Facebook has been an excellent platform for marketing for years. Business owners have been building a customer base through personal profiles for some time until a new feature was introduced, business pages. Facebook business pages have proved to be more effective in customer connection. But how to operate the old and the new has gained various concerns.
We keep receiving a lot of questions regarding Facebook personal profiles and business pages.
Questions like-Do I need a separate Facebook page for business? Or how do I separate my Facebook profile from my business page?
All these questions revolve around these two- What is the difference between a Facebook personal profile and a business page, how do I deal with each?
Personal Profiles vs. Business Pages
Personal profiles are for personal social relations. Your personal profile is meant to present you as “You” and not a business. That’s where you share your adorable dog photos and vacation videos with friends and family. Anything personal should be posted on your Facebook profile. Alternatively, Facebook business pages are all about your brand and the services/products you offer as a small business owner. On the business page, you present yourself professionally, invite potential clients and share relevant things related to your business.
Note; You might be thinking that you can start using your personal profile for business. It is against Facebook’s Terms of Service to use your personal profile for your business, and you also won’t benefit from all the promotional features a business page has to offer. If you are interested in including friends and family to view your business page, you can invite them personally through your Facebook business page. However, you must ensure that you have grasped the art of keeping business and personal content separate.
Do I need a Facebook profile to create a business page? Yes. If you have a personal profile, you need to create a business page with that account. You are not allowed to create two different personal accounts and use one for business. They can be both disabled. With a personal account, you can create multiple pages. Your primary concern maybe if you can keep your personal information private from your business page. The answer is yes you can. No one has to know the true identity of a business page administrator.
We have compiled some main practices and how to deal with them when working with the
business pages and personal profiles.
1. Sharing Updates
You may be sharing something in your business page that your personal social circle may find it useful.
In this case, you can share some of your business page posts in your personal profile.
2. Subjective Views
Sometimes we all get carried away by various social topics that we get excited in talking about our
opinions. Personal views should be posted on the personal timeline and not a business page. As much as
you sometimes want to be known for who you are, you should decide to keep things professional on
your business page. This is to avoid irrelevant arguments that may push clients away and even ruin your
brand.
3. Language
Whatever your business page is about, it’s essential to keep your language jargon-free. As much as you
are a beloved lawyer, people won’t understand many complicated terms you can use. If you audience
doesn’t understand what you are saying, they will bounce to the next similar page. To avoid this, you
should simplify the language you use as much as possible.
4. Access to personal profile
Your business prospects may not like what is on your personal profile due to the difference in social
mindsets. To avoid clashing of personal opinions, you should restrict personal profile access to ”friends
only”.
5. Relevance with engagement
A business page is not for marketing only. It’s also for you to connect and engage with your prospects.
This means that regular posting of relevant, engaging information is vital. This will even lead to a bigger audience.
In a Nutshell; Choosing the right Facebook platform for your business requires a cautious approach. Depending on what type of business you have, choosing some combination of a personal profile, business page, and group can help you succeed in achieving your business goals.
That said, if you could use some help running your Facebook Business Page, we’re always here to help!