Building a community for your business with facebook

Building a community for your business with FacebookHow small businesses can generate an active fan base, and PR machine -- in just a few hours a week -- on the world's largest social network.

Katherine RazCommunity Manager, Signalhq.com @katherine_raz

Your first steps

Creating your Facebook page

● To start a page visit: https://www.facebook.com/pages/create/● Takes 5-10 minutes to set up● Set up a personal Facebook account if you don't have one already --

Facebook "business only" profiles have limitations

■ No feed, inability to "like" other pages as your page, etc.● All the initial information you enter, including profile photo, is

editable later

● Remember to "like" your page as yourself when you're finished and/or invite friends to like your page

● Admins can manage the Facebook page - you can create more than one

Your Facebook cover image & profile picture

● Your profile picture and cover image define your brand in Facebook● Your profile picture appears on all content outside your page -- make

sure it's branded!

● Use images that are descriptive and contain your logo, or an image that's representative of your brand/business

● Cover photos may not include images with more than 20% text

Your Facebook page username & vanity URL

● Once you have 25 Facebook fans, be sure to claim your vanity URL● Visit: http://www.facebook.com/username

Getting fans

Where to publicize your Facebook page

● On your website● On your business cards● In your Etsy shop● Signage on your brick-and-

mortar shop (include the exact URL or use a QR code)

● On your company vehicles● On menus● On trade show signage● On packaging and shopping bags● In mail orders● In your email newsletter● In your Twitter bio

Strategies for getting your first 100 likes

● Fan your page yourself, and invite friends to fan it● "Like" related businesses as your Facebook page (Settings > "Use

Facebook as") to create a content feed for your page

● Like content on other Facebook pages as your Facebook page● Post shareable content -- content that motivates fans to share or "like"

(this is easier for some businesses than others, but think creatively)

● Remember: photos tend to be shared more than links● Post your events on Facebook and invite friends & fans● Use Facebook Insights (found in the Admin panel on your Facebook page)

to determine which "like" sources are working for you

● Post photos of events and ask people to tag themselves in them

What to post?

What to share on Facebook / PHOTOS

What to share on Facebook / EVENTS

What to share on Facebook / LINKS

What to share on Facebook / QUOTES & GRAPHICS

Dealing with customers

Handling customer feedback on Facebook

● Stay calm, don't post reactionary comments

● Don't remove customer comments unless they are purposely inflammatory

● Address the issue and, as soon as possible, give the customer another method to contact you, like email

● Remember: most customer interactions on Facebook will be positive!

Advanced tips & tricks

Facebook check-ins

● Create your business profile as a Local Business or Place (at setup)● Include your business address in your profile

Facebook tabs

● Tabs add functionality to your Facebook page● Use them to: link other social accounts, link to your shop, provide a

history of your business, embed an email signup form, and run contests and sweepstakes

● It's easy to create custom tab images● Use a tab management application like Signalhq.com or Wildfireapp

Your business information

● Fully fill out your business profile with useful information (where do I make a reservation? how do I order? what's the next event date?)

● Add a call to action in the visible "About Us" section

Scheduling content

● "Batch task" and schedule content in advance● You can edit or delete scheduled content later if needed● Third-party apps like Hootsuite and Signalhq can help you organize

Facebook content for later delivery

What's the deal with Edgerank?

● Edgerank is Facebook's news feed algorithm. It determines which content shows up in whose feed.

● 96% of fans won't revisit your page after initial engagement -- they'll get their content from you in their newsfeed.

● In order of ranking, content that shows up in the news feed, as weighed by Edgerank: photos, links, plain-text updates (unless your plain-text updates get a TON of feedback)

How do you deal?● Post short, frequent updates -- and images are the best content.● Ask for engagement to increase likes and shares (but don't be lame), or

post stuff you know will get attention

● Keep track of your engagement stats (at the bottom of each post)● Post at different times of the day to gauge which time is most effective

How deep is your engagement?

Growing your audience

How do I get more fans? And more likes?

● Post daily, scheduling content in advance if needed● Post more photos -- experiment with posting links and events as photos● Post any events to Facebook and invite friends and fans● Ask people to share content● Include links to your social accounts elsewhere on the web and on your

marketing materials

Super-smart tactics that don't cost a thing● Post "fill in the blank" posts or "like if you..." images● Ask people to tag themselves in photos of your business, or tag them

yourself if you don't think they'll mind

● Set aside 15 minutes each day to engage with other brands on Facebook, "like" content as your page, and continue liking more pages as your page -- don't forget about associations & organizations!

● Use @Businessname to refer to your business and other businesses● Write a daily text-only shop update similar to something you'd Tweet● Create albums of photos for events, new products, etc.

Wash. Rinse. Repeat.

Further reading

Recommended Facebook resources

Thanks.

Questions? Feedback?Want to share your own PR successes?

Contact me anytime.

Katherine Razkatherine@signalhq.com @katherine_raz