Help! My Client Is on Facebook!

Are you one of the billion-plus Facebook users? Regardless of why you joined the social networking site, it is quite possible that a couple of your clients have found your personal account and sent friend requests. Being a business owner, freelancer or an entrepreneur, this leads to a conundrum: should you accept the request? Generally, most Facebook users accept all requests they get only to check later whether the person is worth keeping as a Facebook friend. You don’t have that luxury when your client adds you.

The risk here is that you might drive away a major client by refusing his/her friend request. The client may perceive your behavior as rude even though you are being strictly professional. Needless to say, it is a difficult situation to deal with, one that you need to get out of with tact and nous. You can simply add them or ignore them so they are no longer able to view your profile. Tweaking the privacy settings is another option.

Before looking at what you should do, it is important to go over the pros and cons of adding your clients as Facebook friends.

The Pros

1. First and foremost, Facebook is a platform you can use to have personal interaction with your clients. You can talk to them through Facebook chat, write on their wall, like their posts, etc. In today’s business environment, building relationships with your clients is important for retaining them. Adding them as Facebook friends is one of the ways through which you can do this.

2. You can go beyond conventional promotion strategies, like bombarding your fans’ walls with updates and content related to your business. Instead, you can give a glimpse into your personal life and the way you get things done. This is a more effective way of promoting yourself and one that your competitors are unlikely to use.

3. You get the chance to target the people in your clients’ networks. This is a way you can broaden your target market and get more customers. For freelancers in particular, this is a surefire way to get more business.

The pros of adding clients as Facebook friends are strong no doubt. Yet, at the same time, there are a few drawbacks you need to keep in mind.

The Cons

1. The biggest risk you undertake is leaving yourself vulnerable to questionable content posted related to you by your friends or people in your social circle. Often times, you will have felt the need to delete a post or de-tag yourself from a picture your friend posted on your wall. In this case, the client may get to see a side of you which is unprofessional and not that of a person they may want to work with.

2. It is difficult to prevent your personal and professional lives from amalgamating on Facebook even when your clients are not on your friends’ list. Once you decide to add them, it becomes a juggling act of sorts with you having to hide your "wild" side from them. Sooner or later, it will get too hard to handle for you so it is better to draw the line beforehand.

As you can see, there are a couple of major drawbacks. These are more significant for freelancers as the person and the business are one and the same. Your image is what clients are going to consider when placing orders. If they don’t like what they see, you can lose their business.

Do You Want To Confirm?

Coming back to a point made earlier, most people find it rude that their friend requests are not accepted on Facebook. You cannot expect anything different from your clients. They can get upset if you decide to ignore their requests. Of course, you may stick with a policy that you don't friend anyone work- or business related, and simply explain it to your client. Anyway, you may find yourself between a rock and a hard place. In some cases, entrepreneurs and freelancers decide to accept the request rather than risk losing their client. However, before you decide to click on ‘Confirm’, you need to clean up your act.

• Edit your profile and remove your political and religious views from there. Though you may consider them appropriate to be on your Facebook profile, they might offend some clients. You don’t need to risk losing clients over your views and beliefs. In fact, you need to think about the information you want to share. Even your favorite TV show can prove to be a detriment if your client decides to go through your profile. But politics and religion are slippery grounds you should avoid.

• You can tweak your profile, including your photos, to paint a professional image of yourself. You don’t have to hide your casual side but tone down the content posted (if required) to depict yourself as a reliable person to work with.

• Of course, you can change the privacy settings to restrict the parts of your Facebook profile you don’t want your clients to see. With the advanced options, you can select specific users you intend to keep away from your pictures, etc. This is the best way to control your image on Facebook in the eyes of your clients.

These are the things you need to do before you consider accepting friend requests from your clients.

There is little doubt that it is tricky for you to handle clients on Facebook. But that doesn’t at all mean you should quit using the website altogether. Just follow the tips provided above and you will be safe!