Alternatives to Befriending Clients on Facebook

http://www.ideafit.com/fitness-library/should-you-be-facebook-ldquofriendsrdquo-with-clients
Should You Be Facebook "Friends" With Clients ?
Career Path: Discover the pros and cons of connecting to professional contacts on Facebook.
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Even if you’d rather not mix business with pleasure on Facebook, you can still benefit from online social networking to garner professional contacts. Here are a few alternatives to adding clients/prospects to a Facebook friends list:

• Sign up for LinkedIn.com, which is a professionally focused social network. Invite clients who approach you on Facebook to join your LinkedIn network instead.

• Set up your own network specifically for clients and prospects so you can cater to their needs and interests without worrying about crossing professional boundaries. Try these free sites: Ning.com or Meetup.com.

• Create a Facebook Group (it takes just minutes to set up) and funnel clients into that network. Hosting a Facebook Group allows you to stayed connected to clients without having to add them to your friends community. You can e-mail all members of the group at once, start discussion forums and post videos and photos. To see examples, log on to IDEA’s Facebook Group or the Active Voice Writing Service Facebook Group.

Amanda Vogel, MA, is a fitness professional in Vancouver, British Columbia. She owns Active Voice, a writing, editing and consulting service that helps fitness pros and organizations improve the quality and effectiveness of their promotional and educational material. Read her fitness writing tips at http://fitnesswriter.blogspot.com/.

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