SETTING UP A PERSONAL FACEBOOK ACCOUNT
A personal Facebook page is an easy way to share personal information with friends, relatives, and business colleagues, and you even have the option to keep your Facebook updates private if you want to keep your personal page and business page separate.
To set up a Facebook page, follow these steps:
1. Launch your favorite web browser and navigate to www.facebook.com. The Facebook home page appears.
2. Fill in the blanks. This step is basic.
3. Click Sign Up. The page refreshes and a captcha item appears.
4. Type the captcha text and click Sign Up. You have a Facebook page.
PERSONAL ACCOUNTS VS BUSINESS ACCOUNTS
Do not create a personal profile for your business. Profiles are for people, Pages are for business. Facebook is building significant new functionality for businesses, and all of this functionality is only available to Pages.
There are a few key differences between Business Pages and Personal Profiles:
. Pages allow you to designate multiple administrators, so that you can have multiple people help manage the account, and if one of your administrators
leaves the company, you can still have control over the page.
. Pages are, by default, public and will start ranking in Facebook and public search results.
. Pages are split into different categories (local businesses, brands, musicians) that help you get listed in more relevant search results.
. Personal profiles have friends, which require mutual acceptance, whereas anyone can become a fan of your Page without first going through administrator approval.
Step 1: Sign up for an account. Go to www.facebook.com and sign up for a free account.
Step 2: Edit your profile. Click on “Profile” in the top left-hand menu. Fill in your profile and add some friends. Click on the “Info tab” and then Edit Information”.
Step 3: Join networks. Click on “settings” in the top right-hand menu, and then “Account Settings”. On the Setting Screen, choose “Networks”.
Step 4: Connect with friends. Click on “friends” in the top-left menu and choose “Find Friends”.
You can import a contact list, have Facebook search your email address book, search for people in your networks, or even check out Facebook’s friend suggestions.
Once you find someone you know, click “Add as a friend”. Friends need to be mutually accepted, so “friending” someone will send them a message to confirm that you two are indeed friends.
Step 5: Share information. From your homepage or from your profile page, you will see a box where you can share your content.
Step 6: Use applications. To browse the applications you already could be using, or to browse more applications, click on “Applications” in the left
hand corner of the bottom bar while logging into Facebook. Or, visit: http://facebook.com/applications to browse available applications.
MODIFYING YOUR FACEBOOK PROFILE
After you create the page, you can edit your profile by clicking the Info tab and then clicking Edit Information. Your Info page opens in Edit Mode, with the Basic Information section displayed. You can make changes by entering different information in the text boxes or selecting a check box. You can also edit your personal, work, and contact information.
In the Looking For section, choose Networking to show that you’re here to network, not just play.
After making the desired changes, click Done Editing. You can also modify your Facebook profile at any time after setting it up. To modify your Facebook profile when something changes or when you want to add some new information, follow these steps:
1. Log into your Facebook account. Your Facebook page appears.
2. Click Profile. Your profile appears.
3. Click the Edit My Profile link. Your profile page and all the various bells and whistles associated with your profile appears.
4. Make the changes you want and then click Save Changes. Your revised profile is served up.
HOW TO SET UP A PAGE
A Page is similar to a Profile except that it is, by default, public and users can become a “fan” of your Page without first requiring approval from the Page admins. Creating a Page is completely free but will require your time to build and maintain.
To get started, visit www.facebook.com/pages/create.php (Note you must be logged in to create a Page). You will walk through a simple wizard to create your page.
CHOOSE A NAME FOR YOUR PAGE
In most cases, this should be your company name.
Now create your page by clicking “create page”.
Fill out your Page like you would a profile. Click on “Edit Page” or “Edit Information” on the Info tab to add information about your business like your website, a short description, products, and so on. Add your logo as the photo for your Page. Take advantage of some of the features of Business’ Pages like the discussion board to engage your fans.
When you’re ready to unleash your Page, make sure to hit the “Publish” button to make your Page public.
As the administrator, your name and profile will not show up anywhere on your Page. You are the behind-the-scenes manager. When you post new information or respond to a discussion thread, it will appear to be posted by your company rather than you personally. You can designate multiple administrators as well to help with the maintenance of your Page.
In addition to being the administrator of your Page, you will want to become a fan. Once you become a fan, you will be listed among all the other fans on your Page and all the Pages of which you are a fan will show up on your profile – giving your business more visibility to your network.
ADDING MESSAGES ON YOUR PAGE
Get the visitor’s curiosity, but don’t use a hard sell. Eg: You can tell people about a problem you solve with a new product or service. At the end of your post, leave a link to your web site page, where people can find more information. If your message gets the curiosity of someone who likes your page, they’re sure to click the link.
To add a message to your wall, follow these steps:
1. Log into your Facebook account.
2. Start entering text in the “What’s on your mind” text field at the top of your wall. Remember to post something useful for your people who like your page.
3. Add information to your post. Click one of the icons as the bottom of the post to add a link to a web page, a photo, an event, or a video. When
you add a photo or video to a wall post, it’s also added to the applicable tab, which enables viewers to see the content after newer posts appear at
the top of your page.
4. Click the Share button. Your post is added to the wall.
Make sure your post contains no grammatical or spelling errors before you share it with the world. You cannot edit a post. If you made a mistake for a created post that ruffled someone’s feathers, your only option is to remove the post entirely. Pause your courser over the post until a Remove button appears. Click the button to permanently remove the post.
ADDING A PICTURE TO YOUR FACEBOOK PAGE
Click the Upload a Photo link, and follow the prompts to add a photo to your Facebook page. You can also click the Take a Photo link and take a photo by using the webcam connected to your computer. If you choose this option, just make sure you have a good webcam.
Click Save and Continue when you’re done.
PRIVACY SETTINGS
Click on “friends” in the top navigation to view your friends and view, edit, or create a new friend list.
Explore the other sections of the privacy settings (search, news feed and wall, applications) to control those aspects of your presence on Facebook.