9 Tips to Make Money on Facebook

This post is in partnership with Inc., which offers useful advice, resources and insights to entrepreneurs and business owners. The article below was originally published at Inc.com.

With a 13-year track record of helping network marketing organizations and small businesses achieve unprecedented growth, Jim Lupkin decided it was time to share his strategies with the world. He turned to best-selling author, Brian Carter. Carter, trusted by brands like NBC, Microsoft, and PrideStaff, has guided businesses to 800 percent profits and higher with Facebook marketing.

After reading Lupkin’s case study on a network marketing company that grew over seventy-million in sales with his approach, Carter knew it was time for the pair to co-author a book. The authors are quick to mention, however, that Network Marketing For Facebook is not valuable to only the network marketing industry. “We were not surprised to hear that sales professionals and entrepreneurs love the book too,” says Carter. “These techniques will work for your business if your personal brand is part of the sales process.”

Why Facebook you may ask? “Wouldn’t it make sense to join the community with the most people?” says Lupkin. “Facebook has more than one billion users and is five times more popular than the next most popular social network.”

Here’s just a taste of what you’ll find inside the cover of Network Marketing For Facebook.

1. Create an appealing Facebook profile.

When someone knows, likes and trusts you, they’re more willing to hear about your business. Your profile gives you this opportunity when you use your profile picture; cover image, and “about” section properly.

Choose a professional profile picture. Use your cover image to give people a snapshot of your personality. A complete “about” section makes you more credible and rounds out your personality.

2. Post publicly on Facebook.

Your goal is to let your friends know what you do for a living and how you can help them. For example, if you’re a realtor:

Hey everybody! As you may know, I love helping people find their dream home. If you know anyone that needs assistance, please message me.

If you’re an insurance rep:

Hey there! As you may know, I love helping families be protected from unforeseen tragedies. If you know anyone that needs life insurance, please message me.

3. Use Facebook Messenger.

It is like email, but better. If you’ve previously conversed with a prospect and you’re getting ready to talk to them again, you can quickly review all your previous talks in one place.

If you haven’t spoken to a friend in a while, make sure to re-establish the relationship first. You don’t want them to feel like you are only reaching out for business. You can say, “Hey! We haven’t spoken in a while. How have you been?” Only chat about your products if they ask what you do.

4. Send messages based on past conversations and what you know about a friend.

A realtor example:

Hey Tom! I know you love houses with a view, and I seem to remember you were looking for a house. Well, check out this amazing lake view property! Do you want to come see it with me?

An insurance rep:

Hey Alicia! I know we’re both family people, and it’s been awesome to see yours grow up on Facebook. I was super glad to find out about this new life insurance option our company just created. It provides for families like no other policy I’ve seen. Do you want to hear more about it?

5. Keep the conversation going.

It’s exciting to have someone respond to your messages! Thank them for the response, give them additional information: pictures, videos and details of your offering, and then let them know what is the next step.

If you don’t hear back, send them a message once a week asking if they wanted to take the next step. Be patient. Not everyone checks Facebook daily.

6. Stay in touch.

It’s only a matter of time until friends want your product. Stay in touch on Facebook by posting quality content and interacting with your friends’ posts. Posting quality content is a balance between business and personal: Too much of either can result inf ailure. Be personal 80% of the time. People do business with those they have the best relationship with; so post about what’s on your mind. Post about business the other 20%.

The more you interact with your friend’s posts, the more your business posts appear in their newsfeed. Your friends will also see you as a true friend, not someone just trying to sell them products. When you comment on a friend’s post, write from the heart. Treat it the same as when you talk face to face.

7. Grow your friends to grow your income.

With over a billion users, Facebook offers an unlimited amount of people to talk to if you take the time to build relationships. Facebook’s Graph Search solves the new prospect obstacle by opening up their entire database to you. All you need to do is take the time to reach out and build relationships.

8. Create a group for support and inspiring sales teams.

Whether you’re a manager motivating a team, or have a group of industry peers who want to support each other, Facebook Groups are the answer. You can move mountains when you belong to a group of passionate people working toward the same goals, supporting each other every day.

Once you start your group, post at least a few times a week. It could be a question, words of motivation, pictures, or videos. Always like and comment on what others are posting as well. Groups are like live events happening 24 hours a day. When run correctly, it will become the cornerstone of your success.

9. Remember, Facebook is part of the strategy, not the whole strategy.

Facebook connects you to new people and helps you develop relationships. However, you still need to talk with people face to face, over the phone, and at events. They also need to experience a “taste” of your offering.