The reality is Facebook is not your private diary.

In reports one and two, The Facebook Friends Experiment established the reasons to build a bigger audience for your brand and how to begin adding friends.

Now That I’ve Got More Friends, How Do I Interact With Them?

Chances are that once you’ve built a large friend base, that you may not know your new Facebook friends very well.  Here are a couple of tips to stay interactive and approachable:

• Post a new status update every day but no more than 3 times a day.  Status update is a great way to let people know what you’re doing or how you feel about something benign, i.e. current movie.  Post a question to get a polled response!  Don’t post what you had for lunch, please!  Do post where you had lunch and if you liked the restaurant.  Don’t post your political views, do post on solutions to political policies.  Be you…but don’t slam the door on people who have differing opinions.
• Facebook loves to notify you of other people’s birthdays.  Take advantage of this by wishing them well on their special day.  If you are at a loss for what to say, keep it to a simple “Happy Birthday!”
• Respond to others’ statuses. Try to set a goal of commenting on something interesting that one of your newfound friends says at least one a day.  Keep it light and fun, or pose a question.  Sincere flattery always works well.
• Don’t fritter away your time playing games.  Remember you are on Facebook to build your social network, not to waste time. Get on, do your thing, move on.  Set yourself a time limit of 10 minutes…then get back to work.

But I Want Facebook To Be Somewhere I Can Let Loose!

The truth of the Internet today is that nothing you say online is private.  Employers are checking Facebook accounts before they hire prospective employees.  By remembering Facebook is only one more tool to present your best business face, you will not only gain respect from your Facebook friends, you will create a legacy of integrity in communication with others.  Facebook is not a diary or a place to air your dirty laundry about your past employer.  Be a person that people can rely on to be even keeled and not a hothead.  High tempers and diva attitudes get old real fast.

If you want your Facebook to be your private place, that’s okay, too.  This report is to help those that want to take advantage of social media to do so.  Remember that Facebook allows fan pages, which you may find works better for your business.  Also, Mashable.com released a report on adding a Facebook like button to your web pages to increase views, which can be another way to keep Facebook handy but not entirely personal.  Darren Rowse of ProBlogger fame originally added friends to his Facebook account until he was at his friends limit (5000), whereupon he sent this message to unfriend everyone except family.  So, the friending technique in this report can be used until it doesn’t work for you anymore.  By that time, your business may be so popular you may not need it!

See Facebook Friends Experiment: Report Four to gain insight of the long-term goal:  promoting your business.

The odds are overwhelmingly good that even people you do not know will accept your friend request.

In report one, the Facebook Friends Experiment was explained as essentially adding every friend that Facebook suggests to add in order to achieve an audience to promote a product or a brand.  This is especially valuable for owners of small businesses or those that are self-employed but it can work well for large businesses with people who are invested wholly in its mission and values.

How Does Facebook Decide What Friends to Suggest?

Facebook’s friend suggestion is an automatically generated list based upon the friends you already have.

Underneath the friend suggestion, it displays how many mutual friends you have in common with this person.  Facebook will suggest from one mutual friend to an infinite number of common friends.  The highest number of mutual friends I achieved in this experiment was 43.  Typically, the number of mutual friends will be lower until your friend base is over 200.  From there Facebook seems to be able to generate suggestions faster, as well as find common friends because of a larger mutual friend group.

One downside of adding friends from the suggestion box only is that future Facebook suggestion will be shaped upon who initially accepts your friend request.  For example, if many people accept your friend request that you formerly attended high school with, chances are your future friend suggestions will be more former high school acquaintances and the friends of those new Facebook friends.

I Don’t Know These People.  Why Would They Accept My Friend Request?

Depending on how many acquaintances, social groups and friendships you keep in ‘real life,’ you may or may not have any idea of the people now being suggested to you to add on Facebook.  This is all right!  Keep in mind that you are trying to build an audience, not a friendship in the literal sense of the word.   If you put in a request to add a Facebook friend that you do not know here are the outcomes:

1.     They accept your friend request.

2.     They do not accept your friend request, whereupon Facebook will stop suggesting you add them.

3.     They write you a message asking who you are and why you wish to be their friend.  You will respond telling them that you believe you have mutual friends and that Facebook suggested that you add them.  Most likely, they will add you.

4.     They accept your friend request to find out for themselves who you are.

Three out of four options have people accepting your friend request.  Good odds, isn’t it?  And now you have access to find out more about them and interact with them ‘where they live.’  You can’t beat a captive audience like this – better than a television commercial and more engaged than a radio spot.  But now what do you do with them?

See Facebook Friends Experiment: Report Three. It’s all about being authentically you.

Facebook is the commercial break from life.

What is the Experiment About ?

Facebook Friends Experiment  is using the power of the Facebook Friend Suggestion application to gain a larger friend list.  The basic premise is to add every person that Facebook suggests to add.  Facebook draws its suggestions from the people you are currently friends with.  As your list of friends grows, Facebook generates more friends based on your current friend list.

Why Conduct This Experiment?

There are many reasons people may want a larger friend base.  Some people play a ‘numbers game,’ where the person with the most friends is determined to be the most popular.  Some people connect their self-esteem with the amount of friends listed, even if they haven’t talked to those friends for years.  Some people are merely social.  Some are interested in everyone’s gossip (think of the old party telephone lines).  Some people like the interaction with a crowd.  Some just like to lurk.  Some join up for the photos…sometimes it’s the only way to see one another!

The reasons for this experiment contain none of the reasons above.  Besides wanting data to see exactly how one does get a large friends base, it should also be noted that social media is a ‘commercial break’ from life.  Interactions with ‘friends’ can also be interactions with potential clientele, depending on your business.  By keeping your list of friends growing, you are potentially grooming an audience following.  Social media is the new business model.

Sounds Like Using People, Doesn’t It?

In a word, no.  Simply slapping up your product will not encourage Facebook friends to buy your stuff.  They may get so tired of it they remove you as a Facebook friend altogether.  Social media still needs to be social.  And a friend has to be a friend, even in the Facebook world.  By keeping your status updates fun and friendly and having simple chit-chat with your growing list of friends, people will want to support you instinctively.  This is what good friends do!

See Facebook Friends Experiment: Report Two for more information of what happened next and why.