Using Facebook Business Pages Effectively

Facebook and other forms of social media have become more and more important in helping our guilds, shops, services, and products be visible to more quilter's, and to interact with them. Years ago, we would never have imagined how vital it would become. To reach the younger (young is a state of mind, not an age), we must be in their medium -- social media.

Understanding the Purpose

First, know that you can create two types of pages:

1. Personal Page - This is meant for a person and is limited to 5000 friends.
2. Business Page - This is meant for any organization and has no limit to the number of fans that can like or follow your page.

When setting up a page, make sure it is a business page.  You can access as many business pages as you need under one personal login.  The purpose of the page is to communicate with your fans, grow the number of fans, and motivate them.  You may be keeping them informed if you have a guild.  You will likely be motivating or touching base with them if you have any other quilting business.

Creating a Page

Creating a page is deceptively simple.  Log in to Facebook, and on the top right click the arrow and select Create Page.  Follow the directions until complete, and you have a page.

Getting Likes

You want as many page likes as possible. This is painfully slow at first, so be patient.

• Your existing email communications with your customers/members should now include 'Like Us' or 'Visit Us' on Facebook with a link to your new page.
• Your printed material should also include this. Letter head, newsletters, and business cards.
• Links from other sites, like QuiltingHub should include your Facebook page.
• Put it on any signage at your location.

Maintaining Your Page

What you post and how frequently depends on you.  The rule of thumb is post things of interest to your followers from three times a week to daily.  If possible, it should be something they can interact with and would enjoy sharing with others.  You will want to post things that will draw attention to your cause/guild/business even when it has been shared with a friend of a friend.

Post projects, ideas, quilts from customers/members, new things, events, and anything else that seems to get the positive reaction you desire.

Additional Notes

• Be patient. Start slow if you need to.
• Hire a teenager or pre-teen to manage this for you. They often know what to do more than we do.
• QuiltingHub is as important as Facebook, so you can do much of the same things with it that you can do with a Facebook page. However, the posts are events. Make sure you put in all that you can.