Sandi Krakowski is a digital marketing expert who helps businesses small and large use digital platforms like Facebook to build brand awareness, grow sales and increase customer loyalty. Recognized by Forbes as one of the Top 20 Social Media Women Influencers, in 2009 she founded A Real Change International in order to share her digital marketing experience with other businesses.

As we highlight in our recent success story about Sandi, Facebook has become an increasingly important part of her business. Using Facebook since 2012 to increase awareness of her virtual classes with small business owners and to teach and inspire her client base, Sandi has seen a 4x boost in revenue and 15x growth in clients.

“When I was first getting started on Facebook,” says Sandi, “I just used it as a way to talk about my products. But then over time my thinking changed. I started seeing the potential of having real-time interactions with other people, and the power of getting real-time insights on the content that was and wasn’t working with my audience. Now I see my Page as the most vital channel I have for reaching my customers.”

Over the next few weeks, we’ll be sharing tips from Sandi on how small businesses can use Facebook for themselves. Today, Sandi shares some thoughts on getting your Page up and running.

“Before you even launch your Page, do a little research and get inspired by other Pages already out there. Find some Pages on Facebook that would be similar to yours and study what they’re doing. And pay attention to what very big brands are doing in your niche, since that will give you your first clue in terms of what you should be posting on your Page.”

“Don’t be afraid to just get started — Facebook walks you through the steps and provides additional help resources so you don’t have to have every little detail set up perfectly. Just get going and learn as you go. I’d also say don’t be alarmed if you pick the wrong Page category. You’re not going to be penalized and Facebook makes it easy for you to change it. Over time you can go back with a fine-tooth comb and perfect these little areas. Getting started and learning how the Page works is really the important thing.”

“In your About section, your company overview should be very simple. Make it similar to the About page on your website. It’s also important to understand some keywords that should go into your description so that you’re easy to find. Of course, always put your phone number and your website address. It’s really just a matter of putting your existing business information on your Page.”

“Small business owners should always remember that people do business with people, they don’t do business with brands. I have found, from the small business owners that I’ve worked with, that if they put a picture on their Page — whether it’s of the team or a key figure that the audience would connect with — engagement often goes way up. People connect with people way before they connect with a brand. And if you have something that you’re really interested in your customers seeing, post that as a photo on your Page’s timeline.”

“For me, loving our customers is not a marketing thing. It’s truly about having a relationship with them. But that relationship is going to be different for each business. For a restaurant or a lawyer or the owner of a retail store, their business is the products or services they provide. Each business needs to understand its goals, find its own way to reach their customers, and then use Facebook to have a relationship with their customers that will help them achieve those goals.”