Facebook is a great tool for keeping in touch with your personal network. But did you know you can also set up a Facebook page to promote your business? Continue reading to learn how.
Even though Facebook allows companies and businesses to use their services for promotion, there are differences between a personal profile and a business page. In fact, Facebook’s terms of service don’t allow personal profiles to be used for professional purposes. And, when it comes down to it, there’s really no need to. Business pages offer so many benefits that are not available for personal profiles.

Business-Relevant Information

Facebook’s pages are designed specifically to present information about businesses and companies. Unlike personal profiles, business pages don’t ask you for your company’s birthday or gender. Instead, you’re prompted to choose a category, and add a founding date, a mission statement, etc.
Facebook’s options for business pages also let you add information about your company, an option that’s not available for personal profiles. Whether it’s a list of products or services or a video introduction, you can customize your business page to let others know about your company.

>5,000 Fans

Personal profiles are limited to 5,000 “friends.” Why would you want your business page to have a limited audience? The point of social media, after all, is to expand your company’s network. Even if you’re a one-person business, surely you want to reach the most number of people (ie., prospective customers) as you can. One of the most important reasons for having a business page is that it allows you to gain unlimited fans.

Online Traffic Analysis

A very important feature of business pages is Facebook Insights. This is an application that gives you information about your customers, and how they interact with your Facebook page. It lets you see what’s working and what’s not. It’s valuable data that’s available only for business pages.

Admin Roles

The ability to assign admin roles to help you manage your Facebook business page is a time-saver. You can allow others to be your co-admin and assign specific roles based on what you want them to do. For example, you may choose to have an employee or marketing agency do some of the tasks for you, so that you’re free to focus on other aspects of your business. The available roles are Manager, Content Creator, Moderator, Advertiser and Insights Analyst. Even if you have several people, or an outside consultant, helping you manage your page, you still control how much access they will have to your account. With a personal profile, the only option is to give them your username and password.

Deals and Advertising

Facebook wants to help businesses gain a healthy online following. One of the ways they do this is by making it easy to advertise and offer deals. Facebook Offers lets your business promote a sale or special pricing. Promoted Posts are paid options that let you reach a wider audience. Neither of these is available for personal profiles.

Work-Life Balance

Many small business owners juggle work responsibilities and family life. This challenge extends to web interactions as well. So why combine your personal Facebook profile with that of your business? Keeping them separate allows you to effectively promote your business online, while still enjoying private interactions with your family and friends.
A Facebook page for your business is simply the right choice over a personal profile. Notwithstanding the terms of use, the many advantages it offers lets you launch, and manage, your Facebook presence more effectively. It’s what we use for our company and as a brand manager for small businesses. If you need guidance or help in managing your Facebook page, give us a call or send us an email.