Web Learners Blog

I constantly get the question of which social media outlet is best for business, Facebook or LinkedIn. This is a difficult question to answer because they are both really great tools depending on what you are trying to accomplish.

Right now experts are seeing that most people that subscribe to LinkedIn can also be found on Facebook.  Thus, there is a lot of crossover. However, the use of these two platforms is generally different. LinkedIn is more of a professional environment where Facebook is an "anything goes" atmosphere <-- Of course in a classy way. 

So what do you do when you want to use them for business? Below is some useful information when considering either tool.

1. Facebook has more applications than LinkedIn making it much more interactive.
2. Facebook has the addiction factor going for it as LinkedIn does not. Most Facebook users are on at least 5 times per week, where LinkedIn users only check their profiles when they receive a message.
3. LinkedIn displays professional experience as well as recommendations. This is great when someone wants to find out what others are saying about you in a professional manner. Facebook is lacking in this area.
4. LinkedIn allows professionals to connect with other professionals in a "referral sort of way" which is more conducive to business than Facebook's "Request Friendship" method.
5. Because of the addictive nature of Facebook, you have a better chance of getting your message heard than on LinkedIn. An example of this is people love status updates on Facebook. LinkedIn has this feature too, but let's face it; they are usually not exciting enough to follow on LinkedIn.
6. LinkedIn currently doesn't have a business profile available. It is simply for personal branding.
7. Facebook mixes personal and business. You can look at this as a positive or a negative. I tend to think that our society is going in this direction anyway. Why not embrace it?
8. LinkedIn is usually a better place for recruiters looking for employees because of if its professional nature.
9. LinkedIn has an excellent search feature for finding the people you want to connect with.  However, with the recent changes in the Facebook interface, their live stream might lend itself nicely to live search functionality like Twitter.

I tell most people that both tools are great. Why not utilize everything that you can from a business standpoint?  

Please comment if you have more that you would like to add.