Facebook Fan Page – Do you Need One?

Facebook is definitely one of those “must use” social tools, but there’s a lot of controversy about whether having a Facebook fan page makes you arrogant or whether it shows you are business savvy. At first, I was in the camp that thought having one made you look like a jerk. After all, who am I to ask people to be my fan? And that’s where I think Facebook made a mistake, not by creating fan pages, but by calling them as such. Because really, a fan page is simply a business solution for Facebook, rather than a page for rockstars and Hollywood stars.

Of course, they can be used for that to, but more often than not, Facebook fan pages are used for everyday people, like you and I, trying to recruit a following online. As it stands now, I’m a firm believer in having a fan page, at least for me, because it allows me to segment what I do with my personal account and my business account, however some people might not need one, which is why we’re going to settle the debate right here.

You Need One If…

you have real life friends on Facebook or have had a personal account for longer than a few months. Most people use Facebook to connect with old schoolmates, family members, and co-workers. If this is you, then you need a fan page for the following reasons:

1. You need to keep some semblance of a personal life. Clients don’t need to see your party pictures, your quiz results, or your personal status updates.
2. Your family and friends don’t care about your business updates. You’ll confuse a lot of people trying to do both in the same place.
3. You can’t make full use of Facebook if you are caught in between being personal and being professional. With a business account (fan page), you can import your Twitter feed, your blog posts, and your video content. Although some people in your personal life might be interested in that, most of them will be annoyed by the frequency of your updates.

Now, one might say “well you can filter who receives updates,” which is correct. However, who’s to say you’ll have the time or expertise to do that correctly? Wouldn’t it be easier to make a clear division between the two? You’ll also free yourself to be who you need to be with your friends, and with your clients/readers.

You Don’t Need One If…

you rarely use Facebook outside of business and/or have very few friends on your personal account. At this stage, you can afford to take care of both business from your personal account because most of your friends will be business contacts looking to stay in touch. You can still import your blog, Twitter, and video feeds, but since you won’t be crossing over into personal conversations here, you won’t have to worry about offending anyone.

If you are just getting started with Facebook or simply looking to stay in touch and provide news updates, then this is the option for you. However, if you ever plan on having more than 5,000 friends, using custom html, or adding an opt-in form, then you should think strongly about having a fan page.

As I said before, I’m in favor of having a fan page because it allows me to present my brand in a stronger fashion, thanks to discussion forums and a landing page, but that might not be for everyone. The important thing is to make sure you think about your options before you get started so that you don’t end up like me and have to transfer 200 friends from a personal account to a fan page.

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