by Alan Dodson
It is clear from many sources that Facebook has redefined the word friend and is responsible for introducing two words to the world: unfriend and defriend – both probably verbs and in the Facebook world the word “friend” itself is now an adverb as in, when somebody likes you, they friend you on Facebook. You can now get friended by people you do not know!
When is it time to “Unfriend” People on Facebook and what does that have to do with the wedding business? Some time back, I wrote an article on Social Media and the wedding business and I still speak on that subject often.
Now that you have that Facebook Personal Profile, and hopefully you have it in your “real name”, not some made up name that will get you deleted by the Facebook Police, and you have set up your Business Pages for your actual business, it is time to start removing people from your friends list that can damage your wedding oriented business.
Separate Business and Pleasure
As your social network presence grows, it becomes increasingly difficult to separate business connections and personal connections. The thing is, you have to make that distinction as it relates to your own Facebook profile. You see, Facebook is a personal network that has business benefits.
When I started out on Facebook I used to add all Facebook friend requests (except those that were clearly spammers), but with almost 2,500 “Friends” I cannot do that anymore, I just don’t know who is who.
Clean Up Your Act
So, for 2011, I have decided to start clearing out people that don’t meet my business and personal goals for the future in my Social Media plan. I am very fussy with whom I Tweet with and I am now applying those same guidelines to Facebook and to LinkedIn.
Here are my personal guidelines for connecting with and remaining connect to on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter:
- People I have met personally or;
- People who are DJs, Photographers, Wedding Planners, Venues, and other wedding vendors or ;
- People that I have been introduced to or recommended by a real life friend or;
- Past or future brides and grooms.
- For others, we can connect on one of my several business pages.
Scan your friend list on Facebook and it will likely bring up questionable faces - random people from some past school, people you met at a party, customers, and a few people you’ve never even seen before, or at least can’t remember who they might be.
It is time to get rid of a bunch of those! Here is why: Spam, Viruses, Junk mail, embarrassing or inappropriate photos and comments that affect your necessary and wanted “friends” and appear in your News Feed.
Present Yourself in the Best Possible Light
As a professional wedding entertainer or vendor, you want to present yourself in the best possible light to your prospective clients and your past clients for referrals.
If they associate the “real you” with the “virtual you” and the people you associate with in the “virtual world” it is very likely that they will not get a clear picture of who the real you actually is. You will be checked out by prospective brides on Facebook, because over 90% of all unmarried young couples have a Facebook account.
What will they see on your profile page? Stupid remarks? Inappropriate photos? Silly profile pictures? Cheese? Take time to clean it up, make sure you are presenting the image you really want!
The Dark Side
Removing Facebook friends does have a darker side too. The urban dictionary defines unfriending thus: “The opposite of befriending someone. When you unfriend someone you don’t necessarily become their enemy per say, but you are just no longer their friend, sorta like just distancing yourself from them until you befriend them again.”
A Good Add-On
Here is a way to monitor your friends that are “unfriending” you, because otherwise you will not know. http://www.unfriendfinder.com This is an add-on for your browser that keeps up with your friend requests and those that remove you without telling you.
Some time back there was an application created by Burger King to get you a free whopper if you unfriended 10 people. The page is still up but the appp is gone. http://www.facebook.com/apps/application.php?id=33988778285
My Links of Note
If you are a reader of ProMobileDJ.com you are in no danger of being “unfriended” by me, but I am going to clean house this year, and you should too! Your actual friends will be happy, and you business will benefit. Here are a few of my social links:
My Personal Page: www.facebook.com/topdiscjockey
My Mr. Picture Booth Business Page: www.facebook.com/mrpicturebooth
My DJ Alan Dodson Business Page: www.facebook.com/BestMobileDJ
Twitter: www.twitter.com/djalandodson
Alan Dodson – Wedding Wizard
Alan Dodson is the Entertainment Director of An Unforgettable Event (ThoseWeddingPeople.com), and has been entertaining at and producing events since the early 1970’s. He has also worked as a voice talent on radio and television, nationwide. Alan specializes in weddings, and is a co-producer of the Tri Cities Bridal Show (tricitiesbridalshow.com) as well as producer of bi-monthly workshops for grooms (aPerfectGroom.com). He has written numerous articles for business and trade magazines, and has been a speaker on implementing social media into wedding DJ businesses. Alan is a founding officer of the E. TN Chapter of the ADJA (adja.org/chapters/etenn), where he now serves as President. He maintains an informational wedding blog on his website (TopDiscJockey.com). Alan can be reached by email at [email protected].
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