Start Building your Value Network in 10 Easy Steps on Facebook The Social Media Superstar
For several years now, the school and college students have been talking about Facebook as a more modern version of the chat rooms they always loved to join. They look so excited about numerous ways and purposes for which they are able to use its cool environment that a responsible adult could think about cataloging their images for the world to see the gaining trends with their potential impacts upon the individual and collective life of our future generations.
You may not readily buy it but one can sensibly hope for realization of the big promise the Facebook community (well above 100 million worldwide) holds today for our aspirations public as well as private. Facebook has emerged as a Social Media Legend, and stays there as a Superstar. It is virtually a public asset (since it is free) with enormous potential waiting to be tapped into by anyone one thinking big and starting small. Facebook is our partner (not expecting any splits) in our efforts towards achieving our goals no matter what size or type.
A disbelieving newcomer to Facebook reported, with much surprise, that within six hours, he had been connected to 48 friends, and ‘as a bonus’ a high school girlfriend of his contacted him in the next two days for his consultancy services. And their follow up resulted in identifying several projects that he could do for her (another bonus).
On Facebook, if you target those under 30 years, you will be most delighted to see the big results of a small effort. And if you choose to focus the 30-40, you will be encouraged to see their growing number. Even a hunt for 50 years will be pretty heartening.
A local company will find great opportunity to stand out in the vastness of the web. In particular, the retail trade has enormous opportunity to grow on the web. If you think, like many others, that there is a risk that people from your niche meet in chat rooms, Facebook is the place for you where you can have them connected with you safely.
And what does it cost you? Well, you only need to invest your time. Facebook is free, unless you regard your time as true money. But beware not to be addict to it in which case Facebook can turn into a Face-Hook! An old friend of mine said her husband called it FaceCrack!
Now, if this is raising your curiosity to what-next level, I would love to share my 10 simple steps to help you begin:
1. Sign up for your Personal Account:
It is as simple as going to www. facebook. com clicking the sign-up button at the bottom of the small form that requires your name, email, and your gender and date of birth. After you are singed up, it is a matter of choice whether you provide some more information on your profile page with still another choice as to whether you wish to keep certain pieces private or public. And if you do choose to provide your background data (the more the better), it will help you find friends faster. Rest assured, Facebook’s privacy policy covers you against any information sharing risks. Of course, no one can stop you from providing inaccurate information but that may give you a job creating your intended network when their member search-match system will fail to send you, and others, its ‘honest’ Make-Friends suggestions.
2. Learn the Terrain:
To start with experiment with everything: communicate with your personal friends and family; try “send a friend request” as well as respond to friend requests sent to you by others; add some “wall posts”; update your entries and posts, and comment on others’. Actually, here you can work right away towards building your intended group by inviting people you are really interested in connecting with. Better start with some friends, before you go to business contacts.
3. Become Facebook Savvy:
As a full-grown environment, Facebook has an atmosphere peculiar to it. Its unique tone is visibly more sarcastic and more abundant in fun than traditional communications. Then, as is the case with any mature community, it has developed its own jargon which is at the same time simple to learn and elegant to enjoy, but it will certainly take you some time to understand while you explore its general atmosphere.
4. Find and Connect to a few Groups:
In the highly assorted community of Facebook it shouldn’t take you long to find groups related to your business. Choose and sign up for some. Observe how these groups work and behave in the discussion forum. Don’t be late to join any panel your potential customers may be on. But try not to look mean or be ambitious to start making sale. Have real conversations first, give your opinions honestly, focus on creating value for others. The strategy holds for all occasions and times while you continue interacting on Facebook. May be you end up making friends in a panel discussion which leads to strange things on the road.
5. Visit some Pages of Companies and Brands:
Facebook allows buiding brand and business webpages as well. And there are good chances for you to be able to find such a page built by those providing your favourite brand e.g. the rock band Coldplay you may like or the diet coke you may be ‘addicted’ to or even a local company in your area that have preferred a home page on Facebook. It’s quite a fun to become a fan of any such host. If you can’t figure out which one, here is a suggestion: One such page is that of the FAME Foundation. Go to it and become a fan, you will be happy you did..
6. Setup Your Own Webpage:
Your experience of visiting some company webpages on Facebook should have given you a feel of such pages. Setting up one for yourself is another thing though. Defining up of a webpage is a bit strange thing to do. The ‘efficient’ webpages of companies like Coca-Cola, Coldplay, and FAME, for example, are not setup in easy ways. A main issue is the creation of bookmarks; basically you will need to have a body of your own bookmarks which seems to be buried. But remember to be patient enough not to expect having 4,000 fans overnight night, it takes time to build up.
7. Be Enterprising, Build your own Group:8. Promote, Promote, Promote; and did I say Promote it?
Build a system to notify your customers, clients and prospects that you can be followed or accessed through your Facebook page. Provide a link to it on your own website; print it on your business card and sales letters; insert it in your articles; put it in your blog posts…
9. Search Facebook for your Prospects or Potential Partners:
Use Facebook tools to find the people who could be your customers, clients or partners from within the rich community of Facebook and send them your friend requests; invite them to sign up for your group. Remember, it’s a great way to get around the spamming law, absolutely free of risks. After all everyone who joins the community has given her implied consent to receive communication like friend requests. Once your friend request is responded, the rest of the story builds on its own.
10. Keep the Drums Beating:
Like any other marketing tool, your investment (of time) into Facebook will bring you increasingly greater returns if properly exploited. Religiously following up is the key. For this to happen you will need to continually provide energy over time. And that amounts to no more than Logging in and spending a few minutes each day. And you will be amazed to see the momentum your enterprise will have accumulated one day, and that too, just for the fun-time you chose to spend on Facebook.
Marketing on social media is a key trend, and Facebook is one of the many tools out there; what sets it apart from other is its tremendous momentum right now at least. For companies that have reckoned it as a good fit and may, therefore want to tap into this resource, it affords significant opportunity. People are increasingly recognizing it as a valuable vehicle for realizing their social, professional and business networking goals all at the same place and time, one which is easier and more comfortable as compared to their personal efforts.
Its core element being fun, Facebook must be joined and continued with that very mindset what ever your ultimate goals. One this attitude is established, you will gradually begin to notice that in the process you are getting better and better in your understanding and practice of marketing your business always trying to do much more. Well, hope to see you soon, on Facebook.
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