With nearly three billion “likes” recorded on Facebook a day — not to mention more than 50 million pages in existence — it’s not surprising that the thought of creating a page crossed your mind.
Since their initial inception, Facebook pages have become an unparalleled means of self promotion and a social-media marketing. Although it was not always the case, a quick glance at your favorite storefront nowadays will likely reveal the website’s logo shoved in the corner, donned with the iconic phrase “Like us on Facebook” and a little blue-and-white thumbs up sign. However, it’s not just businesses utilizing the marketing campaign, but anyone who has virtually anything to promote on the Web: non-profit organizations, bands, politicians, companies, causes, entire brands.. the list goes on. It’s become a more effective tool for reaching audiences and garnering fans than the traditional newspaper, all without high cost that comes with placing an ad in print or on the Web.
Here’s our breakneck guide and tips on how to make a Facebook page. The process will vary slightly depending on the type of page you want create, but none require more than a few minutes. Also, check out our guide on how to use Facebook if pages aren’t the only thing giving you trouble.
Create your Facebook page
Step 1: Log in to your Facebook account. Launch your favorite browser and sign in to Facebook as you would normally, entering your email or phone number, and providing your password before navigating to the homepage. Note that pages are always accessible from the blue navigational bar running along the top of the page, but you must be an admin to access them.
Step 2: Navigate to the page creator. Click the blue drop-down arrow in the top-right corner and select the Create Page option (third from the bottom) to access Facebook’s innate page creator.
Step 3: Select your desired page category and basic info. It might seem rather self-explanatory, but select your desired page category from the six major types displayed in the center of the window. Once chosen, the category icon will slide to reveal options for further specifying your page regardless of category. Enter the the basic information (outlined below), check the box to the left of I agree to Facebook Pages terms and click the blue Get started button at the bottom of the panel. Afterward, you’ll be prompted for further details outlined in the next step.
- Local Business or Place: Category, name, address, and phone number.
- Company, Organization or Institution: Category and name.
- Brand or Product: Category and name.
- Artist, Band or Public Figure: Category and name.
- Entertainment: Category and name.
- Cause or Community: Name.
Step 4: Enter the specifics. The basic information you entered previously was merely the fundamentals. Once started, you’ll be asked to provide more details regarding your page. Choices will obviously vary depending on the type of page you’re creating — a band page won’t contain the same type of information as a restaurant or product — but it should provide accurate details and insights that reflects what your page represents. It may ask you to provide more details about your product or service, prompt you to choose a profile picture or ask you to provide a custom URL for your page. Click the blue Save info and Next buttons until the initial setup is finished and your new Facebook page is created.
Improve your Facebook page
You’re going to want to spice up your page once you’ve built the initial foundation. Below are a few aspects of your page you’re going to want to fine tune and refine if you haven’t already.
Step 1: Change your profile and cover photos. You’re profile and cover photos are ultimately the face of your new page. They’re one of the first things people see and should be a visual representation of what your page represents, albeit one with a little creativity and unique flare to help it stand amid the myriad of Facebook pages. Hover over you profile picture from the main admin panel, click the gray Edit Profile Picture and choose whether you want to upload a new photo, choose an already existing photo or take a new photo entirely. Do the same for your cover photo by clicking the gray Add a Cover button above your page information and selecting the appropriate shot (hint: cover photo dimensions are 851 by 315 pixels).
Step 2: Add more information. Not everything on Facebook is set in stone. Although you can only change the name of a page with fewer than 200 likes, most of the general information (i.e. address, descriptions, topics) can easily be changed to better suit your particular page aesthetics. From the admin panel, click the gray Update page button in the top-right corner and select the Update page info from the resulting drop-down menu to access your main page info. Add or change the page information and click the blue Save changes button below at the bottom of each section to apply the changes.
Step 3: Choose a custom URL. Your default Facebook page URL may get the job done, but it’s not the best when it comes to optimization and branding. You can change your username — not to be confused with the page name — by accessing the main page info settings in Step 2, clicking the blue Edit link in the Page Address section and typing the new URL address for your desired page. Once entered, click the blue Check availability button in the bottom-right of the page and Facebook will automatically change your username if it’s available. Keep in mind you can only do so once after setting it for the first time.
Step 4: Build an audience. There’s no point in creating a Facebook page if you don’t intend on using it to reach out to people. Click the gray Build audience button in the top-right corner and select one of the resulting options from the drop-down menu. Invite email Contacts provides options for uploading your email list and inviting contacts to like your page, Invite Friends allows you to invite people on your friends list to like your page, and Share Page gives you options for sharing your page on your own timeline, a page you manage, a friend’s or a group’s.
A few tips for using your Facebook Page
Creating a Facebook page is one thing, but efficiently using it to your advantage and making it worthwhile for you fans is entirely different. Below are a few quick tips for getting started.
- Promote: Place your Facebook page address as you would a normal email address. Throw it on store signs or business cards and embed a link to your page on your website or personal blog. Facebook even offers free table tents and stickers that you can customize and use to promote your page at special events and other promotional functions. Make your voice heard!
- Post: No one likes spam, but you should regularly post content such as updates, photos and videos so your audience can see what you’re up to. Facebook claims posts between 100 and 250 characters are likely to get more likes, comments, and share than those outside the character range. Utilize tools like Facebook Insights to better understand what drives traffic to your page and who your audience is.
- Engage: Respond to fan comments to let them know you care about their suggestions, questions, and opinions. It doesn’t take much, but a little involvement goes a long way in showing your fans you’re listening.
- Advertise: Try creating and paid advertisement to achieve more likes. Ads start as low as $5 a day with an estimated four to 17 likes per ad, but you can pay more for additional exposure.
- Consult the help center: Facebook has an entire portion of its Help Center devoted to understanding pages and how they work. Don’t hesitate to dig a little deeper if you’d prefer a bit more insight straight from the developer. Jump on over to Page Basics for a more-detailed look at any and all information pertaining to Facebook’s page function.
What do you think of our guide on how to make a Facebook page? Pretty easy and straightforward yeah? Lets us know in the comments below.
