Tell Your Story
There are a LOT of things that make for a successful Business page on Facebook.
Books and entire web sites (and businesses!) are devoted to staying on top of the almost daily churn of what works best for your business.
There is no “one size fits all”. However, there are a few things you can do, regardless of your business, to check a few of the boxes towards having an effective business page.
So, What’s Your Story?
The ABOUT tab on your page is one of the most important parts of the page you will neglect. There are two spots on that tab where you can enhance your discoverability and help visitors get to know you.
The first is the shorter About field under MORE INFO. If you’ve been at this awhile, this used to be called the short description. It is limited to 255 characters, so think “tag line”. What do you have on your business card? That can be used, especially if it is a bit memorable and ties back to what your business is about. Something like “We Do It All!” may not be very helpful, but, for example, a roofing company might have something like “We put the roof over your head!”. Short, sweet and memorable (entertaining, if possible…) is the name of the game with this small field. If you have keyword phrases that incorporate well (and don’t sound like they are written by a robot…), this is a good place for them.
The second, longer field is the STORY field. If you are an old hand here, this used to be called the long description. While there doesn’t seem to be a firm consensus on the length this field can be, it is safe to say that it is more than 255 characters, but shorter than a book by Leo Tolstoy or Neal Stephenson. You can place quite a bit of information here, but don’t be tempted to replicate your entire service / product menu here. That’s not a STORY!!! Visitors will go here to find out more about you and your business, including details about who you are, your background and experience, and so on.
There are several suggestions for this field:
- While being upbeat and professional, be a little specific, too. “We make your dreams come true!” may sound warm and fuzzy, but doesn’t tell anyone what it is you do and the value you bring. Whether you provide household clutter-reduction services, kitchen remodels, family law representation, or home-based pet sitting, you need to spell it out. You can provide a high-level description of a few of your more popular and unique services / products, then suggest they go to your web site to find out more!
- Tell a story (or two)! First of all, it says STORY, so that’s a natural. People love stories. The shortest distance between a human being and the truth is a story. As long as it pertains to your business in some way, and is succinct and well-written, it will be an attractive addition to this field and draw visitors further into interest of your business. It could be about you, about a customer, even the inspiration behind your business.
- Use appropriate keyword phrase throughout this field. Both Facebook and Google can search these fields, so the better use of SEO you leverage, the better you will be found.
- Much like the content on the home page of your web site, don’t “set it and forget it!” Go in there every so often and update it….make it fresh again. Changes trigger a re-indexing of your content so Google and others note that your page isn’t abandoned. The last thing you want is for your STORY to have changed in real life, but not on your page.
- Take a chance and write this yourself. You know your story and journey better than anyone else, and your authentic voice is a key differentiator in the general noise of the Internet. Once you write it, read it out loud to yourself. I find that can highlight things thing that I write that either don’t sound natural, are misspelled, or are just plain wrong.
Getting your visitors to feel more comfortable with who you are and what you do is the first tiny step towards their joining your Audience, and eventually becoming customers. Getting the ABOUT information right can really move them along that path.
Here are a few resources you will find helpful in writing your story:
Authentic Voice 