Many small businesses have discovered the benefits of using Facebook to connect with their customers. Yet many of these same businesses have made a critical error in setting up their Facebook presence and as a result, run the risk of their presence being shut down for violating Facebook’s Terms of Service.

What is this common mistake? Setting up your business as a Profile instead of a Page or a Group. There are 2 easy ways to check:

1. Do you have to log out of your personal profile and then log back in under your business email?
2. When a non-friend or non-fan visits your Facebook profile or page, do they see an “Add Friend” button?

If either of these is true for your business presence on Facebook, then you are likely in violation of Facebook’s Terms of Service and are not taking full advantage of having your business on this popular social media platform. Facebook is set up for a Profile (where you have a unique login/password and can have “Friends”) to be used by actual people only. So a brand such as “Creative Assistants” cannot have a Profile.

So what should we do instead? Create a business Page (https://www.facebook.com/pages/create.php). This Page is totally separate from your personal profile and your personal profile is set as an “Administrator” for that Page (you can name other admins too). You do not have to friend everyone who wants to connect to your business (a huge plus for those of us who post personal info on our Profiles!). You will not run into friend limits if your brand is popular. You will have more opportunities for marketing, advertising, and customization of your Page.

It’s a common mistake, but one that can be remedied – the earlier the better!

Aug 19, 2010

Chances are, you have a Facebook account. It’s a great place to keep up with family and friends, or maybe a way to see the more personal side of clients or colleagues. As a business owner (especially if your customers are consumers), you may be realizing the value of having your company on Facebook too and building a following there. So you should probably create a separate Facebook account for your business, right?

Hold on! Before you create a second Facebook account or start using Facebook for business, there are a few very important things to know:

You can only have 1 Facebook Profile

Each individual may have 1 Facebook Profile (i.e. login). You cannot have a Facebook Profile for a business. Check out Facebook’s Terms of Service or FAQ on this subject if you want more information.

So what is a Facebook Profile? This is your main Facebook account, the one where you can accept people as “Friends”, post your vacation pictures, play games, and talk with your friends about… anything that you like. You can set your privacy settings so that only your Friends can view what you write on your wall, the comments you make to friends, the pictures you post, your personal contact information, etc. While many people do indeed post work related items on their profiles (I do frequently), your profile is really a place for you to be personal.

How do you use Facebook for business?

The way to get your business on Facebook is to create a Facebook Page. Although you have to create the page from your personal Profile, those who “Like” your Facebook Page won’t see anything from your personal Profile unless they’re already your Friends.

A Facebook Page is the place for you to talk about business. Anyone can connect with your page without seeing all your personal information and posts. Your connections can grow to unlimited numbers (the limit on your Profile is 5000 friends). Some things you can do on or with your Page:

• Talk about what you do and the services you provide.
• Give readers tips and tricks on your area of expertise.
• Encourage contacts to sign up for your newsletter.
• Run contests.
• Conduct polls.
• Start discussions and interact with those who Like your Page.
• Create a custom landing tab where you educate new visitors about what you do or direct them to a special.
• Update contacts quickly and easily (you can only message 20 people at a time via your personal Profile).
• Create a Specials tab that only those who have “Liked” your Page can see.

A Page is like a website – anyone can visit and get information about your business. Your personal information and posts are protected unless you decide to Friend someone from the Page.

What about Facebook Groups?

Facebook Groups are designed more for groups of people with a common interest.  Things like a church group, participants in a class,  alumni of a college, etc. Groups can be private (only members see group activity) or public and you can choose to restrict/moderate membership. Groups can email up to 5000 members at a time but have limited functionality when it comes to customization and applications.

Here’s a great breakdown from Mari Smith on Pages vs. Groups.

Aug 5, 2010

If you’re new to Twitter, you may be a bit perplexed about how it works and why you should bother using it for business. You aren’t alone if you have that deer-in-the-headlights look!

The good news is that you can learn it and get up to speed pretty quickly. A lot of this will come by way of following and watching what others are doing.

Here are some tips to get you started on Twitter:

1. Sign up with a user name that represents your brand or uses a keyword. It should be memorable, but not too long as length matters in the Twitter world!
2. Next, fill out your profile completely. In your bio, let people know about you & your personality. Mix business with pleasure a bit – we want to know that you’re human. Include your city so others nearby can find you.
3. Post a few updates before you start following a bunch of people. It doesn’t have to be earth-shattering, but the early tweets are a good time to let others know what you’ll be posting in the future, what your interests are, etc. Resist the urge to self-promote or sell your products in the beginning (and when you do later, do so sparingly!).
4. Start following people you know, businesses you like, colleagues, etc. Look for the Twitter icon on webpages you visit or search sites like http://twitterholic.com or http://mrtweet.net.
5. Once you’re up and running, work on making connections and building relationships with others daily. Just a few minutes a day can catapult you to Twitter success.

Here are 2 great free ebooks that will help you get started on Twitter:

www.twitterhandbook.com
www.geekpreneur.com/twitter-ebook

And here’s what you need to know about Twitter Etiquette:

http://twitter.pbwiki.com/Twitter+Etiquette

For more direction and resources on Twitter, download my Essential Twitter Guide. I’ve sorted through all the online noise to bring you the top tools and resources for Twitter that you need to know about! And of course, don’t forget to follow me on Twitter – you’ll find me @copong.

This is a great post by blog guru Denise Wakeman on why you should have a blog even if you’re an avid Facebook user. Great food for thought and a reminder that you need to back up your content, regardless of where it resides!

http://www.buildabetterblog.com/2009/07/why-blog-when-youve-got-facebook.html

Web Worker Daily has a great blog post on the value of Twitter followers – do numbers mean more than quality?

http://webworkerdaily.com/2009/07/02/the-value-of-twitter-followers-quality-over-quantity/

Jan 19, 2009

If you’re new to Twitter, you may be a bit perplexed about how it works and why you should bother using it. It looks deceptively simple on the surface, but quickly becomes very complex when you start digging into it. I gave a class last week on Twitter to local business owners and I’ve never seen so many deer-in-the-headlights looks! You’re not alone if you don’t “get” it yet.

The good news is that you can learn it and get up to speed pretty quickly. A lot of this will come by way of following and watching what others are doing. Here are some tips to get you started:

1. Sign up with a user name that will build your brand, use part of your real name, or tell others something about you. Make sure the name isn’t too long as it counts towards the 140 character limit when others want to connect with you.
2. Next, start following as many people as you can. (Follow me here.) Business colleagues are a good place to start – follow them and then browse through their followers/following lists to see who you know or want to connect with. You can also find top Twitterers on sites like Twinfluence.com and Twitterholic.com.Remember that you don’t need to know them to connect – in fact, it’s useful not to know them yet! Also look under Twinfluence for people in your town and connect with them. You’ll soon find that those you follow will start following you back and as you’re numbers get up there, you’ll build more and more momentum.
3. Start posting regularly (1-2 times/day is good) about what you’re doing in your life and in your business. Use keywords. Pique curiosity. Link to articles & webpages you find interesting or would benefit your target market. Reply to those you’re following and start meaningful conversations. Retweet posts from others that you find valuable or interesting (or your target market would). This is where paying attention to what others are doing is beneficial. Do what they do!
4. Use Twitter search engines to find those who are talking about your keywords, locality, areas of interest, etc. These includes sites such as Twitter Search, TweetScan, Monitter, and TwitScoop. I also use Twilert to have my favorite searches sent to me via email every day.

On Twitter, it pays to be active, follow tons of people, and post useful information with a smattering of personal insight thrown in.

Here are 2 great free ebooks that will help you get started on Twitter:
http://www.twitterhandbook.com/
http://www.geekpreneur.com/twitter-ebook

And here’s a Wiki on Twitter – this section is about Etiquette:
http://twitter.pbwiki.com/Twitter+Etiquette

Finally, don’t be afraid to ask for help in Twitterland. We’ve all been there and stand ready to help show you the way! See you in the Twitterverse!