At our Broken Bow Marketing Made Easy Workshop, we were asked by several local business owners whether they should create a Facebook profile or a Facebook fan page for their business. The answer is simple (and has its perks): a fan page!
First, what is the difference between a profile and a page anyway?
What is a Facebook Profile?
The purpose of a Facebook profile is for an individual person to connect with their friends and family to share updates about their lives. According to the Facebook Terms of Use, profiles are specifically for personal use. If they discover you are a business that is using a profile, it will be terminated. If you have a profile set up for your business, you are at risk of losing all of your hard work growing a fan base and posting updates.
What is a Facebook Fan Page?
Alternatively, the purpose of a Facebook page is for businesses (and several other entities) to broadcast information, special offers, etc. to fans in an credible and public manner. New fans can be captured through your current fans liking, commenting, or sharing your posts, and everything you share will show up in their News Feed. You also have the option to specifically target certain markets through ads.
Why should I start a Facebook Page for my business?
- Public vs. Private
Your updates on your Facebook profile are shared with only people you are friends with (depending on your settings). Facebook pages are open to the public via search engines. Pages are even visible to people who are not Facebook members.
- Unlimited Fans
On a profile, your friend limit is 5,000. On a page, the possibilities are endless - the more the merrier!
- Indexed by Search Engines
Both profiles and pages can be indexed by search engines (again, depending on your privacy settings). Pages have more opportunities to be optimized, though, since they can be customized with tabs and landing pages.
- Engagement Metrics
Facebook pages come with a free analytics tool called Facebook Insights. This allows you to track the people who like your brand. You can see everything from demographic breakdowns to engagement stats (comments, likes, etc.) to how many views your photos and videos are getting. This information is extremely valuable when measuring how your fan base has evolved over time.
- Website Integration
Facebook pages have widgets that you can use on your website to attract more fans to the page. Adding a Facebook Like Box to your website will allow site visitors to become fans of your Facebook page without ever leaving your site.
- Facebook Advertising Platform
Looking to tap into new markets? Facebook is a gold mine for demographic data - and it's all voluntarily given to you when a person creates a profile. You can expand your reach via Facebook’s advertising platform, which lets you create highly targeted ads based on demographic data, interests, location, and more.
- Sales Leads
People who like your Facebook page are explicitly telling you that they are interested in your brand. A person who becomes friends with you on a profile, may be more interested in you as a person then they are in buying from you.
Need help setting up a fan page for your business? Here is the link to get started on Facebook or you can call us here at 308-532-1111 for additional help!