Resist Temptation
Web experts and Facebook users agree on one thing: a Facebook page should not be considered a primary sales tool. “Business owners have to see Facebook less as a billboard and more as a platform for engaging their community,” says Corey Perlman, owner of eBootCamp. “When I use Facebook, I ask myself how our company can help people, even if they don’t hire us. You have to make it about the people using the page. Not about yourself.”
David West agrees. “Facebook lets you show people who you are personally,” says the president of Meadowview Construction. “I can tell someone I’m trustworthy, but on Facebook I can post information that illustrates that, like examples of construction dos and don’ts, articles about trends, or news in our area. I try to be an information source, even if they don’t hire us.”
Ben Thompson, president of Thompson Remodeling, in Grand Rapids, Mich., says communicating on Facebook can help to build relationships offl ine. “Facebook is great for checking in with clients and seeing what’s going on in their lives,” he says. “Then, when you meet them out in the world, you can engage them on topics you know are important to them.”
Perlman says that once a company has eff ectively engaged its fanbase, “then you’ve earned the right to softly promote your business.”
Dual Personalities
Many business owners wrestle with the question of how best to interact with clients and prospects on Facebook. Should you be “friends” on your personal profile? Create one profile for personal use and one for business? Or is a company page the way to go? Facebook’s Terms of Service helps answer those questions, specifically stating that users may “not create more than one personal profile.” As such, a company page is usually the best option. It lets the business owner maintain a personal profile on Facebook for friends and family while simultaneously building professional relationships on the company page.
Fear not: neither the twain shall meet (unless you want them to). Personal friends must “like” your company page in order to interact with it, and “fans” of your page must specifically request to be your friend (or you, theirs) for either of you to see interactions on your personal profiles.
—Lauren Hunter is the senior products editor at REMODELING. Follow her on Twitter at @LaurenHunter_HW or @RemodelingMag.
