10 Essential Business Facebook Page Elements To Optimize Today

Facebook is an essential part of any small business’s marketing strategy today — after all, nearly 8 in 10 American adults use the platform, and as many as 74 percent of purchases are influenced by social media.

Is your small business on Facebook already? How confident are you that you’ve set up your page in a way that puts your best foot (or should that be face?) forward?

Review this 10-item checklist for the basic elements you need to optimize today.

1. You have used your business name as the name for your Facebook page.

Sounds simple, right? And it should be. But as more and more businesses join Facebook, you may need to be creative and think local to get a name that works for you. For example, there are probably upwards of a thousand businesses in the United States and elsewhere named “Serenity Spa”. You may want to localize by including not only your business name, but your city in your Facebook page name to help searchers know they’ve found the right page.

2. Your Facebook page is set up at a "Local Business" so your customers and clients can check in at your location. 

Other page settings, such as “Company” don’t allow check-ins, which are a key way of gaining visibility on Facebook. Those check-ins show up in your customers’ Facebook feeds where they serve as a de facto endorsement and referral for your business.

3. You have selected or entered a "page category" of what  your business is, such as "medical spa," "fitness center" or "credit union." 

 As many social media users turn to those platforms to search for local businesses just as often as they use traditional search engines, having a category designated can help your business rise to the top of the list when they search “coffee shop near me” or “hair salon in Lincoln.”

4. Your Facebook page has an instantly recognizable profile picture, such as your logo. 

While individuals may use a wide range of ever-changing profile pictures on their personal Facebook pages, your business should have a consistent profile picture that is easy to identify as followers scroll through their feed. Your logo is an obvious choice, but if it doesn’t fit well into the round and/or square way Facebook displays profile pictures, you may want to use a photo of your business or some other recognizable image.

5. Your cover image fits your brand and business. 

You may want to change your cover image occasionally, to fit the season or highlight different aspects of your business, but it should also fit your brand. If your business caters to kids you’ll want a different look for your cover image than a similar business focused more on an edgy, adult crowd.

6. All images are high quality and cropped to fit Facebook's preferred dimensions.

Just because it is click-and-go simple to snap a photo and post it, doesn’t mean you don’t need to take time to consider the quality of each image you use on your Facebook page. Taking a few extra seconds to consider the basics of image quality (focus, focal point, backgrounds, lighting, composition) can make the difference between an image that showcases your business and one that leaves a bad impression. It is also important to know the proper dimensions for each type of image — trying to use a tall vertical photo as your cover image simply won’t work, and trying to wedge a horizontal image into the square/round profile picture spot will result in losing a portion of the picture.

Find more details here: How-To Guide For Creating Facebook Images.

7. Your "About" section is complete with contact information, hours and location. 

This is one of the simplest ways of providing great customer service before a potential customer ever reaches your doors. More and more consumers begin their searches with social media — and other searches can also turn up Facebook pages in the results — so having these basic bits of information immediately available is key to starting off with a good impression. Plus, including the phone number and address mean that users on a mobile device are just a single click away from calling you or bringing up directions to reach your location.

8. You have included a link to your website in your Facebook profile.

If you use inbound marketing to capture leads through your website, this link is an essential. But even if you aren’t currently using an inbound strategy, it just makes sense to connect your social media presence to your website, helping potential customers navigate to find the information they need most.

9. You have written a 155-character (max) description of your business.

This description plays an important role in search results to help Facebook users find your business and also sets the tone for your page. If you are in a more conservative industry, such as healthcare or finance, you’ll want to keep it “straight.” But some businesses may want to use their description to highlight the culture of their company, such as this description from Nutella:

Nutella is like happiness in a jar. More than a delicious hazelnut spread, it’s part of the morning ritual and a joyful way to start every day.

Find 20 more examples of great Facebook pages in this round-up from HubSpot.

10. You have an @username for your Facebook page. 

Claiming your vanity username just makes sense — it makes searches more effective and can be an easy way to unify your social media presence across channels if you choose the same name as your Twitter handle, etc. Keep it as close to your business name as possible, as it will be the name that appears in the URL of your Facebook page.

Once you have your basic Facebook page elements optimized, it’s time to review the rest of your Facebook strategy and usage. Download our Rate Your Healthcare Business Facebook Page scorecard for one industry-specific look at how to maximize your social media presence. Comment below with how your industry can best use Facebook, whether you are in health and beauty, fitness, financial services, B2B software or medical technology.