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Whether you’re an entrepreneur looking to attract clients or a growing brand hoping to funnel some leads, if you’re not using Facebook, then you’re missing out on a critical opportunity.
Not only does Facebook have unparalleled access to like-minded professionals, but what you may not realize is that 23% of users utilize the platform for new contacts, while another 26% are looking for product purchase inspiration (according to Statistica).
In a world where face-to-face connection is dwindling and virtual networking skills are paramount, I’ve curated a list of tested Facebook networking tips that will actually help you build relationships and invaluable connections.
Let’s get into this step-by-step guide.
1. Prepare Your Facebook Profile
Before you even consider expanding your professional network online, take a look at your own Facebook page or profile.
What does it look like? If you were a stranger, would you want to engage and network with you?
If the answer is no, then it’s time to either update your current page or create a “professional” profile for your business outreach.
Creating a Professional (Personal) Page
In order to accomplish this, all you need to do is create a new account. I’m signed into both, so I can easily switch between accounts on both.
Profile Checklist
There are tons of AI tools that can help you spruce up your page in under thirty minutes; make sure you do this with your other social media pages (like your LinkedIn profile) as well.
Creating a Facebook Business Page
If you’re a business, obtaining new clients or customers via social media platforms is a must. Which means you need a business page.
With a business page, you can:
I could spend hours going into all of the features and ways that a business Facebook page can help you generate leads, but let’s get back to how they can help you network.
2. Join Facebook Groups
Now that your digital presence is on point, you can begin to network within the Facebook community.
And there’s certainly no better way than joining a Facebook group.
A Facebook Group is typically a private group of individuals that come together to share ideas, ask questions, and gain support from other like-minded individuals. There will be responsible moderators to be sure that people aren’t spamming the threads and that will review every post before allowing it to publish.
A. Niche-Specific Groups
If you’re networking, you want to join a niche-specific Facebook group. Simply go up into the search bar, and type in your industry. For instance, I typed in “small business” as if I was looking for a group that was specific to small business owners. I’m looking for my state specifically (AZ). Here’s some of the results that generated.
You can repeat this process for ANY industry such as:
B. Neighborhood/Local Groups
Every community likely has a local Facebook group to relay local information. Simply type in your city, and you’ll find all sorts of community groups in your areas. Some are more broad like “Gilbert Living”, while others may be a more specific group like one dedicated to Gilbert Moms.
This is a great place to network, as the audience lives next door. And REMEMBER that these are your neighbors; it’s not the place to go off on rants if you’re trying to network within your own community.
Some businesses that really thrive off these groups are:
By joining these groups, you’ll gain access to potential customers and can flex those networking skills by meeting up acquaintances for coffee.
Some other good pointers when networking within these groups are:
Networking is not about just getting your name out there. It’s about growing genuine relationships that are mutually beneficial, not just self-promotion.
3. Better Yet- Establish Your Own Facebook Group
While joining a Facebook group should definitely be one of the first things you do, you’re still limited by the rules and regulations of the administrators. If you’re looking to have a little bit more control or access to the audience, then establishing your own Facebook group may be the way to go.
But believe me. This is something that is much more time-consuming and difficult to successfully achieve.
While this article is not about how to start your Facebook group, here’s some things to consider:
Growing an organic group takes a lot of time, so don’t expect this one to provide much value for months, even years. But having a booming Facebook group can be one of your most valuable networking assets.
4. Provide Genuinely Helpful Insights
So, you’ve created a great digital profile. You’ve joined all the right groups. Maybe you’ve decided to start growing your own group. Now what?
It’s time to provide REAL value.
You can’t expect a relationship to grow or for others to begin trusting you amid a world of scams if you don’t provide valuable content that actually helps the users in the groups.
I’ve seen lots of people give “vague,” one-line responses. That’s not going to help you.
Example: I’m part of a travel group that I absolutely love. Whenever I post a question, I get so much helpful information from the members. But I also make sure to contribute more than the help I receive. Here’s a clip of information I have provided.
Consider every single comment that you post as a way that you’re presenting yourself to the world. Because that’s honestly what you’re doing. If you want to expand your network, providing super valuable feedback or information is how you build trust with others.
Here are some tips I tend to follow when someone asks a question that I think I can help with:
5. Slide Into Group Members DM’s
Now, I want to caution you on this. Some groups DO NOT allow you to DM for any reason. Others only allow it if you accept the offer on a thread, and I’ve found this to be the case most often.
DO NOT SPAM ON DMs; YOU’LL GET KICKED OFF THE GROUP.
However, starting up that one-on-one conversation via DMs is great if you want to discuss a future partnership or collaboration more. Here are some examples where this may be appropriate.
6. Connect At In-Person Events
If you want to grow your Facebook network, why not start by adding people you meet in real life? It’s important to present your high-income skillset to others.
Eventually, you want your “real” network to merge with your virtual business network. Here are some things I do to help foster the combination of the two:
Here’s an example of my end slide to see what this can look like:
As you can see, there’s a Popl QR code that links to a Facebook page for the entire audience to quickly scan (which is GREAT if you’re presenting to hundreds of people).
7. Record on Facebook Live
Okay, I genuinely am not the biggest fan of going Live (and I don’t think a lot of people are either), but hear me out.
For those unaware, Facebook Live is where you start a live recording. People can comment, engage, like, and ask questions about whatever you’re going reason Live for.
And it’s super easy to broadcast an event from your phone anytime and anywhere.
Ultimately, going live shows people that you’re a REAL person. This may sound dumb, but we see “personalities” and influencers all day long. But actually, watching a person talk, mess up, trip over the words, and just be a normal human actually fosters more trust and a deeper connection. Many people are well aware that a published post could just be an assistant, and no the person that they’re following.
Here’s some great ideas to go Live for:
Your imagination is the limit, but I highly recommend holding one at least once a quarter, if not once a month, depending on your industry.
8. Host Facebook Events
Lastly, if you’re holding an event, make sure to add it to the Facebook Event tabs on your page.
These don’t have to be 10,000 attendee events. It can be as simple as a group happy hour to get to know others in your community or a Saturday coffee meetup.
Whenever you do this, it makes your company or business look a lot more “legit,” and people are more willing to attend an event when they can see that dozens of others will be there too. Helps with the “shy” factor.
Wrapping Up
Hopefully, these tips will give you some new ideas on how you can advance your business or professional business networking strategy. While short-form video content like Reels and TikTok should also be optimized as part of your networking strategy, FaceBook remains the gold standard for bringing people together thanks to their pages and group features.
Your professional relationships will benefit by: