Facebook Business Page as Placeholder or Basic Presence? — No. 13 Facebook Business Basics

Updated November, 2011

In past Facebook Business Basics posts, we’ve discussed how to set up your Facebook business page and encourage friends, both inside and outside of Facebook, to Like it.  Now what should be your Facebook business page strategy?

Do you want your Facebook business page to be a place holder, a basic social media presence or an active vehicle for marketing campaigns?

Facebook Business Page Strategy: Place Holder

Many businesses set up a Facebook business page and either forget it, or don’t know what to do next.  They don’t realize that to get the most out of such a presence, they have to dedicate staff time to participate.

A place holder presence isn’t all bad.  Assuming you’ve put some time into substantive copy, announcing your page, and getting Likes, you at least have a social presence where people can find you. Your page may show up in search results and visitors might decide to click back to your website. You have a launching pad for future activities.

My How to Start a Niche Social Network page is an outpost on Facebook that I have not yet developed.  I import blog posts to the wall and enable email signup, but I am not now investing marketing effort into this page.

Facebook Business Page Strategy: Basic Social Media Presence

Let’s assume you want to start with a basic business presence on Facebook.   In this case, you or your staff must to spend time weekly, or better yet daily, on your page.  Some activity can be automated.

Basic activities might include:

• Post status updates regularly at times when users are active on Facebook.  Add and briefly describe photos and links to valuable resources you have created. Share photos and resources created by others.  Ask questions.
• Read comments on your Wall and respond to them.
• Create content-rich blog posts that are automatically imported into your Facebook business page.
• Add a tab to enable visitors to subscribe to your business email.
• Participate in related Facebook groups.
• Create and upload relevant short business videos.
• Review Facebook Insights (page statistics) to monitor user activity and interaction.
• Track the number of referrals from Facebook to your website in Google Analytics or other website statistics software.

Time Commitment for Basic Social Media Presence

As a minimum, you or your marketing person might spend a couple hours a week on your Facebook business page to create a weekly update, make comments and interact with others on your wall, and participate in a related group.  As you expand your activities, the time commitment will grow.  Later posts will address how to measure return on investment for time spent, but Facebook Insights and referral stats in Google Analytics are a start.

What’s your Facebook business page strategy?  Do you want your Facebook business page to be a placeholder, a basic social media presence, or a place for active Facebook marketing campaigns?

Facebook Business Basics

See also all 15 posts in the Facebook Business Basics series.

And see examples of Facebook business pages, or add yours, to our FB Business Pages Directory.