How Businesses Can Use Facebook
Facebook is one of the most popular social media sites of all time. It’s not just for fun and friends – it’s also a great tool for businesses. Businesses of all sizes should utilize a Facebook page. There are many features that Facebook offers that are perfect for businesses to use. These days, most customers expect to see a page for businesses, so if you’re not using Facebook you could be losing out on the potential for thousands of sales leads. Here are some of the top Facebook tools that can help improve your business.
Use Links and Hashtags
Many people don’t realize that links can be used with Facebook. You can link text and even create buttons so people can more easily get to your website and other social media sites. One good way to add links is through the cover photo description. You can add it in other areas as well. This lets you get your potential customers to your website where they can make a purchase.
Choose a Great Cover Photo
The cover photo is the first impression people have when they visit your page. For this reason, you’ll want to make sure the photo is the best possible. The image needs to be sized at 851 x 315 pixels and 72 dpi. You’ll need to crop the photo using Photoshop or another similar program. If you prefer, you can purchase premium cover photos online. There are thousands to choose from in a variety of categories. The great thing about premium photos is that you can use them very easily – just add them to your page.
Keep in mind that in addition to the cover photo, you’ll still have the smaller icon photo to use. This smaller photo (161 x 161 pixels) is placed in the lower left area of the cover photo and actually blocks some of the image. You’ll want to make sure that the image you use for your icon blends well with the cover photo. Change your cover photo from time to time to keep interest up.
Use Text
Did you know that you can use text on your timeline cover photo? It’s easy to do and it’s a wonderful way to communicate with your potential customers. Former rules stated that you could only use text on 20% of the cover photo. Now the rule has been relaxed. However, it still makes sense to be careful not to overuse text on your photo. Remember that the photo needs to be professional looking. Use small bites of text to get a message out to visitors. For example, “New 2014 Designs Are Here” is a simple statement, yet one that gets people interested in your business and products.
Schedule Posts
One thing that’s very helpful for businesses is the use of scheduled posts. This gives you the ability to create a large number of posts and schedule them to be posted at specific times that you determine. You’ll be able to easily set up plenty of quality posts and publish them at your preferred dates and times. You can schedule posts in 10-minute intervals. To schedule a post use the clock icon.
Use Page Insights
Page insights are a way to monitor the performance of your page. Facebook allows you to review the information that has been gathered from your business page. It contains info including how many people viewed a post along with the demographics about them. This allows you to gear your pages towards your specific readers so you can gain even more readership. You’ll learn what works and what doesn’t work so you can improve your marketing and promotional plans.