The fear centers on a question that creates a state of panic and confusion. What is it? It is:
“How do I keep my personal and business contacts separate on Facebook?”
But help is here! My solution is a simple one; it starts with a question, something I call “the vacation photo” question:
“Is it OK for this person to see my vacation photo’s?”
I’ll help you with a visual:
It’s pretty simple really. Imagine yourself wearing beach attire, pick a beach, any beach, and there you stand, proud of everything the camera can see, perhaps having had a mudslide or three (go on! life is short!) and then ask yourself “Should my new ‘friend’ see this photo?”
If the answer is ‘no’ then point them to your business page. I know it’s easier for some than others but try practicing the following statement:
“I’d love to connect with you on Facebook but I only use my profile for family. I do have a page though, I’ll send you details so we can keep in touch there!”
If there are people that you have already friended and wished you hadn’t, tell them to connect via your page and then unfriend them. I wouldn’t call the page your “business page”, it seems a little cold even though it’s true, then (if necessary) explain:
“I only use my profile for family and some of them are prone to adding comments that others might find offensive. I’m just trying to make sure I don’t offend anyone”
I don’t buy into the dumbed down explanation of social media; “it’s like a cocktail party!” No it’s not!!! And I think you can draw a clear line between your business and personal online self but it will require discipline, a plan and a bit of tact.
One final note: If you are thinking about having two Facebook accounts, one for personal, one for business, don’t. It is against Facebook terms and might result in your Facebook account getting revoked. And it’s more work, no one wants that! 🙂
Oh, yes! Excellent, excellent, excellent! Great advice.
My three favorite social media myths:
(1.) Facebook is like a cocktail party.
(2.) Using Facebook is like going to church. [This discussion leads to an interesting thread about business = bingo game at the church.]
(3.) When you consider ROI, think more about the “I” and less about the “R”.
Sometimes I cheer out loud when I read your blog. I did that today.
I think we were lovers in a past life, Stephen. 😉
lol! 🙂
Whoops, #3 above is not a myth, just silly advice. The myth attached to that would read: “It is impossible to calculate Return on Investment for social media engagement.”
Sometimes I should wait and think before posting …
I love the church one, how the heck is business like bingo?
You have some very good points, but I don’t agree completely. Social media for business is meant to develop a relationship and connect with people. Once they know you, hopefully they’ll buy from you. Let them get to know you through both your personal page and your business page, but learn how to use your privacy controls properly by using lists. When done properly, you can make sure your bathing suit pictures, drinking pictures and farmville updates are only seen by those who should.
Hi April,
You are correct but I don’t think it’s that easy. The vast majority of people don’t know about privacy controls on Facebook and of those that do, few know how to implement them.
Add that we have no real control over what other’s post and that promoting a business using your Facebook profile is against Facebook terms (possibly resulting in your account being revoked) and it gets messy really quickly. I recently covered the last issue in a short video blog:
http://tinyurl.com/y8kv7pt
Many years ago, when I was a far younger man and well before Facebook was even an idea, I was part of a rugby team. We went on tour and drank beer (that tended to happen) and last year one of my longest standing friends not only added photos from one hazy tour but tagged me in some of them. On my own Facebook account my ‘friends’ include my wife, young daughters, mother, neighbors and many clients. They all got to see the photos before I managed to untag them (and chastise my friend). My point is that with all the privacy controls and lists in the world none of us have 100% control over what people say or post about us.
I choose not to break out business vs personal because, with one exception, I’m the same person and act in the same way with everyone. The exception is soccer (or football as I call it 😉 ) where I act like a 13 year old girl at a Jonas Brothers’s concert every time my team scores.
It sounds like we are fortunate; both of us can present one online persona that works for all of our contacts 🙂 Many others I have spoken to (and that also includes my wife) are far less comfortable showing all things to all people and will never spend the time to protect content on their profile the Facebook privacy controls.
Steve
not good, if you are a professional, you would not do that.
Pingback: uberVU - social comments
Pingback: At Last – Facebook For The Anti Social Marketer | Hestia Financial, Inc.
Pingback: At Last – Facebook For The Anti Social Marketer | RealPro Training & Consulting, LLC