5 Reasons a Facebook Business Page is Still Important
Facebook has been too successful! We all love to moan about how difficult it is to now have our business page information show up on Facebook newsfeeds, but the fact of the matter is there is not enough room on the newsfeed anymore.
To help combat this, Facebook did an experiment with the idea of having two streams – one for your personal feed and one called “explore” where business pages would only be found. But after running testing over a few months they decided this was not the answer for their crowded newsfeed.
Phew!
That being said, we know that Facebook is going to continue to look for ways to declutter the newsfeed and make sure their users stay happy. And with all the issues over privacy recently in the news, you know Facebook is making lots of changes.
One thing they announced already this year is the change to the algorithms, which we blogged about back in January – 3 Ways to Survive the New Facebook Changes. The news initially scared a lot of Facebook business users, but once the dust settled, most of us realized we just need to make sure we’re doing a better job of our business pages, making our content engaging and providing value to our fans.
Now to be clear, there are two different types of Facebook pages – your personal page and your business page. These two pages are very different in many ways and should be used accordingly. Your personal page is where your friends connect with you. They can only connect with you if you accept their friendship (that sounds so cold). But once connected, your chances of being seen in their newsfeed is much easier than a business page.
With your business page, people can like and follow your page without having to be a personal connection with you. And while initially you may show up in their newsfeed, if they are not engaging with your page (through liking and comments) then chances are your page will be showing up less and less.
So if it is easier to be seen on a personal page, then why should you bother to host a business page when just running your business on your personal page seems more effective?
We have 5 reasons you should run a business page rather than a personal page for your company.
1. Did you know that you are not supposed to run your business through your personal Facebook pages?
Facebook can close down your account if you are perceived as doing business through your personal page. That doesn’t mean you can’t share things about your business on your personal page because that is part of your life. But to make every post about selling your product, they could potentially shut you down. As they look to find ways to keep that newsfeed less cluttered, we believe they will start watching for this more and more.
2. You can only run Facebook ads through a business page.
This is key to your success on Facebook these days, as ads are something that will continue to be shown regardless of the changes Facebook makes to organic reach algorithms. Their income comes from the Facebook ads, so you know that isn’t going away too quickly.
Social media should not be your only marketing tool. But it is one of the top (and cheapest) ways to market. And Facebook, even with its numbers being down, is still an incredible opportunity to market for a very low price point.
And unlike radio and television marketing where you really don’t know who has seen, heard or engaged with your marketing, you are able to track (and target) your audience and know that your ads are actually reaching the right people. See our next point about insights.
3. Insights make a Facebook business page incredibly valuable.
At 365 Day Media Group, we pay very close attention to the insights that Facebook provides. They are immediate and excellent! Who would not want to know who their fans are, when they are online, how your posts are doing and more. It really is one of the best benefits of running a business page. If you are running a business page, do make sure you are paying attention to your insights.
4. You don’t need friends, you need fans!
On our personal page, you have friends. But on your business page, you have followers. So while hopefully most of your friends are fans of your business page, do you really want all your business connections to be your friends? Most businesses can’t rely on just their family and friends, so your business page allows you to expand without having to be personally connected with everyone on your page.
5. A business Facebook page allows you to provide value to your fans.
Your business page gives you the platform to show your company personality and grow relationships that other forms of marketing don’t necessarily provide. Most marketing is one sided – you provide the ad and you hope someone is listening. With your Facebook page you can make it a relationship, with the opportunity for your fans to respond and provide input. They can be made to feel close to your company and your product. Fans can get answers to their questions, information they need and learn more about the company they love, helping to build long-lasting support for your brand.
At 365 Day Media we are firm believers that you need to be seen in as many places as possible. Recollection is key when someone is looking for your service, event, business. The more you can be talked about and engaged with, the better the chance that you will be the business of choice when they are making their decision.
So don’t give up on your business Facebook page. In fact, now is the time to ramp it up and make sure that you are ahead of the game no matter what changes Facebook makes to the platform.
This week’s blog was written by our CEO Tami Tate. A small business owner since 1998, she loves working with entrepreneurs, events and businesses of all sizes on their marketing.
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