On the surface, this makes some sense, especially for people that like the way LinkedIn provides a professional presence on one of the top social networking sites, and people want to extend that logic to where many of their current connections are: on Facebook.

But…

If you are using or thinking about setting up a new profile as a professional page, you might want to consider setting up a Fan Page instead, for several reasons.

Facebook Fan Pages, also knows as Business Pages, have several advantages over creating a second Facebook personal profile.

Not that I am the “Facebook Police” by any means, but setting up a personal profile is against the Facebook Terms of Service.

I bring this up not because I think we all should abide just as Facebook would want us to, but because Facebook does reserve the right to close your account if you violate their Terms. And I would hate to see anyone slip by for years, build a fantastic business profile and make awesome connections just to have to all deleted out of the blue one day. I know how I would feel, so I don’t want to see it happen to anyone else, either.

Top 10 Reasons a Fan Page is Better for Business

Aside from the above, here are ten reasons a Fan Page is better suited to your professional networking on Facebook than a personal profile:

1.) Facebook Fan Pages are indexed by search engines such as Google, Yahoo and Bing, and will show in search results, sending more visitors to your Fan Page that are looking for just what you provide.

2.) Being listed on the main search engines will boost your own website rankings when your website URL is listed on your Fan Page (ALWAYS list your website link on all your social networking profiles! :) )

3.) Fan Pages can have unlimited connections (“Likes”/friends), as opposed to a Facebook personal profile, which only can have up to 5,000 friends.

4.) You can set up webpage interactive tabs and landing pages on your Fan Page, which can attract more “Likes” as well as get more people over to your own website.

5.) You can send Facebook “email” updates to all your Fans at once – and your Fans then become an off-shoot of your email distribution list.

6.) Due to the most recent Facebook Fan Page “upgrade” (it’s called an “upgrade” even through it’s free), you now can interact with other Fan Pages on Facebook while posting as your Fan Page instead of your personal profile, which helps attract new Fans and further extends the reach of your marketing message and your networking.

7.) Facebook Ads are still a relatively cheap form of marketing and can be a good source of traffic to your Fan Page or an external website.

8.) You can set up a direct feed from your Fan Page posts to your Twitter account. As a second step, you can set up your LinkedIn account to pull updates from Twitter, thereby creating a technological synergy and multiple outlets for your messages, reaching more of your network on the platform that they prefer and use more often.

9.) Having a Fan Page will quickly give your visitors a much better understanding of your business and the type of support, ideas, products or services you provide, making their decision to connect much easier.  On a personal profile, visitors usually need to hunt for information to figure out who you are and why they should connect – and often times cannot find those pieces of information at all.

10.) Having a Facebook business presence is part of your overall marketing system and client funnel. Facebook Fan Pages are built with business growth and marketing in mind whereas personal profiles are not.

There are other advantages as well, but those are ten of the main ones.

Please let me know if I can answer anything specific regarding these ideas, or post some of your own experiences and suggestions in the Comments section below!

Here’s to your success,
BizCoach Jason

This can be done in person via speaking engagements, workshops, classes, networking events; on the phone on teleclasses, teleseminars, etc.; or on the web through webinars, social networking, blogging, newsletters, Fan Pages, and so many more methods… 

Over the years, I have given hundreds of presentations. And I’ve learned something VERY IMPORTANT that I want to share this with you:

To make sales from your presentation, just giving a killer speech isn’t good enough.

Below are my “Fantastic 5 Keys to Delivering a Kick-Ass, Sales-Generating Presentation!” as posted on my “Small Business Daily Success Tips” on http://facebook.com/GrowYourBiz: 

11/8/10
MONDAY “Tip of the Day”: BizCoachJason’s Fantastic 5 Keys to Deliver a Kick-Ass, Sales-Generating Presentation: Key #1 – “Make a great first impression!” How important is this? Our subconscious mind tells us whether we like someone or not based on an intuitive first impression. If it’s a bad impression, it can be overcome but that can be *very* difficult. Get started on the track, right away. And remember to SMILE!

11/9/10
TUESDAY “Tip of the Day”: Key #2 – “Make a BOLD promise!” Grab your audience’s attention in a big way! Tell them what’s in it for them to spend their precious time, attention and energy listening to you. You’ll gain acceptance and enthusiasm, and make it more fun for you and them. And you better deliver on your bold promise!

11/10/10
WEDNESDAY “Tip of the Day”: Key #3 – “Learn something about your audience” This is a really important component of your talk to make sure you are delivering value and building the relationship with your audience members. You need to know who you are talking to and what their challenges are, even when you invited a specific group of people.

11/11/10
THURSDAY “Tip of the Day”: Key #4 – “Involve your participants” People learn in different ways. Engage your audience members by involving them and making them a part of your presentation. Make it fun for them. Give them an experience, not just a lecture, and they will learn, remember and enjoy it exponentially more.

11/12/10
FRIDAY “Tip of the Day”: Key #5 – “Provide a Call to Action” Without this, you can give a magnificent, stellar presentation and GET NO SALES. I’ve been there, done that. I’ve seen too many others fall prey to this as well. YOU NEED TO MAKE AN IRRESISTIBLE OFFER and tell your audience EXACTLY what to do to accept. This makes it a win-win!

Now go out there and create massive value for your target market by giving kick-ass presentations that will serve you and serve them!

Remember, to get even more sales, marketing, social media and other business success tips:
- Go to and “Like” http://facebook.com/GrowYourBiz
- Introduce yourself and your business on The Wall
- Come back each day to read and comment on the tips. This will grow your skills and your business as well as your own social networking connections and effectiveness.

To your success!
BizCoachJason Rosado

P.S. For more tips on using social networking to build your marketing and sales funnel, provide huge value to your prospects and build your business quickly, check out the special report “Untangling Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook and More…”

A few of these might sound familiar, as you may have read or heard me gripe about now and then ;)

I especially like #3 on the list. This is one of my biggest pet-peeves of Fan Pages – it shows that the company behind it just doesn’t get it.

I hope you enjoy this article and put it to good use!
Jason
http://facebook.com/GrowYourBiz

How do they impact your client personally? By having more time with family, less stress, higher income, better health, more energy?

Those are the kinds of motivators/drivers that appeal to potential clients and that they really will respond to. It’s the bottom line of “what’s in it for me.”

See all the small business daily short tips at:

The presenter was giving very helpful information on the proper nutrition, diet and mindset needed to lose weight. It was very motivating, uplifting and moving. But…

I thought to myself, I bet only 20 people in that audience are going to make meaningful changes that will move them towards their desired weight loss goals once they leave the seminar.

Knowledge without action is worthless.

Don’t just read a book or an article, listen to an mp3 or watch a video about taking your marketing or sales to the next level. Make a plan on how you will put that info into ACTION today to grow your business.

Here are several quick and easy tips you can use to get into action – one for each day – to grow your business. If you have taken action on one of the Small Business Tips of the Day, then go ahead and “Like” our Fan Page, and post your success to the Wall!

http://facebook.com/GrowYourBiz

By posting your own successes, you can help many others with their action as well as have a place to introduce yourself to hundreds of other small business owners at the same time.

It’s a win-win!

Now… What action are you taking today to increase your clients, serve more people and explode your income?
(Hint: click here -> http://facebook.com/GrowYourBiz)

To your success!
Jason

Want to GET MORE REFERRALS from your current clients?

Here’s how in TWO EASY STEPS that you CAN DO TODAY…

1.) Start a dialog with the question, “What has been the most helpful for you about our work together so far?”

Asking this question helps to reaffirm and reinforce the value they’ve received from you, in their words and from their point of view.

2.) Then follow up with, “I’m looking for more clients right now. Do you know anyone that would also benefit from ____ (repeat their stated value, in their own words)?”

For more quick, easy business growth tips like this, go to > http://facebook.com/GrowYourBiz <

Don’t forget to “LIKE” it, and add your introduction of your business to The Wall, for the other Fans to see!

Getting the word out about your business on Facebook is one of the best, fastest ways to grow a following and get more people excited about how you can help them.

Feel free to comment with your thoughts, experiences, and share your insights with the other members. The more you share and post, the more exposure you get for your business…

* FRIDAY Tip of the Day: Prioritizing and efficiency -> When making your To-Do list at night, place the thing that… http://bit.ly/b8HJZU

* THURSDAY Tip of the Day: Getting More Yes’s to Your Networking and Sales Meeting Requests – Have you demonstrated… http://bit.ly/bkjSur

* WEDNESDAY Tip of the Day: When writing an online profile, bio or description of your business, be sure to relate… http://bit.ly/bg4lLN

* TUESDAY Tip of the Day: Use the “Solution, problem, solution” format in your speaking engagements and sales… http://bit.ly/aOS2Qj

* MONDAY Tip of the Day: The biggest sales mistake that most people make is not asking enough questions. You need to… http://bit.ly/9o1L9K

Have a great week!
BizCoachJason
http://facebook.com/BizCoachJason

Ok… they’re actually still called “Fan Pages.”

But many people have been commenting on the fact that Facebook has switched  from the “Become a Fan” button to a “Like” button.

The thinking is that people will be more likely to “Like” a page rather than “Become a Fan” of the page. I assume this is sort of like the difference between telling someone you have a crush on them and actually asking them out.

Although I don’t remember specifically getting up a lot of courage to just tell a girl that I “Liked” her and not follow up with a date offer. But maybe that was just me. Maybe I really wanted to “Become a Fan” so bad that it all was really same.

I wonder if in the end, Facebook will realize that this, too, is really all just the same.

Anyway, enjoy the new Facebook “Like” look. And please post your thoughts below on the subject!

“LIKE”  http://facebook.com/GrowYourBiz  :)

P.S. And, oh yeah… If you LIKE getting more clients, more money, more time and more freedom all from your business, then go ahead and ”Like” our Fan Page, “Achieve Your Ideal Business Now!”

We’re giving away the Sales & Marketing “Tip of the Day” each day. And you can also create lasting networking connections by posting something about your business on The Wall for all the other Fans to “Like”!

Like!

Best,
Jason