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My Facebook Friendship Rules… I hope Nobody's Offended

By
Home Stager with Rose-Colored Staging

There are some serious pro's and con's to using Facebook and after having been on it for nearly 2 years, I find myself still learning and perfecting how I use it.  My goals are to form new friendships, keep in touch with current friends and family, and learn from others in the real estate and staging businesses.

In order for Facebook to be manageable for me, I've set up some rules.  Some may be a bit quirky but they work for me.  In fact, if I were to explain them, it might go something like this:

Dear Potential Facebook Friend,

Thank you requesting my friendship.  I choose my friends very carefully.  I will look at your profile to see if you are local, if you are in a business that interests me, or if I know you outside of Facebook.  I will look at what you've posted on your wall.  If your posts involve a lot of politics, religion, cursing, music videos, inducements to buy what you're selling, simply too many posts one right after another, or anything else that I find truly distasteful, I will not accept your friendship.  It's MY Facebook page and I want it to be friendly.  For more info on what I consider to be "truly distasteful," see my previous post

If the reason for your friendship request is that I am in real estate and you think I may be a good connection, even though we live hundreds of miles apart and have nothing else in common, please connect with me instead on Active Rain and Linked InI'd love to see you there!

If I do accept your friendship, please do not be offended when I do not respond to Smiles, Blessings, Hugs, Angels, Teddy bears, Hearts, Flowers and other gifts.  I have them blocked and I block news ones as soon as they appear.  They're sweet, really, but I'd much rather have a conversation with you.

Please do not tag me in photos that are not actually photos of me, such as cartoons, etc.  I will un-tag them.  I have also blocked most games, the only exception being Family Feud because, well, how can anyone not like Family Feud?

I do not press "like" for every phrase that someone has come up with that I agree with.  I will not cut and paste something and pass it on simply because you told me to, even if I agree.  I am convinced that cutting and pasting a phrase will not prove that I'm a Christian or that I love my country, or anything else.  It just proves I can cut and paste. 

If I become a fan of your business page (and if we're friends, I will!), I would expect you in turn to support me by becoming a fan of my business page. Friends should support each other's endeavors.

If we become Facebook friends, I'd like to hear what's happening in your life, with your family, your business, and whatever else is important to you.  If you have great business information to share, I'll listen.  And-- if you've discovered the absolute best place to get coffee, or a good sale going on, I'll listen to that too.  Still want to be friends?   

 

Michele Rose is a Realtor and Professional Home Stager in Burlington County, NJ.  She has been assisting both buyers and sellers with their real estate needs for the last 6 years.  In 2007, she founded Rose-Colored Staging, a professional home staging and redesign business, to help sellers successfully market their homes with professional home staging.

 

Show All Comments Sort:
Faina Reinhardt
HotRentalsNY.com - Manhattan, NY

I think it's reasonable.  I don't have the time or any desire to "live " on facebook.  I use it to stay in touch with friends and as a marketing tool

Sep 14, 2010 01:17 PM
Carra Riley & Declan Kenyon
Brokers Guild Cherry Creek Ltd - Westminster, CO
Helping people Transition at all ages!

I think it is important to have rules about who you friend on FaceBook.  There are many requests which just don't make sense - so choose carefully!

Sep 15, 2010 04:54 AM
Michele Rose
Rose-Colored Staging - Mount Holly Township, NJ
Burlington County Home Staging & Redesign

Faina:  I learned I have to set boundaries or it is too much.  I am on it a lot but I don't want to be distracted with "silly stuff."  I absolutely love the connecting and the friendships-- there's a lot of good in it. 

Carra:  You do have to be careful.  If I cannot figure out who someone is, I don't accept the friend request.  And I think some of the things I listed are why some agents haven't bothered with FB.  It's easy to be bogged down with it and for it to be too time consuming.   

Sep 15, 2010 08:05 AM
Denise Roberts
New Colony Properties, LLC - Pinehurst, NC
e-PRO, REALTOR - Specializing in Pinehurst, NC Area

I agree, choosing Facebook Friends should not be done without consideration.  I have a personal page and a business page and I don't mix the two.  If you want to connect with me on a business level then 'Like' my business page.  If I know you personally as a 'true friend' or family member then my personal page is where I want you to be.

I've ignored many fellow agents who requested to be a friend on my personal page.  I explained why and I think most of them understood and I also think that most of them wish that they had done the same when they started their personal pages.  I don't want to see posts about real estate all night long if I'm trying to catch up with an old friend on my personal page.

I'm happy to see that others feel the same way about who they befriend on facebook!

Sep 20, 2010 10:27 AM
Michele Rose
Rose-Colored Staging - Mount Holly Township, NJ
Burlington County Home Staging & Redesign

Hi Denise!  Thanks for commenting!  The lines between business and personal are still a bit blurred for me.  I have friends who are Realtors but they also know me through social media, trainings, or are local and may use my staging business.  (I do talk about staging on my personal page) I don't mind that.  What I do mind is when we have no connection whatsoever-- we've never "spoken" even via social media, they're not local-- I just have no idea who they are.  They're the ones I can do without :)  I hear a lot of agents say they don't have time for FB, but I think the real issue is, they haven't learned to set boundaries with it.  When you do, you see results!

Sep 21, 2010 05:49 AM
Amanda Christiansen
Christiansen Group Realty (260)704-0843 - Fort Wayne, IN
Christiansen Group Realty

Great post Michele.  I have the same guidelines with my Facebooking.  I use it all the time and have had great success with lead generation, but there are limits. 

Your friends in Fort Wayne

Sep 22, 2010 02:02 AM
Michele Rose
Rose-Colored Staging - Mount Holly Township, NJ
Burlington County Home Staging & Redesign

Thanks for commenting!  FB is great for leads-- once you make it work for you :)

Sep 22, 2010 10:06 AM
Sandra Mathewson
RE/MAX 4000 - Grand Junction, CO
CRS, CLHMS, ABR, SRES, GRI, CDPE, PSA, SFR, CNHS

Michele,

Very well written!  I am not concerned with having an enormous amount of friends, quality vs. quanity is more important.

There was a discussion on Linkedin last week about "friending" other Realtors. One lady said she had a Realtor that was friending her clients.  I do no allow any local Realtor to be friends with me.  Why would I?  They won't send me a referral and they are competeing with me. I also don't want to know what my marketing is.  I have a lot of technology pages that I get information from on my FB profile.

Thanks again!

Sandra

 

Oct 03, 2010 03:34 AM
Michele Rose
Rose-Colored Staging - Mount Holly Township, NJ
Burlington County Home Staging & Redesign

Thanks Sandra!  The quality is much more important.  I don't mind friending local Realtors I know but there are some I just wouldn't trust.  We do need to be careful.

Oct 03, 2010 09:28 AM
Lisa Von Domek
Lisa Von Domek Team - Dallas, TX
....Experience Isn't Expensive.... It's Priceless!

Hello Michele,

Great post...many Facebook do's and don'ts that I follow too!

Jul 18, 2012 10:32 AM