If you have a business, you need to create a Facebook business page. With 1.82 billion daily active users, Facebook is not a social network that can be ignored.
Perhaps that’s why more than 200 million businesses use Facebook’s free services. That includes business pages: yes, creating a Facebook page is a free way to market your business.
The good news is that creating a Facebook account for a business is pretty straightforward, and you probably already have all the components you need to get started. Let’s get to it.
What is a Facebook business page?
A Facebook business page is a public Facebook account that can be used by brands, organizations, artists and public figures. Businesses use Pages to share contact information, post updates, share content, promote events and launches and, perhaps most importantly, connect with their Facebook audience.
Pages can connect to Facebook ad accounts and Facebook stores.
How to create a Facebook business page if you have a business
Before creating a Facebook business page, you need to log in to your personal Facebook account. Don’t worry: your personal account information will not be publicly visible on your business page.
This is simply because each business page is managed by one or more page administrators. The administrators are people with personal Facebook accounts. Your personal account functions as the key that allows you to log into your new business page. If you have team members helping you with your page, their personal accounts will also unlock their specific functions and capabilities.
So, if you haven’t already logged into your personal account, do so now and then go through the page creation steps.
Step 1: Register
Go to facebook.com/pages/create.
Enter your business information in the left panel. As you do so, the page preview will update in real time on the right.
For the name of your page, use the name of your business or the name people are likely to search for when trying to find your business.
For the category, type in one or two words that describe your business and Facebook will suggest a few options. You can choose up to three of the suggestions.
Next, fill in the Description field. This is a short description that appears in the search results. It should be just a couple of sentences (maximum 255 characters).
When you are satisfied with your description, click Create Page.
Step 2. Add images
Next, upload a profile and cover image for your Facebook page. It’s important to create a good first visual impression, so choose wisely here. Make sure the photos you choose are in line with your brand and easily identifiable with your business.
First you will upload your profile picture. This image accompanies your company name in search results and when you interact with users. It also appears at the top left of your Facebook page.
If you have a recognizable brand, using your logo is probably the safest way to go. If you’re a celebrity or public figure, an image of your face will work like a charm. And if you’re a local business, try a well-photographed image of your product offering. The important thing is that a potential follower or customer recognizes your page right away.
As we explained in our post on the best image sizes for all social networks, your profile image should be 170 x 170 pixels. It will be cropped in a circle, so don’t put any critical details in the corners.
Once you have chosen a good photo, click on Add profile picture.
Now it’s time to choose your Facebook cover image, the most prominent image on your page.
This image should capture the essence of your business and convey the personality of your company or brand. Facebook recommends that you choose an image of 1640 x 856 pixels.
Once you have selected a suitable image, click Add cover photo.
After uploading your photos, you can use the buttons on the top right of the preview to toggle between desktop and mobile views. Use them to make sure you are satisfied with how your images look on both screens. You can drag the images in the left column to adjust their position.
When you are satisfied with your selections, click Save.
And that’s it. You now have a Facebook business page, albeit a very sparse one.
Of course, even though the skeleton of the Facebook page for your business is already in place, you still have a lot of work to do before you share it with your audience.
Step 3. Connect your company to WhatsApp (optional)
After clicking Save, you will see a pop-up box asking if you want to connect your business to WhatsApp. This is optional, but allows you to add a WhatsApp button to your page or send people to WhatsApp from Facebook Ads.
If you want to connect your business to WhatsApp, click Send code. Otherwise, close the window to continue without connecting WhatsApp. You will get one more pop-up box asking if you are sure. As we will skip this for now, we will click Leave.
Step 4: Create your username
Your username, also called a vanity URL, is how you tell people where to find you on Facebook.
Your username can be a maximum of 50 characters, but don’t use extra characters just because you can. It’s important that it’s easy to spell and easy to remember. Your company name or some obvious variation of it is a safe bet.
To create your username, click Create Username in the page preview.
Enter the name you want to use. Facebook will tell you if it is available. If a green checkmark appears, you are ready. Click Create username.
A confirmation pop-up window will appear. Just click Done.
Step 5: Add your company data
While you may be tempted to leave the details for later, it’s important to fill in all the fields in the “About” section of your Facebook page from the beginning.
Since Facebook is often the first place a customer goes to get information about you, it’s important to have everything there. For example, if someone is looking for a business that is open until 9, they will want to confirm this information on your page. If they don’t find it, they will likely keep looking until they find another place that is more forthcoming.
Fortunately, Facebook makes this very easy to complete. Simply scroll down in your page view to the section called Set up your page for success and drop down the item called Provide information and preferences.
Fill in the appropriate data here, starting with your website.
If your business is open for business during specific hours, be sure to enter it here. This information will appear in the search results.
Don’t forget to complete the Add an action button section.
Facebook’s built-in call-to-action button makes it very easy to give the consumer what they are looking for and allows them to engage with your business in real time.
The right call to action button will encourage visitors to learn more about your business, buy, download your app or book an appointment.
To add your CTA, click on the blue box that says Add Button, and then choose the type of button you want.
If you don’t want to complete all of these steps now, you can always access them later. In the page management menu on the left, scroll down to Edit Page Info.
If at any point you want to take your Facebook business page offline while you work out the details, you can choose to unpublish your page. From the Manage Page menu, click Settings and then click General. Click Page Visibility and change the status to Unpublished Page.
Follow the same steps to republish your page when you are ready.
Step 6. Create your first publication
Before you start inviting people to like your company’s Facebook page, you should post some valuable content. You can create your own posts or share relevant content from thought leaders in your industry.
If you want some inspiration, check out our blog post on Facebook marketing.
You can also create a specific type of post, such as an event or an offer; just click one of the options in the Create box at the top of your page.
Make sure everything you post offers value to your visitors when they land on your Facebook business page, so they’re inclined to stick around.
Step 7. Invite an audience
Your Facebook business page now represents a solid online presence that will make potential customers and fans feel comfortable interacting with you.
Now you need to get followers in Facebook.
Start by inviting your Facebook friends to like your page. To do this, scroll to the bottom of the Set your page up for success box and expand the section called Showcase your page.
Click the blue Invite friends button to display a list of your personal Facebook friends. Select the friends you want to invite and click Send invitations.
Use your other channels, such as your website and Twitter, to promote your new page. Add “follow us” logos on your promotional materials and in your email signature. If you feel comfortable doing so, you can ask your customers to review you on Facebook as well.
How to optimize your Facebook business page
Now that you know how to create a Facebook business page, it’s time to think about ways to optimize your page. These strategies will help you maximize engagement to help you meet your Facebook (and social media) marketing goals.
Add a pinned post
Is there important information you want all your page visitors to see? A promotion you don’t want them to miss? High-performing content you want to showcase? Place it in an anchor post.
An anchored post is located at the top of your Facebook business page, just below your cover image. It’s a great place to put an attention-grabbing element that will draw your visitors in and make them want to stick around.
Start by posting a new post, or scrolling through your feed to find an existing post you want to pin to the top of your page. Click the three dots at the top right of the post, and then click Pin to top of page.
Once you have pinned the post, it will appear under the heading POST POST PINNED at the top of your page. This is for your internal view only. For visitors, it will just show up as the first item under Posts, with a blue pushpin icon to indicate that it is pinned.
Take advantage of templates and tabs
Tabs are the different sections of your Facebook page, such as the “About” and “Photos” sections. You can customize the tabs you want to include and the order in which they appear in the left page administration menu.
If you’re not sure which tabs to include, check out Facebook’s various templates.
Each template has a set of buttons and tabs designed for certain types of businesses. For example, the Restaurants and Cafes template includes tabs for menu, deals and reviews.
To access the templates and tabs, click Settings in the Manage Page menu, then Templates & Tabs.
Like other pages
Since Facebook is, after all, a social network, it’s a good idea to use your page to create a community for your business.
One way to create a community is to connect with other pages that are relevant to your business (but not competitors).
For example, if you have a store in a popular shopping area or mall, you can connect with other stores in the same area. Think of this as an online version of your local business improvement association or chamber of commerce.
If you have a virtual business, you could connect with other businesses in your industry that could bring additional value to your followers without directly competing with your products.
To follow other businesses, go to their Facebook page and click on the plus icon (three dots) under the page’s cover photo. Click “Like” as your page. If you have more than one Facebook business page, choose the one you want to use to follow the other business and click Submit.
Pages will receive a notification when you like them and will be able to view your page or even give you a like in return.
Your company page has a separate news feed from your personal profile, so you can interact with all the companies you follow from your company profile.
To see all the content of the pages you have liked as your page, just select your page and click on News in the left menu. If you don’t like any pages yet, Facebook will offer you a list of suggestions to get you started.
Join groups as your page
Facebook groups represent an organic opportunity to reach many people who are interested in a specific topic, but without paying for ads.
If you join a relevant group and post it as your Facebook page, anyone who is curious about your post will be able to click through to your Facebook business page, rather than your personal profile. Here’s a quick tutorial that explains how to join as a page (it can be tricky).
Check your configuration
Your Facebook Page settings allow you to go into details about who can manage the page, where your posts are visible, banned words on the page, and so on. You can also see the people and pages that have liked your page, control your notifications and much more.
Think of the Settings tab as your behind-the-scenes console for all the adjustable settings available to you. Take a few minutes to review each setting to make sure it’s optimized for how you want to manage the page and how you want your audience to interact with you.
To access the settings, just click on “Settings” at the bottom of the “Manage Page” menu.
Review your settings regularly, as your preferences and requirements may change as your business – and your social media followers – grow.
To have more control over who can manage your page, and to control the roles played by team members, contractors and agencies, consider setting up Facebook Business Manager.
Learning from Page Insights
The more information you have about your audience, the more content you can create to meet their needs.
Facebook Page Insights makes it easy to collect data about how your fans interact with your Page and the content you share. To access Page Insights, click Insights in the Manage Page menu.
Insights gives you information about your Page’s overall performance, including some data on audience demographics and engagement. You can view metrics on your posts to see how many people you’re reaching.
You’ll also see how many comments and reactions you’re getting from specific posts, data that helps you plan future content.
A key feature of Insights is the ability to see how many people have clicked on your call-to-action button, website, phone number and address. This data is broken down by demographics such as age, gender, country, city and device, making it easy for you to tailor future content to your audience. To access this information, click on “Actions on page” in the “Manage page” menu.
Link your Facebook page from other websites
Backlinks help increase the credibility of your Facebook business page and can help improve your search engine rankings. They also help drive potential new followers to your page.
Include a link to your Facebook page at the bottom of your blog posts and, if applicable, on your website. Encourage other businesses and bloggers to do the same when you collaborate.
Once your Facebook page is set up and optimized, check out our complete guide to Facebook marketing to take your Facebook strategy to the next level.