Managing Our Social Platforms The Right Way
Why it's important to separate your Facebook & LinkedIn conversations.
Recently I am seeing new conversations taking place on LinkedIn that are not just professional links but personal. For me, it has always been a social platform to connect with fellow professionals in my field, and share ideas and information on business as well as different solutions that fall within the scope of various industries. However, In the last six months, LinkedIn has continued to introduce various features that enable users to interact more and promote a more personal brand. While I am happy about being able to write and promote my articles, I am concerned that the new “social” buttons and engaging options are similar to Facebook which most of us have used for more personal connections. In my book they serve two different purposes. At least at this time, LinkedIn has not become a slew of advertorials, and while I can understand that a social networks true value lies on the information it’s users allow permission to obtain, it’s important to not turn it into a new Facebook. And because we are creatures of habit our psyche already recognizes these buttons as personal engaging and trusting ways to communicate.
Linked in has always been a platform to make business connections, and when I start to receive personal emails and likes that are perhaps a bit too friendly I have to ask myself where is this going? Are we at risk of sabotaging our professional network for the risk of constant engagement and feeling connected. Let’s face it, when we go to work we go to work, when we are home we are at home. In the age of telecommuting our social behavior patterns are changing in a direction that often means not having boundaries between a “personal” life and a “business” life. This is when things can become confusing, if you notice, your “friends” on Facebook are much different than your “connections” on linkedIn. So why mix them up, we have to create healthy boundaries even on our social platforms.
The more we are allowed to write on linkedIn the more at risk we are of getting into personal conversations, perhaps we need a new button that says “let’s talk on facebook”.
Perhaps these tips can help you decide:
- If your a coach, motivational speaker and someone in the business of self help, YES LinkedIn is offering you tools that can expand your business and help you grown. But keep in mind that you should still keep it professional and monitor your conversations.
- If you just want to connect with friends and discuss lunch, dinner plans and say “yay, congrats let’s meet later.” take this conversation over email and be mindful that your friends boss may look at this and your profile and perhaps make inferences based on the network you have on linkedIN.
- Writing articles is a great way to expand your network and show off some of your talents and interest. While Facebook allows you to also post notes, publishing good articles on LinkedIN consistently can gain you a professional following and possibly business.
- Looking for a job or shared business ideas, events and conversations that engage other users professionally, go for it.
- Engage in ways that show your talents via creative and engaging professional conversions.
- Share your thoughts but also link to your professional blog to expand your reach and promote your personal business brand.
These are just some tidbits to keep us real and connected as to why we are on this platform.
Finally do you remember the old phrase "Tell me who your friends are, and I'll tell you who are." Holds truth. Our circle of friends, influencers, professional networks do create an impact in our lives and we can tell a lot about a person by meeting his/her friends. So remember your networks, via Facebook & LinkedIN can affect the way others view you. So just be a little mindful and know that your virtual identity expands to global reach.
?2015 Purpleherd LLC