CHAPTER 01
Your profile is your showroom
When I wrote this article in 2011 and updated it in 2012, Facebook was changing how people met online. They connected, learned, worked and shared things with friends. For our highly communicative industry, that was a huge opportunity.
My image for it is simple: Your profile is your personal showroom. Your brand is on display there. And that brand is you.
When people want to know who you are, they look at your profile. What picture do they find? Something clear and appealing? Or something that leaves them wondering?
A good profile takes work. But it lets you connect where people already spend time, instead of having to bring every visitor to a separate website.
Platform features change. These 16 points from my workshop focus mainly on your presence and behaviour. The question behind them remains:
How attractive is your profile?
CHAPTER 02
1–4: What do you stand for?
1. Know your purpose
Will you use the profile privately with existing friends? Do you also want to meet new people and business contacts? Are you supporting a career, business, product or service?
Your purpose changes how you present yourself. Decide what you want before you start arranging the showroom.
2. Let people see you
For a business presence, show your face. A pet, child, car or cartoon does not introduce the person I would be working with. A friendly, open, business-casual photograph is a good beginning.
Let your cover image tell something of your story too. What matters to you? What are you building towards? A thoughtful selection of images can encourage people to explore further.
You do not need advanced design skills. A simple design tool can do the job. Creativity matters more than complexity.
3. Tell people about yourself
Include some history, but give more attention to where you want to go and what you believe in. Share your vision, dreams and goals.
Why do you do what you do? That makes you more interesting than a list of facts alone. Present yourself well without overdoing it. Stay authentic.
4. Choose photographs and videos carefully
Less can be more. Return to the purpose of your profile. Do the images support your brand? If you work in nutrition but mostly display parties, smoking and drinking, your message becomes confusing.
Do not turn the profile into an indiscriminate product catalogue either. People want to know you. They may switch off if they feel like a sales target. Discuss products when the interest is there.
Be selective about tagging friends. Share videos people will enjoy: experiences, meaningful moments and something of your life. Friends want to be engaged and entertained, rather than constantly educated.
CHAPTER 03
5–8: What value do you add?
5. Original content needs a reason
The original workshop called this point “Notes”, after a Facebook feature of the time. The underlying question applies to longer posts too: Do you have something worthwhile of your own to share?
As a newcomer, you do not need a personal blog immediately. Share useful content from your upline when you genuinely relate to it. Add why it matters to you.
6. Protect your attention
Back then, it was Farmville and game invitations. The principle is still straightforward: If you are using the platform for business, do not let applications and distractions take over your time. A busy day online is not necessarily a productive business day.
7. Think before you post
Rule one: Think before you post. Rule two: Be proactive.
Your posts represent your activity. They can travel beyond your immediate friends. Give some thought to what you send into the world.
Share useful information or something entertaining. Thank people. Recognise friends and partners. Public insults and racism have no place here. Build trust through how you behave.
Responses can help you understand whether people find value in your contributions. Ask what you gave them, rather than simply how much you posted.
8. Comment for a reason
You do not need to comment on everything. Do it when you can add value or show genuine appreciation. Sometimes a like is enough.
If you disagree with someone, avoid creating a public battlefield. Move a personal conflict into a direct conversation. A phone call can accomplish more than another twenty comments.
CHAPTER 04
9–12: Build the right community
9. Share for your audience
Sharing is a powerful way to spread relevant information. But something fascinating to you may be of little interest to your friends.
Will it help them? Does it fit the community you are building? Do you stand behind it? That leads to rule three: Know your community.
10. Friendship is not a sport
The number of friends is not the important part. A community in which people benefit from one another is.
Choose connections consciously. Look at profiles. If someone only wants access to your contacts, spams them or uses your presence to promote themselves, draw a boundary.
At the same time, connect with people you can learn from: leaders, company executives and experienced partners. Ask your upline who could be valuable to know.
If somebody does not know you, introduce yourself and explain why you would like to connect. That starts a relationship better than a random request.
11. Your connections say something too
The original point concerned the pages you like. The idea is that your public connections help shape your own image.
Follow relevant sources and choose pages that add value to you and your community. You do not need to belong everywhere.
12. Understand your privacy
Be deliberate about what private information you share and with whom. Explore the available settings instead of leaving everything to chance.
CHAPTER 05
13–16: Keep your showroom alive
13. Do you need your own public page?
Some industry leaders run their own public pages. That does not automatically mean you need one too.
In the workshop, I gave three reasons for creating one: You are publicly known in your field. You regularly have content for a wider audience. Or you want to run a specific advertising campaign.
Without a clear purpose, put your attention into a good personal presence first. Another empty page does not create a relationship.
14. Links are recommendations
An external link takes people away from your profile. What they find should deliver what you led them to expect. Link with care. Your recommendations help define your brand.
15. Maintain your profile
Keep the showroom attractive. Notice what appears there, whether posted by you or by others.
Post regularly on your own profile. Your contributions need not be long or sound terribly clever. A genuine glimpse of your day can help friends know you better.
There is a real person behind the profile, with real feelings. Remember personal birthday wishes and small signs of attention. Write with care. You are developing relationships.
16. Show people your profile
Once your presence feels right, let people see it. A profile can represent you around the clock. Use its address as a contact reference where it helps people learn about you.
If you already have a profile, review it through a new visitor's eyes. Does it serve the purpose you have now? What needs tidying, adding or clarifying?
CHAPTER 06
Visible online. Connected in person.
My original call was direct: Do not hide from the online world. People want a way to find out who you are. A credible digital presence can help enormously.
But do not confuse the tool with the whole business. I would not attempt to build network marketing solely through Facebook. Community and culture take more than a polished profile.
For me, this remains a flesh-and-blood, face-to-face business. Use the internet to begin and deepen connections. Keep the people at the centre.
All the best, Sven