Facebook has become an invaluable tool in helping nutrition businesses of all sizes expand their online reach. These days, prospective nutrition clients are more likely than ever to find you on social media, and many would argue that having a compelling, meaningful, and attractive Facebook presence is MORE important than a website, for a nutrition private practice.

Social media sites, in particular Facebook and Instagram, provide a real-time, modern way to connect, and nurture, relationships with prospective and existing clients.

In this must-read blog post, we’ve broken down exactly how to use your Facebook Business Page to build your online brand, gain new clients, and grow your nutrition business. Plus, scroll down for a  “best practices” checklist to make sure that you have taken advantage of recent updates to Facebook’s business capabilities.

Step 1: create your Facebook business page

When launching a wellness business, you may find yourself as the face (and name) of your business. It can be conflicting when deciding whether to use your personal Facebook account, or a separate account, to represent your business.

In almost every case, there are clear benefits to setting up a Facebook Business Page, separate from your personal account.

Why? A Facebook profile requires prospective clients to add you as a friend, and you’ll in turn be able to see their account information. In general, people are leery about adding people they don’t really know as facebook friends, so chances are – if they don’t know you, they won’t add you.

Facebook pages on the other hand, are actually a separate page that you can manage. Prospective clients can “like” your page, and then see posts and notifications in their feed. Their Facebook accounts, however, remain private.

In addition, a Facebook Business Page will give you access to a host of additional features that a profile will not. List your business details, location, contact information, hours as well as gain access to marketing/publishing tools such as scheduling posts, utilizing Facebook ads and more.

Ultimately, a Facebook Business Page is a marketing tool that you can leverage to promote your nutrition practice, and reach prospective clients.

Here’s how to setup a Facebook business page:

• Click Facebook.com/business
• Click “Create a Page”
• Select the “Type of Company” > For most private practices, you’ll want to choose “Company, Organization or Institution”
• Enter other business information
• Click “Get Started”

Step 2: add content to your home page

Write a short description about you and your practice, add the link to your website, as well as your other social media handles, so viewers who like your content and are interested in your business can easily contact you.

Adding other pieces of information, like a mission statement, provides a convenient way for your followers to know more about you without clicking away from Facebook.

We recommend: Be authentic, personable, and genuine. Share your story in large amount of details, more detail than you think people we want to read. Vulnerability and approachability, while maintaining professionalism, go a long way, in offering prospective clients a way to understand what you offer. Share your “why” and highlight any values and credo you have established for your business.

Add your contact information, a profile picture, your logo, and other information for clients to get to know you.

Note: You can always add / update this section as you go (and expect that you will do so), so no worries if you want to start with some fundamentals, and grow from there.

Step 3: add services to your page

Facebook recently expanded their Business Page features, and now offers businesses the ability to add explicit services.

Specificity here is KEY. We recommend Copying and Pasting the core text of what you’ve already written in Healthie’s Client Packages, so that prospective clients can learn specifically about what you provide.

Step 4: write a pinned post for the top of your page

A pinned post remains at the top of your Facebook page, making it the most visible post on your page. Pinning a good post shows a new viewer exactly what you are passionate about and is a compelling way to draw in likes. You can only pin one post to the top at a time, so choose wisely!

How to: on a post, select the three dots in the top right corner, then “Pin to the top”.

Step 5: post consistently, and build a strategy

It’s one thing to build a page, it’s a whole other endeavor to make sure you are regularly posting content that is on brand with your business and your vision. However you have defined your brand, your Facebook Business Page needs to reflect this.

We recommend: Keep an internal Google Document or Spreadsheet, whereby you write out 10-15 posts. Get specific: the image(s) you’re going to share, the goal and message you’re trying to convey, and the language you are going to use to share your message. This ALL matters, and ALL adds up to your brand voice, and therefore, the impression you are leaving unto visitors of your Facebook page.

Step 6: invite people to like your page

Inviting your friends, colleagues, and other professionals in the field to ‘like’ your page sends them a notification. For frequently Facebook users, it’s hard to miss! Invitations are a great way to remind or inform your friends that you have a professional page and network. You never know who will know someone who can use your services.

We recommend: As you invite your family, friends, and colleagues, REMIND THEM THAT YOU ARE OPEN FOR BUSINESS! Post messages like “I am taking on clients that are looking for XXX. If you are interested, or know someone that may be a good fit, please Contact Me” (and link to your Healthie Client Packages link).

How to: click the three dots under the header of your Facebook page. Then click “Invite Friends.” Check off everyone you want to send an invitation to and click “Send Invites.”

Step 7: link your Healthie Calendar and Packages to the “Book Now” button

You can leverage Healthie to drive traffic to your website, by linking your packages directly on your Facebook page.  Healthie makes it easy to create shareable links (that can be embedded or sent as a link). You are also able to share all of our packages at once or share some / just one package at a time with a single link.

Healthie’s calendar and packages system can link directly with your Facebook Page, which will enable clients to automatically book appointments with you, from your Facebook page!

More instructions on how this is done can be found here.

Other best practices on Facebook

Consider using Facebook ads

Enabling Facebook Ads is a way you can promote your page to other Facebook users you are trying to target as clients. You may see ads in your news feed from other companies. Typically, they appear as a regular Facebook post, but are labeled as “sponsored.”

Facebook Ads can be an extremely effective way to market your practice, however, there is no guarantee that your ads will be successful.

Click here to find out more about Facebook Ads.

How to: go to www.facebook.com/business and click “Ads” on the top menu, then the “Create an Ad” button. You can pay for Ads through PayPal, credit, or debit.

Post videos more often

Today’s Facebook users rarely have the time or interest to read a lengthy post, regardless of  the subject matter. Posting short videos and eye-catching photos with brief captions are more effective ways to leverage Facebook to grow your business. Furthermore, videos receive more organic reach in News Feeds when compared to photos.

If you haven’t considered creating video content yet, the time is now! Facebook makes it easier than ever for you to produce your own video content with Facebook Live.

To promote your practice, while still providing value to your community, use Facebook Live as an educational opportunity. Choose a topic that fits with your niche, and do a 2-3 minute mini webinar on Facebook! This doesn’t just tell your audience what you do, but shows them how you operate as a counselor and educator.