Your business has to be on Facebook, right? (Well, not necessarily, but that is a question for another post. For now, let’s assume you have considered your channel strategy, and the answer is YES – you do need to be on Facebook.)
But how? Knowing and doing are two very different things. In this article, we will attempt to unpack Facebook Profiles, Pages, and Groups so you can get started right!
Facebook Profile
This is your personal space – where your real friends and family are, where you post about your kids’ awards, your bad day, holiday pics, etc. This is not your business space or identity. I repeat. This IS NOT the place to run your business. You will need a profile page to start a Page or a Group and to manage your Ad Campaigns, but keep your connections and information personal (and private).
Facebook Pages
These are for most, if not all, businesses. Even if you are in a service industry or are a professional personality – you start a Facebook Page. Your Page is the authentic representation of your business and will allow you to create and schedule posts, catalog images and albums, and collect ‘Likes’ – people who are fans and want to stay connected with your business. These people are your community. You will post to them in a one-to-many voice and take care of them as if they were sitting in your office. Connect. Communicate. Engage. If you use this platform to sell – and that is absolutely fine – make sure that only 10-15% of your posts are broadcasting and the rest are creating value for your audience. Note: if your community post to your Page, their content goes in the lower left corner visitor feed rather than on your page. This leaves you in full control of what information is presented in the Timeline Feed, and is the biggest difference between Pages and Groups.
Facebook Groups
Truly social platforms, Groups allow everyone in the Group to post to the wall. They are great for information sharing and harnessing the power of the masses. Groups can be Public (open to everyone), Private (potential members must request to join), or Secret (you can only find the Group if you have the link – it does not show up on searches). Groups are all about community involvement and engagement. If you start a group, you will be the Group Administrator, and while you will retain the power to remove posts from the wall or delete members, a group is less your channel and more about members serving members – while you may be Admin, the Group really belongs to everyone. Often times, you may start a Group if you are creating a community within your business, and the Group is in addition to your Page. For example, a coach will have a Page for their business, but may start a Group for participants in a particular course to communicate online, and to speak to the participants and answer specific questions.
If you’re struggling to get started with your social media marketing, organise a call with Nicole to find out how we can help you develop and implement a social media marketing strategy, that showcases your brand on the platform, that’s right for you.
