Our latest series of blog concentrate on each social platform and looks at which one might be right for you and your business. We have already covered Twitter and Instagram and now we are going to be looking at Facebook.
Facebook is the most well known of all the social media channels with regards to keeping in touch with friends and family, but how can you use it to promote your business? We will be talking you through that here.
What is Facebook?
Facebook is a social media channel which was launched in February 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg, with currently 1.4 billion users primarily sharing photos, videos and news stories to friends and followers.
Facebook is currently the largest social media site, with 20,000 people online every second. There are 3 million posts per minute, 500,000 ‘likes’ every minute, 100,000 friend requests every 10 minutes and users spend 21 minutes on average every time they log on to the network.
There are currently 40 million small business Facebook pages, which means that they are utilising the millions of potential customers that are out there. If you aren’t on there for your business, then maybe you need to start thinking about it!
Profile, Page, Group?
So, which is which and what are they used for?
A personal profile is a standard account created for an individual to keep in touch with friends and family. You must not create a profile for somebody else (see our advice on setting up profiles for new born children here).
A Page is a public fan page for a business (or a celebrity, TV programme or organisation) where you can build up a following of people who are interested in your page and products.
A Group is for a community or club that share a common interest. It can be private or public.
Beware!
You need a personal profile to set up a page or a group. You must not use a personal profile as a business page. Facebook regularly deletes personal profiles set up as businesses or organisations as it goes against their terms of use. It will usually be deleted without warning and you will not be able to recover any of your files or updates.
How do I use Facebook?
Signing up to Facebook, like all the social networks we are covering, is free and easy - all you need to do is visit www.facebook.com and follow the instructions. As previously mentioned you will need a personal profile to set up a business page. If you don’t have a profile then Facebook will guide you through setting up.
Please rest assured that your personal profile page will be completely separate from your business page; no information will be shared.
Once you have created a profile page you can then concentrate on your business page. Down the left hand side of your profile there is a section called pages where you can click on ‘create page’, otherwise visit www.facebook.com/pages/create and follow the step by step instructions.
Why do we love Facebook?
Facebook is currently the biggest and best way to keep in touch with friends and family all over the world. There are millions of like-minded business owners like you – therefore you have the ability to bring your business and work to a wider audience. You can follow interesting accounts and converse with them. You can make new friends and colleagues and engage with customers on a visual level. Plus there is an incredible amount of brilliant talent at your fingertips!