The other night, my dad called me to ask for my opinion on a crucial social media question: to Facebook Page or not to Facebook Page. You see, a year ago, my aunt started a raw dairy creamery on our farm in Vermont, and now that things are really picking up, my dad was wondering if establishing a web presence might be a smart idea (right now, new customers come only via word of mouth and CSAs).

“Of course!,” I told him. “Of course GammelGarten should have a web presence. In fact, it should have at least two—a website for evergreen information, and a Facebook page for daily updates and fan interaction.”

The way I see it, a Facebook page is  where a business can loosen its tie, kick off its loafers and host an informal shindig with no guest list. It’s a place for conversations, not broadcasts, and for questions and opinions, not press releases. And it is, or should be, the amusement park to Twitter’s slide—a place where visitors can enjoy multiple activities over a longer stretch of time and leave with a teddy bear and a fried-dough high.

This is hardly a revolutionary thought—and yet, a tour through the Facebook Pages of 5 of the biggest tech organizations reveals it’s also not yet a ubiquitous one. While some organizations consistently engage and give back to their communities, others let spam proliferate and tabs go unused. Below, 5 snapshots.

1)     WordPress Continue reading Facebook Pages for Businesses: Why You Need One, and What Not to Do →