Are you a new business wondering how to build a presence on the web in less than 24 hours, at no cost and without having to be a technical guru? In this article you will discover 7 tips for getting started with a Facebook Page for your business to help you start building your brand online.
Each month I have the privilege to meet with hundreds of new start ups through the speaking, workshops and mentoring sessions I lead, facilitate or participate in.
One of the most common questions I get asked is how to get started with developing a presence on the web that is a low cost for the new business entrepreneur to set up and something that does not take several weeks or even months to implement.
Putting aside a full interactive online and offline digital marketing strategy which is what I develop with my private clients, one of the platforms that has been working really well for a number of my mentoring clients is developing a presence on Facebook.
I am not talking about a personal profile on Facebook, but a Facebook page to represent your business. I certainly don't recommend that your only presence on the web as a new business is Facebook - I would prefer you to own your own real estate, ideally developing your website with an integrated business blog, hosted on your own space in cyberspace.
But following the following five tips, you can be visible on the web today - as you know, it's always helpful to point people back to information online either before or after you meet them.
1. Register Your Own Page On Facebook - you can register for your page either from the home page on Facebook - you do not have to have a personal profile to develop a Facebook Page for your business) or within the area that says 'advertise' (scroll to the bottom of the page of your personal profile)
2. Consider Your Key Words - Your Facebook domain name for your Facebook Page can include key words that people will search for you online - so think carefully when creating the name for your page
3. Create Your About Page - You can add a number of different tabs to your page to include for example importing blog posts or your Twitter feed (once you get those in place). However to start off, use the 'Info' tab as your 'about page', adding details of who you are, your company overview, your products and services.
4. Set Your Default Page - Set your 'Info' page as your default page so that if someone were to look for you on Facebook and they are not already a Fan of your Facebook Page, they will quickly get a sense of who you are and what you do. If you are prepared to invest just €8 a year or less, I would highly recommend investing in purchasing in a domain name for your Facebook Page which you can then domain map e.g. www.yourcompanyname.com - being able to customise your Facebook URL is meant to be coming soon so Colm Long of Director Online Operations at the European Head Office here in Ireland told me last week - but until then the Facebook URL is not user friendly. (You can always point the domain name to your website in the future, but this approach would allow you to put your domain name on a business card today, adding credibility to your business).
5. Pimp Out Your Profile - Take the time to upload photos and online videos of your products or services to add rich content to your Facebook Page and given your visitors the opportunity to learn more about what you do.
6. Update Your Privacy settings - Check your Facebook default privacy settings so that you can determine the information that you share including what information gets shared in the search engines - don't be too over cautious. Remember that the reason you decided to create your Facebook Page is so that people can find your business online so you need to have key elements visible when people search for you.
7. Find Some Fans - Now you have your Facebook Page in place, you can invite some of your friends (who I am sure will be great supporters of your new business venture) to become Fans - and of course when they become a Fan of your Facebook Page, their network on Facebook will see this and might even be interested in taking a look, becoming a Fan and even may become a client or customer in the future. Consider the viral element of your Fan Page being like a 'tell a friend' strategy.
I would love to see every business have a website if not a business blog. But if getting started with finding a web developer and developing your brand online as a new start up is something you are not ready to do, do consider developing your Facebook age for your business. Once you have your page in place, you can then start to integrate your Facebook Page into your marketing plan - more of that in future articles.
And if you are a new business start up and have developed a Facebook Page, what other advice would you give to others setting up a new Facebook Page? Feel free to list your page URL with details of who you are in the comments if you are looking for more fans too!
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