While taking a much needed break from the routine that so frequently consumes my days, I thought I would try to find other authors to connect with on Facebook. (Shameless plug: you can find me at http://www.facebook.com/danielallenbooks.) Since it’s one of the best networking sites out there, I assumed that it would be a virtual treasure trove of other professionals looking to network and build strong business relationships.
Okay, so maybe it's a little sneaky, but I found myself an editor’s Facebook profile and pulled up their 2500+ list of friends. Surely if anyone had a comprehensive list of authors and other literary professionals to network with, it would be them, right? I believe this technique is called “friend poaching”…though, I personally don’t see anything wrong with it if you're genuinely trying to network and not just sell stuff.
To my surprise, only a small number of the profiles I pulled up had any information about the person at all! They were all set to private—even the ones whose profile picture were the cover of a book!
Am I alone here, or does that just seem crazy?!
If you’re trying to build a name for yourself, there’s no better way than to create a profile on Facebook (or another networking site) and start adding friends. It gets your name out there in front of the world. Not to mention every status update or thing you post ends up being pushed out to (potentially) thousands of people! You simply can’t buy that kind of advertisement!
If your profile’s set to private, you might be missing out on some really great opportunities to connect with other people. Agents, scouts, publishers, producers, or anybody really who might run across your profile and never know any more about you than they can get from the picture and your name.
Okay, I understand that some people have some wacky friends who have been known to post things that you wouldn’t want your mother to see—let alone a prospective business partner. So why not create a second account, one for your business persona?
That’s what I’m doing, and it seems to work just fine. My personal profile is an absolute mess—and is definitely not something I’d want the world to see. But my professional profile is kept clean and tidy—and public! That way I know that if an agent or publisher happens upon my Facebook profile, they’ll see my public face—not my personal one.
What if your personal friends want to be friends on your public account? Should you let them or would their posts spoil whatever image you’re trying to cultivate?
I guess it depends on your friends and how much they respect what you’re trying to do. Of course, Facebook has fabulous account control features that will allow you to choose what gets seen and what doesn’t. There’s also email notifications to tell you when something gets posted to your profile so you can delete it if you don’t want it there.
In the end, it’s up to all of us to put ourselves out there in order to be seen. If you want to be successful, you have to be visible to the public.
It’s impossible to stand out in the dark.
No comments:
Post a Comment