Have you ever wondered what type of Facebook account will work best linked to your accountancy firm’s website?
Is it your personal Facebook account? A Facebook page? And what’s the difference between them?
This article will help to answer that.
Firstly, let’s look at the difference between a Facebook Profile and a Facebook Page.
What is a Facebook Profile?
This a personal account, the one most people will have, to share their day to day activity.. . such as the latest visit to your favourite restaurant, things you’re sharing with family and friends, and holiday photos. It’s very much on a personal level.
You need this type of account (even if you don’t use it often) to then have any other type of Facebook account.
(One of the questions we’re often asked is, “What if I don’t want my clients to see my personal Facebook profile?” Not to worry – you don’t have to link them. But you do need to have the account so that you can sign into Facebook and do things with it. It’s like a login or user account.)
What is a Facebook Page?
This is a business account which lets you easily build up your audience. You don’t need to send friend requests (like you would with a Profile): all you need is someone to like your page and they then see your updates.
Your audience on this page will be people who interact with your firm for your services, follow your content as they’re interested in what you’re saying or have spotted your Facebook Ads.
Typically, accountants choose to have a Facebook page for their company, however you can also setup a Facebook page for yourself if you’d like to build your personal brand. You can still interact and share some level of personal views but maybe not as much as you’d share with your family!
A good example of this is the PF’s Facebook page and then Karen has a Facebook page.
If you plan to do some Facebook Ads you will need to have a Facebook Page to advertise on. You can track and measure your results letting you see what’s working well and tweak it along the way.
Does a Profile or Page work best when linked to your firm’s website?
Using your personal social media accounts for business is something we encourage, even if it’s only one or two channels. However, Facebook tends to be the one that people are very split with as it is so personal.
That’s why we find the option of a Facebook page for your personal brand as well as your accounting firm works well. As we’ve said before the line between business and personal life is becoming blurred but until you’re comfortable then this is a good option.
That being said you may have a strong, long term relationship with some clients who you’d happily connect to on Facebook but directly rather than through your firm’s website.
With social media you need to be prepared to respond quickly: if you’re not pro active on social with new content or responding then having someone on the team manage the company page is the route that will work best.
This will be the best option 99% of the time and clients will expect it to be the firm’s page they are contacting.
Do you have other social media questions?
If you’ve got any questions you’d like us to answer, feel free to get in touch on Twitter or through our Profitable Firm slack channel. We may even feature them on the next Social Marketer live Q&A.