Online Business Professionalism - Separating Your Personal Life

Social networking sites are important to online sales. Some multi-seller marketplaces have integrated socializing directly into their venue. Everything said within these social arenas can be found by potential customers anywhere in the world simply by doing an internet search. Be it Twitter, Myspace, Facebook, Plumbdrop, chat forums, blogs or wherever, the potential to grow your business and profits is enormous but it could also mean disaster. More times than not, online sellers fail to see the danger in their personal life information being online which could also be tarnishing their online business.

Every now and then, you should Google the online ID's you use and also your real name. Does each search return provide information you would like attached to your business? Personal notes or photos that show you in a bad light may be something you want to have removed. Your friends might find it really funny to see photos of you passed out drunk at a weekend party or clowing around with some friends on a social site and post a photo or write something not so flattering about it on a social site. If one of your friends networks with a potential customer (online or real life), the photo or writing may be shared and it could tarnish your reputation plus it does nothing to instill buyer confidence. Your private life is yours and should be separated from your business because not everyone will view talk or pictures of such matters in a positive way.

If you have worked hard to build a professional online business reputation but a potential buyer does a Google search and finds a photo or written commentary about your weekend escapades or you are ranting and raving in online forums, you may have frightened that customer away which means you have wasted your time building your reputation. For the most part, online buyers do their research before making a purchase. This is good for the buyer but a potential disaster for the seller who has not separated his personal life from his business.

Some people are passionate and have something to say about a controversial issue or topic that is unrelated to their business or they post less than flattering images on a social networking site for their friends and family to see. For this reason, it may be a wise idea to create a separate socializing ID so it won't be connected to your business.

Socializing and your business reputation is difficult to deal with when you are involved with online marketplaces that have an attached forum since socializing is one of the draws to the site. Be really careful in what you post on the forums. Don't just type what first comes to mind and hit the send button. If what you are writing will offend, hurt or upset someone, maybe you should write it in an email and send it to yourself to spare the feelings of others and your own business reputation.
The same thing goes for avatars associated with your business ID. Is your avatar controversial or offensive in any way? Does your avatar reflect you personally more than it does professionally? If so, then you should consider a more neutral avatar because you never know who your next potential customer may be or what their beliefs or moral standards are.