Choosing between a Facebook page and a Facebook profile can confuse even
the most tech-savvy small business owner. Chances are, you already have a
Facebook profile. This is where you get personal with your rants against the
universe or praise for your family. Maybe you share photos of your journey to
health via baked salmon atop a bed of slightly wilted lettuce. Perhaps you check
in to Flywheel twice a week or maybe it’s DBA BBQ. (Either way, we’re not
judging.) All in all, your profile is a fun place to hang out with you. But it’s not
where your clients should be hanging out—at least not most of them.
It’s important to keep your personal life and your professional life separate for the
most part. But that’s not the main reason to use a Facebook page for your
business. It’s not even in the top five. Below are the top five reasons to use a
Facebook page for your business.
1. FOLLOW THE FACEBOOK RULES
It’s against the Facebook Terms to use your personal account to represent
something other than yourself (ex: your business), and you could permanently
lose access to your account if you don’t convert it to a Page.
2. GROW YOUR CLIENT BASE, NOT A FRIENDSHIP CIRCLE
Your clients likely begin as strangers. This means they don’t want to get too
personal with you—and your obsession with barbecue. All they want are
incredible services or products, like the ones you offer. This barrier of a
Facebook page allows you to grow your business with professionalism.
3. INSIGHTS
Facebook profiles don’t allow you to see how many people have viewed your
posts or otherwise interacted with it. Facebook pages are designed for
businesses and organizations. Facebook offers features such as page insights
and page roles that help you connect with customers and reach your goals. Page
insights allow you to see metrics such as which posts people engage with and
visitor demographics like age and location. Page roles can let you give other
people access to edit your page.
4. ADVERTISING
On Facebook pages, you can create ads and boost posts. This includes driving
traffic to your website, growing your email list, running surveys and contests, and
so much more.
5. YOU LOOK BETTER
Seriously. If you don’t have a Facebook business page, it looks like your
business is out of touch with technology and social media users. Your absence
on Facebook—or choice to only use a profile instead of a page—may raise
questions about the development of your business and drastically reduce
customer trust.
Need help converting your personal account to a page, starting a new Facebook
page or building your Facebook following? We can custom-build a social media
support package for you. Email us at team@starboardcreative.com.
