Do you use Facebook for personal use or business use? Is it okay to post “party” pictures on Facebook that your employer or future employer may see? What is your opinion?
When looking to diversify your blogging portfolio, consider the opinion post. Expressing your opinion helps keep things from getting boring. It is also a great way to encourge others to share their opinions on a particular subject. This goes a long way to build interaction with your readers. These are just a few of the reasons why ProBlogger suggests writing an opinion post in Day #19 of the 31 Days to Build a Better Blog Challenge.
So, now back to the Facebook question. I do not think you have to make a decision to use Facebook for personal or business. The beauty of Facebook is that it can be used for both. In fact, that is when Facebook is most valuable. How else would you know that your largest client’s daughter just won her softball tournament? And then be able to connect right away and send your congratulations comment. Creating a personal connection with business partners can be very difficult and Facebook helps make this easier by removing social barriers. You may not hang out with the same group of friends. You may not even live in the same state. But through Facebook you can still connect on a personal level.
And as for the party pictures. Everyone is a human and likes to have fun from time to time. Just use your common sense. If you have to second guess the photo, take it down.
Great Blog! I have often wondered if using Facebook to promote my business was the right thing to do. Thank you so much for making sense of being able to use Facebook for both. It does open a whole new group!
I get pretty torn about using facebook for business. I think it can be a good way to strengthen a bond with a customer you know well, but I don’t necessarily want every business contact I meet to know everything I’m doing in my personal life.
Colin,
Thanks for the feedback. I see where you are coming from. I personally think there would be more to gain from having the contact vs. not having them at all. I don’t share anything too personal on Facebook. Especially after the businesses rushed to join.
I agree with Colin – I like to keep facebook as the personal expression outlet where I don’t have to worry about saying something that *might* get me in trouble at work — not that I do, it’s just the fact that I don’t have to think about it.
Now, I like LinkedIn for the professional arena, which is becoming ‘facebook-like’ with status updates, news feeds, groups, etc. And then there’s http://www.SmallerIndiana.com for the young professional seeking to network.