Author : Nancy McCord © 2010
Article :: Copyright © 2010 Jayde Online, Inc.
Source : SiteProNews.Com
Facebook is so popular that business owners can simply no longer
consider it a site only appropriate for socializing and game
playing. In fact, in September 2010, Facebook surpassed Google
in regards to the amount of time users spent on their site.
Facebook states that users spend over 700 billion minutes per
month on Facebook!
With 500 million active users, Facebook is the new behemoth on
the Web. With its popularity across diverse age groups,
integrated email application, and new Bing search integration, a
Facebook user may simply no longer need to visit Google for Web
searches or log off to use an email application. They may be
able to experience the Web fully all from inside Facebook. With
more than 50% of the active users logging into Facebook every
day, according to Facebook, Facebook is now so important to your
potential customers' lives that it makes sense for you as a
business owner to have a presence where your prospects are
hanging out on a daily basis.
Let's clear up a few things that have confused business owners
about Facebook. First, a Business Page is not to be confused
with a personal profile. They are two separate entities and
offer different options and ways to interact with friends and
colleagues.
Are Business Pages Also Called Fan Pages?
Many of you who have been using Facebook for a while will
remember that Facebook used to call Business Pages - Fan Pages.
Additionally, it used to be that someone "fanned you." Now
they "like you." Don't get confused in thinking that a Fan
Page is a different product than a Business Page - they are one
and the same.
All Facebook Business Pages start with the set-up of a personal
Facebook profile. That's right, a personal profile! You can't
just jump to Business Page set up. The email address and name
you use for your personal profile must be one tied to a person
and not a catchall email like info@mydomain.com. Remember, that
if you have an employee set up your Facebook account and the
personal profile portion for your Business Page, you don't want
to tie the new account to the employee's email address. If the
employee does so and leaves your employ, you could lose access
to your Facebook Business Page, all of your accumulated fans,
and information without recourse.
For set up, I typically recommend that one of the business
owners create a new email address specifically for Facebook.
Once you have set up the personal Facebook profile, you are
ready to get started. But, don't take time to add information
like education and other details in this special account unless
you plan on using it for your own personal use. You are just
setting up this account to have a platform to launch and access
your new Facebook Business Page.
While logged in to your new personal account, visit this link:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/create.php . It will take you to the Facebook Business Page creation tool to actually create your new page.
On the right side of the creation page under the heading
the "Official Page" look for "Create a Page for a:" and then
select "local business." Enter your page name and then tick
the box next to the statement that says you are a legal
business representative and allowed to own the page. It is
important to understand that the name you choose for the title
of your Facebook Business Page will appear at the top of your
finished page.
I recommend you use proper spelling but not use hyphens or
underscores in your selected name. It used to be that you had
to enter hyphens or the spaces would show as non-HTML characters
in the page name and URL, but Facebook has grown beyond that.
For example, enter in "My Business Name" (note the proper use
of spacing and capitalization), not "My-Business-Name." This
name will appear in your new Business Page URL as well.
Once you click create, the next page you see will be your brand
new Facebook Business Page. It is that simple. Later, after
you've had 25 people "Like" your page, you will be able to
select a vanity URL, but we'll talk about that later.
Do My Personal Updates Show on My Business Page?
After you have set up your Facebook Business Page, you can
"lock down" your personal profile that was used to launch your
Business Page. To do so, just alter the privacy settings in
the personal account to not show your personal information to
others who are not "approved" friends.
When Facebook was first created many business owners including
myself, started with a Facebook personal profile for their
business. Now that Facebook has created Business Pages, you can
easily change the privacy settings on your old personal profile
to funnel your business traffic to your new Facebook Business
Page, keeping your old personal profile just for family and
close friends.
When you change the privacy settings on the personal profile
attached to your Business Page, it does not impact who can view
information about your Business Page. Conversely, if you
post pictures of your kids on your Facebook personal profile
that is the launch pad for your Business Page, and you have your
personal profile limited to "friends only", your kids' photos
will not appear on the wall of your Business Page.
Why Exactly Would a Business Owner Want a Business Page and Not Just Use a Personal Profile?
Several reasons to have a Facebook Business Page are: the
ability to contact all people who "Like" or who "Fan" you
with one click newsletter type notes, interact with
discussion questions like a forum, set up events and invite fans
to attend, and even create specialized welcome and shopping
pages. Your Business Page can almost be a mini website!
Creating Your Business Page Vanity URL
Once you have 25 people who have clicked that they "Like"
your Business Page, you can select a short easy to remember name
to promote on your website and business card. Your Business Page
goes from something like http://www.facebook.com/pages/
Waldorf-MD/mccord-web/129943573719686?ref=sgm to something
like this http://www.facebook.com/mccordweb. Just visit this
link http://www.facebook.com/username/ . You can have vanity URLs for both your personal account and Business Page.
It is very important to understand that once you have selected
your vanity URL you will not be able to change the name, so
select carefully.
Best Practice Tips for Keeping Your New Facebook Business Page
Updated
No one wants to be spammed, but sometimes new Business Page
owners get excited and post what seems like a constant flow of
information on their wall. It is important to understand that
what you post on your wall is posted on the wall of the people
who have clicked "Like" on your page. We encourage our
clients, when they are doing status updates themselves, to be
courteous and post about twice a day. Facebook is not Twitter
and so 5 to 10 status updates a day could get you blocked or
hidden by fans when they feel you have inundated their wall with
your daily or hourly updates.
Conclusion
I hope that this white paper has helped to introduce you to
Facebook Business Pages in a way that helps you to feel that you
can easily set one up and have fun doing it. If you haven't set
up your own Facebook Business Page, now's the time to consider
setting one up. Facebook is only getting more popular and is
actively seeking to woo the business community into their portal
with demographic based pay per click advertising and the new
integrated search with Bing.com.
This Article Written by: Nancy McCord © 2010
Copyright © 2010 – Jayde Online, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Website Registration : SiteProNews is a registered service mark of Jayde Online, Inc.
About the author:
Nancy McCord is the founder and President of McCord Web Services
LLC which provides blog writing services, Twitter and Facebook
status updates, and Google AdWords services. Since 2001, Nancy
McCord has developed a national reputation as an expert on
blogging and how businesses can harness the power of Web for
profit. You can visit Nancy and her firm at www.McCordWeb.com
If you feel that you need professional help in setting up your
page or maintaining your updates and to interact with Fans, we
ask you to consider 'our Facebook service offerings'
(http://www.mccordweb.com/internet-marketing/facebook-fan-pages.php) . I know that you will find us responsive and affordably priced .
Editor of i-Technology News Blog : Boonchai Thaveetermsakul
About the Editor:
Coordinator and Web Alliance of i-Prosper.org and i-Prosper.biz , and Writer of several websites and blogs: i-Technology News , Neo Liners International Blog , MultiLeaves , Erudite Owl and OmniscienceZ .
