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Let’s suppose you work at a small company that is new on the market. The boss calls you and gives you a task: to ensure that the brand is present on the main social networks. Do you know how to do this properly?
In this article, you will learn how to create business accounts, how to customise them correctly, and how to start brand promotion in the right way. We will analyse this by using examples of the most significant social networks for business.
Feel free to skip ahead to the section that interest you most:
What are social media business pages?
A commercial profile differs from a regular user’s account in that it offers special tools for branding, promotion, and tracking users’ activities. A business account is necessary to effectively promote a company or product, increase audience reach, build communications, increase loyalty, and so on.
Social media business pages can help achieve the following goals:
- Analysis and understanding of the target audience’s needs and interests. You will be able to study the users who have become your followers/subscribers and who communicate with you. This will allow you to know everything about the requests and needs of potential customers.
- Recognition and coverage increase. If you create high-quality branded publications, you will see the viral spread and growth of business indicators more than once.
- Getting feedback. There are no barriers; you can communicate directly with the target audience, as well as keep up with current issues and customers’ attitudes toward the brand.
- Increased customer activity. Encourage your audience to visit the company’s website to increase registration, leads, and sales.
- Creating a positive reputation for the company. Respond to criticism properly and on time, use targeted content to create a good attitude among customers, and work effectively with risks.
How to register and set up a commercial profile on Facebook
Only regular user profile owners can create a business account. Therefore, you will need to go through a typical user registration process to start.
To create a new business account, find the “Create” button in the menu bar of the user’s profile (at the top of the page). Click it and select “Page” in the submenu.
The registration process begins here
Then the system will allow you to choose one of two profile types (see the example in the picture below). If you want to create a business account for a company (brand), you will need the first option. The second option is created for the public accounts of famous personalities, politicians, and a variety of fan communities.
Choose a page type
As soon as you click the “Get Started” button, the system will open a menu. You will need to fill it in. Enter the brand name in the first field. Try to avoid abbreviations and acronyms: Indicate the name of the company and its specialisation as clearly as possible.
For example, “Silver Laptop Service Centre” or “John Smith, an Internet Marketer” for a specialist’s page. In the second field, enter 1-2 keywords that characterise the specialisation of your brand. As soon as you enter a word, the system will independently suggest thematic directions.
Enter company data while creating a business page on Facebook
Once the category is selected, you will be asked to provide the physical address of the company’s office and its phone number. How do you approach this?
- Indicate the address if your company is local and if its location is important for customers to know (this is an option for a restaurant, store, beauty salon, etc.);
- Select the tick located opposite “Do not show the address” if the physical address of your company does not affect the process of working with customers. This is relevant for professionals and brands that only provide goods and services online.
After that, click “Continue”. A window will open, asking you to upload a picture of your business account. The next window will allow you to upload the image, which will become the profile cover. If you have not yet prepared suitable images, skip these steps, as you can easily return to them at any time.
Which images do you need for a business profile?
Here are some basic rules. Consider them if you want your company’s business account to look solid and professional:
- A Facebook profile picture is round. The system rounds it automatically. You will need a square image with a recommended resolution of 170x170 pixels. Note that the main image element must be in the center. Also, note that the image size will be reduced to 128x128 pixels in the mobile version;
- In the desktop version, the cover photo is displayed at a size of 820x312 pixels. In the mobile version of the social network, the image will be smaller: 640x360 pixels. Consider placing all the key details of the image closer to the central part to avoid cropping in mobile view;
- You can make a video cover for Facebook. The recommended size is 820x462 pixels. The duration of the video is from 20 to 90 seconds.
You will find the entire list of requirements for business page profile images and covers in the official Facebook rules.
What should the images depict?
There are several unofficial rules for registering business profiles on Facebook. For example, it is recommended that you place the brand logo on the profile photo without additional details and text (they would be poorly visible at this size). If this is an expert’s or specialist’s business profile, a portrait with a neutral background is recommended.
The cover image should complement the profile picture in terms of style and colour scheme. What to depict on the cover? There are several options: a slogan, an up-to-date message about a promotion or discount, support service contact info, an image of a new product, etc.
Does your brand not yet have a logo? To create one, you can use the Logaster service. It is an online generator that can create several dozen image options in seconds. The logo example you like is available for download in several sizes, including those that correspond to the recommended parameters for placing profile pictures and covers.
An example of a branded page
Uploading photos is the last step in creating a business account. Now you can start setting up your finished profile.
How to set up a business page on Facebook
At the very beginning, you will need to set the name that users will see in the URL of your business account. This acts as the domain name of the brand page. The requirements are simple:
- Originality (lack of analogs);
- Up to 50 characters long;
- Use only Latin letters (numbers and periods are also allowed).
You can take the brand name as a basis, especially if it is part of a registered trademark. Just select the option “Create Page Username.”
Creating a username for a business profile
A window for entering a name will open. If the option you have chosen is unique and fits the system rules, this will be marked with a green tick. You will simply have to confirm the action by clicking “Create Username”.
Now let’s move to the next setting item. This is adding business account information. You will need to find the “About” category in the menu on the left.
Choosing a category when setting up commercial page information.
A tab with the following settings options will open:
- General: This is everything that you indicated while you were creating a business account. Check the information again. If everything is OK, go to the next step;
- About the company: Add some information about the organisation. You can also adjust the price range;
- Optional: Here, you will need to specify all the contact options for feedback;
- More information: Click “Edit” to add a short description of the company (maximum 255 characters) into the field. This text will be displayed on the main page. As for the other options, the process of filling them out does not require additional recommendations. By the way, the list of options may differ depending on the type of business you have indicated while creating the page;
- Story: This is a category where you can present your company. You can download a separate cover here and write a motivational story that the target audience will appreciate. You can use the system’s tips for filling it out.
After that, you can move to the next step: Add a button to the page with a call to action. Click “Add a Button” under the profile cover.
CTA button settings
Facebook has 5 thematic categories for this purpose. Each of them has from one to several button customisation options.
You simply need to choose the option that suits your company’s marketing strategy. When you’ve chosen it, set up the button. For example, if you chose the “Message” option, select the appropriate type of messenger that your customers will use to contact the support operator.
Be sure to check the setup button. Hover over it. A menu with the “Test” option will open. Choose it. Note that you can change or delete the button in the same menu.
You can set up other settings for your Facebook business account yourself. Select the appropriate section in the upper menu on the right:
Settings menu
This window contains several subsections. There are many tips, and the options are pretty well described. Therefore, you can easily understand the features and take all the actions yourself.
Tools for promoting a business account on Facebook
It's time to get effective tools and start promoting your business account. This is necessary to gather a large audience of subscribers and begin realising all of the advantages of a brand page on a social network.
Shutterstock/LookerStudio
Facebook Messenger and its chatbots
Chatbots provide efficient processing of typical requests. They automatically answer standard questions and ensure that an order is placed in accordance with a predetermined scenario, as well as perform other necessary actions.
Why do you need a chatbot? For providing 24/7 contact with the audience, even when the administrator of the business profile is not online. Moreover, chatbots significantly reduce the load on the support service, as they can process several requests at the same time and answer all the common questions. This leaves your real-life operators to only deal with unique or complex requests.
Let's take LEGO's chatbot as an example: It helps with choosing a constructor, and also offers to contact support.
LEGO Facebook chatbot
Notes
Facebook posts have an unstable address, i.e., it’s impossible to leave a permanent link to a specific post. If you want to create a publication with a permanent address and share this content (or just draw the audience’s attention to it), use the “Notes” option.
A stable address is not the only advantage. Notes allow you to post long publications, structure in paragraphs, and add images to text.
By creating such informational publications, you can effectively alternate them with standard sales posts. Another option for using notes is to post legal and other mandatory information. For example, Adidas used it in its official profile:
Adidas Facebook account notes
Live
Facebook Live streaming guarantees high coverage compared to standard posts. Why does this happen? The main reason is ranking. The Facebook algorithm is set to show live broadcasts first, especially if this is an event or production stream.
What can be shown live? The format can be used to broadcast important messages or, for example, to show the company’s work processes to interested audiences. For example, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines used live broadcasts to demonstrate the evolution of its services, from first flights to modern services.
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines Facebook stream
Facebook Stories
This is a format for short videos or photo collections that disappear 24 hours after publication. How are they useful for a business account? To evaluate this, you will need to experiment and evaluate the audience’s reaction.
People love custom solutions. By choosing the right publication options, you can increase your coverage and brand loyalty. A few examples of applying Facebook Stories are to publish promotional codes with short-term actions (according to the principle that a person who saw the story gets the discount), place teasers for new products, or announce limited sales.
Creator Studio
Creator Studio is a Facebook tool with which you can create, manage, and track content statistics in a business account. It was designed to process posts, edit videos, and organise live broadcasts.
It is also synchronised with Instagram, which is very convenient for companies that maintain accounts on the two largest social networks in the world. The tool allows you to:
- track publications on your accounts and manage performance;
- know everything about how your audience interacts with content;
- prepare publications and plan release dates. As a bonus, you get a publicly accessible set of templates and sounds from Facebook.
Facebook toolbar for creating and managing content
Facebook Ads Manager
Facebook Ads Manager is a paid platform for organising promotions for pages, brand products and services, and certain publications. The structure includes convenient tools for setting targeted advertisements for specific groups in the audience and for collecting statistical data.
It also includes the Facebook Pixel—a remarketing tool that tracks the visitors’ actions.
Facebook Ads Manager
Facebook business profile promotion: First steps
To achieve effective results, you first need to study the brand’s audience and discover its interests and problems.
The next step is to analyse the business accounts that successfully exist in your niche. Look at the style in which their publications are created and the topics they cover. Pick post options, develop a content plan, and start working on publications. Quality and effective solutions to audience problems should be your priority.
If you have created and set up a business profile for the brand, and published about 5 posts, you can start promotion:
- First, invite friends from your personal page: Let them click the “Like” button on the account. There is an “Invite” tool for this; you will find it on the main page.
- Are you successfully managing brand accounts on other social networks? Create a few posts with links to your new commercial page on Facebook and invite those who want to subscribe.
- If you are actively using e-mail marketing, create a newsletter for the audience. In an email, tell customers that your brand has a Facebook page. Indicate what it is about, and what you are going to publish there. Invite them to subscribe. Do not forget to add social network icons with links to your brand accounts. Leave a signature under each email and invite customers to subscribe.
- Stay in touch with the audience. Be sure to respond to subscribers. Post polls for a lively response. Use the “Offers” tool to provide information about discounts and promotional offers.
Discount notification example
How to register and set up a commercial profile on Twitter
There is no clear separation of personal and commercial profiles on Twitter. Therefore, you will need to register a business account in the same way as a personal one. First, you must go to the account sign-up page. Then specify a name and one of the following contacts: phone number or e-mail address.
Twitter sign-up page
The next step is a system option to enable automatic selection of content and advertisements. The user is given the right to activate this function or refuse it.
The third stage is the confirmation of the correctness of the data that you entered in the first step (account name and contact information). If everything is correct, click the “Sign Up” button.
The social network will send a unique code to the specified contact. You will need to enter it in a special field: This is how you complete the registration.
Finally, the last step: You will need to create a password for the profile. Now it's time to set up the page.
How to customise a business profile on Twitter
Now, you’ll be able to set up the standard account settings as this will be activated immediately after registration. It is very convenient. Let's take a look at the steps.
Picture: At the beginning, you will be prompted to upload a profile picture with a recommended size of 400х400 pixels. As with the previous social network, the best option would be an image with a large logo in the center.
Profile description: The field size is 160 characters. Enter what your page is about and what you plan to publish here.
Customising a Twitter account
Next, the social network will offer to synchronise the contacts stored in your Google profile. If you do this, the system will send a message to all your contacts, stating that you have recently registered on Twitter. We recommend that you not rush this, as you can do it when you have completed all the settings.
Note: If you skipped the automatic settings step, you can always go back to it at a convenient time. For this, go to “Profile” / “Edit profile”. In this menu, you can also upload a photo for the account header, at a size of 1500x500 pixels.
Main Twitter profile settings
The entire list of Twitter profile settings is available when you click “More” in the menu on the left and select “Settings and Privacy”.
All Twitter profile settings
The interface section is as clear as possible, so there is no need to describe each option separately. To set up a business account, follow these steps:
- Configure the username by going to the “Account”. Make sure the name is easy to read and unambiguous;
- Set access to your publications, activate or deactivate geolocation, allow for searching of the brand account by contacts, and so on in “Privacy and safety”;
- Use the “Notifications” tab to customise push messages, e-mail, and SMS notifications from a social network and users. Just decide exactly what you need;
- Use the “Display” tab to set the account background, font size, and colour scheme. Choose colours that match your brand shades.
When designing a business account, you will want to adhere to corporate symbols and focus on individual design. Make sure that you add contact details (for example, a phone number and email support services) to the profile so you’re easy for customers to reach. You can also state that you are able to communicate through private messages.
An example of a well-designed business account on Twitter (JetBlue)
Tools for promoting a commercial page on Twitter
Hashtags: They are needed to increase the reach of each tweet. We recommend using up to two hashtags per publication. If you add more, there is a risk of being sanctioned for violating the rules of the social network. The site administration recommends avoiding hashtags that are dedicated to religious, political, and other contentious issues.
Advertising: The social network has its own advertising platform with the necessary set of tools. Here, you can choose the target audience, budget, and duration of the campaign, as well as track the results of delivery, reach, and effectiveness. Advertising objective customisation is available as well. For example, to increase website clicks, increase recognition, etc.
Twitter Ad service page
Twitter business profile promotion: First steps
We recommend that you post regularly, analyse trends, and follow them. This way, your business profile will always be interesting to subscribers. Keep the frequency of your posts consistent. For example, “Forrester” profile administrators adhere to this rule:
Tweet regularly to increase reach (Source: Forrester)
Communication with users is a must. Use the response icon in each tweet so that your comment is seen by the original user and other subscribers.
Track trends. They are short-lived on Twitter, so you need to be on time; otherwise, your actions will only confuse users. Accompany these tweets with trending hashtags.
Use relevant hashtags. Using them, you can attract two times more subscribers. Place the hashtag anywhere in the post; just put a # in front of the desired word.
Add images to tweets. You will get up to 18% more responses. It is recommended that you adhere to the size of 1024x512 pixels and use the JPG, GIF, and PNG formats.
In the marketing publications that you create for the media and other social networks, add a link to the company’s account on Twitter. It may be convenient for some customers to follow your brand here.
Subscribe to interesting pages in your category. Twitter has the principle of “mutual subscription”. Unfortunately, we cannot provide specific data (most likely, analysts have not yet studied this area), but it really works.
How to register and set up an Instagram business account
It’s better to start this process once you already have a business account on Facebook (the principle of its creation and customisation is described above). These social networks are easily synchronised. In addition, you must have a regular user account on Instagram; it can be turned into a commercial one through the official mobile application.
How to switch to a commercial page on Instagram
Select “Settings”/ “Account” / “Switch ...” in the application.
The first step in switching to a commercial account
Indicate the type of page: “Author” for your own business profile or “Business” for a brand or organisation.
Selecting an account category
Next, select the appropriate activity option to determine the profile category.
Enter your contact information. Note that this information will be displayed publicly.
That's all. The commercial page has been registered and you have received additional business options. For example, with the “Statistics” tab, you can track the effectiveness of each publication and analyse the profile’s statistical data (number of publications, audience reach and interaction, user data, etc.). You must have at least a hundred subscribers for this information to be available.
How to customise a business profile on Instagram
Let’s consider some of the main settings of this social network.
Picture: For a professional account, you will need a square image with a size of 110х110 pixels. The system itself will make the picture round. The recommendation is the same: Place the main image in the central part of the picture.
Button: You can add the CTA button to a commercial profile on Instagram. You will need to find the “Edit profile” option on the page and tap “Contact options”, then select “Action button”.
Next, a list of applications for installation will open. When choosing from among them, you will want to focus on the purpose of the button. Available types are “Book”, “Order”, etc.
An account with Message and Email buttons (Source: Jenns_trends)
The main tools for promoting a business account on Instagram
Let's have a look at the most important tools for promoting your business account on Instagram!
Stories Highlights
These are short publications displayed under the account description. Unlike ordinary Stories, they do not disappear after one day. Here, place relevant data for subscribers: news, discount announcements, prices, office hours, contact details, and customers’ reviews.
Some brands use this opportunity to tell users more about themselves and increase audience trust. For example, General Electric has several stories dedicated to specialists who showed and described what they were doing.
Stories Highlights: A General Electric specialist talks about her work
Instagram business toolkit
The Instagram business toolkit is a specialised category for commercial account owners.
Using it, you can gradually set up the store and learn how to use the main options. It also publishes stories of successful corporate and business profiles. You might be interested in training courses for carrying out business on Instagram, as well as tools for setting up advertisements. By the way, advertising must be customised through a set of Facebook options.
Instagram commercial profile promotion: First steps
Focus on the visual component. The audience of this social network loves bright and unusual images, photos, and videos. Posting high quality content is crucial.
Adobe company Instagram profile
Create a unique, branded page. You will need an original profile picture. Always leave a mark with the brand logo on every publication. Make sure your posts resemble a certain pattern. Choose images for publication in one style and colour set.
Airbnb commercial page
Show all of your product’s benefits. Try experimenting with publications: For example, publish entertaining content, tell stories, share a behind-the-scenes peek at your business.
H&M business account
Use bonuses and discounts to invite users to follow you. Post them in publications or Stories. Introduce the practice of stable promotions for those who have just followed you, and regularly create limited shares for your current subscribers.
To increase your reach, you will need to:
- Analyse the target audience and offer relevant content.
- Regularly use advertising opportunities.
- Initiate contests and promotions.
- Work with hashtags (the Websta service may be useful for this).
- Communicate with subscribers: Answer their questions and respond to comments.
Afterword
A business profile on any of the social networks is an opportunity for your brand to build effective relationships with your target audience. You will achieve the necessary business goals, and customers will be more loyal to your brand.
All social networks have options and tools for maintaining business accounts, advertising, analytics, and commercial activities. Make sure you use them to promote your brand, product, or service on the internet.
