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New media etiquette is a courtship.  Think of on-line interactions as relationship building, not direct marketing.  Don’t repel people by coming on too strong or “spammy”.  Take your time.   Believe in the power of many small interactions.  And be mindful of the culture and etiquette for each medium.

Facebook is Intensely Personal

Many wonder if Facebook is an appropriate medium for organic business promotion.  It can be, but be careful.  Don’t sign-up, invite all your contacts to be friends and start spraying them with marketing messages.  Bad idea.

First and foremost, Facebook is an intensely personal experience.  We use it to reunite with old friends, find new ones, organize groups and celebrate our lives. We share our children’s pictures! There is a certain sanctity that must be respected by marketers.

You don’t want your Facebook friends to get the impression that your sole motive is marketing.   So if your heart isn’t really into it and you incessantly spam your friends with unwanted cheesy messages, you will be ‘removed’.

But if you genuinely use Facebook personally or professionally to strengthen interpersonal relationships, I think it is OK to mix it up a little and share aspects of your business with your friends.  As with any social medium, focus on word-of-mouth messages.  Give your friends something to talk about!