You will never have enough friends, whether online or in real life. By using online social media tools such as Facebook, intelligently choosing the information placed on your profile as you communicate online, you can create a wide network of friends with old and new online friends.
Step
Part 1 of 3: Creating an Attractive Profile
Step 1. Use a profile photo that shows your face, it's better if you smile
Your Facebook profile photo and cover photo are the first two things people who visit your page will see, so make them both attractive and visually friendly.
- When choosing a profile photo, choose a photo that shows a smile, eyes, or a moment where you seem expressive and friendly.
- Don't use a logo or brand as a profile photo, because you'll look like a spam page or someone trying to sell something to people you're friends with.
- Try not to use photos of your pet or photos of you hanging out with other people, as this will make it difficult for other people to know who they are friends with.
- Your cover photo (the big picture at the top of your Facebook profile) should also look friendly and personal. A cover photo can show a combination of your photos in a small form or a full picture that describes you as a whole.
Step 2. Fill out the About page with decent, but not too much, information
As you fill out the About page, keep thinking about all your friends who will read this information. So fill it with personal information, but not to the point that it's really personal which will distract others or become information overload to share on Facebook's public forums.
- Listing your interests, favorite movies, and favorite books on the About page will make it easier for others to recognize your tastes and determine if you are a good fit for friends, but keep in mind that these are considered "extras" to your profile and are not required when creating a Facebook profile page.
- Be aware that Facebook may sell your information to marketing groups or third parties who will use the data to better market products to you. So, be careful with a lot of information about yourself being shared on Facebook.
Step 3. Connect your Facebook profile with other social media sites
If you have used platforms like Instagram, Twitter, and Tumblr, you can link your Facebook account with your other accounts so that when you upload a photo or write a comment on those platforms, it will also appear on Facebook. This will allow you to share more with your friends and more people will read one of your posts.
- Use this feature with care, so you don't over-share a post or overwhelm your friends' Facebook pages with your online activity.
- If you share a tweet from Twitter on a Facebook page, try to remove all hashtags used in the original tweet. Hashtags will appear repetitive and unnecessary when posted on Facebook.
Step 4. Decide whether you want the profile to be public or private
While sharing all of your personal preferences, likes and dislikes in making new friends can be tempting, keep in mind that this information may also become public information for potential employers, ex-lover, and family members. Adjust your Facebook privacy settings to ensure that your weekend photos only appear on friends' news pages, and be careful about the amount of information you share with others. Take advantage of the 4 basic privacy settings on Facebook and apply them to your profile, posts, bookmarks and more:
- Everyone: Gives access to all internet users.
- Friends: Grants access only to Facebook friends only.
- Friends of Friends: Gives access to your friends as well as their friends.
- Custom: Grants access only to people of your choice, including certain people and networks.
- Use the reader selector tool to decide how public or private the status you just wrote or photos uploaded by friends or yourself will be.
- You can also set the privacy of future posts or bookmarks, which you may write yourself or have written by someone else. That way, you can make sure you really know what you're sharing with your friends and what will stay private. That way, you can keep your profile friendly and stay in control of how much other people can find out about you.
Part 2 of 3: Finding New Friends Online
Step 1. Use the search tool to find people you might know from other social groups
Look up the names of friends at school, work, and weekly reading groups to see if they also use Facebook and send them friend requests.
Start with people you know directly from other social groups as well as relatives or family friends who might use Facebook
Step 2. Enter your email contacts into Facebook
It's a quick and easy way to start building friendships, especially if you're new to Facebook. All you have to do is upload all the contacts you have to Facebook and Facebook will add them to your friends list automatically.
- To do this, you'll need a.csv file containing all your contacts. If you're using Microsoft Outlook, just remove your contacts with the export feature, and if you're using Gmail or Hotmail, click the contacts section and look for the export option in the settings menu.
- Make sure that you screen your email contacts before uploading them to Facebook, because sometimes work and old contacts can get mixed up in it. Don't add people you're connected to purely for work. Also, it's best if you don't add people you no longer relate to or interact with because they'll most likely just be people who don't like your Facebook page or don't accept your friend requests.
Step 3. Take a look at the “People You May Know” feature
Once you've started adding people you know from social groups such as school, work, or recreational groups, Facebook will start displaying profiles of people you may know through your current friends.
Facebook will also show you the same number of friends that your potential friend has so you can find out how you know the person and also be sure that the person is not very stranger
Step 4. Join online groups that interest you
Maybe you want to support a political idea, or maybe you're looking for a network of people who are also passionate about the television shows you enjoy. Use the search box to find out if groups that match your interests are on Facebook, then join them.
- By joining a group filled with like-minded people or interests, you'll be writing and sharing with a large community whose members may become your Facebook friends.
- If you see an interesting post in a group you're in, reply to it and start a dialogue with the person who posted the comment or link. This dialogue will probably develop into a friend request.
Step 5. Add a personal note to the friend request
It's a good idea to explain your relationship with the person or introduce yourself, because that way, the person is more likely to accept your friend request if they know your relationship or remember how they knew you.
- For example, if you're sending a friend request to someone who is also in the West African Music Appreciation group, add a friendly note to the request to clarify how you know each other and you feel it would be great if the two of you were friends.
- Also, if you're sending a friend request from a friend, add a note about your same friend.
Step 6. Share and write on your friends wall
With your presence on a friend's wall, your posts or comments will appear on your friends' news pages, then will also appear on their friends' news pages, so that they will be spread in the endless cycle of Facebook friendships.
Not only will you get more friend requests by sharing and commenting on your friends wall, new friends will also get to know more about who you are online and what topics you like to talk about or share with others
Part 3 of 3: Be a Good Online Friend
Step 1. Show your characteristics and don't be afraid to behave quirky or funny
Don't be afraid to show your crazy side on Facebook. After all, your goal is for people to get to know you better and an easy way to do that is to express your thoughts and emotions in an honest way.
- In fact, posts about personal travels, personal stories, or even a funny story experienced that day tend to get the most likes and comments.
- And of course, always keep in mind the over-information rule and try to only share the information you want to share with casual friends or people in general. Don't step over other people's comfort zones, and if you decide to share too much information, be prepared to lose some Facebook friends!
Step 2. Ask a friend to share their opinion
Just like in real life, friendship on Facebook is a two-way relationship. So don't fill your news page or profile wall with everything about you. Write a question to your friends in status or ask your friends to share what they are thinking or how they are feeling in a comment.
When in doubt, ask a question that can be answered yes or no to start the conversation, then respond as quickly as possible to keep the conversation with friends going
Step 3. Make your writing varied and meaningful
Remember that on Facebook, quality comes first, not quantity. So make all your writing interesting by telling your bad day, wishing a friend a happy birthday, and sharing a funny video or photo of your favorite internet cat.
By keeping your presence on Facebook interesting and full of different things to write or share, your friends will continue to be part of all your writing
Step 4. Don't try to sell or promote products on your personal Facebook page
Maybe you own your own clothing store or sell bow ties for cats on the side, but your personal Facebook profile friends don't want to see promotions for your latest products. Save product promotions for your business page and don't let it overwhelm your personal page.
Always think about your readers before you write anything on Facebook. If the information you want to write is more suitable for your Facebook business page or a private message to someone interested in your business, then place the information in the appropriate place and don't overwhelm your friends' news pages
Step 5. Keep the number of posts and status updates at a reasonable rate
Constant updates of status and new posts 24 hours a week will be annoying and cause people to unfriend you and reject you in friend requests.
Try to write down two or three things in a day at different times to reach all your friends and not seem like the person who fills the news pages
Tips
- Keep in mind that most friendships are online only, so don't feel too bad if someone doesn't accept your friend request. Facebook has 1.19 billion users worldwide, so there are definitely people out there you can make friends with!
- Be wary of friend requests from people you don't know or add notes about how they know you. There are many fake accounts and spam accounts on Facebook that try to take advantage of you when their friend request has been accepted. When in doubt, check the person's Facebook page to make sure they look like a real person and that you recognize the person or anyone else who recognizes them.
- Never give out any personal information to someone you don't know on Facebook.
