Facebook Business Page, Not Your Facebook Profile - Every Time

Business No-Brainers: Why You Should Use A Facebook Business Page Not Your Facebook Profile!

I was compelled to write this three-part article after meeting so many business owners who have not yet realized the benefits of a Business Page for their brand, products, or services and are, in my opinion, really missing a trick. And then there are those who either misunderstand the separate entity concept of a Facebook Business Page or mistakenly think that it gives people a portal to their private lives online. I have even met business owners who, to my dismay, have set up multiple Facebook accounts with separate log-ins – so much unnecessary work for them.

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Contents Summary show

1. Personal vs. Private

A Facebook Profile and Business Page are (nearly) mutually exclusive and lead very separate lives providing you always remember to post updates as your Page. Whilst there is a limit to what is ‘public’ on your Facebook Profile unless somebody is friends with you, if you are still concerned about the distinction, it doesn’t do any harm to lock down the settings even further if you wish to – Facebook gives you the flexibility and control to do this.

On the flip side, putting yourself in the shoes of your family and friends, they probably don’t want to see an update on your business every time they log in to Facebook, same as you wouldn’t want to read about a friend’s job every time you did. Of course, if they have chosen to Like your Business Page, then it’s a different story, but keeping the two separate in the first place gives everybody the option and upholds an individual’s preferences. Thereafter you have one universal log-in, and there is no limit to the number of pages you can create and administer.

It’s Not About You!

There is nothing more frustrating than clicking on a Facebook icon on a website for it to take you to somebody’s Facebook Profile then. This looks amateurish and as if you don’t have a handle on using Facebook for business. I have lost count of the number of times this has happened to me, and when it does, rather than taking the time to find out if there is, in fact, a separate Page, I turn off and close the webpage Page Papi.

I am not personally in the habit of sending friend requests to people I don’t know, but say in this instance, I did? So, I’ve landed on a Facebook Profile by clicking on the Facebook follow button on a website and sent a friend request. This has now been accepted. BUT I still don’t receive business updates, but rather the photos, comments, friend updates, etc., of not only the person in question but their friends as well, who I equally don’t know from Adam. Have I made my point?

Brand Newsfeed

A Page Newsfeed or Timeline is the equivalent of your Email Marketing on Facebook and underpins your success in reaching and engaging with people. Think of it as a person’s inbox to which you deliver your entire Business Page-related news, i.e., a Newsletter to which Fans have subscribed. With the bonus of a far lower unsubscribe rate, no reliance on subscribers forwarding it to their friends (albeit with an incentive for doing so built-in), it is far less time-consuming to keep up to date, and a sentence or two is all it takes for you to obtain new Fans and increased exposure potentially.

But let’s also not forget the reverse, because what you read from others in your own Page Newsfeed will not only provide a wealth of inspiration and material for your own content ideas but also provide further opportunities for you to comment on the posts of others and be seen by their Fan/Friends.

The bottom line is that without your Page Newsfeed, you wouldn’t be seen or noticed on Facebook – it really does embody the Domino Effect! In essence, your Page Newsfeed equals increased exposure for your business/brand, invaluable insights into what you are saying most resonates with people, and ample opportunities for conversations with new audiences. Just make sure that you are using Facebook as your Business Page to comment/post on the Business Pages of others.

Tagging & Commenting As Your Page

Isn’t it great when your friends and family Tag you in photos you didn’t know you were in or at a location you were both at? All well and good, but imagine if your Facebook Business Page name could only be Tagged or commented on by them – it would be a minimal audience, right?

Well, it’s a good job that this isn’t the case. Another highly advantageous feature of Pages is that in addition to those who Like your Page, any Business Page owner can Tag/comment on your Business Page, which opens it right out to a viral audience. And of course, each time they do this, you maximize the number of Newsfeeds your Business Page name appears in and ultimately not how many Fans see it but their own Fans too, which offers rich pickings in terms of engagement and new fans.

The Sky’s The Limit!

Did you know that a Facebook Profile is limited to 5,000 friends? Not that I know anybody with that number, and if I did, I’m pretty sure they’d be too thinly spread to ever spend any time with yours truly!

A Facebook Business Page is a different story with no limit to the number of Likes it can receive. Whilst 5,000 friends on a Facebook Profile might be met with scorns of derision about its authenticity; if you’ve got 5,000 or more Likes on your Business Page, you’re going to be held in pretty high regard. But why stop there?!

Google Search Results

Whilst it is key that your online activity focuses on driving traffic back to your website, Social Media is the lifeblood of your overall online presence. Facebook Pages are indexed by Google, which means that they are optimized for search engines. So the more active you are, the more visible your business will be in a search resulting in an increased online presence and active and prolific impression on Social Media.

And The Winner Is…

Who doesn’t love a freebie?! Contests/Competitions are a great way to build engagement with your followers/fans and incentivize other people to Like your Business Page and share your content, making them an instant ambassador for your brand or business.

In my humble opinion, they are one of the most fun and creative Facebook Business Page features and something else that a Facebook Profile cannot offer. The main reason for this is that they are generally only available via Apps or Advertising, which Profiles do not offer the software for and, in the case of Apps, generally only installable to Facebook Tabs (see 12.), another exclusive Business Page feature. Contests are a really effective way of incentivizing people to share your Business Page or content and grow your Likes. Enough said?

Featured Likes

Simply clicking on the ‘Like Pages’ link on the left-hand side of your screen allows you to choose from a list of Pages under various categories, including Brands & Products and Companies & Organisations. This enables you to showcase the pages of other brands/businesses that you Like – providing an insight into your brand/business and its interests and showcase the Pages of those businesses you have Liked, which should also encourage reciprocity by those businesses. Of course, businesses similar to you or those with whom you have an affiliation or association, such as complimentary services, trusted suppliers, and so on, are always going to have maximum impact.

Business Page Owners

As with the content management system of a website, an Administrator of a Business Page can delegate administration rights to other Facebook account holders with a tier of different permission levels, which as well as allowing you to work smarter and free up your own time to focus on other areas of your business, provides an additional level of security because you don’t have to give them the username/password for your own Facebook account.