5 Situations in Which You Shouldn’t Create A Facebook Page For Your Online Business

Setting up a Facebook page for your online business is free and easy, and takes just a few minutes. But it’s not always wise to rush in without having considered a few things beforehand. Just take a look at some newly-created pages of small businesses on Facebook and it will strike you that they all look more or less the same. And that’s not a good thing.

So, while it’s true that it’s becoming important to be present on Facebook, do consider not rushing in if you’re in one of the following situations.

You’re creating a fan page just because everyone else does it

With its hundreds of millions of users, Facebook is one of the best places on the Internet to spread word about your business. However, companies without at least a basic social media strategy don’t usually fare too well.

I think it’s not really enough to be on Facebook to spread word about yourself effectively – you should know why you want to be there and what you are going to do. So, think about devising a basic plan of action before creating your fan page; no matter how basic this plan is it will help.

You’re not sure who you’re targeting

Optimizing your Facebook page for a certain group of users tends to cement your engagement with them faster. Having no particular target, and so trying to attract all types of Facebook users, is a less-focused endeavor that is risky, and may in the end lead only to a great number of followers, but no actual people interested in what you have to offer.

You can find more about the user demographics, completing the blank fields, and then getting to the next page, which helps you identify user groups.

You don’t have the means to keep your page updated

A dead Facebook page is not much good. To draw in people it’s necessary to add interesting content to the page regularly, and this is often more difficult than it sounds. I think one of the big misconceptions about Facebook is that it’s easy to keep your page updated.

It’s not! Unless you have others to help you and unless you have a strategy in place, chances are you will find it hard to submit 4 of 5 interesting updates every week, especially if you have little time to spare. One way to pass this obstacle is to ask for help.

You’re not sure when is the best time to update your page

Updates that are not made when most of your users are active on Facebook are not effective, reaching only a limited group of people. I don’t think there’s any simple way to discover when most of your followers are on, because usage behavior depends on many factors and changes quite often.

A wonderful study called The Science of Social Timing has come to the conclusion that it’s best to post on Saturdays, and then every other day. For best results it’s perhaps best to consider what type of users you have, and to try different updating plans. What’s clear is that haphazard posting is less effective than planned one.

You’re not ready to customize your fan page

In the beginning I’ve said that many Facebook pages created by companies look much the same. You would probably like to stand out, or at least to be different from your competitors. This can be done by customizing you page, adding a catchy wall logo, nice thumbnails, and if you’re up to it, personalized tabs. The latter can be done through the static FBML application featured on the website.

This application also lets you create an interesting landing page, which should be attractive because it’s the first one users see.

In conclusion, you will find it more rewarding to have a strategy before making a Facebook page for your business.