
Over the past few years, small business owners have been told it is an absolute necessary to have a presence on Facebook. I don't know if I would call it "absolute" but there are plenty of dangers in not having a presence online; the biggest, putting your brands reputation into the hands of you customers instead of taking control.
If you have joined the camp of small business owners using social media, chances are you have thumbed throw a few books or tutorials, looked at a few fan pages for examples and created your page. Once you have done all that, what's next.
I'm talking to the small business owner with a hand full of employees. The soloprenuer. The weekend warrior. The issue I see time and time again is that these business owners aren't reaping the real benefits of Facebook, building their profits. If you have a business with a generous number of employees, there isn't an excuse for not having at least one employee dedicated to overseeing all of your social media accounts and responding to comments and posts. But, when you are doing everything by yourself, wearing many different hats, allowing your Facebook Fan Page to go stagnant or not respond to likes, posts and comments is understandable. With the demand of doing it all yourself, there just aren't enough hours in the day. But, that isn't an excuse.
Chances are you have a personal page where you post pictures of your kids and pets and post updates about the randomness of your life, and a fan page which you use to keep your customers up-to-date, share information about your brand and other content you either find interesting and think people would like or which relates to your industry. If you are struggling to keep up with your fan page, why bother?
Luckily Facebook noticed your problem, probably before you did. It's been a few months since Facebook added the 'Subscribe' button to personal pages, providing a solution to the 5,000 max friends issue many users were having trouble with. Having a fan page was not everyone's cup of teas - so to speak - and many of them found having multiple pages to be a hassle. Again, it may not be the best solution, but it's a darn good one. Pro Facebook users have adopted it as a way to expand their audience past the 5,000 limit and reach more people interested in what they have to say or sell. but not every small business owner is doing it. And they should be.
What's the benefit? Social media is about being social. For businesses, it's about creating a community and engaging with them as a marketing tool to drum up some business. If you're really good at it the revenue potential has no limits. Instead of drawing people from your website, blog, submitted articles and content, and other social media accounts to your neglected fan page, link them to your personal page. Your a small business. Your customers want the corner store feel. They expect you to know them or at least know why they are part of your community. And, you want them to consider you a friend, not just another company shoving crap down their throat.
Since your being social, it's ok to include them in your life with pictures of your pets and the daily musings of your life. With your personal account, you can continue what you have always been doing and include content relevant to your business all in one place. Your friend already "like" your fan page and want the content from there as well as you personal page. Pull it all together. And, the people who want your business content can subscribe. If you don't want your subscribers (the people who aren't your friend) to see your personal posts and pictures, their are options for that. Just change your settings.
When it comes down to it, there really is no excuse not to use your Facebook account to push out great content and draw in more profits. Th excuses people use are nothing more than a reason not to put in the hard work and dedication needed to own and run a successful small business.
One more sneak tidbit. I don't believe in black-hat tactics, buying followers and fans, or any of that crap. It's garbage that has no value. That said, a sneaky trick if you choose to use your personal page for business, you don't have to accept every friend request. When a user sends you a friend request, Facebook automatically subscribes them to your feed. When you choose to ignore their friend request, they still remain subscribed to your feed. You don't have to worry about them seeing your personal information, only your shared, public business content. It's a grey area in my mind. But, how many people take the time to manually "unlike" or "unsubscribe" for the numerous pages and feeds they have built up. They are few and far between. Their laziness is your opportunity to keep pushing your content into their stream, keep your community growing, and engage with them without the hassle of multiple pages or accounts.
Remember, it's not only about presence. It's about engagement.
About The Author:

Michael Grosheim is the President & CEO of Grosh, Inc., a Strategic Marketing & Social Branding consultant, focusing on New Media & Digital Interactivity Strategy, Search Optimization, Social Conversion & Brand Recognition, Author, Keynote Speaker, Startup Investor, Husband, Father, Overly Opinionated New Yorker and much more. | Twitter Facebook Website
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