The following is a guest post by Livvie Matthews of SimpleSocialMedia.tv. If you are interested in guest posting for Dental Heroes, please sign up here.

One of the questions asked often is: “I already have a Profile page on Facebook, do I really need a Facebook Business Page?”

That’s sort of like the question (in dentistry) “Do I really need to floss?” You know the answer ….Only the teeth you want to keep!!
Originally, Facebook was only for making connections, not for business, hence Profile pages. It was a profile of you, your personal information, likes and dislikes.

Then businesses begin to see the power Facebook held and started creating Profile pages for their businesses (which is actually against Facebook rules). So in true Facebook fashion…Facebook started making changes (imagine that!) and created the Business page portion of Facebook. Profile pages are very limited as to what can and can’t be done as far as a business is concerned. The most noticeable being viewers have to wait to be confirmed after sending a “friend request”.

Profile Page VS Business Page

To see how the two differ let’s look at PROFILE -vs- BUSINESS this way:

Your PROFILE page is really a personal page (and not to be used as a business per FB). It’s like your home. If someone comes to your door at home, they knock on your door and have to wait to be let in.

Your BUSINESS page is just that….your Business. When someone comes to your place of business, they walk right in (during business hours of course). They don’t have to wait to be “confirmed”. Remember we live in an age of ‘instant gratification’! With that said, think about people interested in doing business with you having to wait outside until you let them in (PROFILE: waiting for you to confirm their ‘friend request’). That could sometimes take days. By that time, you may confirm them, but they may have already found someone else to do business with. You’ve lost a potential client or patient.

With a BUSINESS page on Facebook, your visitors walk right in as soon as they “Like” you. The “Like” is just opening your door. No waiting for you to approve them. Come to think of it, when did you ever have to wait to be approved before you could enter a store or business to shop or receive services?

We also talk about branding and how important it is to brand our business. In fact we spend a lot of time…writing posts, uploading pictures, creating videos, posting our bios, responding to viewers…branding our business…to get viewers and potential clients and patients to come to our Facebook page….only to have them….wait while you approve/confirm their friend request!

That’s like finally getting a new prospect to call your office….only to be put on endless hold…and hope they are still on the line when you get back to them!
Why would you want to make a prospective new client or patient wait to see all you have available to them when they don’t have too?? You’ve spent and invested too much time in getting that prospect to your Facebook site to make them wait!

Then if you’ve seen the light and are thinking….”OK, If I create a Business page, will I lose all the people I’ve connected with on my Profile page?” Absolutely not! You still are connected to them, can market to them, and will point them to your business page. If you’re comfortable with creating Facebook pages, you can create your own business page (connected to your profile page) or outsource it to a social media specialist.

Bottom Line

So in answer to the original question: “…..Do I really need a Facebook Business page?” Answer: “Only if you’re in business!”
The point is, when you’re in business, you always want to put your best business foot forward. So unlock your doors and be “Open to the public”. Create your Facebook Business page and let your new prospects… walk right in!

Your Thoughts

Do you have a Facebook Business Page for your practice? If so, how has it impacted your practice?

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