Article provided by Jennifer Corcoran, CEO & Founder, My Super Connector
So you’ve set up your Facebook page. What now?
Don’t let this valuable resource go to waste. You’ve gone to the trouble of creating a platform to engage with your audience and publicise your business, but it won’t work without your input!
At its most basic, a Facebook page is a modern-day noticeboard, giving you the space to tell customers more about yourself and your business. With your input the potential is far greater.
Here’s how:
- Post regularly.
- Your page should be helpful and The best way to do this is to post regularly. Not sure what to post? Keep it relevant! Updates about your business and product range, special offers, and helpful blog posts or articles will all be welcomed by your audience. Your posts will appear on your page, and may also appear in a few other places, depending on how your followers have set up their preferences and whether you boost your posts.
- Whatever you post, it’s important to post consistently – followers get used to hearing from you and look forward to your posts! It doesn’t matter if you’re posting three times a day or every other day, create a rhythm and stick to it.
- You can “pin” an important post to the top of your page so it’s the first thing your page visitors see. Experiment with different “pinned items” – perhaps pin a testimonial one month, a special offer the next and details of an upcoming event the month after that.
- Schedule posts for different times of day. Test various times of day and you’ll quickly learn what’s right for your business. Using the “Scheduling” feature allows you to reach your audience at different times without having to physically post at those times. For example, you can target early-morning cyclists before they set off on their rides or night-shift workers during their breaks with minimal disruption to yourself. The scheduling feature also lets you pre-plan your posts. You’ll save time and ensure a constant stream of posts – just the thing for when you have a business to run!
- Build relationships in the same way you do in real life; with conversations. Asking questions and encourage people to share their opinion. Encourage your audience to react and tag friends who might be interested. This way you’ll increase the number of people in your conversation and attract new followers.
- Not many people know this! You can use your Facebook page to post job vacancies. Facebook’s ability to tightly target people can be put to good use through the “Jobs” tab. The beauty of this is the way you can easily create your job post and add it to the desktop and mobile news feed. The “Boost Post” option lets you reach a larger or more targeted audience. Applications will come through Messenger, making it easy to keep everything in one place.
- The Facebook Events tool makes it easy for you to publicise your events. People can RSVP and buy tickets on Facebook itself. Fill in a few simple details to create your event which then automatically posts to your page. People who have already liked or followed your page will be automatically notified! And here’s a sneaky tip… if you want to boost the coverage of your event (who doesn’t?), add a co-host. That way your co-host can also spread the word, widening your event’s reach.
- Facebook Groups helps you create a thriving community around your brand. The feature lets people connect and discuss ideas and issues that matter to them with other members of your community. Not sure how to focus your group? Think about how your business helps others and what it is that people are especially struggling with. For instance, if you’re a beauty therapist you could create a group that helps people with skincare tips. If you’re a baker, why not create a group that champions delicious packed lunches?
- Using the Messenger app makes it easy for people to contact your business with questions and feedback. It’s a brilliant tool for one-to-one conversations and relationship building. Creating a Page means people will automatically be able to use Messenger to contact you. Here are some handy tips:
- Add a welcome greeting for people messaging you for the first time. Why not personalise the text with their name?
- Use Messenger for sensitive questions that may include personal information such as billing information or order statuses
- Be conversational, just like you would be with your friends. It helps you build a better connection.
- If you get the same questions regularly, save your replies and add them to a FAQ page.
- Try to respond within 15 minutes or use the auto-reply and -message function to give you a bit more breathing space.
And that’s all there is to it!
Your Facebook business page has so many useful features and will quickly become an invaluable part of your communication plan. Work through the points above and you’ll be on your way to a really engaged group of customers.
Good luck x
Now your Facebook page is starting to pull its weight, it’s time to learn more about how you make your Facebook Group pack a punch. Hop on over to the next post to find out more.
About the author
Jennifer Corcoran is the CEO and Founder of My Super Connector which is a social media consultancy. A former WATC Rising Star, Jennifer now helps professionals and entrepreneurs to polish up their online profiles and connect with finesse. She is currently one of 24 accredited She Means Business Trainers in the UK in association with Facebook and Enterprise Nation.