Today I was working on Square Cow’s facebook page when this post popped up on their wall. First off, this is very, very, very unprofessional. We don’t know a Terri Cato Meyer…or her sock puppet, ahem. She uses her personal facebook profile to basically spam her business on another place of business’s wall space.

If she had had something of value to add to Square Cow’s facebook page, that would be one thing, but she didn’t and this is just weird. Not only do I not want to contact her to hear more about her business, but I really want to have nothing to do with Nationwide now if their agents act like this.

I like quirky more than your average person, but this crosses a line for me. (Maybe I just think the sock monkey is creepy, I dunno.) It all goes back to whether or not you really have something of value to offer me. Insurance, real estate, mortgages, etc. these things are boring, common and not something I care to indulge in while I cruise around the social media wastelands. I especially don’t want to see your product on my business page unless I have a solid relationship with you. Instead, you would be infinitely more successful commenting on my posts, engaging with my company and what I have to say.

Spam hurts you more than it helps. Remember that the next time you decide to crash someone else’s space. Also, how unprofessional is it to use your personal facebook profile with a creepy picture of you with your…sock monkey for business? I’m going to have nightmares, seriously.

Here’s how you actually engage a business or organization online.

1. Like their page.
2. Like their comments, and comment on their comments.
3. Once you’ve had a few conversations with them, ask them very politely if they would be interested in following you back.
4. If they actually express a direct need for your services, by all means, helpm ’em out, declare what you do, give them your contact info and your website info.

Note: You may have established a relationship using your personal profile, that’s fine, but direct them to your professional profile in order to conduct business. Nobody wants to try and do business with a sock monkey.

That’s all I have to say on this subject at the moment. If I’ve missed anything please let me know in the comments section below.