The Ultimate Guide to Facebook Business Pages for Small Business Owners

Jump To...

The Importance of Having a Facebook Presence for Small Businesses | Creating a Facebook Account for Your Business | Understanding Facebook Business Pages | Facebook Business Page vs Business Account (Meta Business Suite) | What is Facebook Creator Studio? | Understanding Why a Facebook Ads Account is Separate From Your Facebook Business Page | To Sum Up

As a small business owner, you're always looking for ways to increase your visibility, attract new customers, and grow your business. 

With over 2.9 billion monthly active users, Facebook is a social media platform that can help you achieve these goals. 

Creating a Facebook Business Page can be an excellent way to connect with your audience, showcase your products or services, and increase your online presence.

The Importance of Having a Facebook Presence for Small Businesses

Sources: Statista and Influencer Marketing Hub

In today's digital age, having a strong online presence is crucial for small businesses to succeed. And one of the most effective ways to establish an online presence is by having a Facebook Business Page. Facebook offers small businesses a vast potential audience to tap into, as the majority of Facebook users are in prime consumer age. 

According to a study conducted by Kleiner Perkins, 78% of American consumers have discovered products on Facebook, and 77% of consumers have made purchases after seeing a product on Facebook. This statistic alone highlights the importance of having a Facebook presence for small businesses.

Having a Facebook Business Page not only helps you reach a broader audience but also offers an opportunity to engage with your customers directly. Facebook provides tools such as Messenger, which allows you to communicate with customers in real time, answer their queries, and address their concerns.

On top of this, creating a new Facebook Page for business can also improve your search engine ranking. A study conducted by Hootsuite found that businesses that have active Facebook pages tend to rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs) than those without a Facebook presence.

Creating a Facebook Account for Your Business

The executive summary is arguably the most important part of your business plan, as it’s essentially a snapshot of your entire plan. It should be a brief yet compelling overview of your business that highlights your unique selling propositions and key strengths.

1. Make Sure You Have an Active Personal Page First.

Before creating a Facebook account for your business, you'll need to have an active personal Facebook account. This is because a personal account is required to create and manage a business page.

So if you’re wondering, “Can I separate my business page from my personal account on Facebook?” The answer is Yes. The pages are kept completely separate, however you must have a personal account before creating a business page. 

If you don't have a personal account yet, you can easily create one by visiting Facebook's website and following the prompts to create a new account. Once you have an active personal account, you can move on to creating a business page.

2. Go to Facebook's Create a Page Webpage or “Your Pages > Create a new page” on the Left-Hand Side of Your Desktop Screen.

Source: Facebook

Once you have an active personal Facebook account, the next step is to create a Facebook page for your business. To do this, go to Facebook's Create a Page web page or click on "Your Pages" and select "Create a new page" on the left-hand side of your desktop screen.

3. Complete Your Facebook Business Profile.

Source: Facebook

Now you’re into the nitty-gritty of how to create a Facebook account for a business. Taking the time to complete this profile is crucial as it provides important information about your business to potential customers.

Provide a brief overview of your business, including your mission statement, products/services, and contact information. It's essential to provide accurate and up-to-date information to make it easy for potential customers to reach out to you.

4. Add Strong, Relevant Images to Your Page.

Visual content is a critical component of your Facebook Business Page, as it helps to attract and engage your audience. Adding strong and relevant images to your page can help you stand out and make a great first impression on potential customers.

To add images to your Facebook Business Page, go to the "Edit Page Info" section and click on "Add Profile Picture" or "Add Cover Photo." Your profile picture is the image that will appear next to your business name on Facebook, while your cover photo is the larger image that appears at the top of your page.

Make sure that your images are high-quality and relevant to your business.

Profile Picture (1:1 ratio)

Your profile picture is the small image that appears next to your business name on your Facebook page. It's important to choose a high-quality image that is relevant to your business and easy to recognize.

Cover Image (16:9 ratio)

Your cover image is the large banner image that appears at the top of your Facebook page. This is a great opportunity to showcase your business visually and make a strong first impression. Choose an image that is visually appealing and relevant to your brand.

5. Publish and Customize Your Page.

Once you have added all the necessary information and images to your Facebook Business Page, it's time to publish and customize it. 

The first way to do this is by creating a custom username: Your username is a unique URL that people can use to find your page easily. Make sure it's short, memorable, and easy to spell. You can create a username by going to "Edit Page Info" and then clicking on "Create Page @username".

You can then rearrange and customize the tabs on your page to make it more user-friendly. Click on "Settings" and then "Templates and Tabs" to choose the tabs you want to show and in what order.

Once you're happy with your page, it's time to publish it. Click on "Settings" and then "Publish Page" to make your page live.

By customizing your Facebook Business Page, you can make it more engaging and user-friendly, which can help attract more followers and customers.

6. (Optional) Connect Your Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Meta Business Accounts.

As a business owner, you have the option to connect your Facebook page with other Meta-owned platforms such as Instagram and WhatsApp. Here are some pros and cons to consider before connecting your accounts.

Pros of Connecting Your Meta Accounts

• Cross-posting: Cross-posting means that when you post on one platform, you’re automatically posting on the other. Connecting your accounts allows you to cross-post content across all platforms, saving you time and effort. 
• Increased reach: By connecting your accounts, you can increase your reach and potentially gain more followers and customers on both your Facebook and Instagram accounts.
• Unified messaging: With connected accounts, you can create a unified messaging strategy across all platforms and maintain consistent branding.

Cons of Connecting Your Meta Accounts

• Privacy concerns: By connecting your accounts, you are giving Meta access to more of your personal and business information. This isn’t intrinsically a bad thing, but if data anonymity is important to you, you’ll want to think twice before connecting your accounts.
• Different audiences: Your audiences on each platform may differ, and one type of content may not perform well on all platforms.
• Algorithm changes: If the algorithm changes on one platform, it could negatively affect your content on all connected platforms.

Understanding Facebook Business Pages

What is a Facebook Business Page? 

Facebook Business Page is a public profile specifically designed for businesses, brands, and organizations to showcase their products or services, interact with customers, and build an online presence.

When you create a Facebook Business Page, you'll have access to a wide range of tools and features that can help you grow your audience, increase brand awareness, and drive sales.

What are the Benefits of Having a Facebook Business Page?

Having a Facebook Business Page can offer numerous benefits to small business owners. Here are a few key advantages:

• Increased visibility
• Cost-effective marketing
• Customer engagement
• Insights and analytics
• Ad targeting

Tips for Optimizing Your Business Page for Better Results

Once you've created your Facebook Business Page, it's essential to optimize it for better results. Here are some tips to help you do just that:

• Choose the right category and subcategory for your business
• Complete all the fields in your page's About section
• Use high-quality images and videos
• Post regularly and consistently
• Engage with your followers
• Monitor and respond to reviews
• Use Facebook Insights to track your page's performance

Facebook Business Page vs Business Account (Meta Business Suite)

The Differences Between a Facebook Business Page and a Meta Business Suite Account

While both a Facebook Business Page and a Meta Business Suite account can be useful tools for managing your business on social media, there are some key differences between the two.

A Facebook Business Page is a public-facing page where you can post updates, interact with customers, and showcase your brand. It's a way to establish your business's presence on Facebook and build a community around your brand. You can customize your page with photos, videos, and other content, and you can use it to promote your products or services.

A Meta Business Suite account, on the other hand, is a tool for managing all of your Facebook and Instagram accounts from one place. It allows you to manage your pages, ad accounts, and more, and it provides insights into your performance across these platforms. You can also use Meta Business Suite to schedule posts, view notifications, and collaborate with other members of your team.

Reasons Why You Might Want to Use Creator Studio for Your Small Business

While Facebook Business Suite has been the go-to tool for managing business accounts, Facebook's Creator Studio is quickly gaining ground as a powerful content creation tool. 

Let’s explore the various reasons why small business owners might want to consider using Facebook Creator Studio:

• Streamline your content creation by having it all in one place
• Schedule posts in advance
• In-depth analytics on your posts
• Customizable cross-posting
• Collaborate with team members or external partners
• Manage video content

Understanding Why a Facebook Ads Account is Separate From Your Facebook Business Page

While your Facebook business page serves as a hub for all your social media marketing efforts, Facebook Ads is a separate platform designed specifically for creating and managing paid advertising campaigns on Facebook and other social media platforms. The reason why Facebook Ads is separate from your Facebook business page is to provide businesses with more control over their ad accounts, budgets, and targeting options.

Separating your ad account from your Facebook business page also ensures that your ads will not be affected if your page is hacked, suspended, or deleted. It allows you to continue running ads even if you have issues with your business page.

How to Set Up a Facebook Ads Account for Your Small Business

To set up a Facebook Ads account, follow these steps:

1. Go to the Facebook Ads Manager page and click on "Create Account."

2. Choose the objective for your ad campaign. This will determine what type of ad you will create and the results you want to achieve.

3. Name your ad account and set up your time zone, currency, and payment method.

4. Connect your Facebook page to your ad account. This will allow you to create ads using your Facebook page.

Create your first ad campaign. You will need to set your budget, target audience, ad placement, and ad format.

Tips for Keeping Your Dashboards Organized (Facebook Business Page, Meta Business Suite, Creator Studio, Facebook Ads)

Having multiple dashboards for your social media marketing can be overwhelming, but with some organization, you can easily manage them. 

Here are some tips for keeping your dashboards organized:

1. Use consistent naming conventions for your campaigns, ad sets, and ads across all platforms.

2. Create a content calendar to plan and schedule posts, ads, and promotions.

3. Set up alerts and notifications for important events, such as comments, messages, ad approvals, and billing issues.

4. Use labels and tags to categorize your campaigns, ad sets, and ads by theme, objective, or audience.

5. Use filters and search options to quickly find specific campaigns, ad sets, and ads.

6. Review and analyze your performance regularly to make data-driven decisions and adjust your strategy accordingly.

To Sum Up

As we've explored in this guide, Facebook Business Pages are an essential tool for small businesses to generate leads. 

With increased visibility, increased customer engagement, better ad targeting, and many more features, Facebook provides all of the options businesses need to achieve their marketing objectives. 

Therefore, why not take advantage of this powerful platform and begin utilizing Facebook to generate more leads for your business today?