(Originally published in the September 2013 issue of The National Notary magazine )
Most of us have personal Facebook profiles to connect and share with our friends and family. But is what you’re sharing on your personal profile appropriate for signing services and other business clients? More than ever, it is paramount to keep the two worlds separated. Your Facebook business page can be a platform to help your NSA business thrive. If used properly and appropriately, it can be a way to boost your business. If not, it can be your pathway to a quick marketing demise.
Looking The Part
Pictures of your child or your friend’s birthday bash are great to share with close friends, but are those really the things you want to share with title companies and signing services? Combining your personal and business profiles on one page looks sloppy and unprofessional, says digital marketing consultant Jon Loomer. It screams, “I don’t know what I’m doing!” A separate business profile will convey an image of professionalism allowing clients to see you as someone they can trust. Think about it this way: Would you trust your Social Security number and confidential financial data to a Signing Agent whose profile is littered with racy photos?
Eliminating Confusion
A Facebook page can be a valuable business tool because it allows your clients to easily communicate with you and others about your services. But that value gets muddied if your customers have to wade through personal posts. Escrow companies and signing services also may be more likely to ignore notifications from your page if they think these alerts mean that you’ve just posted another picture of your precocious cat.
Avoiding Limits On Your Growth
Successful entrepreneurs hate the idea of limiting their growth potential, but relying solely on a personal Facebook profile will do just that because you’ll be limited to a maximum of 5,000 “friends.” A business profile lets you have an unlimited number of “Likes.” With 1.6 billion active Facebook users, the sky is the only limit.
For “How-To” advice on making the most of your professional social media presence, check out our social media marketing tips for Notaries.
Moses Keshishian is the Social Media Manager with the National Notary Association.