With over 2.23 billion people logging into Facebook every month, it’s no wonder that companies are flocking to the social network to advertise their services, increase their fanbase, and land more leads. But Facebook is constantly changing. There are even blogs dedicated to recording Facebook’s monthly changes, and this makes it difficult for marketers to keep up or to know which features and activities to focus on.
Regardless, it’s more important than ever to build a solid brand presence on Facebook, considering that 60% of Americans currently use the platform and that it is the top platform for both B2B and B2C businesses. Here are some strategies to help you have a stronger Facebook presence.
The first step to having a strong Facebook presence is filling out your business profile information completely. Below are the critical components.
Profile PictureOn Facebook, you can choose to upload any profile photo you’d like, whether it is of your logo or a styled photo. However, we recommend using a consistent photo across all your channels, such as a logo image.
The ideal profile photo size is 170 x 170 pixels. But if you do happen to upload a larger photo, as long as the aspect ratio is 1:1, Facebook will resize it for you automatically.
Another important thing to keep in mind is that Facebook will crop the photo into a circle in ads and posts, so ensure that your profile picture looks good even when it is cropped.
Your Facebook name and URL determine how users find you on Facebook. Like a Twitter handle, your Facebook name is unique. Generally speaking, your brand’s main Facebook page should take the name of the brand as its Facebook name. For instance, for a chain called Brandon’s Hot Dogs, the Facebook name would be Brandon’s Hot Dogs and the URL leading to the main brand page would be facebook.com/brandonshotdogs.
For multi-location brands, each store or office location is a “child” of the main brand’s “parent” page. These child pages should generally have Facebook names that contain the name of the brand plus the location of the store or office.
So for Brandon’s Hot Dogs in Anaheim, CA, the Facebook name might be Brandon’s Hot Dogs (Anaheim, CA), so that the URL to the child page could be facebook.com/brandonshotdogsanaheim or even facebook.com/brandonshotdogs-anaheim
If you are adding a location page under a parent brand page:
Click here for more information on how to create a Facebook Page and how to add a location.
You can easily choose your own URL by heading over to your Facebook business page and navigating to the area below your logo and Facebook Page name. Click “Create Page @Username” and enter your desired Facebook URL.
It’s important to also set up your Facebook location properly. If you have done it correctly, then the location should appear in parentheses after the Facebook name. For example, Brandon's Hot Dogs (Anaheim, CA) is correct, but Brandon's Hot Dogs Anaheim is not.
Check to see whether your Facebook name and URL are consistent across all locations.
For example, if your business has a Facebook page URL for your Carlsbad location and it’s displayed as @BrandonsHotDogs-Carlsbad, while another location is @BrandonsHotDogsLB, then your URL is inconsistent.
For more information on how locations are named, read Facebook’s guidelines.
Your cover photo on Facebook matters more than you might think. Consider that it’s the first impression people will get from your business when visiting your Facebook page. So be sure to choose your cover photo or video carefully.
Here are some ideas:
Facebook’s cover photos will display at:
820 pixels wide and 312 pixels tall for desktop, 640 pixels wide by 360 pixels tall for mobile.
So, when designing your cover photo we highly recommend including all important text in the middle so that it displays properly in mobile.
Sitting right below the Facebook cover photo is an optional CTA button that can be edited to display one of several desired actions. Your CTA button can be different depending on what you are promoting and the services you provide.
For example, Healthcare providers might find it helpful to display a CTA button reading “Book Now” so that customers can easily schedule an appointment.
It’s important to keep track of how many people are clicking your CTA button so that you can continuously improve your click-through rates (CTR).
To access your analytics, follow the steps below:
• Click “Actions on Page” on the left-hand side.
• From there, you can choose to view data from 1 week, 1 month, 1 quarter, or a custom date range.
Take a look and see which days resulted in the most clicks and try to repeat your past success. Consider the following questions as you analyze the results: Did you get more clicks because your company promoted a special event? Did the uptick coincide with an ad campaign?
Facebook allows you to add custom tabs to your page. (For more about how to harness the power of Facebook tabs to increase engagement, check out our blog post, 9 Benefits of Facebook Pages for Multi-Location Brands.)
You can add anything from an embedded locator to a product tab, but we recommend not overcrowding your profile with tabs, so choose them strategically.
Something else that may be useful for those in service industries is the ability to add a “Services” tab, content from which will be displayed directly on your front page.
For example, 24 Hour Home Care chooses to highlight their services so that their potential customers can see what they offer.
Learn more about Facebook tabs here.
Facebook allows you to add an “about us” section to your profile called “Our Story.” In this section, you can help potential customers to learn more about your business. It will appear on the right-hand side of your page and can include a featured image.
As Facebook only displays the first few sentences of your story in the main page view, it’s important to keep your copy concise and compelling. Viewers can also click “See More” to expand your story.
Having the proper location details is important because it ensures customers can call you, visit your website, or find your store, and because accurate and consistent name, address, and phone (NAP) information helps you rank well in search.
Ensure that your location page has the right address, phone number, and website (preferably pointing to a specific location page if you have several locations) as well as the correct Facebook category. Also, make sure your phone numbers are listed correctly.
As with other claiming directories, Facebook also has reviews, but as of last year they are now called “recommendations.” Recommendations are displayed directly under your photos, and only the top three are shown at a time. Facebook displays the number of people who recommended your business along with popular mentions in reviews.
We recommend replying to both positive and negative recommendations in a timely manner. For more information on best practices for review management, refer to The Brandify Guide to Review Management and Response.
Diana Trinh is a writer, traveler, and food enthusiast.
