Should I Post My Business Post On My Facebook Personal Profile?
This is the third article in the series on answering questions commonly posed to me by clients or during live workshops I give. The first 2 articles are:
This article also addresses a question I get all the time. And it really comes down to being clear on personal use of social media versus business use.
The Answer Is Clear
The easy answer to this question is Of Course!
When you start to use social media for business, regardless of which platform, you are giving up the “right” to use it for personal purposes, kind of. I know this statement alarms people. They say, wait, I chat with my family and friends on facebook all the time, as an example. Of course you do, and you do not need to give this up; you do not need to stop doing this.
Use Social Media Personally With Caution
However, once you do start using social media, like Facebook, for business, what happens on your personal profile will be easily viewable by your potential and existing clients. This is because they can easily find you and your personal profile and what others post.
So, this means you need to monitor what happens on your profile, what your friends and family post. And what I mean by monitor is that you need to be sure that nothing posted there will offend your existing or potential clients. Even though you are not the one posting the potentially offending information, they will associate it with you. Swear words, political statements, religious statements, etc.
How To Handle Potentially Offensive Posts
Therefore, you can either inform your friends and family that you have started using social media for business and to please be sure not to post anything offensive on your profile, or you can just monitor your profile consistently. If something potentially offensive is posted, you can remove it.
And then, private message the person posting and tell them you are using the platform for business and that even though you love them and their posts dearly, can they please refrain from using swear words, or whatever it is when they post on your profile. 99% of the time, people will respect this. As you continue to monitor, if they don’t, you can block them from posting.
Should I Post My Business Post On My Facebook Personal Profile?
Now, back to the question at hand. As I mentioned above, the answer is of course. Sometimes when I say this, people say, but I don’t want to “sell” to my friends and family.
3 Reasons Why Yes Is The Right Answer
1) First of all, your friends and family know you have a business and they will get it.
2) Second, if your friends and family occasionally like your post, or even comment on it, their facebook friends will see they have commented or liked your post, so you have hugely increased your potential reach. And of course if they share it, repin it, etc., so much the better.
And, my further suggestion is to also accept all friend requests, connection requests, etc., once you start using social media for business.
3) Third, and finally, when you post as your business on social media you should not always
be directly “selling”. 85% of the content you post should be content of value to your customers; knowledge they need, answers to questions they have. Become an expert in your field in their eyes. Therefore, only 15% f the time will you be “selling.” Certainly your friends and family will understand.
So to wrap it up, in a nutshell, post everywhere! Use every single resource you have. Friends of your friends and family are a great resource for potential clients!
What are your thoughts? Do you agree?
Online Visibility, Facebook, Profile, Social Media for Business, Internet Posts
Filed Under: Questions Series