B2B Social Networking Etiquette: Is “Friending” Clients On Facebook Appropriate?
It’s no secret that Social Networking is at the center of Web 2.0. In fact, if you don’t watch it, social networking can become addictive, not to mention time-consuming! Every day I’m surprised at the number of old friends and non-business contacts whom I’ve completely forgotten about and who have re-entered my life by asking to “Friend” me on Facebook.com. Couple that with taking the time to examine and respond to all of the discussions going on within the LinkedIn groups I’m a member of and my day can slip away before I know it.
At any rate, from the standpoint of using social networking with the intent of growing your business, there are many ways to leverage the increasing number of social networking sites. I really want this blog post to focus on Facebook.com, though.
LinkedIn, Plaxo, etc. are great tools to use to connect to prospects and clients within a business context; however, I personally believe that Facebook is most appropriately used within the context of the user’s personal life. It’s a way to connect with old friends, let people know what you’re up to and really to share what’s going on in your personal life.
Here’s an analogy to consider: trying to “Friend” a client on Facebook might be something like inviting yourself to that client’s weekend backyard BBQ! There’s a place and time for business and a place and time for outside interests and I don’t think that showing up at your client’s house on the weekend to try to sell your products or services is the right venue for business to happen.
My advice: save your attempts at growing your professional network for LinkedIn and other professionally-oriented social networking sites and DON’T try to “Friend” your clients on Facebook.
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September 26th, 2009 - 07:42
I think one should friend client on Facebook. Facebook is changing rapidly. The average age of users is increasing. It is moving away from a college stalking ground to a legitimate business tool. As Twitter grabs corporate marketing attention, Facebook is rolling out new features and tools to ‘Twitterize’ it. Furtermore, Facebook has security features so that you can choose who sees what. At minimum, set up a fan page to connect with clients. The number of users on Facebook is equivalent to being the 6th largest country in the world. Your client may only be on Facebook. Don’t miss a great opportunity to connect with them. Just be smart with the content you post.
October 1st, 2009 - 14:29
I couldn’t agree more with Will, and think the BBQ analogy is a perfect one to explain the difference between Business networking sites and Facebook.
As I look at connecting with or prospecting for clients on social networking sites, I only friend someone on Facebook if we have already developed a personal relationship outside of work. If you’ve gone drinking, to a party, to a concert, or done something else with you customer/prospect that would put you in an environment in which your customer/prospect’s Facebook persona would live, then I think it is OK to friend them.
After all, most people believe that work life and personal life are different and should be kept separate. Unless you’ve already entered your customer’s personal life in the real world, I believe that an attempt to friend someone on Facebook is the business world invading the personal world.
October 1st, 2009 - 16:53
Mike, you’re right. The Social Media world is definitely not as off-limits as (perhaps) it once was. But I take a slightly different view than both you and Will. I’d say the decision to “Friend” a client probably depends on the nature of your offline relationship.
This post raises two new questions in my mind. First, what about “Friending” a prospect? And, a burning question, how to turn our online friends into customers?