Dear Wonderful Followers,
So sorry I am have been off-line for a few weeks, working hard and preparing to teach a group class this Thursday (There is still space to join if you are in the NY area). To make up for my absence I am going to share some blogs over the next few days that I found and believe will add value to any entrepreneur. Today’s article brings us back to basics. For those of you using a personal Facebook page for your business, keep reading.
Today’s blog comes from Emma Lawrence. Emma is a web savvy PR and marketing expert who helps small businesses make it BIG online. If you want to make your business famous, then check out her website at www.emmalawrence.co.nz for more juicy online PR, marketing and social media tips.
Using Facebook for Business – Profile or Page?
by Emma Lawrence on January 26, 2012
Facebook is a great tool for promoting your business and connecting with customers, but unfortunately it 
often makes the headlines for all the wrong reasons.
Whether it’s concerns over our privacy or stories of creepy stalkers trawling Facebook for easy prey, one thing is clear: you need to very careful about who you share your personal information with online.
But what happens when you’re networking on Facebook for business?
You’ll often interact with customers, prospects and other connections who you’ve never met before, so it’s important that you keep those lines of communication open – and the door to your personal life closed.
Using Facebook Profiles and Pages
Facebook is set up in a way that enables you to keep your personal and professional lives separate. A profile is for personal use and allows you to control your own privacy settings (you “friend” a profile), and a page is for business use and is open to the public (you “like” a page).
If you have a Facebook profile set up under your business name, change it to a Facebook page!
Not only is it against Facebook’s terms and conditions to set up a personal profile under a business name (a profile must be in the name of an individual – if not, it could be shut down), but a profile is limited to 5000 friends – once you reach that number, that’s it. No more friends for your business. However, “Likes” on your business page are unlimited.
So to keep things simple, use your Facebook profile for interacting with friends and family who you know in “real life”, and set up a Facebook page for your business.
Of course, this doesn’t mean that you can’t still promote your business on your personal profile by posting updates and sharing content, but your personal profile must represent you as an individual.
Bridging the Gap
There is one area of your Facebook profile that you absolutely MUST update with your business details so that people can easily find your Facebook page when they interact with you – and that’s your Work section.
Here you can link directly to your Facebook business page. This link is included in the basic public information that anyone can view when they click on your profile, so it allows any visitor to your profile to click through to your business page and learn more about what you have to offer.
Including this link on your profile also makes it easy for other Facebook page owners you’re networking with to “like” you back – they can simply view their list of page “likes”, click on your profile, and then click on the link to your Facebook page to check out your business and “like” you back if they wish.
If you do not have a Facebook Business Page or it is not set up with a snazzy welcome page, make sure to learn more about Day Business Design’s Facebook Page Designs. Now we have one more article for you that I believe links with the one above.
A New Way to Communicate on Facebook
by Emma Lawrence
The changing face of Facebook keeps us all on our toes.
Just when you think you’ve got to grips with how it all works, the social media giant hits us with another viagra resulting in panicked calls to “Bring back the old Facebook” and more concerns over privacy.
But while change can be an uncomfortable learning curve, especially in the technology world, it can be a good thing for your business.
In this week’s training video, I talk about the new subscribe feature and how this can benefit your business activity on the web.
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