Can you create a Facebook business page for free?

Don’t let anyone tell you that your Facebook business Page doesn’t matter anymore.

Sure, organic reach might be down for many businesses on Facebook.

But as noted in our recent guide to Facebook Group marketing, overall engagement on the platform is actually up.

Meanwhile, the majority of consumers today turn to social media to research products and services. Since Facebook is still the most active social network, it’s a prime place to build your presence.

And if you’re serving local customers, a Facebook business Page is an absolute must-have.

Think of your Facebook presence as your business’ central hub away from your website, allowing you to do the following:

• Encourage new bookings and appointments
• Curate customer reviews
• Run Facebook-exclusive promotions and ads
• Engage customers and take questions from prospects
• Boost your business’ organic search rankings

Curious how to do all of the above? We’ve got you covered!

Manage your Facebook presence with Sprout Social

Sprout makes it easy to plan, schedule, post and track your Facebook content.

View comments on organic and paid content alike from our Smart Inbox, and tap into our team collaboration features to manage busy pages.

Start your free trial today and find out how Sprout can enhance your Facebook efforts.

How to create the perfect Facebook business Page step-by-step

Although it may be pretty simple to create a Facebook business Page, optimizing your Page for engagement requires some attention to detail.

And yes, the process has changed a bit if you’ve been away from the platform for the past couple of years.

In this guide, we’ve broken down everything you need to know to optimize your business’ presence.

Let’s dive in!

Step #1: Create your Facebook Page and choose a category

First thing’s first: head to Facebook’s “Create a Page” site.

No surprises here. Assuming you’re putting together a Page for your business (think: not a community or influencer Page), select “Business or Brand” on the left.

You’ll then be prompted to choose a category for your business. There are tons of options here: simply select whichever category aligns closest with what your business.

When in doubt, you can always go with a more general category such as “Brand” or “E-commerce.”

Upon selecting a category, you’ll be asked to enter an address. Don’t panic if you’re not a local business: you have the option to hide your address if you don’t want it displayed to the public.

Once you’ve entered your address, you’re ready to start building your Page.

Step #2: Put together your profile imagery

After your Page is officially created, the first thing you’re asked to do is select an appropriate profile and cover image.

This is a big step. Your profile imagery is easily one of the most important aspects of your Facebook business Page.

Consider that your Page and cover images are likely the first elements of your profile that someone will when they land on it.

As highlighted by our social media image sizing guide, Facebook profile pictures are sized at 180×180 pixels.

Translation? Pretty small. You’re going to need to make sure your photos are sleek, high res and not too “busy.” Minimalist logos are popular on Facebook, for example.

If you decide to use text, make sure that your fonts choices are clearly legible and don’t display too many colors. Keep it simple.

At 820×312 pixels on desktop, your Facebook cover gives you some room to get creative.

You might notice many businesses simply post a high-res photo of their team or storefront. This is fine, but note that your cover photo is valuable, must-see real estate for your visitors.

So take advantage of it!

For example, businesses can use their covers to show off company slogans or banners that give their Pages a bit of personality.

Meanwhile, some businesses use the space to highlight promotions, hashtags or products.

If you don’t already have photos in mind, use a tool like Canva for inspiration. Their library has a ton of pre-sized Facebook cover photos and other social media images you can edit yourself.

Here’s an example of some profile imagery whipped up in Canva.

Nice, right? Taking the time to experiment with and optimize your profile imagery is worth it to make your Page feel professional.

Step #3: Pick your @username and URL

So far so good!

As a quick side note, take the time to pick out an appropriate URL and @username for your Facebook business Page.

This might seem like a small detail, but note that Facebook does not want you to change your URL more than necessary. 

Generally speaking, use your business’ name (granted it’s not too wordy) or a URL that matches the rest of your social @handles. Conventional wisdom tells us that shorter URLs are ideal and typically easier to remember.

If your business’ name is taken, consider you can tack on a term related to your product or industry (@giordanospizza), a business-related suffix (@foxtailcoffeeco) or a location-specific term (@euclidrecordsNOLA).

In the case that Facebook doesn’t automatically prompt you to change your Page URL, you can do so by going to the “About” section of your profile.

Step #4: Pick an appropriate Page template and Tabs

Once the basics of your Facebook business Page are done, select “Edit Page Info” or “Settings.”

To the left, you’ll see the “Templates and Tabs” feature. This allows you to customize which tabs appear on the sidebar of your Page (“Reviews,” “Offers,” and so on).

Templates are available for a variety of categories such as shops, restaurants and service businesses. These templates automatically populate tabs based on what makes sense for these types of brands.

Of course, you’re allowed to customize your Templates by adding or removing tabs beyond the default ones.

There is no “right” answer on what tabs you should enable, but stick to the principle of “less is more.” Too many tabs are overwhelming to visitors and likewise makes your profile look incomplete if you aren’t actually using them. Hint: don’t use the “Instagram” tab if you don’t have an Instagram for your business.

Later in the guide, we’ll talk about some important tabs that we recommend for the sake of engagement and discoverability for your business.

But first, let’s build out your “About” section.

Step #5: Fully fill out your business’ key details

Selecting “Edit Page Info” again, make a point to fill out as much information and go into as much detail as possible.

Details such as your contact information (email, phone number), hours and location are make-or-break for determining whether or not someone can actually reach your business via Facebook.

Double-check that this information is accurate and up-to-date. For example, make sure that your Google Maps listing works and that your page actually links out to your website.

Another key piece of your “About” tab is the summary under “More Info.” Here’s your space to highlight your company’s unique story, personality and relevant products or services that you offer.

Imagine that somebody’s learning about your business for the very first time: what would you want them to know about you? This isn’t a place to stuff keywords but rather summarize what you’re all about.

Step #6: Choose an appropriate call-to-action

Perhaps one of the smartest ways to use your Facebook business Page is as a means to funnel traffic to your website.

Facebook makes it easy to drive traffic to your website through a call-to-action button. You can find this feature under your cover photo.

Although you can’t fully customize your call-to-action phrases,  you do have the option to link your CTA button with your appointment-setting software or e-commerce platform. You can also just use the button to send traffic to a specific website or landing page.

Front-and-center (especially via mobile), your call-to-action button is a crucial piece of your Facebook business Page if your end-goal is more traffic or bookings.

Step #7: Enable the “Services” tab and fill out your details (recommended)

This step might not be possible depending on which type of business you run, but we highly recommend it.

In short, the “Services” tab allows you to highlight your business’ specific offerings in detail.

For example, an orthodontist might talk about Invisalign consultations on their Services page or an optometrist might talk about Lasik.

This is an opportunity to show off your expertise and likewise inform visitors more about your business. As an added bonus, it also represents a subtle SEO opportunity that can actually help your Facebook page rank for relevant keywords in Google.

Of course, don’t use this space to spam. Instead, use it as intended to make your Facebook business Page even more comprehensive.

Step #8: Make sure that your Messenger makes sense

Now, go to “Settings” and select “Messaging.”

Here you’re able to customize your Facebook Messenger with auto-replies, away messages and other greetings to ensure that visitors get the information they need when they try to get in touch.

Again, there is no correct way to approach Messenger. Assuming you’re a solo or small business, make it a point to try to respond to customers in real-time but also consider setting up an FAQ to handle simple questions you can elaborate on later.

Given the importance and growth of social customer care, you can’t afford to ignore Messenger. It may take some experimenting to figure out what to include in your replies but doing so can ultimately help you retain more customers.

Step #9: Enable customer reviews (recommended)

If you’re a brick-and-mortar business, we highly recommend setting up reviews for your Facebook business Page.

This is a brilliant way to curate social proof and positive comments. Likewise, reviews automatically populate on your Page and showcase what your customers like about your business.

Of course, this also opens up the responsibility of moderating reviews and having a strategy for managing them.

You may wonder whether it’s worth the potential headache to deal with spam and trolls. And rightfully so.

That said, keep in mind that Facebook star-ratings actually show up within both Facebook and Google searches. Having good feedback on display may very well set you apart from your competition when prospects are looking you up.

With these steps knocked out and after posting some introductory content, such as team and product photos, your company’s Facebook Page is just about ready for business.

But we’re not done yet. Now it’s time to iron your content and engagement strategy.

Facebook business Page tips to promote your page organically

Getting your Facebook Page off the ground can be daunting.

Beyond friends and colleagues, how do you grow your follower count without solely relying on ads?

Below is a straightforward strategy to help build your audience and optimize your Facebook presence over time.

Set specific goals for your Facebook audience

Simply put, growing your Facebook Page audience requires goal-setting.

While it only takes a second to Like a Page, getting people to trust your brand is a whole other story. That’s why you need to have goals in place to build your audience.

We don’t mean hitting an arbitrary follower count either. A small Facebook audience that’s highly engaged is much more valuable than thousands of followers who never show up.

Start with thinking about the purpose of your Facebook page and who your target audience is. Are you looking to support a community of current customers? What about attracting new ones?

Here are some of the most common goals we’re seeing among marketers today.

These goals will ultimately inform everything from the resources you put behind your Facebook business Page to your overall content strategies.

For some brands, a quick daily check-in might be enough. For others, it might require more legwork.

Chances are there are plenty of Facebook business Pages you regularly engage with yourself.

What made you a fan in the first place? How often do they post and what keeps you coming back to their Pages? After considering these points and looking at competitors in your space, you can start developing your content strategy.

Creating a winning Facebook content strategy

Given what we know about the Facebook algorithm, brands must be cautious of being over-promotional. On the flip side, simply not posting obviously isn’t an option.

Based on our research on the best times to post on social media, most brands post at least a few times per week.

To help you fill up your content calendar and brainstorm ideas, let’s look at some examples of Facebook content that typically drive engagement.

Facebook contests and giveaways

It’s well-documented that Facebook contests are prime for building brand awareness and engaging customers. Although you can’t run them around the clock, giveaways and contests can help spike engagement and introduce your business to new fans.

Video updates

Facebook has been pushing its native video platform pretty hard since the previous algorithm updates. Maybe that’s because video content is handily among the most-shared across social.

Whether through long-form or bite-sized social media videos, all you need is a smartphone to get on board.

Pro tip: if possible, brainstorm potential ideas for Live videos that send notifications to your followers and drive immediate engagement.

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Question-based posts

Your Facebook business Page represents a place to build a sense of community. That means picking the brains of your followers by going back-and-forth with them.

Captions focused on questions serve as a natural call-and-response for your followers. Never shy away from an opportunity to let your followers sound off or engage in a friendly debate.

Photos

As a rule of thumb, Facebook prefers photo-based posts versus text ones or links that take users off-site.

From customer photos to snapshots and memes, strive to couple your posts with some sort of unique imagery.

Also, note that Facebook allows for easy cross-posting from Instagram if you have a business Instagram account to link. Tools such as a Sprout Social also make it easy to gather your social assets such as photos and publish them across multiple accounts with unique captions.

Facebook Stories

Although Instagram Stories are very popular, bear in mind that Facebook Stories currently boast approximately 500 million daily active users.

Stories-based content is a fun way to encourage followers to see your day-to-day happenings without worrying about spamming their feeds.

And of course, figuring out what works and what doesn’t over time is a matter of trial and error. After experimenting with various types of content, tools such as Sprout’s Facebook analytics can give you insight on what’s moving the needle in terms of reactions, engagements and new followers.

The importance of engaging with your audience

It’s important to realize that your Facebook page is not something that you can “set and forget.”

For example, billions of messages are sent to businesses via Facebook Messenger every month. Failing to respond to customers, especially in a timely manner, could result in lost sales or followers.

So you have to be present on social media and be ready and willing to engage. This doesn’t mean you have to answer every single question posted to your timeline or in your inbox immediately. It does mean you need to keep a close eye on notifications and conversations.

Luckily, Sprout has in-depth social media engagement tools to track, monitor and help you engage with your audience.

Don’t let important messages slip by you and run the risk of losing business. Actively engage with your audience even if they’re not reaching out to you.

Reality: when you start your Facebook business Page, it might be quiet for a few weeks. However, you can find people talking about your brand or your industry. Get involved with discussions and be active in your industry. Customers will see and respect that effort from your brand.

How to measure the success of your Facebook business page

After you fully set up your Facebook business Page and create engaging content, you might wonder how your efforts have paid off.

Again, it’s all about your analytics.

By using Facebook analytics tools, you can measure the effectiveness of your content, engagement and how many followers you’ve gained over time.

Measuring your Facebook is critical to know what works and what doesn’t.

It’s not as simple as seeing 10 more Likes on a post versus another piece of content. Instead, you have to dive deeper into your Facebook analytics. With Sprout, you dig into metrics such as:

• Post Engagements
• Organic Likes
• Unlikes
• Links Clicked
• Page Impressions
• Video Performance

While this is just a sample of the metrics you can measure with Sprout, having this data allows you to reconfigure and structure your Facebook marketing strategy.

It all starts with the building blocks of a Facebook business Page and having the analytics to back up your decision-making.

And with that, we wrap up our guide!

Ready to start promoting your Facebook business page?

Creating a Facebook Page from scratch requires some effort, but it’s totally worth it for the sake of engaging your audience on social’s most active platforms.

With the tips and strategy outlined above, you have everything you need to get started on Facebook as a business.

And with the help of tools like Sprout, you can more easily manage and track your efforts every step of the way.

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Can you just create a Facebook business page?