This post contains affiliate links. For more information, see my disclosures here.

It’s not surprising that many still insist on using a personal profile for their business rather than a Facebook Page.  If you are one of those, this post is for you.

You may be missing out on some very important leads for sales by not having a Facebook Business Page. Creating a page is easy and more efficient means of connecting with the right people who either want to purchase your products, (books, etc), or services, (content provision, editing, copywriting).

THE IMPORTANCE OF A FACEBOOK BUSINESS PAGE

A Facebook Business Page gives you more power in the Google search engines than just a personal page. When people search for certain categories such as: content provision, copywriting, editing, self help or suspense novels, a business page will be included in the search where a profile page will not.

Facebook is also taking steps to remove misclassified personal profiles that are being used for business purposes. You could stand the risk of losing your personal profile page and all your followers.

So, what are your choices? You can either convert your personal Facebook profile into a business page or you can simply create a business page.  

HOW TO CREATE A BUSINESS FACEBOOK PAGE

Creating a page is simple. Go to your Facebook profile page, look at the top right corner and click on the drop-down arrow by the question in the circle. Click the Create a Page button and select the type of page you want.

Classifications

• Local Business or Place
• Company, Organization or Institution
• Brand or Product
• Artist, Band, or Public Figure
• Entertainment
• Cause or Community

Each of these classifications have fields.

Business

• About
• Address
• Hours
• Contact
• Price Range
• Parking

Company, Organization or Institution

• Founded
• Mission
• Awards
• Address
• Products

Brand or Product

• About
• Products
• Founded
• Awards

Artist, Band or Public Figure

• Affiliation
• Birthday
• Biography
• Address
• Interests
• Gender

Entertainment

• Release Date
• About

Cause or Community

• Cause Type
• Description
• Cause Groups

I’ve chosen Local Business. My page name is Cindy M. Jones – Writer. I’ve chosen Services for my type of business since I provide content and copy ads. What’s cool about the Services type is that you can list your specialties. This is a great place to advertise for free. See mine here: Cindymjoneswrites/services

ABOUT

General

My category is Writer, Name – the one I’ve used as a professional writer, Cindy M. Jones. If you have a business name, use it instead. I’ve also created a unique Facebook Page address for better search optimization: Facebook@cindymjoneswrites.

Profile Picture

Profile pictures are very important especially when you are wanting to be perceived as a professional. I would suggest paying for or getting an experienced friend to take a picture. Don’t use just any old picture.  It should be 180 x 180 pixels that appear clear when adjusted into the profile box. You can edit and adjust the photo after it’s uploaded. Keep in mind your brand colors when choosing an outfit for your profile picture. Make sure it’s up to date. You may be tempted to use an older picture where you look much, much younger – Don’t do it. I used the very talented Melissa Bull of Chasing the Son Photography. If you’re ever down on the Alabama Coast and need some amazing pictures, she’s the girl to call. 

Page Info

This is where you can list your prices and whether or not you have a parking lot, for me, these were not relevant but I did include my start date to establish my work experience.

Interests

Interests are another way of connecting with like minded individuals and presenting your specialties. This could make the difference if a potential client is looking for someone to write an outdoors article or web content and they see that I am an avid hiker and kayaker. What are some of your hobbies that you would enjoy writing about?

Contact Info

I do not use my address nor do I list my phone for contact purposes. Only my website and email are displayed with a note to contact me via email. I’ve added the two other social media channels I’m most active on, Twitter and Pinterest. You can add several others but I keep it to the few that I am present on each day.

MORE INFO

Affiliation

I’ve listed past and present clients for affiliations and links where potential clients can easily find examples of my work. This is a good place to showcase your talent and ability to work with other professionals.

About

You don’t have a lot of room here so you need to get to the point but hook your readers and make them want to know more about you and your services. This is where your tagline would go or a statement that tells who you are, what you do and who needs your services. For my tagline I’ve used:

Helping others achieve their goals & dreams. Sign up for my monthly newsletter or weekly blog posts & discover how you can achieve your own success. @www.cindymjones.com. Tips on content creation & digital marketing. Mat 17:20.

Impressum

This is where you can share your business credentials and information such as copyright rules. Mine reads as:  

All content on www.cindymjones.com is protected by copyright. No editing or use of photos is permitted. All downloads are for personal use only. When sharing, please use proper credit.

General Information

Use this to give a more in depth detail about what you do. Keep it interesting but don’t overload the reader with too much information here. This is what I have for now:

Freelance writer, Copywriter, Content Provider, Social Media & Marketing Manager specializing in Real Estate, Alabama Coastal Tourism and the business of writing as a profession.  I am also an aspiring novelist creating worlds where villains never win but they sure do try. My genres include supernatural and suspense thrillers. Read more at www.cindymjones.com.

You may see a trend here. My website is mentioned in every box. There’s a purpose for that. It’s a call to action and a promise of help and information. This is one of the main purposes of your Facebook Business page, to drive people to your site and hopefully sign up for your newsletter. In doing this, you have captured a new lead.

Biography

Be personable and remember people like to make connections with people they feel they can trust. Most are looking for people that they will enjoy working with. Don’t feel as if you have to oversell yourself. Be a little transparent but professional. Getting too cute here can make you look like an amateur. Read what I have:

Cindy is presently the Social Media Manager for Professional Land Title, Inc. and Realty Executive – Gulf Coast in Gulf Shores. Other clients include several real estate agents which she provides social media management, monthly newsletters, blog content, and other marketing materials spanning Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana.

Cindy has written featured articles and columns appearing in publications such as; Thriving Family by Focus on the Family, Journey Devotional for Women, Birmingham Magazine, Birmingham Business Journal, Birmingham Parent, and The Old Schoolhouse.  She is also a published author with Oaktara Publishing. She recently compiled the Gulf Shores, RootsRated.com online city guide website and app dedicated to local experts and outdoor recreation.  

She is an avid outdoors person who enjoys hiking and kayaking with her husband and three grown children. She is currently working on her first novel, a supernatural thriller. She loves reading and blogging as well as connecting with other like-minded writers.

Cindy has provided workshops for nonfiction writing in Alabama and Mississippi. Please contact her if you are looking for a speaker or workshop leader.  

Awards

List awards that are relevant to your services or business. If you have a link to a publication that has listed your award, add it.

STORY

This is where most people stop reading unless they are interested in your services. Make sure you provide the information they need to know, who you are, what you do, and why you are the one to help them. Keep this short and to the point and include a call to action.

For my story I start off with my tagline from my website:

The Write Connection- Stories for Readers ~ Tips for Writers

I like to help people. Are you wanting to work from home or need help with developing content or social media marketing? Do you find it hard go after your dreams? My motto can be yours – Start where you are, Use what you have, Do what you can. Sign up for my monthly newsletter or weekly blog posts and discover how you can achieve your own success! Get everything I’ve learned from becoming a successful writer & business owner to a better mom & wife – in your inbox. Simple, Practical, Achievable!

Creative Content for Today’s Competitive Markets – Jeremiah 29:11~ Without Grace we can not.

Template

Make sure you are using the new business template where your profile picture is to the left corner leaving your banner unobstructed. This allows you the space to create another call to action as well as describing what your page is about. Your banner should be clear and concise. Stay true to your brand. You want to create a recognizable flow across all of your social media channels. Your online presence should include the same colors, logo and picture where everyone knows this is you without any confusion.

My brand colors include pastels and earth tones like chocolate.  My focus is typically female entrepreneurs and those wanting to work from home mainly by writing. This is who I am trying to attract. When they visit my site, I want them to feel comfortable and at home. Pinks and pastels, (and of course chocolate), are relaxing and calming, both of which casts a friendly and inviting atmosphere.

Creating a Banner

When you choose your brand and colors, keep in mind who your audience will be and what you are typing to accomplish. Many sites with high sales volumes or pitches choose bold and bright colors, red and royal blue are the most common. Earth tones and whites with minimalist qualities are more suitable for home decor because the focus is on the items and not the blog itself.  You can read more about colors and the psychology of marketing here.

There are several free sites that you can use to make your banners, take a look at STENCIL AND PICMONKEY.  Because of the nature of my business, I have a paid accounts. What’s nice about a paid account is that you can save your brand colors and logos which automatically fill your creations. There are free images, some sites have a limit like, Stencil. This is a big plus and time saver for me. I use Canva for creating logos, Pinterest boards, Twitter images and covers, Facebook ads, and ebook covers. Canva offers free images and paid images from a one time use to unlimited usage. PicMonkey is another favorite tool for making graphics for my posts.

Here’s my latest banner:

Reviews

Reviews are easier to get than you think. Ask a few people that you’ve worked for or with to take a minute and leave one. If you are just starting out, ask a few close friends or family members to take the time and leave a review. Leave reviews for other businesses or professionals and ask them for the returned favor. Whenever you complete a job, ask your client to leave a review. Remind them when you send them an invoice if they still haven’t. Reviews are always helpful in giving you credibility and providing feedback that potential clients may be interested in.

Response Rate

This is one that I have to stay on top of. Responding to your messages in a timely manner is a good sign you are working hard to help your clients have the best experience possible. But many times I’ve gotten spam mail and I don’t respond. I’ve learned that if I let it sit there it causes my response rate to drop. Archive, delete or mark those as spam as soon as possible so it won’t negatively affect your rate.

You can create an automatic response but if doesn’t help the response rate if you don’t respond personally in a timely manner. This is the reason why my rate is down. I created the automatic response thinking it would alleviate this problem, but it didn’t. I now check my messages once in the morning and once in the evening. You can set your notifications to alert you with each new message but this is an unneeded distraction for me.

GETTING STARTED

Creating your page may seem overwhelming but once you have everything in place, it can save you time and energy.

Now that you have everything in place, start sharing a few posts. The neat thing about a business page is that you can schedule your posts! What a time saver. You can also have your blog posts added automatically to your page. Creating an editorial schedule for you Facebook feed is a good idea. This gives you some boundaries as you search for pertinent posts to schedule.

You’re only hurting yourself and your business if you keep putting off getting a business page. There’s a long list of reasons why a Facebook Page is better for you than a personal profile which I will save for next week’s blog post. So, go get that page made and hurry back next week to see why it’s so important to have and how to use it properly.

What advantages do you see to have a professional business page for Facebook?

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This post contains affiliate links. For more information, see my disclosures here.