Official Discussion of New Fb Policy

[NooraK]

I wish I understood better what the reasoning or motivation was behind the Fan page policy (if not allowed). If the desire to make sure our customers "opt in" to marketing, then a fan page should be fine because it is done by the user's choice. There's no way to "spam" someone into becoming a fan. I am not understanding the need to keep marketing private, because you're not "leaking" any info you shouldn't be. You're just as unlikely to know someone who joins your private group because they might be a referral from a customer and someone you don't know. Unless they expect you to affirm that you personally know every single person that is added to your private group. (and I have to say there have been times when I have no idea who my customer is because they were a catalog show order or outside order...)

Grrr... I'm not surprised this is already disorganized, chaotic, and full of inconsistent information. So disappointing.

THe problem is the 'opt-ing in" . IN the online training the stress the importance of what you post and how often. In a page, you don't have to 'accept' people who want to join, they just 'like' you and are automatically part of your friends. But, my thinking on that is if they are coming to your page they must KNOW you are going to post ALL information about your business - selling, recruiting, promos, etc. So in essence "LIking" your page IS their 'opt-in" ... or it would seem so ... LOL

I didn't understand the privatization part of the policy to be that concerned with "opting-in." I know it's stressed in the training, though. The policy seems to be more concerned with keeping information private, which I agree seems silly. The training even talks about how you might get new customers through referrals on FB. So why not make it easy for people to do that?

I called Career Solutions today and asked very specifically about this and was asked to email them very detailed questions about what I was wondering about so I did that. I'm waiting to hear. I am just not clear on how HO feels about the fan page which is certainly what I would like to do but want a clear answer from them on it.

I had thought my question was fairly detailed, but the answer I got was very short and didn't seem to address the full extent of my original question. Initially, my first reaction was (just as I posted) "I'm going to print, laminate and save this" because it basically said the Fan page was OK. In mulling it over, I really do want to get more clarification, because I don't want to set it up just to end up having to take it down because it's not allowed after all.

 

[babywings76]

I'm really torn with what to do. I have the second profile and I really like having it set up this way. I really don't want my regular profile to be infiltrated by random people I meet at shows and such. I don't want to have to sit there and adjust every single post I make to only allow certain people to see it or not see it. I want to publicize that I'm on facebook and I want to be accessible. I want to share recipes and tips and let them know about the specials and any events I hold. I don't want to have to send PM's to every single friend I currently have on my list. It's much easier to do what I've been doing (sending friend suggestions from my regular account to the people pointing out my new profile.) But....maybe that's just me being lazy. If it's wrong, it's wrong and I don't like to be a rule breaker. Ugh! What to do, what to do. Create a "group" or wait and figure out what the deal is with creating a Page and if it's allowed. Or continue with how I have it set up and wait until more people have figured out how to set things up in a way that works well and they are happy with. Sorry if I'm just rehashing everything again...I just need to vent my frustration.

 

[ChefBeckyD]

I'm really torn with what to do. I have the second profile and I really like having it set up this way. I really don't want my regular profile to be infiltrated by random people I meet at shows and such. I don't want to have to sit there and adjust every single post I make to only allow certain people to see it or not see it. I want to publicize that I'm on facebook and I want to be accessible. I want to share recipes and tips and let them know about the specials and any events I hold. I don't want to have to send PM's to every single friend I currently have on my list. It's much easier to do what I've been doing (sending friend suggestions from my regular account to the people pointing out my new profile.) But....maybe that's just me being lazy. If it's wrong, it's wrong and I don't like to be a rule breaker. Ugh! What to do, what to do. Create a "group" or wait and figure out what the deal is with creating a Page and if it's allowed. Or continue with how I have it set up and wait until more people have figured out how to set things up in a way that works well and they are happy with.

Sorry if I'm just rehashing everything again...I just need to vent my frustration.

Seriously, if we are given all of this training on FB etiquette, and told that we can provide a link to our website on our homepage, and given examples of what and how to post, I can't see why it would be wrong to have the Page. I think we're making it more difficult than it has to be.

 

[cookingwith_tara]

I agree, becky .. i feel it is okay to have a fan page, it is okay to have a separate "business" profile, and it is okay to have a group. Use FB etiquette (listen to the online training) ALL THE TIME, keep your GROUPS private (secret), and create a "Friend list for customers" if you're going to just use your personal profile so your friends can 'opt in'.

 

[babywings76]

So has anyone created a "group" yet? How are you liking it? I just created one and only invited my alternate identity and my 2 sisters. I plan to play around with it and see how I like it. Then I will delete my alternate identity and invite others to this group. My sister pointed out to me a privacy setting that I can designate a certain "list" of friends to not be allowed to see posts that friends made on my wall. I'm going to look into it. See, my main fear was not so much what I posted, but what my other friends might post to my wall. For example, games. I have a setting where only my game playing friends see my posts. But, the games sometimes generate posts where you send it onto a friend's wall. I go through and delete those after I've checked them out, because I don't like my wall to show evidence that I play games. :blushing: And sometimes a friend might post something of a personal nature (where they really should've sent a PM anyway) and I don't want my PC contacts necessarily seeing all of that.I've created a PC list. So when I post things of a personal nature, or just something I don't think all my PC contacts need to know, I'll change the security setting to not allow the PC list to see it. It'll be annoying having to take those extra steps, but since a second profile isn't allowed and there's debate on the Pages, this is probably the safest bet.Anyway, sorry for all my ramblings. Thanks for letting me think out loud through this process. :blushing:

 

[babywings76]

Hmmm, the down side to groups...nothing will show up on everyone's wall when a post is made. This thing will be pointless. Who is going to think, "Hey, let me look at my 'Pampered Chef w/ Amanda' group!" I want things posting to their walls. Dang it! :grumpy: :cry:

 

[NooraK]

Hmmm, the down side to groups...nothing will show up on everyone's wall when a post is made. This thing will be pointless. Who is going to think, "Hey, let me look at my 'Pampered Chef w/ Amanda' group!" I want things posting to their walls. Dang it! :grumpy: :cry:

That's exactly why I haven't done anything yet. I'd love to do a Page, but it's not clear whether we can, and I'm waiting on a response from HO.

My second choice would be a second profile, but it's not something allowed by FB rules. I don't think they police it very strictly, but I did see someone just post today that their second profile has been deleted by FB.

My third choice will be to use my existing profile, and mess with the privacy controls each time I post something. This would be very tedious, and difficult for me to do from my phone.

I see the group as a last resort, and the reason is exactly what you posted. Members have to proactively go to the group to see anything you post. Personally, I rarely do that with any group I'm a member of, and I wouldn't expect anything more from my customers.

 

[NooraK]

I got a more detailed response from HO!

This is what I had sent in response to the answer I got yesterday:

I would like to get some more clarification on my previous question. I must admit, my initial reaction to the response was “I’m printing, laminating and saving this!” because it seems contradictory to what the policy states. After mulling it over, I feel it isn’t the right thing for me to do, to run with this answer while still having doubts about whether I’m following policy.

I am a member on ChefSuccess, and we have had several discussions on what can and can’t do, and there are some vast differences in how consultants are interpreting this portion of the policy. I would like answers to the following question:

Are consultants allowed to create a Page for communication with their customers?

Facebook has three different ways to participate: Profiles, Pages and Groups. Each of these is mentioned in the second training course, but the portion about Pages only talks about the Pampered Chef main Page. The training does promote Groups, but doesn’t address whether Pages are allowed by consultants.

The policy states that groups must be privatized so only those specifically invited may be able to join and view the groups information. A Page does not allow the owner to keep the information private, but does cover the need for a contact to “opt-in” to receive information from the Page. A Page allows the owner to post statuses, like one does with a Profile, whereas a Group does not. With a Group, the member has to proactively remember to come visit that Group, and if my customers are anything like myself, they’ll never do it.

I would greatly appreciate any additional information you may be able to provide. As I mentioned, there are a couple of discussions going on ChefSuccess.com, and you may wish to refer to those for more detail on the debate of the issue.

This is the response I received:

Thank you for contacting The Pampered Chef. If you are using your full name and proper title, you can create either a personal account (profile) or a business account (page), however we strongly recommend and encourage Consultant's to create personal accounts (profiles) due to the fact that business accounts cannot be found in search and cannot send or receive friend requests.

The online training courses were designed based on a Consultant creating a personal account (profile). The purpose of being able to use social media for your Pampered Chef business is to help you socially connect with friends, family, current and former coworkers, and even strangers. Personal account profiles will be a better way for you to do this than a business account page.

You are not required to have your personal account profile or business account page marked as private. This is why the policy only states that groups must be made private.

I'm so glad to have a definitive answer, and will now go ahead and create a Page for myself

 

[PampChefJoy]

"...business accounts cannot be found in search "

This is not true, as I was able to find Becky's business page just fine yesterday. Maybe it is an option in a search function to not look at pages but profiles only...

 

[PampChefJoy]

True, you cannot send a friend request, but you can "suggest" the page to all your friends, and that seems to have worked just fine for most in the past with other businesses.

 

[babywings76]

I could find Becky's page when I used the search field under the Pages category. But in the general search field at the top, I could only find her profile.

 

[NooraK]

"...business accounts cannot be found in search "

This is not true, as I was able to find Becky's business page just fine yesterday. Maybe it is an option in a search function to not look at pages but profiles only...

Yes, that part is not true. When you do a search, you can then choose what you're searching for: People, pages, the web etc.

But the bottom line is, it's OK to have a Page, and it doesn't need to be private.

 

[PampChefJoy]

I must have mine set to search "all" things...

I'm so glad you got a good definitive answer Noora. thanks for being the squeaky wheel!

 

[NooraK]

I must have mine set to search "all" things...

I'm so glad you got a good definitive answer Noora. thanks for being the squeaky wheel!

The initial search, when you just type in the box at top, searches "all" and then gives you a few results in each. Then there are links that you can click that say "Show more People" or "Show more groups" etc.

I don't mind being the squeaky wheel. I didn't want to set something up, and invite my customers, only to be told I have to take it down. That'll end up reflecting badly on me, as well as PC.

 

[ChefBeckyD]

Yes, that part is not true. When you do a search, you can then choose what you're searching for: People, pages, the web etc.

But the bottom line is, it's OK to have a Page, and it doesn't need to be private.

Right - you choose when you're searching to choose by person or by page.


I'm excited to learn more about using my Page to benefit my business, and my hosts and customers!

 

[PampChefJoy]

You know, I can't define the search when I search on my cell phone browser... it must default to all types of profiles/pages, because I don't get the little extra links to do different things (kinda like how you can't specify posting to a certain group on mobile). That's probably why I saw Becky's personal and fan page both.

I'm excited about the Fan page usage because I can now develop fan splash pages to be used in the FMBL tabs for you to use. Specials, recipes, etc, ready to copy/paste!

 

[ChefBeckyD]

You know, I can't define the search when I search on my cell phone browser... it must default to all types of profiles/pages, because I don't get the little extra links to do different things (kinda like how you can't specify posting to a certain group on mobile). That's probably why I saw Becky's personal and fan page both.

I'm excited about the Fan page usage because I can now develop fan splash pages to be used in the FMBL tabs for you to use. Specials, recipes, etc, ready to copy/paste!

When we were at conference, and people in my cluster were trying to FB on their phones, they had different things they couldn't do that you can do on a computer.

 

[Bren706]

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU to Noora for getting written clarification.

"I didn't want to set something up, and invite my customers, only to be told I have to take it down. That'll end up reflecting badly on me, as well as PC." That was my concern as well (for myself and all of us here on CS).

 

[pampered2007]

I think I am going to re-take the online training courses again and see if I can figure out how to set everything up on Facebook the way Pampered Chef wants us to...as far as the groups, etc are concerned. I really want to set up a separate profile because I think that is definitely the easiest (at least for me), but I am just to nervous about the risk of having it deleted. Between the groups and pages, I am just to confused to figure out which one is best to do, or what's even allowed. Why can't we just be told..."this is what you need to do" LOL!!!

 

[ChefBeckyD]

I think I am going to re-take the online training courses again and see if I can figure out how to set everything up on Facebook the way Pampered Chef wants us to...as far as the groups, etc are concerned. I really want to set up a separate profile because I think that is definitely the easiest (at least for me), but I am just to nervous about the risk of having it deleted. Between the groups and pages, I am just to confused to figure out which one is best to do, or what's even allowed. Why can't we just be told..."this is what you need to do" LOL!!!

There have been several people who have contacted HO and been told that a Fan Page is fine, and doesn't have to be set as private.

 

[pampered2007]

After creating a page on Facebook... how do you go about announcing it to friends??

 

[pampered2007]

Quick question...how do you "share" a video and/or a link from The Pampered Chef official page to your fan page? I click share and it goes to my personal profile and not my fan page.

 

[NooraK]

If the video is on YouTube, you can go to the YouTube page of the video, copy the URL, and then post that onto your Fan page.

 

[pampered2007]

Thank you!

 

[sharpechef]

Thanks for this, Nora...this will certainly enhance the awareness of policy for all consultants. Oh, and we cannot create a business page for our PC business either.

 

[cookie325]

Thanks for this, Nora...this will certainly enhance the awareness of policy for all consultants. Oh, and we cannot create a business page for our PC business either.

Leslie, where did you see that we are unable to create a business page for our PC business? I ask because in the online training courses, I never heard them say that specifically (though I could have missed it) and Noora specifically asked that of Home Office and was told that we could. So I am wondering if you got some other information we are unaware of. I am still wanting to make a business page for PC, but I don't want to have to delete it later...

 

[pamperdpaula]

They have recently updated a LOT of the pages so don't feel bad for not being able to find what you are looking for.

The logos are under the promoting & building your business tab.

 

[[email protected]]

In the training it says that you cannot have TWO facebook pages; that if FB finds out, they'll close it out.

 

[ChefBeckyD]

In the training it says that you cannot have TWO facebook pages; that if FB finds out, they'll close it out.

You CAN create a fan page though that is hooked to your regular account. They are for two different purposes - and when you go in to do a URL, FB actually divides them up for you so that you can have a different URL for each page.

 

[NooraK]

In the training it says that you cannot have TWO facebook pages; that if FB finds out, they'll close it out.

You CAN create a fan page though that is hooked to your regular account. They are for two different purposes - and when you go in to do a URL, FB actually divides them up for you so that you can have a different URL for each page.

Right, a business page is not a sparate profile, thus not a violation of FB policy.