Facebook launched the business pages product in 2007, initiating a change in social media to become a marketing and community tool for businesses around the world. If you own or operate a business, there’s a pretty good chance that sometime between then and now you created a Facebook business page.
But when was the last time you checked that it was accurate and optimized for your customers to find you? If your business is on any social channel — Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, etc. — you should take time every year or so to make sure your profiles:
Quickly tell social media users who you are and what you do.
Easily give them a call to action or where they get more information on you — your website or phone number.
Think about your social media.
Are you consistent?
Are you telling Twitter users the same thing you're telling Instagrammers?
Or did you just fill in the biographies and descriptions as you set up each social media channel . . .sometimes years apart?
This is a branding issue. Being consistent in the description of your business across channels strengthens your brand.
Check out these steps to determine if your social media profiles are optimized and up-to-date.
Step 1: Write down your company description and your core call to action.
This can be done on good ol' pen and paper. Take a step back and revisit your tagline, your business description and your calls to action. The best place to start would be your business’ website, where you’re probably trying to drive online traffic so your customers can buy your product or service, opt-in to your email newsletter or whatever your goal is.
Are your descriptions and core call to action still true? Have you pivoted? Do they still make sense? Do you use clear descriptions of your product or service? Do you include relevant information like your location and the industry you're in and who your customers are?
For more inspiration, check out this short video.
You want to get crystal clear about what you offer before you even look at whatever you entered into the "About" section on your Facebook business page way back in 2010.
Step 2: Make a list of all your digital footprints — social media, directories, other websites.
When you're checking the optimization of your social media profiles, you could also use this time to review how you describe yourself in business directories or on publishing channels like Medium.
Do a quick Google search and see where your name comes up on the first two to three pages. If you're on a website, add that to your list of places to visit and edit (if you can, and if needed). Here's a template for taking inventory of your social media and other digital marketing.
A screen shot is below to give you an idea of how to set it up.
Step 3: Do the damn thing.
Go through your digital footprint, starting with your social media channels, and update your information to be consistent across platforms. Areas to update can include:
Username
Description
About
Website
Contact information – email and phone number
Biography
Location
Preferred audiences
For more detailed instructions, check out these resources:
Step 4: Check your social media links to your website.
If you changed your social media handle to align with a rebrand or just because, make sure your social links on your website link to the right profiles. Or, if you’ve never checked them, now is the time to do it.
