When Marketers Pose as Facebook 'Friends'

Marketers who want their brands on Facebook are allowed to be there; they're just not allowed to masquerade as actual, human users. But some are doing it anyway.

The screen grab above is the Facebook profile of one "Stan D'Arde," a self-described 38-year-old, bisexual male from Haiti whose religion is "couture." "Stan" is a character invented to represent Standard Hotels, the Andre Balazs-owned hotel chain. Although he has his own blog, he does not have, say, skin or organs.

Not realizing that companies are allowed to personify themselves in this way, I contacted a Facebook spokesman to ask about it. It turns out they aren't.

"User profiles for Facebook are intended for real individuals only," he said. "Facebook removes content that is in violation of its Terms of Use, including fake profiles." Indeed, Stan's profile has been taken down.

The Facebook rep noted, however, that businesses do have an option of their own, Facebook Pages, which are "separate from user profiles but allow users to interact and affiliate with businesses and organizations in a similar way."