The Five Commandments of Facebook for REALTORS®

“John Smith suggested you become a fan of REALTOR® John Smith.” 

“Join my Mafia.”

“Jane Doe sent you a drink!”

“I just listed this great property at 123 Main Street for $250,000.”

What do these have in common? They are all etiquette faux pas when it comes to using Facebook. I wrote five based on my pet peeves that I see every day. What else do you think should be on this list? Let me know in the comments below.

1. Thou shalt not send unsolicited advice and then tell the person to contact you for their help. This results in automatic defriending.
2. Thou shalt not publish Mafia Wars, Vampire Wars, etc results to the news feed. Better yet, don’t play them at all. Your professional friends don’t need to know you need more to do at work.
3. Thou shalt not send “Become a fan of me” requests more than once. Three strikes and you are defriended.
4. Thou shalt not friend someone and not take the time to read their profile. I had a person friend me recently, then offered her administrative services for my real estate business. One look at my page will tell you I work for the association and am not selling real estate. This meant automatic defriending.
5. Thou shalt not use status updates to list properties. Remember, all advertising rules that apply for print apply electronically too. Know the rules.