How To Use Your Personal Facebook For Business - The Basics (Part 1 of 3)

When we think of Facebook, we think of friends. Games. Vacation photos. But did you know that you can use your personal Facebook page for business?

Creating a Facebook page for your company can be useful, but limited in terms of reach and connectivity. If you’ve already tried suggesting your company page to all of your friends and sharing its content on your Wall, here are a few tips on customizing your personal account to share personally and directly with your friends.
 

1. Be Selective With Your Profile

It’s good to fill out your profile, but be choosy with the information you share. After Basic Information and Education/Work, consider trimming your profile to these fields:

People Who Inspire You. Who wouldn’t want to meet an inspired person?
Quotes. One or two can sum up your opinions and personality nicely.
Books. Great for starting dialogues.

Ultimately, check to see that you give out enough information, but not so much that your profile looks cluttered!  Keep things simple and relevant.
 

2. Organize Your Friends

To ensure that your business contacts get business updates and your personal friends get personal updates, you need to organize everyone – otherwise, everyone hears about everything! If you’ve never managed your friends list before, here’s how to get started:

• On your home page (News Feed), click on Friends underneath your profile photo. Then, click the Manage Friends List button at the top of the page.

• Click the Create a List button. A new box will open that contains all of your friends.

• Type the name of your list (e.g., Business, Personal) where it says Enter a Name, and start clicking on the friends you want on that list!

No matter how many friends you have, relax and think while making each list. Who would or wouldn't be interested in hearing about your business? Who could benefit from what you have to offer, or knows anyone who could? Finally, who do you want to have access to your personal details, photos, and updates?

If you return to a list later, Facebook will suggest who else to add in case you miss someone. Also, your lists are kept private by default.
 

3. Post a Professional/Business Casual Profile Photo

Our CEO, Brian Razzaque, uses professional photos of himself on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. Even if you’re not the CEO of your company, it’s a good idea to find a photo of yourself that isn’t super casual. Save your favorite photos (pets, babies, significant others, shenanigans, etc.) in photo albums, and keep your profile photo to just you.

Well congratulations! Your Facebook profile is ready for business. Check back next week for more tips on promoting through your Facebook page!

Questions? Comments? Find us on Facebook and let us know!