Fan Pages, Not Profiles

Posted on June 24, 2010

Many people create a Facebook personal profile for their business. Why is that? I think because it seems easier and is more familiar for them. But below I list five reasons why you should create a Facebook Fan Page instead:

1. If you’re creating a page for your business, you want it to be public, not private. You want as many people to find it as possible. In most cases, your fan page is visible to everyone. (The exceptions
   are if you set a minimum age limit OLDER than age 13 – then people must log in.) A personal profile, on the other hand will be more private.
2. For a fan page, you want fans not friends. You want people to like your page. With a personal profile, you have to approve every friend. For a fan page, you don’t want to worry about that, you just want people to like your page. As people like your page, your page will show up on the personal profiles of their friends too; ultimately bringing you more fans.
3. You don’t want a limit on the number of fans for your page, do you? A personal profile is restricted to 5,000 friends. Better to start with a fan page and then you’ll never have to worry about that limit. Plus once you have a personal profile, you’ll have to start over to get fans for your page.
4. Two words: Search Engines. Personal profiles are, by definition, not indexed by Google and other search engines.If you have a page for your business, you’ll want it indexed by the search engines. Fan pages are always index-able by search engines.
5. One word: Advertising: You can advertise your fan page to reach more people. You can base the advertising on demographics: age, sex, profession, etc.

It may seem harder to create a fan page, but in the long run you’ll be glad you went that way to begin with. If you start with a personal profile, you’ll one day see the need to create a fan page instead.

Facebook – Mixing Business & Personal

Posted on February 9, 2010

There’s an awful lot of talk on this subject. You have a Facebook account to keep up with your friends. But you also wind up with business associates as Facebook friends. (The whole topic of the use of the word ‘friend’ by Facebook is left for another day.)

Was it just coincidence that I saw these two tweets in my twitter stream, one after the other?

From Alicia Arenas

Thank you! RT @JesusNeedsNewPR: Dear Facebook Friends: I like you, really, I do. But I do not want your Facebook Valentines.

Followed by this from BKMcDaddy Designs

A Freelancer’s Guide to Professionalism on Facebook – http://bit.ly/cPzUYs

In the Freelancer’s Guide, there are suggestions for using Facebook lists to control what you post to whom.

There are good reasons for mixing business with personal on Facebook, but it does mean you need to think carefully before you post. I had one friend (real friend, oh, and business associate) mention a problem she had recently with Facebook. Seems that an old friend posted something from the past that my friend really didn’t want made public. (Sometimes it’s true – What happens in the past, stays in the past.)

Then there’s this great advice on the Dos and Don’ts for Job Searchers on Social Media. Lettergirl has a couple of good points in there!

Lots of good advice out there. I think number one on the list is to think before you post.

BMPR December Tweetup

Posted on December 10, 2009

Yes, I’ve actually attended a number of Tweetups since July of this year. Seemed like Social Media wasn’t going away so I thought I would get involved. And, it’s been incredibly fun.

So, what is BMPR? It’s the Business, Media & Public Relations Tweetup group in San Antonio. They only started this past spring, but seems to be growing rapidly.

What happens at a Tweetup? It’s different. Aren’t many business cards passed. AND, it’s one of those rare meetings where playing with your cell phone is allowed – even encouraged. Everyone uses the hashtag #BMPR in Twitter. Even people that can’t make it can follow along with what’s happening.

They have several speakers and the topics are about social media – how a particular business uses Social Media. You can read about the speakers on The BMPR web site. The coolest part was that Sea World brought an owl and a wallaby to the meeting. They were big hits and probably never want to see phone cameras again. We’re still working out how it is that owls and wallabies are at Sea World. Are they aquatic?

If your in business in San Antonio and are using (or interested in using ) Social Media, then you should consider a BMPR Tweetup. I’ll post the invite for the next one!