How to Use Facebook in the Workplace

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Posted June 10th, 2010 by Mindy

Hi there ThinkTalkers! My name is Connie and I am currently a senior Media Studies Major at CUA. During my time here at ThinkTalk, I will be blogging about my experiences and lessons learned in the work place in order to give you guys some tips and advice on what to expect and prepare for at your own internships.

Addicted to Facebook? Need to find ways to use your obsession for good? Read through the following tips on how to use your Facebook account to accomplish networking with possible employers and businesses.

When Facebook first became popular, I had no interest in the site especially since I was still all about my MySpace page. After being convinced by a friend to cross over into the Facebook realm, I was immediately addicted. The social networking site helped me keep in contact with all of my high school friends that I had to leave behind when college began, and also helped me meet new friends my new school.

Ever since the school year ended, I have been debating whether or not to delete my page. I kept thinking that I really do not need any extra distractions and after hearing horror stories of people not being hired based on potential employers searching for them on Facebook, I really thought it was time to say goodbye to Facebook. However, I recently came across an article at WebWorkDaily which quickly changed my mind on deleting my page. The article goes through 23 changes you can make to your page to make it workplace and business savvy. They are pretty simple changes that can help you actually get a job. I listed a few of the helpful tips below, but check out the article to see all 32!

Fill out your profile completely to earn trust.

Establish a business account if you don't already have one.

Stay out of trouble by reading the Facebook rules regarding business accounts.

Keep any personal parts of your profile private through Settings.

Create friends lists such as "Work," "Family" and "Limited Profile" for finer-grained control over your profile privacy.

Post a professional or business casual photos of yourself to reinforce your brand.

Limit business contacts' access to personal photos.

Obtain a Facebook vanity URL so that people can find you easily.

Add your Facebok URL to your email signature and any marketing collateral (business cards, etc.) so prospects can learn more about you.

Post business updates on your wall. Focus on business activities, such as "Working with ABC Company on web site redesign."

Share useful articles and links to presentation and valuable resources that interest customers and prospects on your wall, to establish credibility.

Research prospects before meeting or contacting them.

Upload your contacts from your email client to find more connections.

Look for mutual contacts on your contacts' friends lists.

Use Facebook Connect to add social networking features to your web site.

Join network, industry and alumni groups related to your business.

"facebook" courtesy benstein via Flickr Creative Commons

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