Facebook Profit Guide

Facebook Profit Guide

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 Facebook Profit Guide

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 Facebook Profit Guide

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 Facebook Profit Guide

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 Facebook Profit Guide

The Facebook Profit Guide

Take a moment to think about why you log onto the internet. If you’re like
most people, you do a combination of activities.

Do research and find information.

Check email.

Browse websites and play games.

Connect with others.

Meet new people.

Keep in touch with friends and family.

Networking for business.

Start an internet business.

These basic motivations have not changed much over the years. However,
the way these tasks are performed has. Websites come and go. Trends come
and go. But the one thing that remains the same is that the internet
constantly evolves.

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Web 2.0 Revolution

The most drastic change with the internet has happened over the past few
years. Websites like Facebook and MySpace are largely responsible for this
change. Now, the internet is a social place. People form communities. They
keep in touch with their friends and families, and use their time online to
meet people from all over the world.

This idea is so important to the way the internet works that it even has a
name. Experts and aficionados call it Web 2.0. Basically, a Web 2.0 site is
anything that fosters a sense of community whether it is a social site like
Facebook, or a website that is powered by Wiki technology. In fact, it affects
everything from content sites, social bookmarking, and even blogging.

In its most basic form, a Web 2.0 site is anything that encourages people to
do other things besides simply get information. Making comments, rating
and voting, and adding friends to your profile are all Web 2.0 activities. If
the activity is designed to help you socialize and helps foster a sense of
community, it is considered a part of Web 2.0.

New social websites are created all the time. Facebook has the advantage
that it is already a well established site with a considerable user base.

Web 2.0 for Business

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While this idea started as purely social, it has turned into something that
businesses are embracing as well. Each time the internet changes,
businesses need to change, too or else they won’t get the sales they want.

Now, in order to find success with sites like Facebook, a business needs to
think about the very elements that make the site special and unique. The
site is a place for people to socialize and participate in communities. If the
business wants to sell their product or service, they need to build a
community around it.

For example, if you’re a writer and you want to sell information products to
help other writers, you can start a group on Facebook that is designed to
teach other writers. If they like the group, they’ll likely buy your product.

One huge advantage to using Facebook for business is that you have access
to the profiles and information for a lot of users. For a business owner, this
will help you target the demographics of those who will be interested in your
product or service.

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Facebook is Growing

Facebook is one of the largest social networking and Web 2.0 sites out there
right now, and it just keeps growing. It started out as a site primarily for
college students and has grown into a world-wide phenomenon.

Unlike some social sites, Facebook actually embraces the idea that people
can use their site to build their businesses. The founder and developers are
devoted to providing a positive user experience for everyone on the site,
business owners included.

But, there’s an art to using this site in that way. If you don’t embrace Web
2.0 and the way social networking is, your efforts to build a business using
Facebook will be in vain.

And that’s what this ebook is about. It’s your complete guide to learning how
to use Facebook to build your business. This includes building a customer
base, testing out a product, and using the site’s features to help your
business grow.

In Facebook For Cash you’ll learn:

Information about Facebook. This will help you gain an

understanding of the site including the history and some basic statistics.

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Basic features on Facebook. Section covers the basic elements of

the website and how they work.

Getting Around. Basic functions of the site including how to sign up,
find friends, and use the services that Facebook offers.

Social Networking. Facebook is a site that is used for social

networking. But what does this mean? Learn all about it in this chapter.

Facebook Applications. Talks about what applications are and how

they can benefit the business owner.

Basics of Facebook for Business. Chapter covers the basic

philosophy behind using Facebook for business.

Developing a Product and Customer Base. There’s a secret to

using Facebook for this purpose. This section goes into detail on how to
make the site work for you.

Grouping it Up. Basic information about groups and how to use this
information to help your business.

Networking is Vital. How to use Facebook for networking. Includes

how to use it for business.

Wrapping it Up. FAQ on questions that may arise while using

Facebook for business.

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In order to truly succeed at building a business online using Facebook, you

really need to think about things differently and go against conventional
wisdom.

The basic idea is to keep the purpose of Facebook in mind (to build
community) while marketing your product or service. In order to do that, it
takes a specific process. Everything you need to know will be outlined in this
ebook.

Key to Your Success

This process is the key to your success. If you don’t take the time to
understand how Facebook works and the philosophy behind it, you won’t
reach your goals. This applies no matter what you’re trying to use it for –
whether for business or for pleasure.

The Importance of Friends

You can define your friends on Facebook in any way you want. They can be
people you already know, want to get to know, or share interests with. Once
you add someone to your friends list and they accept you, your experience
on the site is intertwined.

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Once you create your profile and start adding friends, features like the News
Feed will keep you updated on everything that they are up to. In doing so,
you can add the same applications they have and keep track of what they’re
up to in general.

If you have a business, this idea can help it grow, but there will be more on
that in a later chapter.

Everything is Inter-connected

One thing you need to understand is that everything on Facebook is

connected to each other. And all of the features on the site are designed to
help enhance your experience there.

That’s why when you view things like your News Feed, or your Groups page,
you are automatically given an alert as to what your friends are up to. This
helps build your community.

No matter what you want to do, this is the single most important concept to
grasp. The rules never change whether you want to socialize on the site or
use it for business. You need to remember that the site has a series of inter-
related parts that are used to build the community.

You can also think of it as a spider web, where the design starts at the
center. The center of your personal web is your profile. The things you put
on your profile help build your personal web by attracting others who are

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interested in what you have to offer. These will become your friends. Once
you have a list of friends, groups, and networks, your web will increase.

Don’t Get Overwhelmed

Facebook is filled with all kinds of resources, applications, groups, networks,

and profile elements. Don’t let yourself get overwhelmed by them. Instead
of joining every group that interests you or adding every application, make
sure that it’s really something that will meet your goals for the site and
enhance your experience there. If not, simply don’t use that feature.

Read the Terms and Conditions

There is one more side note before you get started using the site. You must
pay attention to the terms and conditions, especially if you plan on using
your account to promote and build a business.

You can read their complete Terms of Use at this link:

http://www.facebook.com/terms.php

Just remember to abide by them or else your account may be deleted. And if
you’re trying to build a business using Facebook, if you’re account gets
deleted it could really affect your earnings.

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Introduction To Facebook

The simplest way to think about Facebook is to call it a social networking

site. This means that the site was designed as a way for people to meet and
interact with each other. So, no matter what you want to accomplish on the
site, this is something to keep in mind.

The biggest thing to understand is that Facebook was developed with its
community in mind. In fact, that idea was so important that in the beginning
stages of the site it was only open to people within certain networks.

It started with the college students who attended Harvard University and
eventually expanded to include other universities and schools. Now, the site
is open to anyone, as long as they are at least thirteen years old.

So, What is Facebook Exactly?

In college lingo, the “face book” is something that gets handed out to new
students. It’s a list, possibly with pictures, of some of the people on campus
to watch out for. It is designed as a way to break the ice and for people to
get to know one another.

The founder of the site, Mark Zuckerberg, had these in mind as he was
naming the site. It’s a place where people come together to keep in touch
and get to know each other.

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Facebook is a Free Service

It’s also a free service. It’s free to sign up and use the site. However, some
features such as their gift-giving feature cost money. For each gift that you
send, you pay $1.

That means that funding and revenue comes from advertising, banner ads,
and sponsored groups. For example, they have a three year deal with
Microsoft that started in 2006. They’ve also had an agreement with iTunes in
the past where they were giving away free music samples.

For advertisers, Facebook presents an ideal demographic. Even though all

walks of life are on Facebook, the majority represents the coveted 18 to 35
demographic that advertisers crave. That’s why advertising is so important
for the site.

What Can You Use Facebook For?

Facebook is one of those sites where you can define your own reasons for
using the site. It’s helpful to consider it a blank slate, or canvas. Here are
some things you can use the site for:

 To keep in touch with friends and family, and find those who you lost
touch with.

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 Meet other people who share your interests.

 Share photos and videos with others.

 Network to help generate business, find a job, etc.

 Use it to grow and enhance your existing business.

 Take advantage of the resources on the site to help you develop

products.

 Form groups and networks filled with like-minded people.

 Build a customer base for a product or service.

 Share information and learn from others.

 Create profiles highlighting your interests.

Those are just some examples of the things you can do. Some people create
an account to do a combination of activities others use the site for a specific
purpose.

That’s one of the great things about the site. It has so many features and
capabilities that you can adapt it to suit your needs. Plus, it has a large user
base that you can draw from to create your own networks and communities.

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Who’s On Facebook?

Right now, pretty much everyone can go on Facebook, as long as they are
the right age. The original demographic was college students because those
were the only people who were allowed on the site. Then, membership to
the site was expanded to high school students and trickled into other
countries as well, such as Mexico, Canada, Australia, and the United
Kingdom and Ireland.

Now, all kinds of people take advantage of the site because membership is
open to everyone, all over the world. In fact, millions of accounts are
created each month. As of February 2008, there are about 75 million users
in the system. The Facebook website states that the amount of users they
have doubles about every six months.

A large user base makes Facebook ideal for networking and building a
business because it means that there might be a lot of people out there
interested in what you’re offering. You just need to learn how to attract
them to you and get them to participate in the community.

A Brief History of Facebook

A lot has happened to Facebook since it started out as a website. There have
been rumors and talks of takeovers, as well as the some rapid growth. And,
when it comes to social networking sites, Facebook is definitely one that is
growing at a very rapid rate.

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Facebook, or thefacebook as it was called in the beginning, was launched on

February 4, 2004. Mark Zuckerberg, a Harvard University student, started
the site as a way for his fellow Harvard students to get to know each other.
At this time, the site wasn’t open to anyone else besides students. At this
level, it was just a hobby even though he did have some financial backing.

At the beginning, Zuckerberg was treating the idea as something that could
be done at the same time as his schoolwork. However, the site started to
expand rapidly and it eventually turned into something that couldn’t be
tended to properly while Zuckerberg was still in school.

So, where did the initial funding come from? Over the course of their
existence, they’ve received money from individuals like Peter Theil, Accel
Partners (a web 2.0 startup company), Greylock Partners, and various
advertising deals through companies like Microsoft and iTunes.

The site started to grow at a steady rate. Students who were signed up for it
began recommending it to other students. By the end of the first month,
around half of the student population had an account there. It spread by
word of mouth.

The people who signed up for it would recommend their friends. After a
short time, it expanded to the Ivy League Schools, other colleges and
universities, and high schools. At present, the site is open to everyone but
this didn’t come about until 2006.

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After the site was live for only a short time, Zuckerberg brought on Dustin
Moskovitz and Chris Hughes to help it grow even more. A few months after
the initial release, Zuckerberg and Moskovitz both dropped out of Harvard to
give the budding site their full attention.

Facebook as we know it today had its beginning in August 2005 when the
company bought the domain, Facebook.com, for $200,000 from a company
called AboutFace. They changed their name from TheFacebook to Facebook
at this time.

By 2006, the site had expanded considerably. More schools, businesses, and
universities were part of the network. In September 2006 membership to
the site was open to anyone who was thirteen and over. Being part of a
network was no longer required.

It was also in 2006 where rumors that the site was going to get bought out
started to circulate.

Buyout Rumors

In March of 2006, rumors started circulating that Google was interested in

acquiring Facebook. They made an offer for around $750 million (check on
this) but in the end Facebook declined, saying they were holding out for $2
Billion.

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There were also rumors that Microsoft wanted to acquire Facebook. In the
end, Microsoft ended up with an advertising contract and they also currently
own some shares – 1.5%.

The ConnectU Lawsuit

Facebook once came dangerously close to getting shut down. ConnectU,

another Harvard based social networking site, claimed that the Facebook
founder, Mark Zuckerberg, stole some of their code.

The end result is that the case was dismissed. Zuckerberg denied the
charges and the case was dismissed due to a technicality. The lawyers who
were representing Facebook indicated that their stance was that the charges
were false.

The Idea of Community is What Fuels Facebook

Even now that the site is much larger, this idea is still the cornerstone. Much
of the success of the site and of the people who start their businesses and
use Facebook to promote it and get sales and clients understand that the
basis is in the community. The idea is to create something that people will
want to share.

The Evolving Nature of the Site

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Since Facebook is focused on making their community happy, they are

constantly changing things around and adding new features. As they realize
that their users have a certain need, they do their best to accommodate
them with these new features. That forms the basis behind what it looks like
today.

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Facebook And Social Networking

As mentioned in previous chapters, Facebook is a site that is designed to

foster a sense of community. It’s a place where people can socialize online
and meet others. In addition to building friendships and keeping in touch
with friends and family, you can also build your business using it.

What is Social Networking?

In today’s internet terms, social networking is roughly defined as specific

groups of people getting together for a specific purpose. This concept exists
both online and off. However, social networking on the internet has really
exploded in popularity. In fact, it is the most preferred choice.

People do still get together offline for social networking, but it is so

important online that it pretty much defines the way the internet works
nowadays. Other tools, such as social bookmarking, are subsets of social
networking. Social bookmarking is when you add your favorite websites to
your account on places like StumbleUpon, and share them with others.

Why Social Network Online?

Think about your community. What kinds of organizations and groups exist?
You may have a group of friends you regularly spend time with. You may be

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part of an organization and attend meetings. Or perhaps you form a study

group in college.

The problem with this is that it is a little limiting. People respond to social
networking on the internet because you have access to millions of people.
This means that no matter what you want to accomplish, you can potentially
do so on a large scale.

It also means that people like business owners can potentially reach a large
audience for their product or service. Think about it. Facebook already has a
wide range of people on the site. The demographic information is readily
available. All of this indicates that if the site is used correctly, the site can
definitely be something that people will start using more and more for
entrepreneurial endeavors.

How Does Facebook Fit In?

Facebook is currently the second largest social networking site on the

internet, and it is growing fast. This means that millions of people have
accounts, form networks and groups, add people to their friends list, and use
the website to socialize and keep in touch.

If you decide you want to do some social networking online, all you need to
do is create an account with Facebook, build up your profile, get acquainted
with the features, and find friends.

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Find Like-Minded People

The idea is to decide what you want to accomplish with Facebook and then
use the tools on the site to build up your profile. Once you do that, you can
find people to add to your friends list and join networks and groups.

If you have no idea what you want to do on the site, you can just create a
general profile and look at the profiles of others. The basic idea is to find
people that you know or want to get to know. Even if you’re using the site to
further your business, you need to stick with this idea.

Ethics of Social Networking

There are some ethics to consider before you start social networking. First of
all, it is important to always have in mind the fact that social networking is
very community oriented. You need to ask yourself if your actions help
support that community. If they don’t you could potentially be violating the
unspoken rules.

Basically, if your actions while social networking make people upset, sad, or
angry, you’re not handling it in a very ethical way. The same rules that you
use when with someone in person apply online. Behind the profile picture
there is a real person.

Another element that is rigidly adhered to is a no-SPAM policy. This means

that if anything you do can be interpreted as SPAM, then it isn’t allowed. If
you’re stumped as to what that means, consider what would annoy you.

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Constant sales pitches sent to your inbox? Do you get posts on your wall
advertising products? These activities would annoy almost everyone.

If you conduct yourself in an ethical manner, you will make the community a
better place. If you don’t, you shouldn’t even sign up for an account.

Tools for Social Networking on Facebook

So, what kind of tools can you use to do social networking on Facebook? The
short answer is, anything goes. Since there are so many things you can do
with the site, you’d do best to consider it a blank slate.

Since you define your experience on the site and set your own goals, you
basically want to choose the activities, applications, groups, and networks
that will help enhance this experience.

Here are some ideas for using the site for social networking:

Inbox
You can send messages to other users and accept messages from your
friends.

Groups
Joining and participating in groups is a great way to meet people.

Friends
Once you find someone you have something in common with, you can

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add them as a friend. Once they accept, you can do things like sharing
photos, inviting them to participate in groups, and encouraging them to
add certain applications.

Applications
There are a lot of different applications on the site. Each of them helps
the user engage in social networking. You can play games, send the
applications to each other, take quizzes, etc.

Share
The ultimate way to enjoy the site and use it for social networking is to
share things with each other. This goes for applications, videos, and
photos. You can also invite them to join groups, and use the site to take a
look at the groups your friends are interested in.

News Feeds
This is another important social element of the site. It is through the
feeds where you can see what your friends are up to. For example, if a
friend added a certain application, you have the ability to check out what
they added and decide if adding it is a good thing for you to do.

Those are just a few of the examples. The site has so many resources that
it’s up to you to figure out how to use them for social networking. Just make
sure you abide by the Terms of Use and conduct yourself in an ethical way
while using the site.

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A lot of people get in trouble for not using Facebook as ethically as they
could. In fact, people who are part of social networking sites throughout the
world continually abuse the privilege of being part of the site and end up
using tactics that are less than ethical.

These are called black hat tactics, and they could result in your profile being
banned. For lasting results, don’t use black hat techniques or anything
related to misdirection.

On the internet, some people will use dubious tactics such as optimizing a
site for a keyword that is really popular, but doesn’t even relate to the niche.
Facebook has its own version of that.

Beginners Guide To Facebook

As mentioned, the core principal behind Facebook is the idea of the

community, or network. And since there are so many users, you’re bound to
find people that you know or that you have something in common with.

The backbone of your Facebook experiences lies in your profile. This is

where people can find out about you, and you can put things on your profile
that you want people to know. And if you value your privacy, you don’t need
to share your profile with everyone. You can choose.

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In fact, Facebook encourages you to consider your account a blank slate. In

deciding what to put on your profile, you are essentially deciding what your
experience with Facebook is going to be like. And since there is a wide
variety of things you can do on the site, you have a lot of tools that you can
use to enhance your experience.

Signing Up for Facebook

But, before you can even set up your profile, you need to sign up for an
account. As long as you’re thirteen years old or older, you can have a
Facebook account.

All you need to do is log in to www.facebook.com to get started. From there,

follow these steps to start your account:

1. You’ll see a “signup” button somewhere on the page. Click it once with
your mouse.

2. Fill in all of the information it asks for, including the birthday.

Remember, they need to make sure you’re at least thirteen years old.
You’ll also need to create a password.

3. After you’re done filling in the information, click “submit”.

4. Facebook will send you an email to confirm that you did, in fact, sign
up for an account.

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5. Check your email and follow the instructions. This will validate your
account.
6. Once you do that, you will be redirected to a web page. It will direct
you to your profile page. Remember, the profile is the backbone of
your account.

After you sign up, you may want to spend a few minutes getting acquainted
with all of the features. You’ll need to set up your profile eventually.
However, it is better to get your bearings before you try to include a lot of
information.

Facebook has a lot of features. If you jump into creating your profile too
quickly, you won’t get as much out of the experience. It is better to use the
features that are most important to you because the goal is to expose
people to your unique personality.

What would you like to accomplish?

Not only is it important to understand the features of the site before you
create your profile, but you should also understand what your purpose is for
creating an account.

As mentioned in a previous section, you should consider Facebook to be a

blank canvas. You define your own experience. Do you want to use it for
business, pleasure, or a combination of both? Consider the profile as a way

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to express yourself and a way to help you reach your goal, whatever that
may be.

Keep in mind that even if you only want to use your account to help you
socialize, or do something simple like join a group that a friend started,
those are still considered goals. These are ways you’ve decided to
experience the site.

However, don’t mistake the “blank slate” idea for one that indicates that
“anything goes”. They do have a user agreement. Any act that is in violation
of that user agreement will have repercussions. It can even lead to your
profile being deleted, which is definitely something you don’t want.

Basic Features of the Site

So far, you’ve created an account and spent some time thinking about what
you want to accomplish with your account. Before you complete your profile
elements, it’s a good idea to understand the basic elements of the site that
will help give your profile some substance and also help you meet your
desired goals for the site.

However, simply looking at this list is not enough. It’s a good idea to browse
around the site and take a look at what different people have done with
these elements. Facebook is a site that is relatively simple in design.
However, it is interesting to go through and look at how people put together
their information.

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What is even more important is if you have a particular demographic in

mind, you can go through and observe the way people put together their
profiles that are part of that demographic. You should look for things such as
age, gender, where they live, what kind of applications they add, and what
kinds of friends they have. (Those are just a few examples.)

The reasoning behind this is that the more familiar you are with the site, the
easier it will be to put together your on Facebook Page, or profile, when the
time comes.

The Profile

We’ve spent a lot of time talking about how important the profile is. But
what is it exactly? In basic terms, it is a place for other users and friends to
go to see what you’re all about.

When you set up an account, what you are essentially doing is signing up so
that you can have the ability to participate in the site. Once you sign up,
you’ll get your own Facebook Page, or profile, which will also have its own
URL.

You can achieve this in a number of ways. You’ll probably want to list your
interests and any other information about yourself that you want to share.
You can also upload pictures and videos, add different applications, and take
advantage of some of the features listed below.

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The profile does have some basic elements. These include some basic
information about you, your status, your friends, a list of friends that are
located in other networks, the wall, groups, photos, videos, and notes. Read
on to find out more about these different features.

The Wall

The Wall is one of the most public aspects of the site. This is the place where
you go if you want to leave a message for someone that will appear on their
profile. It connects different users together by developing a sense of
community through the public nature of each post.

This is a place where users can post messages on the profile. There are
different settings that these posts can go on. If it’s public, anyone can see it,
as long as your profile is available for them to view. If the message is listed
as private, only the person whose wall it is can see the post.

The wall isn’t just for text now. You can upload pictures and also add
attachments. It is also important to note that some of posts on your wall
could make it into the RSS feeds.

Messages

Messages are a way for users to contact and communicate with one another.
Since the basis of the site is to build community, it is only logical that the
community comes equipped with a way to contact each other privately.

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Sending and receiving messages takes place in the XXBLANKXX section of

the site.

Inbox

The inbox is a place where you can receive messages. This includes
messages from individual users and also those that are sent out by groups
or the group administrator. This means that if you are part of a group or
have someone who wants to contact you, you will have need of your inbox.

When you log into the site and get directed to your profile, you may notice
that your inbox has a number next to it. This number indicates how many
messages you have. And, depending on the settings of your account, you
may get emails sent to your regular email address notifying you that you
have a new message in your Facebook Inbox.

News Feed

The news feed is a feature on the site that appears on your main profile
page. It’s basic function is to outlining what’s happening both in the world
and with your groups, networks, friends, and social circles. For example, if
someone on your friends list took a movie quiz, the news feed will alert you.

A lot of what gets mentioned on the News Feed will have to do with the Apps
you and your friends have installed. A good example of this is the
StumbleUpon app. If anyone has that installed, you get alerted to the sites

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they rate. (StumbleUpon is an online book marking service and tool that can
now interact with Facebook.)

Mini Feed

Mini Feed runs along the same lines as the News Feed. The main difference
is that it focuses on your profile, not those of the groups you belong to, your
friends list, and the applications that you have installed.

The basic function of the Mini Feed is to alert people on the aspects of the
profile that have changed. This includes any change in the overall content,
new videos, new pictures, etc. Basically, if you made some modifications to
any part of your profile, the mini feed will indicate that.

Status

Your status is something that lets other people know what you’re doing. This
may seem similar to the News Feed or the Mini Feed, but actually the Status
feature on the profile is executed a little differently. Instead of the updates
happening automatically, you need to write a message and let other people
know.

For example, if you’re having a good day, you can type that in the status
section. You can also do things like give quotes, talk about random things,
or share bits of information about yourself. You should keep these updates
to around a sentence or so.

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Gifts

The Gifts section of Facebook is one of the newer features on the site. This
feature was launched in early 2007 and was designed by Susan Kare, a
designer at the Apple Corporation.

Basically, the gifts are a series of novelty items such as smiley faces that are
represented by a small icon. How it works is you pick someone who you
want to send a gift to. Your first gift that you send is free. For each gift you
send after that, you need to pay $1.

There are two ways you can send a gift. You can specify it as being public,
private, or anonymous. Once the gift is sent, if it is listed as public it will go
right to the wall with a message. If it is listed as private, the gift icon will
still go to the wall, but you won’t be able to see who sent or the message. If
you get an anonymous gift, it will just go to the inbox directly, not the wall.

The gift items that are available don’t always stay the same. Some are
available for only a short time. A new gift is released each day, too, so you
can have a fair amount of choices if you want to send one to somebody.

So, what’s the point to this feature? As with anything on this site, you can
define your own purpose for it. You can use it to say hello to someone or to
express your feelings. You can even send one to a client, as a thank you, if
you’re using Facebook for your business.

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The Marketplace

The Marketplace came about in late spring of 2007. This is a feature that
allows people to post classified ads for free. This means that anyone who is
on the site can post an ad here.

The categories available include:

For Sale

Housing

Jobs

Other

The benefit to posting classified ads on Facebook is that you can reach a
wide audience. You can also tailor your approach to include a certain
demographic, or a certain group. That way, you can reach the people who
will likely be interested in what you have to offer.

Pokes

This is a feature on the site that doesn’t really have a purpose. Picture it as a
way to poke a Facebook user on the shoulder. This action could have
different meanings depending on the situation. It can be used to say “hello”.
But the basic idea is to get the attention of another user.

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What this means exactly is completely up to interpretation. Some people

have started using it as a sort of makeshift online dating service. They
“poke” people they’re interested in. Others use it just to say hello to
someone. Or, you can poke someone for no reason at all, just because you
felt like it.

As with anything on Facebook, you can use it for multiple different things
and it can have many different meanings.

Events

The Events feature is another of those aspects of your Facebook account

that can also foster a sense of community. This is a tool that people use to
alert others to upcoming events in their community, between their friends,
in their groups, etc. Basically, it keeps you updated on all of the social
gatherings that you could take part in.

Here are some ways this tool can be used:

Plan parties and invite those in your friends list to them.

Helps organize various parties and events.

Join events that you can be part of.

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Invite people to a party of event you’re throwing.

Use it to get people to meet online for things like study groups, tele-
seminars, etc.

In other words, you can use the Events tool for almost anything. Of all the
features on the site, this remains one of the most popular to date.

Applications

In August of 2006, Facebook made their Developers API public. Called

Facebook Developers, this tool allowed programmers to create applications
that could directly interact with the Facebook interface. These applications
could include widgets, tools, etc.

Applications come in all forms. They can be serious, or they can be purely
for fun. There are business tools, quizzes, games, etc. In fact, there are now
tens of thousands of applications available all over the web. It’s so popular
that new applications are being created every day and there are now sites
out there that make it easy for you to find the Applications that you’re
looking for.

You will find More about Facebook Applications in Chapter 5.

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Facebook Photos

Facebook also allows you to upload photos and create photo albums. This
service is free and is also one of their most popular. Around 1.5 million
photos are uploaded each day.

There is no limit to how many photos you can upload either. However, in
order to upload photos, you need to first create a photo album. Each album
can only hold twenty five photos. That, however, is the only real restriction.

The basic process of putting photos on Facebook is as follows:

Create an album

Upload photos to that album.

Once you do that, the album goes directly to your profile.

Anyone who can view your profile can then look at your album’s
contents.

There are several reasons why you may want to upload photos. The reason
why you do so will depend on why you set up the account in the first place.
For example, if you’re running a business on Facebook, you can show

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pictures of the products you are selling. If you want to show friends and
family pictures from your most recent vacation, you could also do that.

The album feature lets you organize your photos in a logical way. A great
example of this is if you go on vacation frequently, you can create an album
for each new destination that you visit.

Facebook Videos

Facebook also allows you to upload videos to the site. There are several
ways you can add videos. These include uploading them through the site,
using the recording feature on a webcam, or doing it through Facebook
Mobile. Once you upload a video to your profile, it is available for people to
view.

So, why is this feature useful and helpful? It depends on what you want to
do with it. You can show family movies, product demos, showcase a musical
performance, etc. Just think about what you want to accomplish with the site
and create videos that go along with that using a digital camera or
converting old videos to a digital format.

The Wall is one of the most public aspects of the site. This is the place where
you go if you want to leave a message for someone that will appear on their
profile.

My Notes

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My Notes is basically Facebook’s blog feature. It allows you to upload

different images, write “notes”, or posts, and also syndicate a blog of choice.
The syndication feature can really give one of your blogs some exposure
because it will make it available on your profile. So, anyone who views your
profile will also see your blog.

This can be used for a variety of things. First of all, if you have a blog you
are trying to promote, you can syndicate that on the site. Keep in mind,
however, that you can only syndicate one thing. Also, you can use the notes
to keep in touch with your friends, networks, and group members.

If you’re serious about the site, this is definitely one feature you should take
advantage of because it could make your profile a lot more engaging. These
“notes”, or blog posts, can help someone see your personality and may
result in a growing friends list.

Creating Your Profile

Now that you know what most of the features on the site and on the profile
are used for, you can really take the time to build a solid profile. Here’s an
outline of the basic steps you need to take.

Setup an account according to the instructions at the beginning of the

chapter.

Decide what you will be using the site for.

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Determine the features you will use to help reach your goals for the
site.

Put those features to use.

Since everyone’s experience on the site will be different, you can adapt the
features and your profile to suit your purpose. That is one of the things that
make a site like this so usable and popular.

Remember that this is the backbone of your account. Spend some time to
really think about what you want on the site. This will help you find friends,
networks, and groups to interact with. It is especially good for helping you
find people who have the same interests as you.

Finding and Adding Friends on Facebook

So, how do you go about looking for friends on Facebook? You can do this in
a number of ways. First, you may want to look for people you already know,
such as your friends and family. You can also use the site to help you get
back in touch with people that you used to know, but are no longer in touch
with.

Or, you could view profiles of the people in your network and initiate a friend
request. This can be a way for you to express that you’d like to get to know
them.

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Here’s a list of all the ways you can find your friends on the site:

 Web Mail Search

This is a feature where you can add your email address and the site
will perform a search. The results will indicate if the people who are on
your email contact list are members of Facebook or not.

 Find Your Buddies

You can also search to find out if any of your AOL Instant Messenger
buddies are part of Facebook.

 Former high school and college classmates

The website will also let you search to find out if any of your high
school or college classmates are part of the site. If they are, you can
add them to your contact list.

 Use the groups

You can use groups as a way to find people to add to your friends list.
If you’re both part of the same group, chances are the person will
welcome you as part of their list.

 Networks
Once you join a network, you will see a list of all the people that are
part of that network. You can go through and read the profiles and
select people to request as a friend.

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 Browse profiles
Another way to find friends on the site is to browse profiles that you
find. You can do this by seeing who is on the friends lists of those who
you’ve added as friends, in groups, in networks, etc.

There may be a few other ways to go about it, but this is certainly a good
way to get you started. Once you find the people you want to be friends
with, your next step is to add them.

When you view someone’s profile, you’ll see a menu option on the right-
hand side that says “add to friends”. Click that link and then follow the
instructions.

You may want to add a short note as to how you know them, or why you’ve
decided to add them to your profile. For example, if you found them from a
group you belong to, you can say that in your note.

Doing Searches on Facebook

Facebook has a really good search feature. You can use it to help you find
friends, groups, networks, and applications.

If you notice, you have several options when it comes to performing these
searches. Generally, you need to be in the correct section in order to
perform a specific search.

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For example, if you want to find new networks, you have to be on the
networks page in order to search within the networks. If you need to look for
applications, it would help if you were in the applications page.

Once you understand that this is how the searches work on the site, you can
more easily find the information you need and tailor your search terms
accordingly.

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Networking Is Vital

When Facebook first started in 2004, the networks were vital because they
determined if you were even eligible for signing up to the site. Now, you
don’t need to be part of a network in order to join. Anyone can setup an
account.

However, the networks are still essential. In the beginning, the only
networks that mattered were the ones that indicated if you were affiliated
with the colleges and universities that would allow you to have an account.
Now, they all matter because they are a way for you to build your friends
list.

Not only that, but even though Facebook lets anyone join the site, the
networks you’re part of will often determine which groups you can join and
which profiles you can view.

Joining a Network

After you join Facebook, you should think about joining any networks you
are eligible for. A good place to start will be to look for any schools you’ve
attended. Search for your high school, university, or college. You can also
look for your workplace and your region and part of the world. Chances are
you’re eligible to be part of more than one network. That’s okay. In fact, the
more networks you can be part of, the better.

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To find networks to join, you need to log into your account. On the top,
right-hand side of the page, you’ll see a series of menu options. Click on
Account and you’ll be directed to a page that has a bunch of tab options.
Click the Networks tab.

There, you’ll be prompted to search for an eligible market in the search box.
You may want to start with the city or region that you’re in or that you’re
closes to. Also look for any schools or universities you attended and also the
company that you work for. Once you find something, just follow the
instructions for joining.

Keep in mind that you’re only eligible to join a high school or college network
if you go to that school and have an email account from those schools.
Otherwise, your search won’t reveal anything helpful. Make sure that if you
change schools, or transition from high school to college, that you make the
necessary changes to your network list on Facebook.

Network Pages

The Network Pages feature is your key for getting the most out of the
networks you’re eligible to join. For example, if you live in a city such as
Boston or New York, you can use the Network Page for those cities to meet
new people, find events, and keep in touch with your friends.

Here’s a list of the information you’ll see on the Network Page:

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Network Info
This includes basic stats including how many members the network has
and how many of your friends are part of the network.

People in the Network

This is a list of all the people in the network. If you’re part of this
network, your profile picture will be in view. You can use this list to help
you find friends.

Upcoming Events
A list of the events that are taking place in your network is also a nice
feature of the Network Pages, especially if you love attending them to
meet people. For example, if you’re part of a regional group, this section
will list events such as local concerts and other events such as wine
tastings.

Marketplace
Each network has a marketplace listing. This is very helpful in a lot of
respects. For example, if you decide you want to move to New York City,
you can visit the marketplace for that network to look for an apartment.

Groups
You can also view a list of groups that are part of the network. You’ll be
eligible for these if you’re part of the network.

Network Statistics
This feature includes stats such as how many people are married or
single.

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Discussion Board
All members of the network are eligible to post on the discussion board.
This is a great way to ask questions relating to the network and meet
others.

The Wall
Each network also has a wall, just like your individual profiles do. It is
used in much the same way.

Nearby Networks
Check the list of nearby networks when you visit the Network Pages. You
may find more networks that you’re eligible to join.

It is important to understand that the networks can definitely

help you find people on the site who have similar interests as you
do. And if you are trying to run a business, this information can
result in valuable demographic data.

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Facebook Groups

On Facebook, groups are another tool you can use to socialize online with
people. There are groups on just about every subject including business
topics, study groups, and groups that are purely for fun. You can also start
your own group.

Your profile page will have a link on it called “groups”. Click on it to get
started. Also, remember that when someone starts a group, they can list it
as public or private. If it is private, people can’t join it unless they are
invited.

Groups can be started by individuals, groups, or companies. Some groups

are formed for a common goal. Others are filled with like-minded people.
And, anyone can start a group. If you want to start a group, you’ll need to
go through the effort of finding members and managing it.

Why Get Started with Groups?

Groups are another way that Facebook helps develop a sense of community
and share like-minded interests. If you want to get the most from your
experience on the site, you should consider joining at least one group.

You can also start a group. If you have a particular interest, you can start a
group to share that interest with like-minded people.

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Facebook Groups for Business

You can definitely use the Facebook groups feature for business. There are
several ways you can do this.

Start a group with your business’s theme and network to find people
to become members. This will help draw attention to your business.

Join groups and contribute as a way to find people for your business.

Use the groups to find people to add to your friends list who look like
they will be good potential customers or clients.

Remember that Facebook is a community, and you need to work to foster

that sense of communities. Groups are a great way to do that. However, if
you try to sell to them, you won’t be effective. You just need to be a nice,
kind member of the community.

How to Find a Group to Join

Before you can actually join a group, you need to find a group to join. In
order to do this, the group needs to be listed on one of your networks. Or, it

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can be listed as a “global” group, which means it is available to all of the

networks.

When you click on the “Groups” link on your profile, you’ll notice two things.
The first is that the page will feature a list of groups that you are a part of,
and also groups that your friends have joined.

To find new groups, you can either join a group a friend is part of, or you
can use the search box to find groups that support your interests. You can
also use the category feature of the Groups page to browse through groups
that are part of a specific category.

Keep in mind that there are a lot of groups on a variety of different subjects.
Each group has a different purpose and a different dynamic.

It’s Okay to Be Particular

Once you find a group to join, your next step is to click on the link for the
group and view the group information. Read though it to make sure it really
is something that you want to be part of. If not, keep searching until you
find the group that you want to be part of.

It’s okay to spend the time doing this. In fact, you should do this every time
you’re looking for a group. There are thousands of groups on the site. You
don’t want to join every single one of them because that would just be too
overwhelming.

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In a lot of respects, less is more. If you take the time to choose the ones
that you really want to be a part of, you’ll have a much better experience
because you can give your all to these groups and get more out of it.

How to Join a Group

There are several ways you can join a group.

The first is to do it from the search page. When you search for a group,
you’ll be able to view a list of choices. On the right hand side of the listing,
you’ll see two options: “View Group” and “Join Group”.

If you already know you want to join, click “join group” and follow the
instructions. If you want to see if the group is right for you, click “view group
to get more details.

Another way you can join a group is by accepting an invite. Sometimes,

you’ll get notice that you’re invited to be part of it. For example, if a friend
starts a group, they may invite you to join.

Or, if someone views your profile and thinks you would be the perfect
member of the group, they might also send you an invite. You can either
accept or deny this invitation.

Another way to do it is to view the groups that your friends are part of to
see if you want to join. Then, you can click “join this group” which is located

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on the upper right-hand corner of the information page and follow the
instructions.

Facebook Groups for Business

Keep in mind that if you decide you want to build your business, groups are
an excellent tool to do that. This is because they help foster a sense of
community. The more people are engaged in the community you’ve created
on your profile, the better your product or service will sell.

Keep in mind that in order for the group to be effective, it needs to be

valuable and meaningful to people. For example, if you wrote an ebook on
how to make a six figure income as a freelance writer, you may want to
create a group on how to be a successful writer. Your group can participate
by sharing ideas for how to make money as a writer.

In order to make your group a success, you not only need to find a subject
that directly relates to the product or service you are selling, but you need
to find people to participate in the group. Here are some ideas:

Browse through profiles and send a friendly note inviting people to

participate.

If your group already has several members who participate in it, ask them to
tell their friends about it.

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You may want to offer things like free ebook downloads or discounts to the
group members. This help builds a sense of community and tells them that
you have their best interests in mind. This will help encourage people to
recommend your group to others.

Promote your group outside of Facebook. For example, if you are selling an
information product about internet marketing, you can go to a forum that
you participate in that is related to the subject and invite them to take part
in the group.

Simply starting the group is not enough. People won’t necessarily be able to
find the group since there are so many of them. You’ll need to go out of your
way to get group members, at least at first. Once there are members who
are happy with what you have to offer, your membership will start to
increase.

Facebook Applications

One of the unique things about Facebook is its applications. In late spring of
2007, Facebook made their developer’s platform available. They called it
Facebook Markup Language. What it did was allow other people and third
party users to create applications based on their interests. These
applications were designed to interact with the Facebook profile.

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There are a few basic things you can do with them. These include:

Finding them and adding them to your profile.

Sending them to your friends

Making them yourself using the Facebook Developers API

Facebook is unique in that it has made its Developers API available to other
uses. This essentially allows people to make applications that interact with
the site and the various elements of the user profile.

Facebook applications can serve a variety of purposes. The main goal is to

help further create a sense of community between the users. Whether they
are used for fun or for business doesn’t matter – as long as they help
encourage your community to participate with one another.

Types of Applications

There are a lot of different kinds of applications out there. Each day, more
and more are being created. The collection of applications is so vast that
there are different websites and blogs out there devoted to them. These
include quizzes, games, and applications created to interact with websites
such as StumbleUpon.com.

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However, it is important to note that Facebook has also created some

Applications of its own. Their applications are features of their site such as
the Groups, Photos, and Videos sections.

Finding Your Applications

Before you start looking for applications to add, it is a good idea to know
what you already have. When you log into your profile, you will notice a
section called “Applications” on the left-hand side of the screen. This gives a
list of all the applications you currently have.

Once you add an application, you’ll need to look at this list to make sure you
can see it. If you can’t, you didn’t add it correctly. This is the section to look
if you want to view the different applications your friends have, as well. Just
click on their profile and view their list.

How do you Find Applications to Add?

There are a few places you can go to find applications to add to your profile.
First, you can visit Facebook.com/apps for their official list. Here are some
other ideas.

On Search Engines

On your friend’s profiles

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Get ideas from your News Feed

Accept an invitation to add an application.

On the internet. You can search in your favorite browser for

information on some of the best applications.

Once a friend adds an application, they have the choice to invite their friends
to add them as well. This is a good way to find applications, especially since
some of them are more fun when others participate such as Vampire Bites
and some of the quizzes and games.

Facebook’s Applications Page

If you look for them in Facebook’s official applications page, there are
several ways you can go about finding them. The Applications Page exists
with the sole purpose of introducing you to these different applications.

1) Search
If you have an idea of the kinds of applications you want to add, you
can use the search tool. You can search for the specific name of the
application, or type in a keyword and see what comes up. The search
box is on the upper portion of the page on the right-hand side.

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2) Tabs
If you look at the Applications Page, you’ll notice a series of tabs:
Recently Popular, Most Activity, Most Active Users, Newest. If you click
on each of these tabs, they can help you explore the applications.

3) Categories
On the right hand side, you’ll see a list of categories. When you click
on these categories, you’ll be able to view a list of applications within
that category.

This page is designed to help you find the applications you want. You’ll
notice that some of them don’t interest you, and some of them do. There are
so many that you’ll definitely find what you’ll need.

Adding Applications

Once you figure out which applications you want, your next step is to add
them to your profile. When you find something you want to add on the
Applications Page, all you need to do is click the “Add Application” button on
the upper right corner of the screen.

After you click the button, all you need to do is follow the instructions. Visit
your profile and look at the Applications menu and see if the new application
was installed properly. Then, you can begin using it. You also may notice the
application in the main body of your profile.

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Popularity of Applications

Since they launched, Facebook Applications has become extremely popular.

There are thousands of applicants available today, and the number keeps
growing. Currently, websites are offering them for download. Friends are
inviting other friends to participate and add them.

Stanford University even offers a class on how to create applications on

Facebook. Other colleges are bound to follow as more and more people
realize how important Facebook really is.

Not only that, but people LOVE to use these applications. They are great at
drawing people together because a lot of them are more fun when others
participate, such as the Vampire Bites or some of the games.

Applications and Social Networking

Facebook Applications are a wonderful tool for social networking. For

example, if you find an application you like, you can invite your friends to
add it, too.

Also, you may start getting invites to add some of the applications. If you
do, keep in mind that you don’t need to add everything that people send.
However, if you do add it, it will give you another element in common with
your friend.

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And social networking done with applications doesn’t have to just be casual.
If you’re a business owner, you can use this concept to either spread an
application that you developed or use to encourage a sense of community on
your own business profile.

Developing Applications

Anyone can develop applications for Facebook. All that is required is

knowledge of the Facebook Markup Language which is the platform for
creating them. You can find information and tutorials online for how to use
it.

Before you develop your applications, you may want to browse through the
directory to make sure your idea isn’t already taken. If there’s too much
competition for a particular application, yours may not become popular.

Creating Applications for Business

Anyone with the programming skills can create and distribute an application.
Most people do this for pure fun. This is because applications can be
engaging and addicting, especially things like quizzes and games.

However, since applications are very hands on, they all have features that
are interesting and engaging to people. This makes it extremely valuable
because anything that can promote a business while encouraging community
participation can be an important thing.

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For someone who is looking to build a business on Facebook, applications

are an essential tool. This is because it can help spread your business and let
people know that you exist.

Not only that, but it helps build a sense of community between your users
and potential customers. And as we know, this is an essential element to
building the sense of community that is needed to convert potential
customers into customers.

Here is some basic advice for creating an application that can be used to
help promote your business.

1) Relate it to your niche

One thing that is really important is to relate the application that you
are creating directly to the niche, product, or demographic. For certain
ideas, this may take a lot of thought because some niches may not
relate directly to an idea that will be fun and interesting.

2) Privacy policy
Even though people go online to socialize, they still value their privacy.
They exercise their right to enjoy this privacy by joining closed groups
and networks and only socializing within their set friends list.

There is nothing wrong with being private. It is a natural human

instinct to function that way. The wonderful thing about Facebook is
that it is this very thing that makes it special.

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When creating an application it is a good idea to think along these

lines. People who are private by nature will want to experience a level
of established trust. An application is a way to go about doing that.

 Free distribution
Once you go through the steps to create an application that makes
sense for what you are trying to accomplish on the site, it is time to
distribute it.

You’ll want to list the application on the site so that users can add it.
Once you do that, you can gently invite your friends to install it. If it is
well received by a lot of people, it will spread virally.

Sometimes, you need to push the process along by inviting

people to try it out. Other times, the application will spread on its
own. Both of these methods can be effective.

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Facebook For Business

BASIC PHILOSOPHY AND TOOLS

Facebook is an ideal place to start a business. Think about it. There are
literally millions of users on the site. They belong to groups and networks.
They use the different site applications. Basically, they are sharing their lives
and interests with you so that you can help enhance it.

If you look back at the Social Networking chapter, you’ll notice that we
talked about the ethic of social networking. These absolutely apply when
using the site to promote your business. You first need to make sure that
your actions aren’t violating the terms of use. If they are, you need to
change your approach.

Also, make sure that no matter what you’re trying to accomplish, that you
don’t use the site to SPAM people. You will not be successful on the site this
way. You’ll just annoy people.

If you use the site ethically and follow the terms of use, you won’t have any
problems.

The Basic Philosophy

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The basic philosophy behind using the site for business is to do what you can
to build a community around your profile, service, and/or product. If you
just post a bunch of links and a sales pitch, people won’t respond to that.
They want to get to know the company or brand and have a good time
there.

For example, if you run a fantasy football site, your profile will focus on your
love for the game. You may also start a group with fantasy football as the
theme. You can post your ad and the link for your fantasy football service in
the group and those who are interested will click on it.

If people learn to trust your voice and understand that you’re on the site to
get to know them, they’ll respond to that and buy your product or decide to
use their service.

To further enhance your group and encourage participation you can create
and/or add applications, post a poll, and hold meetings where your group
members can discuss things.

Gain Exposure for Your Product or Service

Your basic goal is to use Facebook to get exposure for your product or
service. You can use the site to get people familiar with your product. An
important aspect of this is to use the site to help build a brand. Even if your
product is a little uninteresting (for example, a topic related to finances) you
need to do your best to make sure that you somehow make it interesting to
your potential customers.

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The way Facebook works is that you need to find a way to keep people
engaged and interested in what you have to offer. You can do this through
applications, groups, and by attracting potential customers based on what’s
on your profile.

Build a Sense of Community

In order for your online business to succeed on Facebook, you need to build
a sense of community. People crave this sense of belonging – it’s a basic fact
of human nature. In order for your business to succeed, you can’t sell to
them. You need to make people understand that you want to belong to
them, that you want to create a placed for people to go and participate in
what you’re offering.

People want to be introduced to new ideas. They want to find people with
the same interests. They want to connect with others and form friendships
on the site. If you are going to use the site for business purposes, this is
something that should always be in the forefront of your mind.

How Can You Use it For Business?

So, how exactly can you use Facebook for business? There are several
different things you can do with your account, and all of them will lead to
your eventual success. When you decide to run a business from your

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Facebook account, you can choose the activities that make sense for your
goals.

Here’s a list of what you can do with your account:

Create a user base and a customer base.

Test a niche to make sure you can sell a product on the internet.

Promote a business or a service.

Use the profile to get clients. (For example, if you’re a personal

trainer.)

Use the groups, networks, applications, and general site trends to

generate ideas.

Beta test a product to see if it can sell. Use feedback from your friends
to tweak the product and make changes to it.

Use the site to do some affiliate marketing. Just make sure you read
the terms of use on the site.

These are just a few examples of how you can use the site to build or start a
business.

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If you take a look at companies that are currently using Facebook to

promote their products, there are a few basic things that they are doing.
Each of these ideas must be applied while still keeping the idea of building a
community at the forefront of your mind.

A Note about Links

Yes, you can use Facebook to do affiliate marketing. If you don’t know what
affiliate marketing is, it’s a way for you to prevent products that other
people have written and get a certain percentage in commissions.

It is important to note, however, that if you want to use the site for affiliate
marketing, the terms and conditions prevent you from posting an affiliate
link directly in your profile. You can get around this by putting affiliate links
in a blog and putting the link to your blog in your profile section.

Create Your Profile

Keep in mind that in order to achieve success, you not only need to
understand the concept of community, but you also need to position yourself
as an expert.

To do that, when you create your profile, you need to highlight your
expertise in the topic. Why are you qualified to sell the particular product or
service? When you put together your information, these are questions you
should answer.

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However, you should not do it in a way that makes you look like someone
positioning themselves for a sale. Your tone needs to be friendly. People will
respond to you better if you become a member of a community, not if you
are trying to sell something.

Gain Exposure for Your Product or Service

Your basic goal is to use Facebook to get exposure for your product or
service. You can use the site to get people familiar with your product. An
important aspect of this is to use the site to help build a brand. Even if your
product is a little uninteresting (for example, a topic related to finances) you
need to do your best to make sure that you somehow make it interesting to
your potential customers.

The way Facebook works is that you need to find a way to keep people
engaged and interested in what you have to offer. You can do this through
applications, groups, and by attracting potential customers based on what’s
on your profile.

Tools You Can Use

In addition to the tools mentioned in Chapter 2, Facebook also offers other

tools that you can use to help build your business. These include:

 Social Ads

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 Pages

 Beacon

 Insights

 Platform

 Polls

Each of these is designed to help you build your brand on the site and get
customers and clients. Your first step is to learn about these tools. In the
next section, you’ll learn how to tie all of this together so that you can find
your success on Facebook.

You can take advantage of these features further by visiting

http://www.facebook.com/business.

Social Ads

Social ads are a unique feature because they interact directly with the News
Feeds of the people on your friends lists. This means that anyone who has
you added as a friend will be able to see information about your business
directly in their profile.

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This also means that you can directly control who sees your ad and achieve
targeted traffic rather effortlessly. When it comes to making sales, targeted
traffic is what you want.

Facebook Pages

If you have a business, you should create your own Facebook Page for it.
This is the same as your profile. By having a page for your business, you
take full advantage of the site by allowing people to interact with your
business. It also helps build your brand.

When someone on Facebook participates in your site, you know that you’ve
won their support and potentially their business. They treat this page as they
would any of their friends. People can write on the wall and participating in
the experience of your page or profile.

It’s your job to encourage this interactive experience by adding applications,

quizzes, games, starting a group, etc. Basically, you need to pick the
activities that make sense for the brand you’re trying to build.

Facebook Beacon

This is another service that Facebook offers that can help your business by
promoting it to your Facebook friends. Beacon allows Facebook to interact
directly with your site by posting news about your business on your friends’
news feeds. For example, you may specify that you want your friends to

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know when someone purchases a product or when a new product is

released. In order for it to work you need to paste some code to your site.

This feature works because it helps enhance participation with your

Facebook Page, with your company’s site, and with your brand. It can also
help increase the word-of-mouth potential for your company, service, or
product.

Are you afraid this will affect the user’s privacy or your business privacy?
The people on your friends list have the option to deny the updates. This
helps protect your privacy as well as their’s.

Facebook Insights

If you want to run a business and use Facebook as a tool, it’s natural that
you’ll want to know some statistics as to who is participating in your
Facebook Page and clicking on your Social Ads. This is exactly what
Facebook insights are. It’s a tool that gathers data so that you can
determine if your campaign is successful.

Once you gather this data, you can determine if your business, product,
service, or brand are spreading virally or not. Facebook is powerful because
of the word of mouth aspect. Facebook Insights helps you gauge just how
successful your attempts truly are. Not only that, but it also helps you get
data concerning demographics, which can help you target your promotional
campaign even better.

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Facebook Platform

Facebook Platform allows your programmers to design applications that will

interact with the site and help enhance the user experience. In order for this
to work, you have to make an application that will be fun for people to use.
The idea is that they’ll enjoy the application and pass it along to their
friends, which will give your business more reach and expand your user
base.

There are different kinds of applications you can design. Quizzes, games,
and interactive tools are all popular. For ideas, visit the Applications page on
Facebook to get a feel for what designers are coming up with and which
applications are the most popular. Whatever you design, it needs to help
build your brand on the site.

Facebook Polls

Facebook Polls is a valuable tool that you can use to determine certain
things about your business. For example, if you’re thinking of launching a
product that can target a certain demographic, you can give a poll to those
who pertain.

This feature works because you have access to the demographic information
such as age and marital status if the users are on your friends list. You can
use this information to focus your efforts on only those who are relevant.

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Use the Features that Make Sense

Yes, Facebook has a lot of options for businesses. However, it’s important
not to get overwhelmed and to only choose to use the features that make
sense for what you want to accomplish.

Given the social nature of the site, it can be a powerful tool to help you
generate business. However, if you try to do too much, your efforts could
backfire. It is best to focus on the small number of features and make sure
that you use them to the full extent.

And, it is important to understand that no matter what you try to do on the

site, you remember that unless you’re successful at building a community,
you probably won’t get the clients are the sales that you want.

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Building A Customer Base

When you decide to start a business, you have a lot of different options as to
how you’ll make things a success. Some businesses use a combination of
methods. Others focus on just one thing. The approach you take is up to
you.

Whether you decide to use Facebook exclusively or if you use it as a

supplement to an existing business, you can use any of the tools and
features at your disposal to make it a success.

In the last chapter, we talked about the basic philosophy behind using
Facebook to make your business a success. We also talked about the
different tools you can use to enhance the features of the site.

Now, we’ll go into detail on how to use these features to build a product and
a customer base.

Remember, you can use Facebook in several different ways to help enhance
your business. You can use it to build a customer base, get ideas for new
products or services, develop new products and test them out on a select
group of people, and use it to build your unique brand.

Out of those two of the most important are creating a product and building a
customer base.

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Business and the Blank Slate

It is helpful to think of the site as a blank slate, or a canvas. There are so

many different tools and resources on Facebook that it is impossible and
detrimental to use them all at once.

Instead, take some time to think about what you want to accomplish. Then,
build your community around that idea. Add a few profile elements at a
time. In other words, choose only those elements that you feel will enhance
the community and help it grow.

Start with an Idea

Behind every business there lies a great idea. Running a business on

Facebook is no exception. If your idea is good, it will catch on if you use the
site correctly. If it is not good, you can change your idea and begin the
process again. You will know when you don’t have a good idea because it will
not get the following you want.

The wonderful thing about Facebook is that once you build up a loyal
community, you can try different ideas on them, change your features and
profiles to make your business more successful, and test products on them

But remember, if you don’t have a good idea, all of your efforts to promote
and build your community will not be well received by the site. And as a
result, you won’t get the profits you expect.

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How to Build a Community

By now, you understand that the community is what makes Facebook a

success. Within the extremely large network that Facebook has, there are
smaller networks and communities and all of them seem to be
interconnected in some way.

But, how do you go about building a community on the site? Well, the
community does not exist unless you have an extensive friends list. And,
you will not have an extensive friends list unless you have an engaging
profile. In other words, you need to have elements on your business
Facebook Page that will make people want to take part.

What this means will differ from business to business.

Besides that, there’s a certain art to getting people to join your community.
Here are some ideas. Keep in mind that there are many more ways to
successfully build your friends list. As you get familiar with the site and what
it has to offer, you’ll think of new ways besides these.

Find people by looking at their individual profiles. If it looks as if they’ll

find your community interesting, request their friendship. Write a quick
note as to the reason why you’re initiating the friend request. Make it
sincere.

Once someone adds you as a friend, write on their wall to thank them.
In doing so, you show them that you want to be part of their community
and it will encourage them to be part of yours. People will see you

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participate, click on your profile out of curiosity, and potential request to

add you to their friends list.

Join groups that pertain to the niche you’re trying to target. Participate
in the group. Add people as friends who seem interesting and who are
responding to what you have to offer the group. In turn, people will also
add you to their friends list for the same reasons.

Participate in your friends communities. This will also help attract their
friends to your community.

By now, you probably understand that participation is the key. If you

participate, they’ll participate. Resist the urge to use dubious tactics and
techniques to add to your friends list.

These won’t work, and may get you banned. These are called “Black Hat”
tactics. An example of this is using misdirection tactics to get people to
accept your friends requests or using software programs that take
advantage of the system.

Creating a Product to Sell

Without a product or a service, you won’t have a business. If you have a

service you want to offer, that’s pretty self explanatory. But if you need a
product, things aren’t so simple. There are so many different ways that you

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can get a product to sell, that it can be hard to figure out which direction you
want to take. Here are some of your options:

Sell someone else’s product

Use affiliate programs to market someone else’s product. In the case of
some digital media such as ebooks, the product owners give 50% or
60% commissions or more.

Product already exists

If you have an existing product you can use Facebook to promote. The
benefits to using a product that your company or business already sells
is that you already have a clear idea of what makes the product sell.
Even though Facebook is different, you can apply that knowledge when
you’re adapting your technique to the site.

Create the product for Facebook

Another option you have is to create the product completely for
Facebook. This means that you’ll gather market information and
demographic data using the site. A benefit of this is that the product will
be tailor made for the website. You’ll also have a customer base already
built up because the process of building a community will already be
underway.

As a business owner, you may want to choose one of these methods, or all
of them. The only thing that really matters is that before you get started,
you have a full understanding of the site and how it works.

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Beta Test a Product on Facebook

One you’ve built up a community of dedicated and passionate people who

believe in your product, your content, and/or your community, you can start
doing things such as beta test a product that you are going to launch to the
general public.

When a product is under development, user feedback is important to make it

even better. You seldom want to release a product once it is ready because
you don’t know how it will be received. Since you already have a community
built up which is ripe for what you have to offer, these people are ideal
candidates to test the product.

Beta testing is unique because it allows people to experience your product

and give you feedback. This feedback allows you to make changes and
improve on things before you start selling it. It can also help you determine
if your product is within a niche that can even sell. Your beta testers may
help you determine that the idea really isn’t as good as you initially thought.
This can save you time and money.

Shift Your Thinking

One of the unique things about Facebook is that the community essentially
drives what you do. If the people are engaged in your profile, then you’ll
make the sales that you want.

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But, you can’t think about it as making sales. Even though selling your
product or service is your number one goal, you can’t give the impression
that it is your number one priority.

On social sites, people don’t like to be sold to. They want to be part of
things, have a good time, and learn about things they’re interested in. As
someone who wants to use the site to further their business endeavors, it is
very important to remember that.

Think about your own actions when you’re on sites like these. How do you
respond when you see people turning their profiles into sales letters and
then disappearing? If you know and love the site, this act is considered
offensive.

So even though sales letters often get the job done, that kind of business
practice can’t be done here. It will turn people away from your profile and
may even get you banned, especially if your actions are looked at as SPAM.

You Don’t Want to Be a Spammer

This subject deserves some extra attention. There are some people out there
who throw the S-word out there without really understanding if they’re
getting spammed or not. And, some people who have been called
“Spammers” don’t believe that they are.

By definition, SPAM is now considered “something that someone doesn’t

want”. So, if you post information about a product on a forum, but the forum

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doesn’t allow people to post links in the body of a post, that’s SPAM. If
someone gets an email they don’t want, that’s SPAM.

On Facebook, there can also be a SPAM problem. That’s why as business

owners, you need to be careful. These are some things that can be
considered “unwanted” on the site:

Unsolicited messages to someone’s inbox.

Any activities that violates the typical etiquette of the site.
Joining a group and then posting endless sales letters, and not
participating.

Those are just some examples. One thing that can keep you safe from being
accused as a Spammer is to take some time to get to know the site and the
dynamics. Understand what is considered proper etiquette. Of course, you
can read about that kind of thing on the internet, but the best teacher is to
get in there and experience it for yourself.

Also, make sure you understand the site’s user agreement. Anything that is
in violation of the user agreement may also be considered SPAM. If you want
to make your experience on the site successful, you need to fit in and use
Facebook as it is intended – as a place to build a community.

The Community and Your Content

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We’ve talked about how the community participation surrounding your

profile will help build your product up. But, there’s more to it than that. The
whole experience for your friends will focus on your content.

Content can be defined as anything from articles, videos, photos, or other

applications. These are items that you will select to put on your Facebook
Page and will help create an experience that your community will enjoy.

But, here’s the catch. It needs to be well thought out and meaningful. In
order for people to visit your profile on a regular basis, they need to feel as
if your content has value.

So, when putting together your profile site, it is important to keep this in
mind. Create something of value to your community. If you do that, you will
be on your way to success.

Not only do you need to create content that is meaningful and important to
your target demographic, but you also need to create a sense of community
surrounding the content.

For example, it’s not enough to just through up a series of pictures or

videos. Invite your community members to participate by rating them,
voting on their favorites, and giving feedback.

The Viral Nature of Facebook

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The fact that Facebook is so focused on their community makes it a very

powerful marketing tool, if you use the site correctly. The idea is that you
want to help encourage people to recommend your profile, product, service,
application, and content to others.

In order to achieve success on Facebook, this viral nature needs to exist.

And, it will naturally if you create things that others find interesting, helpful,
or just plain neat.

Are you unsure of how to take advantage of the viral nature of the site? Your
number one goal is to make sure that all of your content somehow relates to
the product or service you’re trying to promote on the site. Here are some
tips.

Videos and Photos

Take advantage of the fact that Facebook allows you to upload photos
and videos. Make sure that they are interesting and have value to the
users. However, don’t just upload it. Encourage people to rate them and
pass them along to their friends.

Applications
This is a powerful tool for Facebook. It is worth the effort to put together
an application that is fun and also relevant to what you’re trying to
accomplish. Applications are one of the most viral aspects to the site.
Once someone adds an application, they are automatically encouraged to
invite their friends to also participate in it.

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Start a group
If your group is interesting enough, people will invite their friends to join.
Start a group that is helpful and informative, or just plain fun. If you do
that, it will be even more appealing to others.

No matter what you do on the site, it is helpful to put yourself in the place of
the members of your community. What kinds of things would encourage you
to participate and eventually buy your product? Why would you recommend
something to your friends? Carefully think about your answers and then
apply them to your Facebook business.

You Need to Participate

When it comes to social networking, you pretty much get out of it what you
put in. We’ve talked extensively about the idea of building a community.
But, it’s important to realize that you can’t expect your community to run on
autopilot. You need to be involved with it on a constant basis, or hire
someone to be involved with it.

If you don’t participate, this will not attract other people to you. People will
quickly get bored with the community you’re trying to build and eventually
find other things to do on the site. This will result in lost sales.

Log in often. Answer messages and emails. Put new content on your profile.
Post to the group and encourage participation and discussions. All of these

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things are especially important in the beginning. However, you always need
to be involved to make it a success.

How to Measure Success

When it comes to Facebook, it is very easy to measure success. Everything

that you do on Facebook to build your business relate to building and
engaging a community. If you go through all that work to find people to be
part of your profile, and to get them to participate, this is not a good thing.
T

But how do you know if there is something wrong with your approach or if it
will just take a while to really get the community going? It’s a little difficult
to measure because it all depends on how much time you’re spending on it.
If you spend an hour a week, then you’re success may not be as immediate.

If you’re spending a lot of time, however, the fix isn’t necessarily to spend
more. You also need to evaluate if the activities you’re choosing are right for
your overall goals. If you change your tactic slightly, your results may
change.

So, your measure of success can be gauged by the level of participation in

your community. Once people start participating, the sales will follow. If the
participation is not where you want it to be, you’ll need to evaluate why this
is the case.

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A Note about Demographics

Facebook is a valuable tool to enhance your business for many reasons. The
availability of demographic data is one of the most important because users
readily offer up data about themselves. They join networks, talk about the
movies they like, give their age, post pictures about themselves, their lives
and their interest, and many more.

Basically, a lot of the things that people do on the site is an opportunity for a
potential business to use that data to determine who will be a potential
customer.

So, if you want to find people who will be interested in their product, all you
need to do is determine what your target demographic is. If you’ve written a
business plan, you already know what that target is. The next step is to read
people’s profiles and look for those who fit that profile.

Once you find people who look like potential customers, your next step is to
invite them to be part of your friend’s list. Doing this, and having people
accept, is the first step to building a community.

The Community and Your Customers

When you start a Facebook Page for your business or your product, your
next step is to invite people to become part of your community by inviting
them to go on your friends’ list. When they accept, they are potential
community members and also potential customers.

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This is because on Facebook, the people on your friends list are potential
customers. In order to convert these people into customers, you need to get
them to participate. This can be a good thing and a bad thing. If you try to
“sell” to your friends, they won’t become part of your community and your
efforts to make your business a success by using Facebook will be for
nothing.

If you use the site correctly and participate in it as a social networking tool,
you will be successful. The key is to manage to think of them as friends first,
potential customers second. Someone who feels as if they identify with
something that your profile or your community has to offer is more likely to
purchase your product or service in the long run. It’s the community that will
eventually convert them provided that it’s engaging enough to hold their
interest.

Also, what if you developed an application to help support the community?

An application is something that can encourage people to be part of your
community. It can also work independently to help promote your business.
You know you have an application that was a success if people are
constantly downloading it and recommending it to their friends, who also
add it and recommend it to more people.

So, if you want to use the site to make your business successful, remember
that there are several tools at your disposal that allow you to measure if you
have a winning plan, or if you need to rethink things.

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Make Privacy Work for You

On Facebook, users have the option to make their profile private or available
only on certain networks. Also, certain groups may either be invitation only,
or the person who runs the group needs to accept you.

To someone who is trying to meet lots of people online so they can convert
them into customers, this may look like a detriment. But, you may want to
rethink that.

Yes, it’s true that it can be hard to break through these privacy settings. In
order to do so, you need to position yourself or your company as something
that is a fun, valuable part of their network and their community. However,
once you do this, the privacy settings are actually a benefit. Here’s why:

Demographic Data
It’s easier to gather demographic date if you do so within a particular
network. For example, if you are targeting customers in a certain
demographic, you can work on looking through profiles for people in that
network, provided you are part of that network. Networks are a valuable
clue as to the demographics.

Location Based Product or Service

If you have a service or a product that is based entirely on location,
this is something that can be benefited by the notion of “privacy”

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within a network because it is a lot easier to find those who will be

most interested in what you have to offer.

Instead of randomly looking through profiles, you can have something

solid to start with. Now, keep in mind that just because they are in the
same city doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll still be interested in your
product or service. It just means that there’s a stronger likelihood of
that happening.

Safety on the Internet

There’s also an issue of safety on the internet. Some people really do
have a fear of social networking sites, believing that a lot of people are
out there looking to scam them, or wishing them ill. If they can belong
to a network that has privacy settings or a group that will only let in a
certain amount of people, this helps establish a sense of trust. People
will always have the tendency to be wary of strangers.

If you get accepted into a certain network or group that not everyone
is accepted to, you will already have their trust. This can save a lot of
time and effort when building your own profile and community. You
can invite the people in these networks or groups whom you already
have a good relationship with.

Build Better Content

Privacy helps you build better content. This comes about for several
reasons. First, you’ll automatically have a better understanding of the
audience you need to create content for. This will help you come up

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with a better plan for which features to add onto your particular
Facebook Page.

Most people assume that content means “articles”. Even though

articles are certainly part of it, content on Facebook can be defined as
any of the elements that you can add to your profile. Applications,
pictures, videos, and news feeds can also be considered content.

Since there are so many resources on the site, it is often a challenge

to figure out exactly what you need to do to in order to keep people
interested in your content. If you’re able to determine what people
want to read and participate in, you can create something that people
want to be a part of.

Understand the Viral Nature of Facebook

Yes, it’s true that building a community that is filled with people who enjoy
your content and participate with each other is a vital part of your success
on the site. But, another important element for your success is the fact that
there is a viral marketing aspect to the site that must be employed in order
to have true success.

So what does the term “viral” really mean? Well, viral marketing is based on
the idea that someone who likes what you offer will then recommend it to
others.
Here are some facts about viral marketing:

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It helps make people more aware of your brand, product, or service.

Viral marketing takes place in social networks, including social

networking sites like Facebook.

Only people who are satisfied in what you have to offer will bother
telling someone about it.

Understand that this isn’t something you can necessarily control.

However, you can encourage the process by prompting people to “tell a
friend” or by offering content that people will want to engage in.

In order to take this and apply it to the success of your business on

Facebook, it is important to understand the basic elements for helping the
viral process along. Even though some viral marketing happens on its own, it
is also something that you can engage in.

The basic method for doing viral marketing is to identify the demographic
that will most respond to this kind of marketing, and to create a product or
other element that will appeal to the demographic.

On Facebook, this can be achieved in several different ways. First of all, it is

ripe for viral marketing because it is a social networking site. This means
that the viral nature of the activities on the site is built right in.

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Here’s how some of the features on the site can be used virally. Keep in
mind that since Facebook is a social network, pretty much everything on the
site can be expanded in a viral way. These are some of the best tactics to
use as a business owner, however.

1) Applications
Once you add an application to your profile, you’re automatically
encouraged to select people on your friends list to suggest they add
the application to. This is especially appealing for applications that are
interactive, such as quizzes.

The goal as a business owner is to create an engaging application that

will have this affect. It needs to be something fun and engaging and
also pertain to the business.

Another way that applications can spread in a viral way is because

people can view which applications their friends have. People are
always looking for new ideas on how to enhance their experience.
Some do so by getting ideas from their friends.

2) Profile
Another element that can be used virally is the profiles, or Facebook
Pages. When you view someone’s profile, you make a decision as to
whether or not they are a good candidate to purchase your product or
service.

Once they add you, you’re accessible to the rest of that person’s
friends list which will gain you more exposure. Some of those people

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will add you as a friend which will further expand your influence and
potential customers. When that happens, your friends list will expand
in a viral way.

3) Feeds
This is another great way to utilize the viral nature of Facebook. As
explained in an earlier section, the Feeds are a way for your friends to
see what you’re up to. When they see an activity that intrigues them,
they’ll click your profile to see what’s going on.

When this happens, it gives your friends the opportunity to mimic your
actions and add the applications you add, join the groups you join, etc.
And if the applications are things that you created, or the groups are
things that you started, this will help encourage participation for your
brand or company.

4) Notifications
The notifications are things that alert people in their email when they
have messages waiting or invitations to join groups, add applications,
et cetera. This helps bring people back to the site and interested in
what your community has to offer them. They also get a notification
when you send them a message or write on their wall.

When people sign up for a new social networking site, they may feel
excited about it initially and set up a profile. But, the problem is that
they may end up forgetting about the site after a while. These
notifications are a way to get people’s attention focused back on the

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site and potentially your community, groups, or applications. In the

long run, this will help expand your reach even further.

One thing that makes the viral aspect of Facebook so easy to do is that the
site is ripe for it. Each tool and feature that you can add and use has the
potential of being viral because people will recommend these aspects to each
other. When users like something, they feel comfortable sharing it with each
other.

Viral marketing is important because it helps distribute what you’re offering

to a wider audience. And the more people you can distribute to, the more
lasting your potential success is. This kind of marketing works because a
recommendation from someone else can be very powerful, especially if it
comes from someone they respect.

As mentioned above, success on Facebook can be measured by how well

things that you create, such as your Facebook Page, a group, or an
applications, spreads to other users. If you are getting people involved at a
steady rate, then you’ll know that you are doing something right.

Monetize Your Facebook Account

It is very possible to monetize your Facebook account. In internet terms,

monetization is the process where you make something profitable. You can
monetize websites, blogs, and even social networking profiles on sites like
Facebook.

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Some social networking sites do not allow you to do monetization practices

on it, such as post ads. The owners and developers of Facebook understand
that there are people out there who want to make money on the site, so
they allow some monetization activities to take place.

Before you start monetizing your profile, there are some things you should
do. First, make sure you’re familiar with the terms of use. This will prevent
you from doing something while monetizing that is against site policy.

Another important thing to do is make sure that you are very familiar with
the site and how different users interact with each other. Observe what
kinds of applications people like adding. See which groups are the most
popular. Basically, spend enough time on the site to get a feel for what
people expect when they visit a profile, join a group, or add an application.
Since it is a social site, there are patterns that are bound to emerge.

Once you understand the different trends on the site, you can think about
how your profile relates to these trends. How do your brand and your
business fit in with all of these things? More importantly, how does your
content fit in with it? When you understand how your profile relates, you can
better understand how to monetize it.

Another thing to keep in mind is that you’ll want to choose the monetization
methods that best fit in with your particular target market. The more
targeted the monetization, the more sales you’ll get. Not only that, but if
you fail to build a strong community, your efforts to make money will largely
be in vain.

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Specific Ways to Monetize Your Profile

There are several different ways to monetize your efforts on the site that are
considered acceptable. And since there are a lot of options, you can choose
the ones that make sense for your niche and target market.

Here are some ideas on how to make your efforts on the site profitable.
Keep in mind that you don’t need to limit your activities to just one thing.
You can choose a variety of methods.

However, you need to be careful about your actions. Even though you are
essentially using the site to sell something, you need to do so in a way that
is helpful and not at all like a salesperson. The service needs to have value
for the market you’re targeting. For example, if you have a group devoted to
people who have Rosacea, a few links to some of your favorite skincare
products that have helped you will be relevant and helpful.

5) You can sell your own product or service. This can be done through
affiliate marketing, developing something with your Facebook
customers in mind, or selling a product or a service that you already
have ownership of.

6) Put ads on the site for services such as Amazon.com. For example, if
you have a group for writers, you can post an Amazon.com link for
books that you think the group members will find helpful.

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7) Another thing you can do is provide your users with advertising. This is
appealing to advertisers because they can target a specific
demographic. This makes the ad highly targeted.

No matter which method you choose when it comes to monetizing, you need
to be careful and make sure that the method of advertising has definite
value to the reader. You want it to strike that balance between providing
something that is useful and enhances the value to your site or putting
flashy ads in people’s faces.

If you decide you are going to put ads that don’t really mean anything to
your content or target market, people may get annoyed and it will diminish
the overall quality of your community. This isn’t something that you want to
do because the community really is the cornerstone of the success you have
on the site.

Don’t be Afraid to Outsource

One thing you need to understand is that building up a community is not a

trivial matter. Sometimes, it takes several hours a day to get your
community to exactly where you want it. This means that you’ll need to test
different applications, prospect for new “friends” and participate in other
people’s profiles. And that list represents just a small number of the total
things you’ll need to do.

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And for a lot of us, there really isn’t enough time in the day to make sure
that everything gets accomplished. That’s why it is a good idea to outsource
certain activities. One of the most common things to get outsourced is the
applications. Some people have the talent for programming, and some do
not. If you are not one of those who has the time or the aptitude, then you
can hire the task out.

Basically, you’ll want to make a list of all the possible things that need to get
done. Think about the things that you don’t enjoy doing or that you find too
time consuming. These are the things that are ideal for outsourcing.

Join Groups Designed for Business Owners on Facebook

Basically, Facebook has a lot of tools that can help you build your business.
Why not participate in the site yourself as a business owner? This alone can
help increase participation in your community. It can also help you learn new
ideas and tactics.

The dynamics of the site are constantly changing and they’re always adding
new features and new applications. The best way to understand how to
adapt these changes to the site is to go and network with other business
owners.

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Conclusion : Final Words

Yes, Facebook is a powerful social networking site that has a variety of uses.
It is helpful to consider the site to be a blank canvas. Since there are so
many tools and features on the site, people can basically control their own
purpose for it.

This means that there are people from all walks of life on there. Even though
the site began as a way to help college students get to know each other, the
dynamics have been steadily changing ever since the site was open to
everyone from all over the world, as long as they are at least 13 years old.

What this means is that there are people on there who are using the site for
different things.

a) Business networking

b) Recreation and meeting people

c) Forming groups such as study groups or professional groups

d) Socializing with those on your friends list

e) Keeping in touch with existing friends and family

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Those are just a few examples. One of the most important things about the
site is that entrepreneurs can use it to help build their businesses. Since the
site has so many features, there are endless opportunities for business
owners to make it a success.

The important thing to understand is that the community is at the

cornerstone of this process. If you take the time to build a community that
thinks your information, content, and product or service has value to them,
then they will help make things a success for you.

If you are genuine and provide them with content that they find meaningful,
interesting, and engaging, then you will find success.

Basic Steps of Running a Business on Facebook

One thing to understand is that in some ways, Facebook businesses are just
like any other business. Your main goal is to create a product or service that
people will want to buy or use. If you can’t do that, you won’t make a sale.
So, in many ways the product or service comes first.

However, if you decide to create a product or service based on your

Facebook community or on the site itself, your first step will be to create a
community, not a product. Once you build a community, you will be able to
determine what kind of need there is.

If you want to create a product using your community, it is important to

build this community up with the idea of a certain niche in mind. For

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example, if you decide to create a user base that is about fishing, you’ll want
to find out what concerns fishermen and see what kind of product you can
create based on their needs.

However, the key to doing that is to choose a niche. Examine your passions.
Look for trends on the internet or in everyday life. There are a lot of tactics
for finding a niche. However, make sure you stick with something that you
are passionate about or interested in or else you won’t want to put in the
work that is needed to make things a success.

Once you have the community built and the product or service developed,
you can work on promoting things even further. To do this, you can use the
features available on the site and create more elements of your profile that
will also promote the product.

But, you can’t think of things in terms of promotion. That is a traditional

marketing term that really doesn’t apply very well on the site. Things need
to be developed with the community in mind. If you don’t provide something
of value, then people won’t respond to what you have to offer.

Learn from your Mistakes

If you want to make your Facebook Fortune, you may not get it right the
first time. Building a business on the site is, in many ways, something that
defies intuition. If you try to follow standard, traditional business practices,
your efforts will not be successful.

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However, there are other reasons why you may not be successful. If you
realize that you aren’t getting the sales you want, then it is time to evaluate
what you could be doing wrong. Don’t be afraid to try again. Sometimes
people fail multiple times before finally finding a method that works for
them. This happens in life as well as on Facebook.

The trick is to make sure that you take detailed notes and are prepared to
go through some evaluations that may be time consuming. However, if you
want to experience success, this is something that you’ll need to do.

The Future of Facebook

Facebook increases its user base by the thousands on a daily basis. This
means that as a business owner, you’ll be able to potentially reach oven
more customers with what you have to offer. That is one of the reasons why
it’s so important to make sure you are always working on building your
business.

Right now, Facebook remains to be an independent site that is supported by

advertising. However, that may change. There is no evidence to suggest that
there will be a buyout anytime soon, especially since all of those rumors of a
buyout have not come true.

One thing is for sure, though. Facebook will always be concerned with doing
what’s right for its user base. They are constantly looking for feedback in
order to determine how to improve on things. With that knowledge, people
can be confident knowing that any change is made with their best interests

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in mind. Whether or not the feature works out as the developers hope is not
always predictable, however.

No matter what happens, Facebook will always be a good place to run a

business, as long as it’s done correctly. If you follow the advice in this
ebook, you won’t have any problem.

To your social marketing success

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