A Guide to Facebook Business Pages

HotPotatoSocialMedia.com
A Guide to
FACEBOOK
BUSINESS
PAGES
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Hot Potato | Guide to Facebook Business Pages
Facebook, with over one billion users can be the hub of a successful social media
marketing strategy.
Facebook is the leader in social media customer sources, with more than 52% of
marketers finding a customer on Facebook this year. Interested in driving traffic to
your website? Not only does Facebook generate direct leads, it increases website
traffic1
.
Despite the potential benefits of a Facebook presence, not all businesses have
leveraged this platform. 59% of small businesses do not have a Facebook page,
while 41% do. Larger companies are doing a bit bitter. 58% of Fortune 500
companies have a Facebook page. Interestingly, 71% of the fast-growing companies
on the Inc. 500 list said they have Facebook pages2
.
Even more powerful are Facebook usage statistics. Over 50% of users login each day
and users log 8.3 billion hours per month. Undeniably, Facebook offers a large
opportunity to engage with your audience. Avoid being part of the 59% of small
business that do not have a Facebook Page, create yours today!
Hot Potato’s Facebook Guide Hot Potato’s Facebook Business Page guide will share
everything you need to know about creating a Facebook Business Page, from initial
setup to content
creation. Topics include:
• Setting up your business page
• Facebook image optimization
• Creating custom tabs
• Content
• EdgeRank
• Facebook promotions
• Measurement (INSIGHTS)
• New in 2013
Setting Up Your Business Page
Creating a Facebook Business Page requires that you own
a personal account. From your personal account you can
create a business page. Visit Facebook’s Create a Page to
begin now (while logged in to your Facebook account), or
click the create a page button on your pages list.
Facebook business Pages

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The first step is to decide what type of business page you are creating. Are you a
local business or place, company, organization, or institution, brand or product, band
or public figure, entertainment, or a cause or community?
Next, choose a category that best applies to your business. Then, provide your busi-
ness/company/brand name. If you select a local business or place, you will need to
provide some additional location information (address, city, state, zip, phone #).
Provide an overall description of your business and links to your website, Twitter,
blog, and more to improve the ranking of your Page in search.
After entering this very basic business information, you will be prompted to upload
the very important “profile picture”. Below we will share Facebook image best prac-
tices, including information about profile pictures and cover photos.
Facebook Image Optimization
Since profile pictures are the first things people will see when you post updates,
make sure they are noticeable – you really just need a solid logo or symbol that
represents your company/brand. Your profile picture displays at 160×160 pixels. It
is recommended to use a square image, as rectangular images will be cropped to fit
the square display.

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Timeline banners were meant for branding the heck out of your company page. They
are located at the top of your timeline, right above your profile picture. Therefore,
timeline banners should be integrated with the profile picture you select. Here’s
where you make good use of that logo, perhaps with various keywords placed on
what your company strengths and services are. Be sure to follow Facebook’s cover
guidelines (ex: images can’t consist of more than 20% text).
Below are size guidelines for your Facebook profile picture, cover photo, and custom
tabs.
Visual content is gold on Facebook. Photo albums, pictures, and videos get 180%,
120%, and 100% more engagement respectively3
. Be sure to upload photos to your
timeline that are the optimal size.
Timeline Images:
On wall – 403 x 403 pixels
Photo viewer – 960 x 960 pixels
MAX UPLOAD – 2048 x 2048 pixels
Milestones and Highlighted posts – 843 x 403 pixels (max)

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If you share links to your FB page, the link preview will be 155 x 114 pixels (see below).
Visual content, as mentioned earlier, can be the most popular content on Facebook.
Make sure your images are optimized for Facebook before uploading by following the
size guidelines above!
Custom Tabs
Custom tabs are located at the top of your Page, below your cover photo and offer a
great way to customize your page. For example, the Hot Potato Facebook Page tabs
(seen above) are links to our Pinterest, Google+, and Twitter profiles, offering fans
an easy way (and encouraging) to engage with us on those sites as well.
Each tab is an “app”. By default, photos will show up in the first position. This cannot
be changed. Every other position can be customized to your preferences. We will
take you through an example of adding your Twitter profile as a custom tab on your
Page.
One trick is to visit a Page that has a Twitter tab. Click on that tab, and then scroll all
the way to the bottom and select “Add a Twitter Tab” at the bottom.
You will then be prompted to select the Facebook Pages you would like to add the
app to (yourself or any of the Pages you manage). Select the applicable Page.

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Then, authorize the tab application to continue. Then enter of all your relevant Twitter
information including your preferences.
There are endless possibilities for custom tabs, you can even use whatever image you would
like to maintain your visual identity throughout your Page. To edit the settings of your tabs/
apps, go to edit settings in the admin panel of your Page and click on apps in the left hand
toolbar. Here you will find all the apps associated with your page. You can edit the settings,
or get the link to each tab here.

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To change the order of how your tabs appear on your profile, hover over the tab.
A pencil should appear in the top right of the tab. Click on the editing pencil, and
choose “swap position with”, selecting the tab you’d like to swap with.
Content
Your Facebook Business Page has been created. Now what? Start creating/sharing
content!
Facebook business pages provide a great opportunity to engage with your audience.
There are a variety of features including status updates, videos, and photos that
allow you to share your content. Consider these statistics4
:
• 50% think that a brand’s Facebook page is more useful than its website
• Promotions and discounts are the biggest motivators in liking a brand
on Facebook
• The top 3 ways consumers interact with brands on Facebook is to print off
coupons, like/comment on brand’s page, and to learn about new products
• The top 3 ways brands could get non-likers to like them on Facebook are
to have more giveaways, post less often, and let them hide that they like
the brand
Content ideas include:
Status Updates – Status updates are one of the most useful features of Facebook.
You can use a status update to share that blog, case study, or white paper you just
published. Ask a question to engage your audience.
Photos/Videos – Preferences are switching to visual content. Research shows that
photo albums, pictures, and videos get 180%, 120%, and 100% more
engagement respectively.
Contests – If appropriate for your company, a contest can help you get more likes
or increase engagement. Consider having a sweepstakes, essay, photo, or video con-
test. However, make sure to familiarize yourself with Facebook’s strict
promotion policies.
Exclusive Content – Your audience may expect exclusive content/offers in return
for liking your Facebook business page. In fact, as mentioned above, promotions
anddiscounts are the biggest motivators in liking a brand on Facebook. Consider
offering your fans exclusive deals/coupons.
Events - Does your company have events? Create events on Facebook to promote
you events and increase attendance. You can even create events for things likes
sales that your company may have.

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EdgeRank Algorithm
Facebook users spend a majority of their time browsing through their News Feed.
40% of the time spent on Facebook is in the News Feed, while only 12% is spent on
profile and brand pages5
. Therefore, showing up in the News Feed of your Fans is
a top priority, since many do not visit your actual page. Content you share, status
updates, photos, etc. are what you share in your Fans News Feed. However, not all of
your fans will see your updates. Why? In an effort to selling advertising, and provide
users with the most relevant and wanted content Facebook has developed EdgeRank.
EdgeRank is a ranking algorithm developed by Facebook to determine what is dis-
played on the News Feed. The three variables that make up the algorithm are affini-
ty, weight, and time decay (seen above).
Affinity – how close of a relationship a Fan has with a brand (repeat interactions)
Weight – value of a post (amount of likes, comments, etc.) (commenting is more
valuable than a like)
Time decay – how long has it been posted? The older, the less valuable

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Complicated? How about a more simple explanation from PostRocket6
.

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Facebook Promotions
Have you ever considered starting a Facebook contest/promotion to generate buzz
for your company’s Facebook page? Contests are a great opportunity to increase
engagement or boost your fan count.

If you have been on Facebook, you may have seen or even participated in contests/
promotions from anyone from small businesses to major brands. Have you ever
liked a page to be entered into a contest? Have you ever commented on a post to be
entered into a contest? Facebook’s promotion policy is very strict, and these types of
promotion actually violate Facebook’s terms. Yet, you see it all the time. Small
businesses and even major brands are unfamiliar with Facebook’s strict policy.
Despite the large number of Facebook promotions you see that are actually in
violation of Facebook’s promotion policy, you probably haven’t heard of many getting
busted. Is it worth the risk? Just because “everybody is doing it”, does not make it
ok. It is not worth risking your Facebook page where a large following/community
has been built or tarnishing your brand’s image.
Facebook’s Promotion Guidelines are as follows:
1. Promotions on Facebook MUST be administered within Apps on Facebook.com,
either on a Canvas Page or a Page App.

2. You MUST include a complete Facebook release as well as acknowledgement that
the promotion is not endorsed, sponsored, administered by, or associated
with, Facebook.

3. You MUST NOT condition registration or entry upon the user taking any action
using any Facebook features or functionality other than liking a Page, checking in to
a Place, or connecting to your app. For example, you must not condition registration
or entry upon the user liking a Wall post, or commenting or uploading a photo on a
Wall.

4. You MUST NOT use Facebook features or functionality as a promotion’s registration
or entry mechanism. For example, the act of liking a Page or checking in to a Place
cannot automatically register or enter a promotion participant.

5. You MUST NOT use Facebook features or functionality, such as the Like button, as
a voting mechanism for a promotion.

6. You MUST NOT notify winners through Facebook, such as through Facebook
messages, chat, or posts on profiles (timelines) or Pages.

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Back in 2009, Burger King created a
Facebook promotion called “Whopper
Sacrifice”. Users could use the whopper
sacrifice app to sacrifice, or delete, 10 of
their friends in return for a free whopper.
“What would you do for a free WHOPPPER?
Now is the time to put your fair-weather
web friendships to the test. Install WHOPPER
Sacrifice on your Facebook profile, and
we’ll reward you with a free flame-broiled
WHOPPER when you sacrifice 10 of your
friends.”

Deleted friends received notifications,
similar to the ones you are used to
receiving, informing them that they were
de-friended for a free whopper.

The response? Almost 234,000 people Facebookers were de-friended as a result of
this promotion. However, Facebook wasn’t thrilled. A spokesman said that the
promotion violated user’s privacy. In particular, the de-friending notification would
disrupt user’s privacy expectations. Facebook requested that Burger King tweak this
feature.

Burger King did not face removal of the page, or any harsh punishment. However,
instead of making the requested tweak, they decided to stop the promotion all
together. “While Facebook was a great sport, they did ask for changes that would have
resulted in a different approach to our application, counter to what we developed,”
said Burger King in a statement. “Ultimately, based on philosophical differences, we
decided to conclude the campaign and chose to ‘sacrifice’ the application.”
Lesson to be learned- Before you being a promotion/contest on Facebook, be sure to
familiarize yourself with Facebook’s Promotion policy.
Measurement (INSIGHTS)
So, is all your work on your Facebook
Business Page paying off? Quantify your
efforts by using Facebooks built in
analytics tool, Insights. Understanding
and analyzing trends of your Page can
help you make necessary improvements/
adjustments.

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Note: You need to have a minimum of 30 likes on your Page to accesss Insights. If
you meet this criteria, these analytics can be accessed through the admin panel on
your Page. Click See All on the Insights box.
You can navigate through four tabs on Insights: an overview tab, likes, reach, and
talking about this.
There are two types of Facebook insights7
:
• User Insights: Total page Likes, or a number of fans, daily active users,
new Likes/Unlikes, Like sources, demographics, page views and unique
page views, tab views, external referrers, media consumption.
• Interactions Insights: Daily story feedback (post Likes, post comments,
per post impressions), daily page activity (mentions, discussions, reviews,
wall posts, video posts).
The real question is what do you want to measure? What are your goals? Goals need
to be quantifiable to measure success. For example, your goal may be to increase
the amount of fans you have by a certain percentage, decrease your “unlike” rate, or
increase the average number of comments you receive. Setting these goals lets you
know what metrics you need to be paying attention too.
Also, Insights can be helpful in determining the effectiveness of the content on your
page. Facebook INSIGHTS show the number of interactions within a Facebook page.
The peaks in interactions can be linked to content generated which induced an
individual to interact with the piece of content (comment, like, share, etc.)
New in 2013
Facebook, like all social media, is constantly updating its features. Here are some of
the newest developments so far in 2013:
Graph Search – An upgraded search tool that allows users to perform more
sophisticated searches on Facebook. Instead of searching for a specific person,
place, or thing, conduct an advanced search such as, “people who like cycling and
live in Chicago, IL”.
Cover Photos Can Now Have Calls-to-Action - Facebook has updated their page
terms, now allowing users to include calls-to-action in their cover photos. Calls-to-
action, such as “get it now” or “tell your friends” were previously prohibited. Keep in
mind that covers still may not consist of more than 20% text.

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Reply Links - New reply links allow you to reply directly to comments on your page,
making having conversations even easier. Active conversations will be moved to the
top of the thread.
Hashtags - Facebook is working on incorporating the hashtag. They are testing
whether to follow in Twitter’s footsteps by allowing users to click on a hashtag to pull
up all posts about similar topics in order to index conversations around trending top-
ics and build those users conversations up.
Facebook is such a great tool for companies to interact with their fans. But, if you
build it, they won’t necessarily come. After the initial creation of your page, be sure
to follow some of the tips provided throughout this guide to optimize your page. But
most importantly, make your page worth visiting.
Resources
1. Hubspot, 2013 State of Inbound Marketing Report
2. Goldhat
3. Facebook for Business
4. Lab42
5. Comscore
6. Postrocket
7. Mashable
About Hot Potato
Based in Naperville, IL outside of Chicago, Hot Potato Social Media is a full service
social media marketing agency that helps companies and brands implement and
manage social media and other inbound marketing programs for measurable, and
often profound sales results. For more information, check out the website at
www.HotPotatoSocialMedia.com, or call 630-868-5062.

A Guide to Facebook Business Pages

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A Guide to Facebook Business Pages