Why you should separate your Facebook business and personal pages

Facebook and I decided to break up. It's not necessarily permanent, but I told it I needed a break to de-clutter my mind's chaos. Knowing I am an addict and too nosey for my own good, I deactivated my personal account.My love affair with Facebook and social media marketing is still alive and well though and I have my JoElla Marketing page still active.But our personal break-up reminded me of why it's so important to keep business and personal separate, especially on Facebook.

Will your personal Facebook page be there for the long haul of your business?

It's really important to consider, when setting up your Facebook Business page, that if you set-up your account via your existing personal page, it is forever tied together.Facebook has not yet made it possible to deactive your personal account and still keep your Business Page active. Whilst you can add different email accounts to become "Administration Roles", the primary account is connected to the very existence of the business page. It is therefore vital you consider this connection when starting your Facebook Business Page.When setting-up your Facebook Business Page, you need to consider:Do you dislike the idea of having personal page?

• Do you dislike the idea of having personal page?
• Is it possible you may need to remove your personal account for "personal reasons"?
• Do you plan to one day leave the business that your Facebook page references?

If the answer is yes to any of the above, you need to set-up your professional Facebook account with a different email address to that of your personal page's log-in.Here's a few more things to consider with Personal and Business Facebook pages:1. To friend or not to friend on Facebook?A really interesting side-effect of the deactivation of my personal account has been professional peers touching base with me asking how they can "tag" my Facebook details into their posts or pictures. I have found the need to say "please tag my business page" quite baffling.Your personal page should be private, a place where you can share private information and images with family and friends. If a person's name, as opposed to their business page, is tagged in a Facebook post, potential connections (or fans) will only be lead to a private page asking for a friend request. Goodwill is fabulous, but make sure you're helping out your peer's business – not their personal life!2. Can I use my Facebook personal page for business?For those who have set-up a business page via a personal page, I will say this: Even if you are only talking business on this page, you need to realise that many people won't want to be "friends" with you because it gives you access to their private information. Consider how many missed opportunities for connections this may result in.3. Can’t I just have one Facebook log-in for my pages?Yes. Once your business page is set-up under another email account, you can go to the business page's account settings and add your personal page's email log-in to be an "Administration Role". This secondary account is not intrinsically linked to the business page, so you can remove the Admin Role (or the personal page) at any time without affecting the business page.4. Will I miss out on Facebook administration tools?I've heard some people say you do not get the same account tools unless your professional page is linked to a personal account. This is not true. The only side-effect of not having a personal account linked to your business page is that you cannot like or engage easily with other Facebook pages. If goodwill marketing and sharing is an important aspect of your business refer to "Point 3". (Note: I have set-up a mock personal account which I have made an administrator for my business page.)While my marketing philosophy is about being your true self and being unafraid to highlight the "you" in your business, it is vital for business owners to treasure their private space.My Facebook break has also been a sage reminder of the difference between online and offline relationships and how it can be easy to forget this within our business' marketing relationships. More on this next time!This article first appeared on Australian Businesswomen's Network 13 July 2013