Facebook now has over 2.45 billion monthly active users, so when it comes to marketing your business, there’s no question that Facebook is the social platform that you want to have killer visibility on. And as a direct seller, the best and most professional way to do this is by having a Facebook business page.
The good old-fashioned Yellow Pages and business cards have definitely become secondary to having a presence online, where people can do a quick search and locate your page. They can quickly and easily see your products and business opportunity with all your contact information. It’s all right there at their fingertips where they can get to know you and your business!
If you’re feeling a bit overwhelmed with how to create a business page and what in the world to post, I’m here to help! Follow these simple steps to get your page set up and ready to rock.
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WHY YOU NEED A BUSINESS PAGE FOR DIRECT SALES
You may be asking, I know I should be online, but WHY? Let me answer that real quick before we dig into the how-to.
It’s a FREE way to grow your business exponentially, plain and simple.
Web pages can cost hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars each year in fees and design. But your Facebook Business Page is a free way to promote your business, build your brand, and create your community, making you a top producer in your direct sales business.
You don’t want to be spammy and be posting your spices and stamps every day on your personal page — you’ll drive people crazy and hurt your business. But with a Facebook Business Page, people expect that content from you; they want it! Not to mention selling on your personal page is a quick trip to Facebook Jail, and it’s not a pleasant place.
A Facebook Business Page is a super-easy way to expand the number of people you’ll be able to impact with your business. You can’t reach someone in Alaska with an in-person party in Florida, but you can when you take your business online!
WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A PERSONAL PROFILE AND A BUSINESS PAGE?
Your Facebook page is different from your Facebook profile. Your personal profile is where you join as your own name, and it’s all about you personally.
Your Facebook Business Page, on the other hand, is where you’ll be promoting your business. You shouldn’t be running or promoting a business on a personal profile per Facebook’s rules. However, you can share from your Page to your personal profile. You can certainly have your business name in your “About” and your website listed. And you can post some things to do about your business on your Profile. It just needs not to be the primary advertising place for you and your business.
On the other hand, A Facebook Page is a public page where you share all about your business. Anyone can find your Page on Facebook once it is published, and since it’s public, it can even come up on a search engine if someone is searching for something relevant to your content. If someone is searching on Facebook, or if someone shares a post from your business page, then other people will be able to see it, comment, like, and engage on it.
HOW TO SET UP YOUR BUSINESS PAGE
Now, I will put a little disclaimer on this one. Do your research with your company’s brand guidelines before starting your page. You want to make sure what you create aligns with what they’ll allow you to create as an independent contractor. The last thing you want to do is create a Page, get many likes, and then take it down because it doesn’t comply with your direct sales company’s guidelines. Just check your contract, check with your leader, and have this lined up before hitting the create page button. Now, let’s set up your Page!
- Create Your Page
- Your Business Page Name
Once you’ve checked those guidelines, head over to your personal Facebook Page, and in the top left corner, you’ll see a plus sign. Hit the plus sign and choose the option to add a page. You can also just go directly to https://www.facebook.com/pages/create. You’ll then be prompted to fill in the page information, including the Page Name, Category, and Business Description. For the page name, you’ll want to have your name and direct sales business name. Feel free to get creative with it, but not too creative because you want those keywords people search for in your title! - The Business Category
For category, the most popular is probably product/service. You can choose up to three, so you may want to add local service, shopping & retail, heck, maybe even entrepreneur—that’s what you are, right!? Or you can choose a category that fits your brand, like kitchen/cooking for Pampered Chef or the like. - Your Business Description
You want to tell people what they can expect from your page in your description. Are you offering product demos, tips and tricks, recipes, arts and crafts? Think about what you’re offering, what value you’re providing, and sprinkle all those goodies into your description.
- Your Business Page Name
As you add all these things, you’ll see them populate in the preview. Check it all out and make sure it looks like you want it to. You’ll also be prompted to add your phone number, email, webpage, all those little details, so use your business info for this and leave the phone number off if you only use your cell for business.
Then, hit “Create Page.” You’ve got yourself a business page, friend!
- Pretty Up Your Page
- Use your Personal Branding
Having a catchy name and creating a personal brand is super helpful. You’ll not only grab their eye, but you’ll be memorable, and authenticity goes a long way online! You are way more than the brand you represent, and having a name that isn’t just “Sally’s BRAND Business Page” will go a long way towards gaining followers and setting yourself apart from other consultants in your company. - Create a Profile Picture
Part of every Facebook Business Page is a profile picture and a header image like your personal profile. You want these to be professional, not reminiscent of your personal profile page. People can get to know you on a fun personal level once they land in your customer group, but you want your business page to be crisp and professional! So, if you don’t have a headshot, maybe invest in one, or let your oldest child go to town with the camera to capture a new shot. Depending on the direct sales company, your company may provide pre-approved header images. If they don’t, just check the guidelines and make your own with a tool like Canva. - Add a Branded Header
Your profile pic and banner (cover photo) are prime real estate for your audience and fans to learn about you, so make sure you showcase your brand! Think of these as your first impression. People relate to other people, so leave the banner space for your logo, monthly specials, and timely information but make that Profile Picture personal! - Use the Call to Action button
Make it a no-brainer for funneling people from your page by linking the Call to Action button to wherever you want them to go! This button is a great way to guide them to join your group or visit your store without putting any pressure on them – they’ll simply click on it out of curiosity to see what it’s is all about! Setting up your Call To Action button is easy – simply click on the button, select “Edit,” and then choose the type of button you would like and enter the link or information. - Link to other social media channels and website
Facebook business pages act as an online business card that links to your website, all of your social profiles, and your Facebook community group if you have one. As with the rest of your Facebook page, what you link to with your Page is completely up to you and your Social Media strategy.
- Use your Personal Branding
WHAT TO POST ON YOUR BUSINESS PAGE
Now that you’ve created your own Facebook Business Page, you’re probably wondering what to say and how often to show up. To make the most of your Page, you’re going to want to create lots of juicy content for your followers! I know posting every day may seem daunting, but I’m going to break it down for you so that you can make engaging customers on your Page simpler.
- Create a Monthly Content Calendar
You don’t want to wake up from a deep sleep frazzled as all get out because you realized you don’t know what you’re going to post tomorrow. Believe me. I’ve been there.
The best way to combat spur-of-the-moment, knee-jerk posting that isn’t going to help your business is to create a content calendar each and every month with what you want to post. You want to make sure posts are not only consistent but cohesive and purposeful. It should be a mix of products, stuff about you, tips, tricks, and more.
You don’t want just to post willy nilly and hope that things will happen. Come up with theme weeks, dedicate a day each week to a specific topic, set it up, so your customers know what to expect from your page and when. That’s where you’ll see success!
In fact, we make it easier for you each month by offering a super simple monthly content calendar template, so check it out if you haven’t yet. We give you a tip for what to post every day of every month, no joke! It literally couldn’t be easier, so this is the perfect place to start if the thought of posting every day is overwhelming you. Check out the shop!
- Plan Engaging Posts
When you post on your Facebook Business Page, you want to engage people. What does engaged mean in the Facebook world? It means they’re liking, commenting, sharing, and inviting friends—this is gold for your direct sales business. To gain engagement, you will need to post stuff that’s fun and exciting! I have four favorite post categories that really get people chatting:
- Videos: Everyone loves a good video. Just think about how many hours you or your child has spent on TikTok in the past month. Videos are engaging by nature, and they stop the scroll and have people watching every time. Facebook Lives get people involved!
- Funny or Inspirational Stuff: How many inspirational accounts do you follow on Instagram for a little Monday morning motivation? If you’re like me, it’s a whole bunch of them. Everyone could use a little lighthearted fun to brighten their day, so be that page for them! This will keep them coming back for more, and they’ll likely stumble on a few things they need to buy.
- Shared Content: You don’t have to generate all the content yourself — that can get exhausting really quickly! Find articles or blog posts, or even other people’s videos, that you can share on your Page. I’m sure your company even has some videos you can share in your company portal.
- Big News: No, I’m not talking politics or science or anything too heavy for your Page. Remember, direct sales is about FUN! Think about events you’ll be selling at or if your company or products made headlines.
- Schedule Your Posts
Just because you have to post every day doesn’t mean you have to log on and post every day physically. Schedule your posts for the month on your content calendar and then batch schedule them on your Facebook Business Page, so it’s not a daily activity. You can use a tool like CinchShare or directly schedule them on your business page to post later!
Once your posts are scheduled, make sure you take 10-15 minutes a day to replay to comments and engage – don’t be a ghost! By scheduling out 8 minutes 2x a day, all you have to do is log on for a sec when the baby is napping, or you’re stirring your sauce for dinner and send out a few responses to comments, and that engagement will soar without the stress!
- Analyze the Data –
One of the cool things about having a Facebook Business Page for your business is getting analytics from Facebook. Analytics are the data from your posts: how many people saw it when you shared, how many people shared it so other people saw it, what was your most liked post all month, which post got the most comments. After a month or two of posting, you can look at the analytics to see what your customers love and change your content calendar accordingly. Watch those numbers soar, both dollar signs and likes!
HOW OFTEN TO POST ON YOUR PAGE
How often you post on your Page depends on you and your goals. To begin with, once a day is a great goal to work up to. As your page grows, you may want to bump that to 2x a day during the week and once a day on the weekend. Check your analytics to see when you have the most activity and post more often on those days and times.
Posting consistently and keeping that connection going with your people is the only way your page will see success and keep people engaged. It’s important to show up every day, but don’t let posting be so daunting that you just don’t do it. Progress, not perfection, friends!
PROMOTE YOUR PAGE
Now that your Facebook Business Page is set up and you know what to post, you may wonder how you grow your page to make this investment of time worthwhile in terms of generating sales. Let’s run through our top tips for promoting your Facebook Business Page and snagging more likes and engagement than you ever thought possible.
- Ask Your Friends To Follow You But Be Selective
Invite your friends to “like” your Facebook Business Page and hang out with you, supporting your business and you along the way! Head to your page, hit the “…” in the top left, and select “Invite Friends.” Then, choose who you want to invite, and the likes will come. Don’t go mass inviting your entire team and other consultants in your company. They’re not your ideal client. Having many people following your page who are never going to buy from you or engage with your content makes Facebook sad, and they won’t eagerly show your stuff to the masses.
- Promote It In Your Parties
You’re also going to want to promote your Page at your parties. If you’re doing Facebook Parties in Group, when you set up your Group, you’ll see an option to link your Page directly to your group. Doing this will bring your page into your group as a member — allowing it to post into the group.
Every customer who attends a party with you, whether in-person or virtually, should get a follow-up. You can ask whether they’ve received the product or their thoughts on the new line they just purchased – you get the gist. Then, mention how you’re going to go Live on your Business Page later that week for tips and tricks relating to the products they’ve purchased and invite them to hit “like” so they’ll get notified.
- Add To Email Signature
You want to make sure the link to your Business Page is in your email signature. That way, a personal invite to join your Page is sitting passively within your email signature for everyone to see and click!
- Link To Your Personal Profile As Your Employer
Make it easy for potential customers to find you by adding your Business Page as your Employer in your personal profile Bio section. This means people can discover your business and check you out by clicking your “job,” which goes to your Business Page. Make sure you’re linking to your Business Page and not your corporate page – you want potential customers coming to you, not your company!
- Share Posts On Your Personal Profile
Our friends and family are our biggest cheerleaders, right? Well, make sure they know what’s going on in your life by selectively sharing posts from your Business Page onto your personal profile page. As you share these posts, invite them to join you! If you don’t invite people, they may never know it was there or know what they’re missing out on.
- Encourage Your Followers To Share
What’s the number one reason you follow people on social media? Usually, it’s to see all the cool stuff they’re sharing, right? You want to make sure you’re providing value on your Facebook Business Page. One way to do this is to spice things up and offer various promotions or contests. For example, if you are launching a new product, tell people if they share your page with their friends on Facebook, you’ll enter them in a raffle to win that new product for free! If you’re just starting, you may not have a product around to do that, and that’s okay, but there are other options like a $10 gift card or less expensive ways of promotion. Be creative!
- Be Friendly With Other Pages
If you know of other local businesses that can somehow tie into your product leverage, use that and get some shares to a new audience! For example, if you’re a Pampered Chef consultant, make a dish with meat from the local meat market, use olive oil from a local gourmet foods store and tag them. Or if you’re a part of Stampin’ Up!, tag the local stationery or art supply shop where you bought the materials for your crafting tutorial. Tag them, and hopefully, they’ll share with their audiences, thus reaching more people instantly! It’s a great way to support other local small businesses and get your name out there, too!
- Add It To Your Business Cards
Many of us still rely on in-person parties to generate business, right? Well, how do you tie together that in-person and virtual world? It’s simple! Design business cards on Vistaprint or create a design in Canva and just get them printed locally. This business card should have your Facebook Business Page link, your name, your other social accounts – essentially all the places they can find you!
- Use Your Page Stories
If you haven’t started using stories, you are in for a treat. This is where you will humanize your brand and make real connections with your Page followers. You already know they will love what you have to offer, and stories are where you get to show it all off in a fun way.
You’ve now got everything you need to make the most of your Facebook Business Page for your direct sales business – it’s time to take action and just start!
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Mary Haynes is a highly successful direct sales leader turned strategist and coach. Her passion is helping party plan people streamline and scale their businesses using simple, proven strategies. Her goal is to eliminate business overwhelm so direct sellers know exactly what to do and when to do it. Mary is also a homeschooling mama that lives in sunny Florida with her husband, 4 kiddos, 2 dogs, and various other backyard animals.
