Chris Berggren, a professional photographer from Sonoma, California who recently joined our new Social Media Support Group on Facebook (we’re also on LinkedIn), is a new Facebook user.
He writes:
I am striving to offer interesting content, pictures primarily for now, also I often get asked for photographic related advice. …Should I just promote through my personal page? How do I communicate with friends through my business page?
Many of us struggle with this issue, Chris, and how you use your Facebook account is largely a matter of personal preference.
Facebook’s terms of service state:
- You will not use your personal profile for your own commercial gain (such as selling your status update to an advertiser).
- You will not send or otherwise post unauthorized commercial communications (such as spam) on Facebook.
Keep ‘em separate
Both of those terms feel rather “gray” to me; to be on the safe side, I’ve elected to keep content on my personal profile and my business page separate. My personal profile “friends” are friends in real life. I stream my Blogging Bistro blog posts into my personal profile, but the remainder of my updates are about stuff that goes on in my personal life. My privacy settings are customized so that only my friends can see most of the information I post there. My personal profile is just that: Personal.
My business Page (@bloggingbistro) is devoted to business-related updates. I like Pages because they’re public. Similar to a blog, anyone can access your Page and read your updates. If they have a Facebook account, they can “like” you (formerly called “becoming a fan”).
If you choose, you can allow your “likers” to post updates, comments, videos, photos, and links to your Page, so the possibilities for interaction are endless.
Use ‘em in tandem
That’s my approach and it works for me. But others use Facebook differently. One of my clients – real estate agent Joni Kerley – uses her personal profile AND her Page to help build her business.
On her personal profile, Joni regularly shares cute pictures of her daughter’s French Bulldog puppy, and chats with friends about other “day in the life” events. She also streams her Everett Area Real Estate blog posts into both her personal profile and her Page.
And, to entice some of her friends to “like” her new Facebook business page, she posts teasers on her profile that include a hyperlink to her Facebook Page. Here’s an example:
When you click the link to go to Joni’s Facebook Page, you’ll get access to her “Hot Buy of the Week” video, exclusively for her Facebook fans.
Joni uses her Facebook business page to build her reputation as the go-to real estate agent in Snohomish County, Washington. Daily, she posts interesting, quirky updates about happenings around her county.
Now, back to Chris.
After taking a look at your new FB Page, Chris, I’m liking what you’re doing with photos. Each day, you’re posting one image that showcases various aspects of your photographic talent: weddings, commercial photography, and scenic shots.
This is nice because it allows visitors to focus on a single image (as opposed to an album of images), and it shows us, at a glance, the type of work you do. As you add more pictures, you can organize the previously-posted images into albums so visitors can easily access all your photos from one central location on your FB Page.
An effective value-added technique to get people to subscribe to your page is to offer photographic advice. Perhaps a photography tip of the week. Since you own a photo studio, I assume you’re marketing to prospective clients, so your tips should be geared for them. You could write tips such as “how to color-coordinate your family for a family photo” or “the five most important things you need to know about passport photos.”
Your turn!
Please share how YOU coordinate your Facebook personal profile and Page.
And if you have ideas for Chris to try, please share them!
While you’re at it, please give the folks mentioned in this article a little Facebook love:
Custom Image Sonoma (Chris Berggren)
Everett Area Real Estate (Joni Kerley)
Blogging Bistro (Laura Christianson)
And join our Social Media Support Group:
…on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=137678352938961
…on LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/groups?mostPopular=&gid=3279553
