Facebook For Business: What You Need to Know

Facebook has a new site for businesses, providing everything from how to create a page, to best practices by industry and playbooks for creating your own campaigns.

Facebook has created a new resource, "Facebook For Business," which provides instructions and examples of how to use all the promotional and advertising tools the company offers. While the information goes across industries and company sizes, this portal was designed with the small to mid-sized business in mind.

This launch comes after yesterday's earning's announcement, which said Facebook's ad revenue was up more than 50 percent in all regions. This resource site is a way for the company to continue that momentum by making it easier for businesses of all sizes to advertise.

Here's How It Works

Facebook For Business is a way for the company to start "simplifying and streamlining the way we communicate with advertisers and the industry," according to Christina McBride, Marketing Manager on Facebook's Business Marketing Communications Team. "Previously, we've had lots of different sites, all focused on niche audiences and customer segments. We're taking a different approach with Facebook for Business as a central hub going forward for all of our updates, success stories, product information, all together in one place. Instead of starting with our products, we're focusing on what you as a business is trying to do. "

Launching today around 12 p.m. EDT, the site features a home page  has a clear call to action for creating an ad, with links that provide everything from a product overview to "success stories" and specific case studies by industry.

Clicking through to the Success Stories consolidates many of Facebook's previous case studies in one place, with filters for business size, industry, product and region. The examples are relevant to any marketers looking for inspiration, or a guide for "how to execute a campaign." An automotive marketer can see a case study playbook around launching a new vehicle, capturing people in the market for a car, increase loyalty.  The story includes the exact products the example company used, with links back to the Facebook For Business areas such as "Drive In-Store Sales."

"It's the first time we've had a presence by industry and we'll be building this out over time," said McBride. "These pages really become the source of truth about our products. We have links into the help center, but we want this to be the primary destination people go to find out about our products."

Different Approaches 

Some people want to approach marketing via "what do I want to accomplish" while others want to know "how can I take advantage of Facebook in my industry and what are the best practices?" The site provides different ways for people to approach the content, and use it to create the most effective campaigns. While everyone in the industry will have access to these best practices, it doesn't mean all campaigns will suddenly be the same. Companies bring their own content, tactics and strategies, and there's infinite room for creativity, said McBride. 

Clicking to the products page gives everything from how to create a Facebook page to using the measurement system.

Facebook has previously used its "Studio" blog to share news about features. Starting today, the Facebook for Business site will have a blog where all news updates will go, making it a one-stop location for understanding announcements and platform changes.

For companies that need even more hand-holding, Facebook For Business has one additional bonus--a "Get Help" link. As long as you have created a budget and are actively advertising on Facebook, you can get access to a representative who can walk you through the steps of getting started over the course of a few weeks

What do you think of the new Facebook For Business site? Share your feedback in the comments.

Article courtesy of Inc. Magazine