When you create a Facebook Page, Facebook asks you to choose a category. The page category shows up in Facebook’s search results, so it’s important to get it right.
Many people have had a nasty surprise when they discover that Facebook doesn’t (currently) allow you to change the category once the page has been created. The only way to change categories is by deleting your Page and starting a new one – and if your Page already has fans, that could be a big problem.
It’s also very important to know that the fields on the Info sub-page are different for each category. The “Local” top-level category only offers a very limited set of fields, which may make it difficult to describe your business the way you want to.
You can send visitors who are not yet Fans to a sub-page of your choice, so the first thing they see could be a Note which describes your company, or a custom sub-page created with FBML, Facebook’s markup language. So all is not lost if you choose the wrong category. But careful selection of the category in the first place is a good idea.
There are three top-level categories:
Local
Brand, Product or Organization
Artist, Band or Public Figure
Within each main category are a number of sub-categories.
Local
Other Business
Automotive
Automotive Dealer/Vehicle Service
Banking and Financial Service
Bar
Cafe
Club
Convention Center and Sports Complex
Education
Event Planning Service
Grocery
Health and Beauty
Home Service
Hotel/Lodging
Library/Public Building
Medical Service
Museum/Attraction
Park
Pets
Professional Service
Real Estate
Religious Center
Restaurant
Store
Technology and Telecommunications Service
Travel Service
Info Fields
Basic Info:
Address
City/Town
Zip
Phone
Hours
Detailed Info:
Website
Parking
Public Transit
Brand, Product, or Organization
Products
Airline/Ship/Train Station
Communications
Consumer Product
Fashion
Film
Financial Service
Food and Beverage
Game
Government
Home Living
Hotel/Lodging
Non-Profit
Online Store
Pharmaceutical
Professional Service
Religious Organization
Rental Cars
Retail
Sports/Athletics
TV Show
Technology Product/Service
Travel
Website
Info Fields
Basic Info:
Founded
Detailed Info:
Website
Company Overview
Mission
Products
Artist, Band, or Public Figure
Other Public Figure
Actor
Athlete
Band
Comedian
Critic
Government Official
Model
Musician
Politician
Sports Team
Visual Artist
Writer
Info Fields
Basic Info:
Affiliation
Address
City/Town
Zip
Phone
Birthday
Detailed Info:
Website
Personal Information
Personal Interests
Contact Info:
Email
It’s obviously best if your business fits neatly into a sub-category. As I mentioned, the fields available in the “Local” top-level category are very limited, with no text field available to describe your business properly.
The Product category offers a useful “Company Overview” field as well as a “Mission Statement” field. Why Facebook thinks that local businesses don’t need fields like this is a mystery. Of course, things do change and I’m sure that at some time in the future it’ll be possible to change the category for your Page on a whim!
Choosing The Right Category For Your Facebook Page
When you create a Facebook Page, Facebook asks you to choose a category. The page category shows up in Facebook’s search results, so it’s important to get it right.
Many people have had a nasty surprise when they discover that Facebook doesn’t (currently) allow you to change the category once the page has been created. The only way to change categories is by deleting your Page and starting a new one – and if your Page already has fans, that could be a big problem.
It’s also very important to know that the fields on the Info sub-page are different for each category. The “Local” top-level category only offers a very limited set of fields, which may make it difficult to describe your business the way you want to.
You can send visitors who are not yet Fans to a sub-page of your choice, so the first thing they see could be a Note which describes your company, or a custom sub-page created with FBML, Facebook’s markup language. So all is not lost if you choose the wrong category. But careful selection of the category in the first place is a good idea.
There are three top-level categories:
Within each main category are a number of sub-categories.
It’s obviously best if your business fits neatly into a sub-category. As I mentioned, the fields available in the “Local” top-level category are very limited, with no text field available to describe your business properly.
The Product category offers a useful “Company Overview” field as well as a “Mission Statement” field. Why Facebook thinks that local businesses don’t need fields like this is a mystery. Of course, things do change and I’m sure that at some time in the future it’ll be possible to change the category for your Page on a whim!
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