It’s incredibly easy to set up a Facebook page and perhaps that’s part of the problem.
Credit Facebook with a high level of usability. Any wanna-be marketer with a profile can create a Facebook page is a matter of minutes. The problem, however, comes when expectations for that page fail to deliver the intended results.
The creation of a Facebook page is not a public relations panacea. It won’t immediately draw a crowd and it won’t build a fan base just because it exists. It can build brand awareness and generate business leads, but remember:
Managing a successful Facebook community takes an investment of time and effort.
There is no “silver bullet” when it comes to creating a successful page. There are no shortcuts. Yet, a well-run page can yield results.
Here’s few helpful tips to get going:
1. Start with a plan.
There are few questions one should ask before creating a page (or launching any online initiative, for that matter): What are we trying to accomplish? What are our goals? What’s the best way of getting there? How will we measure success?
Knowing the answers to these questions keep an effort focused and on target. No one wants to start cultivating a community only to come back six months later and wonder, “What am I trying to do here?”
2. Don’t skip the small stuff.
Facebook prods new page owners to enter only basic information — name, website, and a brief description of what the page is about. Failing to fill out more of the information tab is a mistake. The Info tab allows administrators to offer a more complete picture of an entity.
Administrators can add an address, mission, awards, products, e-mail and more. All this information becomes searchable and aids in an attempt to explain who you are and what you do.
3. Appoint more than one admin.
It’s never good to set a single point of failure. If an organization has more than two people working in it, there is little reason to limit access to only one person. Even if additional administrators never post to the page, they should be there to ensure continuity should one administrator move on.
4. Set a schedule and stick to it.
It’s not easy to stay on task, stay focused and build momentum. Good content doesn’t write itself. Perhaps this is part of the plan but the easiest way to keep on track is to lay the track ahead of time. Meet Content last year wrote a great post about creating a social media calendar that’s always worth revisiting.
5. Take advantage of Insights.
It’s hard to know where you’re going if you don’t know where you’ve been. Insights is one of the greatest perks of administering a professional page. These statistics provide detailed information about likes, comments and shares, as well as detailed demographics segmenting people into age groups and locations. Do yourself a favor and export the stats to measure them against the goals set in step one.
6. Give it time to grow.
Successful pages don’t appear overnight. They take time. Even the most popular Fortune 500 corporate account started with one person liking it. Stay the course. If your page adds value to the audience you’re trying to reach, it will grow.
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