Most entrepreneurs are actively marketing on Facebook. This week someone asked the question, “Why is it a good idea to have a business page as opposed to just having a personal profile page in Facebook?”
Why you Shouldn’t Use Your Personal Facebook Profile for Marketing
If you use your personal profile for marketing you are actually violating Facebook’s terms of service. Here’s the relevant passage:
“You will not use your personal timeline primarily for your own commercial gain, and will use a Facebook Page for such purposes.”
For those of you who like to rebel against authority, here are some differences that will affect your bottom line. Here is a side by side comparison on how using your business or personal profile differs.
| Facebook Profiles: | Facebook Pages: |
| Individual, non-commercial use | Offer tools for connecting people to topics they care about |
| Represents an individual person and must be held under an individual name | Managed by admins who have Profiles |
| Can be friended | Provide insights to help admins understand how people are interacting with the Page |
| Can be followed — to see public updates in News Feed | Can be Liked — to see updates in News Feed |
Now let’s dig deeper. Using your personal Facebook account profile can be limiting in many ways.
Search Engine Optimization and Branding
Facebook Pages with the proper keywords may have an easier time being discovered on search engines because of Facebook’s high traffic volume and online integrity. Search engines may pick up your name via your Facebook profile, but not necessarily the name of your business. This is not beneficial for search engine optimization purposes, and you will lose the potential of that SEO traffic. It makes more sense to use Facebook in a way that allows your business name to be attached to your Facebook activities and to be found by search engines
Privacy
Another core issue with using your personal Facebook account for marketing is privacy settings. If you want other people to see the information you are sharing on Facebook with your private account, they first have to be accepted by you as a friend. This is an extra step that delays that person from being able to interact with you. In today’s world, your audience expects they can hit an easy button for immediate gratification so it’s important that they have as few steps as possible to connect with your business.
Connecting
Facebook Pages feature tabs that can include very similar content to what is typically available on static websites. Great uses for Facebook tabs include a newsletter signup tab and a coupon tab for customers who like the page. These types of tabs can lead to increased sales and provide you with vital contact information to reach out to customers via email as well.
Building a deeper connection with your customers is another reason businesses should have Facebook Pages instead of using personal profiles. With branding and special apps for contests and online stores, businesses can engage with customers in a way they simply can’t do with a basic profile.
Mobile marketing
An additional benefit to Facebook Pages that many entrepreneurs are not aware of is how easily they can be used for mobile marketing. Mobile is no longer the next big trend in marketing, it’s a must-have marketing tool.
“Mobile apps, including the number 1 most popular app Facebook, eat up more of our time than desktop usage or mobile web surfing, accounting for 52% of the time spent using digital media. Combined with mobile web, mobile usage as a whole accounts for 60% of time spent, while desktop-based digital media consumption makes up the remaining 40%.” – Tech Crunch
Want to grab some of those internet surfers? Facebook Pages are already optimized for mobile viewers. More and more people are reading and making purchases from their mobile devices, so it is essential to create content that can easily be viewed on smaller screens in addition to larger computer monitors.
Effectiveness
Using a personal profile to keep in touch with family and friends is wonderful, but using it to promote your business may not be as effective as setting up a separate Facebook Page. Free and easy to create, Facebook Pages can bring the type of targeted attention and traffic to your business or website that just isn’t possible with your personal profile.
Already have a Facebook business page?
Great! Use the list below to review it and make sure it is everything it should be.
Activity is number one priority. If you aren’t constantly monitoring and responding to commenters, answering questions or providing a variety of new feeds, your page will not light up and come alive.
Don’t just post one type of content, instead provide varied, media-rich interactions. Experiment with several types of content and see what your audience loves best. Is it photos, videos, polls, or contests? Try them all and make note of the response.
See those tabs underneath your Facebook Page header? They are ready for some apps. If you haven’t replaced them with at least some the following, you are sabotaging your own Facebook Page:
- Events
- Sign up
- Sample chapter
- Free gift
- Contest
- Coupon
- Special offer
- Webinar
- Podcast
- Your “Photos” tab is immovable, but you can replace the other default App tabs with tabs of your choice – so make the most of this ability!
Brand your business by using your logo as your profile photo on your page or in your cover photo. If you’re branding yourself (e.g. you’re a coach) use a profile photo that reflects who you are when wearing your coach hat. If you’re branding a product, consider using a photo of that product, if your cover photo is different.
Create a customized cover photo. You are now allowed 20% text in your cover photos (header backgrounds) so put this to good use. Include a call to action, or call attention to an event. Use your tagline if it’s especially catchy. Be creative! But make sure your actual photo relates well to your main business message.
Make good use of your “about” section. What you can enter here is dictated somewhat by the category you chose when setting up your page, but again, think how you can make the most of this section. Include links or taglines or hit your audience between the eyes with arresting information or an incredibly relevant comment.
Don’t take any section of your Facebook Page for granted, but instead ask yourself on every element: “Is this section completely relevant to my main Facebook Page message? Can I remove, move or replace it?” Check out all the Apps available for Facebook Pages and make sure you install your most effective and relevant ones (i.e. Apps your audience will appreciate – and respond to).
Grow your business today by reaching and connecting with over 1.8 billion potential customers. Don’t skip Facebook pages because you just don’t have the time! Most, if not all, of these tasks, can be outsourced to a professional virtual assistant.
