Would you suggest that I use Facebook to develop professional connections? How do create synergies between Facebook and LinkedIn?
Answers
Scott,
Great question and one I get quite often. My advice is to keep Facebook for "socializing" and use LinkedIn to develop and manage professional connections.
You can certianly use Facebook to "reconnect" with what may have started as social acquaintances, but if you want to move them to professional connections my advice is to invite the person to be a LinkedIn connection.
Keep social and professional networks separate or "worlds can collide" and you can ruin a professional opportunity by allowing a professional connection access to "too much information" about your personal life.
Best regards,
Ernie
Although there are some business-focused Facebook groups out there I have found that they are not a good place for deveoping business connections either for job search or for biz dev. Most people are simply not there for business, they are there for fun, to reconnect with friends, keep track of family, etc.. In a world where it is nearly impossible to get away from people wanting things from you (either selling you or asking for favors), Facebook is blissfully free of most of that noise and I think people would NOT take kindly to the interruption. You could do yourself real harm by trying to bring business into Facebook or similar social situations.
If I might offer a branded social media perspective?
In the tough and competitive job search climate today, a presence on Facebook combined with a strong professional presence on Linked In can actually work to a candidate's benefit ... if done correctly. Linked In is so restrictive in allowing you to showcase a 360-perspective of yourself; where Facebook is much more open and transparent (hobbies, interests, circle of friends). Facebook privacy controls help you to keep private things private and non-private things public.
Culture fit is the most difficult part of hiring today. With a branded Linked In presence and a professional / personal Facebook presence, a recruiter and/or a company gets a much truer picture of the candidate. When you walk into a room ... that "fit" precedes you and can give you a huge leg up on the competition during the interview process - your fit with the company already precedes you.
I do agree with Ernie though that using Linked In to grow a professional network makes the most sense for Finance Executives. If those contacts are also on FB, that venue facilitates a more casual environment to build the relationship.
As an