Luckily, setting up a Facebook business page is really simple! We'll walk you through it here:

The first thing to understand is the difference between a Facebook Profile and a Facebook Page.

A Facebook Profile is a personal account - designed to represent a person, not a business. Everyone who signs up for Facebook gets a profile.

Note that it is actually against Facebook's terms of service to use a personal profile to represent a business!

A Facebook Page is the property you create on Facebook to represent your business. 1 person (profile) can create and manage unlimited business pages.

Business pages are managed by personal profiles. So when you create a business page, your personal profile is the "Admin" of that page. 

You can assign other people to have various permissions on your business page as well. For example, say your Receptionist wants to post a daily picture to your Facebook page. The correct way to allow this is to give her personal profile a role on your business page.
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​To be clear - there is no way to have a business page that is NOT connected to a personal profile, as you have to log in via a personal profile to manage the business page. You also have to be logged in to a personal Facebook account to even create the business page.

The reason Facebook requires a business page to be "managed" or "owned" by a personal profile is so they can limit spam on their platform and ensure that real people are the ones creating business pages. In addition, this set-up provides security for your business. Rather than sharing one log-in between staff to access the business page, everyone has access through their own profile. That way, if someone leaves, you have the ability to easily remove them from the page.

Now that we've established the difference between a business and personal profile, let's walk through the process of creating a Facebook page for your business:

1. Log in to your personal Facebook profile. (If you don't have a personal Facebook profile yet, go to www.facebook.com and sign up. Make sure to use your real name - not your business name - for the profile to ensure it does not get shut down.)

2. In the upper right, click the icon for the drop-down menu and select "Create Page"

3. Choose the correct Page Type for your business. Most local businesses, either with a brick-and-mortar store, or service businesses who serve customers at the customer's location, will select Local Business or Place. 

4. Fill out your business information, including correct Name, Address, and Phone number. Facebook will also ask you to choose a category for your business. Then click "Get Started".

Congratulations! You now have a Facebook page for your business. Now let's look at some of the ways you can customize and optimize your page.

First, add a profile picture and a cover photo for your business. 

Typically, your logo should be your profile picture. If you don't have a logo, choose another photo that represents your business (a picture of an owner or outside of the building might work well). For the cover photo, use an engaging photo that helps show at a glance what you do or a photo of your work/products.

Every business page has a call to action button that can be customized. This is a great opportunity to allow visitors to connect with your business. The Call To Action button is located directly under your cover photo, and so is one of the first things visitors will see.

To customize your Call To Action, click on the button. Then, you can select what type of action you want to associate with the button. For most local businesses, we suggest one of the "Contact You" actions, or the "Learn More About Your Business" option, which can link to your website.

Unlike you personal profile, which has "Facebook friends" (people who have connected with your personal account), a business page has Facebook Fans. Your page accumulates fans by having people "like" the business page. Once someone "likes" your business page, your page updates/ads will have the potential to be shown to them.

Note that your existing personal Facebook friends do not automatically become "fans" of your business page. You need to send them an invite to "like" your new business page. Luckily Facebook makes this easy.

On the right side of your page, you'll see a panel titled "Know friends who might like your page?". This will list your personal Facebook friends - simply click the "Invite" button next to the names of the friends you'd like to invite to like your business page.

Now that your Facebook page is created, you can easily manage and post to it by logging in through your personal account. When you log in, simply click the upper right drop-down menu and you should see your page listed under "Your Pages".

When you go to your own page, you'll by default be posting "as the business" (meaning people can't see your personal profile). 

Simply click in the Status box to share a status, link, photo, or video!

Now that you have an optimized Facebook business page, make sure to promote it by adding a link to your website, email signature, or other places where potential customers might see it.

Need help setting up a Facebook page, or have questions about Facebook? Email us at help@getmorereviews.