By Beth J. Bates, New Media Special Correspondent
Recently I’ve had many discussions about creating a professional presence on Facebook. What information should we share with clients, colleagues and other business acquaintances? This is a very personal decision, but in general there are two schools of thought: 1) those who choose to share some of their personal lives with their professional colleagues, and 2) those who choose to keep things strictly business.
Participating in social media is about being genuine and transparent — exposing your human side. So I tend to share some of my personal life with my professional contacts. I feel that it gives people insights into me as a person, building trust and allowing us to work together better. Could this personal information turn someone off? That’s always possible. But in the long run, would I want to do business with someone who doesn’t really like me?
I do use an internal filter and try to use my better judgment when posting personal items to Facebook. I treat it like my office. I might share what I did over the weekend, but I keep any truly personal details to myself. I also don’t “befriend” anyone I don’t know or anyone whom I wouldn’t want to know about my personal life.
Facebook provides a variety of privacy settings – be sure to use them. They will help you manage what your users can and can’t see and help you better maintain appropriate relationships within Facebook.
As an executive, it’s okay to reveal your human side. Just use common sense about what you share.
Beth J. Bates consults with Hinge on social media tool selection and strategy and helps its clients find effective ways to leverage these new mediums to meet business goals.
Filed under: Social Media | 1 Comment
Tags: Facebook, privacy
Thanks for the info. I’ve had people share inappropriate material on my facebook wall and it was embarassing. We need to make sure we monitor what’s coming into us, too.