TCS Networking Tips

Good Day Friends. We thought that we would offer some tips and observations on networking our businesses on Facebook. These are strictly the opinions of TCS.

We've all created a business page on Facebook.

 It's assumed that we did this because we have products or services to sell. Now what do we do with it? Well, we need to get it seen, build our fan base and get some customers. How do we do this? First off, it takes time, it takes work, it takes knowledge and it takes some talent as well.

 We've said it before and we'll say it again. You could have the best product in the world but if nobody sees it, you can't sell it. You have to get it seen. Facebook is a great place for that to happen. There are millions of people on Facebook. You have to figure the odds are pretty good someone will want your product or service if enough people see it. With that being said, just showing your product to people is only half the battle. You have to have a bit of tact and promote you and your business the correct way.

Facebook is a social networking tool.

You have to be somewhat social to get people to notice you. This means not only connecting with people, but engaing with them, as well. We see it everyday on our page. People pop in leave an ad and dissapear into the Facebook night not to be heard from again until they post their next ad. Now, I'm a normal person and I assume most are that come to TCS. As the ads that are posted roll through our page, unless something catches my eye, or I am strictly paying attention to each ad, I may remember 1 out of 100 ads posted. I will tell you what catches my eye 100% of the time though. It's the comments on posts. Why? Because it's not just an ad. It's a human engaging in conversation. I'm human (I think :) and I like to see what people have to say. I would lay odds on it that most of you would be the same way. You would notice comments more than just ads flying by.

My point is, you not only want to get your business seen. you want it to get noticed, as well.

TCS Tip: Be social, make comments, like posts, etc. You'll get noticed, I promise this.

Never turn down the opportunity for free advertising.

Everytime you make a post, or comment, or even just like a post, its free promotion for you and your business. I see lots of comments to posts on our page. Most are from personal accounts, which is great. But I also see a wasted opportunity for some of the people that are commenting. They don't tag their business page behind their comment. I can't tell you how many times I've seen someone comment from their personal account and someone commenting to that, "whats your page so I can like you". Thats a missed opportunity for another contact, a like or potentail customer.

TCS Tip: ALWAYS tag your business page when commenting on someones post. It's free advertising for you and your business.

Networking is Networking

TCS believes networking is making as many contacts as possible. Growing your fan base with many fans. Some believe that networking their business is just finding people and businesses that they are interested in.

On our "cruise" networking events, we always ask people to like everyone on the list. If this were to happen, we would all grow so much quicker. But I see comments like, "I only like the pages I'm interested in or I only want people that are interested in my business".

 Now, how each person networks is their right, but in my opinion, and this IS just my opinion, networking is people connecting with people, not just businesses connecting with businesses. Why would I let what someones business is stop me from networking with them? Pepsi or Sony or McDonalds doesn't care what business I'm in, yet they still want me to like them. If you keep in mind that you are networking with a person, not a business, you'll realize that even though they sell something you're not interested in, maybe they will be interested in what you offer. Or, someone they know may be interested, or, someone you know may appreciate you pointing them to that business that you aren't interested in. 

Be honest and trustworthy as a person and a business.

How you conduct yourself on Facebook is a reflection of you AND your business. Every post you make,  every comment you make and every action you take on FB is being seen by someone and an opinion is going to be formed about you and your business. Lord knows TCS has made comments or posts that we wish we could take back, but overall we keep in mind that what we say or do is being seen. No one is perfect and will make mistakes. We all need to think about how and what we say and do. People, real people are seeing this. 

Some observations.

In this part, I want to point out some things I've seen that fall into the category of  "Not Cool" :) I will not be naming or slamming any businesses for this. It may be an oversight on their part or they are just not knowledgeable of the fact.

"Not Cool"

-Excpecting help from others but not willing to help. Again, networking is people helping people.

I've seen people come to TCS and ask for others to come like their page, yet they don't bother to visit and like some of the others that have posted on our wall. If you come and ask for likes, try visiting a few pages posted first. You'll probably get some likes back by doing this and it shows you are willing to give as well as get.

- Signing up for a networking event and not particpating or as we call it "tag and run".

Someone who does this is intending to get likes but not give any back. If you only knew what people think of you and your business when you do this. Enough said!

-Advertising businesses other than your on on someone elses wall.

I've seen other businesses that charge a fee to promote businesses then promote that business on our wall for free. If you do this, you are getting paid to promote them on your wall, not ours. It is ok for you to promote YOUR business, not others. With that said, if you would like to promote a business on our wall that you are getting paid for, please see our "advertising options".

Parting note:

We created TCS with the vision of having a high set of standards. People helping People is our motto. We believe that there are far more people that want to do things right and treat others as they would want to be treated. We realize that from time to time their can be oversights, mistakes or just lack of knowledge to do things correctly. When visiting any page, always try to learn their rules and follow them before posting.

We offer lots of free advertising and promotion on our wall. It's a service we enjoy extending to everyone. All we ask is give a little back, help others, conduct your business in an ethical manner and enjoy :)

Have a great week ahead!

TCS