Social Media: Business Page vs. Personal Profile

Many social media channels, including Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter, offer two different types of accounts: one designed for personal use and one for businesses.

Facebook business pages are very different from personal profiles in several ways, including the amount of information that can be included (and the ease of formatting it). A Facebook business page is already optimized to include key information such as phone number, address, web address, and hours. And business pages have built-in opportunities for using call-to-action buttons, paid ads and promoting posts, along with access to metrics through the Insights feature.

Twitter and LinkedIn have similar options.

See some of the features here in our own social media channels:

• My personal LinkedIn page

• My personal Twitter account

• The JONES Facebook page

Of course, there are differences, also, in how algorithms treat the different accounts. Facebook’s most recent algorithm changes are said to be aimed at increasing interpersonal connections, and have therefore shifted priority to showing a user’s “friends” in the newsfeed over business pages. But there is still plenty of room for social media business page content, especially when it is created to be educational, inspirational, engaging and entertaining.

Choosing whether you will create an account as a personal profile or a business page is the first step in setting up a Facebook account for brand awareness and marketing. Follow along for the rest of the steps in our illustrated guide: How To Create A Business Facebook Page.