Although Facebook was originally designed for high school and college age students, the Facebook community has recently evolved into a community of business professionals, employers, and other Facebook users from a wide variety of different fields. If you are looking to get involved with social networking on Facebook here are a few tips on using Facebook effectively for social networking.
Setting Up Your Facebook Page
When you create a Facebook page, make sure you set it up with a purpose in mind. Decide what it is you want to accomplish with your page and then plan it according to your goals and objectives.
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Create a User Name: Come up with a user name that reflects your interest or field of expertise. For example, if you are a business professional, “iluvjoe” probably will not help you.
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Set Up Your Profile: Set up your profile to describe what your purpose is and what you are about. If you are using Facebook to network with friends your profile should include some of your interests and hobbies.
If you own an online business, your profile should describe your area of expertise and some of the things you have accomplished in your field of business. If you have a website or blog, provide a link to your site. Keep in mind that if you own a business you should not use your page to push products and services.
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Offer High Quality Information: Offer high quality information on your page that is related to your area of expertise. If your information is helpful to others people will start adding you as their friend. If you own a blog, place the most recent posts to your blog on your Facebook page.
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Post a Video: Post a video that introduces yourself or offers useful information that is related to your area of expertise. This is a great way for others to immediately connect with you and feel comfortable with you.
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Set Up a Discussion Group: Set up a discussion group on your page so you can get to know the people that become your friends. If you are in business this is a great way to get to know your targeted audience and some of the problems they are looking to solve.
Networking on Facebook
When you network on Facebook, make sure you interact with others in the community especially if you are in business. If they think your presence is all about your own agenda you will alienate other Facebook users.
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Participate in Discussions: Get involved in discussions that are related to your area of expertise. Help others solve problems and offer information that adds value to the discussions.
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Update Your Page Frequently: Update your page with fresh content on a frequent basis. Make sure the content is of interest to your followers and offers useful information.
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Create Events: Create events such as webinars or videos that are related to your interests or area of expertise. Invite other Facebook users to the event and then provide a poll to let your followers express their opinions. This is a great way to come up with new ideas that meet the needs of your friends and followers.
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Use Your Facebook URL: Use your Facebook URL to collect friends and followers by using it on your business cards, in your videos, and in your signatures when you participate in discussions and forums.
When you set up a profile with Facebook and network effectively, you will find it to be the focal point that others return to on a frequent basis to keep in touch with you.
