I’ve put together a list of my top 5 tips that will help WAHM’s on Facebook build  network by targeting the people you want to connect with the most:  potential customers!

1.  Utilize Facebook’s Search Function – This really should be a no-brainer!  Use your keywords to search for groups and fan pages in your target market, then join several.  Do some research within that group or page to learn more about it’s members to zero in on potential contacts for your business.  Request friendship from a few people and definitely send a personal message with your request!  You can say something like ” Hi <name>, I noticed you are also a member of <XYZ Fan Page>.  I’d love to add you to my network of friends”.  Once that connection has been established, visit their profile and find something else that you have in common and post about it on their wall.

2.  Add A Mentor To Your Facebook Network – In all probability, someone else in your industry has been on Facebook longer than you have, and they have an established network of contacts who are interested in what they have to say.  Add this person to your friends and interact with them on their profile.  From this simple act alone, you may find their friends connecting with you.  Have a look at their friends list and send a few friend requests.

3.  Facebook Recommended Friends – On your Facebook “Home” page, you’ll usually find a recommendation of friends that Facebook has selected for you based on your own friends list.  Take advantage of these and send them a friend request.

4.  Search By Interest Or Industry - Do a  search for people by job title, industry, geographic location, or interest. This is one of the best ways to find people with common interests!

5.  Your Warm Market – Search for people that you already know from your high school, college, associations, and places of employment if they fall within your target market.  Don’t forget to visit your existing friends pages and see who they’re friends with too, as well as viewing the pages and groups that your friends are fans of.

BEWARE!

Sorry to sounds so doom and gloom, but this is a major beware!  Don’t stalk other peoples friends lists!  First off, this is one way to upset your friends.  I had someone request friendship with my Mother-In-Law once.  She questioned me on who this person was, and I was the only “mutual friend”.  If you’re not 150% sure that you have some kind of connection with the person, don’t request their friendship.

Second thing is, don’t add too many friends at once.  Sure, you may have just discovered that 200 of your nearest and dearest friends are on Facebook, but adding them all at once is guaranteed to get you banned from Facebook.   Facebook won’t tell you how many friends you’re safe to add at any given time.  It’s their little secret apparently, and unfortunately this has lead to many people having their accounts deactivated without warning.  At the maximum, I add no more than 10 friends per day (and that’s pushing it!), so add wisely!

With all that said…  are YOU on Facebook?

You are?  AWESOME!!  Let’s connect :)