It seems as more people join Facebook the lines between personal and business are being blurred. For some people, connections with friends and family are the only reason they are here. For others, promoting their business is their main reason. And still others combine the two, and sometimes those 2 worlds collide. I’ve put together a short list of Do’s and Don’ts that will help!

DO: Understand that your Profile is your “home” and you are welcoming others into your space.

DON’T: Treat others differently than if they were in your “real” home. Use the golden rule! Don’t type anything that you would not speak out loud.

DO: Post a status update regularly. At minimum once a week, or people will think you’ve quit, or worse. Not posting an update is like never answering your phone. People like to check in and even if you are doing other FB activities, when they scroll through the “home” page they may only see the status updates, depending on their settings.

DON’T: Post status updates 10 times a day unless something special is going on. Your update is like a check-in call. We don’t need to know a play by play of your day, just as you would not call up your best friends 10 times a day on the phone.

DO: Mix business and pleasure. Just as you are a whole person in real life, be a whole person on FB. Even if your goal is to promote your business, let your visitors in on the non-business side of you, this will build rapport.

DON’T: Go overboard on either business or personal information. Remember that your FB content is timeless and permanent and accessible to a wide net of people, whether you know them now or not. Someone you meet in the future can go back and read your past updates and see your photos. Do not post anything in any format on FB that you would not want broadcast on the evening news.

DO: Be helpful and relevant. Post links, photos and videos that will enhance someone’s personal or business life in some way. Just as you’d call up a friend when you read an article about something they’d be interested in, when you find something worthwhile on the web, post it to your profile. You never know whose life you will touch at just the right time.

DON’T: Post spammy, controversial, or inappropriate links, photos, or videos to your profile without realizing the act of posting them is a reflection on who you are. Remember that your profile is your “home” and imagine these things decorating your walls.

DO: Send a welcoming message to your new friends when appropriate. If you don’t know each other in “real life,” it is courteous to also mention how you found them or what/who the connection is that led you to them, just as you would if you went to visit someone in their home. Imagine knocking on someone’s door that you would like to get to know, what would you say? Be sincere and authentic.

DON’T: Welcome someone whom you have never met by writing on their wall with business information or links. This does not make a good first impression! Let them get to know you over time on their own terms by visiting your profile according to their interest, and reading your updates. If you feel you have a product or service that will help them in particular, let them know why, then ask if they’d like more information, and take it to private messages.

DO: Remember that everyone is watching. Not only your own friends, but your friends’ friends, and some you may not even be connected to, depending on your settings. When a friend comments to another friend, their friends can read usually the dialogue as well. Check the Privacy settings if you’d prefer only your friends see your activities, but remember you can only control your own Privacy settings, your friends control theirs, so comments or wall posts on their profiles may be more public than you realize.

DON’T: Post links, photos or videos to other people’s Walls unless it is relevant and wanted. Use the Wall for comments that cannot be put in as comments on status updates. When you post to someone’s wall without explanation or as part of a dialogue, it appears as if that friend is endorsing that link, photo, or video. Would you go to a friend’s house and decorate their walls with things you are excited about? Save the decorating for your own Profile, and they can check it out there.

DO: Keep private conversations private. Using comments on a status update to make arrangements for ballet class carpooling by posting back and forth on your wall is an example. That is something that should be taken to private messages, or chat, or good old fashioned email or telephone. Remember the above DO, everyone else is reading. If a friend starts a personal conversation in public, divert it by saying you’ll PM/Email/Call them. Not sure? Ask yourself if others will benefit or get to know you better from reading about this.

DON’T: Engage in conversations that indicate private matters, or give personal details you do not want public. Things like the year you were born, what school your kids go to, that your home will be unattended for a week, are all things that, depending on BOTH party’s Privacy settings, can potentially be seen by strangers. If a friend inadvertently reveals too much about you, ask them to delete the public comment, and take it private.

DO: Look around! Posted items, status updates, groups, and information that people post on their profiles are done so as an expression of themselves and what they are all about. Take the time to click on the various tabs and look beyond their Wall or status updates. Get to know them, you might find even more that you have in common!

DON’T: Overdo it. Commenting on every update, and every posted item, and every photo that someone posts is overkill. Imagine being at someone’s home, would you comment about every single thing, or would you comment on the things that are most relevant or that you are most excited about?

DO: Interact! FB is what is considered to be “social media,” the operative word being “social!” Make comments, add to the conversation, or just let them know you visited. Never participating in two-way conversations makes you a “lurker” and defeats the purpose of being there - to connect!

DON’T: Isolate yourself. This is not a monologue - if you want to simply grace us with your presence and wisdom, start a blog and turn off the comments. There is a time and place for that, but FB isn’t it.

DO: HAVE FUN!!

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