If you’re new to the world of social media for business, I’d like to introduce you to Facebook. No, not the personal Facebook account you use to share photos of your pets, kids and family vacations, but Facebook Pages for Business. It’s great for B2C companies and nonprofit organizations that have a lighter side to them. Facebook is where you should be posting funny memes, photos from office parties and informal content. Local businesses like Silver in the City and Joe’s Butcher Shop, as well as the nonprofit organization Lemonade Day Indianapolis, all do a great job of mixing fun and informative content on their Facebook pages.

I’m not going to bore you to death by walking you through setting up your page, you can click here for those instructions. Instead, I am going talk about what to do after your page is published.

First things first, you need to get organized. Start planning ahead. If you’re short on time and resources, which is not unusual for most small businesses, create an editorial calendar to keep updates to your Facebook page current.

• Create a content calendar for the week, month or even the whole year to help streamline the content you plan to share on Facebook. If you go the weekly route, set aside some time on a Friday to think about the next week.
• Don’t forget to be flexible. You don’t have to plan and schedule every single post for the next month down to the time it will publish. Leave one or two slots open for when something fun or spontaneous comes up. Download our Content Calendar to help you get organized sooner rather than later.

When it comes to sharing content on your company Facebook page you have the freedom to set your own schedule. You can share photos, videos and content as often as three times a day, or three times a week. It’s entirely up to you.

Sharing Content on Facebook – The 50/30/20 Rule

Posting consistently on Facebook is important because the platform’s ever changing algorithm makes it more and more difficult for your posts to be seen, so keeping a continuous stream of content on your page is key. Assign one person the responsibility of updating your company Facebook page. Having one employee running the Facebook page will ensure a consistent voice and lessen the chances of posting duplicate content on your page.

Getting likes, having your content shared by others and receiving comments on your posts is harder than it used to be. Organic reach for Facebook posts continues to decrease thanks to the never ending updates to Facebook’s newsfeed algorithm. That means you will have to work a little harder to engage your audience. But be warned, Facebook will punish your page if you bribe fans to like your page or posts. As part of their “Like-Gating” rules (read specifics under the heading ‘Changes to Platform Policy’), you cannot offer fans anything in return for them liking your page or posts.

My advice is to stop worrying about likes and focus on starting conversations. A good standard rule for posting on Facebook is the 50/30/20 rule. Allow 50 percent of your content to be fun and friendly. Don’t be afraid to posts pictures, graphics and videos. Invite fans to comment on your posts by asking questions. This will help start conversations and increase engagement. It might take some time, but eventually people will respond. Facebook isn’t like LinkedIn, meaning the content you share on Facebook doesn’t have to be about your business all of the time.

Around 30 percent of the content you share should be useful and informative. This is where your company blog posts come in. Share industry information and hints and tips to educate your audience. Informative posts will also create conversations and give people a reason to share your posts.

The other 20 percent of content you should be sharing on your Facebook page should be about your business. Promote your brand, but don’t be super sales-y about it, because Facebook will punish your page for that, too. For example, avoid “We just released a new product you can’t live without! Buy it now!” with a link to your website. That’s a tad aggressive. Instead, give your audience subtle calls to action. For example, “Did you know we have launched a new product featuring x, y and z? Learn more about this product and the benefits it provides by reading this blog post.” Encourage fans to visit your website for more information. This will drive traffic directly to your website without being too pushy and breaking Facebook’s rules.

When it comes to Facebook, you get the best of both worlds. You can share fun, engaging content with a good mix of educational information as well. You are allowed to be creative and quirky on Facebook, so make sure you share visual content like photos, graphics and videos along with blog posts and information about your business. Keep it light and stick to a schedule so you have a continuous stream of content on your page when new fans discover your business on the social media platform.

Ready to take a deeper dive into Facebook?  Check out our Facebook Toolkit