Facebook For Profit 1-2-3
Become a Facebook Fan of BizTrek at BizTrek.net
Once you have decided to build a Facebook presence for your business, follow these steps to get things started.
SEPARATING PERSONAL FROM BUSINESS
The first thing you should know about Facebook is that maintaining MULTIPLE accounts, regardless of the purpose, is a violation of Facebook’s Terms of Use. Although people continue to try it, Facebook will not allow you to create a business (or fake) identity that operates as a personal identity. Facebook is constantly auditing accounts and will shut down anyone who is in violation. It may take a while, but they will catch you eventually. Why risk it and lose all of your conatcts and your work?
The proper approach is to create a business "Fan Page" managed through your personal account, as you will learn below. Why does Facebook do this? Facebook is set up on a social / relationship basis. This means that people have “friends” … while businesses, charities and public figures etc. have “fans”.
SPECIAL NOTE: The “fans” of any of the business pages you administer will NOT have visibility or access to your personal profile. You can keep your personal “friends” and your business “fans” completely separate. Any actions that you take as a fan page administrator will show only the business’ name and not your personal name.
CREATING AN ACCOUNT
If you are new to Facebook, you will need to first build your PERSONAL profile page separately from building your business Fan Page. If you do not yet have a Facebook account, begin by going to http://www.Facebook.com. You will need to select “Sign Up for Facebook” with your Name, Email, Password and Birthdate. Enter your personal name. Next, enter your preferred email address. Then, choose a password you can remember and record it somewhere. Finally, enter your birthdate. Once that has been entered, press the Submit button. You will be asked to decipher some words and letters on the screen as part of Facebook’s security check. This is to prevent spammers and robots from getting access to the Facebook system. After you decipher this easy security check, you will receive an email message from Facebook (at the email address you provided above) to confirm that you are who you say you are. Open the email and follow the simple confirmation instructions. Once you have completed the confirmation process, you are ready to come back to Facebook.com and log in as an active member.
BUILDING PERSONAL CONNECTIONS
Facebook is an online relationship building tool, not a direct marketing tool. You can use it to create, build and nurture friendships and relationships. It should not be blatantly used for “Buy My Stuff” marketing. The first step on your PERSONAL page is to begin building Facebook connections with people you know. Don’t accept, or try to build, random relationships with people you do not know or do not have an interest in. Facebook is better as a source of referrals than sales. It is not about building a huge list of people you barely know! The person with the most “friends” does not win!
Build your network carefully and thoughtfully. Look for people where you have many friends in common. Then approach them by sending a message something like … “We have several friends in common and I would like to get to know you better. There may be some synergies between us such as …” Explain why becoming Facebook friends could be mutually beneficial, and if you are in the same community, suggest meeting offline for coffee to become better connected.
Remember to act like an adult when using Facebook. There are many silly capabilities and applications, but most business people do not like to be “poked” or receive cyber kisses. Before you add a function or application, ask yourself whether this positions you as a professional. Once you have completed your basic personal presence, you are ready to begin building your business presence.
BUILDING A BUSINESS FAN PAGE
Here is the BizTrek Fan page to give you an idea what you are building towards. To begin creating your business presence, go to Facebook's Fan Page creation site (click here). Begin by selecting your business type. If you only do business locally, select the “local” button and choose the best category. If you do business beyond a single geographic region, select the “brand or product” button and then select the appropriate category. There is also a button for artist, bands or public figures if that applies. Next, type the name of your business in the lower box and then press “Create Page.” You may be asked to login again with your Facebook name and password. Once you have logged in, Facebook will automatically make a business page for you.
ADD YOUR LOGO
When your business page is activated, you get a blank information screen. The first thing you should probably do is upload your logo or brand image. In the upper left of the initial screen, you will see a blank box. Underneath that box, you will see an option to “Upload a picture.” Click that. The new page will allow you to upload your logo from your computer. Simply browse your computer hard drive until you find your logo (or any other image that you would prefer to use). Click on the “right to use” box and then upload your photo. Once uploaded, adjust the Thumbnail Version by holding down the right mouse button and move the picture around. When the thumbnail setting is to your liking, click “Save Thumbnail” right below the image. To return to your main business page, click “Back to Editing” near the upper right corner. You will now arrive at a “Information Page” that allows you to build your business profile. You can always see your page the way the public sees it by clicking “View page” near your logo.
BUILD YOUR BUSINESS FAN PAGE PROFILE
Begin by clicking the word ”Edit” next to “Basic Info.” You will first be asked what year your business was founded. Enter the answer and press “Save Changes.” Next, click the “Detailed Information” tab. This will take you to a page where you can type in your web site address, a company overview, your mission and your products or services. When you are done, click the “Back to Editing” button near the top right.
CHANGE FAN PAGE SETTINGS
Below the section for your basic information, you will see an area to add multiple applications. These include discussion boards, events, notes, photos, video, the wall and more. I will come back to them momentarily. However, before adding your applications, visit the Settings section, which can be found just below the area listing all the applications (bottom of page). This is where you can control who sees your page. You have the option to limit the page to a small group of people to whom you give access rights. However, in most business instances, you will want to keep your pages completely public. You can also change the permitted age category. The default is age 13+, but you can make it higher if you wish. The third option allows you to limit your page to certain countries, should that restriction be appropriate.
ADDING APPLICATIONS
Facebook allows you to add quite a number of applications to engage your fans. Lets say you have logged out for a while and now want to come back and begin adding applications. When you have logged in, you will typically arrive at your news feed page. Under the Facebook logo in the upper left corner, you will see a Search field. Below that, you will see a place for your applications. One of those will be “Page Manager.” Click that option (you may need to click “More” at the bottom of the list to find it. When you click on “Page Manager” you will see a new screen. Near the upper right you will see a green button that says “Create An Ad.” To the left of that button, you will see links that look like a small Facebook logo (shows your statistics), Ads Manager, Pages and Help. Click on “Pages.” Now you are back on the page where you can add applications to your business page.
APPLICATION – DISCUSSION BOARDS
The first application on your list is the Discussion Board option. Click on edit and when you get to the new screen, you will see an option to “Start New Topic.” This brings up another new screen where you can enter a topic title and then make the first post. Pick a topic you think your fans might want to discuss and then make a post describing your initial thoughts about this topic. An effective method for topic discussions that will engage people is an “this or that” question. For example … Which is better for night driving, and why. Traditional car headlamps or the new high power headlamps?
APPLICATION – NOTES
Facebook Notes are basically a blog for your business in its simplest form. It allows you to write commentary on anything you like, but I suggest you keep it relevant to your business. Ask yourself what your fans would like to know about. To add a Note, click on edit beside the Notes option on your applications list. You will get a new screen, and in the upper right hand corner is a button that allows you to “Write a New Note”. This brings up another new screen where you can enter a topic title, message body and even the option to add a photo. You can save your work in draft form, preview it and publish it when it is ready for the world to see.
If you already have a blog, you can import posts from one external blog so that all of your posts appear along with your notes. Facebook will automatically update your notes whenever you write in your blog. (Imported blog posts cannot be edited.) To add your blog, go to the “Import” area about half way down the screen on the right. Your blog host will tell you what your feed address is, but it will probably be something like … http://blogname.hostserver.com/feed.
APPLICATION – PHOTOS
Facebook Photos allow you to create one or more photo albums that your audience might find interesting. They could include a catalog of product photos, company events, technical drawings or anything else that would benefit from a visual presentation. To add a photo, click on edit beside the Photos option on your applications list. You will get a new screen, and in the upper right hand corner is a button that allows you to “Create a Photo Album”. This brings up another new screen where you can enter the album name, the location (if applicable) and a description. Once you have defined your album, you will get a new screen that shows your computer contents of the left side. You can browse through your computer to find pictures you would like to add to your album. When you find a picture you like, you will see a preview on the right with a small check box in the upper left hand corner of each photo. Click in that box for any photo you wish to add. Then select the upload option to move the photos into your album and add a caption. When you are done, click on save changes and your album should be activated.
APPLICATION – VIDEOS
In addition to photos, Facebook also allows you to post videos. Your fans can also post photos and videos to your Facebook business page. The process for adding videos is very similar to the photo process shown above, and should be easy enough to do once you have had experience with adding some photo albums.
APPLICATION – WALL
The Wall is a place where you and your fans can post messages and commentaries on your business page. It is a great way for people to give you feedback. To add a message to your own wall, click on edit and you will see a screen come up that says “write something”. Put your comment there and then hit the “post” button. Your comment is now on the wall. The process to leave messages on other people’s wall is very similar.
MORE APPLICATIONS
Facebook allows you to add many more applications. Click on this edit link to explore your options and add unique content to your Facebook business page. For example, one of the special applications I added was an Events Application which allows us to showcase upcoming events and sent an announcement to our fans.
SEND AN UPDATE TO YOUR FANS
The final tool that you may wish to use regularly is the option to send an update to your fans. This can be targeted to specific fans or to your entire fan base. To create a message, you will see an option on your business fan page near the upper right corner of your business page (when you are logged in). Simply click on that link, complete the title and message and add any associated content (ie. pictures or video). Then send it.
FINALLY. IF YOU FOUND ANY ERRORS HERE
Facebook periodically changes some of their policies, systems and processes. If you discover any changes from what is written here, please let us know so we can update this resource page for other readers. Please use the "Contact BizTrek" link at the bottom of this page.
Good luck and I hope to see you soon on Facebook …. and don’t forget to become a Facebook Fan of BizTrek at www.BizTrek.net