FaceBOOK Clients Today! Post 1 of 2

Since its launch on February 4, 2004 by Harvard student Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook has become quite the phenomenon. To date, the popular social networking site has reached the size of a small country! In fact if it were a country, it would be the sixth largest country in the world! Facebook is not only a phenomenon but it truly could be its own nation.  Everyone, from Oprah to the Dalai Lama, use Facebook to keep in touch, market events and share photos and videos.

A variety of avenues designed to help you promote yourself or your business is available on Facebook; including personal profiles, fan pages and groups. If you are one of the few individuals who are not yet part of the “Facebook family”, I recommend you begin by creating a personal profile.

You may have a couple of profiles, one you use for personal use and another for professional use. Today, I’ll discuss creating a professional profile. When you fill out your profile, you have the option of including your name, marital status, birth date, gender, education, and interests. As long as you enter your real name, you can be as selective as you wish with the information you choose to disclose. You do have privacy options, allowing you to adjust who can or cannot view your profile. I prefer to make my profile available to the people I know, rather than let the entire world know who I am and what I’m doing! That way, I have control over who gets ‘let in’ and who can keep out.

Once you have completed your profile, you can add photos and videos and search for people to add to your network of ‘friends’. When you create your profile, keep the following tips in mind:

• Keep your profile clean of games, quizzes, and frivolous conversations
• Upload a professional photo of yourself, steering away from that photo of you drinking on New Year’s Eve!
• Include your professional information such as experience, education, contact information, website and blog
• Pay attention to your status! Use your status to update friends on your business events, opportunities and news
• Pay attention to friend status updates and comment with suggestions, tips and information
• Take advantage of the free ad space and tell the world about yourself and your business! View the photo above to see where the prime real estate is located on your Facebook homepage!  Don’t forget to include your website and/or blog!

When using Facebook and other social networking sites to promote your business, it is important to remember not to promote your business! This may sound silly at first, but really the best part of social networking is you ‘meet’ many people from across the globe in a very short time. This is your opportunity to introduce yourself as a person and a professional. When the opportunity strikes, offer assistance and answer questions. Gaining the value and respect of your fellow Facebook friends will in turn provide an opportunity for you and your business to stand out when your services are required.

For excellent information regarding Facebook and its benefits, I would recommend visiting Mari Smith’s website www.whyfacebook.com or www.socialmarketingmethod.com. You will find excellent tips on how to wisely use Facebook to market your business, and e-books and workshops designed to assist you with your Facebook experience.

Facebook is an incredible tool to help you market your business. This post explains what Facebook is and how it can be of use to you. My next post will explain Facebook’s additional benefits including fan pages and groups, as well as answer frequently asked questions regarding privacy and security.