Most businesses are by now on social media, but perhaps you still find it a bit difficult to know what to do online, and if you’re not on it at all, perhaps you aren’t sure as to the benefits?
The majority of businesses are now to be found on social media. In fact, you may even find businesses that are on social media, but don’t have a website (if this is you, you should contact our sister company Gwe Cambrian Web and chat about websites for your business). In our opinion, Facebook is one of the most important social media platforms out there for businesses, for a whole range of reasons. However, as you begin looking into social media for your business, you’ll find a lot of people saying that the young aren’t on Facebook, or it only suits a particular type of business. This is true, and in that respect you’ll find these comments across the board when it comes to social media platforms. So, trust us, Facebook is your number one if you’re just starting out.
Facebook has been very business focused for a while, and there are loads of things you can do that will help you show off your business on the platform.
Create a Business Page
Gone are the days of creating a business “profile”. Now you need to create a page that your followers or potential followers can like. The page can be styled using a variety of different templates, depending on what type of business you have (standard, service, shop, professional etc). Each template will create different tabs for you (and your followers), but remember, you can custom-choose these once the page is set up, simply in the settings tab.
Customise Your Page
The business page is important because it offers a lot more information than a profile. This will be things like your address, an about section, location on a map, costs and plenty of call to actions. If you are a business that sells products, you can add your products to Facebook and turn your page into a shop. There are a lot of options on the page, so you need to spend time exploring all of these different settings and options, to tweak the page for you and your business (or, you could ask us to set it up for you).
Be Different
Top tips on the page from us would be try and stand out from the crowd. Make it easy for your potential followers to find you (your page name and also the page username). Stand out by using strong branding across your posts and page, and also fully utilise the cover photo area with either a great image, slideshow or video.
Make sure your posts are varied – Facebook has a whole load of options when it comes to creating posts, so try and explore these to make your page more interesting over your competition. There are options like creating slideshows, sharing pictures/videos, creating polls, asking for recommendations, adding acticvities/emotions and more.
Be Social
Always remember that this is social media. The point of being on social media as a business is not only to extend your presence and reach, but also to be in touch with your customers, and potential customers. This is your chance to shine! You can show off your personality, create great relationships and ultimately, make people want to come to you.
So, be social on your page but also join groups and spark conversations. There are thousands of groups out there, from Knitting in Wales to Exploring Canada – the themes are very varied and diverse. You could even create your own group, linked to your page, to grow your customer base. This is a great way to expand your reach, but can be lengthy for any real results.
This is the tip of the ice-berg really when it comes to Facebook for business, but we hope these little tips will help you as you take your first steps into the world of social media for business. Don’t forget to get in touch if you want a hand, or follow us online and ask questions. We’re always happy to help.