Yes, a small business almost certainly still needs a Facebook Page, but it may not need to post on it much. If you’ve posted on your Page lately and watched it reach a few dozen people out of a thousand followers, you’re not doing it wrong. That’s how Facebook works for business pages now. The feed favours friends, groups and content Meta thinks will keep people scrolling, and posts from Pages mostly reach a small slice of followers unless you pay.
So it’s fair to ask whether it’s worth the effort. The Page itself is; daily posting often isn’t.
Why you still need the Page, even if you never post
There are reasons to keep a Facebook Page that have nothing to do with the news feed.
People check it. Plenty of customers, older ones especially, look a business up on Facebook before calling, the way others check the Google reviews on your Business Profile. A Page that hasn’t moved since 2021 looks closed.
It’s the base for Meta ads. Meta’s advertising tools are built around a Facebook Page. Even if every ad you run shows on Instagram, the Page sits behind it.
Messenger enquiries. Some customers will message you rather than call or fill in a form. If the Page exists and nobody’s answering, those enquiries quietly die.
Recommendations and reviews. People still leave them, and they show on your Page for anyone who looks.
Local groups and events. In regional towns especially, the community Facebook group is where people ask “can anyone recommend a sparky in Alstonville?” Your Page (or your personal profile) is how you get tagged in those threads. Events listed on Facebook still get shared locally in a way that’s hard to match elsewhere.
Deleting the Page is rarely the right call. The real question is how much energy to put into it.
Three ways to run it
1. Keep it active
This is worth doing if:
- Your customers skew older or very local, and they tell you they saw something on Facebook
- You run events, specials or anything time-sensitive that people share
- You’re a pub, club, café, restaurant, venue or community-facing business
- You get regular enquiries through Messenger
- You’re in local Facebook groups already and people know you there
Pubs and venues are the clearest case. Live music, specials and events are exactly what a venue’s audience looks for on Facebook, and venue photos like the ones we shot for the Lennox Hotel give those posts something worth stopping for. For that kind of business, Facebook is an events calendar and a noticeboard as much as a social channel.
Active doesn’t mean daily. Two or three posts a week, events created as proper Facebook Events rather than just a post, and someone answering messages within a day. Facebook-native content does better than links: photos of the night, short videos, a post that asks a question locals want to answer.
2. Cross-post from Instagram
This suits most small businesses that are putting real effort into Instagram. You post once, it goes to both, and Facebook gets fresh content without extra work.
The easiest way is through Meta Business Suite, which lets you create and schedule a post for Instagram and Facebook together. A few things to adjust so cross-posting doesn’t look lazy:
- Hashtags. They do little on Facebook. If your Instagram caption ends in a block of them, trim the Facebook version.
- “Link in bio.” Means nothing on Facebook. Put the actual link in the Facebook post, or just leave the line out.
- Tags. Tagged Instagram accounts don’t always carry over correctly. Check the Facebook version.
- Reels. Short video cross-posts well, and in our experience Facebook shows Reels to non-followers more readily than ordinary Page posts.
Cross-posting keeps the Page looking alive, which is most of what Facebook needs to do for many businesses. Our weekly Instagram plan for local businesses is built so it can feed Facebook at the same time.
3. Let it idle, properly
For some businesses, Facebook just isn’t where the customers are. A B2B consultancy, a specialist manufacturer, a professional practice that gets work through referrals and LinkedIn. That’s fine. But there’s a difference between an idle Page and an abandoned one.
An idle Page that’s still working for you has:
- Current hours, phone number, address and website link
- A cover image and profile picture that match your current branding
- A pinned post that says what you do and how to get in touch, so the first thing visitors see isn’t a 2022 Christmas closure notice
- An automated Messenger reply that points people to your phone number or contact form
- Someone checking messages and notifications once a week
- An occasional post, monthly or even quarterly, so it doesn’t look closed
That takes about 15 minutes a week. It’s worth it.
Where paid fits in
If you want Facebook to reach people beyond the small slice who see Page posts, you’ll pay. The good news is that a small, well-targeted budget can work for local businesses, particularly for events, openings, seasonal offers and recruitment. The bad news is that the blue “Boost” button is usually the least effective way to spend it. Our guide on boosting a post versus using Ads Manager explains why.
How to decide
Look at the last three months and answer honestly:
- Has anyone told you they found you, or heard about something, on Facebook?
- Have you had enquiries through Messenger?
- Do your best customers use Facebook (ask a few)?
- Do you run events, specials or anything people would share?
- Are you active in local groups where your customers ask for recommendations?
Three or more yes answers: keep it active, with Facebook-specific posts and events.
One or two: cross-post from Instagram and keep messages answered.
None: let it idle properly, using the list above, and put your time where your customers actually are.
Whatever you choose, fix the basics today. Check the hours, the phone number and the website link on your Page, because those details are what most people look at.
Running Facebook and Instagram alongside a business is a lot of small tasks that add up. Our social media management service can take on the posting, the events and the messages, or have a chat with us about which channel deserves your time.