First, you are supposed to be a professional, a powerhouse, and business person in the industry. You want clients — clients who hire you and pay you to do work for them. Remember 10, 15, 20 years ago when getting published in a magazine or book, or even authoring your own book was the trophy that showed your following and how established you were in the industry? Or even appearing on a TV show as a guest gave you massive clout? Well, those days are OVER! And,if you are still enjoying the fruits of being published often, well, those days are ending soon so you best get on this New Media train before you get left in the dust!

You might have noticed companies and potential clients asking you things like:

• Facebook, twitter, Pinterest follower numbers – and they don't mean how many “friends” you have
• Engagement Numbers (wth does that MEAN)?
• CTR (Click-through-rate)
• Klout and Kred Scores
• Alexa or Google Rank
• Pageviews
• Demographics
• YouTube stats

Well, let's start simple. The companies asking these things know the importance of New Media (you know, Facebook and stuff) in growing their businesses. Those who aren't asking yet, still haven't bought into the idea but they WILL be asking soon, if they aren't going out of business. Yeah. That is the reality. Just like with the rise of print media (mags and newspapers) companies who wanted to thrive advertised there, and then on radio, and then on TV, and then on the internet, now they are looking towards social media as a way to communicate with and build a relationship with their customers. You should think of your business in the same way.

You might think your Facebook Page is that place where you have friends and you can share pics of you drinking beer on the beach in Mexico last weekend. No. 

That is your Facebook Profile or Timeline.

A Facebook Page is a place where you can talk about your business.

Why not use the Facebook Profile or Timeline for all of your business promoting? I mean, you only teach classes here and there, maybe you still work a full-time job, maybe you are scared to call yourself a “Designer” – it does sound kind of pretentious, right? And you see other people promoting their biz with a Profile, so why can't you? WRONG.

• Your Timeline has a limit of 5000 connections. You might think you will never max that out but THINK BIG! Why grow something that you could outgrow if things go really well?  And you want things to go really well for you, right?!
• Depending on your privacy settings, companies and others might not be able to “tag” you, “like” your images, or share your links because they have to be your “friend” or their followers have to be your “friend” in order to see things on your Profile/Timeline.
• Timelines do not allow commercial use — yes you can talk about your business on there but it is a no-no. Check this out: https://www.facebook.com/help/217671661585622/
• Get over thinking of yourself as a Designer or a Business. You ARE BOTH! The sooner you embrace that idea, the sooner others will see you in the same light. Using your Profile only makes it look like you aren't taking this business thing that seriously yet.
• If you wanted to do everything like everyone else you would not be a Designer — you would just be a crafter. And nothing wrong with being a crafter but you can't build a business as a “Designer” around that. Embrace the independent, creative, and unique road you have set out on and stop doing what everyone else is doing!

Why you need a Facebook PAGE (and not just a profile):

• Keep your personal life and business separate
  • Your non-crafty friends and family will appreciate it
  • Maybe you don't want everyone who takes a class from you to see your pics from dirt bike racing last weekend
  • You want to make sure those who DO want to see stuff from your business can easily find it – on your PAGE
• Tagging – Other Pages (like the manufacturers whose products you use) can tag your Page and ANYONE who is not your friend can tag your Page and share your posts. This increases the number of people your post reaches and increases the number of “Likes” or “Fans” you have. A number that you want to grow so it is a nice impressive one when you are asked by potential clients for that info.
• Ads – you can do ads for your Page and your post at all kinds of price points! Promote the things that will make you money.
• You can promote your business without worry! Because that is what Pages are for
• Use apps to run contests, connect to your YouTube channel and more to make tabs on your Page – can't do that on your Profile/Timeline
• It gives you legitimacy as a business
• You can change your employer on your Profile/Timeline to show your Page as your job – that way you can refer people who are not family or close friends to follow your Page
• You can use Facebook as your Page to have your business (not you as a person) like other Pages, comment on them, and feature other Pages for companies with whom you do business.
• You can still invite friends from your Profile/Timeline to events that your Page is hosting, like your next scrapbooking class or an Expo that you are teaching at.

So, what are you waiting for? Go to Facebook.com and login. Go here to start a Page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/create/  And welcome to the age of New Media!

Happy Facebooking,

Jennifer

Author: Jennifer Priest

It started with jewelry, beading, sewing, home decor, painting, basket weaving, pottery, and cross-stitch. Marry that to an entrepreneurial spirit & at 9 years old a girl is selling her wares at craft fairs as far as her parents and grandparents would drive her. These days, Jennifer enjoys crafts of all genres from sewing to scrapbooking to jewelry with a little dabbling in the mixed media world. Her style is approachable and she wants everyone who sees her work to feel that they too can embrace creativity and make their home and life beautiful.