Photo Marketing Mentor

I was scanning through the news feeds coming through on my Facebook page recently and I noticed several things that got me thinking about what I feel are some very ineffective (and in my opinion) unprofessional ways people are using this powerful platform.

Again I completely understand that every individual has their own reasons why they use social media but for the purpose of this article I’ve chosen to speak about practices that could potentially tarnish your image in regards to business connection and client attraction.

First of all I want to point out, that these are just my opinions, so if you do any of these things please don’t take offense.  But please be aware that these actions could be actually be hurting – more than helping you grow your business.

1.  Frequently posting non-sense. For example, providing up to the minute blow-by-blow accounting of every step you take through out the day.  Nobody really cares what you ate for breakfast, lunch or dinner or that you’re at the bank, post office etc. You may occasionally share a tid-bit  about something of that nature, but don’t overboard. Think of this way, if you wouldn’t dial up and apprise your closet friend of your every move then don’t plaster it all of your facebook page.

2.  Sharing way too much information about your personal life. Remember potential clients (I hope) are reading your news feed.  So keeping that in mind I highly suggest exercising discretion when sharing intimate details about your health status, finances or personal relationships.  Facebook friends, are not necessarily personal “friends”.  Believe or not I constantly hear stories about solo entrepreneurs losing opportunities as a direct result of posting personal intimate information on their news feed.

3.  Venting about other people on Facebook or within your industry. Remember your news feed shows up every where.  If you’re using your profile for business networking then keep in mind that the “world” is reading your posts and unfortunately making judgements about you.  So just like you wouldn’t bad mouth your boss while he or she is in the next room at the office, don’t do it online.  Remember everybodies watching & reading.

4.  Re-posting ‘off color’ videos or jokes. Again what you find humorous doesn’t necessarily mean that everyone will share your humor.  So again, if you’re using this platform for self-promotion exercise good judgement on what you post as well as re-post.

5.  In appropriate photo tagging! I find this to be one of the biggest pet peeves among Facebook users. Essentially the photo tagging feature built into Facebook allows users to select a person in an image and then hot link it to their FB profile.  Nothing wrong with it inherently but why would you tag a person who isn’t even in the photo? This one is a big no-no.

The bottom line: Social media is wonderful tool to get your message out to the widest possible audience.  Social media for marketing purposes can help you reach and connect with your target market very inexpensively, but often I see it done ineffectively. The key is put your best face forward on Facebook and throughout all of your social media platforms.

Finally, as always, exercise good judgement, leverage the possibilities and reap the rewards.

As always please feel free to leave your comments below.

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