Step Five - How To Make Facebook Work For Free

This month I am writing for people who wonder how to use Facebook for their Alexander Technique practise: if you don't feel confident in knowing the definitive difference between a timeline and a page, or a personal profile and a newsfeed, or how to use those in your business, then I can give you some important insights about that. Explaining how Facebook works is an industry, and if you want state-of-the-art, daily revelations, my blog is not the source. Understand that there's a team of FaceBook people changing this beast everyday. I read recently that FaceBook continuously runs around 32,000 customer surveys. Experts always qualify their advice with "at the moment". I say the same! However, if you want some clear explanations on how YOU can use Facebook effectively for your Alexander Technique practise, then this month's blog is for that. I've been enrolled in a year study program for several months with one of America's top experts, and have been spending time and money making Facebook adds. We are also experimenting in Japan with Facebook in the Alexander Technique Music niche. If you want to learn more, and join in the detailed discussions in our Facebook group, it's not too late to sign up and to develop a clearer plan on how to use Facebook for your Alexander Technique practise. Don't you want your practise to work? You need education for that. How Personal Do You Want To Be In Facebook? [NOTE: This second half of my blog is a paid area describing practical ways to implement what has been described above in a Facebook group with other teachers and students. You can join anytime to be part of their discussions.] Last time I wrote about Facebook, I offered the radical idea that you should forget about a Page, and work on building your Friends list.

There is a big difference between a person becoming your Facebook Friend, and a person Liking your page. One reason I advised against a Page is because Alexander Technique is quite cultish, so being up close and personal is a stronger way to start converting people to your work. People don't Friend you because you sell wonderful toothpaste, but they want to Friend the person who can turn around their life. I also advised you to build your Friends list first, because I know most Alexander Technique teachers are not going to spend money on Facebook adds, and the new reality today is a Facebook Page is for giving you access to paid advertising. You can not place adds to Friends - Facebook will not allow it. There is no way to directly target your Friends with paid posts. However, if you pay, you can easily get posts in front of anyone who Liked your page. It is not expensive, and can be highly effective. I will be writing more about this later in the month. In this case - set up a Page, and start getting people to Like it. That's step one. However, if you are not able or willing to spend money on adds, then put your focus on building your Friends. The only way to get posts in front of Friends is to engage them in your timeline i.e. the posts you put up each day on your Facebook wall. Be active, be focused, be human. This all depends on you having a clear niche. With a clear niche, there is focus. With focus, there is a chance of developing a Friend following. These days, all my new Friend requests come from Alexander Technique teachers who have heard about my work. I am a little lazy with my Facebook page, and usually only post my blog to my timeline. It's a mistake. Be Active If I take my own advice, I would start posting more thoughts about what is happening in my business: special little insights I had today, a photo of me with some of my CareerThinking students in Japan - stuff like that. Every day. Several times a day - even better. Right now I don't. Once I did, when I was building up personal coaching in Japan. It was during the end of my marriage: I spent about two years posting little vignettes about my inner life - Véronique was a real fan of these - which were translated into Japanese, but my family and friends hated it. When sending through a new Friend request, a long-time friend explained: "I had to defriend you because I couldn't bear reading you any more!" At least he saw them. If you don't want to have your "other" Friends encumbered by niche-related posts, then a Page could also suit you better. On your timeline, there are ways to select different groups, but honestly as you start down this path, it starts getting complicated. Keep it simple - try not to be three different people. Just be one person. This will all come together when you have a clear, lifelong niche strategy to follow. This is the path, going to a Page doesn't solve this problem. Be Focused Yes, I can add family stuff, yes I can post links - but I must keep up the dialogue about how to grow your business. On your timeline, you must keep up the dialogue that your niche wants to read about. If your niche is not focused on a community - "Hey, my back was way better at the desk today" - then this strategy will not work for you. When people see my name, I want them to think "Oh, he's guy who helps Alexander Technique teachers build their business" and then decide if they want to read my post or not. I just don't post enough. An excerpt from my blog with a link doesn't cut it. My current strategy is about people clicking over to my blog, not about creating activity on my timeline. When your work is your whole life, this strategy will work. Your passion to share, to engage, to attract - these motivate you to share because you are always thinking about the same thing. Be Human When you have a regular blog, your "niched" Friends like to see more of your inside life. Not just about your family or friends, but ways you are planning and thinking about things. You can use these to keep them aware of your niche. Students love to see themselves mentioned, and want to know what you are doing. "Really looking forward to working this Saturday with Yoga teachers from Cincinnati - Joyce wrote and asked me: do I need to bring my mats? Yes Joyce - please bring it." or "Spent the afternoon writing my paper for the conference on why Cork is the best place in the world to live." Stuff like that. As I write this series on Facebook, I realise more clearly that Facebook is a tool to help engage your niche. When your niche is clear, so is Facebook. When you are confused about your niche, you will be confused about Facebook. What are your observations? https://www.facebook.com/groups/ATCSProMembers/