How to use Facebook for professional networking

Ask anybody why they use Facebook, and most people will respond with reasons like staying in touch with friends, or being able to share pictures. Rarely does one mention one’s professional life when describing the social network. When it comes to business networking, LinkedIn tends to take all the thunder, and Facebook is generally taken as a place just for fun. Yet, perhaps that is a mistake.

Setting up Facebook for business networking

If you are like most people, your “personal and professional lives” have already blended. You share your personal stories and pictures with your colleagues, discuss both work and personal life on your blog and Twitter, and probably let go the notion that there is the need to keep professional and personal issues completely separate.

Even with the blurring of our work and social lives, most of us still want some separation, and I would recommend splitting the two on Facebook. Once split, you can continue to reap the social benefits of Facebook with your friends and family while simultaneously connecting with your professional colleagues.

How to split the two

•Go to your friends list by clicking on their tab -> All friends at the top of your Facebook page.

•Click the “Create a New List” button and create one called professional.

•You can now go through your entire friends’ list and add your professional contacts into this new and separate business list.

•Once, you are done, navigate to your profile privacy settings by clicking on the Settings link in the top right corner of your Facebook; then click on privacy; then click on profile.

On the profile privacy settings page, you can begin slicing and dicing your Facebook world into personal and professional segments by restricting access to various parts of your profile using the newly created friends’ list. For example, if you do not want your professional friends to see any of your pictures, click on “edit photo album privacy settings.” In the “who can see this” drop down, click on “customise” and then in the “except these people” field type in your newly formed professional friends list. Now only your friends will be able to see your pictures.

Facebook groups for networking

One way to benefit professionally from Facebook’s enormous user base and to grow your professional network is to participate in Facebook Groups. Facebook Groups is a feature that allows Facebook users to connect, discuss and network with one other within the context of a common interest or topic.

Finding groups

There are groups on Facebook representing just about every topic under the sun. To find the right group for your professional aspiration, think of topics that will motivate you, allow you to connect with others of professional interest, and allow you to gain insight into your industry/skill set – groups around these topics are the ones where you will find professionals for networking.

Once you find a group that interests you, it is a good idea to evaluate whether or not it will be a good fit before joining and pouring much time into it.

What to look for in a professional group

There are millions of groups on Facebook, so how many should you join and which ones? Joining too many might prove to be unmanageable, so it is a good idea to only join the ones that you can actually see yourself participating in.

Group participation

Once you have joined a group, it is time to start participating. This is where the real fun begins and the true business value will happen. Below is an example workflow I would recommend following upon joining a professional group. It is a great way to show your presence in the group and get some professional networking activity under your belt.

Once you have the basics down, professional networking on Facebook is very similar to professional networking in real life. The same rules and etiquette apply. As you build your professional network on Facebook you’ll be able to use those contacts for job hunting, business development, and more.