The Art of the Facebook Friend Request

The (Lost?) Art of the Facebook Friend Request
The Facebook Friend Request seems to have become a bit of a lost art. I can’t count the number of times people have requested me without sending me a message or telling me why it is that they friended me. So annoying! I mean, lets put it this way – when you send a friend request to someone without a message attached, it’s like walking up to someone in a social setting and then not saying anything. Um, awkward! Thankfully, I’ve found a way to deal with the awkwardness by getting the conversation started with my own friend request video but that’s a topic for another day.

Lets hit a few of the factors that are *MUSTS* when it comes to sending friend requests and making connections online.

The Must-Dos of a Facebook Friend Request

1. Attach a message to the friend request itself. Include why you want to be friends, or where you found this person or why you were intrigued.

2. If you found the person through content somewhere on the web – leave a comment there.

3. Send a personal message to their inbox with similar content to your friend request message.

You’re going to notice that you get a much higher response rate on your friend requests. Not only will more people accept them, they will do it faster, and you will learn more about this person and create a stronger link with them. By interacting with people immediately after connecting with them, you automatically distinguish yourself above the 80-90% of people who say nothing at all! This is such an easy way to become memorable!

Bonus Tips for Connecting
1. Show genuine interest. Take a minute to peruse their profile, find something in common with them or something about them that intrigues you. For instance, People always enjoy it when you acknowledge that you can learn from each other. Think about this, who do you enjoy talking to most? Someone who shares in the conversation and allows you to speak – or someone who spends all their time talking at you? People love having the opportunity to talk and express themselves.

2. Ask a question. What better way to interact or get people to talk than to ask a question! Just by checking out someone’s profile and seeing the conversations they have or what they have posted in their interests will give you a really good feel for what they are passionate about. When you ask a question at the end of your first message, gear it towards something you know is central to their life. Then, let them do the talking 😉

3. Talk less about yourself, and gear the conversation towards them. This includes no personal links or website promotion! Trust me, people will ask YOU about what you do, and then that is your opportunity to drop a link. Never EVER do this straight out of the gate. People will believe from then on out that you are more interested in business than a personal relationship and that’s difficult to recover from.

What are some of your best practices when it comes to sending your friend requests or making your initial connection with people online?