If your business sells directly to consumers (Business 2 Consumer), then you should consider creating a Facebook Business Page. Please note – not a personal Facebook page but an official Facebook Business Page set up by a social media professional. Why do I say you need a professional? It is because I have seen so many “business” pages set up incorrectly.
When a business page is set up properly, the business owner can optimize the platform for a return on investment ultimately correlating to more website traffic and customers.
Facebook has 214 billion users in the United States and more than 1.8 million monthly active users per Statista. More than likely, YOUR customer is spending time on Facebook.
Here are five reasons why you need a Business Page on Facebook.
- Only business pages can display reviews
People love to see recommendations from other people. Positive reviews encourage customers to come to your store or buy your services.
Business pages allow customers to rate or review your company. Reviews are one way to establish trust with potential customers. As we know, people buy from people they trust.
- Business pages can access the Ads Manager feature
Administrators of business pages can purchase advertisements while personal pages do not have access to this feature. The Ads Manager feature on Facebook allows a business owner or their social media expert to choose specific variables including demographics, interests, occupation, etc. so they can target their preferred customer in their ad. There is also the capability to retarget people who have gone to your website, or viewed a video on your page, or viewed a previous ad. You can also upload your mailing list and target your loyal customers or create a look-alike audience based on your current following. A brick and mortar business can also target customers within a 10-15 mile radius. These targeting tools are powerful and the best part is that you can see how effective these ads are by viewing the analytics.
- A business page allows you to see insights/analytics
As the old saying goes, “Information is power.”
Facebook Insights (what they call their analytics tool) allows the business owner the ability to answer questions like:
- Am I reaching my preferred audience with my posts?
- Which posts do I get the most engagement from?
- How can I improve my strategy and get more of the results I want?
Facebook Insights allow you to see the demographics of people visiting your page, what days and times your page receives the most traffic, and which posts receive the most engagement and reach.
Insight categories include: Actions on Page, Page Views, Page Likes, Post Reach, Post Engagement, Video Views.
By having this information, you can tailor your page to keep your target market audience happily consuming your posts.
- Contests and special offers are encouraged on business pages
A Facebook business page provides multiple tools to make publicizing offers, events, and contests possible. These tools are not available on a personal page.
- A personal page is limited to 5,000 friends
Business pages can be liked and followed by an unlimited amount of people, allowing for unlimited growth. Note: CocaCola has hundreds of millions of likes.
Have I convinced you yet? A well optimized Facebook Business Page is a powerful way to gain visibility for your business. If that’s not enough, how about this: Your competitors are probably already there.