In my talks to energy efficiency pros across the country, I've recently changed my tune on participation in social media. I used to say that it was optional, and only for those who can find the spare time. But given the growing evidence that your company's presence in social media is a strong brand signal to search engines, I'm now of the mind that it's mandatory.


At RaterFest this past weekend in Colorado, people heard me say this, and many took the advice seriously, but several said:


"How do I do this if I hate Facebook?"


Fair question.


Whether or not it's a generational debate, the fact is that many people feel strongly about Facebook in a bad way, and that's understandable. We all have our things. 


But a business page on Facebook isn't the same as a personal profile, and you don't need to treat it the same way. Treat it as a marketing tool and not as a place to check out your old high school girlfriend and you're on the rigth path.


Why a Facebook page is critical for businesses:


There are growing signals in the rapidly changing field of SEO that a presence in social media increases your business's rankings in search engines, particularly for local search terms. (More on the rapidly changing field of Local Search here, and if you're completely in the dark about SEO and web marketing in general, check out our free white paper on the subject for home energy efficiency companies.) 


This is because Google, Yahoo!, Bing, and other search engines are always tweaking their algorithms to provide the most relevant content for users for a given search term. This is why energy efficiency industry keywords are important, this is why good reviews on Google Places are important, and this is why having your service area clearly listed on your website is important. While nobody is exactly sure how search engines incorporate social media data into their results, it is clear that if people are talking about your business on social media, it sends a signal to search engines that your business is real, that it exists in a given geographic region, and that people seem to like it. This is important now, and it's only going to become more important moving forward. If you want your business to stand out from the crowd, it's critical to get ahead of the curve here.


Setting up your Facebook Business Page:


Like I said, the good news is that you don't have to become a Facebook addict to give your business a presence on the world's largest social media platform. To set up a business account, you don't even need a personal account (which means you won't be obligated to accept every "friend" request from every third-cousin-once-removed and hold conversations on their "walls.")


To set up your home performance business account, just go to this page, pick either "local business" or "company, organization or institution" and sign up. This is a tricky choice, since most home performance businesses aren't brick-and-mortar store-fronts, and yet are focused on specific geographic regions. You'll be asked to pick your businses name, enter your email address and choose a category. (There's no perfect category for energy efficiency professionals listed in the options; the closest we can find is "engineering/construction" under the "company" category, or "home improvement" under the local business category, but either of these should be fine for now. We can only hope that moving forward Facebook will give energy efficiency professionals their own category; and, if they do, you can always change your category later.)


Next, add a profile photo (we recommend using your company's logo for brand-recognition purposes). You can skip the "get fans" part for now, or import email contacts and invite them to like your page. 


Then just add some basic info: 



After that, your page is live, and you can add content and information and build a fan base as you go:




At this point, just ask a few of your friends and relatives to go "like" your page and recommend it to their friends.


You don't need to go crazy, either. It's a good idea to add fresh content regularly (pictures, videos if you have them, and anecdotes or quick home energy tips), but simply having your business listed is a good start. If happy customers want to tell you how happy they are in public, they can do it on your wall and other potential customers are more likely to see it and be influenced by it than if they sent you an email or told you in person. 


Snug Planet in Ithaca, NY and Horizon Residential in Maine are doing a great job of creating content and engaging on Facebook. Be sure to check them out for ideas. 


To get started, some content creation ideas for home energy companies on Facebook: 


  • Post photos from your "horror story" encounters in crawlspaces and attics.
  • Post "what's wrong with this picture" shots with glaring building science errors.
  • Talk about the cool project you're working on today.
  • Post a quote from a happy customer.
  • Discuss the results of your latest project -- air infiltration reduction, cost savings, etc.
  • Link to good articles around the web.
  • Post helpful Youtube videos.


Again, you don't have to go crazy here, but do make sure that you engage to a degree, as well: if someone posts on your wall or "tags" your business in a post, raving about their low utility bills or how their home is so comfortable, be sure to thank them. 


Any other questions, check out Facebook's help section.