I honestly don’t enjoy writing about social networking. That’s not because there aren’t lessons to be taught and learned (hence this article), but because social networking is one of those things that’s written about so much these days, any article can get lost in the white noise (much like the white noise of social networking itself). But, as you’ve probably learned, my life and experiences pretty much tell me what to write and when, and so it is with today’s article.
You see, in the last month, I’ve seen numerous instances of how not to use professional social networking, or how social networking can unintentionally shine a negative light on you and on your career.
We all know that social networking can create your ‘image.’ That’s a good thing, right? Maybe. One thing that social networking does, that other methods of image creation do not, is give immediate transparency. Social networking is like ringing a bell; once it’s rung, it can’t be un-rung. From time to time, when I read posts, I’m certain that some people wish that they could un-ring bells. So, here are some issues that I see in social networking:
Don’t post items that make you look crazy. You’re laughing right now – and so am I – but I’m serious. A few weeks ago, I granted an interview to a website that focuses on marketing and sales issues for car dealers. I’ll be the first to say that I’m pretty critical of car dealers and their sales practices. I earned the right to do so; I sold cars. I didn’t like their practices even when I sold cars, and unfortunately, experience has told me that my criticisms are still right on target.
In the interview, I referred to one practice as ‘idiotic and customer-unfriendly.’ Harsh, maybe, but it’s a remark that I stand by. Well, one used car dealer in Kentucky went NUTS. I began getting alerts from Twitter saying, “You have been mentioned in….” and I took a look. At first, there were several mentions of the interview – mostly positive. This, however, was not (You can follow me at @salesnuggets).
This guy went off the rails. He said that I must have failed at car sales, because no one ever leaves the car business unless they failed, that I myself must be an idiot (every time he mentioned that comment, he capitalized IDIOT), that I should be retrained, etc. Seriously, I was starting to wonder if he was going to be outside my front door some morning; we’re talking Fatal Attraction stuff. I actually ended up with some new followers because of what he posted.
So, what was my response? Nothing. When people are going nuts on social networking, the best response is no response, which brings up another tip. Don’t get in arguments and defend yourself. If someone posts a blatant lie about you (for instance, a customer says that you didn’t fulfill a promise when you did), it’s okay to post factual information – but don’t get dragged into a contest of opinions. I offended one car dealer. No big deal. Others were helped by what I said.
LinkedIn, in particular, offers a window into your professional soul. I just got one of those “Congratulations, your contact so-and-so has a new job!” Well, great…except. I’ve known this person since 2005. This is the eighth new job that this person has had since I’ve known him, and they’ve all been lateral moves. This is one final dark side to social networking: Social networking reflects the reality of your career over the long term, so your career had better be good. Of course, I know this person would have a story about every move. Everyone has a story. Instead of a story, seek stability.
I could, of course, post numerous other examples (such as the ‘professional writer’ who posted a LinkedIn article that was so full of spelling and grammatical errors to be nearly unreadable), but if I were going to give one piece of advice, it would be this: Think before you post. That won’t help my friend in the third example – but it would have greatly helped the one in the first. To be honest, it helped me to stay above the fray when he started posting, because my instinct was to respond.
The immediacy and the transparency of Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn allow us to do and post things that are unbecoming and sometimes damaging to us; don’t be that person.
