Facebook personal account for a business/organisation?

Hey all,

Plenty of advantages to having a personal account over a 'like' one, in my opinion. I'd like to make a personal account for my photography page, however, Facebook refuses to accept my name (Shane Maguire Photography" as a real name.

That seems fair enough, but clearly there's a workaround that I'm not familiar with.

A local radio station have a personal account. Another two photographers I know have personal accounts (with Photos or photography in their name), etc. and lots of other local businesses (florist, hotel, etc.) have personal accounts.


Just wondering if anyone know the workaround here, to getting facebook to accept a name that's not a real name?



Cheers

28064212

It's against the terms and conditions of Facebook to use a personal account for a business. They've probably just added some new prevention code to their sign-up form to limit people doing this. The ones you see were probably set up before this measure came in.

And all the advantages of a personal account won't matter a great deal when Facebook could just shutdown your account at any time and leave you no other option except starting from scratch

TsuDhoNimh

Deleted User wrote: »

Plenty of advantages to having a personal account over a 'like' one, in my opinion.

Out of curiosity, what advantages do you feel a personal account has over a business page?

Personally, all I see from it is the negatives. The risks of the profile being shut down, the lost work, potential likes put off as they don't want to share personal information, lack of insights, lack of search engine visibility, lack of integration with website social features, poor branding potential (both in terms of the information that can be shared and in terms of the unprofessional impact of having a breach of T&Cs [only relevant to a handful of users, but relevant none the less]), etc. etc..

I just couldn't warrant investing time into a platform where I know I'm in breach of the terms and at risk of losing my investment at any moment.

Deleted User wrote: »

A local radio station have a personal account. Another two photographers I know have personal accounts (with Photos or photography in their name), etc. and lots of other local businesses (florist, hotel, etc.) have personal accounts.

Just wondering if anyone know the workaround here, to getting facebook to accept a name that's not a real name?

One of the reasons you're hitting the problem is that FB have started to monitor these breaches a little closer (still not close enough IMHO) and have better automated filters to help unknowing users from encountering the problem.

I'd imagine that if you set up the profile for a 'real name' you'd then be able to convert the visible name to the brand you require, but that's an assumption as it's something I've never tried.

biko

Will account be used in a personal capacity as well?

If so create the account with your name and then simply add the "Photography" bit once account is active? I don't think this would be again FB rules.
If it is somehow then they might kick you out, just sayin'

TsuDhoNimh

TsuDhoNimh wrote: »

Out of curiosity, what advantages do you feel a personal account has over a business page?

Randomly add people to get them seeing your updates and such, for a start (it sounds like an asshole move, but it works). Ability to mass-message everyone with deals/promotions/etc. without taking out Facebook ads (which may or may not be effective in relaying your message and are limited in terms of characters you can use), people can personal message you to enquire about pricing and such (for boudoir photography for example, not everyone wants to announce to facebook that they want to get such photographs taken).

That's just off the top of my head. I'm sure there are more I could think of, but you begin to see that it'd be extremely useful for me.

It won't allow me to add "Photography" to my name or as a nickname either.

And I'm sure the chances of Facebook shutting my account are slim. Everyone else seems to be getting away with it.

28064212

Deleted User wrote: »

And I'm sure the chances of Facebook shutting my account are slim. Everyone else seems to be getting away with it.

I wouldn't be too sure about that. The fact that they've added username-filtering to their sign-up form suggests they're probably getting ready to do a clearout of the vast majority of similar personal accounts

aidan_walsh

Randomly add people to get them seeing your updates and such, for a start (it sounds like an asshole move, but it works). Ability to mass-message everyone with deals/promotions/etc. without taking out Facebook ads (which may or may not be effective in relaying your message and are limited in terms of characters you can use)

Two very good ways to ensure that I never, ever use your service. Spam is not welcome in any guise.

BrianD

Deleted User wrote: »

Randomly add people to get them seeing your updates and such, for a start (it sounds like an asshole move, but it works).

Not a smart business move in todays environment.

Ability to mass-message everyone with deals/promotions/etc. without taking out Facebook ads (which may or may not be effective in relaying your message and are limited in terms of characters you can use), people can personal message you to enquire about pricing and such (for boudoir photography for example, not everyone wants to announce to facebook that they want to get such photographs taken).

Spamming people is not condusive to good business either! In terms of enquiries, you can have an e-mail address on your account that people can contact you directly if they don't fancy leaving a message on your wall.

That's just off the top of my head. I'm sure there are more I could think of, but you begin to see that it'd be extremely useful for me.

It won't allow me to add "Photography" to my name or as a nickname either.

And I'm sure the chances of Facebook shutting my account are slim. Everyone else seems to be getting away with it.

Corect! There's nobody I know called photography! It's not a real name!

They will. FB regularly engage in mass deletions of "non primary" or "Fake accounts" so you do run the risk. They've already flagged this.

The advantages of a Page for business, far out weigh the advantages of a Profile. You can't Like a personal profile - and Like is what everybody does when it comes to business. Plus you can't exceed 5,000 friends which may not be an issue for you (but bad news if it's a local radio station!).

Plus I think many people suss out the difference between Profiles and Pages. Personally, I wouldn't "friend" a business using a personal profile for the very reasons you outline above.

TsuDhoNimh

Deleted User wrote: »

Randomly add people to get them seeing your updates and such, for a start (it sounds like an asshole move, but it works).

Putting aside the ethical views on this (that's subjective and while I do frown upon it, that's obviously not your view), it's simply not an effective means of communicating with your target market.

If you're 'randomly' adding people, they've no interest in seeing the stuff you're posting and will either ignore your messages or block you from their news feed far more than they'll engage with.

Without having a page, you miss out on the valuable analytical information available through insights. This is the biggest benefit of pages IMHO (though Brian mentioned some of the others which are also important). Here, you're actually conversing with targeted, relevant and interested people. By monitoring the effectiveness of different posts and types of content, you can gain incredibly valuable information on what works and what doesn't. This can then be used to greatly increase your viral reach on FB, along with feeding into your website/SEO/PPC/other marketing channels.

Deleted User wrote: »

Ability to mass-message everyone with deals/promotions/etc. without taking out Facebook ads (which may or may not be effective in relaying your message and are limited in terms of characters you can use)

About as effective as spam mail shots. Really, you'll do yourself more harm than good using this technique. A single post on a page with special offers will be far more effective, provide a much better brand image and if done smartly provide a great viral spread to your existing fans network.

Deleted User wrote: »

people can personal message you to enquire about pricing and such (for boudoir photography for example, not everyone wants to announce to facebook that they want to get such photographs taken).

Not really an advantage. The same can be done now with pages.

Deleted User wrote: »

but you begin to see that it'd be extremely useful for me.

Not really. I've seen the arguments for and against it numerous times. I still can't see any advantage of a profile that isn't seriously outweighed by the advantages of a page. It's subjective though, so happy to agree with a difference of opinion here.

BrianD

There is a challenge for self employed people such as photographers who don't want to set a Page because they are not an organisation or company. Plus they don't want to have the time involved in maintaining two pages.

Facebook have a great option called Subscribe. This means you can subscribe to the public posts of a Profile without "friending" them (your friends get to see these plus your 'friends only' posts) There's also a "subscribe button" you can add to a web site.

A useful feature for some people who work for themselves.

I'd be surprised if there are any radio stations left with Profile pages but let us know who they are. Another disadvantage of Profiles is that you have to be logged into FB to see the content - you don't have to be for Pages (unless it's restricted material). You're also see which of your friends like the page so you can ask them for recommendations.

BTW that like button at the bottom of the page is a bit sneaky and a bit of a waste. Sneaky because it looks like the like button for a piece of content and doesn't give me the details of the page I'm liking. Wasted because it's below the fold and explains why you are not gaining fans. You should use this one: https://developers.facebook.com/docs/reference/plugins/like-box/


Nice portfolio by the way!

TsuDhoNimh

TsuDhoNimh wrote: »

Putting aside the ethical views on this (that's subjective and while I do frown upon it, that's obviously not your view), it's simply not an effective means of communicating with your target market.

As I say, it works, though. I've seen the same exact tactic used by other photographers that I know and they've had success with it.

The trick is to add them as a friend, and then leave them alone. Anytime you upload photos or such, because they're subscribed by default, they see your images appearing.

Rarely does anyone need a photographer straight away, but when the time comes that they do have a nee for a photographer, they know your name. It's less about spamming them and more about becoming familiar to them.

If you're 'randomly' adding people, they've no interest in seeing the stuff you're posting and will either ignore your messages or block you from their news feed far more than they'll engage with.

As said, short term they've no interest, but when they do have an interest in a photographer, they know your name. I hate spam as much as the next person, believe me, but it creates a presence, and so long as you don't wreck people's heads with a message every few days or such, you usually get by okay, I find, with little resentment from people.

About as effective as spam mail shots. Really, you'll do yourself more harm than good using this technique. A single post on a page with special offers will be far more effective, provide a much better brand image and if done smartly provide a great viral spread to your existing fans network.

I agree. But it's difficult to do that with photography. Especially when you're not the most established in the world.

Not really an advantage. The same can be done now with pages.

The sooner that comes in, the better.

Not really. I've seen the arguments for and against it numerous times. I still can't see any advantage of a profile that isn't seriously outweighed by the advantages of a page. It's subjective though, so happy to agree with a difference of opinion here.

28064212 wrote: »

I wouldn't be too sure about that. The fact that they've added username-filtering to their sign-up form suggests they're probably getting ready to do a clearout of the vast majority of similar personal accounts

I'm doubtful they'll delete an account that has lots of friends, regardless of whether it's a business or not. They'll probably just offer them a chance to change over to a page or something.

aidan_walsh wrote: »

Two very good ways to ensure that I never, ever use your service. Spam is not welcome in any guise.

Regardless; it works.

BrianD wrote: »

They will. FB regularly engage in mass deletions of "non primary" or "Fake accounts" so you do run the risk. They've already flagged this.

The advantages of a Page for business, far out weigh the advantages of a Profile. You can't Like a personal profile - and Like is what everybody does when it comes to business. Plus you can't exceed 5,000 friends which may not be an issue for you (but bad news if it's a local radio station!).

Plus I think many people suss out the difference between Profiles and Pages. Personally, I wouldn't "friend" a business using a personal profile for the very reasons you outline above.

Yes, the radio station have reached their limit of 5,000 friends and now also have a like page set up, too. I don't foresee 5,000 likes or friends surrounding me, so it's not an issue for me, personally.

I don't think very many people think that far into it (oh wow, what a great photographer/gym/band/clothing store, but oh no, it's a personal account. I better find someone/somewhere else!). It doesn't really happen.

BrianD wrote: »

I'd be surprised if there are any radio stations left with Profile pages but let us know who they are. Another disadvantage of Profiles is that you have to be logged into FB to see the content - you don't have to be for Pages (unless it's restricted material). You're also see which of your friends like the page so you can ask them for recommendations.

Well the station I'm referring to are LMFM Radio. They have a like page but each 'show' during the day has it's own personal page, as do each presenter i believe (usually with LMFM after their name).

There are upsides to the like page, of course, it does everything I need it to do, but it just makes spreading your name very difficult. I don't even have a "share" button on my account anymore (so I can't ask other people to hit "share" so their friends can see it).

The only way I can actually share my page at the moment is through Facebook ads, but then they're usually overlooked anyway, the minimum spend is about €350 i think, and although I've been meaning to try them to see how effective (if at all) they are, I keep thinking they'll be a waste.

BrianD wrote: »

BTW that like button at the bottom of the page is a bit sneaky and a bit of a waste. Sneaky because it looks like the like button for a piece of content and doesn't give me the details of the page I'm liking. Wasted because it's below the fold and explains why you are not gaining fans. You should use this one: https://developers.facebook.com/docs/reference/plugins/like-box/

The Like box was an afterthought. I don't particularly care about it. I'm gonna add a new button at the top beside CONTACT that will bring you to my facebook page. Counter-productive in that it makes you leave my site, but it lands you on my facebook page, which you can then see more of my stuff or, if that messaging thing ever gets implemented, you can contact me.


The vast, vast majority of my work so far has come through facebook. It's the golden pages of today. Very little comes through the website itself, so I'm not too fussed about it to be honest. So long as it looks nice I'm happy. I don't see it getting much use.

BrianD wrote: »

Nice portfolio by the way!

Thank you very much.

BrianD

You've a lot of stuff there but just one important thing to know. Just because I "friend" you does not mean that I'll see your updates. You'll fade away! Have a look at your own friends and see how many updates that you are seeing from them.

I think what you are doing with your Page is the right way to go - you've got the page owner visible which is good as well. People can subscribe to your personal profile if they wish.

I'd put a Like box on your page and Like buttons for content on your page. Remember your goal should be to get traffic from FB back to your site as a priority and not the opposite.

irish1967

I would strongly advise switching to a business page. I set up a personal page for my employer and had 1200+ friends on it and it was indeed a valuable marketing and promotional tool. All was going well until ....
A longer established and somewhat dormant personal page claiming to be owned by my companies owner was brought to my attention and on my employers instruction I reported the page to facebook. They suspended both my page and the phoney one.

Makes sense. My page could have been the fake one even though I was the one doing the reporting. Major problem. Personal page was the business name.. let's call it Murphy's Hotel. Facebook then wanted passport drivers licence proving I am that person. Dear Mr. Murphy's Hotel... You can see the problem.

In the end I told them I could provide a registered VAT number proving I was Murphy's Hotel. They gave me 48 hours to switch to a business page. Yes they did give me full instruction on how to convert and all went well.

So you set up your photography page as a personal page and get say 1000+ local and useful friends. Then I set up a page under any name and report your page. They ask you to prove you are a person called John Smith-Photography ( btw hyphenated surnames work) and you can't and bam !!! Page suspended.

Set up a personal page under your name and then attach a business page to it. As you gather friends on your personal page ask them to like your business page.

In my experience voyeurism is one of the main reasons many people prefer to use personal pages. Don't laugh.. It's truer than you might think. A business owner with a personal page can go through all the pics of their 'friends' whereas this cannot be done ( and rightly so) from a business page.

In conclusion, once again, switch to a business page ASAP.

jpmiddleton

28064212 wrote: »

I wouldn't be too sure about that. The fact that they've added username-filtering to their sign-up form suggests they're probably getting ready to do a clearout of the vast majority of similar personal accounts

There are many, many businesses that have had their page shut down recently for doing this via the personal page. As has been said, be very careful - it's not worth the hassle.