Creating & Maintaining a Facebook business page Engaging with the public Prepared by: Jessica Powell Volunteer - Information Officer

Creating a business page When logged into your FB account, go to www.facebook.com/pages/create & select the Company, Organisation or Institution button

Choose the category: Education Enter Company name: ALS District e.g. ALS Balatan

Enter what this page is about: Alternative Learning System provides all Filipinos with the chance to have access to and complete basic education. Enter the URL: http://www.depedcamsur.com/als.html Enter the name of your page e.g. alsbalatan Save Info Upload the ALS district logo or your own District ALS Logo

Now you have created your page – start to enter the information! Add a Cover photo – something that represents learning Invite friends Add address & contact details

Assign Editor roles to other people, so they can also post! Go to the Settings area Select Page Roles Enter the name or email of the person

It’s all about conversation Create a conversation and give followers a reason to want to engage Make it about the community Refer people to the FB page – Like us on FB Keep it up-to-date If there too many posts where users don’t engage, Facebook will simply stop showing your updates in their News Feed altogether. Facebook takes user engagement seriously.

How does a post benefit followers? Post suggestions: When invited to give a presentation, post a few photos & details about how they can get involved Activites: post information on how people can join the activity & afterwards about the success & what was achieved. Can they continue to contribute? Tips, suggestions & educational bits of information Share good news stories from the community

Examples of engaging posts Share a relevant story Create an event!

Mistakes to Avoid Don't neglect to monitor the posts or comments on your page. Ignoring comments and interactions is like saying to your customers, "I don't care what you have to say."  Don't ignore negativity. You can't stop people from saying things about your brand, good or bad. What you can do is respond respectfully and provide helpful information. Don't just post photos. Images have the worst organic reach of all post types. Don't make your posts too long. Test the optimal length of your Facebook Timeline posts, as they will vary from company to company. Don't post images of just any size. Pixelated, cluttered, or difficult-to-read visuals will not only frustrate users, but they'll also give you a bad reputation. Don’t forget to review the performance of your posts. Check your Page Insights regularly to understand what's working to keep your posts relevant and engaging to your viewers. Source: Hubspot & Facebook

Posting from a website 1. Copy the URL from the website. 2. Paste the URL into the status section. 3. The page images will automatically appear – remove all but one. 4. Enter a short description from the article or enter your own. 5. Schedule the post for a specific date, backdate for a past post, save for a later date or Publish straight away.

Sharing from a post 2. Share the link On a Page you manage 1. Select Share… 3. Post link!

Uploading relevant & interesting photos Uploading 50 photos of people sitting around appears unprofessional & bulk uploaded instead of selecting a couple of good images. Who is he? He looks bored! No explanation of who the people are? What is the purpose of random photos.

Uploading relevant & interesting photos 1 relevant image Selectively chosen images depicting different activities 3 specific images are used to convey the story

When posting… Ask your audience to share their thoughts and feedback on your services. Make it special – followers should get something out of being your fan or liking your page. (I.e. “Our 100th ‘like’ will receive a free BLW T-shirt!) Use images (ensure you have copyright), as people are attracted to images such as infographics or easily digestible videos. Make use of color, but don’t overdo it. If you make a video, make sure its professional and high quality. What benefit does it have to the community? Don’t just preach at your audience, but engage them, get them involved and always reply promptly to outreach. Social media isn’t a soapbox, but a tool for engagement. It’s a two-way street. Don’t treat your Facebook page like a personal site. Be timely, followers will be more likely to engage with posts when they’re related to subjects that are top of mind, like current events or the holidays. Plan your conversational calendar, the easiest way to stay in regular contact with fans is by creating a conversational calendar with ideas about what to talk about each week or month. Schedule your posts, to better manage your time, you can schedule your posts in advance and plan for upcoming holiday events and specials. Review the performance of your posts, regularly check “Page Insights” to understand what's working to keep your posts relevant and engaging.