Did you know 2.3 billion people use Facebook every month? You’re probably one of them. For many businesses, having a Facebook Page is just common sense, and you’ll be glad to know it’s easier to set up than you might think. Follow our guide below – just get logged into your own Facebook account and you’ll be ready to go. Once your set up, stay tuned for the other posts in our Facebook series to find out what to do with your Facebook Page when you have one.
The screenshots are from a PC, not a mobile device – the steps will be largely the same on either
Create Page
Step 1 – In the left hand sidebar of every page on Facebook is a long list of links. Right at the bottom, you’ll see links to create several different things, including a new Facebook Page.
Choose your Page type
Step 2 – Select one of the six options which best describes your Facebook Page.
If you choose ‘Local business or place’ you will need to add an address for your business.
If you prefer not to add an address, you can select ‘Company, Organisation or Institution’.
Add a business details
Step 3 – In the box which pops up, fill in all the requested details.
Your Facebook Page name should be simple – just add your business’s name. Although if you’re trading under your own name, you may need to add a tag line after you name. This helps people recognise your business Page when it appears in their feed.
The Category options can be limited so choose the nearest available match.
Finally, make sure you do read the Facebook Pages Terms before signing up. They’re a bit dull, but the information is important.
Add profile and cover pictures
Step 4 – Next, you’ll be asked to add a profile picture to your Facebook Page. The company logo, or a professional headshot, are good options for this.
You’ll also need a cover photo, which could be a graphic, or it might be a photo of your office, your building, your team, a group of your customers, or anything else which lets people know what your business does.
If you don’t have images prepared yet, you can skip these steps, but make sure you do add these in before you invite anyone to Like or look at your Page.
Invite your Friends
Step 5 – the next prompt from Facebook is to invite your friends. It’s probably a little bit soon for that just yet, so cancel the little suggestion box. Once your Page is ready and set up, you can come back to the list of Friends, and select people to invite.
Publish your first Post
Step 6 – If you’re brand new to Facebook, it can be a little daunting to make your first post! But the quickest way to get over that anxious feeling is just to dive write in. Write a brief message welcoming your friends and customers to your page and hit post. You will have plenty of time to craft high-quality content in the future. For now, don’t let perfectionism get in the way of making progress.
Check for Facebook’s own setup tips
Step 7 – Facebook know exactly what makes a business Page successful, and they really want your Page to succeed. It’s great for their bottom line as well as yours. So use their handy tips to make sure you haven’t forgotten anything important. This little menu also gives you super convenient links to complete the next two steps in setting up your page.
Add your business hours
Step 8 – You need to let people know when your shop is open or when your service is available.
If you have an e-commerce store, then you can be open all the time.
On the other hand, if you provide a service online, it makes sense to add the typical hours that you’ll be working, so people have an idea of whether you’ll respond to their messages right away.
Add your website address
Step 9 – I have no idea why Facebook don’t put this step earlier in the process, as it’s so important for your business. Actually, I do – they don’t want you encouraging your customers to go and look at your website when that means leaving Facebook to do so.
But anyway, you do still need to add your website, if you have one.
Add any other information
Step 10 – There are lots of other snippets of information you can and should add to your Facebook Page, but you don’t need to do everything at once.
Right under your cover photo, you’ll see a button with three dots. Click this to get the extended menu, and right at the top is the link to Edit your Page info.
Make sure you visit the link and check what other essential info you need to get up on your page.
And you’re done!
Great job. Now that you’ve created the page and added all your details, it’s time to head back to Step 5 – inviting friends to Like your Facebook Page.
Choose people from your friends list who match your target audience – or who know a lot of people who do. Yes, you’d get more likes if you selected everyone, but then you’d be marketing to people who may never become your customers, and that’s not a smart way to spend your time.
You also risk lowering your engagement level, and damaging Facebook’s good impression of you. Higher engagement means they’ll show your content and ads to more people, so it’s not a risk you want to take!
