The 10 biggest mistakes people make on Facebook
Keeping with theme of two previous articles written here on Guerrilla Freelancing, today we’re going to check into facebook and showcase some of the mistakes people make on facebook. If you’re interested in reading the other articles, the links are below.
Updating your profile once a month
One of the first mistakes I see (and have fallen to myself in the past) is setting up a facebook profile because everyone else has one and then never updating it. It’s fine to not have a social profile everywhere – stick to the ones you use most, and if you are going to set up a profile on facebook, use it.
Mass adding without any type of connection
My main rule of thumb here is to not randomly add anyone unless the facebook recommendations show 10 or more common friends between myself and the other person. This way, I know they’re a part of the circle I talk to in one way or another and I know that their input on things will be valuable. Plus, it doesn’t look so spammy compared to when you’re adding people who have zero common friends.
Not setting up a fan page for your site
If you run a website of any kind, setting up a facebook fan page, in my opinion, is a must. It not only allows you to promote your site throughout facebook, but it’s also a way to get your visitors interacting with you, signed up to a specific place where you can send out notices (similar to a newsletter) about your site, contests and freebies that people can’t get elsewhere.
Only sharing your own content
I’ve mentioned this before in our other posts about stumble upon and twitter, but it crosses over into facebook as well. I see people who sent out status updates with links to their sites, but never mention anything about any other sites they’ve visited. I assure you that your friends will enjoy reading content if it applies to them, so by sharing articles on facebook that relate to your website topic, they’ll gain more value from your updates and feel more comfortable clicking your links (including the ones to your site).
Updating your status 50+ times a day
Twitter is a place to update 50-100 times a day. Facebook isn’t. Facebook should be used as a place to hold longer conversations than 140 characters and not just a place to broadcast link after link (after link). Try your best to utilize facebook for what it should be used for – connecting with friends, discussing things and sharing what is up with you.
Forgetting that potential clients will be seeing your profile
Some people use facebook and forget that their potential clients can, or will, see what they’re posting on their walls and in their pictures. Yes, you should be yourself as much as possible, but if being yourself means losing clients because you’ve got half naked pictures on your facebook, you may want to rethink the business you’re in 
Also, if you’re designing websites for churches, you may want to tone down your atheist views – I don’t think it would be good for business. So remember, keep things light, but not bright 
Running your blog posts through facebook’s notes
This is one that I don’t see many people talk about, but it’s a definite dead end when it comes to utilizing facebook for traffic and comments on your blog. What a lot of people do is run their RSS feeds through facebook notes and give everyone the ability to read their entire post right there on facebook. When they’re done reading, they move on and don’t visit your site. You’d be better off just sending out a wall update letting people know about the new post so the traffic goes to your site instead of your notes section.
Posting self-glorifying messages on your friends walls
This is one I’ve had to deal with numerous times recently. “Friends” who are utilizing facebook as a place where they can post a comment on your wall, discussing their site. News flash, that’s what your wall is for. If you write on someones wall, mention how much you liked THEIR article, not link to your own stuff. It’s unprofessional, rude and a bit annoying.
Sending advertisements to your friends through facebook messages
Another one that I’ve seen happen more lately is the unsolicited advertisement messages you receive on facebook. Something along the lines of “I just seen this and knew you’d like it” although, your name isn’t mentioned in the message and the topic is something you’re definitely NOT interested. Don’t do it anymore if you’re one of the ones doing it – people hate it.
We’re not facebook friends yet
So, in keeping up with how I’ve done the twitter and stumbleupon mistakes articles here, I thought I should mention this one here as well. I’m on facebook (click here to be friends) and I also have a facebook fan page for my start up, Giant Themes. Would you like to see a fan page for Guerrilla Freelancing? I think I need to set one up, especially after writing #3 above
