InspirACTION

Building Effective Friend Request Videos for Facebook

The video above describes some critical points for creating your “Thank you for accepting my friend request” video on Facebook.

Why Create a Friend Request Video?

1. Save time – Introduce yourself quickly.
2. Connect – Bring emotion and personality into the relationship immediately.
3. Personal Branding – Nothing says personal branding like you behind the video camera.
4. Reach – Gain new followers through tagging new people in your video.

How to Use Your Video Effectively

• Upload it to Facebook or YouTube.
• Tag new friends in the video or send them the link in YouTube.
• Use it specifically for people who don’t include messages with their friend requests.
• Best employed when people request YOU to be their friend.
  

I’ve embedded my current Facebook “Thank you for extending your friendship” video for your viewing pleasure. I’m thinking about making a new one soon because I feel I might have “outgrown” this one – but you’ll get the idea.

My friend Mandee Widrick from MandeeWidrick.com has all the ingredients for what I consider to be an EXCELLENT friend request video. I think the goat just tops it off  :)

The Key Ingredients for an Effective Friend Request Video

Appearance – Pay attention to the surroundings you choose and the way you present yourself. What is it saying about your personal brand? Is it in alignment?

Express Interest – People respond best when given a little bit of attention. Express genuine interest or openness to the other person and watch conversation flow. Spend more time talking about them instead of you. The book How to Win Friends and Influence People changed the way I connect with people on Social Media forever.

Never Pitch – Whatever you do, in a friend request video, just don’t pitch your site. You can talk about what you do, real estate for instance, but don’t pitch your website it’s not going to resonate with many people and might turn a lot of people off. You can talk about how you are in real estate, and then the questions will follow from those who have a genuine interest.

Tagging – Tag the right people. If someone sent you a personal message with their friend request it is typically better to respond with a message rather than just a video.

So What’s the Big Deal??

Think about this, what’s the BEST part about doing a friend request video? When you tag people in it you get incredible reach! Not only are you introducing yourself to your new friend, but their entire network as well. I’d say for every 2-3 people I tag in my video, I get an additional friend request from someone in their list. Not bad!

For your other MONSTER tip, and how to “one up” the technique described here today, you’re going to have to watch the entire video Some things you just can’t put into writing!

I also wanted to let everyone know that my business partner, Cory Shanes, is running our first Free webinar training TONIGHT 7pm EST – June 20st.

Whenever I have an issue with my blog, Cory takes care of me. With our powers combined, we can teach you just about everything social media from the technical aspects of blogging to the intangible art of forging impeccable relationships with an online following.