Do you have a service-based business? Did you know you can now highlight your top services right on your Facebook page? It’s new functionality, so it’s a little buggy, but worth jumping on the bandwagon because it looks pretty awesome and adds a lot of value to your Facebook presence.
First, let’s look at what you’re going to get. If you add some services to your page, visitors will see a list of the top 3 services pinned to the top of your page’s timeline, like this:
And if they click on the Services tab, or the “See all” link in the pinned box, they’ll see a full list of services, like this:
Cool, right?
Here’s how I added services to my Facebook page.
First, the Services tab shows up automatically for some business categories – but not others. So, you have to make sure your business page is in the right category. Unfortunately, there’s no comprehensive list (that I could find) of which categories have the service tab, and which don’t. I used to be categorized as “Companies and Organizations” with a Subcategory of “Internet,” which does NOT have the services tab. I changed this to “Local Business” with a subcategory of “Professional Services” and that worked – AFTER I entered a location (city and postal code).
I have heard that the services tab only applies to things under the Local Business category. That isn’t the best choice for businesses that are really location independent, like my own. But I thought having the services tab was important enough to make the switch.
Second, enter your services. Once you’ve changed your category to get the services tab to show up, click the tab and there’s a box at the top allowing you to create an entry for each service. For each, you can enter a name, a price, and a description (up to 200 characters only, so keep it short and sweet!). You can also add an image as an eye-grabber.
As soon as you enter a service, it will show up on your Timeline/main tab, pinned to the top. Your services appear on the services tab and in this pinned box in the reverse order of entry – that is, the last thing you entered will be at the top. So think about the order you’d like your services to be in, and make sure you enter the bottom of the list item FIRST, ending with the service you’d MOST Like to highlight.
Some important warnings!
Warning Number One! For each service on the services tab, there’s an Edit and Delete menu item – but looks like the Delete isn’t working. I’m sure Facebook is looking into it but for now, don’t add a service there unless you really, really want it to show up on your page.
Warning Number Two! I’ve heard that Facebook is still experimenting with which categories will and won’t get the services tab – so yours may suddenly go missing. If this happens, all the lovely text you entered describing your services will be gone forever. Your services text will also vanish forever if you change your category yourself to something that doesn’t support the services tab. So make sure you keep a copy of your hard-won services copy somewhere just in case.