If we’re connected on Facebook, you may have seen a video I posted about Facebook etiquette earlier in April. But in case you didn’t, here’s what prompted it.

I received a friend request from someone I’d never met before.

That’s not unusual nor is it what aggravated me.

When I receive a friend request from a stranger, I look for the following 3 things:

  1. Is their profile picture actually a photo of him or her? (I don’t know about you, but I’d at least like to know what this person looks like – builds trust, etc.)
  2. Do we have any mutual friends? (This isn’t a deal breaker, but it’s good to know whether my own friends know/like/trust them)
  3. Do we have anything in common? (Being a fan of Glee or Grey’s Anatomy is helpful)

The aforementioned friend request met all 3 criteria (had a profile pic, several mutual friends, and a fellow entrepreneur), so I had no problem accepting it.

Not two minutes later, this person sent me an invitation to like their Facebook business page.

No FB message to say hello and introduce themselves. Just an invite to like their page.

I was livid. Hence my video, which you can watch here:

I unfriended them immediately.

So what’s the best practice for friending someone you don’t know on Facebook?

On Tuesday, I had the complete opposite experience.

Someone I hadn’t met sent me a friend request. I ran through my 3 questions real quick and accepted their request. Later in the day, they sent me the following message:

Hi Katy, how are you?

Thanks so much for accepting my friend request. I noticed that we have a few friends in common and I love connecting with other women that are in the same stage of life as I am.

This was awesome – she gave me context for why she wanted to connect with me. She also introduced herself first, but I want to respect her privacy for the purpose of the blog post. But what followed made my heart sing:

I have a private Facebook group for women to share tips and tricks for staying healthy. I share recipes, workouts, and a little humour about surviving life as a full-time working mom.

I would love for you to join us, it’s a really supportive group. The link to join is: xxxxxxxxxxxxxx.

I totally understand if it’s not your thing, but I am looking forward to getting to know you!

You see what she did there?

She gave me the opportunity to decide for myself whether I wanted to join her group. She didn’t just randomly add me; she told me about her group and then left the ball in my court. I was super impressed and appreciative, and told her as much in my reply.

Have you been guilty of adding someone without telling them, or without even introducing yourself?

Full disclosure: I’ve done it before. But I know better now, and so do you. 🙂