Create Your Facebook Fan Page in Just Five Simple Steps

Creating a fan page for your business on Facebook may seem confusing, especially with Facebook’s new layout. But, if you follow these five simple steps, you’ll be on your way to having a dynamite Fan Page in no time!

Step 1: You need to find the “create a page for my business” link. This link can be found on ANY fan page, on the bottom of the left sidebar (see image to right). Here’s a link to my fan page, though I’d recommend you finish reading all five steps before getting started.

Step 2: Fill out the Create Fan Page form. Now, you need to pay attention, because these are the ONLY fields on your Fan Page that you will NOT be able to change later. For category type, photographers typically select one of the following (it doesn’t really matter, so go with what “feels” right to you):

• other business
• professional service
• visual artist

Now, the name of your page — it’s of utmost importance you pick a name that represents your business and you won’t need to change later. For example — on my photography page, I initially titled mine “Betsy’s Photography | Betsy Finn, CPP.” In concept, sounds fine… but now that I have my Photographic Craftsman degree, the credentials are outdated. Facebook won’t let me change the page name — if I wanted to start over, I’d have to start a new fan page (and rebuilt my fan base all over again). So pick something that will last the test of time.

Underneath the page name field is a checkbox — this allows you to decide whether you want your fan page to be published immediately, or just stay as a draft for now. If you’re in the process of filling out this form, I’m going to hazard a guess that you have time to get the “basics” of your page set up — feel free to publish it now (but whatever makes you comfortable).

The legal mumbo jumbo at the bottom of the form basically says that you have the authorization to create a page for the business. Example — a fan of Miley Cyrus is not authorized to create a Fan Page (she would have to make a group)…. Miley Cyrus or her agent, on the other hand, has authorization to create a Miley Cyrus fan page.

Once you click “create page” …Facebook with create your page, either as a draft version, or as a published (a.k.a. publicly visible) page. It will be pretty boring.

Step 3: This is the fun part! You get to customize your page, and add in all the details you want your fans to be able to see. Remember, EVERYONE will be able to see the content, people don’t have to be your friends to view the Fan Page or Become a fan.

Make sure to upload a “profile picture” for your business. I prefer to displaying a consistent image (i.e., your logo), as it will help identify the Fan Page as belonging to your studio. To edit this picture, hover over the question mark image… and then click on the link that appears: “change picture.”

You’ll probably want to click on the “info” tab to edit the basic and detailed information for your business. you can enter multiple web URLs in the website field, just separate them by hitting return, and Facebook will create active links to your site.

Feel free to add photos, links, or whatever content you want to share with future fans of your studio! (this will be an ongoing process, so just get a few things up there for now).

Step 4: Now, if you haven’t already published your fan page, here’s how to publish it so that everyone can see it. If you don’t see a “noticebar” along the top of your page, you can navigate to the admin interface of your Fan Page. To get there, click “Edit Page”, just under the picture on the sidebar of your fan

Once the admin page loads, at the top of the right sidebar, you’ll see a little notice about your page being a draft still. To publish it… simply click “publish this Page.”

Step 5: Now that your page is live for all to see, it’s time to share it with your friends + clients! Go to your fan page’s sidebar (where we found the “create a page” link), and you’ll see a “share” button. Use that to post a link to your fan page to your personal profile, or to send a message to all your friends!

And that’s all it takes! Hopfeully you’ve found these five simple steps to creating your Facebook Fan Page helpful. Remember, the easiest way to get to the page creation area is by visiting an existing fan page and finding the “create a page for my business” link at the bottom of the left sidebar.

Remember, building a fan base takes time… but once you get those first few fans, you’ll be well on your way to having a good Facebook presence for your business.