Let's Connect - A Small Business Guide to Facebook

L e t ’ s C o n n e c t – A S m a l l B u s i n e s s G u i d e t o F a c e b o o k | 2
www.engage365.com.au
Introduction to Social Media
To begin with, what is Social Media?
Social Media is a set of tools that promote interaction, discussion and community, allowing people to share
information and build relationships.
The information world is changing at a speed we could never have imagined before. Let us welcome the
Social Media Revolution.
People use social media to help shape the world's events, culture and brands. Facebook has taught us new
ways to communicate and collaborate through features like feeds, profiles and groups. At the same time,
smartphones and tablets provide mobile and instantaneous access to information from any location.
Facebook, Twitter, You Tube and many more social network sites have redefined business by adding many
dollars’ worth of brand equity by spending only a handful of dollars.
Let's stop here for a moment to see how the power of social media (in particular Facebook and Twitter) is
used across in Australia.
The above statistics tells organisations where people are online so that they will be able to engage with them
in an effective way to build up business.
These statistics are a revelation for all business analysts and decision makers to allow them to find out where
the next big thing or hottest trend will come from. This knowledge can be used intelligently to offer
organisations the most up to date and innovative solutions. This is the exact theme of our series of guides on
social media. We will slowly enter into practical aspects of social media sites by explaining the actual user
tools of three popular sites - Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

Amazing Power of Social Media
We don't have a choice on whether we welcome social media; the most relevant question of the day is how
well we do it.
There are still many organisations that do not approve the use of Facebook and Twitter - networks for
engaging with their fans, and are unable to appreciate the astonishing opportunities in these social
networks.
Social media has become a game changer for almost all organisations and has changed the advertising and
marketing landscape forever.
Organisations that were quick to jump into social marketing have made enormous gains. This is only the
beginning and the returns are continuing to grow at a rapid pace. Those on the sidelines are unknowingly
losing.
Which Platform should be utilised and why?
We have discovered that social media is popular in the industry because of the exposure that it can bring to
an organisation. However, not every social networking platform can complement a brand’s online marketing
campaign. You have to select the right platform for your business. You have to take a good look at goals,
audience, and capabilities.
The 5 Point Selection Norm
Stage 1: Set Your Goals
You have to define your social media marketing goals, and make sure that it is exact, action oriented, and
practical. From your goals, you can select which social network can deliver most of your needs, as well as help
you meet your demand for business development.
Stage 2: Know Your Traffic Management Capacity:
Find out the quantum of traffic that your business is likely to generate. Your selected social media should be
able to generate this traffic on your website. You should never be over burdened by huge traffic. Huge traffic

will generate more incoming messages than your handling capacity. Wisely select the social media which will
bring just the required amount of traffic that you can handle.
Stage 3: Find Your Visitor's Online Habits
Your visitor's online habits are the key factors in selecting the right social media platform. Visitor's online
habits will determine the source of traffic, which will depend on his or her interests. This will also influence
the type of content that they’ll read or share. Thus, pick the social network that the majority of your audience
use, and to where you can deliver your content for higher traffic.
Stage 4: Write Appropriate Content
Content matter selection is actually the difficult part of social media marketing. Since the platform you’re
trying to use requires interaction, you need to create and find the right content that you can share online.
That way, visitors will be compelled to read it, which could boost your website’s traffic.
Stage 5: Find Your Best Time of Interaction
Social media will bring huge traffic to your business. With many people possibly reaching out to you for
inquiries and business interactions, it can be a difficult task for you to respond to each enquiry or messages.
You have to establish a time wherein you won’t do anything but interact with your fans, followers, visitors as
well as draft press releases or official announcements regarding a new product launch.
Now that you are ready with your selection guidelines, which social networks should you use?
Facebook and Twitter are the two most often referred to and the statistics we showed earlier show that
Facebook in particular is the social network of choice for most people.
Working in conjunction with social media, YouTube has become one of the most important advertising tools
in small business today. Millions of people visit YouTube every day. To date, there are more YouTube videos
watched each month (10 billion) in the US than there are searches on Google. This exposure and speed
attract many sales people to uploading small business promotional videos on YouTube. YouTube is the
fastest growing site in Internet history, streaming more than 100 million videos a day.

Why Facebook?
Facebook is the world’s biggest social network. With its 1 billion+ users, Facebook has become the world’s
meeting place.
But, while everyone knows about Facebook and some small and medium size businesses have taken the first
step by creating a business page, many are still challenged by how to maximize Facebook’s potential to build
brand loyalty and drive revenues higher.
They know that Fortune 500 firms, like Coca-Cola and McDonald’s, attract millions of Facebook fans, but
beyond posting a status update or asking people to Like them on this mother of all social media, they are
confused and frustrated as to how to make the most of this 21st Century marketing phenomenon.
Facebook can be a very useful tool for marketers in connecting people to others and brands they are
interested in. Brands can use Facebook to directly connect with customers and prospects.
It can be difficult to figure out how to use Facebook for business activities. It can also be difficult to convince
your CEO to let you incorporate Facebook or a larger social media strategy into your marketing plan. With
the right knowledge and metrics, you can prove that it is highly beneficial.
The above shows some incredible statistics about the number of Facebook users worldwide not to mention
the growth predictions for future years.

How to Setup a Business Page
Your Facebook business page is essential to your inbound marketing strategy.
Here you will share Photos, Blogs, Product Descriptions / Features, Product News, Business Strategies,
Business Tips, Your Company's Manpower strengths, and many more ideas to establish a strong relationship
with your customers and fans. Your interaction on the social network gives customers the sense that they
know you and your business, which can increase loyalty and make them more likely to recommend your
products or services.
The potential reach of a Facebook page is huge. Facebook studies show that people interact with their
favorite brands on Facebook more than on any other social network, are more likely to recommend a brand
after becoming a fan of it on Facebook, and are more likely to purchase a product after becoming a fan.
Before creating your Facebook Business page, you must
establish a personal Facebook profile. The individual in
that profile is the creator of the business page. As a
result, the subsequent business page doesn't have
a separate login from that of the individual user who
created it.
If you don't have a Facebook account, you can sign up
for one in a few easy steps.
After you complete the sign up form, Facebook will
send an email to the address you provided. Just click
the confirmation link to complete the sign up process.
Establish your page administration
If you have multiple people working on your Facebook business page, you'll need to select admins. To do
this, fill in the appropriate data in the 'Edit Page' section under 'Manage Admins. The admins either must be
Facebook friends of yours, must currently Like the page or must be identified by the email address they use
for Facebook.
STEP 1: Create Your Page
From your Facebook profile page, click the Pages header in the left-side navigation. Next, click the Create a
Page button, and select the type of page from the following six options.
• Local business or place
• Artist, band, or public figure
• Company, organization, or institution
• Entertainment
• Brand or product
• Cause of community
This classification will help you rank for more relevant
searches and provide relevant information fields on your
page.
After selecting one of the six, choose the category you're in and fill out your business name (or if you

selected one of the other options, your brand or company name). The
business option also asks for further location information.
STEP 2: Upload Profile Picture
Facebook will now prompt you to upload a Profile Picture for your page.
This image will appear as your icon every time you comment on a post or
appear in news feeds. For Business pages, it is recommended that this be
your Company Logo. The ideal dimensions of your profile picture should
be 180 x 180 pixels.
STEP 3: Upload Cover Photo
With the introduction of the Facebook Timeline came the introduction of your best visual advertisement
opportunity on your business page, the cover photo. The exact dimensions of this cover photo are 851 x
315 pixels. Be sure to select or design a creative horizontal image that will appeal to users who land on your
page.
STEP 4: Complete About Section
Next, you need to write your Company's 'About'
information. This should be a 2-3 sentence description of
your Company. It will be on your main page, so make it
descriptive and informative. Be sure to include a link to
your company website here. Ensure that this information
differentiates your brand, making your page even more
appealing to potential Facebook followers.

STEP 5: Edit Page
The 'Edit Page' option in the upper right provides various
options. The first option, 'Update Info,' allows you to
update the basic information you provided earlier. This will
also allow you to enter a description, which is an extended
version of the 'About' information you entered earlier.
You can also manage the roles of your page administrators,
which we have described earlier. The other options under
'Edit Page' allow you to manage your notifications and add
page permissions.
STEP 6: Build Audience
Often, marketers get so excited they started a Facebook
page that they invite users right away. But challenge
yourself to think about a more strategic method for inviting
users. First, you want your page filled with content. Then
invite your brand advocates to start engaging with that
content. Once your page has some interactions, invite more
fans and contacts, and they'll be more interested to like the
page when they see the buzzing hub it is. From that point,
it's at your discretion if you'd like to use Facebook's
advertising tools to further promote the page.
STEP 7: Custom Tabs
Facebook also allows you to have an endless amount of
tabs on your page, although only four are shown
automatically by default.
Think critically about what you want to display in these four
slots, whether it's events, product photos, applications,
email newsletters, promotions and contests, product
features or on any other subject matters relevant to your
Company's marketing venture.
STEP 8: Build Content
Now you want to populate your page with existing content be it photos, milestones and other links.
When posting on your page, use a diversity of content. What images would your audience like to enjoy?
What statistical data would they like to read? What links would they like to click? You can also click the
little star to the upper right of any post to highlight it horizontally across your entire page. Use this
feature for product announcements, business anniversaries, and other major events significant to your
brand.
Step 9: Monitor
Once your page has been up and running for a while and you have accumulated a number of fans, ensure
that you're monitoring how they are interacting with your page. To the upper right of your Admin panel,

you'll see all the private messages users are sending to your page. Meanwhile, the upper left and centre of
the panel shows all the posts users like and are commenting on. Be sure to respond to comments and
messages to ensure your fans know you not only care about them, but to avoid the detrimental impact of
ignoring them.
STEP 10: Measure Your Efforts
At this point, you've built and shared a Facebook business page that accurately represents your business.
Now you need to measure your efforts to ensure you're making valuable marketing decisions on Facebook.
Click on the 'View Insights' option to the bottom-center of your Admin panel. You'll be able to monitor
reach, engagement, and the like in order to help you grow and adapt your Facebook marketing efforts
around what's working and what's not.
Congratulations! You now have a wonderful Facebook business page. Now go post interesting content
and build up a dedicated base of your Company fans!

Ways to Promote on Facebook
You're up the ladder one-step after creating a Business Page on Facebook. Remember, Social Media is a
learning process that can grow your business exponentially with a bit of effort.
Now is the time to grow your fan base. Before you do however, make your goals clear. What do you want the
fan page to carry out for your business? Collecting a large number of fans is not a difficult task, but you have
to decide whether you're happy with contacts, or if you want your fans to become customers. Do you want
your Facebook page to help you sell more products and services?
Having a lot of fans may not boost sales immediately, but it should at least improve the strength of your
brand through reputation management, realistic customer support, and the conversion of fans into
promoters. Your goal should be to spread out your reach, provide relevant information about your business,
influence budding customers, demonstrate that you have the power in your field, and engage fans.
Ways to Engage on Facebook
If you can engage Facebook fans by getting them involved and talking about your brand, that engagement
gets relayed to their friends feeds, so you can actually build more presence in the news feed by engaging
your nucleus fans.
Engaged fans comment on your updates and photos, tag your Page in their own updates, and visit your blog
or website to find out more about you.
Everyone wants to be clever and entertaining on Facebook – so give your followers what they want. Post
genuinely unique, compelling content that is relevant to your brand or business. Your fans will like it,
comment on it, share it – and love you for making them look good. Each time they share your content, their
friends will have the opportunity to like your page too.
Use Facebook as a means to build relationships, not to promote your product. If your fans like you, business
will follow. Make interaction the goal, and don’t underestimate your followers – they like being marketed to
about as much as you do. If you’re genuine and give with no expectation of getting, your fans will respond.
Here are some ways to engage your fans to your Facebook Business Page.

Engaging Brands and Fans
The new world of Social Media may sound scary…but we’re here to help!
This guide is designed to help small businesses make their own start on Facebook, but if you prefer someone
to do the work for you, we can assist.
We specialise in working with sporting and entertainment brands across social media, website design, brand
management as well as design and branding.
We’re Client-Focussed
We understand that every brand is different, so we listen and understand what your goals and objectives are
to enable us to find the right solution for your business.
You name the budget
Big or small, we can tailor our services according to your budget and spread the cost through monthly plans
to help ease your business cash flow.
Take our FREE Online Health Check
Want a no obligation assessment on your current online infrastructure? We can conduct an analysis of your
existing online channels and provide you key results and advice…all for FREE!
Visit engage365.com.au/freeonlinehealthcheck
Contact Us:
PO Box 577
Richmond VIC 3121
http://www.engage365.com.au
engage365
@engage_365

Let's Connect - A Small Business Guide to Facebook

Recomendados

Recomendados

Mais conteúdo relacionado

Último

Último (20)

Destaque

Destaque (20)

Let's Connect - A Small Business Guide to Facebook