Guest post by Deanna Proach

Not long ago Facebook contained a social stigma where everybody used it solely for the purpose of bragging rights, gossip and to measure each other based on the quantity of friends they have on their list and by the number of comments and likes they receive by people. While this is still true to some people, the tables seem to be turning quick. Business owners, entrepreneurs and wrters, are increasingly using Facebook to grow their customer/client base and to make lasting connections with industry experts. This is because industry experts are creating business pages and/or groups designed just for the purpose of networking. Nowadays, they are very easy to find.

Months prior to the release of my first book, Day of Revenge, I connected with Apex Reviews on Facebook–a book review/promo company that gave Day of Revenge a four-star review and also produced a stellar book video trailer. Several months later, I received a message from Apex Reviews on Facebook–a message that had been sent en-mass to several people–listing a new traditional publisher–PULSEpub–that was looking for authors. At that time, I was working on my second novel, To be Maria, so I wasn’t quite ready for the submissions stage. However, I bookmarked the PULSEpub website and kept them in mind until I felt good and ready to email the editorial team a standard submission form–a query letter, synopsis and first three chapters.

Well, in May of 2012 I signed a contract with PULSEpub for the publication of To be Maria. This is the largest achievement I’ve made via networking on Facebook.

As hard as this is to imagine at times, it is real: Facebook can be your # 1 site for networking. If it worked for me, it can work for you too.

Image via CrunchBase

Here are three tips to help you gain the best results from your networking effort on Facebook.

– In the search bar, type in key words that best describes the industry you’re specialized in. For example; if you’re a writer, you may want to type a combination of keywords like, ‘writing groups’, ‘groups for writers’, ‘freelance writers’, ‘magazines’, or ‘book promotion services’ if you are a published author. You can also check out the pages your fellow scribes have Liked and Like those pages as well.

– Once your request to become a part of a group on Facebook has been accepted, or you have liked a business page you find helpful, take the time to interact with the people on that page or in that group. The best way to network with people on Facebook is to comment on various posts. You’ll find out soon enough if the particular group is friendly, unfriendly or unresponsive to your comments. If you find the people rude or unresponsive, ignore them, leave the group or Unlike the page and find another group/page to get involved with.

– Once you have found a group/page that you love, one you find friendly and supportive, comment frequently, and visit the page at least once or twice a day, depending on how active the group/page administrator is. You never know what good opportunity may crop up. Once you find that golden nugget, whatever that may be, you can then take your networking to the next level.

So don’t turn down the possibility of using Facebook as a networking tool. It may just be the best place to build your name and to land a potentially lucrative business opportunity.

You can learn more about Deanna Proach at http://desstories.blogspot.com. ‘To be Maria’ is available for purchase on Kindle, Nook, ePUB and PDF.