Optimizing Your Business Facebook Page to Get More Leads, Followers

In the 21st century, social media is the lifeblood of small businesses. And Facebook specifically has proven to be an essential tool for business owners. Growing an audience and communicating with it openly can give your business a massive competitive advantage. Marketing through Facebook allows you to fine-tune which customers see your advertisements.  

Like any marketing strategy, using Facebook marketing must be intentional. If you are new to the process, it can be very confusing. Even if you have social media experience, we can help launch your Facebook page to the next level.  

Benefits of an optimized business Facebook page

Making Facebook work for your brand always begins with getting a good grasp of its benefits and advantages. Here are six key reasons you made a smart move when you created a Facebook page for your business:

Audience exposure

These days, Facebook is going way beyond reconnecting with old college classmates. This social network is a tool to find potential customers. When you share status updates, links, images, or videos, the world is watching. You're creating awareness about your brand.

Being on Facebook allows your business to communicate directly with your customers and leads. It's like an interest-holding community where your followers are always happy to know what's up with you. Facebook has billions of followers who use the platform to search for products or services.

Depending on how you handle leads from the moment they first like, share, or comment, you can encourage them to remember your brand and even recommend you to others. But while they look forward to quality content from your page, you can "listen" to what they're saying, too.

Audience exposure

In fact, Facebook has a feature dedicated to your followers' participation. Known as Facebook Insights, this part of your page tells you how your fans interact with your content through likes, comments, shares, etc. This communicates what your followers want and gives you valuable insights to use in different areas of your business, from product development to customer care.

Putting a face to the name

One of the key drivers of social media success is the human element it carries. With Facebook, you can attach your brand to a name, a voice, and even a personality. This way, you can show the "human" aspects of your business through personal interactions.

Facebook has a feature that allows you to automate your activity, even giving you options to communicate live with your audience. In short, you can connect with it on a more personal level. Striking a chord like this with your followers increases trust in your brand.

Community building

Your Facebook page will have zero chance of success without dedicated followers. And bingo—you already have the foundation of your online community.

You can leverage your page as a way for them to exchange opinions, give reviews, and express their concerns. There are many ways to build on that community to provide content or generate additional leads. For example, you can post helpful links or organize contests and promos. The more you can bring people together, the stronger your following will be.

SEO

Facebook can also be an excellent way of funneling traffic to your website. If search engines index your content and other activities, it can boost your SEO (search engine optimization).  Because of the distribution speed in social media combined with increased importance placed on content sharing across social channels, your Facebook page content can help drive up your search engine ranking.  

Competition

If your competitor is already reaping benefits from its Facebook page, where does that leave you? We go back to the platform's billions of followers. Instead of giving that audience to your competitor, you can fight for your share and make a more significant impact by optimizing your Facebook page.

Laying the bricks

Speaking of Facebook page optimization—which is what you've come here for—here are proven tips that can help you increase your leads and followers, setting your business up to reach your short-term and long-term growth goals.

Choose a good name  

What's in a name? Everything. Like all good content, a well-thought-out Facebook name should include a relevant keyword, but don't overdo it. Keyword stuffing is not only bad for the platform's algorithms but makes you seem more like a spammer than a legitimate business. Remember, Google is particularly sensitive to the first word in your page title, so, if possible, put your keyword upfront.

If you use a generic name, your page risks ending up under a heap of similar pages. Avoid special characters, odd capitalization, and "clever" spelling, too. Instead, stick to standards and best practices because that's what Facebook and the search engines like. While you can change your Facebook name later on, sticking with your first choice gives you the best advantage.

Use your vanity URL  

When you created a Facebook page for your business, you should have noticed the platform assigned you a random URL for that page. However, this URL is useful only if no one reads it before clicking it. To optimize this, you need to claim your vanity URL and customize it for better SEO.

Make sure this URL is as concise as possible while keeping it relevant to your business. The idea is to tell people what you do in a way that's easy to remember. At the very least, a vanity URL will help boost brand recognition and visibility. For example, if you sell designer bags, "www.facebook.com/designerbags" makes you easier to find than "www.facebook.com/1ahddEFY2axbjsfsHf2QraM-p2O9AFy07I19WUB."

Using a branded URL will leave a more professional impression on everyone.

Add a profile picture and featured image

One of your Facebook page's most important aspects is the images you use. Try to use personalized photos instead of a stock image—or worse, a stolen one. You'll also be able to have a profile picture and a banner. If you want to be creative, try uploading a video or slideshow to use for the banner. By doing this, you can communicate much more about your brand's personality.

While you're choosing the perfect images for your page, you should also spend some time selecting key accolades to promote. You can use the featured section to highlight these. For example, share positive testimonials that you've received from your customers. There are guidelines to be followed that you can (and should) read. But as a rule of thumb, if you avoid misleading information or infringing on anyone's copyright, you should be fine.

Keep your business information current and consistent

Many business owners and social content managers forget to maintain the accuracy of their business information, like their address, contact numbers, or business hours. While unintentional, this can be interpreted as the owner's lack of commitment to the business and the business' lack of commitment to its customers.

This is not ideal when optimizing a Facebook page, especially if your operations are mainly online. Google keeps indexes of business addresses for local searches. If your address isn't updated, you might be miscategorized and miss out on potential clients.  

Another thing to remember is the importance of consistency to your overall search rankings. That means your business name, address, phone number, and other contact information must be the same on all your channels and directories where you're listed. If your information isn't consistent, clients might be confused and frustrated, making for a poor user experience and a reason to abandon your page.  

Polish your 'About' section

People who check out a Facebook business page usually go to the "About" section first. This is where they expect to find all the vital information about your business, so don't forget to put your best "foot" forward. Remember that your "About" information is often the deciding factor between your visitors staying as followers and potential customers or leaving and forgetting about you.

While you can't tell the complete story of your brand within the 155-word limit, you can still paint a picture vibrant enough for clients to know that they want to join your community. It's always best to have relevant keywords and phrases to help your page's Google ranking.

Create custom tabs

Many small business owners create a business page but don't exhaust all the available features that can be used for optimization. Aside from the About, Videos, or Events tabs, you can create tabs for other types of content when customizing your page. The more you customize your content, the more tab options you get.

Now, hang on. It's easy to get carried away and overpopulate your page with all sorts of content.  Even if they're all relevant, too much is too much. Having too much content keeps your visitors from focusing on what matters. Add a few more tabs based on what you need to put out there and remove anything unnecessary. Remember, you can always use a call to action (CTA) to invite them to message you for more information.

Search engine optimization

Fundamental Facebook SEO will want you to optimize the first 18 characters of your post because Google will pick them up as meta descriptions. Google also will put added weight to the first word of your post, so common sense tells us that this word should be a keyword. When you put keywords in your posts' descriptions, they will have a wider reach, expanding your audience and engagement.

How do you know which keywords to use? Many online tools can help you find what works for your business. Generally, you'll want to go for long-tail ones, which may not guarantee traffic but ensure that whoever ends up on your page will find it relevant. For example, instead of using "gym equipment," try "gym equipment for CrossFit beginners." Take the time to search your keywords on Facebook. If you find your competitors in the results, go for more specific, lower-volume ones.

While keywords are essential to your Facebook page and SEO, make sure you use them reasonably and naturally. Otherwise, Facebook and even the search engines can penalize you, and that's not good when your customers are looking. They work best in certain sections like your About page, your page description, headline, photo captions, and in any of your status updates or other content.

Post for people and searches

They say that content converts, and that includes your Facebook posts, too. Unless you're consistent in creating value-driven content for your business, neither Google nor your visitors will find your page.

The question is, what makes good content?

For your visitors, good content is something they find helpful, inspiring, educational, or entertaining. For Google and Facebook, it all boils down to algorithms; you are writing for artificial intelligence (AI), not a person. So, is it possible to create content that is the best of both worlds? Absolutely. To do so, you have to create content as valuable to potential clients as possible while still ticking all the technical boxes AI looks for.

Maximize backlinks

Another way to optimize your business Facebook page is through backlinks. When authority sites link back to your page, it shows that your content is valuable and relevant, which is a huge plus for Google.

On the other hand, remember that not all backlinks are impressive to search engines. Some of them can even pull down your rankings. As a general rule, the more credible the source of your backlink, the better its impact on your page.  

In any case, you can use an influencer marketing network to help you connect with anyone who may be willing to feature you on their channels and link back to your page. This will help boost your popularity and credibility, as well as pull up some higher-quality traffic. Another trick is to put links to your Facebook page in your other channels or content. This way, you're also getting exposure for your page whenever others share your blog or video content.

Shopping: Facebook Shops

Facebook Shops allows you to customize your shop's features so you can build a more solid brand and generate more leads. This helps you define who you are in the eyes of your followers, especially in terms of what makes you different.

Customize your style and layout

The more you reinforce your voice and personality through your customized Facebook shop, the stronger your brand becomes, the more people trust you, and the more conversions you can get.

Set up product collections

Another way to optimize your Facebook Shop is by creating product collections. These are essentially sets of six to 30 products classified according to certain criteria, including color, material, seasonality, etc. With this, your visitors can explore several options in one stop and increase your chances of a conversion instead of having them browse products in different places.  

Integrate with Instagram

Instagram has been around for a while as another leading top social sales platform. By integrating your Facebook page with your Instagram account, you're increasing your sales potential and overall visibility. Just make sure you're varying the content you share on both platforms.

Post ads

Running Facebook ads can be a good step when you're optimizing your Facebook shop for leads and conversions. After all, why even have a shop that no one knows about? So it's a good thing there are many steps you can take to advertise your products through Facebook Shops.

You could feature one product or an entire collection for your ad. On top of that, your ads will show in users' newsfeeds or Stories, further increasing your products' visibility and your chances of conversion.

Allow in-app checkout

This is one of the most important things you can do to increase your conversions through Facebook Shops. When you offer your visitors the option to check out in-app, you're reducing friction in the purchase process. This means the shopper can directly proceed to payment right within the app instead of going to your website or any other page to complete the process.

The longer it takes for the visitor to pay, the bigger their chances of backtracking. The faster they can pay, the more you can secure the conversion.  

Page maintenance

Unofficial pages show up in Facebook's search results after you type in your brand's name. Usually, these pages will come with reviews, ratings, maps, etc. The problem is that you don't have access or control over them, so it can be frustrating to think that people might stumble on an imitation page, and you don't even know what's happening in there.

Those pages are made for a reason—at least where Facebook is concerned. They act as placeholders that give visitors space to check in, leave comments or reviews, and so on. The intention is good, but sometimes, they take it a little too far and include businesses already in the particular area or location.

While this can be annoying, the solution is simple. You just have to claim these unofficial pages and merge them with your actual page. This will give you control over everything in the platform that's attached to your brand. It's a good practice to regularly check Facebook for these pages and claim what you can.

How do you do that? Just verify with them through phone or email. They'll ask a few things from you, such as your utility bill or your business license—anything to prove you're the rightful owner of your brand name. Based on other page owners' experience, a utility bill could be your quickest route to verification, especially for pages maintained by an agency or if the person requesting verification isn't physically present in the business' location.

After the page is verified, typically within 24 hours, you can go to the unofficial page or pages you had claimed and choose the "Merge" option. The good news is, even if you don't have a Location page, you can still use the same process to get rid of any unofficial pages that are listed under your brand name.  

Manage customer reviews and comments

Social media is all about people, so it doesn't matter what you put on your Facebook page if people aren't engaged or interacting. On the other hand, this can easily backfire unless you have a clear strategy that will help you keep things in control.

For example, if you feel the need to screen comments on your page, use the option that lets you moderate them before they are posted. If you've activated Reviews and you want to take a look at them before they are published, enable that option too.

You're under no obligation to be a completely open book. But as a responsible business owner, you can't afford to shut anyone out either. It's your job to address any concerns that your not-so-impressed visitors or customers may be trying to raise. If you do, you're showing them that you genuinely care about their satisfaction, which could even make them forget everything and recommit to your brand.

Scheduling

It helps to know the best times to post on Facebook to get the most engagement from potential leads. According to Socialbakers' data, the best time to post in the U.S. is between 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. (PST and EST), with most people checking their phones first thing in the morning. You can expect the most activity from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., which means you should probably post between these hours.

Typically, West Coast activity is higher in the morning at around 5 a.m. than the East Coast, where users are more active in the evening up to around 10 p.m. Interestingly, the only common denominator for both coasts is reduced activity on Saturdays compared to other weekdays.

Content

We can't emphasize this enough: high-quality, relevant content is the core of any successful online marketing campaign. But it can't just be any content you slap together just to "put something out" or follow your content posting schedule. Instead, focus on the customer journey to come up with something genuinely worthy of engagement.  

Aside from your technical skills, such as writing or video editing, the subject matter you cover is important, too. Make sure your posts are entertaining, educating, or at least helpful to your industry. These are the types of materials that people feel compelled to share or re-post.

Call Facebook page visitors to action  

You want your Facebook content to make your leads do something that benefits your business, moving them down the sales funnel. Whether it's downloading your book or ordering your food, you must influence them into taking that next step.

That's why your call to action (CTA) should be clear and straightforward. Some marketers get so carried away with vague concepts and buzzwords, clouding things up for your prospect. There's a lot of power in being clear and direct.

Align your CTA to your business' purpose

Your CTA copy should be in sync with your business' purpose. It also needs to be driven by action words like "subscribe," "sign up," "play," "book," etc. And then you can add a benefit that comes as a result of the action you're asking them to perform.

For example, if you're selling nitrate-free bacon, you might say, "Order now and indulge—guilt-free." Besides being actionable, your CTA copy should also focus on benefits rather than features. Enjoying bacon without preservatives is a benefit, while nitrate-free is a specific feature of the product.  

Another effective technique is mentioning a problem that your audience commonly experiences. Essentially, you're suggesting that if they click on the CTA, it will be solved.

There are many ways to work around your CTA copy, but one thing needs to remain consistent. To increase your search rankings, your Facebook Page's CTA button should direct your Facebook visitors to your website when the opportunity is right. For example, if your button says, "order now," clicking it should take your visitors to your menu or products list page. If your button says, "subscribe now," visitors should end up on your subscription application page.

Leverage content integration

When you integrate your Facebook page within your website, you instantly improve your presentation. It looks more professional and well-maintained while increasing audience trust. Another great thing about content integration is the added value that user-generated Facebook content can give your Facebook page and your website. Users like this type of content—after all, they created it.

Other site visitors may start posting similar content using the same hashtags. As a result, you may get more visitors to your page and your website, especially if you use lots of visual content, which is more engaging than plain text.  

Over time, time spent on your page will increase, your page will get more attention, you'll build social trust and increase your followers, and ultimately, see your hot leads grow.

Communication

Besides comments and reviews, Facebook's messaging feature is another excellent way to make people feel you're there for them when they need help. It's an additional route for them to contact you if they have questions or concerns. Also, don't forget to watch out for your response rate. It gives people a look into your efficiency and even your dedication to providing customer care.

Is it necessary to allow visitors to contact you privately? Of course. People tend to like businesses that are easily accessible. If you want to take it up a notch, you can use Facebook's chatbots, which can help increase engagement, decrease your workload, and automate the whole customer experience.

On top of giving your visitors firsthand information about your products or services, you can offer quality customer support. After all, if they like how you treat them on Facebook, the more they're likely to Google you or visit your main site in the future, getting you more searches and a higher search rank.

Use Smith.ai to increase efficiency

What's great about using the Facebook Messenger bot is you have options for setting it up. For example, you can make it appear every time someone visits your page, or you can integrate an AI-powered chatbot so that you can respond to messages 24/7.

Smith.ai is one of the best options available. Just connect your page to Smith.ai's live chat, and our live agents will take care of all your inquiries and other messages on Facebook Messenger. Besides answering questions, they can help qualify new leads and schedule consultations—of course, all according to your customized instructions.  

It doesn't matter if your Facebook page has one message or 50 messages. Your visitors want their responses immediately. The last thing you want is to miss out on new leads because no one replied. If you work with a virtual reception specialist like Smith.ai, you won't have to worry whether people are getting their answers, appointments, or orders—someone would already be taking charge. You wind up with happier customers while freeing up your time to focus on growth.

There's a list of benefits to using Smith.ai, including improved customer service and more reliable records for customer information. You can use the lead data we collect and customize your messages later. A customized message makes a significant impact on how your leads respond.

Start with a free 30-minute consultation with us

If you would like additional guidance, we can help. You can book a free, 30-minute consultation appointment with us on Calendly. You can also start your service risk-free today with a 14-day money-back guarantee. Here, we offer information on general pricing and chat services pricing.

If you have questions, don't hesitate to give us a call. You can visit our website and provide your phone number and email address. Our live representatives are available to chat 24/7.

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