Here’s how to manage your Facebook business page for maximum returns

Facebook is now at the centre of brand and marketer content, marketing, and even sales strategies. With over 1.2 billion daily users, it is one of the most powerful consumer-connect tools in the history of business. Today, Facebook helps brands reach users they couldn’t before, become more relevant in search, nurture their communities of fans and followers, and most importantly, develop a distinct identity that consumers can relate with.

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What is better is that in recent years, Facebook has aced the lead-generation game too. Grabbing eyeballs of potential leads and converting them into paying customers is an added incentive to keep Facebook in your marketing mix.

Clearly, having an effective Facebook business page has many rewards. But often, small businesses and start-ups don’t have the technical know-how or the right skills to manage these pages professionally. How can they do it right?

It needs to be a business page

For starters, your business needs a Facebook business page. It can’t be a group or a personal profile. Seems easy, doesn’t it? Not till you find out that everyone – from your social media-friendly neighbourhood grocery store to the pub around the corner – has a personal profile, and is on your friend list to boot. There are enough well-meaning small businesses that end up with a personal profile instead of a business page simply because they are not aware of the difference between the two.

Your display pic must immediately relate to your brand, product, or service

In my opinion, logos work best. But if your restaurant or antique store doesn’t have one, you can go with just the name too. Even as a sole owner, you’d be better off not having your mug shot in the display picture. You don’t want to get lost in the crowd of faces and visuals in search results.

A little investment in Facebook ads is a must now

Thanks to Facebook’s algorithms, it is almost impossible to garner eyeballs without some financial investment. But don’t worry, because Facebook has made advertising incredibly democratized. Everyone can get in on it now.

Have a cohesive content strategy

Your Facebook business page is neither your Instagram and Snapchat nor your personal profile to showcase your leisure travel and food pictures. Think deeply about the objective and key messages for your page, what kind of content and visuals you can develop, and what they need to say and to whom. Your content must link back to your business, but without being boring or repetitive. Leave the impulsive opinions and link shares for your personal profile. Some content formats and topics that work well include:

Listicles win – still

The last couple of years have seen the BuzzFeed-ification of content on social media. Our brains love lists and they help break down the massive text-heavy content doing the rounds on social media. Listicles get processed more quickly, and there is no reason to not leverage this trend that has not stopped breaking the Internet since 2013!

Help your readers

We live in times of instant gratification. If your content doesn’t quickly tell the consumer what’s in it for them, the chance of them even trying to find out more is very, very slim. New-age sales and marketing are not so much about “closing” as they are about “helping”. Tips and tricks, how-to videos, etc. work great on Facebook business pages.

Ask something relevant

According to Social Influence, posts that ask a question receive 150 percent more engagement than statements. If the question uses the word “you”, the engagement goes up to 175 percent!

A picture speaks 1,000 words. A video speaks much more!

Think beyond words. Videos, both live and recorded, gifs, and images are a must if you want your page to stand out in the clutter of personal Facebook feeds. Try them!

Marketing on social media to a generation that has too many things competing for its attention is hard work. But with a few right steps, you could be managing your Facebook business page like an ace social media professional. It is not difficult!

Read Also: How to use Facebook for your business