If you own or work for a small business, it’s especially important to be active on social media.

While there are many platforms to choose from, Facebook is the most widely-used and easy to use – 68% of U.S. adults use Facebook, and 3/4 of those users log in on a daily basis. In fact, 51% log in several times per day.

Facebook business pages allow a user to see information a business posts, business/store information, photos and videos, events being held by the business, star ratings and reviews of your products and services. The importance in the business page is shown in stats like these:

• 81% of consumers’ purchasing decisions are influenced by their friends’ social media posts.
• 19% of consumer purchase decisions are directly influenced by Facebook posts.
• Consumers are 71% more likely to make a purchase based on social media referrals.
• 31% of consumers say they are using social media channels to browse for new items topurchase.
• 78% of consumers say companies’ social media posts impact their purchases.
• 55% of shoppers who have clicked through to the retailer’s site from a social media page havemade a purchase.

Doing a quick Google search for “how social media influences shopping decisions” will yield dozens more statistics supporting the importance of having a Facebook business page.

Chances are, you do know the importance of social media for your business. The problem many small business owners face is having the time or knowledge to have a successful, engaging presence online. The good news is it doesn’t have to be difficult or time consuming – if you follow these tips.

DO:

• Do develop a plan. Before even creating a business page, outline your key goals and objectives for your page. Are you trying to increase brand awareness? Drive traffic to your website or store location? Give consumers information? Sell a product or service?
  
  Once you decide what your primary goal is, think about how you want to get there. At the very least, prepare a rough outline of those goals and the purpose of your business page, the types of information you’ll share, and what your brand will look like. Dedicate a few hours a week, or one hour per day, to focus on your social presence and accomplishing your goals.
  
• Do some research. It doesn’t have to be super in-depth, but it may be helpful for you to look at other small business pages, particularly if they offer the same products or services you do. Find a few that you think are doing well and emulate their best practices. Pay attention to what they post and how often, the amount of likes and what people are commenting on posts, quality of imagery and/or video, and reviews or ratings on the page.

• Do optimize your page. Make sure you have a professional profile image and cover photo that are the correct size and represent your brand. Update your business hours, contact information, website, mission statement, and other profile information and make sure to regularly update it should things change.
  
• Do post with intent. Don’t post just for the sake of posting. Be relevant by posting content that is related to your business, provides value, or engages your audience. Use your business page to showcase your brand personality and expertise. Build a relationship with your audience through your posts. Getting someone to like or follow your page is a good start, but it’s important they are also engaging by liking, commenting on, and sharing your content.
  
• Do be consistent. Generally you should post on Facebook 2-3 times per week. On your Facebook Insights page, you can see what times of day and days of the week are best for your network. Try and stick to those days and times. Also be consistent with your content. Don’t confuse your audience with different tones of voice, style, type of content or images.
  
• Do keep track of your metrics. Your Facebook Insights tab gives you a significant amount of information to help you optimize your page. This includes information about top performing posts, post engagement numbers, and detailed audience information. You can easily see what posts are performing well and which aren’t. This can help you optimize your future posts.
  
• Do always respond to comments and private messages. If your audience is taking the time to talk to you, you must make time to talk back. The power of social media comes from the ability for two-way communication. Your customers have direct access to you. If they have questions, comments or concerns, make sure you let them, and others, know you hear them and are willing to respond and engage. This helps you build rapport with your audience.
  
• Do engage with other pages in your market. You can ‘Like’ other business pages as your business page. Doing this makes you relevant, and shows you are part of the Facebook community.
  
• Do test different content. Does your audience respond to long form posts? Or only short? Do they like to answer questions? Or watch video? Do they click the links you post? Are those links to your own content, or other website content? When you are first getting started, you must try different things to see what your audience likes. Once you feel like you have a good idea of what works, continue optimizing until you find the perfect fit.
  
• Do measure and analyze. Keep track of engagement numbers, weekly increase in followers and likes, top performing posts, video views, shares, etc. These insights will help you learn what your audience is (or isn’t) responding to so you can post what is most engaging and relevant to your audience.
  
• Do integrate your social presence in other marketing strategies. If you send emails to your customers, include a link to your page in the email. Include a link to your page on your website. If your business has a presence on other social media channels, cross market and share across channels. You can even share content on your personal social media pages. The more places you can integrate, the better.

DON’T:

• Don’t focus on the sale. Your consumers don’t want to feel like they are being forced to make a purchase. They want to engage with you, learn from you, and build a relationship with you and your business. If they feel like you are just trying to sell to them, they won’t be interested in what you have to say. A good rule of thumb is the 80:20 rule – 80% content, 20% (or less) sales.
  
• Don’t let your personal feelings control your response strategy. Never engage with negative or defamatory statements on your posts from current or past customers. If someone comments on your post and has questions, concerns or issues, direct them to send you a private message as to protect their personal information.
  
  NEVER argue. Even if the customer is wrong or defamatory, it’s critical to respond professionally and without emotion. You aren’t only responding to that person, but every other person who sees that review. It may be helpful to plan ahead a list of possible negative comments or responses and develop a prepared set of responses.
  
• Don’t post or engage with anything that is: discriminating, harassing, demeaning or creates a hostile work environment, disrupts the smooth and orderly flow of work or harms the goodwill and reputation of your business. You may also find it helpful to avoid controversial topics, especially politics, as that could jade your network and alienate your customers.
  
• Don’t post only about your business. Instead, share or comment on things happening in your community. Write about or share information related to your industry that can provide additional knowledge or information, making you seem to be the subject matter expert. And don’t forget humor! Even memes or funny videos not related to your industry or business can increase engagement and add a human element to your business and page.
  
• Don’t feel like you have to be everywhere. Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Snapchat, LinkedIn, Pinterest – which channel is right for you? While you may choose to be on multiple channels, chances are not all of them are right for your business or your expertise.
  
  Focusing on one or two channels can make your strategy more effective. If you do have multiple pages, make sure you have different content for each channel. What works on Facebook may not work on Pinterest, and vice versa.

If you don’t have the time to invest in developing a robust social strategy, don’t know where to start, or don’t know how to keep going and optimize, hiring a freelancer may be helpful.

The important thing to remember is you don’t have to be an expert, especially not at first. It will take time for you to learn what works and what doesn’t and optimize your strategy. Do research and listen to your customers and audience in order to provide them what they want. Customers use social media to learn about your business, products and/or services, build a relationship, and learn if they can trust you.

By following these tips, you are taking important steps to get there.