The previous two posts covered ways that businesses and professional individuals can take advantage of Twitter.
This week, we're going to take a look at the importance of using Facebook to manage your brand and increase your online presence. To many, Facebook may seem like a fun social media site for people to share their lives and keep in contact with loved ones. However, Facebook has long established itself as a must-use website for companies big and small.
So what are these features that Facebook offers? Well, let me give you a brief run-down:
Business pages
Facebook allows companies to set up business pages. These pages can be set up in minutes, and you can really customize the page to do a number of things, such as take bookings, offer promotional sales, and set up events.
Facebook sets up a weekly checklist for new pages to help businesses gain their footing on the platform. This checklist involves a series of goals (such as putting out a welcome post and pinning it to the top of your page) that help your business's image.
You have the option to add administrators - people who can take actions with the page - to do things such as manage posts, respond to direct messages and set up events. It's very important to have a trusted team of managers, ideally from your company's marketing team, that will keep the page alive and the brand consistent.
Although staying active on Facebook is an excellent way to gain more customers and more brand awareness, simply having the page set up will also bring more traffic to your site.
Page Analytics
All Facebook pages allow you to look at the numbers. That is, the numbers that measure how many eyes your page is getting, and which posts are redirecting traffic to your company website.
The easiest way to check out these numbers by clicking the "Insights" button at the top of your page:
You'll then be able to see information such as how many views your pages are getting, as well as what posts are getting the most eyeballs:
These analytics are crucial in helping you track business growth as well as what content is getting the most attention. This information can help you decide what direction to take your Facebook content in the future, as well as see how much business is coming from your page.
Posts and Content
Of course, the most important part of any Facebook post is the content! Facebook is a social media platform, which means that your posts have the potential to reach lots of people.
That means your content must be engaging and eye-catching. The best posts engage the reader and put a human face on your posts. Hair salons can show pictures of finished styles, stores can show happy kids visiting for the first time, and restaurants can show photos of new dishes recently added to the menu.
Posts that encourage engagement from the reader such as open-ended questions ("What item from our menu would you like to make a comeback?") are other great ways to make sure your posts gain a lot of readers. Poll-style posts are more likely to be shared by your followers, and having your team reply to responses would create an image of friendliness for your company.
Posts should also have a call to action. A post advertising a sale or promo code or announcing that your store will have a stand at a local festival or parade are other post-worthy things that your team should be sure to put on their page.
These are just some basic tips to help you get started with Facebook! Facebook is a complex tool that can play a big role in putting your business on the map. We'll be going into more detail on how Facebook can help your business next week. In the meantime, if you need a helping hand in managing your social media, you can schedule a consultation with me here!
