Although
it's tempting to collect as many friends as possible, it's better build
meaningful, mutually beneficial relationships with people who have common
interests. Strive for quality, not quantity.
To
find people you know, type their name into the "Search" box. Go
through your business card file and contact database and invite all of your
contacts to be your Facebook friend. If you use one of the most popular email
providers, you can also import your address book into Facebook to search for
friends.
To
find people you'd like to meet, search for important influencers in your field,
people whose work you admire, people who publish the ezines, ebooks and books
that you read. You might also try searching for words related to your book's
topic or target audience. For example, if you search for "publisher,"
you will find people who have listed that as their job title, as well as
related business pages, groups, events, and applications.
For
a more advanced search screen, click the word "Search" in the upper
left corner of the screen. From here you can search for co-workers and high
school or college classmates, and browse the names and photos of people in your
"Network" (usually the town where you live).
To
meet potential customers and people with similar interests, join Facebook
groups and send friend requests to people who are active in the group.
Many
people send friend invitations to all of their friend's friends. Personally, I
consider that to be spam. But you can look for people who have a large number
of friends in common with you, and also read the "Wall" posts on your
friend's profiles and look for people who share common interests.
It's
rude to send blank friend requests. Introduce yourself, just like you would in
person. In the "Add Friend" window, click on "Add a Personal
Message". Mention what you do and how you know of the other person, and
say something like "I'd love to connect with you on Facebook."
You
can invite others to join your Facebook network by listing a link to your
profile in your email signature and posting a Facebook Badge on your blog, ezine,
and website (click on "Create a Profile Badge" at the very bottom of
the screen).
As
your friend list and your visibility grows, you will begin to get friend
requests from others. When you receive a friend request, you can either accept
it or ignore it. Unfortunately, many people send generic friend requests and
have most of their profile blocked to everyone except their friends. Once you
click the "Confirm Friend" button, you will be able to view the full
profile.
If
you accept a friend that turns out to be inappropriate or something in their
profile makes you uncomfortable, just click the "Remove from Friends"
button at the very bottom of their profile page. The other person will not be
notified.
Watch
for future posts on additional Facebook topics including networking tips,
joining and creating groups, promoting events, social ads, creating business
pages, and more. Subscribe to our feed to make sure you won't miss any
installments!
In the
meantime, please click the Comments link below to share your experiences in
using Facebook to promote your book. To add me as a Facebook friend, search for
Dana Lynn Smith or go to http://profile.to/danalynnsmith.
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