What's the Difference between a Facebook Page and a Facebook Profile... and Why Does It Matter?

Facebook has been having a heck of a 2018, which is why you’ve probably seen this ad on TV a few dozen times by now:

It’s not all PR – Facebook really is working to improve the overall Facebook experience! They’re tightening up its data security, cutting off spam accounts, and letting you see more of your friends (and fewer ads) in your News Feed.Facebook is even launching a new timer that lets you track how long you spend on Facebook every day AND set an alarm to remind you to take a break!All this is being done to make Facebook a much nicer place to hang out and connect with your friends and family online.Which is great! But there are some pretty big changes you should know about that have been flying under the radar – especially if you use Facebook to promote your business. Here are the two biggest ones you need to know.

No more posting from Edgar (or any app like Edgar) to your personal Facebook Profile

This one is kind of a bummer, right?Actually… we think this is a really good thing, and here’s why:A lot of the spam content Facebook has been battling has been from fake Facebook Profiles. Earlier in 2018, Facebook removed over half a billion of fake Profiles.

This was a great thing! For a platform that boasts over two billion monthly active users – or roughlytwo-thirds of all humans who have an internet connection – the number of purged profiles gives you an idea of just how important it is to Facebook to make sure everything on their HUGE platform is on the up-and-up.Now, because spam and fake accounts are generally run by not-nice people, the good-faith agreement that apps had with Facebook got tarnished.So by removing the ability to automatically post to Profiles (remember, the biggest sources of spam content), it is now that much more difficult to annoyingly spam people’s News Feeds.And that’s pretty darn awesome! After all, who wants to spend time at a place that’s lousy with spam content?To make things even less spammy, Facebook made their app review process much, much more strict. New apps have way more hoops to jump through to get approval, and only a few existing apps will be allowed to post to Facebook Groups, Pages, Events, and even Instagram anymore.

Ready for some awesome news?Edgar is already approved to post to Facebook Groups and Pages!

Really, all you gotta do now, if you use Edgar for your Facebook posting, is make sure you have a Page or a Group for your business – in addition to your Profile.(You’ll be able to post from Edgar to Instagram, too. We have an exciting announcement coming up very, very soon!)This is an amazing segue to the next big Facebook change you need to know about:

Facebook Profiles are for individuals ONLY, Facebook Pages are for businesses. (And yes, they're VERY serious.)

Okay, you may be asking yourself right now… what the heck is the actual difference between a Profile and a Page?So... let's back up a sec: there are three primary types of Facebook accounts, and Facebook defines them like this:

Profile - A non-commercial Facebook account for personal useExample: Peggy Sue Smith

Page - An account for businesses, brands and public figures; it’s a lot like a profile, but for commercial use (and you have to have a Profile to create a Page)Example: Peggy Sue’s Pies

Groups - Facebook’s version of forums, where members with similar interests can connect and interact with varying levels of privacy (Public, Closed, and Secret)Example: I LOVE PIES

Most people on Facebook only have a Profile, and many have used their Profile to post about their business, maybe by sharing a blog post or announcing an event or giveaway.If you have a consulting, real estate, or coaching business, a lot of what you post on Facebook is probably relationship marketing – that is, marketing who you are as a person as a reason to do business with you.

Thanks to all those fake Profiles, though, it is now it is against Facebook’s terms and conditions to use your Profile to post about your business. Ever.

This is pretty serious stuff: if you’re posting business-related stuff on your Profile, your account could be suspended, for good!

This change is no small thing for a lot of Edgar users – and Facebook users in general.The great news is creating a Page for your business is easy to do AND it allows you to better track the results of the promotions you run!(Plus you get an easier way for customers and potential customers to reach out!)If you’re feeling a bit overwhelmed by the idea of starting a new Facebook Page… don’t be! We’ve got some great, super-helpful resources to help you make the transition from Profile to Page:

How to Change from Your Personal Profile to Your Page Profile on Facebook

10 Reads to Get Up to Speed on Facebook Strategy: Live Broadcasts, Groups, Headlines, and More

Three Quick Tweaks for Getting Way More Value Out of Facebook Promoted Posts

What do you think about starting up a Facebook Page?

Do you already have a Facebook Page or are you creating one for the first time now?What are some of the biggest changes you’ve noticed in your online marketing?Have any helpful tips about making the switch?Let us know what you think in the comments below!