A lot of people have asked about this. But is it really possible? FB say no, but....
Facebook is an excellent business marketing tool.
I don't think anyone can seriously deny this.
But although a lot of businesses would like to profit from using this tool, many business owners are not so excited about the prospect of having to set up a personal profile just to be able to set up a Facebook Business Page.
And I can understand this. I mean, who would want to do business with their local newspaper if they had to turn over extensive details of their personal life just to be able to purchase a business ad? No one, that's who.
So it's not surprising I have been asked many times whether it is possible to set up a Facebook Business Page without first having to set up a personal profile.
If you ask Facebook, they say no.
They say individuals are required to first set up a personal profile before they can set up a Business Page because they say this helps weed out bogus businesses and scammers.
But in fact, the real answer to the question, "Do I have to set up a personal profile before I can set up a Business Page is "sort of".
I'll explain what I mean.
To be able to set up a Business Page, you do indeed have to set up some sort of personal profile.
That's the "bad news".
But that doesn't mean you have to do more than the absolute bare minimum. That you can definitely control!
Just follow these easy steps and you'll be able to almost instantly jump to creating your Business Page:
Go to Facebook.com and click on "Create New Account"
When entering your name and email address, make sure you use your real name and a real email address. This is important because you may be required to validate your account and/or Business Page at some point and if you just fill in rubbish here, you'll never be able to sort this.
As far as your date of birth and gender are concerned, that's up to you. Just make sure you pick a date of birth that makes you of legal age so you don't undercut your ability to use all the features required for your Business Page. If you don't use your real date of birth, make a note of the date you do give just in case you have to refer back to this in the future.
When you are then asked to choose your profile picture, pick something absolutely innocuous. Something like a random object or a landscape, but definitely not a real picture of you. In this way, you can avoid anyone identifying you and sending you an unwanted friend request or whatever. Also, don't fill out any other personal information! Facebook will ask you for it, but you are absolutely not required to supply it. All you are required to supply is your name, birthdate, and email address. That's it.
Now go in and turn off all notifications. Just go to the top right of the screen on your computer or laptop and click on the upside-down triangle. Then select Settings and Privacy --> Settings and then click on Notifications near the bottom of the list on the left-hand side of the screen.
There are separate settings where you can receive notifications via push, so just go in and click all of these OFF:
Mine are on because I need them on, but you don't have to have them on. Also, please note: further down there is a similar setting for Pages You Manage, which you will want on, but the others you don't need, so turn them OFF.
Last but not least, bookmark the specific pages you are going to you. For example, if your business is going to be called facebook.com/DeliciousDonuts, bookmark this and use it to access your page rather than going to Facebook.com and logging in from there.
I hope this little workaround takes care of the problem for you should you need it.
But if you would prefer to just get on with running your business and have someone else handle your social media for you, get in touch with me and we can have a FREE, no-obligation chat about your social media needs: www.willhelton.com/contact
All the best,
Will
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