Tips for Creating a Company Page on Facebook (Part 1) – Preparation

More and more German businesses are taking the leap into social media, led, of course,

by the industry-leading platform, Facebook.

Find out here what you need to consider when creating your own company page and how best to plan your launch!

Tip 1: Absolutely make sure to include an Impressum (legal notice)!

Time and again, entrepreneurs face legal warning letters online because they either forgot their legal notice or because it isn't accessible enough under German law.

The exact same applies to Facebook. It's not just company pages that are subject to warnings, but also any user profiles associated with the company.First and foremost, you should make sure to set up an “easily recognizable, directly accessible, and permanently available” (Section 5 of the German Telemedia Act - TMG) legal notice. “Directly accessible” means immediately visible right on the timeline.Legal notices placed under "About" or within a tab for additional Facebook apps on the company page do not comply with Section 5 (General Information Requirements) of the Telemedia Act and can result in legal warnings.

Therefore, the legal notice should occupy one of the spots for the first 3 apps right after the photos:

According to the latest standards, it is also recommended to include a link to an external legal notice within the "About" section, as apps are not displayed in Facebook's mobile view.

However, this method is not completely legally airtight.

Tip 2: Prepare content before launching

When it comes to a successful presence on social networks, one rule always applies: “Content is king.”

Regularly publishing new content on your company page forms the foundation for all user interaction. Here, quality plays just as vital a role as quantity.

Without enough relevance for your fans, posting 3 articles a day won't boost interaction rates. At the same time, publishing a high-quality article only once every two weeks won't do much good either. The key is striking the right balance between relevant content and posting frequency.

Especially considering recent changes to organic reach for fan and corporate pages, you need to make sure fans don't lose sight of your page.

One thing you should definitely avoid is using your timeline merely as a newsfeed for already published information and content. Instead, aim to maintain a high proportion of unique content across each social media channel to offer users distinct added value on each platform.

By reducing overlapping posts, you make it worthwhile for a user to also become a fan of your Google+ page, for example.

To ensure a diverse mix of content, it's wise to gather material well ahead of the launch and avoid any potential bottlenecks.

Tip 3: For businesses, Facebook is primarily a branding platform

Users who follow a business have clear expectations for its Facebook page. Unlike a traditional website or online shop, visitors mainly use a company's Facebook page to connect and identify with the brand.

Although product discovery and research frequently happen on Facebook, the vast majority of purchases take place directly on the website's shop environment.

It's therefore best—at least on the surface—to maintain a clear separation between these touchpoints by using the timeline to share events and news rather than constantly pushing for sales.

Otherwise, your company page could quickly turn into a ghost town despite having a large follower count.

Tip 4: Use custom apps to stand out & encourage purchases

Building your own apps gives you a great opportunity to set your Facebook page apart by introducing a tailored design and, ideally, a unique selling proposition.

Because Facebook apps allow you to integrate practically any content via white-label solutions, there are no limits to your creativity.

This is where you finally get the chance to use Facebook as a direct sales channel:

A dedicated "Shop" app allows interested buyers to purchase products either via a redirect or directly within the Facebook profile—without cluttering the newsfeed or timeline with sales pitches that might turn other fans away.

Apps are built using HTML and PHP; you can find development guides and helpful resources in the Facebook Developers help section.

Tip 5: Build buzz right from the start

To maximize your reach right from day one, spread the word about your new Facebook page across all your available channels—a classic blog post and a dedicated newsletter are great places to start.

However, we'd advise against recurring posts like “Have you checked out our Facebook page yet?”, as existing followers may simply perceive this as spam.

A more subtle approach—alongside a prominent link to your Facebook page—is embedding social share buttons under your articles, media, and special offers. You can choose to use the "Like" button, the "Recommend" button, or both:

Not only does this encourage your current fans to interact and introduce non-fans to your page, but it also broadens the reach of your content.

For instance, it allows fans to easily share content directly from your website to Facebook, rather than just resharing posts from their newsfeed.

 Stay tuned for more tips in the next installment of our Facebook series!

If you need a hand setting up or optimizing your Facebook page, feel free to get in touch with us.

We'd be delighted to provide you with a free, no-obligation quote!