Social Media Marketing: Facebook Follow Requests

If you want people to follow you on Facebook, complete your bio!

I often get Facebook follow requests from people I don’t know. If they are book authors, I follow back. If they are Facebook blanks, I don’t follow back.

If you want people to follow you on any social media, before you make a request to them, be sure to complete your About section or bio.

Below, for example, is a request I received today from George Bachir. I don’t know George personally and I don’t know if he is a book author. All I know is that he lives in Toronto and studied at the University of Toronto.

What I also don’t know is if he’s ever been in a relationship, if he’s ever worked, does he have any family, etc. And no contact info: no website, no email, no phone. And no top banner that might give me a hint at some of the above info.

I did discover with a little more sleuthing (which I would never have done if I weren’t writing this book marketing tip) that he speaks French and Arabic as well as English. Cool. But not enough to follow him since I don’t speak either French or Arabic.

I get these connection requests all the time on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and LinkedIn — often without an image. Note: I never follow anyone who doesn’t have an image in their social media profile. I know very few people who will follow such anonymous blanks.

So, before asking me or anyone else to follow you, do the work. Complete your profile description. Tell people who you are. Post an image (I prefer to follow people who are real). Add any other details the social media allows you to add. And be sure, absolutely sure, to link to your website. Again, before you ask me to follow you!