Don’t have a Facebook account?
http://www.facebook.com to sign up. Go to the Friends link up top and click on “Find Friends” to start your social network.

Photo
Upload a photo of yourself wearing your TNT training jersey.

What’s On Your Mind?
It’s the new status updates. If you have a blog, be sure to add your link to your post each time. You may post your fundraising page here, but don’t do it too frequently – you don’t want to spam people’s news feeds.

Basic Info
Click on your name on the top nav bar to view your own profile. The first thing you should do is click on the “Info” tab next to the “Wall” tab and click “Edit Information”. Under Personal Information, add some TNT keywords to your Activities, Interests, and About Me. Add that you’re training for a marathon. Under Contact Information, under Website, add all your links for your fundraising page, running blog, and/or other website profiles you may have.

Your Wall
Since you’re on your profile, you can automate your blog feeds to your wall too. Under the status update button, “share”, there’s a button called “settings.” Under “Stories Posted by You”, click on “Blog/RSS” and enter your blog URL. Your updates will be fed in as “Notes”, but it’s not in real time, so don’t be alarmed if it’s not there right away.

Interacting with other TNT
Check out the TNT Facebook Group’s Forum and meet those who have gone through the program. Also join our season’s Facebook Group and interact with your teammates!

Advanced
There’s plenty of other ways to use Facebook to help promote your fundraising. You can add apps, connect your Twitter updates to Facebook status updates, join Causes, start groups, create events, and more. I would suggest to create a Facebook Group instead of a Facebook Event to get people aware of your fundraising page, because an event will eventually expire. You can keep the group and use it for potential future seasons.

I hope this is a good start for those just getting into Facebook. Some may find this more useful than mass e-mailing, some don’t. Just think of it as another avenue to fundraise. I’m sure it will also open the doors to new ideas, and also making new friends. Good luck everyone!

I started a Twitter account about a year ago because too many interesting things were happening in my life that I wanted to document instantly. Twitter allowed me to do so because there were so many ways to update it, via text message, online through my phone, my laptop, and through various websites. Since I was starting my 3rd TNT season, I thought it would be a good way to let my friends & family know what’s going on with my training, and also my life. So I sent everyone my Twitter address (http://www.twitter.com/sketch678) so they could follow what’s up.

Throughout the season they would see my updates, from “We just ran 12 miles!”, “We’re eating a good breakfast at The Firehouse with my new teammates”, “Please donate to my page [link]“, “We’re having a fundraiser tonight! Come out!” to “7am is sooo early! I’m barely half awake!”. It was a fun way for my friends to see what I was going through. I also had Twitter followers whom I haven’t met in person, but were very encouraging throughout the season.

Come marathon day, I updated everyone who couldn’t make it to San Diego with regular updates from “We’re awake bright and early for the big event! Now where’s that bagel!”, “About to Start!”, “…mile 17!”, “mile 24!”, “0.2 to go!” to “Where’s that free beer everyone keeps talking about?”. It was also a way for my sister and parents to anticipate what mile I was at so they don’t have to always keep searching for me. It allowed them to move from the beginning of the course to the finish line, or also gave them time to grab a snack. People thought I was crazy updating while running, but it was fun! I got Twitter replies back with words of encouragement, which also helped (Thank you! you know who you are!). Of course, I wasn’t really concerned about time (especially if this will be your first marathon), so there I was, on my walk breaks, you’d find me updating and reading Twitter. Even though I wasn’t concerned with the time, AND I was Twittering, I still beat my PR (Personal Record) by 40 minutes! Maybe it was the virtual encouragement from friends and family, or that I had so many people engaged in the marathon experience with me, that it helped me focused on the finish line.

I’ve only touched the tip of how powerful Twitter is. It has truly helped me a lot, networking with many TNT participants, coaches, staff, and alumni across the country. We’re all a friendly bunch, and it’s a great way to find out more fundraising ideas. I’ll have more Twitter-type posts in the future, but I hope it was enough for you to consider trying it out.

If you haven’t noticed, I created a Twitter account for our Westside LA Chapter. Follow us here – http://www.twitter.com/westsidelatnt

Team In Training also has a Twitter account which has valuable fundraising tips – http://www.twitter.com/teamintraining

More Twitter links soon. I’m compiling a list of TNT participants, staff, and alumni – http://bit.ly/tnt_twitter