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I was recently asked for a few facebook tips that people can use to network with others and help grow their business.  This goes a little beyond using facebook for personal/individual reasons so I thought I’d share my thoughts here with everyone.

Here are a few tips to get the most out of facebook:

  • I know this should be a bit obvious, put fill out your profile.  When I’m trying to network with people or decide on whether or not I should accept a friend request, I immediately look at where they work, what they do, etc.  If this information isn’t filled out then I most likely won’t connect.
  • If you have a blog or any other type of site where you create content, then make sure that content feeds into your facebook page automatically so that you don’t need to keep posting links.  I try to write a new post a day and when I do it gets placed on my facebook page.
  • Don’t be scared to send messages to people you are connected with.  I send out messages all the time, sure not everyone responds but there are always people that do.  If you’re connected with someone then introduce yourself and see how you can make business happen.
  • Pay a visit to the facebook application directory to see what relevant applications might be useful for you.  I’ll do a post on facebook applications later but in the meantime browse and see what you can find.
  • Check out some of the groups on facebook, I’m sure there are some relevant ones that apply directly to you or your business.  You can segment groups by interest category or by your network.  If you’re in marketing find the active marketing groups out there and join in the conversations.
  • Update your status once in a while, I usually update mine a few times a week.  This let’s people know that I’m still alive and also gives them an idea of what I’m working on.  I’ve had several conversations and interactions with people that started out from a status I put up.
  • If you’re trying to segment your facebook friends don’t create a whole new facebook account for each one.  You can use something called facebook Friend Lists to segment your friends into various categories, then you can control what each one of those “lists” sees.
  • If someone comments on your facebook page, try to respond to them.  Heck, I would even encourage you to go out and comment on other peoples’ pages to start a conversation or to say hello!
  • Try using the facebook ads to reach a target audience, again I’ll go into greater detail on ads later but facebook ads allow you to really target a key audience, the cost isn’t too expensive.
  • Do some  searches on facebook for companies or people that you might want to connect with, you will be surprised by what you you will find.  If you’re in the beverage space look up the Coke fan page and start talking to people to build relationships.  Virtually every industry has companies and employees on facebook that you can connect with.

These are probably 10 of the most important tips that I would recommend to people when they are looking to get started with facebook.

Did I miss anything, have any other thoughts on this?

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