Making friends on Facebook is pretty simple right? Find someone you know, or would like to know, send them a friend request and you’re done!
Not so fast!
Making a Good Impression
Whether you know the person already or not, sending someone a friend request on Facebook is still the beginning of a relationship and you want to make a good impression. You may be reconnecting with an old friend from school or college or someone new that you recently met at a networking event. You may even be trying to connect to someone you have never even met, but would like to get to know.
Whatever the situation, you should make every effort to make a good impression. If you have your own business or represent a business, this point cannot be over-stressed. You need to be professional at all times and you have a very short window of time to make a good impression when they visit your profile page.
Stand out from the crowd by sending a personal message with your friend request.
This one tip alone will make you stand out from 95% of people who are networking on Facebook. Most people simply click on “Add As a Friend” and send the request without adding a personal message.
What should you say?
If you already know the person well:
If you already know them well, be friendly and let them know you would like to connect. If you haven’t seen them for a while, ask how they and their family are doing, where they are working now etc.
If you have recently met the person:
Be polite, remind them how and where you met, perhaps mention something about the conversation you had together. Tell them how much you would like to connect with them and end with your full name.
What If You Don’t know them yet?
Part of building our network online involves searching out people who we would like to connect with. These may be potential clients, joint venture partners or some other type of business connection we would like to make.
Pay particular attention when sending friend requests to these people, since they have no idea who you are!
Start by telling them who you are and why you would like to connect.
Find some common ground – Mention any friends you have in common, hobbies or interests etc but keep it professional.
Sign your full name at the end of the message.
Follow these simple tips and you will set yourself ahead of the crowd!
Let me know your thoughts below on what you write for your friend requests!
