Platform Facebook

Facebook Presence Plan

Use When

• Create or revise a Facebook-specific presence, growth or publishing plan.
• Translate a confirmed audience, offer and objective into channel decisions.

Do Not Use When

• The task is cross-channel operating procedure; use the closest playbook-* skill.
• The task is choosing channels or business direction; use strategy-channel-architecture.

Required Inputs

Capability and Permission Boundaries

Read supplied artefacts and search relevant evidence. Treat review, audit and planning as read-only. Editing the requested draft is allowed; publishing, messaging, production changes, personal-data processing, spending, destructive actions and certification claims require explicit authority. Use network access only for authorised verification.

Degraded Mode

If accounts, files, network, rendering or current evidence are unavailable, return the narrowest useful qualified Facebook channel plan plus an evidence-gap list. Mark each unavailable check not assessed; never convert it into a pass.

Decision Rules

Workflow

1. Confirm the consumer, objective, market, decision owner and permission boundary; stop if the objective or owner is missing.
2. Inspect supplied evidence and verify volatile claims; record missing inputs rather than filling them with assumptions.
3. Apply the decision rules, preserve useful existing material and draft the Facebook channel plan.
4. Test each action against platform, privacy, safeguarding, brand and approval constraints; stop and escalate a blocking risk.
5. Run the quality and anti-slop gates. If a check fails, correct the draft and rerun it before handoff.

Outputs

Evidence Produced

Quality Standards

Use British English and the specified market context. Recommendations must be executable with the stated capacity, current claims must be verified or qualified, and acceptance conditions must be observable. A worked example must use a labelled scenario, not fabricated client evidence.

Anti-Patterns

• Inventing a client fact, benchmark, budget or approval. Fix: cite the source or label the assumption and its effect.
• Copying one channel or client pattern unchanged. Fix: tie each choice to the named audience, objective and evidence.
• Stating volatile platform or legal details from memory. Fix: verify the current official source or omit the claim.
• Treating an inaccessible account, file or metric as healthy. Fix: mark it not assessed and bound the conclusion.
• Publishing, spending, messaging or changing production state from planning authority. Fix: obtain explicit action authority.
• Delivering actions without owner, timing or acceptance. Fix: assign all three or return the item as an unresolved gap.

References

• Anti-AI-slop production gate
• East African English standard
• Use the directly cited sources and companion skills in the domain guidance below; verify time-sensitive claims before use.

Required Input

Before generating this plan, collect the following from the client:

• Client name — trading name and legal name if different
• Industry — sector and sub-sector (e.g. retail: women's fashion)
• Country / city — default: Uganda / Kampala
• Primary goal — brand awareness / lead generation / community building / sales
• Target audience — age range, gender split, occupation, income bracket, location
• Current Page stats — follower count, average post reach, average engagement rate
• Products / services to feature — list the top 3–5 offerings with brief descriptions
• WhatsApp Business number — for click-to-WhatsApp posts and About section
• Posting frequency agreed — how many posts per week the client has capacity for
• Campaign dates — any launches, promotions, or events in the 30-day window
• Brand assets — logo file, brand colours (hex codes), existing cover photo if any

1. Page Optimisation Checklist

Complete every item before publishing content. An incomplete Page signals low credibility.

Profile photo

• Dimensions: 170×170px display; upload at minimum 400×400px for future-proofing
• Use the business logo for product and retail businesses; use a clean founder headshot for personal brands and consultancies
• Ensure the logo is centred with adequate padding — Facebook crops to a circle on mobile
• Use a white or brand-colour background; avoid busy imagery

Cover photo

• Dimensions: 820×312px; safe zone for mobile crop: 640×312px centred
• Include: brand tagline, one contact method (WhatsApp number or website), and one CTA ("Order via WhatsApp" / "Book a Consultation")
• Refresh the cover photo at least once per quarter or for major campaigns

About section

• Business description: 2–3 sentences incorporating primary keywords (product category + location)
• Include: physical address or service area, operating hours, website URL, WhatsApp number
• Username: set a vanity URL (facebook.com/businessname) — must be consistent with other platforms. The custom username can never be changed once set — choose carefully before the Page has more than 100 fans (Haydon, 2023)

CTA button Select the button that matches the client's primary conversion action:

• Service businesses (salons, clinics, schools): Book Now
• Consultancies and agencies: Contact Us or Send Message
• Retail and product businesses: Shop Now
• Any business with WhatsApp as primary channel: Send WhatsApp Message

Pinned post

• Pin the most commercially important post: current offer, welcome post, or top-performing post
• Rotate the pinned post monthly — stale pinned posts reduce trust
• Pinned post must include a clear CTA and contact method

Messenger auto-reply Set up both a welcome message and an away message in Page settings > Inbox.

Welcome message template:

"Hello [Name], thank you for messaging [Business Name]! We'll respond within [X hours/minutes]. In the meantime, browse our products at [website/link] or send us your enquiry and we'll get back to you shortly."

Away message template (outside business hours):

"Thank you for your message. Our team is currently offline but will respond first thing [tomorrow / Monday]. For urgent enquiries, WhatsApp us on [number]. We appreciate your patience."

Page settings checklist (complete before publishing)

• Unpublish the Page (Settings > Page Visibility) while building — publish only when all sections are complete
• Enable the Profanity Filter (Settings > General > Profanity Filter; select Medium or Strong) to auto-hide offensive comments
• Add a keyword blocklist under Page Moderation for sector-inappropriate terms, slurs, and competitor solicitation phrases
• Remove any unused tabs (Events, Notes, Offers) before launch — an empty tab signals neglect and reduces credibility
• Cover photo must not exceed 20% text — Facebook suppresses images above this threshold when they are used in paid promotion (Haydon, 2023)
• Never use URL shorteners in any post — full-length URLs generate three times the click rate of shortened links (Haydon, 2023)

2. Content Mix and Rationale

Apply this mix to maintain algorithm diversity and audience variety. Ratios are weekly targets.

Organic reach baseline: assume a maximum of 5% of Page followers see any given post without paid amplification (Goodwin, 2022). Plan posting volumes, boosting budgets, and reach expectations accordingly. On posting volume: over-posting drives 46% of users to unlike a Page; under-posting below twice per week drives 18% to unlike — consistency within the 3–5 post/week band is the goal.

Facebook Live: Live video generates six times more engagement than standard video; viewers watch three times longer (Goodwin, 2022). Use Live for product launches, Q&A sessions, and behind-the-scenes content. Announce at least 24 hours in advance via Stories and the Page feed. A brief post-Live replay pinned to the Page extends the reach over the following 48 hours.

Rationale (Hero/Hub/Hygiene model):

• Hero content (product launches, major announcements): 10% of posts — highest production value
• Hub content (series, recurring themes, tutorials): 50% — builds expectation and return visits
• Hygiene content (FAQs, quick tips, behind-the-scenes): 40% — always-on discovery content

3. Posting Frequency

Recommended: 5 posts/week for businesses in a growth phase. Minimum: 3 posts/week to maintain algorithm standing — below this, organic reach declines sharply.

Best posting times for Uganda (EAT, UTC+3):

Avoid posting on Monday mornings (low engagement) and Sunday evenings unless running a weekend promotion. Always post natively — do not schedule through third-party tools that reduce Facebook reach.

4. Facebook Groups Strategy

When to create a group:

• The business has an existing community (past customers, alumni, members) to migrate
• The business model benefits from recurring community interaction (training, coaching, associations)
• The client has capacity to moderate 3–5 times per week consistently

When to join existing groups instead:

• The business is new to Facebook and does not yet have an audience to seed a group
• The target audience already congregates in active groups (e.g. Kampala Entrepreneurs Network, Uganda Mums)
• The client has limited moderation capacity

Group setup (if creating):

• Name: descriptive and searchable — include the community identity and location (e.g. "Kampala Fitness Community by [Brand]")
• Description: who the group is for, what members will get, what is and is not allowed
• Privacy: Closed group — this controls quality and creates aspiration to join
• Cover image: 1640×856px — include group name and the brand logo

Community rules template (5 rules):

1. Be respectful — treat all members with courtesy; no personal attacks or offensive language
2. Stay on topic — keep posts relevant to [industry/community focus]
3. No spam or unsolicited promotions — share value first; direct selling is only permitted on designated days
4. Credit your sources — if sharing external content, name the original creator
5. Report, do not retaliate — if you see a rule violation, use the report button; do not engage aggressively

Content rhythm for groups:

• Post 3–5 times per week — discussion questions, tips, member spotlights, weekly prompts
• Apply the 80/20 rule: 80% community value (discussion, education, entertainment), 20% brand promotion
• Run a weekly recurring feature (e.g. "Monday Win: share something you achieved this week")

Moderation approach:

• Respond to member posts within 24 hours on weekdays
• Delete immediately: spam, hate speech, scam links, competitor solicitation
• Decline to engage publicly with trolls — remove the post and send a private message
• Ban members only after a first warning, except for hate speech or scam activity (ban immediately)

5. Click-to-WhatsApp Strategy

When to use click-to-WhatsApp posts:

• Lead generation for high-value products/services where a sales conversation is needed
• Direct enquiry for items without a fixed price (custom orders, consultations, quotes)
• Flash sales and limited availability offers that require immediate response

Post structure:

1. Strong product or offer image (clear, bright, include the price if known)
2. Caption: open with the offer in plain language → 2–3 lines describing the benefit → explicit CTA ("Tap the WhatsApp button below to order" or "Message us on WhatsApp: [number]")
3. Include the WhatsApp number in the caption text as well — some users will copy and dial manually

WhatsApp greeting message template (set in WhatsApp Business app):

"Hello! Thank you for reaching out to [Business Name]. You've messaged us about [product/service]. Please tell us:

1. What you're looking for
2. Your location (for delivery estimates)
3. Your preferred date if booking a service We respond within [X] hours. We look forward to helping you!"

Tracking without ads:

• Add a UTM parameter to any website link used in click-to-WhatsApp posts (e.g. ?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=whatsapp)
• Track the number of WhatsApp messages received after each click-to-WhatsApp post — log in a simple spreadsheet: date / post description / WhatsApp messages received within 48 hours
• Track enquiry-to-sale conversion rate monthly: (sales from WhatsApp enquiries ÷ total WhatsApp enquiries) × 100

6. Thirty-Day Content Plan

Deliver 5 posts per week. Adjust topics to match the client's industry and active promotions.

Week 1 — Establish and Educate

Week 2 — Build Trust

Week 3 — Engage and Grow

Week 4 — Convert and Retain

7. Community Management Response Templates

Respond to all comments and messages within 24 hours on weekdays and 48 hours at weekends. Every response must reflect the brand voice established in the 04-brand-voice-intake.

Positive comment or compliment

"Thank you so much, [Name] — this means a lot to us! We're glad you had a great experience. We hope to see you again soon. "

Product / service enquiry

"Hello [Name], thank you for your interest! Please send us a direct message or WhatsApp us on [number] and we'll give you all the details. We look forward to hearing from you!"

Complaint or negative comment

"Hello [Name], we're sorry to hear about your experience — this is not the standard we hold ourselves to. Please send us a direct message with your order details and we will resolve this promptly. Thank you for letting us know."

Offensive or inappropriate comment Do not engage publicly. Delete the comment immediately. If the behaviour is repeated, restrict the user from the Page. No public acknowledgement is required.

Competitor mention in comments

"Hello [Name], thank you for the question. We're only able to speak to our own products and services — feel free to send us a message and we'll help you find the right solution for your needs."

Press / media enquiry

"Hello [Name], thank you for reaching out. Please email us at [press/contact email] with your publication details and enquiry, and our team will respond within 2 business days."

Early comment management: The comments posted in the first 5–10 minutes after a post goes live set the emotional register for the entire thread — later commenters orient to the mood established by early responses. Monitor active posts in the first 30 minutes after publication. Counter-frame a negative early comment immediately with a measured, constructive reply; do not ignore it. A mocking or hostile comment left unaddressed in the first five responses anchors the thread tone for all subsequent participants (Farina, 2018).

8. Facebook-Specific KPIs

Track these metrics monthly. Use Facebook Page Insights for all organic data.

Review KPIs monthly. Present findings using the meta-reporting skill. Adjust content mix if engagement rate drops below 2% for two consecutive weeks.

9. Conversation Design: Writing Posts That Generate Comments

Facebook's architecture makes the opening post the most structurally privileged content on the platform — it is the only element guaranteed to be visible to all readers. All comments downstream are secondary; engagement depth drops sharply after approximately the fifth comment. Apply the following evidence-based principles to maximise comment generation (Farina, 2018).

The three requirements of an engaging opening post

Every post that generates comments must do all three of the following:

1. Tell something newsworthy — a vague status update or solo image without context reliably receives zero responses. The post must declare something: a result, an event, a surprise, a counter-intuitive fact.
2. Provide interpretive context — tell readers how to understand what you have shared. An unexplained image is a closed door; the same image with a framing phrase ("This is what our team achieved in 48 hours") is an open invitation.
3. Signal the expected response — make it explicit what kind of reply is welcome. A question, a fill-in-the-blank prompt, or a named reaction ("Tell us in the comments") invites specific responses rather than passive scrolling.

Evidence-based engagement tactics

• Use humour deliberately. Humour is the single most powerful engagement driver on Facebook — over 70% of comment-generating posts contain overt or covert humour. Posts that reward followers for "getting it" create in-group recognition and prompt public demonstration of that recognition (Farina, 2018).
• Tag specific people. Naming individuals in the opening post measurably increases response rates. A post that sat silent for 15 minutes in Farina's study generated immediate responses after the author added named recipients. Use this technique for community highlights, partner announcements, and client spotlights — with the named person's permission.
• Never post a standalone image without a caption. In every studied case, images without an interpretive caption or evaluative framing received zero comments — even highly attractive images. The caption is not optional.
• Use one-word-answer or fill-in-the-blank prompts. Simple, low-effort prompts ("Describe our city in one word" / "The best meal in Kampala is ___") consistently outperform complex questions (Haydon, 2023).
• Do not bury key content in comments. Information posted as a second comment on an existing thread is almost universally ignored — even by the original poster's own followers. Product details, offers, and testimonials belong in the opening post or a new post, not in the comments.
• Intervene early in active threads. Once a thread is live, later comments respond to the most recent comment rather than the original post. A brand's thread can drift far from its intended topic as community members chat among themselves. Post a second comment from the Page within the first five responses to keep the thread on-topic and signal that the brand is present.

Quality Criteria

Output meets the standard when it:

• Covers all 9 sections with specific, actionable guidance — no vague recommendations
• Uses the client's actual business name, industry, and product/service details throughout — not generic placeholders
• All posting time recommendations are given in EAT (UTC+3) and reference the Ugandan/EA audience context
• The 30-day content plan contains 20 posts (5 per week × 4 weeks) with format, topic, caption brief, and visual direction for each
• Community management templates are in the brand voice established in 04-brand-voice-intake and are ready to copy-paste
• All dimensions, character limits, and technical specifications are accurate as of the current platform standard
• KPI targets are referenced to industry benchmarks and adjusted for organic reach in the EA market
• Section 9 (Conversation Design) is present and includes the three opening-post requirements, humour as an engagement driver, the tagging technique, the standalone-image warning, and the early-comment management instruction
• British English is used throughout with no American spelling variants

References

Key citations used in this skill:

• Farina, M. (2018) Facebook and Conversation Analysis
• Goodwin, M. (2022) Facebook Marketing
• Haydon, J. (2023) Facebook Marketing for Dummies (5th ed.)