A Brief Beginner’s Guide to Facebook Pages

Posted in: Blog by admin on December 15, 2011

It is okay to admit that you don’t fully understand Facebook. As a social media strategist, my job is to assist business owners in establishing their brands through social media so they may use the tools to better connect with their customer base. Often, I work with people who are new to these networks altogether. Some may have Facebook accounts, but don’t know how to use them beyond adding friends. Therefore, managing a page separate from a personal account can prove frustrating if you don’t know a few things. I intend to cover just the basics here.

Whether you plan to build your business page yourself or hire a social media optimization firm to take on the grunt work, it is essential for you to maintain an active interest in the Facebook page. While other people may post updates on your behalf and monitor feedback, you still know your company best and as such need to be on hand for the difficult questions.

That said, here are a few things you will need to know about the Facebook page set up for promoting your business:

1) To access the admin panel of a Facebook page, you must be an admin of the page and logged into your account. Many times I have had people ask me for the “password” to their Facebook page, and I’ve had to explain that all they need to do is go into their personal account, go to the page, and click the Edit Page button. If you have a page made, it is important to be made an administrator so you can access the back end data. There is no need, though, to request a password separate from your own personal login.

2) As an admin, every time you post on your business page wall or “like” a comment, the result will show as your page doing the activity. There is not a way yet to have those actions appear under your name. Also, you can post on other Facebook pages (not the walls of personal profiles) as your business page. Simply go to your business page to the top right-hand corner, click the link that lets you switch personas, and you are free to browse Facebook as your business. This is a good function to utilize if you are partnered with other business and wish to cross promote on their pages. Of course, you want to be careful of how you use this function – you don’t want to appear as though you are trying to spam the network.

3) Facebook has strict policies regarding use of the network for contests. If you have considered holding a contest in order to boost fan numbers, be aware of Facebook do’s and don’ts. There are applications authorized by Facebook to allow you to properly run giveaways and contests. Make sure whoever is coordinating these promotions knows what to do.

Managing a Facebook page doesn’t have to frustrate you. If you know how to use your own profile, updating your page is a breeze. Keep it active, and take advantage of its many uses to benefit your business.

Kathryn Lively is a social media specialist assisting clients with social media writingand Facebook marketing. Clients include Fairfax personal injury lawyers, self-publishing services, Virginia health care services, Norfolk Realtors, global trade portals, and Gainesville bed and breakfast inns.