The Facebook platform is very mature in development and is at the same time a dichotomy of constant change. Posts are weighed by viewing popularity – so you may not always see the updates as they are sent…but rather it will depend on whether anyone has interacted with the content….and perhaps even more specifically whether you have been interacting with that particular page or person.

Personal vs Business use

You may need some guidance initially in order to know the differences in a personal use and business use (functionality wise) – because you can quite easily use your personal account for both uses. I seriously advise avoiding breaking Facebook rules and creating two “human being” accounts (which some do to separate personal friends from business friends) – you could be banned from Facebook which you don’t want. Use lists (friends or interests) for managing your account instead.

This platform is a good place to create a community around a cause, subject, common goal/purpose or even around an event or group of events.

What About Your Privacy?

You can lock down your privacy settings – so even if you interact with content, only your friends (ones that you formally “accept” as friends) see your full personal account. Similarly you can select who sees what content and you can be quite targeted about your personal updates. (You can’t, as yet, do this with Page content publishing.)

Facebook for Business

The way Facebook has been designed is really good for a business that has great visual content – it gives you more flexibility in what your content can look like. You have more opportunities for honing your Page design around the purpose of your Page (including using any number of useful applications that will help drive interaction on your Page).

You have the ability for interaction on a scale that no other platform offers at the moment.

The Challenges of Facebook

Facebook moves the goal posts frequently – so where they initially had the motivation of your Page creating the kind of content that people interact with and therefore want to stay logged in…this is becoming harder by the day with the way their algorithms have evolved. (I mean that the reach of your content is reducing…but it may be more focussed.)

Participating with a Page presence on Facebook requires planning and you really need a game plan on Call-To-Action (CTA) type content in order to really work out what your audience wants to hear from you.

Managing your friends and/or “Liker” behaviour is a serious matter. I have seen some Pages really struggle with some contentious “Likers” – but my theory is: do as you would in real life and don’t tolerate bad or discourteous behaviour, and nip it in the bud. Much like you would a naughty toddler…remind them where the boundaries are and show them who owns the Page.

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If you have a question about Facebook – specific or general, drop a comment below – I’ll be happy to help or offer my 2 cents worth.