Facebook for Business vs Personal Use: The Gap Is Wider than Ever

“This year is all about cleaning Facebook up. I will patch the holes in data security, fight off hate and abuse in our community, and make sure my 2 billion users experience nothing but ‘meaningful’ interactions.”

Those are NOT Mark Zuckerberg’s words. But they might as well have been.

On January 4, he posted his “personal challenge” on his profile indicating that “Facebook has a lot of work to do — whether it’s protecting our community from abuse and hate, defending against interference by nation states, or making sure that time spent on Facebook is time well spent.” He also mentioned that he is as driven as he was in 2009, the first year of his series of personal challenges.

Mr. Zuckerberg is a man of his word. We’re only a few months shy from 2019, but it seems like Facebook isn’t done yet. Updates have been rolled out one after another, and it seems like the line between Facebook for business and Facebook for personal use is getting thicker and thicker.

Just recently, the company has banned third party apps like Hootsuite, Buffer, and Sprout Social from scheduling and posting updates on personal Facebook profiles — bad news for Facebook users who use their own profiles for business vs using a Facebook Business Page.

In line with their goal to provide “meaningful interactions”, scheduling and posting through third party apps on a personal profile page is no longer allowed. When it comes to post visibility, a personal page has the upper hand. Your “friends” are more likely to see each update you’re posting. On the other hand, Facebook page updates have lower chances of showing up on the Newsfeed of your “likers”.

Does it spell gloom and doom for business owners who relied on their personal profiles for marketing?

Not really.

Truth be told, it’s a moderate adjustment. It means letting go of the strategy you’re used to and it means you have to work around changes to reshape your social media strategy.

Here are tips to get you started:

1. Work with your social media manager more closely than ever. Understand the new terms of service policies and work with it, not against it.
2. Transition to a business page and optimize it fully. It is possible to “clone” the content you have on your personal page and move it to your business page.
3. Embrace the fact that a business page has a lot more “business-friendly” features that will help you. For example, you can boost a post for more views by simply spending $5!
4. Build your following. Transitioning to a Facebook business page doesn’t turn all your Facebook friends to “Likers” right away. Facebook allows you to invite your friends to your page and even automatically have them become your followers. It’s a bit tricky, but it’s a good workaround.

Major content-centric algorithm updates can happen on any social media network. This social media giant is not an isolated case. It seems like every time you log onto one of the platforms, SOMETHING is different! Whenever it happens, keep your cool. Changes may shake up your social media footing but it’s no reason to panic. Reach out to us if you want help, or if you just want us to take care of it for you. We keep up with the changes so you don’t have to. Contact us now to learn more.