Do you really understand Your Facebook Newsfeed, User Profile and Business Page? What are the differences?
First, I have to address a statement a prospective client said to me last week, which has inspired this blog post:
“Every time I post an update on my business page it posts to my Facebook Profile too.”
My response:
The status update you are posting on your business page is not posting to your Facebook User Profile. The reason you are seeing the updates that you post on you business page is because you have clicked “Like” on your business page and the update is appearing in your Facebook News Feed.
That was a tongue twister to say as you can imagine …. at this point I usually recommend to the prospective client they consider my two hour Facebook Social Media Coaching session in which I explain all these nitty-gritty details.
Understanding Your Facebook Newsfeed ….
When you are logged as your Facebook User Profile the updates in your News Feed consists of status updates of your friends and business pages that you have clicked “Like”. You sometimes will see (based on your friends privacy settings) the new connections your friends have made, comments others have made on their status updates and pages they have recently clicked on “Like”. You will also see your status updates that you posted on your Facebook Wall Tab. This is not an all inclusive list of what you will see in your News Feed, but it gives you an overview.
Understanding Your Facebook Profile ….
When you click Profile while logged in as your Facebook User Profile (not as your business page) you are viewing your recent status updates and Facebook activity. The Profile tab will show your new friend connections and “Likes”/comments you posted on your friends’ status updates and other business pages you like. You will also see the business pages that you have clicked “Like” recently and blog post on 3rd party websites that you clicked the Facebook “Like” icon.
Understanding your Business Page ….
First I must say that on March 10 Facebook will convert all business pages to the new layout. That is right … if you haven’t already moved your page to the new format you might as well do it before Facebook does it for you.
Before you convert your business page to the new format, do you have any Facebook photos added to your albums? If not go ahead and load up the ones you want visible at the top of your Profile Wall tab now. It’s better to have some pictures up there then the default blue box. If there are pictures in the panes that you do not want to show simply scroll over the photo and an X should appear in the upper right. Click the X on the photo and it will be removed from the pane view. It’s still in the album where it was originally added, it’s just not in the pane view on your Facebook Wall.
Your custom Static FBML tabs still work with the new business pages. You can still have a custom landing tab be the default for new visitors to your page. Instead of the tabs to view listed at the top of your business page going across, they will be in a column on the left. The names of those that like your page are only visible to the admins of the page. The visitors to the page will only see a total count of how many “Likes” the page has.
Once you convert to the new business page you can post on the page as the page or as your Facebook User Profile. You can post a status update as the page then as your Facebook User Profile post a “Like”/comment underneath. The default setting is to posting as the page when you are your business page.
To change this setting:
- Click Edit Page on top right hand side
- Click Your Settings on upper left hand side
- Uncheck the box that says “Always comment and post on your page as Page Name even when using Facebook as Your Name”.
You receive notifications with the new business page format. It shows you those that have liked your page recently, clicked “Like” on the page’s status updates or commented.
To view these notifications you have to be logged in using Facebook as the page. To do this click “Use Facebook as Your Business Page Name”. You can switch back to your Facebook User Profile by clicking “use Facebook as Your Name”.
Business Page News Feed
On your business page News Feed you will see status updates of any pages that you have clicked “Like” when logged in as your business page. Just to clarify … you will not see status updates of those that “Like” your page in the business page News Feed, only the pages that your business page “Likes”.
Business Page Profile
On your business page profile you will see the status updates and recent Facebook activity of your business page, which would include comments posted on status updates of other pages and pages that you have clicked “Like” as the business page. Business pages cannot comment on Facebook User Profiles, at this point, pages can only communicate with other business pages.
As you have seen from all the specifics listed about … Facebook has many intricate details. I could go on and on about Facebook User Profiles and Business Pages. I am going to end with this and trust I have answered your questions.
It’s your turn … what did I miss? Share what you see as essential for other readers of this blog post to know. Looking forward to your feedback and questions!
Facebook Page Marketing Secret: Why I covet your Facebook Comments and Shares, not just Likes!
Did the post title above get your attention? Good. So why do I covet your Facebook Comments and Shares, not just “Likes”!
Because the Facebook algorithm is strongly affected by engagement, which affects the reach received in the Facebook Newsfeed that a Facebook Status Update, Facebook Share or Facebook Link post receives. Whew! That was a lot of fancy words.
Check out this image of how just a few Comments and Shares, coupled with “Likes” can make a small page liked Fabric Cafe go viral.
So what does that all mean in Layman’s terms? How does it affect you as a Facebook Page owner?
It means that you can post all day long on your Facebook Page (I am not talking your Facebook personal profile) and if you don’t get any Comments, Shares and “Likes” your posts will most likely not be seen by those that have clicked “Like” on your Facebook Page, unless you pay Facebook to Promote the post or they go to visit your Facebook Page.
One of the reasons for this is when someone logs into their Facebook account their default setting for “Home” aka Facebook Newsfeed is “Top News” unless they manually elect to change this to “Most Recent”. (This applies on your computer and when using the Facebook app on your iPhone / iPad / Android devices / etc.
Go change yours now and check it periodically. It will default back to “Top News” frequently. Tell all your Facebook Friends and Facebook Fans to fix this ASAP.
What are some of the factors that affect a Facebook Status Update’s visibility in the “Top News”? Glad you asked:
What can you do to increase your visibility, get into the “Top News” and reach as many as possible on Facebook?
What else can you do? Educate your fans “Likers” as I have called them in the past for fun! (See “Moving your Facebook Friends to Fans or Likers”.)
Ask them to elect to “Get Notified” when you post an update. With this feature, when you post a Facebook Status on your Facebook Business Page those that have “Liked” your page will receive a Notification alert that you have posted new content.
There are two ways to do “Get Notifications” from Facebook Pages:
Now for those of your fans (I’m old school and still use this term way too much!) that do elect to “Get Notified” they will receive an update every time you post something on your Facebook Page directly from Facebook. Posting to Facebook from 3rd party services like HootSuite will not give them the Notification Alert. Also, if you post something on your Facebook Page, don’t like it and delete it, then repost they will get a 2nd alert. Be cautious of this when posting updates, try and make sure it is right the 1st time. Keep in mind you don’t want to torture them with unnecessary alerts on their computer, smartphone, etc. It might cause them to elect NOT to “Get Notified”.
So let’s talk a little more about this “Online Army – Your Network”! What can you do to grow your Online Army and help your Online Army succeed?
Remember that Comments encourages comments. Shares encourages shares. “Likes” encourages likes. Give to your “Online Army” and they will reciprocate. Don’t be afraid to ask them to “Share” and Comment.
Now that you have read this post and been educated on Why I covet your Comments and Shares, not just your “Likes” you are part of my “Online Army”, so please click “Like” and “Share” below and by all means, don’t forget to comment!
I know you have value to add to this post …. so comment away!