The Ultimate Beginner’s Guide to Facebook Pages

“You need a Facebook page for your blog.”

How many times has someone forced this advice on you? If you’ve just started you blog or business this little nugget is usually one of the first things people tell you to create. It squeaks in just after starting your email list, right?

But when was the last time someone walked you through the whole Facebook page thing?

It seems like it should be a simple task. You’re already on Facebook so it shouldn’t be too difficult to get set up and figured out, right?

Now, I don’t know about you, but I would much rather just have someone show me how to set up a blog Facebook Page from start to finish.

That’s what this guide is all about.

Here’s what you’ll find in this post:

• Stats that you need to know about marketing on Facebook including the demographics, usage and growth
• What Facebook can do for you
• The Facebook algorithm
• How to set up a blog Facebook Page
• The kinds of posts you can create for your page
• How to create your first post to publish or schedule

This post will NOT cover any of the paid features of Facebook. That’s another topic for another day!

Let’s get to it!

A Little Bit About Facebook

Facebook can be one of your greatest allies in marketing. It was created to connect people, to build community and strengthen friendships using the power of the internet.

And when you use it in a way that honors this, it starts to work in your favor.

So, before I teach ya how to set up a blog facebook page there are some things you need to know about the platform. From the popularity of the website to the future of the platform. Here’s what you need to know about Facebook (stats from Hootsuite’s article about Facebook Marketing in 2019):

Facebook is the 3rd most visited website on the web.

What this tells us: Facebook is still a relevant platform despite all of the security breaches and hate it gets in the media. The platform is definitely not going anywhere for a while.

The number of new Facebook users has plateaued but the revenue per user has doubled in the last 3 years.

What you need to know: The platform has been losing users and hasn’t been growing like it used to. Gen Z isn’t flocking to the platform like previous generations. If Gen Z is your target market, you won’t find them hanging out here. This is definitely a stat to keep tabs on for future marketing.

On average, American use Facebook for 58 minutes per day and Instagram for 53 minutes.

What this tells us: That’s a lot of air time, folks! Whether you are just getting started on your Facebook page or you’ve grown into using the paid ads platform, Facebook can get you some serious air time.

88% of Facebook users access the platform on mobile.

Obviously, right? As online business owners, it is super easy to get stuck in trying to make everything look perfect on our desktops. But that’s not where everyone else is hanging out. It’s all about phones and tablets, so it’s essential to place your emphasis on the mobile experience!

78% of American consumers have discovered things to buy on Facebook.

If this ain’t opportunity knocking, I don’t know what is! At some point as an online business owner you’ll probably sell something. And whether it’s a printable, a masterclass or a course, this stat is AWESOME news!

E-Commerce click through rates have tripled in the last 2 years.

Again, this is encouraging for online business owners.

People look at video 5 times longer than static posts.

Did you need someone else to tell you that video is taking over? Probably not, but here we are. #sorrynotsorry. Don’t fret, friends, video will be waiting for you when you’re ready.

Are you a data junkie, too? You can find more stats about Facebook here: https://blog.hootsuite.com/facebook-statistics/

What Facebook Can Do For You

Before we set up your Facebook page, I want you to know what is possible with it because when we know what’s possible, we think bigger. Cool? With Facebook it’s possible to:

• Build a community
• Generate Leads
• Sell your products or services
• Increase traffic on your website
• Create brand loyalty
• Track other brand pages
• Educate and inspire your audience

The Algorithm

If there is an elephant in the room that no one wants to acknowledge, it’s the Facebook algorithm.

There a lot of lies floating around about how Facebook serves up content. Remember that relationships and community thing? That’s what it’s all about.

Here’s what you need to know about the algorithm:

Misconceptions About the Algorithm

And I bet you’ve seen people complain about it all over the internet. Things like, “Facebook doesn’t work. The algorithm is against business owners.” or the posts that say, “Facebook is limiting the content you see from me. Please like or comment on this post if you want to keep seeing my content.” How about, “Facebook used to work for me. But it doesn’t work for me like it used to.”

Spoiler alert: Facebook isn’t against you. If people aren’t seeing your content, you need to take a look at your content strategy. It’s time to revise and try again.

The Truth About the Algorithm

Let’s throw it back to 2006 when Facebook became available to the public. Everyone was joining. Why? So we could keep track of friends from school or share life updates with family.

Many have lost sight of that original vision.

Facebook became a “public space” of sorts. A “me” platform instead of the “we” platform that we joined originally.

Here’s the thing: Facebook never lost sight of their original mission.

Sure, there are the business aspects like advertising and security concerns these days. But ultimately this is a free platform that we agreed to follow the rules on. We accepted the privacy policy and the terms and conditions.

So what does this have to do with the algorithm? Well, with a little bit of knowledge about the platform in our back pockets we can finally jump feet first into the topic.

The algorithm is simple: Quality over quantity. Here’s what that means for us:

Engagement Matters

For most people, engagement on Facebook looks like comments, shares and likes. But did you know that Facebook also takes into account the screen time someone spends on your posts? That means that, for the sake of the algorithm, engagement is also measured by a slowing scroll, pressing “read more” or clicking on a link.

So when you create content that compels your audience to engage, this signals to Facebook show you more of that kind of content. Either from that page or from similar pages.

This pushes us as content creators to share content that stops the scroll and that our followers LOVE.

Think about the kind of content that you like to engage with. Do you watch a lot of videos? Text posts? Photos? What do your followers like to engage with?

I’m willing to bet that you don’t click on a ton of plain links to blog posts.

FAQ: Ok. I get the quality over quantity thing. So how often should I post on Facebook?

In the beginning, the number I would recommend starting with is 3 posts per week. And once you get the hang of the platform, play with it a little!

There is no hard and fast rule for how many times you should be posting.

But if your engagement is really good when you post 3 times a day, do it! The first few months of posting will be one giant experiment. Just throw something out there. If it doesn’t work, try something else!

Community is King

Remember why Facebook started? Community.

Engagement and community kind of go hand in hand, yea? When we build safe online communities, people engage with each other in a healthy way. And what helps us do better on Facebook? Engagement!

(P.S. If you want more info on how to create safe spaces, Dare to Lead by Brene Brown is one of my favorite books to reference when trying to create safe spaces for people to engage in.)

The Bottom Line

If you focus on serving your avatar, creating engaging content and creating a safe space for them to engage, the Facebook algorithm is going to work in your favor.

Don’t over complicate it and do what you can!

How to set up a blog Facebook Page

Personal Profile vs. Business Page

If you haven’t set up your personal profile, go ahead and do this first.

Now, it’s important to know the difference between your personal profile and your business page.

The personal profile is the one that you set up when you create an account. With a personal profile you add people as your friend and like other pages as a person.

With a business page you can like other pages, use the advertising capabilities of Facebook and Instagram, and just generally use the page as a marketing tool for your business.

If you plan on marketing your blog to anyone on Facebook, you need to have a business page. Facebook doesn’t like when you use a personal profile for business. That’s a big no-no. And it makes marketing waaay more complicated than it needs to be.

So, we’re gonna set up your business/blog page the right way, okay?

How to Set Up a Blog Facebook Page

1. Make sure you’re logged into your personal profile.
2. Click “Create” at the top of your homepage then click “Page”
3. Now, you’ll be prompted to select the “Business or Brand” or “Community or Public Figure.” Since you are a business, choose the first one.
4. Now, name your page and choose a category. I used my business name, Love, Andrea Moore and used “blogger” as my category.
5. There are a lot of different categories you can choose from so just find something that closely relates to your blogging niche.
6. Press Continue.
7. The two prompts will ask you to upload a profile picture and a cover photo. Press “skip” on both of these for now. I’ll cover how to do this once we get to the live page, that way you know how to change it in the future.
8. Once you’ve skipped the profile pic and cover photo prompts, you’ll be redirected to your live page.

Profile Picture

Since you’re probably the face of your business, you should use your face for your profile picture. I know a lot of people will argue that a business should use some sort of logo or branded image for the profile picture.

But here’s the truth: People aren’t looking to do business with logos. They are looking to do business with people. And they don’t care whether you have professional photos or not.

Cover Photo

If you’ve created a cover photo already, click the “add cover photo” button on the top left of the cover photo section.

And if you have no idea what to use as a cover photo you can learn how to do that here: How to create a Facebook cover photo using Canva.

Go to “Upload Cover Photo” and select the file from your computer. You might be prompted to adjust the size, do this and then press ok.

Settings to Change

Now that your page has been created, you’ll want to click the “settings” tab so we can finish setting up your page. These are the little details that will make running your page much simpler.

Page info: fill in the desctiption, website url and email address

Templates and Tabs: Choose the template that best applies to your business. I used the standard template, but you might want to look at the services or the video tab as well. You can always change this later if the template you choose isn’t working.

Tabs: After selecting your template, the tabs section will automatically fill in. Go to this section and remove the tabs that you don’t need right now. I removed the jobs tab and a few others. You can always edit these later.

Instagram: If you have an Instagram account for your business, go ahead and connect it here. This will open up the opportunity for cross posting from FB to IG and vice versa. You’ll also be able to handle DMs and comments from both platforms from your FB Admin page!

Create & Schedule Your First Post

Yay! Now that you have you page created, you can create your first post.

On FB you aren’t strictly limited to text. You can create a posts using text, photo or video. You can also check-in somewhere, share a feeling or activity, support a charity of your choice, host a watch party, prompt people to message your or poll your audience.

Since you just created your page, there is no one to engage with your posts. So, this is good practice! Start by introducing yourself and sharing a bit of your elevator pitch. So, create a text post and say something like: “Hi, I’m ______! I help _________ do _______ through ______. Welcome to the community!”

Here are a few other examples:

If you’re a mom blogger this might look like: “Hi, I’m Sheila! I help moms handle motherhood gracefully using simple, actionable life tips.”

If you’re a home decor blogger: “Hi, I’m Tara! I teach newlywed couples how to decorate their new shared space without breaking the bank.”

(P.S.: If you’re having a hard time nailing this down, shoot me a message. I’d love to help you figure it out!)

Now, you can either choose to post it now or schedule the post to go out later. If you want the post to go out now, press the blue “share now” button. If you want to schedule the post for later, there is a button that has a clock icon, share now and a down arrow. Click the down arrow and select schedule. Choose the date and time for the post to go live and press schedule. Your post will be shared at this time!

Facebook is a valuable resource to have in your marketing belt. It is a place to create community and engagement with your ideal avatar. Learning the ins and outs of the platform and learning how to set up a blog Facebook Page are a perfect place to start.

What questions do you have about setting up a blog Facebook page, posting or anything related to Facebook? Ask me in the comments below!