Creating a Facebook page for your business Part 1 2012

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Nemo
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Post by Nemo »

French Cricket wrote: I too would love to hear any useful gems from experienced 'pagers'. Feeling a bit overwhelmed at the moment with all the marketing stuff .... :?

I know Bacton well (once got my car stuck in the sand not far from there) as before I moved to France I was in Cley next the Sea. That lovely beach picture on your FB page has made me come over all nostalgic! Happy to share the muddling through process with you .....
Gosh the world is a small place isn't it! Thanks for that info, I think I've worked it out, but it's so confusing when you don't know what other people are seeing. I clicked the view as - to allow me to view it as a friend would, but that only worked for my profile, as soon as I clicked on my page the option wasn't there and I was seeing it as admin. :(

As and when I find any nuggets, I will post them here, so there's some reference on LMH to help us novices. :)
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French Cricket
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Post by French Cricket »

Ooh, Nemo, where's the 'view as'? I've been looking for something like that.
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kendalcottages
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Post by kendalcottages »

I have liked... :)

In addition to my personal profile which I use for both personal stuff and the day job, I have a KC profile page ( http://www.facebook.com/kendalaccommodation ) and a KC fan page ( http://www.facebook.com/kendalcottages ).

My thinking here is that I can befriend relevant people and then invite friends to be a fan of my page(s) (at least that is how it used to work, I think... not sure if it's changed now).

I've also joined a few related groups/fan pages, become friends with local people, enquirers and bookers, have my blog posts automatically going to my FB fan page and have thrown up a few pictures, etc.

Beyond that, though, I've really not tried to do anything such as customise the page or make it more website-like. I know not everyone sees it that way but I see it that that's what my website is for... :)
Kendal Holiday Cottages Ltd., Kendal, Cumbria - between the Lake District & the Yorkshire Dales.
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Jimbo
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Post by Jimbo »

Nemo, timely thread for me!

Emboldened by my first skirmish with mailchimp (Wowsers! 47.4 opened/20.9 click rate), I've recently been looking closely at a business page for Diana's facebook. Inch by painful inch, I'm being dragged slowly into the 21st century! Thanks to Nemo and others who've contributed to this interesting thread.

Jim
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French Cricket
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Post by French Cricket »

Kendalcottages, I am sooooo in awe of your 2809 fans Image! Fantastic work.

How on earth did you manage it?
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Nemo
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Post by Nemo »

French Cricket wrote:Ooh, Nemo, where's the 'view as'? I've been looking for something like that.
View as is a button that only appears to show when you are on your personal profile. Top right next to edit profile.

I have reached 21 likes, so going well and hope to hit the magic milestone of 25 soon with help here!

I have had a look at one or two other business pages (not members here I hasten to add) and see that they haven't been claimed, so I assume they haven't claimed their business name which is what I hope to do as soon as I am able?

I have also had some comments that say they are on my wall but they're not on my business page wall. One shows on my personal profile wall even though it says its on the business page, another does not show anywhere and it's not a hidden post. I need someone to try and post a comment to my wall (if you are able to that is....) so I can see if it shows. I can always delete it if necessary!
Margaret
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Post by Margaret »

I seem to have had a page for the Bavarian Forest holiday rentals since december 2010 - had no idea it was that long. I think it is just about worth it. I aim to post 2-3 times a week but miss some weeks completely if I am away, have no time or can't think of anything to say. Our likes are up to about 114 and I still don't often get into conversations with guests or potential guests (although some are very helpful in trying to get things going). So I suppose I am still trying to get the hang of it.
Yorkshire Lass
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Post by Yorkshire Lass »

Great topic as like a lot of people I've just started putting a toe in the water with Facebook myself and have a very limited number of likes so far. I've liked your page Nemo (think this might be under my actual FB name rather than the business name I created though I have discovered that button on the right which switches between your personal and business page). If anyone wants to 'like' me too that would also be appreciated and I'll do the same:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kings-Hou ... 5370358973

BTW - I'm a bit of a Facebook novice and I can't work out how to 'unlike' something - I've managed to like something I didn't mean to on my business page (nothing dodgy!) but can't work out how to remove it!
We're all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars

www.kingshousescarborough.com
www.facebook.com/scarboroughholidaycottage
www.sandsendpavilion.co.uk
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Nemo
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Post by Nemo »

Yorkshire Lass wrote: BTW - I'm a bit of a Facebook novice and I can't work out how to 'unlike' something - I've managed to like something I didn't mean to on my business page (nothing dodgy!) but can't work out how to remove it!
I swear this is the blind leading the blind! From Facebook help.

How do I unlike a Page?
You can unlike a Page by taking the following steps: Find the post in your profile (timeline) that states you like the Page or find a post from the Page...
You can unlike a Page by taking the following steps:
1.Find the post in your profile (timeline) that states you like the Page or find a post from the Page in your News Feed.
2.Click the "x" located in the top right hand side of the post.
3.From the drop-down menu, click "Unlike Page."

You can also navigate to the Page by entering its name into the search bar in the upper right corner, and click the "Unlike" link located on the lower left hand side of the screen.

I just tried this. I can't even find anywhere on either my page or my personal profile where it said I liked a page even though I had. SO, using facebook as my business page (most important!), click on the page/business you want to unlike. Then when you are on that page, go the bottom left (as in the help above) and you should see unlike. HTH!
Yorkshire Lass
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Post by Yorkshire Lass »

Excellent advice - thank you so much! I'm going to get rid of all those other annoying feeds on my personal page too now... :D
We're all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars

www.kingshousescarborough.com
www.facebook.com/scarboroughholidaycottage
www.sandsendpavilion.co.uk
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Nemo
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Post by Nemo »

Thanks everyone, I have just claimed my user name, but please keep the likes coming as I they all help spread our businesses across the net.
My new link is now: http://www.facebook.com/NorfolkCoastalHolidays

Why should I register a username for my Facebook Page?
Usernames allow public entities to easily promote your presence on Facebook with a short URL. This username can be used in your marketing communications, company website and business cards.

You can select a username at: www facebook.com/username. (remove the space/add the dot to make the link live)

You may choose a username that Facebook suggests, or create your own. Select "Check availability" to check for available usernames. If the desired username is available, click "Confirm" in order to confirm your choice.

This has to be done via your personal profile, so you can claim a name for your business page and your personal name at the same time if you wish. I just had to give my mobile no, but did not accept either of the options to put my tel no. on my personal profile or get text notifications.
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Giddy Goat
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Post by Giddy Goat »

I have liked yours now too Yorkshire Lass. A lovely looking house!

I changed our name a few days ago too: a jumble of numbers is no use to anyone! As I understand, (for the benefit of others reading,) you have to have a certain number of likes before you can use your company name.

It's http://www.facebook.com/Gascony.Magic?ref=ts Please like it if you do!

It's a work in slow progress and if anyone does know how I can delete a post which was a mistake, kindly let me know!
Nostalgia isn't what it used to be
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Nemo
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Post by Nemo »

Giddy Goat wrote:If anyone does know how I can delete a post which was a mistake, kindly let me know!
GG - if you go the post you want to delete, then hover over it, at the right hand side you can see a world and an arrow. Click on the arrow and it gives you two options, delete or hide the post. I don't think you can edit a post though.
Last edited by Nemo on Thu Feb 02, 2012 12:00 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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kendalcottages
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Post by kendalcottages »

Liked also, GG.
French Cricket wrote:Kendalcottages, I am sooooo in awe of your 2809 fans Image! Fantastic work.

How on earth did you manage it?
I guess I just spent quite a bit of time on it. I also have other FB fan pages from my day job (online travel marketing), one with over 40,000 fans and another with almost 10,000 ( http://www.facebook.com/londontourism and http://www.facebook.com/lakedistrict if you're curious) and I've just inter-linked them to try to boost the numbers on each.

To be honest, though, I'm not yet entirely convinced it's all worth the time, so I hold back a bit now. I have never had a booking via Facebook, and just the one via Twitter.
Kendal Holiday Cottages Ltd., Kendal, Cumbria - between the Lake District & the Yorkshire Dales.
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Nemo
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Post by Nemo »

KC in response to your PM to me (thanks!), when you click on the likes, it shows who has liked you the most recently I think? So I would show near the top of your list - but anyway, I'm fairly confident it was from my personal profile so I will try it from my business page in due course.

Different business I know, but my hairdresser puts discount codes and promotions on his page and did very well in January on the back of it. By using a special code he can track the bookings from it. Now if you are full, then maybe you don't need to do promotions, but I certainly have the occasion when it would be appropriate with two properties now. But no point me putting promotions on until I can send prospective guests that way and for that I need to master getting the facebook badge etc everywhere.
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