Enhancing your personal profile for business purposes

The Queen and First Lady

I have a confession to make. I judge businesses (and/or professionals) by their Facebook profile. Be honest, don't you?

In social media, this is where you make your first impression. I want you to think of your profile just like you would your business card. When you meet someone on the street, you introduce yourself, shake their hand, chat with them and hand them your business card. When you connect with someone online, it's really the same. Today, I want to give you some quick tips for keeping your personal profile professional.

1. Use your real name. You wouldn't introduce yourself to someone new by saying, "Hi, I'm Tommy's Tools and Widgets", would you?
   
2. Use a picture of yourself. People on social media sites want to connect with YOU, not your dog, not your kids, not your Christmas tree. We want to do business with people we can trust. In real life we connect and build trust by looking people in the eyes. We need to do the same thing with our profile pictures. If you don't currently have a photo like this, take one. Make it a head shot, just your shoulders and head, look into the camera just like you would look into the eyes of a person you've just met on the street as you introduce yourself.
   
3. Link to your website. If you own your business or are a direct sales professional, you most likely have a website. As long as you are conducting yourself professionally and representing your company in a professional manner, link to it. People who are interested in you, want to know what you do. Your website gives them that information without you having to tell them all about it. Check for typos and make sure the link works. Nothing looks more unprofessional than a dead link (ok, well maybe there are somethings that do).
   
4. Check for spelling and grammar. I know we live in a world where texting and Twitter have created some "acceptable" abbreviations and lingo, but poor grammar and spelling are still recognized as unprofessional. Take the few extra seconds and make sure it says what you want it to say. This is a big deal, please take it seriously.
   
5. Skip the copy and paste statuses. If you've been on Facebook for any amount of time, you know what I'm talking about. "Copy and paste this if you love Jesus, hate taxes, think FB needs a dislike button" etc. These statuses are unprofessional and may cause others to question your credibility. When you really believe in something that strongly, take real action towards it, not a Facebook status.
   
6. Hide the game and app sharing. That means your Farmville requests, your daily horoscope, quizzes, etc. Do not allow these things to post to your wall. It looks unprofessional, clutters up the news feeds of all of your friends and may prevent your business contacts from taking you seriously. If you absolutely must have these things, you can control who sees the updates in your privacy settings under "Apps and websites".

These are just a few suggestions.  There will be more in the very near future. Subscribe to this blog to get the latest information as it becomes available.

Social media and the Queen...

The British Monarchy on Facebook

Over the weekend, I caught a bit of "The Queen", a movie about the royal family's response to the 1997 death of Princess Diana.  Before now, I haven't followed the royal family and didn't watch the royal wedding, so I was a bit surprised by the way the movie portrayed Queen Elizabeth II's dislike for Princess Diana.  But, what I really found interesting was how the film emphasized that the people wanted a public expression of grief from the royal family, as if they wanted to be included in the family's grieving process or at least know how they were grieving.

Could this have been the start of the "social media revolution"? 

At the end of the movie, the Queen states that times have changed and that the monarchy must "modernize".  I started wondering how all of this would have been different had it happened now, 14 years later. Of course we could compare it to the royal wedding fanfare, but weddings are a time of positive publicity and celebration, not the grief and controversy around Diana's death.

In the film, the Queen is appalled at the desire of the people to have a public funeral.  I wonder how would she have felt if it had been broadcast on Facebook like Michael Jackson's funeral, (which I did watch parts of on FB)? Even with her recognition that there was a need to modernize (according to the film), it wasn't until last year that the British Monarchy joined Facebook.

So, why does any of this matter and what does it have to do with anything?  I simply found it interesting since I work with people from many generations and backgrounds with varying "attitudes" towards Social Media, some with concerns about the transparency of it all, and some who just don't understand why people want to know what you're doing all the time. For the most part, I think its just another example of how "we don't have a choice on whether we DO social media, the question is how well we DO it." (Erik Qualman)


What do you think?  Feel free to post your comments below.

7 Simple Facebook Questions Answered

Here are answers to 7 commonly asked Facebook questions that I have found that I tend to get when I start talking to people about Facebook, whether its at church, with family, or at a business meeting.

If you have a burning question, post it in the comments section below and let's get the answer!

1. Q: How do I tag my friends in my status update?
   A:  Status Tags - If you want your friend's name or a Page to be a link in your status update, simply type the @ sign before you type their name (no space, i.e. @DrJoe in the example below), and then choose their name from the list. Once you click the Share button, it becomes a link.

2. Q: How do I find my privacy settings?
   A: Facebook Privacy - To access your Facebook Privacy settings, click Account in the upper-right corner, and then click Privacy Settings.
   
   

3. Q: How do I get a personal link to my Facebook page to print on business cards, etc?
   A: Facebook "Vanity" URL -  If you want your own Facebook web address, aka a "Vanity URL" (i.e. http://facebook.com/suddenlyslim) for your Profile or Page, go to http://facebook.com/username. You can set it up there. NOTE: Pages must have at least 25 fans to qualify for a vanity web address.
   
4. Q: How do I get back to a page that I 'Like'?
   A: Accessing Your Facebook Pages -  To navigate to a Page that you're a fan of, type the name of the Page in the Search bar at the top of your screen. Then you'll be able to select it from the list.

5. Q: How do I create a Facebook Page?
   A: Create a Page - To create a Facebook Page, navigate to any existing Facebook Page, and click Create a Page for My Business at the bottom of the sidebar on the left.
   

6. Q: How do I make my links click-able?
   A: Creating Web Links -  You have to type http:// in front of any web URL that you want to be a link, when sharing it in your status update. renewedyounow.com won't do. It has to be the full URL: http://renewedyounow.com.
   
   
7. Q: How do I share something with just one person or a group of people, but not everyone?
   A: Sharing Updates with Specific Friends -  If you only want specific people or friend lists to see something, add your content and then click the lock icon next to the Share button. Choose Customize, and then select Specific People from the drop down list. Enter the names of people or lists that you want to see the message. Click Save Settings, and then click the Share button. Only the people you specify will be able to see the content.