If you manage a Facebook business page you most likely spend a most of your time managing your Wall content, reviewing your page analytics, or checking out the latest and greatest apps. But every now and then it makes sense to take pause and assess your Facebook health and well-being; to diagnose and treat the biggest small problems before they become big ones. With that in mind here is an 11 point checkup.
1. Review your permission settings to ensure maximum exposure (edit page/page settings) Unlike a personal page where you want to limit exposure, the permission settings on your business page should be set in such a way as to maximize your exposure.
2. Make sure you have more than one page administrator (edit page/manage admins) Having only one page administrator can be dangerous, as page administrators are the only people allowed to make changes to your page. Having multiple page administrators will provide flexibility and protection should the page administrator be on vacation, take a medical leave, or leave the company.
3. Set your email notifications (edit page/your settings) Facebook gives you the option of receiving email notifications when people post or comment on your page. This allows you to easily monitor activity and respond to comments and posts in a timely manner.
4. Manage permissions (edit page/manage permissions) Permission settings are very self-explanatory. However, if you have a Welcome Page, a special application created to greet new visitors to your page, you will want to set it to be the default landing page for people that have not Liked your page, meaning new visitors are automatically taken to the Welcome Page rather than your Wall.
5. Facebook plugins Facebook plugins such as the Like Box, Like Button, or Activity Feed on your website are a “must have” if you want to drive people to your page and increase your Likes. A complete list of plugins with instructions on how to generate the code can be found on the Facebook’s Social Plugins page.
6. Review your Wall and profile image Do they attract attention? Are they memorable and recognizable? Are they easy to read? Does the wall image use all the available space – 540 pixels high and 180 pixels wide? This blog post from Tina Cook has some great examples that may inspire you.
7. Review your More Info page Is the More Info page complete and easy to read? Is it up to date? Does it include phone numbers, websites, addresses and the like?
8. Manage your Featured Likes (edit page/featured) Your Liked pages appear on the left hand side of your Wall. Up to five pages are shown at a time. Although the five featured Likes are presented in random order each time the page is refreshed, you can select which pages are included in the mix by designating them as a featured Like. This is a great way to highlight other pages you administer or pages from your clients or partners.
9. Review your photostrip The order of these images can’t be fixed and images are reordered each time the page loads. But administrators have the ability to hide photos appearing in the strip by clicking the hide this photo box when hovering over a picture.
10. Delete any dead apps It is important to keep the content on your apps up-to-date. Even the most famous brands sometimes have “dead” apps that are either empty or have old, stale content. An app with information that has not been updated in months can leave a poor impression of your brand, so make sure you delete any unused apps.
11. Claim your Facebook Places page Businesses have the burden of claiming their Places page on Facebook. To see if a Places page exists for your business, use the Facebook search box. The teardrop icon denotes a Places page. At the foot of the Places page click on the “Is this your business?” link and follow the instructions to claim your page. You may also want to merge your Places page with your business page. Doing so will create a single hub for your customers to interact with your brand. To merge your pages, visit your Places page from a desktop browser and scroll to the bottom, then click the link that says, “Merge With Existing Page.” The site will guide you through the steps required for a merger.
There you have it. Once you have addressed these 11 critical issues your Facebook page will get a clean bill of health.
