Facebook Part 3: Creating a 'Page' for your business (now called Public Profiles)

Facebook Pages (now called Public Profiles) are another great way for business owners to advertise their services and to expand their client base. Facebook page owners can create their own page and develop a following of 'fans' and can be used for individuals, groups or businesses.

Why a Page?

1. Your page can be seen and searched both inside and outside of Facebook (a profile or a group can only be seen by members of Facebook).
2. You can track and analyze your traffic on your Facebook page (more on this in another blog).
2. You can send email updates and status updates to all your friends and fans. It's a great to keep fans informed of new events or promotions for your business
3. Personally, I like to used my profile for more personal reasons and my Page for business ones. But, don't forget, depending on your privacy settings your business associates can still probably see both!

***Note: with recent changes to the Facebook website some features between your Page and personal profile seem to be integrated.

How to make your Page:

1. Go to the following link to start creating your page.
2. Pick a category (such as restaraunt) and page name.
3. Add a photo - don't forget to have a clear, professional photo that shows you the way you want to be shown. Company logos are ok but often people want to see a face they can connect to - it makes you and your business seem more approachable and trustworthy, if you use the right photo of course!
4. Add information - add as much as you feel comfortable adding since the more information customers have the more they know about you and your business.
5. Make it interesting - add pictures, videos, comments and information that your viewers will enjoy. Add applications that help to sell your business and to get your fans interacting on your site. Go here to find a list of applications.
6. Click on the "publish this page". When your page is finish always remember to publish it, otherwise no one will see it after all your hard work!

Always remember to update your site regularly to keep people coming back and to get them to recommend other people to your site!

With the new changes on Facebook I am going to be doing a lot of exploring and figuring out how to best use the new Pages or Public Profiles as they are called now. I will keep you up-to-date on whatever I learn.

Some other good sites that talk about Facebook Pages are:

Facebook Group vs Facebook Fan Page: What’s Better?

Using Facebook Pages to Promote Your Blog