Using Facebook & Groups

August 19th, 2007 by Connie

Amy Edwards was quick to make a group for Scrapbook-bytes.com & that made me realize that I should give more info here. I will share what I’ve learned about setting up a group & getting it going. And there are a few more tips about Facebook that I have & I’m sure that all of you have can share your experiences too.

Privacy Concerns

Social Network Phobia – if you’re concerned about using your real name, then don’t, but you can still join in. I was just reading that article last night (there are some good tips in it). But, as I said, I haven’t been bothered by ‘yucky people’ at Facebook.

Mixing personal, hobby & professional life – there is a lot of discussion about how this is changing how people network. For example, my friends include:

• digiscrappers
• bloggers & people interested in web strategy
• my daughter & her friend (who was like my 2nd daughter)

Keep in mind that no one can see your profile until you invite them to be a friend, and likewise you can’t see my friend’s profiles until you invite them to be a friend. And, be careful about changing your settings because people may not be able to find you when they search (or see you in mutual friend’s lists). Your friend’s list won’t grow that way.

And if you invite someone to be your friend, just put a note in on how you connected.

Layout of Facebook Profile (this took me awhile to figure out. so I’ll save you some time)

• You can edit the layout of your profile at any time. Simply use your mouse to drag and drop boxes anywhere on your profile.
• Please note that you cannot move your Mini-Feed or Friends box. Also, some boxes may be restricted to either the right or left column of the profile.

Annoyances to be aware of:

• personal messages – I really like the format, but the email notification doesn’t include the message, so you have to go there. Email notification can be turned off though.
• Facebook Applications – there are over 2000 & I’m going to repeat myself because this really bugs me. Be careful when adding new ones, because Facebook encourages you to invite all your friends to try it… umm it’s like spamming your friends (in my opinion).
• Not as personalizable as MySpace – I’ve heard from a couple of people that you can’t make it pretty. Maybe that will improve? Jeremiah has a group here to post your requests. Go place your requests for customization.

Creating a group -

On left, click on Groups

• on left is info on the groups you’re a part of – which is interesting to see which are growing
• on right is info on groups your friends have recently been active in

At top, click on Create a New Group

1. Fill in the info – make sure that it links back to your site/blog
2. Add a picture or icon of your group
3. Invite your friends (this can be done later again too) – it sends emails to people that you choose on your friend’s list.
4. In your new Group; go into the Discussion Board & put in some questions & conversation starters. Things like – Introduce yourself; What’s your favorite…; What new products would you like to see in the store… etc
5. And once you start it, don’t forget it, check in periodically.

Later options

• Invite people to join (after you have more friends on your list)
• Message all members – send email to group members
• Create an Event – sends an invitation to members
  • I haven’t used this option yet, but I’m seeing potential for announcing chats & other special events at your site.

So you can invite people by email to join your group at any time, but how else can you kick off your new community? It’s just like a forum – tell people about it. Blog about it, ask your CT members to join & tell their friends, post at your forum, spread the word! What if you ran a contest there? Encourage the ‘tell a friend’ concept.

For more reading: Web Worker Daily » Blog Archive 12 Ways to Use Facebook Professionally «

(there’s a good link in there on Top 10 Facebook App’s for Work)

What creative ideas can you think of for promoting your new group?