Stop! Don’t open a personal page for your business

There’s a terrible misconception out there that Facebook ignores businesses that don’t advertise. Many people think the best way to avoid that is to shut down their business page and instead promote their business on a personal profile.

The first part is true. The days of growing a large following for your business without spending a dollar are gone. But setting up a personal page and asking your followers to come across is really, truly, not the answer.

Here are ten good reasons why you should have a business page instead of a personal page:

1. You are not allowed to use a personal profile for commercial use and could one day get shut down. And once it’s gone, it’s gone forever.
    
2. It looks unprofessional and lacks the business detail people expect. For starters, you can’t add your business’ opening hours, prices, or location.
    
3. You know the saying ‘don’t mix business with pleasure’? It applies online too - people are far less likely to add your business as a ‘friend’.
    
4. Your newsfeed will be full of random people’s kids, meals, and garden projects. I always recommend getting to know your customers, but this might be a bridge too far!
    
5. You are limited to 5000 friends but a business page can have unlimited followers. Dream big - there’s no reason you couldn’t grow that sort of online community.
    
6. People cannot check in at your business if it is a personal page, nor can they write reviews. Both of these help with your visibility in search engine results. More importantly, they provide the ‘word of mouth’ that businesses crave.
    
7. You cannot directly schedule your posts. Your time is precious, and I’m all about working smarter, not harder, on social media strategy.
    
8. You can not use the incredible targeting and audience profiling to run ads. If you haven’t used these before, I can get you up and running - it will transform how you view your Facebook page.
    
9. You have no access to the amazing tools, plug ins, apps and insights that Facebook offers. Again, these tools can turn your Facebook efforts from a daily grind into your secret weapon.
    
10. You will still drop out of people’s newsfeeds if they don’t engage with you regularly - and remember, that was why you wanted to move away from a business page in the first place!

If you’re thinking ‘Oh crap! Too late!’, the good news is that you can convert your business’ personal page into a business page...once. You can migrate the content of your profile over into a business page - it’s a little tricky and requires some concentration. Before you do that though, have a think about the content on your existing profile. If it’s a mix of personal and business, you may be better off just creating a new page and then inviting your existing ‘friends’ across. Entice them over with a competition or a flash sale or something fun. Make sure you load up the new page with great content and keep it up!

If you’re struggling to get your Facebook business page off the ground, or the daily grind of finding something new to say is getting you down, send me an email and let’s chat. I love watching a business page really take off - and it’s a feeling I want to share with you!