Deciding to market yourself on Facebook is a pretty big
commitment. It will require page upkeep, regular posting and in some cases, the
ability to navigate Facebook advertising. Thankfully, the advantages of using
Facebook to market yourself are just as high. But once you’ve decided that
Facebook is right for you, you need to determine whether to move forward using
a Facebook Profile, which most people on Facebook operate under, or a Facebook
Page.
This article isn’t whether to have one or the other (as Facebook requires you
to have a Profile), but instead whether or not it is beneficial to have
BOTH.
What’s the Difference
Between a Facebook Profile and Page?
Simply, a Facebook Profile is a personal account on Facebook. Using your
Profile, you can add friends and family members, communicate on a personal
level, and share photos, videos, and life updates. Everyone who joins Facebook
gets a Profile, and you can only ever have one under your name.
A Facebook Page is an account that represents your business,
brand or product on Facebook. A Facebook Page allows businesses to promote
specials and contests to followers who have engaged with their page by “liking”
it. There is no limit to the number of Pages you can manage.
Personal Profiles
Below are the pros and cons for using ONLY a Facebook
Profile for your personal branding.
The Pros
- Ability
to Join Groups
Using your personal profile, you are able to join Groups on Facebook and talk
to like-minded people.
- More
Visibility from Friends
Posts are sometimes more likely to come up in your friends newsfeeds than your
fans because of Facebook algorithm changes.
The Cons
- Non-Commercial
Use
Personal profiles are for non-commercial use and represent individual
people. This is important to keep in mind when deciding to move forward with a
Page or Profile. If you use your
profile to share content for profit or not using an individual’s name, Facebook
can delete it.
- No
Analytics
If you’d like to see analytical data about
who is coming to or interacting with your Facebook, a Profile isn’t for you.
- Advertising
With a Profile, you don’t have the option
to advertise using Facebook. And with the Facebook
limit of only having 5,000 friends, you could eventually hit a wall in your
audience scope.
- Privacy
Another concern is that if you use your
Profile as your outward persona, you’ll no longer be able to use your Profile
as Facebook intended, for personal use. You’ll need to more carefully monitor
what posts you get tagged in by others and sharing family gathering photos may
not fit in with your business persona.
Pages
The Pros
- Less Commitment
Profiles force you to send a friend request before you can make connection,
which can be problematic as people are hesitant to hit ‘accept’ if they don’t
already know you. Pages, on the other hand, only require a “like” to start that
relationship with a fan, prospect or client.
- Advertise
and Measure
Facebook Insights allow you to track the positive impact and results of your
social media efforts. To improve those results, a Page also allows you to take
advantage of Facebook Ads, to launch contests and more.
- Scheduling and Other
Tools
With pages, you are able to schedule posts up to six months in advance. This
makes creating a content schedule easier and maintaining a Page more
streamlined. You have the ability to use apps (such as WooBox) to help host
contests and send traffic to your website.
Cons
- Low Organic Reach
Only a small portion of fans will see what you post unless
you advertise or if it goes viral. This can make it difficult to grow fans
organically.
Overall, Profiles and Pages look pretty similar, and with
recent changes, Pages are now able to communicate through direct messages with
people just like a Profile (although they’ll need to message you first). Since
Facebook allows the option to have a Profile and a Page, having both isn’t a
bad idea. You can use your Profile to join groups and communicate with people
on a more person level, then direct them to your Page, where you can keep them
updated on your business.
For more Facebook best practices, see our article: 3
Common Facebook for Business Mistakes.
Need help managing your business or personal brand on social media? Contact
Sales & Marketing Technologies today to evaluate your current social media
strategy and see what could work for you.