I just read a news article that outlined concerns and some hearings the government might become involved in over this discussion. Wow, that’s interesting.

My response, if you opt in to use Facebook, a privately held company that provides a free service, what they decide to do or not do with privacy controls is really thier business.

If you opt in to create an account, you’ve opted in to their program, whatever that may be. So don’t complain, and be smart about what you decide to do while using the tool.

Here’s another site that you can check out for some more opinion on the subject.

The name on your Facebook personal profile must be your name, not your business name.  This is perhaps the most egregious mistake that anyone makes on Facebook.  If you are John Smith who owns ABC Company, then your personal profile must be named John Smith, not ABC Company, and the photo must be of you, not your company logo.  Personal profiles are just that – personal.  They are not to be used for your business.  If you have already made this mistake, undoing it might be painful and awkward, but necessary.  Start now.

If you are using the tool for connecting, brand awareness, building your business, persona branding, or any other serious reason…choose a good picture.

If you need a recommendation of a photographer, we have several locally we’d recommend, and even some I’d recommend for travel if you are looking for seriously awesome images.

A picture says 1000 words. What does yours say about you?

•You must have a photo. If you don’t, you might as well not have a profile in the first place. If you don’t have a photo, you’re not even in the game.
•Your main profile photo should be of you – not your significant other, your kids, your dog, your motorcycle, or your favorite sunset. There are other places in your profile to put photos of your favorite things.
•Your photo should be of your face, not some long-distance shot where no one can even see your face. And no sunglasses, hats, other people or other objects in the photo.
•If you can, having a professional photographer take a professional headshot is a fantastic idea, and very much worth the money.
•There’s a text box in the left-hand column right below your profile photo – use it for a quickie synopsis of who you are, what you do, the name of your business if you have one, and your website or blog address. While your personal profile is not the place to actively promote your business, it’s OK (and a good idea) to mention your business in this space.
•Put a lot of information in the Info section of your profile. Information about people is interesting to people. You want people to get to know you, and limiting this section to your basic contact info does not further that cause. They want to know your interests, hobbies, favorite things, affiliations, and so forth.
•Be active. Posting once a week will not garner much attention. It doesn’t take long to make a short post. Do it at least once a day, maybe more.
More “basic basics” in a future post…

You can try this on many of the sites, check for allancurtis or sandimaki and see what we are talking about.

What’s your unique yet consistent username?

Who do you know?

There are different opinions on how much time you should spend on each aspect of social media.  Anywhere from half your time reading and listening to even more than that.

If you take the time to plan up front, strategize what your objective is and work towards that goal. With automation tools available there are a lot of time saving techniques to get your message out and then allow you to check in when you have the time.

For a larger company, there may be an opportunity to develop one strategy and then share the responsibility among many people to get it accomplished.

What are your favorite time planning methods for handling social media?

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