How to start a business on Facebook: instructions from Torgsoft

Facebook is a popular platform for selling goods and services, which has been leading among other social networks for over 14 years.

This article thoroughly covers the following questions: how to create a business page for your company, how to open a store on Facebook, and how to properly launch an advertising campaign to attract new customers and retain existing ones.

How to create a business page on Facebook?

A business page on Facebook is a public account for companies, brands, and businesses that want to represent their goods or services to the users of this social network.

A business account allows companies to interact with the audience, promote products, post content, and use analytics tools.

Features of a business profile on Facebook

• Professional tools: A Facebook business page provides access to Facebook Ads tools that allow you to create and set up advertising campaigns for different target audiences.

• Statistics and analytics: Companies can view data on reach, engagement, demographics, and other indicators of their customers, which helps to understand which posts are more effective.

• Integration with other platforms: The business page can be linked to Instagram, Messenger, and other platforms for managing marketing.

• Communication with customers: You can respond to messages, requests, and comments from users, which helps improve customer service.

How to create a business account on Facebook? Key steps

Create a personal profile on Facebook if you don't already have one. If you're a non-public person and don’t plan to maintain a personal page, it’s recommended to fill it out with minimal but valid information — real last name and first name, date of birth, and photo. Facebook often checks business pages and asks their owners to verify their identity — by sending a passport photo.

1. Go to your personal Facebook page and in the upper right corner under "Menu", select the "Page" tab. Click "Create a new profile or page".

2. Select the type of page "Public profile".

3. Create a page name and choose a category that best matches your business area. Add a description for the Page and click Create.

4. Add information — contacts, location, and working hours.

5. Customize the look of your page by adding a cover photo and profile picture. Edit the call-to-action button.

6. Invite friends to like your page.

Additional information about the page

The more data you provide about your store, the easier it will be to find your store in search on Facebook and Google.

Select the main keywords that best represent your business and add them to:

• the description of your page, the first 75 words,

• in the posts you publish,

• in the descriptions of photos and videos you upload.

Also, don’t forget to add the following in the store information settings on Facebook:

• links to your website, Instagram, Telegram, Prom.ua, etc.;

• store working hours, price range, services,

• legal information, and more.

Store page address on Facebook

It’s important to change the page address to one where you can easily be found online.

The username is used in the web address of your profile or Page (e.g., facebook.com/username).

To change the username for your Page, log in to your Facebook business account from a computer. You must be the admin of the page.

1. In the left menu from the Feed, go to "Page Settings".

2. On the left, click the "Page Settings" tab.

3. Click the "Page Name" tab, then click "Edit" next to "Username".

4. Enter the desired username by which your clients can find you on Facebook.

5. If this name is not taken and meets Facebook’s requirements, it will be linked to your page.

In this menu, you can also change the name (title) of the business profile on Facebook.

Adding a call-to-action button

Facebook business accounts offer companies many ways to interact with clients. To add an easy way for people to contact you, click the "Add Action Button" tab on your home page.

You can choose an option that will encourage people to learn more about your store by clicking on buttons like "Register", "Go to the store", and more.

Or immediately contact you through available methods: "Call", "Send message".

You can also add a link to your website, a specific price list or assortment page, a video, or a mobile app to the action button.

If you chose the "Send message" option, Facebook will redirect you to third-party services. You can connect Messenger, through which your company usually accepts customer orders, and click "Save".

If you have a business account on Instagram, you can link it to your Facebook page. To do this, on the left tool panel, select the "Boost Instagram post" tab and connect the pages.

Page design

The design of your page is the business card of your store. People judge by the outer attributes. From the profile picture to

The cover photo is a great way to inform your followers about news, promotions, and other special offers from your company.

The cover takes up about a third of the main screen and is the central element of your business account. It should be visually attractive, harmonize with the profile picture, match the brand’s style, and show the unique or seasonal offer of the company.

Use the right color combination and ensure compliance with the technical requirements of the social network. To make the background look good on high-resolution screens, upload an image that is larger than 8x320 px. Adapt it to the mobile version. Text should occupy no more than 20% of the background. It's better to update the image periodically.

How to pin a welcome post to the top of the page?

On your business profile’s home page, you can pin an introduction post or a post with a promo code for current discounts in your company.

To do this, click on the post you want to pin (first publish the post), open the dropdown menu in the upper right corner, and select "Pin post".

Promotion and marketing

Want to quickly promote your products on Facebook? Facebook offers many options for effective interaction between the company and the audience.

1. Regularly post interesting content. Constant activity helps keep the attention of followers and encourages new ones. Varied content, including articles, videos, polls, and infographics, enriches your page and keeps the audience engaged. Use visually attractive materials, as posts with graphics or videos get more engagement than text-based ones.

2. Hold contests and promotions. This classic way helps attract new followers and increase engagement with your current audience. Giveaways, in particular, encourage users to share your content and interact with your brand more than regular promotions where customers are only interested in the discount. An important condition is to offer a truly interesting prize to motivate users to do what you ask.

3. Collaborate with bloggers and influencers. Collaborations with opinion leaders help extend reach and increase brand trust. Choose bloggers whose audience matches your target group, and organize joint activities like reviews, contests, or new product launches.

4. Promote events. Announce events, flash mobs, giveaways, or other marketing campaigns you are currently running on your business page to attract more people to your activities.

5. Share customer reviews and stories. Regularly post customer reviews and stories to strengthen trust in your brand. Customers trust real reviews more than advertising materials. Positive reviews and “live” customer stories create a sense of authenticity in the audience.

They show that people are actively using the products or services of the brand and are satisfied with them. This reduces doubts among potential buyers before making a purchase. It also increases audience engagement: customers can leave comments, share their reviews, or even tag friends, increasing the organic reach of the post.

Publishing user-generated content helps create a community around the product and further boosts the brand’s visibility.

How to create an ad on Facebook?

Unlike posting, which is a free tool for sales, advertising campaigns require a certain budget. The goal of such promotion is to increase the reach of posts and attract a new audience.

To correctly launch an advertising campaign, follow these steps:

1. Go to the "Meta Business Suite" tab on the left panel of the business account.

2. Select Ads Manager. You will enter your Facebook account's ad cabinet.

3. In the ad account settings, click the "Campaigns" button, then click "Create".

4. Select the goal of the ad (e.g., reach or increase clicks, conversions).

5. Set the target audience. You can create a new audience by specifying the necessary targeting parameters or show the ad to current followers. You can add a new audience via the "Boost post" tab — "Audiences" — "Create audience". Facebook's advertising algorithms are constantly improving, and AI can make intelligent audience selections based on your website’s analytics.

6. Attach a button to the ad. Facebook allows you to place active buttons with target actions. In the "Boost post" menu, set the necessary parameters for the button.

7. Define the ad budget. Set the ad campaign's duration. You will immediately see the cost for the set period and the daily reach of users.

8. Use Facebook's analytics tools to track the effectiveness of your store and ads.

An important step in launching an ad campaign is setting up pixels before showing the ad. Pixels allow you to measure the effectiveness of your ad and analyze people’s actions on your site. You can start tracking the ad performance both in Ads Manager and in the ad settings.

Customer support

For better promotion and development of your store, ensure fast and efficient customer service through Facebook Messenger. It’s important to respond to comments, ask questions, and encourage followers to actively discuss. Monitor customer feedback and react quickly to issues.

These are just some of the recommendations on how to create a business page on Facebook and successfully start a business. However, by following these steps, you can successfully launch and efficiently manage your online store on Facebook, easily attract new followers, and turn them into loyal customers.