Facebook Profiles vs Facebook Pages
There are three major components to Facebook: Profiles (Timelines), Pages, and Groups.
But for right now I am just going to talk about Facebook pages and profiles as well as why I recommend you create a Facebook Page to promote your art.
Facebook Profiles
The FB profile is what most of us are familiar with because it is designed to be a user’s personal page where they can share status updates, photos, and videos on their wall. This is the official word from Facebook on how profiles are to be used:
“Profiles (timelines) are for personal, non-commercial use only. They represent individuals and must be held under an individual name.”
Facebook Pages
FB pages are designed for businesses, brands, organizations, celebrities, and artists to connect with people on Facebook. The official word on pages:
“Pages are for professional or official use, and allow an organization, business, celebrity or band to maintain a presence on Facebook.”
Most artists fall in between those two definitions. For many artists their art and their art career is just an extension of themselves as therefor seems very personal which is why many probable just use their profiles to promote their work on Facebook. But FB states that it is to be for “non-commercial use only” which would mean an artist is not allowed to promote their work on their profile if their goal is to make a sale.
Which is just one of the many reasons you should set up a separate Facebook Page for your art. Here are other reasons:
Privacy – Profiles connected on Facebook are like a two way street. I see what you post and you see what I post. (using default settings) Pages create more of a one way street which is better for users and therefore make people more likely to “Like” your page.
Limitless – Your profile is limited to 5,000 friends but a page has no limits to how many people “Like” it. Depending where you are in your career 5,000 might seem like plenty. But I know many artists who have hit that limit on their profile and had to go through the hassle of converting those people to a page.
Multiple Admins – Pages allow you to grant access to more than one user. This can be very helpful if you have someone helping your promote your work. Profiles are only allowed one user.
Easy to use – Over the years profiles and pages have become very similar in look and function. So if you already have a profile you will not have any problem using a page.
Freedom – A page allows you to post, share, and talk about your art as much as you’d like because those who have “Liked” it expect that. That is what they want. On the other hand if you did that on your profile page there are some who are connected with you who will want to hear about more than just your art. Profiles are expected to be more about your personal life. You know like what you had for breakfast.
Safe – Facebook has the right to shut down your profile without warning if they believe you are in violation of their terms of service. The same is true of pages but you are allowed to do much more on a page when it comes to marketing and promotion than you are on a profile. Don’t risk abusing a page and losing your right to be on Facebook.
Now hopefully you see why it is you want a Facebook page. Next we’ll talk about how to create a page and how to get it noticed.
Any questions?