STEP 3: Build It
Building a page is the easiest part of the Facebook process. Follow the four quick steps at right and you’ll be part of the social media world in no time.
Key to success: Be prepared to populate your page with content right away so your first fans have something to see. Project photos, seminar and event dates, and a “welcome” post are good options to start with.
STEP 4: Share It
Facebook has built-in tools to help you invite friends to “like” your page. Beyond that, businesses should add a “Find us on Facebook” link, badge, or Facebook logo to their site, newsletters, print ads, and other communications.
Key to success: Once your page has 25 fans, visit facebook.com/username. There, you can create a “custom URL” that will make your page easier to find. Remodeling can be found at facebook.com/RemodelingMagazine.
STEP 5: Use It
New social media users often wonder how frequently they should post. Perlman says there’s no magic number, but once a day is a good rule of thumb. “Vary the time of day that you add content,” he advises. “If you’re always posting at 9 a.m., you will only reach people who are also on Facebook at 9 a.m. Users who check their page at lunch might never see your posts.”
Luke Syers, marketing coordinator at Highcraft Builders, in Fort Collins, Colo., posts as often as good content presents itself. Facebook, he says, doesn’t have to be time-consuming.
“Social media is a task I fit in between other work,” Syers says. “I always make sure to post at least one item on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter on a weekly basis. I do spend a little extra time trying to network with other local companies by liking their pages or following them and hoping they return the favor.”
West prefers a higher posting frequency. “If you think people will see everything you post, you’re wrong,” he says. He estimates that most users only see about one third of the posts on their feeds in a day. Using that estimate, West says, “if you want people to see one post from you every day, you have to post three times.”
But users shouldn’t feel pressured to post multiple times a day. “The company should update as often as it can come up with things that are of interest to the people who it’s trying to cultivate as customers,” he says.
Key to success: Use page insights and post analytics to monitor the types of posts that generate the most feedback, and even the days or times of day that seem to be most popular among your page’s fans.
