insights is important for determining what content performs best so you can move forward putting effort behind what works for you. You can also see the peak hours that your audience is online, which should influence what time you schedule your content to post.
Have multiple page administrators
Do you have multiple people that you would like maintaining your page? Unless you want everyone to have your Facebook password, having a business page is the best way to share access. You’ll even know who posted what content to your business page.
Have a Business Instagram Account
To have a business Instagram account with similar benefits (the ability to run ads and track analytics) you must connect it to a Facebook Business Page. If you want to schedule your Instagram content in advance, it is best to have a business account. Scheduling platforms like Later, Facebook Creator Studio, and Loomly are super helpful but only auto-post your content if you have a business account.
Best Practices
What to Post
Now that you understand why your brand needs to have a Facebook business page, let’s look at how to maintain your page. Vary your content. One of the great things about Facebook is that you can share several different types of content. From images and gifs to articles and videos, your page should feature a mixture of mediums. There are even ways to vary your content within each medium- images can be quote graphics, photos of products and services, albums of events, launches, and more. Articles can be blogs that you have written or third party content. Video, the most popular and favored content type, can be live or pre-recorded.
When to Post
Currently, best practice is to post about once a day. The best time to post is between 1:00 and 4:00 pm but this suggestion is not industry specific. While it is best to strive to post once a day to keep your audience engaged, you don’t want to post just to post. If you learn anything from this article, I hope it’s this: your social media accounts should exist to help your clients and potential clients. If your post does not entertain, inform, or provide value in some way, reconsider publishing it.
What Not to Do
Leave out the hashtags. While hashtags are great for Twitter and Instagram, Facebook is not the intended platform for the tool and using hashtags can make it look like you don’t know what you’re doing.
Don’t sync your accounts. When you share the same content from Facebook to Twitter to Instagram, you’re not giving users a reason to follow you on multiple platforms. In addition, each platform is like a different group of friends in which you behave differently. Similarly, users’ posts have different traits that lend to the platform on which they’re posting. Your content should be made specifically for the platform on which you’re posting. For more guidance on what not to do on Facebook, read Stop Doing These 4 Things on Facebook.
What Now?
You’re convinced your business needs a Facebook page. Or maybe you have a business page but now you’re committed to keeping up with it and using it to provide value to your followers. What now?
Before you invite all of your friends from your personal account to “Like” your business page, I challenge you to maintain your business page by posting daily for two weeks. You want to make sure that, when friends or potential clients visit your page, there is content published that is giving them a reason to follow and engage.
Want to improve your social media presence but don’t want to commit to the time involved? I understand. You’re focused on your brand and delivering top-notch products and services. Contact Ink & Olive to learn how we can work together and improve your social media presence.