Why You Should NOT Create a Facebook Profile for Your Business

I see this more and more everyday. As businesses are getting on Facebook, they create a profile the same as they would for themselves. However, that is the wrong way to create a business presence on Facebook for many reasons.

The first and most glaring reason is that creating profiles for your business is directly against Facebook's Terms of Service. While it is rare to see a profile removed by Facebook for this violation, I have seen it happen on multiple occasions.

When you create a profile for your business, you miss out on some features that are available only to those who go the proper way of creating Facebook Pages. With a Page, you and your fans are able to suggest your business to your friends. This greatly enhances your reach and allows you to take advantage of social networking.

Having a Page also allows you to send out bulk messages via Facebook that can be used to promote a fan-only discount at your business. I recommend using this sparingly, though, as people tend to consider any unsolicited mail to be spam.

With a Facebook Page, you can also create even more closely targeted pay-per-click ads by targeting ads to people who are directly connected or connected via their friends to your Page.

Facebook Pages also come with no limit as to how many fans you have (profiles are limited to 5,000). You can also create a custom landing tab that can really make you stand out.

Facebook Pages are a much better solution for your business. They are not only more tailored to what a business needs from Facebook, but they also greatly reduce your risk of spending a large amount of time building a following only to have Facebook remove you for violating their Terms.