If you say the No.1 goal of a Facebook page is to get Likes, Comments and Shares then, well, you’re wrong. Likes and Comments are great and you need them to have a thriving Facebook page, but they’re just one component of fan page strategy. By focusing only on engagement, you are losing sight of people taking actions – visiting your website, signing up, registering or buying a product.

Competing for customers in the digital economy is not easy. People look online to find businesses to buy from – and they predominately are searching social media. Social media is launching businesses, leading to acquisitions and helping companies that almost shut their doors plan for an epic turnaround. 

What social strategies are the best Facebook pages using? What metrics demonstrate that posts are successful? This three-part series starts off with why you should have a Facebook page in the first place.

What Are the Benefits of a Facebook Business Page?

A Multitude of Features. Analytics, advertising and audience targeting increase brand and product exposure to potential customers. 

Businesses Gather More Leads. Likes by themselves aren’t enough to provide a sustainable business. Make a connection with your followers outside of Facebook. Leverage tips, contests, giveaways and newsletters from your website. Post content that is interesting and super relevant to your target audience.  

Lower Your Marketing Expenses. Starting the page costs nothing until you start paying for ads to get page Likes, boosting posts or running Sponsored Stories – all of which you should consider doing with your page. Here's a Facebook cheat sheet. 

Reach a Targeted Audience. People who are interested in your page’s topic are your audience. Facebook campaigns can cost as low as $30 to target interests and gain over a thousand paid fans if done right. Organic followers can grow in the hundreds from the engagement of paid fans.

Build Brand Loyalty. If you consistently provide valuable and entertaining content, your followers will stay loyal. If your followers see you being active and responsive, they’re more likely to do business with you than with a company with no Facebook presence or a poorly run page. 

Five Facebook Page Tips

1. Customize your profile logo to show what you do or a milestone and make it fun. When users search for a business on Facebook they can get identical business names. The potential customers should be able to identify you by your profile image. 
2. If your business is new to social channels, be patient. Invite your e-mail contacts when your page is 100 percent complete. This is a great way to get your initial burst of Likes.
3. Use large images (1200 x 628)on your website and blog for Facebook to pull in with a link. These are called link posts and are a great way to increase web traffic. If you’re posting photos and expecting fans to click the link you added to the photo’s caption, stop now – it’s a waste of time!
4. Don’t forget to add your call-to-action button under the cover photo and set up auto-response in messenger settings. 
5. If you have a global or multi-lingual audience, use the Multiple Languages box and your posts will be shown to your fans and followers in their language.

EventLoop’s next article in our Facebook series will cover audience targeting and ad strategies.

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