Facebook –> Personal or Business Network?

I just read the recent Marketing Profs article on Facebook and its implications for marketers: What the Web Marketer Should Know About Facebook. It’s a great summary of Facebook features and some interesting new facts (i.e. the fastest growing Facebook segment is 35+). A question I’ve been pondering on lately is whether or not it is a good thing that my business contacts and clients are trying to get on there. I’ve been using Facebook since its infancy (I was one of the many originators sending all those annoying Facebook invites hoping other friends would join). Soon all my friends (actual friends) were on board and it became a great MSN Messenger compliment for staying in touch with my friends (for those unaware, MSN Messenger / ICQ were the real-time chat platforms of choice amongst the 18-25 demographic at the time).

Where am I going with this? Well, as an individual, I have my private conversations and photos on there, which are meant to be shared and seen by my close friends (from my private social life).

As a marketing professional , I am reluctant to be adding business contacts and potential clients as “friends” (unless they really are). There seems to be a serious blurring of the lines between private and work life. Personally, I have nothing to hide, however, I do still feel that there should exist a certain level of separation between the two. Perhaps I should create a second business identity on Facebook? This would likely be a pointless effort. No matter what privacy settings we have, everything that we post online will someday be easily accessible to someone looking for it.

My advice: be smart with what you do online, regardless of where it is. Start thinking of yourself as a BRAND. Be consistent, and always be aware that a future employer might be looking at your blog post/youtube video/facebook photo/ etc…

For now, as my business social media network I use LinkedIn.

What are your thoughts?

Marketers start to use Social Networks for CRM instead of Ads

This article by AdAge, basically talks about how marketers are still exploring ways to use social networks to their advantage. I really think they missed the point (although it is briefly touched upon): Marketers are no longer in control! Consumers are in control. If you want to leverage social networks, then start by creating a good, quality product or service and your brand will grow organically as people discover it. Bottom-up, not top-down.

When is the last time you clicked on one of those over-priced Facebook banners? In contrast, when is the last time you joined or started a Facebook group that represented something you believe in or have a passion for? I know it’s hard to resist starting a Facebook group for your brand on your own (or even getting your friend to do it for you), however, as I’ve said in my previous posts, more often than not, people can smell a fake from miles away. So if you absolutely have to go this route to get your brand out there, just make sure your friend really is passionate about your product. Otherwise, you will quickly feel the negative consequences.

Interactive Online Annual Reports vs. Scanned PDF Online Annual Reports

Why is it that every government department seems to think that people actually “read” things online. Read this carefully: THEY DON’T!

People “scan” text…reading online is unpleasant and unnatural given screen limitations, eye fatigue and an expectation for rapid information access. Study after study has proven this over and over again.

A good example where many public sector organizations fail at this miserably is in publishing online annual reports. For some reason, they are always displayed as scanned copies (PDF format) of the print version. This used to be all great in the past if your website was meant to simply act as a storage of information/warehouse for people to come and print documents. However, for those of you that haven’t noticed, the web has changed, such a website purpose is no longer acceptable.

Your website must now be engaging and interactive, this is what web users are used to, this is what they demand! It should help users find what they are looking for quickly and efficiently. There is nothing quick and efficient about a PDF (note: PDF’s should always be offered as an option but not as the ONLY option).

Take a look at what the Civil Service Commission has done in the UK with its annual report. This is a great example of effective integration of a PDF document with an interactive Annual Report (click on the link once you get on this page):Civil Service Commissioners | News | Annual report for 2006-07