Should You Choose Facebook Profiles, Pages or Groups for Your Business?
This is a guest post by Lior, a consultant for iAdvize who also works for an applicant tracking software company from New York.
Facebook, also known as the social network, is one of the fastest growing phenomena of the 21st century. The social media giant has captured a massive number of followers, growing by millions of users every month.
If you want online business exposure, Facebook is one of the best places to get it. Problem is, most business owners feel lost when faced with marketing on Facebook. Don’t worry. This article will help you on your way, so that you too can harness this growing network for your business.
The Big Question – Profile, Page or Group
You may be wondering which of the above is the right way to promote your business on Facebook. You are not alone in doing so. The choice becomes even harder as more tools and apps are introduced to the marketplace.
With over 500 million users active on Facebook one thing is crystal clear. You ought to be there.
Facebook is a fantastic branding tool for businesses. Think local Yellow Pages, only better. Facebook will give you exposure in your local market and lets you connect with your buyers and clients on the fly.
My suggestion is to consider three options: a profile (which you need anyway if you want to harness the power of pages), groups and pages.
Why a Facebook Profile is a Must-Have
When you first sign up for Facebook, you will be prompted to create your own profile. This profile will show your market a little bit of the private you and can be a powerful way to build trust with your peers.
If you’re hoping to hop on Facebook, slap up a page and get money thrown at you from eager buyers – forget it. It’s called the social network for a reason. Being social is key if you want some measures of Facebook’s success.
A profile will allow you to upload photos, link to your websites and connect with old friends and new (although it beats me why they call this being “friends” when we connect with strangers). You can also tell the world about your hobbies, likes and dislikes and keep control of it all with the right privacy settings.
Pages Are Great if Used Correctly
Business pages are a great tool to promote your services and products. But be mindful of how you promote yourself. The community doesn’t approve of users who throw up promotional link after link without making an effort to connect with others.
If you want to be savvy on Facebook, use the 80/20 rule. Use 80% of your messages to promote other people’s stuff and 20% for your own.
Groups Share a Common Interest
Facebook groups are great if you want to chat with a community of like-minded people. You will find anything and everything on Facebook, from sowing to fly-fishing and cooking.
Be mindful of some groups, though, as they simply use Facebook to promote their wares via private messages. The group administrator decides who will be accepted and who will be banned. As with profiles and pages you can upload and share photos, videos, notes and messages with your peers. You can even start your own group, but be aware that this could take up a lot of your time – especially if it becomes popular.
Still Not Sure?
If you’re still sitting on the fence about what Facebook account to choose, the following might help:
• Customization: If you want freedom to customize your look and appearance on Facebook then pages will allow you to use a gazillion apps to do that. There are apps for RSS feeds to display your blog feed (or several), apps to showcase videos, games, business apps and so much more.
• Messaging: If you have a group of up to 5,000 members you can send them direct messages whenever you want. It’s a bit like having your own list. Please don’t abuse this, though, as it will be reported by other members.
• Exposure: Facebook pages are crawled by search engines and they will be visible by people aren’t haven’t logged in to Facebook. This can give you more exposure. Groups are usually more private.
• Personal touch: If you’re looking to add a personal touch to your Facebook profile then groups are probably your thing. It’s a bit like having your own forum. This can be great if you sell a membership or have an existing clientele.
Do this… If you are a…
Facebook pages: a must-have for all businesses
Facebook profile: great for celebrities and service professionals like brokers, chefs and consultants
Facebook groups: fabulous for people looking for more privacy within a group of people
5 Responses to Should You Choose Facebook Profiles, Pages or Groups for Your Business?
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From a business point of view, when I think about Facebook, I think about it as the ideal place to start marketing your product and attracting people to your business. Basically everyone is on Facebook nowadays and if you are not there, it’s like your letting go of the opportunity to make your business successful. Facebook is the place to meet your existing customers, find new ones and it’s relatively cheaper as well as opposed to other forms of advertising.
Wez Bailey recently posted…What To Do If Your Tax Code Is Wrong
Thanks for your interesting post, Lior and the statistics you gave. Facebook is indeed an expanding platform where users from all nations interact. As Wez says, it’s a pity not to use it as a business tool. I recently started SMOing by blog, and made a Facebook page for my blog, which is very customizable as it gives different options. SMO is something now Google takes into account for ranking, as Matt Cuts said.
steven papas recently posted…World Of Warcraft Burning Crusade Collector’s Edition Review
I’m using my own profile page and at the same time a dedicated page for my website to promote its content and based on experience it’s very effective.
Vins@camping odsherred recently posted…Velkommen til Vesterlyng Camping!
I think it is very important to point out that using a profile to promote your business is against Facebook’s Terms of Use and can get you kicked off the site. So on a personal profile (where you add friends) it must be named as you the individual (Joe Smith) and NOT you as the business (Joe’s Plumbing).
Also, a profile is limited to only 5000 friends while a business page is unlimited. Not a huge consideration for most small businesses but if you have a national reach, it’s good to know.
Kelsey recently posted…Duble Chek Yur Speling- Spelling and Grammar Count on Facebook
These are all important things to consider when you’re comparing a business page to a personal profile. Thanks for pointing them out!