A lot of local businesses set up a Facebook page years ago. They posted for a while, and then they got busy. The page is still there, and people still find it when they look you up.
That can cost you customers. A page with old hours, an old phone number, or no posts in two years can make a customer think you've closed. You don't have to post every day to fix it. You do have to keep the basics right.
What a customer sees on an old Facebook page
Say someone in Perkasie wants to train as an electrician. A friend tells them about a trade school in Quakertown, so they search for its name. The school's website comes up. So does its Facebook page.
They tap the Facebook page to get a feel for the place. The newest post is about an open house two springs ago. The phone number on the page rings to a line nobody answers. A parent asked a question in the comments last year, and it has no reply.
None of that is wrong on purpose. It's just old. But the person in Perkasie can't tell old from closed. So they look at the next school on the list, and they call that one instead.
Your Facebook page doesn't have to sell anyone. Its job is smaller than that. It has to show that you're open and easy to reach.
Four things to check on your Facebook page
Pull up your page on your phone, the way a customer would. Then look at these four things.
Your hours
Check them against the hours you really keep, holidays included. If the page says you open at 8 and you open at 9, someone will stand at a locked door. If your hours change with the seasons, change them here every time you change them anywhere else.
Your phone number and address
Call the number on the page. Make sure it rings to someone who picks up. Then check that the address is the one on your sign. If you moved a few years ago, the page may still send people to the old building.
The link to your website
Tap it. Make sure it opens your website as it is today. An old web address or a page that's gone makes a business look closed, even when it isn't.
Your newest post and any questions
Look at the date on your newest post. Then look for questions people left in the comments or sent you as messages. A question with no answer tells a customer nobody is watching. A message with no answer is a customer you've already lost.
How often you need to post
You don't need to post every day. For most local businesses, one post every week or two is plenty. What matters is that the newest post looks recent and real.
Post what a customer would want to know. A trade school might post the start date of its next class. It might post a photo of a student at the welding booth, or a reminder about the next open house. A real photo from your own shop does more than a polished graphic.
Write the way you'd talk to someone at the front desk. Name the towns you serve when it fits, like Quakertown, Perkasie, or Sellersville. A customer can tell when a business is from around here.
What to do if you can't keep up with it
Some owners know they won't post. That's all right. You can still keep the page from working against you.
First, fix the four things above. Then write one short post. Say you're open, give your hours and your phone number, and send people to your website for the latest news. Now the newest thing on the page tells a customer how to reach you.
The same goes for an Instagram account or any other page you set up and left. A quiet page with the right details is fine. A page that sends people to a dead phone line is not.
Where to start
This week, open your Facebook page on your phone. Check the hours, the phone number and address, the website link, and the newest post. Fix anything that's wrong, and answer any question that's been sitting there.
Then put a reminder on your calendar to look again once a month. It takes about five minutes. Check your Google listing at the same time, because it can change without you too.
Judge the page the way you judge the rest of your marketing: by phone calls, form fills, and booked jobs. If you'd like to know whether your website is set up to get found and called, our free site audit will tell you in plain English.