There are so many features within Facebook that it is often hard for individuals to understand which Facebook feature or account type is right for them. All of these features and account types are meant to keep Facebook users connected, however, each has its own purpose and can be much more effective if used for that specific purpose. As a business it is important to understand the difference between a Facebook personal profile and a Facebook page. Knowing the difference will help you better understand why you should create or switch to a Facebook page rather than using or creating a personal profile.

Facebook Personal Profile

A personal profile is meant for non-commercial use and should only represent an individual person. A personal profile’s purpose is to summarize you and your story. On a personal profile you are able to add friends and share whatever you want with these friends, including statuses, images, and videos. However, you are only allowed to have up to 5,000 friends. Facebook is fairly strict about profiles belonging to individuals, if you are using it for your business, they can shut it down because it violates their terms of service. So it is important to understand that your personal profile is for only you and if it is created for a business you should definitely convert it to a page.  

Facebook Page

Like a personal profile, the page owner, or whoever created the page, is able to post stories, statuses, image galleries, and information in an “about” section. Business pages also have the same profile image and cover photo abilities, were you can display your brand’s feel and show off your logo. It is important to know what you share on your business page or your personal profile page will not show on the other. When you create a page, you become the administrator. There is no way to login as your page, you always login to your profile and can then administer your page. 

Why Use a Business Page Over a Personal Profile?

If you are looking to promote your company through social media you should definitely create a Facebook page. Unlike a personal profile, your page can be viewed by any user, or non Facebook user, on any device.  A Facebook page also has a variety of features that are not offered for personal profiles. These features make a page more geared for business use and can help businesses grow and understand how their social media is being used. 

Page Insights

An amazing feature that business pages offer are page insights, which track activity on your page. These insights show thing like what types of posts on your page are successful, who is connecting with your page, and what time your page is most active. This will help you better understand your fan base, and know what to post and when to post it.

Administration roles

Pages can be administered by more than one person. You can assign roles to people who need different levels of access. Those roles include:

Insights Analyst: View Insights

Advertiser: View Insights and create ads

Moderator: All of the above, plus send messages as the Page and respond to and delete comments

Content Creator: All of the above, plus create posts as the Page, edit the Page and add apps

Manager: All of the Above, plus Manage Admin Roles

When running a business handing off duties to other employees is a great way to speed up your daily obligations and processes. By having others running your Facebook page it will give you more time to focus on things that you feel are more important or necessary for proper business function. If you are using a personal profile the only way others could edit, analyze, or view controls, is to give them your username and password, which is not advised.

Business Relevant Information

When you set up a personal profile for a business, it makes your business like a person, it will make you give it a birthday, gender, and so on. This is because personal profiles are meant for a person not a business. When creating a Facebook business page, you create a category, mission statement, product section, and foundation date. Basically the things that are really relevant and matter when it comes to marketing your business and getting individuals to understand what your business is about.

Privacy

Your customers or business fans want privacy. If you create a personal profile for your business it means that your fans need to add you as a friend. This also means that you business has all the same access as the rest of their friends. Since many people value their privacy they do not want to “friend” a business. This is why people prefer you create a Facebook page, because they will have access to your information without you having access to all of theirs. People like privacy but also want to view your info so don’t make them have to choose between the two.

Conclusion

If your goal is to represent your business, brand, or product, on Facebook, create a Facebook page rather than a personal profile. A page allows for you to engage with people on Facebook and offers tools to help you manage and track this engagement. With a Facebook page an unlimited number of connections and followers, so why limit yourself to 5,000? Also remember that a Facebook Page should never be a substitute for your own website.

Sources:

http://smallbusiness.chron.com/fan-vs-profile-facebook-49906.html

https://www.facebook.com/help/217671661585622

http://www.lamarketing.net/real-difference-between-facebook-business-personal-profile/

http://www.jonloomer.com/2012/09/03/benefits-of-a-facebook-business-page/