Attention, business owner! Read this if you are preparing to launch your very awesome brand on Facebook. Before you ask people to Like your new Facebook page, here are a couple of things to do first to make sure your effort pans out into customers and increased visibility.

Check that your contact information is accurate and complete

I always give this example, because it is very straightforward. You open a restaurant or a fast food, and you are over the moon excited. You know you’ve done an awesome job with it, and obviously you want to have customers banging at your doors to let them in and give them your delicious food. So off you go to Facebook, create that new page and start asking people to like it.

In the frenzy of it all, you forget to add details such as the schedule, contact information, an accurate location, if you deliver, and in some cases, even the menu.

Why is this a problem? Missing information will lose you customers. People have hundreds of other alternatives to get food and if you’re not a big brand or have that one unique meal in the world, nobody is going to patiently wait for you.

This type of oversight is going to cause frustration. Really, you don’t ever want to come between a human and their food, which essentially is going to damage your brand’s relationship with consumers, which if you’re new on the market, it’s going to be difficult, and expensive, to fix.

Give me something to like and engage with

Here’s the thing, if you’re going to ask people to like a new page, please give them something to enjoy. I know that you’re excited about launching a new business and finally doing this whole visibility and vulnerability thing, but please don’t ask people to like pages that are empty.

Here’s an example: restaurant opening their Facebook page, asking the personal network of their staff, owner etc to like it. The problem? There was nothing there with the exception of the logo. Where’s the food, dude? Where’s the content that makes my water fill with drool thinking about how good that burger with fries would look in my hands, heading towards my lips.

Why is this a problem?

When you ask people to check out your page, but there’s nothing there, you are losing good opportunities to spread your content across people’s personal networks, you are losing CUSTOMERS, and reputation points. And you know who is going to like your page after all? Your mom and very close friends, or that one friend who is supporting you no matter what (hm… that’s me).

Use brand photos and some humans on the page

Look, I get it, it’s easier to use stock photos on your Facebook page than brand photos. Stock imagery looks nicer, is available on the click of a button, it’s already Photoshopped, and all that jazz. But, does it really reflect your brand?

I’ve seen many, too many, Facebook pages using this tactic. Some do it because it is more affordable to use stock imagery, some because they are afraid of showing their faces, and others think they don’t need professional photos.

Here’s why this is a problem: people can tell when you are using stock imagery. People engage less with stock imagery than with actual brand photos. And no matter how professional the stock photo, it will always be someone else’s vision and story, not yours. And that sort of miss match makes it across with ease.

Same goes with pics of objects vs pics of humans, especially if you are a service business.

Show me your employees, own your role as a leader, introduce me to your brand in an authentic way, even if that means embracing your vulnerability.

Tell me your story

Facebook pages have a dedicated section where you can add a short bio. Use that to tell your audience who you are, and what you do. But, please don’t leave it there. People will usually scroll a page’s feed to see what’s there, and that’s a great opportunity for you to tell your story. Create a new post and use photos and/or video to welcome me to your brand, your team, your values and your mission. Show me why you are so awesome that I need to like and follow you.

Give me something to buy

Facebook gives a page various features depending on what category the creator has selected. For many that means that you have a menu, shop or list of available services. In fact, for some you can even take appointments via your Facebook page.

When you invite people to your page but you don’t tell them what they can buy from you, and how, you are losing customers. So, before you invite me, or others, to like your page, make sure you give us something to buy. Even a photo album of your products would be useful… and let’s not forget, adding instructions about how I can buy that stuff. Is it ordering from a shop? If yes, give me the link.

Make sure you update your page button to an action (shop, book an appointment, contact you via messenger, start a food order).

Use your profile and cover sections

I am going to keep this one short. You have your profile photo and your cover sections. When adding your profile photo make sure you add a description that tells people what they can do next (a link, an invite to the menu, to book a reservation plus a short description of what you do).

Your cover section gives you many different options to showcase your brand and offers, which is premium real estate. You can do collages, slideshows, single image or video. Choose whatever, but also add a description and a link to that content.

Here you go. Please, please take these into consideration before asking people to like your page. Having these in place will ensure that your effort is actually going to get you results.

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