Small business owners who use social networking sites effectively are able to promote their businesses in powerful ways, and one of the best ways is with a Facebook business page.

While Facebook began as a way for college students and other young adults to connect online, it has become a staple for businesses and community organizations. Here are six reasons to create a Facebook page for your small business today.

A business page on Facebook gives you a way to communicate directly with your target audience. Think of it as an ongoing focus group. Your fans are there because they are aware of your company and want to learn more. While they certainly are expecting to receive useful information from your Facebook page, you also can be collecting useful information from them through their participation.

Facebook Insights also provide useful information about your fans and their interactions on your page. As a microcosm of your target market, your Facebook fanscan tell you a lot about what they want through their interaction, comments, and feedback. Facebook groups should also be considered.

Social connections and genuine communication are integral parts of social media, and Facebook gives you an opportunity to attach a face, name, and personality to your brand. While your Facebook page may represent your company, it also allows you to show the human side of your business through one-on-one conversations, personal tidbits, and nonbusiness interaction.

Even if you automate parts of your social media activity, you can fit in a moderate amount of live, on-the-spot communication to create richer, more "human" relationships.

Facebook pages are excellent places to gather your customers, prospects, and fans to provide reviews, share opinions, voice concerns and offer feedback. You can build a community on your Facebook page in a number of ways, including:

• Posting useful, relevant and interesting links
• Asking fans to contribute with comments
• Organizing contests and promotions
• Providing a place to leave reviews and other feedback
• Offering incentives for activity on the page

If the Facebook page you create for your business successfully brings people together, you can develop a loyal following that will continue to grow.

Facebook can be an effective way to direct traffic to your business website and blog. Your posts, links, and other actions that are contained on your public Facebook page also can give you an SEO boost if they are indexed by ​search engines.

With the speed of social media and new weight being added to information shared through social channels, having a Facebook page filled with rich content relevant to your business can help you boost your search engine rankings.

Doing something simply because your competition is doing it isn't a good enough reason, but when it comes to social media, not having a Facebook page or a presence on other social networks can cost you opportunities—especially if your competition is using social media and using it well.

Most people on Facebook visit the site every day, so regular status updates, shared links and videos, and other information gives you a chance to connect with your customers daily.

With more than 2.2 billion active Facebook users, as of 2017, an increasing number of consumers are using the site to find products, services, and brands to solve their everyday problems. Facebook and other social networks make it easy for potential customers to find you. And when they do, they often are more likely to remember your brand and share it with their own connections.

Ultimately, a branded Facebook page for your business can be a powerful way to expand your reach and increase awareness of your business online.

Editor: Aubree Russell

Resource: https://www.thebalancesmb.com/facebook-pages-for-business-2951737