A simple rule of business communication is to take your message where your customers are. Facebook, one of the largest social media networks with over 500 million active users, has grown beyond its role in personal networking and emerged as a powerful marketing tool for businesses.

1. QUICK GUIDE TO FACEBOOK
PAGES FOR BUSINESS
© Farida Harianawala Social Media Prism, Prism Media Services Inc.
Website: www.socialmediaprism.com
Email: info@socialmediaprism.com

2. OVERVIEW
A simple rule of business communication is to take your message where your customers are.
Facebook, one of the largest social media networks with over 500 million active users, has
grown beyond its role in personal networking and emerged as a powerful marketing tool for
businesses. Facebook pages are now an essential branding tool for all organizations, helping
businesses or non-profit organizations of all sizes interact and engage directly with customers
or a community in a way that’s least interruptive.
Facebook pages enable you to create your own unique presence where customers can interact
with you and keep in touch with your brand, product or service. By clicking on the ‘Like’ button
on your page, customers can access the latest updates on your wall, read your latest blog entry
or event, and view videos or photos you may post on your profile. They can also participate in
discussions and post comments on your posts.
When someone likes, posts a comment or interacts with your page, their activity is visible to
their friends through Facebook’s News Feed. The social nature of Facebook gives your page
greater exposure, allowing you to attract more fans and draw attention to your company or
organization.
Besides these benefits, Facebook pages usually rank high in search engines, helping potential
customers find you easily and own more ‘real estate’ in the first few search pages. By sharing

3. links with company-related news or other information on your website, you can drive more
clicks and better optimize your site for improved search engine results.
HOW TO GET STARTED
1) Set up your profile. If you already have a personal profile, just log in to your account and
click on ‘Ads and Pages’ on the left hand side of your profile or on ‘Advertising’ on the
bottom right of the page. Once the advertising page opens up, click on ‘Promote your
Facebook page or website’ under the heading ‘Deepen Relationships.’ Next, click on the
green ‘Create a Page’ button. If you can’t find it, click directly on this link.
2) Select an appropriate business category for your page and enter your company
information.
3) Upload a profile picture. List your website’s URL and links to your blog or Twitter profile,
along with other contact information. While creating a profile, think about how you
want to project your company to your fans and what keywords you want to include in
your profile and business description.
4) Click on ‘publish your page’ once the page is set up, to make it public.
5) Invite friends from your personal profile to ‘like’ your business page. If you don’t have a
personal profile, it is recommended that you set one up first before creating a business
page. Having a personal Facebook profile will make it easier to promote your Facebook
page among your existing network.

4. WHAT SHOULD YOU POST ON YOUR FACEBOOK PAGE?
1) Post regular updates on new projects your company may be working on, links to latest
company news, press releases, press coverage or your latest blog post. You can also
post latest events, videos and pictures or start discussions with your fans, inviting ideas
or soliciting their feedback. Keep your profile active to engage and retain existing fans
and attract new ones.
2) Use applications such as Facebook polls to gauge what your customers think about a
particular product or new service you want to introduce.
HOW TO ATTRACT FANS (MORE LIKES) TO YOUR FACEBOOK PAGE
1) ‘Like’ your own Facebook business page so that your Facebook friends learn about your
page through the news feed. You can then also invite your own Facebook friends to like
your page by using the ‘Suggest to Friends’ feature that shows up below your profile
picture on the top left.
2) Publicize your page by adding links to it on your website, e-newsletter and blog. You can
even add a clickable Facebook badge or icon to your e-mail signature that points to your
Facebook page. If you wish to try paid options, use Facebook ads to publicize your fan
page to a select target audience based on demographic or geographic criteria or other
criteria such as profession or interests.
3) Offer quality content that would be useful to your Facebook fans. Dell is a great example
of a company that does a great job of providing useful content and giving fans a reason
to visit their Facebook page. Another way is to create a contest that persuades fans to
participate or offer them an exclusive discount or deal to provide them with an
incentive to ‘Like’ your page.