Facebooking 101

Everything you need to know to get started on the ‘book, you can learn at AG

What is Facebook? Why do you need to be on it ? Isn’t it just a huge time waste ? Can you actually generate revenue on it?

Facebook is a social networking platform developed by a fraternity brother of mine from Harvard, Mark Zuckerberg. It was restricted to students from specific colleges, but expanded to various ‘work’ networks, and now is open to all who register.

You need to be on facebook because all of your clients are on it, and more and more people are using it to fill needs and wants.

I just met with a new client yesterday who invests in older homes with character in the Kitchener city core. She has stopped all forms of print advertising – for tenants and properties – and is now advertising exclusively on facebook (which is not where we met incidentally – she reads my Kitchener Real Estate Investment blog) and kijiji.

You need to be on facebook, but you need to be on facebook purposefully. This brings us to “Isn’t it just a huge time waste?”

Let me paraphrase Henry Ford and say: Whether you think you it is, or think it isn’t, you’re right.

My disclaimer is that most people treat facebook as a giant productivity hole, but that doesn’t have to be the case.

Let me explain what the wasteful do on facebook: They spend time turning friends into zombies; they have food fights; pillow fights; street races; happy hours; horoscope trivia ; sexy, drunk photos of them; not-so-sexy drunk photos etc. The list goes on and on and, sadly, on.

DONT DO THIS ON FACEBOOK UNLESS YOU YEARN TO BE UNPRODUCTIVE

So… how do you use facebook purposefully ? Build your profile with your target client or market in mind.

Take a look at my profile (and add me as a friend if you want! Be sure to tell me you were reading AG). You’ll notice it is geared towards my businesses:

Activities: I help people build wealth through smart real estate investments.

I have a Real Estate Business in Kitchener, ON. Information on my Team can be found at BenjaminBach.com

I speak, write & mentor on the side.

Interests: Sarah, Vinnie Chase Bach, Real Estate Development and Investment, Building Relationships, Helping other people achieve their potential, tennis, giving, speaking, writing, Cuban cigars and good scotch, fine living, horticulture, Swiss watches, making money making people money, public speaking

Big Rocks:A happy, healthy family with Sarah;Help my friends, family and clients build real wealth; A financial wall around my family that nothing can break through; $10 Million annual profit; Donate $10 Billion; Build our investment brokerage up to managing $300,000,000 in assets within 5 years

When someone reads my profile, they get a pretty good idea of who I am, what I like, what’s really important to me, and what I do.

They can watch my youtube videos, read my blog posts, read my friend’s blog posts, see pictures I’ve taken (like this great one of me, Jeff Reitzel – The Millionaire Father, and Mark Victor Hansen) and browse groups I’m a member of (Advanced Tip #1 – Start your own facebook group! Great title’s are “Pugstussle Texas Real Estate Investment Opportunities” or “Call Jake when You Buy and Sell a Home is Tuskalooloo” etc).

Every time I put on a Real Estate Investment workshop I advertise it on Facebook, and I always have people signing up from this platform.

Every time I film a workshop, the clips go on facebook and hundreds and hundreds of people watch them. Leverage is a wonderful thing!

Every time I appear in the media I upload the picture or scanned document to Facebook, and I start getting ‘hits’ on it; people telling other people about it.

I recently appeared in Canadian Real Estate magazine immediately following the lovely Ivanka Trump, and I scanned the whole article into my profile. Now friends, clients and colleagues can see it, read it, and know what an expert I am 🙂

What happens if you don’t take care to build a professional looking profile ?

There is one Broker / Manager of a real estate company here in Waterloo region who currently has this up on his profile: “John is a High School Stoner.”

Seriously. Name changed, and brokerage withheld since I’m sure the Corporate head offices wouldn’t appreciate it so much…

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Now, I’m not making a judgement call about what Dieter may or may not enjoy in his free time… I’m simply suggesting it’s not something that AG readers would include in their profile.

If you don’t want a client to read it, delete it, or better yet, don’t put asinine stuff up in the first place.

Everyone who deals with you today Googles you, and most will Facebook you too. Make sure you like what they’ll see. (You do Google yourself, don’t you ?)

Last question – Can I Make Some Kesef From Facebook?

ABSOLUTELY. I use Facebook as a platform to push my message out to people, and it’s been very effective for me. Most of my clients are on facebook, and I have met clients who found me through facebook.

When it comes to online lead generation, nothing compares to the power of a blog. Facebook doesn’t deliver probable investment leads into my inbox every day, but it does give me an additional platform from which to broadcast my content to thousands of people across the world.

Get on the ‘book today. Reach out to me and your fellow AG bloggers for help. We’re all pretty smart, and most of us are on it.

How are YOU using Facebook for your business ? Are you productive, or a procrastinator?

Let us know in the comments!