500 million people around the globe have a Facebook account, and it is easily one of the most popular social networks of all time - much bigger than Myspace, Friendster, and any others you can think of. Because of this, my strong advice to entrepreneurs and business owners is to create two Facebook profiles - a business one and a personal one.
Why?
Well, having just one profile may be a turn-off to a potential or even an existing client if they are able to see your pictures, videos, and conversations pertaining to your personal life. Yes, they know you are a human being - but typically they only want to see your "professional" side at all times.
Creating two profiles, however, allows you to show your "business" side to your existing and prospective clients, and your "personal" side to your family and friends. Keeping the two separate enables you to showcase your business profile as an effective sales tool to strengthen your business. And, if done right - that's exactly what it will do.
Here are some useful tips on how to successfully manage two accounts:
Username: - On your personal profile, your username can be a fun nickname or alter ego (i.e. Facebook.com/pookiebear). - On your business profile, your username should be your name or your company's name (i.e. Facebook.com/DanteLee or Facebook.com/DiversityCity).
Profile Photo: - On your personal profile, your profile photo can be a silly picture of yourself. - On your business profile, your profile photo should be a professional head shot of you or your company logo.
Contact Info: - On your personal profile, the contact info can be your home phone number, a family email address, and your family blog. - On your business profile, the contact info should be your office phone number, your company email address, and your company web site(s).
Conversations/Content: - On your personal profile, you can include comments and posts about whatever you want. - On your business profile, you posting and commenting should be relevant to your company and/or your company's industry
Classifications: - On your personal profile, you can classify and list your friends as "friends" or "family". - On your business profile, you should classify and list your friends as "clients" or "colleagues" or even "business partners".
To see an example of how your Facebook business profile should look, feel free to look at my profile at www.Facebook.com/DanteLee
