Each Facebook member has a unique personal profile on Facebook. An individual can have only one profile per email account and that profile can only be created, maintained, and credited to that person. Often, people create both a personal profile and a more public profile using separate e-mail addresses.
A Facebook member can have multiple Pages, but only Pages created by the real public figure, artist, brand, or organization, or by an official representative of the entity. Pages are managed by admins, whose names are never revealed. You are the admin for your Page unless you specify someone else.
Finally, Facebook Pages have no fan limit, and can automatically accept fan requests, whereas profiles are restricted to a 5,000-friend limit and friends must be approved.
Using a personal account for promoting business interests, or creating an unauthorized Page, may result in a warning or even an account termination. So, be safe, use your profile page for personal networking and your Page for business promotion.
Figure: Screenshot of bench3 Page on Facebook
Both personal profiles and Pages have gone through several transitions and the distinctions between the two continue to blur. Capabilities once found only on profiles, such as status updates, the News Feed, and the Wall are finding their way onto Pages. These feature upgrades all serve to the marketer’s advantage.
Facebook Pages are for public figures, businesses, and brands who want to establish a presence on Facebook and start interacting with fans. Pages can be enhanced with apps and provide an open forum for discussions and shared content. Only the official representative of the artist or business controls their Facebook Page.
When creating a Facebook Page, use only those elements that either provide value to the visitor or represent the brand in a positive, audience-appropriate way. Because having an appropriate Facebook page will provide a great opportunity for both business-to-consumer (B2C) and business-to-business (B2B) marketers to get the word out about their product or organization.
