Yesterday, I shared some ideas to get you thinking about using Facebook as a professional networking outlet, inspired by THIS POST by Sarah Welstead, a Recruitment Marketing Consultant who works with Head2Head and RetiredWorker. She really nails down some great reasons to re-look at Facebook.

Today, the definitive…Why you should be using Facebook. (Also inspired by Sarah. Bold – her thoughts, commentary is my own.)

The ‘fun’ value will help you stay motivated

Let’s face it…Updating your LinkedIn profile really isn’t that much fun. How often do you get sucked into spending hours on LinkedIn, just for the heck of it? Contrast it with Facebook. Admit it- you could click around for hours, if only you had time. Or, maybe you do already. As Welstead says in her post, “If you’re already on Facebook, it’s way easy to use it for building your professional profile!”

Facebook delivers better-quality relationships

Think about this. Have you seen pictures of your LinkedIn network’s kids or dogs? How close of a bond do you really feel with them? Contrast to Facebook. Welstead makes a good point about quality over quantity: You may have a smaller network on Facebook – in fact, the BBC says that 150 is the ideal number of Facebook friends, …but because you’re able to have more meaningful interactions, with more people, on a daily basis, those contacts are likely to deliver more ROI in the long run than 1000+ LinkedIn connections.

Bonus tip from Sarah: “People are always more likely to trust someone they’ve known since Grade 8 than someone they’ve met at work, even if they haven’t talked to them since high school.  So rekindling an old relationship will always be easier than forging a new one.”

Another stat from Welstead: At least 50% of your contacts aren’t using LinkedIn!

You want to cast the widest net possible, and the numbers show that Facebook has the most people. I have a friend who is skeptical about all of these social networks. She badmouths them left and right and never hesitates to make fun of the Facebook fanatics. But, guess what? She has a profile there now. The pressure was too much for her! She finally realized that there are some nice results from being able to see pictures of people she cares about but has no interest in talking to! You can’t find her on LinkedIn, though, so don’t even try!

How many friends do YOU have like that? You don’t want to miss opportunities by “poo poo-ing” Facebook.

Facebook is a better ice-breaker

If you connect with your old pals, the nostalgia factor is likely to kick in and it’s just easier to start a conversation. Who is going to argue with that?

Facebook helps you stay top-of-mind with the people who are most invested in you and your career

Update your status, share your expertise, and you may be surprised how many people pay attention. A reminder – this is not a suggestion to run to Facebook, set up a profile and link to old friends for the purpose of asking if anyone has any job leads. Build a network, share information, connect with old friends and THEN, if there is a good opportunity, you can share your needs. Give before you expect to take. Don’t forget, most people don’t think they can help a jobseeker, so if you go “out” as one, you may find that networking does not work for you.

photo by Brian Veloso

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