"What's Hot, What's Not, What's Next"

on April 20, 2011

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THE FACEBOOK RULEBOOK – BUSINESS PAGES VS. PERSONAL PROFILES

There’s no doubt that it’s tempting when setting up a Facebook business page or group to take the easy way and use a personal profile. But don’t do it! Because if Facebook cracks down you will lose your page and all of the work that you put into building it. Plus, there are some good reasons for doing the work of converting Friends to Fans.

The Facebook Rule on Page Creation reads:

Profiles represent individuals and must be held under an individual name, while Pages allow an organization, business, celebrity, or band to maintain a professional presence on Facebook. You may only create Facebook Pages to represent real organizations of which you are an authorized representative.

Having seen an increasing amount of businesses using personal profiles as their company page as well as getting annoyed at people taking the easy way out, I wanted to find out why the practice has become so prevalent. I have been living under the above assumption that personal profiles are meant for real people and business fan pages are designed for companies that offer business-focused analytical tools that you aren’t on a personal profile.

Have I been living in another social media universe? One where profiles are for individuals and pages are for businesses? Do I have it all wrong? Profiles and pages have different features and different uses. The most obvious examples:

Businesses are only allowed to open pages. A business that opens a profile page is in direct violation of Facebook terms. You would be falsifying the record to open it otherwise.
Business pages allow other users to become fans by just clicking a button, but access to the individual profile pages is limited. You have to have a friend request approved to have access to the profile page.
Business pages do not allow the ability to invite friends, so you cannot maintain a friends list – only maintain a fan lisT.

OK, so I have the rules right – profiles ARE for people and pages are for businesses.

Good, so then my question is: What are the benefits using a personal profile for business? It’s got to be because it feels like you can collect followers easily. Instead of doing the work it takes to promote your business page to friends and converting them to fans, they can land right where you want them. But that’s where the advantage ends. Save yourself the massive headache later by creating a business page now.

Page Fans vs. Profile Friends

The big reason here is that there is a limit of 5,000 friends to a profile. You can have as many fans as you can get on your business page. When you reach 5,000 friends on your profile, you’ll have to stop there or set-up a second false personal profile.

Search Engine Optimization

You can optimize your business page for search engines because search engines index fan pages only. With the ever-increasing importance of SEO marketing, you want as many people as possible to be able to find you online under your business name.

Many Fan Pages vs. One Profile

You can have multiple fan pages, but only one personal profile. This is important for people who are entrepreneurs and want to promote their various businesses and/or groups.

Remember that you can still connect with people on a business level through your personal profile. Since people like to know the person behind the business, this is a good way to connect with them. It’s also a great way to create your personal brand – become an expert in your field, the blogger of record, the mavens’ maven, the champion networker, etc.

Analytics, Apps & Functionality

For fan page administrators, Facebook analytics allow you to pull reports on how well the page is doing. The analytics allows the administrator to see from where the traffic is coming, the total number of post views, and much more.

With a fan page the company can create custom tabs or apps for promotions and business information. You also have option to easily customize and implement a Facebook “Like” button for the business’ web site. And, with Facebook’s latest fan page update, administrators can now use a fan page just like a personal profile and have the ability to post on other walls.

The Facebook Police

Remember that the main reason to use fan pages for businesses is that it is Facebook law. If the FB cops ever crackdown on the use of personal profiles, you are in danger of losing it all. Not only will you lose all your friends, contacts and content, they may bar you from setting up a personal profile and legitimate business pages.

Facebook is currently one of the critical platforms in the evolution of business communication, marketing, product promotion, PR, and Customer Relationship Management. If you have a business, you need to be fully involved. And the Facebook Rulebook is pretty clear on what it takes to have a presence in its universe.

Posted by pbc_admin

on April 06, 2011

in Fashion

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DESIGNERS & AGENTS SHOW AT LOS ANGELES FASHION MARKET WEEK – MARCH 2011

The downtown Los Angeles Fashion District was buzzing again recently for the Los Angeles Fashion Market Week. Commonly known as LA Market, it’s held five times a year in January, March, June, August and October. This recent LA Market showcased LA’s first look at designers’ Fall Collections.

LA Market week is when the business of fashion happens in the wholesale showrooms and trade shows of the main wholesale centers: the California Market Center, the New Mart, the Cooper Design Space, and other venues in the downtown LA Fashion District.

Buyers come from all over the country determined to stay within their budget as they buy what’s hot, pass on what’s not, and perhaps gamble on some possibilities. Most buyers who want to stay in business know what works for their customer, and what to gamble on to freshen up their floors. They stock up accordingly. Most are playing it safe – rarely buying out of their comfort zone – due to this never ending recession that has supposedly ended.

The most sought-after contemporary showrooms are found in the New Mart. The New Mart is where women’s contemporary buyers expect to spend most of their time. Each LA Market you’ll find the Designers and Agents Showcase on the usually vacant 3^rd Floor.

Known as the D&A Show, it describes itself as:

“an independent, international trade fair for collections and retailers who define the cutting edge in fashion and life style. Identifying emerging talent and creating an intimate, synergistic environment that fosters relationships between designers and buyers, each of D&A’s shows in Los Angeles and New York (which typically attract 3,000 retail and media visitors) are pre-edited, art-directed, and merchandised to create a sense of camaraderie and discovery.”

All of which means, it is the hip and happening place to buy and sell…and I would agree.

Why exhibit at D&A? Maybe you have a showroom in New York but you sell to the west coast and want to be at the show for your west coast buyers; maybe you have a corporate sales force and want to show in LA; maybe you are an emerging designer without independent sales representation and need to get your product in front of the right buyers; or maybe you are in a showroom in LA but like the exposure and attention you get at D&A.

I first attended the D&A Show about 10 years ago. I was immediately struck by the energy in the space compared to the corridors of the building upstairs and in the other buildings. They can cram 100+ 10’x10’ booths into the space. When it is this full there is a vibe that says, “this is the place to be.”

The recent D&A Show had 95 booths with the usual eclectic mix of fashion forward women’s ready-to-wear and accessories.

Some of the highlights and notable trends were:

Robin’s Jeans. This is a huge line of men’s and women’s denim founded and designed by the founder of Hudson Jeans, Robin Chretien. Robin is a real groover, and so is his collection.
The sexy, sophisticated and chic Ticci Tonetto, owned by the sophisticated Neglia Tonetto. Gisela Marin at Nyeli represents the collection. This beautiful collection has been around for at least 10 years and it is worth a look.
The Japanese-made US eyewear collection, Dita. Their vintage-inspired frames, which are apparently popular with celebs, are made from titanium, 18K gold and white gold, and Japanese zyl acetates.
The fun, colorful Caroline K is inspired by the indigenous designs of Latin America. If you have ever spent any time in Guatemala you will recognize the colors, patterns, fabrics, embroidery, and pleating in the ponchos, legging, skirts, dresses, tops, and jackets. Caroline K is a real contemporary eye-catcher.
Dolce Vita showcased their current 70’s trend footwear. Espadrilles, wedges, boots, sandals, and heels in suedes and leathers mixed with furs, appliqués, and buckles.
Fluxus designed by Jeffrey Sebelia, the Project Runway Season 3 winner. Though it didn’t impress me as much as it did at MAGIC. It didn’t seem to have the same color and life.
And what I thought was the highlight of the show – Hazel Brown. Hazel Brown is a beautiful inspired collection in silks, wools, soft leathers, alpaca, and flannels. I loved the delicate hand frayed edging on some of the pieces, the wool jacket with authentic Civil War buttons and the tasteful asymmetry of some of the styling. This is Boho Chic at it’s finest.

The 70’s trends and Boho chic are in full bloom this Spring and it looks like they will continue into Fall. Lots of roushing and texture, mixed media, Native American motif, fur, high heel suede lace-up footwear, scarves, maxi skirts and full leg pants remind me of an updated take on the late 70’s/early 80’s art school look. And some of the pants, jeans, and wide brim floppy hats remind me of what my Mum wore in the 70’s. Who knew she was 30 years ahead of her time?

“What’s Hot, What’s Not, What’s Next”