Overcoming Your Facebook Fears
By Jeff Sabo
Facebook is growing into one of the most popular forms of social media. As Facebook has become easier to use, everyone from high school kids to adults are joining the phenomenon.
I’ve personally been a Facebook user since my days in college and now use the social media site to keep in touch with friends and relatives. Facebook is now one of the best ways for me to send e-mails, give a quick “hello” to someone, and, being an avid photographer, a way to share the pictures I take online. Spending time on Facebook helps me to unwind from a long day and stay connected to the people I care about.
Facebook is a fun and worthwhile communication tool for me, but there are a lot of people out there who are afraid to sign up for an account. Even before I started working at SageRock, some of my friends and relatives would be scared to death of the idea of having a profile. Every time I sit in on a seminar or workshop about Facebook, similar concerns and fears are always brought up by people who have never before used the social media site.
Based on conversations from seminars and outside of work, here are some answers to the most frequently asked questions about Facebook:
“What if someone I don’t like is trying to befriend me? Do I HAVE to be that person’s friend? What if I don’t know the person who is trying to befriend me?”
If you don’t like someone or do not know the person asking for the friend request, you do not have to be friends with that person on Facebook. You can simply click “Ignore” when the friend request comes through.
As a general rule of thumb, it’s best to not request or accept friend requests from people you don’t know. If you are unsure of the identity of someone making the friend request, you can simply send that person a message via Facebook to confirm. There is nothing wrong with sending a quick message to confirm whether or not you know the person making the friend request. Sometimes it is easy to mix people up and there is nothing wrong with sending a quick note to see whether or not you have the correct person in mind.
“What if I don’t want someone to see my profile or contact information? What if I don’t want someone who isn’t my friend to see parts of my profile?”
Facebook has taken many steps to increase its privacy settings for its users. With the new privacy settings, you may prohibit non-friends from viewing your profile, pictures, contact information, and more. The privacy settings may also be set so that someone who is not your friend on Facebook cannot have access to your profile. Facebook has really tried to ensure that users get the privacy they are looking for with their account.
Another solution to this concern is to simply not put certain contact information on the profile. Even though you may list your e-mail, cell phone, home phone, AIM screen name, etc. on your profile, that does not mean you have to put that information on there. Whether or not you wish for users to contact you by any of those means is up to you and you do not have to include any of it on your Facebook profile.
Other key information such as where you work, where you live, what city you are in, etc. can be put into the profile but is not necessary. That information can simply be left out.
“How much time will I have to spend on Facebook? Will this take up a lot of my time?”
This is a question that is brought up quite a bit at both business seminars and in personal conversation. From either standpoint, you can spend as much time as you want on your Fan Page (what businesses use to promote their products and services) or profile. Some people only spend five minutes a week on Facebook while others spend an hour a day on it! It all depends on what and how much you want to get out of using Facebook.
If you are a business who wants to use Facebook as part of your marketing strategy, you will probably want to spend at least 15-20 minutes a day updating your Fan Page, responding to wall posts and messages, and sending messages to followers. Keeping the Fan Page up-to-date will be key in getting consumers to come back and visit your fan page.
For personal use, it depends on how much and what you are looking to get out of using Facebook. If you are looking to use it as a way to stay in touch with friends and family, taking 15-20 minutes a day is a reasonable amount of time to look for friends, send quick messages, post on walls, etc. If you are looking to share material such as photos, videos and more, you might have to spend a little more time on Facebook. It all depends on what you are looking to get out of it and how much time you are willing to spend.
“What if someone is posting something inappropriate on my Fan Page or my profile? Will that post be permanent?”
With a Fan Page or personal profile, you can delete anything you do not want on there. If you find users are making inappropriate comments on your wall or photos section, you can simply delete what they are writing and remove them from your friends list or Fan Page. You have control over what can be displayed on your wall or Fan Page and can delete inappropriate content. I know some users who simply don’t even use a wall for their personal profile!
“What if I don’t want pictures of me posted on Facebook? Do I have to use a profile picture?”
Similar to the personal information in the profile, no one will make you put a picture of yourself on Facebook. I have some friends who simply use pictures of cartoon characters, their pets, trees, flowers, and even Hollywood actors as their profile pictures instead of their actual picture. No one will make you post a profile picture of yourself on Facebook.
As more and more businesses are starting to utilize Facebook for marketing purposes, if you are ever at a place in which there is a photographer, there is nothing wrong with asking how his or her pictures will be used and if they will end up on Facebook. You can simply decline to have your picture taken if the photographer informs you the pictures will be on Facebook. Photographers typically have many other photos to use so saying no will not be too detrimental to their work. That way, you remain in control as to what is and is not posted on Facebook about you.
Facebook is one of the most fun and effective ways to communicate with customers, friends, and family. The benefits can be enormous and once you get over your fears of Facebook, you can open up a whole new way to communicate with others.
Very nice post regarding over coming ones fear of Facebook. This year is going to be big regarding people in the main stream online market who will be joining the social media conversations with businesses and friends. I enjoyed how your post spoke directly to people who were on the fence regarding joining the fun on Facebook. Very straight to the point answers. Once again, this was a good read for my Monday morning!