How to Create the Ultimate Facebook Business Page

Facebook business pages are a place where you can develop the relationship between your brand and the world at large.

Whether you’re responding to customer feedback, nurturing prospects, sharing content, or simply informing some subset of Facebook’s 2.9 billion users what time your widget shop closes on Tuesday evenings, Pages are one of the most important online properties that you can plant your flag on. They’re a necessary tool for businesses operating in the 21st century.

They also have a boatload of moving parts, which is a nice way of saying that creating a business page can be a major pain in the ass.

See all those blue squares?

Some would call them headaches: I’ll call them opportunities.

Today, we’re going to tackle the challenge of making a great Facebook page for your small business.

But first…

Getting started with your Facebook Business Page

Once you’re good and ready, navigate over to Facebook’s “Create a Page” page to get started.

First, you’ll name your page and be prompted through briefly categorizing and describing your page. If you’re having trouble with the “Page Category” field, just choose something that relates to your business in any way; you can edit your selection later.

Once completed, click the blue “Create page” button and you’ll be taken to your brand new empty shell of a Facebook business page.

Templates & tabs: the foundation of your Facebook Business Page

Before we start adding images and writing copy, we’re going to spend some time getting everything juuust right in the with the set up prompts. You’ll see this towards the left of your page.

Congratulations! You’ve officially been transported to Page creation’s most intimidatingly bland page. Despite having the aesthetic appeal of multigrain Cheerios soaking in wood glue, this page is riddled with useful information you’re going to want to check out after you’ve created your page in earnest.

First thing’s first, though: let’s shift your page template to something a bit more business-friendly.

You’ll have tabs where you can add even more to your page to give visitors a full view of your business. Your new tabs will be as follows:

• Home
• Services
• Shop
• Posts
• Reviews
• Videos
• Photos
• About
• Community
• Offers
• Groups

In addition to providing you with a tailored suite of available tabs to help your page visitors, you’re also able add a customizable CTA button to your page.

This Facebook business page button prompts visitors to easily “follow” the page. However, this can be edited at any time. 

Eye candy: page profile and cover pictures

Finally! It’s time to add the first bits of flair.

Your cover photo (or video!) is the first thing a page visitor is going to notice. As a result, it needs to serve a purpose. You might share a video of your team members solving a common goal to hammer home the collaborative nature of your workplace (particularly if you plan to use your Facebook page to promote company culture and grow brand awareness).

You can also use the cover photo to advertise an impending event, offer a discount code, or simply convey the benefits of your product or service.

I say that to say this: you need a killer cover photo.

Facebook will encourage you to add a cover photo in the quick set-up prompts on the left, or you can edit your cover photo at any time in the top right. 

Profile pictures, on the other hand, are a straight-up brand play. Due to size constraints, you’re better off using your logo than trying to cram something elaborate into a tiny square frame tucked in the top-left corner.

With that, here are some more guidelines and best practices for both profile and cover pictures.

Your Facebook profile picture

Your profile picture only needs two things to be successful: familiarity and scalability.

In truth, most folks won’t even notice that it exists. Their eyes will be drawn to the larger, more dynamic cover picture or down the screen to where pertinent information resides. You shouldn’t attempt to distract with your profile picture. It should be to your page what the hidden arrow is to the FedEx logo: a subtle complement.

On a computer, your profile picture will display at 170×170 pixels; on a smartphone, it’s 128×128. This is why it’s so important to steer clear of text: nobody’s going to be able to read it. Instead, opt for something clean. If you don’t have time to develop something elaborate, that’s totally fine: just use your logo. Heck, that’s what we do:

You should also note that, when you begin to use Facebook ads or engage with page visitors, your profile picture will be shaved down into an even smaller circular image.

If key components of your logo live on the fringes of the frame, consider repositioning the image so that design elements aren’t cast asunder.

Your Facebook cover picture (or video)

This one’s a bit trickier because you’re got so much more space to work with.

If you haven’t already added a cover element to your business page, you should see an expansive grey wasteland atop your content. Click the “Edit” button in the corner of this space to give yourself the option of either adding a photo or a video.

Your cover photo Displays at 820×312 on computers and 640×360 on smartphones. If you want to use a video instead, it must be between 20 and 90 seconds and no smaller than a cover photo.

Regardless of whether you decided to roll with an image or a video, avoid clutter at all costs. Visitors can scroll down your page to find swaths of copy to read. Your cover element should be a brand play, something fun, and evocative, not a how-to guide.

Sometimes, simple is best. Oh, and be sure to switch your cover element out frequently to see how it impacts engagement.

A memorable Facebook page username is essential

Having a username associated with your business page will allows prospects, customers, and total strangers to tag your business in posts and comments. The username is an essential component of establishing and maintaining brand engagement. it’s also, like, the easiest thing to implement.

Now, the obvious play is to use the name of your business as your username.

If someone’s already commandeered your name (you can’t claim a username that someone else is already using), you’re going to have to get a bit creative. Provided you can stick to alphanumeric characters and come up with something that’s at least five characters in length and devoid of bigotry or foul language, you’re good to go.

One suggestion here: If your business is hyper-local or the page you’re creating is for a single location, append a geo-modifier to your username (instead of just “@businessname,” use “@businessnamelocation”). This can help to convey trust and gives you the ability to share the most relevant content.

Add relevant business details to help customers find you

You’ve gussied up your Facebook business page with eye-catching visuals and interactive elements: now it’s time to input some information.

On the righthand side, click the “Edit Page Info” link at the left of the page.

This will open a single, streamlined menu through which you can enter basic information about your business, including:

• General – This is where you can alter your business’s category and add a brief (255 character) description of what it is you do.
• Contact – Phone number, link to website, email address. You can also link to additional pages here (product-centric content, careers, etc.).
• Location – You can opt out of including your location on your page by unchecking the “Customers visit my business at my street address” box below the map.
• Hours- Pretty self-explanatory.

Upon completion, double-check your business information for accuracy, kick your feet up and crack open a cold one: you’re finally ready to start posting content and promoting your business on Facebook! Just don’t forget to monitor your Facebook Insights so you can cater your content to your audience’s preferences.

Promoting your business on Facebook

While a business page is going to give you the ability to provide general information about your offerings and share new content to existing fans, it isn’t going to function as an explicit lead generation tool without advertising.

We’ve got a wealth of content that can help you get started with Facebook Ads. Now that you’ve got a killer Facebook business page, it’s time to put the platform to use.