Well, it finally happened. Facebook has made the new profile layout changes permanent.
For weeks now, I’ve been saying that we (entrepreneurs, business owners, etc.), who use Facebook for personal AND business reasons should have been using the new layout from jump street.
Now, we don’t have the option to use the old profile design. And, as I’m sure you’ve noticed, the changes have been dramatic.
Facebook has made things more streamlined and uniformed. In an effort to clear out the crap and clutter, they’ve also made it harder to differentiate your profile from the millions of others out there. You’ll soon find that most of the applications you were once so fond of using have now been relegated to a lonely tab known as “boxes.”
This is where our apps now go to die. But Facebook has being flooded with a ton of crap apps anyway… so this new application graveyard might not be such a bad idea after all.
So, what do all these changes mean to you — the business owner, the solopreneur, the young executive who has been using the site to connect with leaders and clients? In short, it means that it will be harder for you to attract the attention and eyeballs of those you wish to network and do business with.
That is, if you continue to do things the same way.
Although, it might not look like it initially, there are quite a few things we can do to take advantage of these new changes. I’ll go over five of these things below:
1. Fill out the “About Me” Bio Box
Nothing flashy and fancy here about this one. Just take a few minutes to fill out the brief bio box that can be found underneath your profile picture.
Like I said, it’s not much — but it goes a long way in helping you (and your profile) stand out. There are not a lot of people doing this now so the sooner you include your bio blurb, the better.
2. Add “Notes” as an Application Tab
Now, that Facebook has made the profile layouts more uniform and similar in appearance, maximizing the visual real estate on them has become even more important.
One way to do this is by taking advantage of the Application Tab list. If you have a blog, I highly recommend importing your posts to Facebook using your RSS feed. Once you’ve done that, move the Notes Application tab to the top of the tab list.
Now, when Facebook first added this feature, you were able to change the name of the Notes tab to whatever you desired (e.g. My Business Blog). However, it seems like Facebook has removed this option.
But, I still recommend adding your Notes app to the tab list. Hopefully, we’ll be able to edit the tab’s name again in the future.
3. Hyperlink, Hyperlink, Hyperlink!
Another feature that a lot of business owners and solopreneurs are not taking advantage of is the ability to add hyperlinks throughout our profiles.
There are three places where you should be actively linking to your blog, website, Twitter account, et cetera: 1) your status updates, 2) your about me bio box, and 3) your basic information section (which is edited under the Info tab and displayed in the Basic Information box on the wall).
4. Import using Facebook’s Publisher feature
One of the basic concepts of Facebook rests in their goal to make the sharing of information (notes, photos, videos, etc.) easier and more effective. Basically, Facebook wants you — its members — to use the site for this purpose.
The more you use the site, the more your message gets carried across and throughout the network… and the more visibility and exposure you gain. It’s the classic win-win situation.
In order to maximize Facebook’s viral nature, use their tools that allow you to import your “stories” from your other digitial presences. If you have a Youtube account, link it to your Facebook profile.
This way, when you create a new video, your friends (and even the friends of your friends will know about it). The same holds true for other services as well. Currently, I’m importing stories from my accounts at Flickr, Digg, Delicious, Youtube, and my blog.
5. Segment Your List
I can’t stress this enough. Segment your list! Technically, this feature has been a part of Facebook for a few months. However, new changes at Facebook allow you use your friends list in much more innovative and strategic ways.
At the very least, separate your personal friends from your business contacts. If you really want to get into it, start to drill down and segment your business contacts even further.
Do you have a lot of Twitter friends on Facebook? Create a list for them as well. How much you decide to segment your list is really up to you. Just make sure you’re at least doing it.
So, tell me… What are some of the things you’re doing to take advantage of the new changes at Facebook?
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16 comments ↓
great post partner.
keep up the great work.
Thanks, bro. And double thanks for kicking my butt to get me posting more often
Deontee, thanks for the update. Glad we have you to keep us in the know about what’s happening.
Thanks Debbie. Wonderful people like you make this more “play” than “work” for me.
Deontee….this is great information. I am including it on my blog….everyone that is using Facebook should be connected with you.
Deontee, thanks for divulging this info! I will implement your advice ASAP. Tweet you later.
Warmly,
Ron
Great advice. I haven’t done much with Facebook but that is going to change today. Thanks.
Last blog post from Bob Kleppin: Another Day another $0.24, getting richer!
Deontee, this is so helpful. I am truly not maximizing Facebook. I set up the account, added feeds and only check in on occasion. I switched to the new layout when it was rolled out, but I did not realize you could segment your list. Lots of tips here that I will implement. Thank you so much for sharing!
Last blog post from Karen Swim:
You saved my facebook page in one concise post. These tips are invaluable. I’ve been hating the new layout mostly because to learn it takes time away from other things I want to do, but you’ve made it simple and easy for me to follow. I’m implementing these changes tonight. Thanks so much.
Last blog post from Denise:
Deontee,
Great job and I will be implementing each item you listed today! Thanks for sharing and I can’t wait to hear more about your facebook tips and tricks.
-Joselin
Hey Deontee,
Great tips… I wasn’t aware of the hyperlink option. Will need to take advantage of that one.
I started segmenting my list but need to go back and finish. Thanks 4 the reminder.
Ann Rusnak
“The Time Diva”
Last blog post from Ann Rusnak ~ The Time Diva:
Mis - Thanks again for including this post on your blog… Hope your readers find it useful.
Hudson - No problem. All my pleasure, man!
Kleppin - Glad to see you’re starting to do some stuff on Facebook. It’s a great tool for business. I swear by it. Let me know if there’s anything I can do to help you use the site.
Swim - Yeah, that friend list feature is a life saver. It’s also good for people who still want to have some kind of separation between their personal and professional lives.
- Thanks for the kind words. A lot of people aren’t liking the changes. But, I think that at the end of the day, it’ll be well accepted.
- Thanks man! I can’t thank you enough for your support.
Rusnak - Don’t mention it… just glad I was able to help a little.
This might be a dumb question, but how do you do this: “I highly recommend importing your posts to Facebook using your RSS feed.” I can’t seem to find any apps that allow that option.
This is a reallt great list you put together, thanks!
- Thanks for coming by to leave a comment… much appreciated! To answer your question, I decide to record a brief tutorial that shows me adding my RSS feed to Facebook. Let me know if it helps:
http://screencast.com/t/FLdQT0×4
Great Tips
Wish I knew these when I first got started!
I added the Twitter feed to my profile, so everything I do on Friendfeed and Twitter, is shown on my profile.
I find that posting it once (on Twitter) means both my Friendfeed *family* and my Facebook *family* also see my content.
Cenay’
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