Is your Kenyan business on Facebook? If not, you are losing out on a huge potential to reach out to a wider customer base and build a recognizable brand. It doesn’t matter if you are a small, medium or large business. In today’s Internet crazed Kenya, if you are not on Facebook, you might as well not exist!
To make the best of Facebook for business, you need to understand all the tools available, how to use them, set them up and best practices. Piecing this puzzle together will enable you to manage your Facebook marketing efforts with ease and obtain tangible results.
A Bit of Housekeeping
There are a few things you need to take note of before you begin using Facebook Pages for business.
Never Create a Personal Facebook Profile for a Business
Personal profiles on Facebook are for individuals. Do not use a personal profile to promote your business.
Separate Work & Play
A business page on Facebook should be strictly used for business. Don’t post your personal stuff on that page. This is recommended to build your business’ reputation.
How to Create a Facebook Business Page
A Facebook Page helps you connect with potential customers (“fans” in Facebook lingo). These pages are designed for businesses, products, brands and other things that Facebook users can “like”.
There are two ways to create a Facebook Page:
- If you are already a Facebook user, you can create a page for your business from within your personal profile. In the left hand column, click on Pages and then Create a Page.
- If you don’t have a Facebook profile (which is really weird) you can create a Facebook Page by going directly to Facebook Pages where you can create a page.
Facebook Page Activity, Insights & Settings
After creating the page you can view activity from other users by clicking on the Activity tab. The insights tab provides you with statistical data about your page is performing while the settings tab allows you to make various changes to your page such as post visibility, tagging ability, country restrictions, privacy and much more.
The insights tab is especially important because it allows you to monitor the success of your marketing activities.
Tips & Tricks to make your Business Shine on Facebook
Make your Page Interesting – Upload a great looking cover image and profile picture.
Create Engaging Content – Be interesting! create content that people want to read and share. Ask questions, tell stories and encourage comments. Whatever you do, don’t allow your content to sound like an advertisement. Remember, people go to Facebook to hang out with friends and read interesting content so don’t bore them with a post that is obviously an ad. This calls for great creativity on your part. For example, see these amazing posts that “advertise without advertising.”
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You can also use photos to show a product’s value or feature. Photos are the most shared and talked about things on Facebook, so take full advantage of this. If you want to advertise on Facebook, Pages isn’t where to do it, use Facebook Ads instead but take note that there is a cost associated with that whereas Facebook Pages are a free way to market your business on Facebook.
Share Links to Great Content – share links to your company website or blog. If you don’t have a website for your business, learn how to create a website for your business cheaply. If you are posting links to your product or service, let your audience know how the product or service will help them without saying it directly.
Giveaways & Contests – If you can afford it, create giveaways and contests. For example, ask people to “like” your page to stand a chance to win a prize or take part in a raffle. The prize doesn’t have to be something expensive. It could something as simple as mobile phone airtime or something with great mass market appeal such as the latest Samsung smartphone. Be creative!
Promote your Facebook Business Page Offline – one of the best ways to do this is to print your Facebook page URL on your business card. Also, include your page link it as a footer signature on all your outgoing emails. This will bring more people to your page, increase interaction and grow your customer base.
Warning
Facebook marketing is an area that morphs rapidly and without warning. Keep yourself regularly updated on these changes by reading The Facebook blog and other related content online.
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