Make Your Business More Visible with a Prominent Social Media Profile
The rise of social networks in the last two decades has been exponential. They have become the daily escape for many whose main objectives are to be entertained and keep up to date with what is happening in the world. Social networks have even become stores for online shopping.
Currently, users of social networks worldwide spend an average of 2.3 hr per day, making social networks one of the main channels of information, with mobile devices being the most used way of accessing them, above desktop computers.
If you have the tool, why not use it?
With just a few clicks you can put your business in the view of thousands of people — platforms like Facebook, Instagram, X, and LinkedIn allow you to create a profile for your business in which you can share information about your product or service to reach more potential customers.
Use social media wisely.
When you create your business profile, provide as much information as possible about your product or service and the purpose of your business, as well as the business location, phone number, and website if these are applicable. All these details will make it easier for visitors to your social network page to make a purchase decision, and of course, the content you share will be an influential factor in this process.
How to create a business fan page
- Facebook: To create a business page, first you must have a user page. In the top right corner, click on the + icon, select Create page from the drop-down menu, then fill in the required fields: page name, category, and description. Keep in mind that the information you include in the description will be used as keywords, which will allow Google to show search results related to the information you include to describe your business.
- Instagram: This is a platform where users have greater access from their smartphones; as such, it reaches millions every day. To create a business profile on Instagram, first you must register using an email address and enter the name of your company. Instagram will let you know if the name you chose is available; otherwise you will have to think of a variant. Then add a profile picture, preferably the logo that distinguishes your business. Add a biography and the link to your website. Once the company profile is created, tap the three horizontal lines in the top right corner of your profile to open the menu, go to the gear icon (Settings), then Tap on "Account" and switch to professional account. Important: for Instagram to change your profile to a business profile you need to have a Facebook business page. See the previous section for instructions on how to create one.
- X: In the same way, with X you must be registered and then you can create the profile for your business. Add the name of the company and an email address. Create a username for your business. This step is important: you must be sure that the username reflects the product or service your company provides, since this will be how the users of the platform will know you. Enter your phone number. Then you will be given a list of topics that may interest you, which will help X understand what kinds of accounts you are looking to follow and what topics you would be interested in talking about.
- LinkedIn: As with Facebook, to create a business page, you start from your user page. Click the Work icon in the top right corner of your LinkedIn homepage. Click Create a Company Page. Select the page type you’d like to create (Small business or Medium to large business). Enter your page identity, company details, and profile details. Check the verification box to confirm that you have the right to act on behalf of that company in the creation of the page. Click Create page to complete the process.
Pointers for creating useful posts
Share relevant content.
The best way to reach more users on social networks is to share relevant, interesting content that generates intrigue or curiosity. It can also be tips or even comparative content that can influence your audience, but the most important thing is that it is real—the content you share should be true to the purpose and objective of the company.
Once you have decided what content to share, a very important factor comes into play: creativity. Sometimes this is the most difficult stage when deciding to venture into the world of Likes and Impressions. You can always find some inspiration by researching your competitors to get an idea of what the audience that might be interested in your product or service would like to see.
Sometimes simpler is better.
Using eye-catching colors and short, straightforward information in your post will let your audience know why it is important to them. It does not need to be loaded with elements or colors, just pick the right ones.
Be personable.
When writing, imagine your readers are close friends of yours, and interact and create your content with that way of thinking—after all, people join social media to connect with others, to make friends.
Show the human face of your business.
Feel proud of your coworkers and let social media know about that; share what they do, who they are, how they help your business or the service you provide.
Compare.
If you are convinced that your product or service is better than what the competition offers, show it off to your audience. This will be crucial when they decide to buy or not. But the most important thing is that you represent both your own company and the competition accurately—if you’re not 100% sure that it’s true, don’t say it.
Standardize your content.
You may have noticed that the most important brands in the world always use the colors that represent the company in their posts. This is a marketing strategy that generates awareness in the audience about your business. For example, if your company uses colors like green and yellow in its logo, use these as background colors for your content so your followers will identify your brand when they see “your” colors.
Those are a few simple pointers to help you create content to share with your audience, but don’t be afraid of trying different things. Nothing is written in stone.
Start posting.
One of the most efficient ways to monitor the reach of your posts is by using Facebook Business Manager so you can manage your Facebook and Instagram profiles at the same time.
Try to add hashtags on your posts, as these terms are transformed into hyperlinks that are indexed to other related publications, which will allow your post to reach more people who are looking for that topic of conversation.
Likewise, in Facebook Business Manager, you will obtain information of vital importance for future advertising campaigns; for example: who is your audience, what days and times of day your publications generate more impact, interests, and demographics such as gender and age. Xand LinkedIn offer analytics as well. All this information can be analyzed to make decisions and create a more efficient sales funnel.
Schedule your posts.
Facebook, Instagram, and X allow you to schedule your publications. That way, you won't have to keep track of how and when to post.
- To schedule a post on Facebook through Business Manager, navigate through Business Suite to access the scheduling options for Posts & Stories. Select the date you want to schedule your post. You can also select that it will be shared on Instagram at the same time, or it can be scheduled separately at different times. Add a description that lets your audience know what your post is about and then add a photo or video, or even create a short video with various images.
- On X the process is a little different, but it achieves the same goal: to schedule posts so you have more time available for other activities. Remember that to schedule a post, you need to keep it short, up to 280 characters for one tweet, including your links, emojis and hashtags. Open the menu (click on "More," the circle icon with 3 dots) and go to Ads, then at the top, click on Creatives and in the dropdown menu select Composer. Since the last Twitter update, the interface of the X Composer has changed a bit; uncheck the Promoted-Only button, then add the description of the post; select the destination (None, App or Website). Select between Photo or Video or Carousel, click Add Media, and type a Card name, followed by a Headline and finally the Website URL. On the right, you will see a preview of what your post will look like. In the upper right corner, open the dropdown menu and select Schedule, then select the date and time you want it to be published.
Like Facebook, X also allows you to analyze the results of your publications. For that, check the Analytics, where you can see the number of visits to the company's profile, new followers, total impressions both organic and paid, and the number of shared posts.
Social networks are a very complete tool because their algorithms direct users to pages that share content they have been interested in or have included in their search terms, providing necessary information to develop strategies and marketing tactics. It is up to entrepreneurs to take advantage of this “database” to achieve greater visibility and expand the boundaries of their business through an organic, simple, creative method.