Let’s be honest, unless you’ve been living in a cave, you’re on social media. Though I have to imagine that rent is quite exceptional when one lives in a cave. But seeing as though central air and heat are dicey in a cave situation, let’s correctly assume you’re in a cozy apartment, with your adorable little doggie, enjoying a bottle of red, and skimming through the granddaddy of all social networks…
By now you’ve figured out how to share photos and updates with your friends and family. But what may still be a little confusing (and you’re not the only one who thinks this), is should you be using Facebook for your career. And if so, (for the love of pete) how?
There are three main questions we go through on our lifelong Facebook journey, and here they are in no particular order:
1. Which of these two pictures is more flattering? (Lord knows I’ve had to untag myself from a pic or two with unseemly arm angles)
2. What is the best cover photo to represent who I am as the awesome human being that I am?
3. Do I really need a Facebook Page or can I just use my Profile?
Question three has plagued the minds of creative entrepreneurs everywhere. And if you were to ask me year or two ago, I would tell you that you NEED a Page. Pronto. Period. Presently. And other words that start with P. But first, what IS the difference?
Facebook Profile: What you set up first and foremost as you the individual. This is where your friends and family can see what you’re up to, the place you post the album from your trip to New York, and the place where you can really let your personality shine. Here, people can request to be your friend, but be careful, because if you are too popular you can only have up to 5,000 friends. Facebook expects you to have fun here and share with your buddies, and therefore are not allowed to sell anything or get to “markety”.
Facebook Page: For businesses, brands, organizations, causes, and public figures to use as a major (and in this day and age, necessary) marketing tool. Here, people don’t need to send you a friend request, they just simply LIKE your page. And the good news? An unlimited number of people can like your page. Facebook expects that here you will try to sell something (this something can be you yourself as the brand and not just a product) and therefore has special built in capabilities you can’t get on a Facebook Profile. Here, you can also post your own Facebook Ads.
So what is a creative solopreneur like you supposed to do? Have both a Page and a Profile?
It’s hard because it isn’t so black and white.
You don’t turn on and off. Meaning, most creatives I know bring their personality into their careers. The projects they work on can fit into their personal lives and their professional lives. In other words, your identity as a creative is closely intertwined with your professional career driven self. So if you have a picture from behind scenes of the independent film you’re doing, do you post it on the Page? But don’t the people on your Profile want to see it too? So now you have to post the same thing on both? See how it can be hard for an creative individual?
Now if you had an actual company who needed to promote things, sell things, curate things, and other entrepreneury goodness, then you DO need a Facebook Page. But if you are a creative solopreneur with a personal brand, then you may actually benefit from just having a Facebook Profile.
Here are 3 Reasons why:
1. Facebook needs to make money, which is bad news for most Pages
Facebook has changed the algorithm for your News Feed to only allow a small (pathetically so) percentage of Pages you have Liked in the past. Meaning, you remember about a year ago a friend asked you to Like his Page? You did because you’re a good friend. But now, chances are pretty good you don’t see his Page in your News Feed much, if at all. That is because Facebook has made it extremely difficult for a Page to grow organically and is forcing the hand of Page owners to buy ads in order to get seen. So if you have a small number of likes (and that small could mean in the thousands versus the millions that major brands have) and the only one liking your posts is your mother in law, then you probably aren’t being seen.
2. The People interested in you want to see YOU
Creative solopreneurs like yourself, usually have FANS and not CLIENTS. And Fans want to see different things than Clients. The latter wants information from you and wants to buy either your product or service (and therefore, you should have a Page). But Fans…oh sweet sweet Fans. They want to see behind the scenes, news on upcoming projects, and access to you. If that’s the case then a Profile is all you really need.
3. And simply…it’s simpler
Because now you don’t have to run two at the same time (a Page AND a Profile). And it just makes good old fashioned (yum, Old Fashioneds) sense when you find yourself posting the same stuff on both things.
So I know what you may be thinking. At the top of this post I told you that Profiles only allowed you to have 5,000 Friends (that’s a bummer, cuz I like you). And, doesn’t that completely blow my privacy out the door if I share the same stuff with my bestie as I do with a Fan who just saw my latest reel?
Spoiler Alert…I’m not going to leave you hanging. Here’s how you can turn your Profile into the thriving social media machine you need for your creative career AND exuberant life sharing:
By turning on the Follow button on your Profile Page you can attract and control your content all on one page. Meaning you can select to share an update, photo, or video just with your Friends or with Everybody. And the beauty is that you can have unlimited Followers. (Note: Again, if you actually have something to sell and want to market the heck out of your product, then get yourself a PAGE)
Here’s how to turn on Follow:
- Log into your Facebook Profile
- Go to your Settings
- Click on Followers in the left column
- Choose Everybody next to Who Can Follow Me
- Now every time you go to update your status, choose either Public or
As individual creative entrepreneurs, we are forced to live our lives a little differently. Because it isn’t so black and white. What we do creatively is such a personal extension of ourselves that if we were forced to rip them apart it would be bananas. And I don’t know about you, but I love that fact. Cave or no cave.