We’ve selected some tips for you to create a page from scratch – if you don’t already have one – and also tips for basic strategies – if you already have a page, but are starting your actions on Facebook

Facebook is the most popular social network in the world, and, more than being a tool to connect people, it is a way for companies to connect with their audience.

But it’s not enough to create a Facebook page and expect that being on the network will do all the work; it is necessary to study the right actions to use in order to position your brand correctly on the network and be able to create an efficient relationship with your customers and prospects.

For this, Blue World City selected some tips for you to create a page from scratch – if you don’t already have one – and also tips for basic strategies – if you already have a page, but are starting your actions on Facebook. Come on?

What is a fanpage or facebook page

A fanpage (or Facebook page) is a page created especially to be a communication channel with fans within the social network (fan page = page for fans, in literal translation).

Unlike profiles, fanpages are spaces that bring together people interested in a common subject, company, cause or personality without the need for friendship approval. It is the fan who chooses whether or not to follow updates on a particular page.

Fanpages are very valuable communication channels for companies. Imagine that in the past you needed to invest in some television channel, a newspaper or a radio station to communicate with your potential customers.

How to Create a Facebook Page

The first thing you need to know before you start using Facebook for your business is that you should create a page for your company, not a personal profile.

With that in mind, you can now create a Facebook page. Doing this is not difficult. Just access the link https://www.facebook.com/pages/create . Now choose the type of page you want to create

These categories, in turn, have very specific subcategories, in order to make it very clear what your business objective is. Choose the segment your page belongs to, define the name and your page will be created.

Now set all your page settings. If you’ve just created it, right below the cover photo there is a step-by-step guide to start customizing: add a profile photo, add cover photo, insert a brief description of the business and a username.

1. Profile and cover photo

Your profile picture is the main image of your business on Facebook, as it will appear whenever you share new content in the news feed. We suggest, then, that you use an image that presents your business properly.

In terms of size, the profile image by default will appear round, with a minimum resolution of 180x180px. So, before placing the image, make sure it is at this minimum resolution, so there is no distortion.

You can also explore the cover photo to show your company image – the cover photo is the larger image that appears when someone comes to your page. For this image, what we said about the profile image is true: you must place an image that has the exact size of the resolution (minimum 851x315px) so that no elements of the image are cut off.

Take advantage of this image in a creative way: use it to place an offer, company visions, support for a cause, your business slogan, a photo (internal or external) of your company or product, or anything else another image that represents your brand in some way.

2. About the company

In the “about” section, which is on the left sidebar of the page, you can enter various information about your company, such as contact information, address, telephone, email, website and other important data, such as description and related topics.

In this section, you can also define a username, to customize the URL and create a Facebook page with a more professional face, as in the example of the Results Digitais page, whose URL looked like this: https://www.facebook. com/DigitalResults/ .

Generally, you need to have a minimum number of likes for you to be able to customize the URL. Invite your close friends and family to like the page for the option to be released.

Just be careful with your choice of URL, as changing this name is a difficult task. But you don’t need to get this information right now; if you want, save it for later.

3. Other settings

But these aren’t the only customizations you can make when creating a Facebook page. There is a tab, called “settings”, where you can define information like your target audience (this helps you gain relevance in searches), add page admins, etc.

4. Other elements of the page

There are three columns you’ll notice after creating a Facebook page:

• The left column is fixed, so when scrolling the page, the user continues to see the logo, name, shortcut to the “about” page and to the videos, among other items;
• In the middle column are the cover photo, weekly insights, and timeline posts;
• In the right column are the “about” box, page videos, events, etc. Unlike previous versions of Facebook pages, this column no longer appears ads from other companies, so they don’t compete with your company for the user’s attention.

5. Custom tabs

Facebook also allows you to create custom tabs or categories. These tabs are located below the profile photo, in list format, and you can choose from almost 30 options.

So take advantage of this functionality for your business: see how you can use it to help people find information about your products and services. For example, when people look for deals on Facebook, an establishment that offers a tab with this configuration on its page can come out ahead when it comes to getting customers.

6. Call-to-Action Buttons

Facebook provides Calls-to-Action buttons (CTAs) that appear below the cover image. Their goal is to encourage people to take important actions on your page.

There are several button options you can use, including “book now”, “call now”, “buy now”, “watch video”, “send email” etc.

RD, for example, often uses a CTA button that redirects the page visitor to the RD Station website. However, during event times, we also direct the user to the RD On the Road or RD Summit websites.

Follow the step by step below to add a CTA button to your page.

1. Below your cover photo, click on the “add a button” option.

2. Then choose the call you want and fill in the data related to it (“buy now”, “subscribe here”, “contact us” etc.);

3. Click “create”.

Types of CTAs available

Facebook offers several actions, each with a different objective:

• Book now: useful for businesses dealing with deals involving dates and travel, such as transport companies, hotels, events, etc;
• Call now: ideal for companies that use telephone answering. It is possible to make the call immediately if the visitor is visiting the page from a cell phone;
• Talk to us: it is a good option for businesses that work with SAC 2.0. You can either answer directly through Facebook or direct the user to your website, to a page on your website dedicated to this. If you don’t work 24 hours a day, make it clear what your opening hours are;
• Send message: this option is for the visitor to send messages that will be received by Facebook chat;
• Sign Up: This CTA is ideal for obtaining data and generating qualified Leads. The offer can be a newsletter, a list of promotions, etc;
• Send email: option basket, the visitor of your page will have the opportunity to send an email to an address that you predefine;
• WhatsApp: visitors can send a message to their WhatsApp business account ;
• Buy Now/Buy Gift Certificate/View Deals/Order Meal: If you want to send your user directly to purchase, use these buttons. Encouraging purchase is very important to get more conversions on your site. Just don’t forget to make it clear if there is any kind of restriction on your offer (validity, for example);
• Use application: This CTA is ideal for companies that have some type of application. This is a great opportunity for new conversions;
• Play: Using this function, you will direct your user to a games page. Whether creating a game or an application, remember how important it is to be adapted to mobile platforms;
• Watch the video: Videos are one of the ways to generate more engagement and views on Facebook. So use more videos to increase your audience. Just be careful not to be too emphatic on your cover, as this is not well regarded by social media policy, and you may have your page penalized;
• Learn more: This CTA can be used when you don’t have anything more specific to offer.

Why use a fanpage and not a profile

Now that we’ve talked about what a fanpage is and how to create one for your company, let’s answer this very common question.

We’ll highlight 10 reasons why your company has a page and not a profile. Are they:

1. Legal barriers

Facebook makes it clear in its terms of service that everyone can have a unique profile and that this must be personal. This means that any company profile is violating the terms of service and therefore can be removed at any time.

It certainly wouldn’t be cool for your company to work on gaining a base of friends and then lose it.

2. Limit of connections

Profiles have a maximum limit of 5,000 friends. We know that 5,000 is not a low number, but it is not impossible to reach it either. Business fanpages have no restriction on the number of fans.

One of the complaints of those who choose the profile instead of the page is that with the profile it is possible to request friendship, while with the page it is not possible to do anything except wait for the user to click on “like”. In fact, this happens, but given all the other benefits of a fanpage, it’s not worth keeping the profile.

3. Fanpages for companies can have custom tabs

Only a fanpage allows you to edit tabs with whatever content you want. You can post photos, videos, discussion forums, information about specific products, events and user reviews.

4. Appointments and check-ins

Your fans and other fanpages can publicly mention your page. On a personal profile, this can only be done by your friends.

Tagging can be done on virtually every Facebook update (photos, videos, links, status, etc.), meaning it is definitely beneficial for any page that wants to increase its fan base. Being mentioned is always a way to increase engagement and interaction not only among your fans but also among other pages.

If your page has a physical location, people can check-in and mention that they are there, such as a restaurant, bar, or hotel. In personal profiles this is impossible.

5. Calls-to-Action

Another advantage that a page has over a profile is the ability to create a call-to-action button to insert into the fanpage.

These buttons encourage the user to click and perform an action, as explained above in the post.

6. Data analysis

A fan page offers the option to report, which presents important data about the fans (such as location, age, language and gender) and the repercussion of the page (how many people visited, which posts were most commented on, how many photos and videos were viewed, etc. .).

All this information is inaccessible to anyone who has only one profile. Check the Introduction to Marketing on Facebook eBook for all the analysis possibilities available.

7. Multiple access

One of the advantages of having a fanpage is the fact that it can be managed by several people simultaneously. Also, you can stay logged in to your personal profile at the same time.

There are levels of hierarchy where each role has a higher power limit over the others. They are: administrator, editor, moderator, advertiser and analyst. To find out what functions each level can perform, visit this Facebook help page.

8. Ads

By managing a fanpage, your company has the ability to create a wide range of ads to reach a wider audience or to promote specific offers.

You can also choose a specific type of campaign goal and optimize it to achieve those results:

• Boost your publications
• Promote your page
• Send people to your website
• Increase conversions on your website
• Get installations for your app
• Increase engagement with your app
• Reach people close to your company
• Increase participation in your event
• Make people get your offer
• Get Video Views

9. Facebook Business

Facebook Business or Business Manager is a tool used for managing access to ad accounts and fan pages.

The Business Manager is aimed at companies that need to grant multiple and different permissions to a vast number of users.

Briefly, the Business Manager allows:

• Manage access to ad pages and accounts: to clearly know who has access to your ad pages and accounts, and remove or modify permissions;
• Keep your business activities separate: to gain access to your ad pages and accounts without having to add your coworkers as Facebook friends.

10. Connect with Instagram and WhatsApp

In case you didn’t know, Instagram and WhatsApp are owned by Facebook. That way you can connect your professional accounts to each of them. By the way, to have a business account on them you must have a Facebook page.

The exchange of messages between the three platforms, by the way, is already being tested by Facebook, starting with the integration with Instagram. As you saw above, visitors can also send messages directly to a registered WhatsApp.

How to Generate Leads and Make Sales After Creating a Facebook Page

As mentioned above, it is possible to generate Leads and make sales directly on your Facebook page. However, it is much more interesting for you to bring visitors to your company’s website, that is, your own home. It is through your internet address that more lasting relationships are born. So, it’s worth using Facebook creatively to drive your fans to your site using links, artwork and even retargeting.

To optimize your time and maximize your results with this strategy, use RD Station Marketing. With it, you can schedule your Facebook posts, create ads for the social network and even schedule retargeting actions. Besides, you’ll be able to create forms, Landing Pages and pop-ups to capture the contacts of visitors who arrive via Face.

Finally, RD Station Marketing allows you to create emails and automation flows to drive these Leads to the point of sale, bringing complete data for you to understand what works best and prove results.