Facebook has been a godsend to me and my business without it I am under no delusions of where I would be now without it. It’s useful for reaching new customers, letting people know what Charlie Moo’s has been doing, award nominations, new products, press information etc … FanPages are brilliant easy to use a great way to communicate with the masses – I’m really lucky on my Fan Page for Charlie Moo’s and this site too people are happy to interact with me. And best of all …. IT’S FREE!!! However it doesn’t come without its uncertainties. In a business; especially something like this site and Networking Mummies where we are reliant on networking and word of mouth. Of course people I meet will inevitably want to ‘be my friend’. I do use my profile as my life … full of information and pictures of my children, family, friends from years ago. I have done this consciously so I am aware that I must ‘mind my language’ , to put privacy settings on photos and remove anything unsavoury from my youthful days (I was a holiday rep with Daddy Moo for 6 months so please forgive me for this!)
I cringe when I read comments where people are being rude about their husbands or maybe divulging too much about their sex life, these things thing of course impact on how you view the person and ultimately their business. (see Monday’s post by Darren Toms) So I put the question to the public forum .. via Facebook naturally.
Karen Williams Self Discovery Coaching– I view it like you do Joanne. I have a personal profile with friends and business associates, and I share some personal stuff but not too much! My business is me and people can get to know me through social media, which I like. But when is it too much? I also have a business page but most of my contacts on this page are personal contacts but it has more of a business focus.” Karen added “Privacy settings are important though and not everyone takes these into account. And although only friends can see your photos, they might put up ‘not so great‘ pictures of you? Talking from personal experience of a great Christmas night out in Jongleurs with my Winning Women buddies!
I think Karen echo’s some of what Darren mentioned that no matter what you do – you are your business and people will draw conclusions about your business via what you do and say.
Jo Willis – I think the difficultly lies is the fact that we run our businesses by networking! You meet a person, but maybe only remember their name and they then find you on facebook, they are a potential customer, do you decline them and risk losing them, or add them to you personal profile? I think facebook should make a link between fan sites and profiles so that if someone tries to add you by name they have the option to either continue to send the add, or be redirected to the persons like page.
Victoria Dixon, Enhance-me – Its really tricky to find a balance I think – I have a personal profile and a fan page for my business. Take the avoiding posting photos of yourself drunk as an example – the tricky thing about Facebook is that you may be on a night out with your mates – pictures get taken then shared and tagged via others profiles – then they are there for all to see!! Mind you a night out is a rarity these days! I think many customers in the market most of us direct our businesses towards like a little realism – like the more personable aspect of ‘getting to know’ who they are purchasing from. Myself as a Mum who runs her own business loves seeing ‘the reality’ of how tricky it can be for other Mums working from home to juggle their businesses with children! It makes me feel a little more human! What I do sometimes worry about is my friends and family finding my constant chat about work, accolades, achievements etc tiresome. I wouldn’t want them thinking I am self obsessed! I also do want to maintain some level of professionalism….it is not easy finding the balance!
I think Victoria is absolutely right here. Were Darren talked about making sure we didn’t say ir do something to put off potential customers .. like being mean about your hubby. We also have to ensure we aren’t putting off our family and friends.
As always would love to hear your feedback …
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