You are probably seeing a lot of this as status updates today:

“TODAY Facebook will start using your photos in ads that will appear on the profile page of your contacts. It’s legal and is mentioned in the fine print when you create your account. TO stop this do the following: Account, Account Settings, Then click on Facebook Ads, choose “No one” on TWO drop-down menus and save changes”.

If you take the time to do what everyone is suggesting, you will see that the default settings on these are “only my friends” and it states clearly that Facebook will only use your profile picture (no other pictures).  It also states for the first drop down menu option: “Facebook does not give third party applications or ad networks the right to use your name or picture in ads. If this is allowed in the future, this setting will govern the usage of your information.”  This setting is preemptive because it isn’t even allowed right now.  But it still only applies to people you have chosen to be friends with on Facebook.  The only two options are “only my friends” and “no one”.

Facebook has been using your actions in advertisements to your friends for awhile now in the form of “so-and-so likes such-and-such page” right underneath the ad for the page.  You will notice these if you look at the left-hand side of your profile.  I actually like it.  I like seeing that my friends like a certain page and it definitely makes me more likely to like the page myself – which is why Facebook does it.  Your friends can already see your profile pic, they can already see what pages you like, so what is the big deal with them seeing both of those things in an ad from a company that you already like?

Don’t get me wrong, we believe very strongly in privacy settings and both of us have our privacy settings set extremely high because we like to keep our professional and private lives somewhat separate.  We are glad that people are staying informed and are informing each other, but sometimes it seems like the most popular activity on Facebook these days is to complain about Facebook!  Check your privacy settings on a regular basis and move on.  And if you have issues with your “friends” seeing your profile picture and what pages you like, you might want to weed out your friends list a little.

While reading this blog post from Chris Brogan today I started thinking about a problem we are seeing more and more with clients and potential clients – skipping the crucial step of building a social media fan base.  The people who have done their research and already know why they need to be utilizing social media for their business bring us in to consult and they want to know how to get set up on Facebook and Twitter, and they want to know what to post once they are on there, and they want to know when to post, and how frequently they should post.  What most people skip over is that none of this matters if no one else is seeing it.  Just because you have a Facebook page and you are active on your page does not guarantee that people will find you.  So how do you let people know that you are on Facebook and Twitter and YouTube so that they can see just how great of a job you are doing?  By utilizing all of the other marketing tools that you already have in place.

If you have an amazing email database and you send out monthly newsletters then use that to bring people to your Facebook page.  If you have more than 25 likes on your Facebook business page you can set a username for your page and then you have a direct link to your page to put in your email.  An example of this would be getting to our Facebook page: simply go to www.facebook.com/handhweb (and while you’re there, be sure to like our page!).  But be sure that you lead them right to your page from  your newsletter.  If you send them to Facebook’s home page (www.facebook.com) they will have to work to search for you and you’ve just lost their attention.

Even beyond those monthly newsletters that you send out, everyday email is another great way to let people know you are on Facebook or Twitter.  You should already have your website in your email signature, so throw your direct Facebook link and your Twitter username in there as well.  Add Facebook and Twitter links onto print ads that you run, postcards that you mail out, commercials that you make.  Have you noticed lately that at the end of almost every commercial for any major brand they tell you how to find them on Facebook?  Some of you might have much smaller businesses with non-existent marketing budgets.  In that case, put it on your website, if you have one, or on your business cards even.  And lastly, talk about it.  Tell people face-to-face when you meet with them exactly where to find your business online and why they should bother.  If you are going to put in the hard work of maintaining a social media presence then make sure you are laying the groundwork necessary to reap the benefits!