Site Dudes Facebook Guide

Introduction

Congratulations on taking your first step in establishing your business on the world’s largest social network. Social media can be an intimidating place for newcomers, so we’ve developed this short guide to help you get started on Facebook. If you have any particular questions, do not hesitate to post them on Site Dude’s Facebook wall and we’ll do our best to answer them or direct you to sources that will.

Facebook is the most popular social network in North America, over 58%¹ of Americans and 59%² of Canadians are regular users. These figures have made Facebook impossible to ignore. No matter what industry you’re in, it’s likely that your audience is present on Facebook. So, how do you make the most of your Facebook page? Below are some tips.

Getting Started on THE Social Network

1. Populate your Page, before you choose to pull potential clients to your page, your business should look presentable on Facebook. This requires some work, be sure to populate your page with relevant content, including: photos, videos, and wall posts. You need to give a reason for Facebook users to like your page. Below are some ideas on the type of content you can add to your page:

Wall Posts – Content should be relevant to your industry and shouldn’t focus too much on directly marketing your services and/or products. Provide valuable information and give reasons for your fans to like you. Decide on the optimal number of posts you will publish on your page and try to stay consistent. As your fan base grows, make content more engaging—remember, Facebook is a social environment!
Photos – Facebook is also a very visual environment. If you have a personal account you are probably aware of the prominent focus on photographs across the site. Be sure to include photos of what your business does, your team, your services and products, and any other relevant information your fans may find interesting. Tip: add photos progressively several times a week, not all at once, this way your fans will have a constant stream of visual content coming from your page.
Videos – this may work better for some businesses than others. If your business or product is one that translates well on film, then this is a great feature to take advantage of. If you already have a YouTube channel, you can direct existing videos to your Facebook page.
Ideas: product demonstration, meet the staff, facilities tour, “a day on the job”, etc.

1. Obtain a Vanity URL, this simply means that your URL address will reflect the name of your business, making it easier for your customers to find you on Facebook. You can only do this when your page obtains 25 likes.

- How to get 25 likes:
  - If you have a Facebook profile, ask your friends to like your page, you can do so by sharing your page with your friends, to do this click the “…” button beside the “share” button on your cover photo. Then click “invite friends”.

When you reach 25 likes, go to http://www.facebook.com/username/ and select a username for your page. Think carefully before settling on a username, as you may only change it once. We recommend choosing a username which most closely reflects your company name. Try to also ensure that usernames are kept consistent across your social media properties, e.g. check if twitter handles are available that are consistent with the Facebook username you choose.
Once you’ve chosen a username, it will allow your fans and customers to quickly find you by typing in the chosen name into the URL bar instead of finding your business manually through Facebook’s search.
Custom Tabs – Tabs come with your page when you create it. They help people see specific parts of your page, like photos and events.
Apps are made by third-party developers. You can add apps to your page, build your own, or work with one of Site Dudes’ developers to create a unique app experience on your page.

Custom tabs can range from the simple and static to the dynamic and interactive. They can include contests, surveys, testimonials, games, terms and conditions, gifts, and news. If you are curious to see some great examples of custom tabs, look at any of the top brand pages on Facebook, e.g. Coca‐Cola, Starbucks, Red Bull, Oreo, and Burt’s Bees. Click on the “more” tab to view all their custom tabs.

If you have a small or medium-sized business, your fans will not expect you to have such elaborate custom tabs, but fans will expect you to put effort into your page. If you decide not to develop tabs, be sure that your content is interesting and engaging to your fans, as always, give them a reason to remain being your fan.
Call-to-Action Button – This is an important marketing effort that is not to be overlooked. Calls to action help drive people from Facebook to take actions that are important to your business (ex: signing up to your newsletter). You can add a call to action to your page at no cost. Please note that not everyone has access to this feature yet.To add a call-to-action button on your page that directs people to your website:
- Go to your page’s cover photo and click “Create Call to Action”.
- Choose your call to action, and enter the URL for the landing page you wish to send fans to.
- Click “Create”
Once you’ve created a call-to-action button, you can track the number of people who have clicked on the button.

There are two ways to see how many people have clicked your page’s call-to-action button:
- Hover over your page’s “Create Call to Action” button and then hover over “View Insights” to see how many clicks it’s received in the past seven days.
- Go to “This week” on the right side of your Page and then hover over the box that shows the name of your call to action to see how many people have clicked your call to action that week.
Growing your community – there are several excellent ways to quickly increase your fan base. One of these is to run a contest, if you have a budget for a lucrative prize, it can work as an incentive for visitors to like your page. If you do decide to give away a big prize, e.g. an iPad, iPod, TV, Vacation, Gift cards, etc. it’s a good idea to promote this on contest sites.If you cannot afford a lucrative giveaway, why not give away some of your services at a discounted rate? Ask your fans to share the offer or hold a competition to directly increase your user base, but be sure to comply with Facebook’s guidelines to running a sweepstakes.