Believe me, I've read more than a few excellent books on real estate investing and real estate law, But I am a better Gregory Yates lawyer and man shit than I do ten years ago caused by the practice, practice and more practice. There is only a substitute for the experience. The Period. If there is a settlement that is easy and quick to do this, we'll all do it. You live, you learn, you move onto the next deal and you (hopefully) better each time.Gregory Yates Attorney
Saturday, December 7, 2013
Monday, October 21, 2013
How to win an election
I have to confess, as a blogger I have always loved city elections the most. Yea, they aren't as fun in terms of policy as state and federal elections where I can feed my inner wonk, but everyone loves a good train wreck.
And candidates for city elections have a tendency to be walking train wrecks. Its the place where the ankle-biters, weirdos, nutcases, and the eccentric try their hand a politics.
But since this is the holiday season, I feel like being generous so I'll tell you exactly How to win an election in this town. This is a total freebie people. And don't worry, I'm not giving away the nuclear launch codes here. I'm just telling you what has worked for WINNING campaigns.
Friday, October 4, 2013
Sunday, September 29, 2013
Facebook Business Page, Not Your Facebook Profile - Every Time
By
Katherine Hanson
Business No-Brainers: Why You Should Use A Facebook Business Page Not Your Facebook Profile!
I was compelled to write this three-part article after meeting so many business owners who have not yet realised the benefits of a Business Page for their brand, products or services and are, in my opinion, really missing a trick. And then there are those who either misunderstand the separate entity concept of a Facebook Business Page or mistakenly think that it gives people a portal to their private lives online. I have even met business owners who to my dismay have set up multiple Facebook accounts with separate log-ins - so much unnecessary work for them.
1. Personal vs. Private
A Facebook Profile and Business Page are (nearly) mutually exclusive and lead very separate lives providing you always remember to post updates as your Page. Whilst there is a limit to what is 'public' on your Facebook Profile unless somebody is friends with you, if you are still concerned about the distinction, it doesn't do any harm to lock down the settings even further if you wish to - Facebook gives you the flexibility and control to do this.
On the flip side, putting yourself in the shoes of your family and friends, they probably don't want to see an update on your business every time they log in to Facebook same as you wouldn't want to read about a friend's job every time you did. Of course, if they have chosen to Like your Business Page then it's a different story but keeping the two separate in the first place gives everybody the option and upholds an individual's preferences.
Thereafter you have one universal log-in and there is no limit to the number of Pages you can create and administer.
2. It's Not About You!
There is nothing more frustrating than clicking on a Facebook icon on a website for it to then take you to somebody's Facebook Profile. This looks amateurish and as if you don't have a handle on how to use Facebook for business. I have lost count of the number of times this has happened to me and when it does, rather than taking the time to find out if there is in fact a separate Page, I simply turn off and close the webpage.
I am not personally in the habit of sending friend requests to people I don't know, but say in this instance I did? So, I've landed on a Facebook Profile by clicking on the Facebook follow button on a website and sent a friend request. This has now been accepted. BUT I still don't receive business updates, but rather the photos, comments, friend updates, etc. of not only the person in question but their friends as well who I equally don't know from Adam. Have I made my point?
3. Brand Newsfeed
A Page Newsfeed or Timeline is the equivalent of your Email Marketing on Facebook and underpins your success in reaching and engaging with people. Think of it as a person's inbox to which you deliver your entire Business Page related news, i.e. a Newsletter to which Fans have subscribed to. With the added bonus of a far lower unsubscribe rate, no reliance on subscribers forwarding it to their friends (albeit with an incentive for doing so built in), it is far less time-consuming to keep up to date and a sentence or two is all it takes for you to potentially obtain new Fans and increased exposure.
But let's also not forget the reverse, because what you read from others in your own Page Newsfeed will not only provide a wealth of inspiration and material for your own content ideas but also provide further opportunities for you to comment on the posts of others and be seen by their Fan/Friends.
The bottom line is that without your Page Newsfeed, you wouldn't be seen or noticed on Facebook - it really does embody the Domino Effect!
In essence, your Page Newsfeed equals increased exposure for your business/brand, invaluable insights into what you are saying most resonates with people but also provides ample opportunities for conversations with new audiences.
Just make sure that you are using Facebook as your Business Page in order to comment/post on the Business Pages of others.
4. Tagging & Commenting As Your Page
Isn't it great when your friends and family Tag you in photos you didn't know you were in or at a location you were both at? All well and good but imagine if your Facebook Business Page name could only be Tagged or commented on by them - it would be a very limited audience, right?
Well it's a good job that this isn't the case - another highly advantageous feature of Pages is that in addition to those who Like your Page, any Business Page owner can Tag/comment on your Business Page which opens it right out to a viral audience. And of course, each time they do this, you are maximising the number of Newsfeeds your Business Page name appears in and ultimately not how many Fans see it but also their own Fans too which offers rich pickings in terms of engagement and new fans.
5. The Sky's The Limit!
Did you know that a Facebook Profile is limited to 5,000 friends? Not that I know anybody with that number and if I did, I'm pretty sure they'd be too thinly spread to ever spend any time with yours truly!
A Facebook Business Page is a different story with no limit to the number of Likes it can receive. Whilst 5,000 friends on a Facebook Profile might be met with scorns of derision about its authenticity, if you've got 5,000 or more Likes on your Business Page you're going to be held in pretty high regard. But why stop there?!
6. Google Search Results
Whilst it is key that your online activity focuses on driving traffic back to your website, Social Media is the lifeblood of your overall online presence. Facebook Pages are indexed by Google which means that they are optimised for search engines. So the more active you are the more visible your business will be in a search resulting in an increased online presence and active and prolific impression on Social Media.
7. And The Winner Is...
Who doesn't love a freebie?! Contests/Competitions are a great way to build engagement with your followers/Fans and also incentivise other people to Like your Business Page and share your content, making them an instant ambassador for your Brand or business.
They are, in my humble opinion, one of the most fun and creative Facebook Business Page features and something else that a Facebook Profile cannot offer. The main reason for this is that they are generally only available via Apps or Advertising which Profiles do not offer the software for and, in the case of Apps, generally only installable to Facebook Tabs (see 12.), another exclusive Business Page feature.
Contests are a really effective way of incentivising people to share your Business Page or content and grow your Likes. Enough said?
8. Featured Likes
This enables you to showcase the pages of other brands/businesses that you Like - providing not only an insight into your brand/business and its interests but also to showcase the Pages of those businesses you have Liked which should also encourage reciprocity by those businesses.
Simply clicking on the 'Like Pages' link on the left-hand side of your screen allows you to choose from a list of Pages under various categories, including Brands & Products and Companies & Organisations. Of course, businesses similar to you or those whom you have an affiliation or association with, such as complementary services, trusted suppliers and so on, are always going to have maximum impact.
9. Business Page Owners
As with the content management system of a website, an Administrator of a Business Page can delegate administration rights to other Facebook account holders with a tier of different permission levels, which as well as allowing you to work smarter and free up your own time to focus on other areas of your business, provides an additional level of security because you don't have to give them the username/password for your own Facebook account.
10. Featured Business Page Owners
You can also make anybody who is already an Administrator of your Business Page a Featured Administrator/Business Page Owner. This will simply associate them with the Business Page by displaying their Facebook Profile Picture in the About section of your Business Page and also state that they are a Business Page Owner on their Facebook Profile. For my own business, the benefit of this is to allow people to see who the people in the business are, in the same way as the About Business Page of a website does.
11. Business Showcase
A Facebook Business Page allows you to display such information as your business's opening times, location map, telephone number, email address(es) and website address(es), etc. without compromising any of your personal contact details, such as a mobile number, Gmail address, etc.
In the website section you can also add up to three addresses of your choosing in addition to your business site - some suggestions are a link to your Twitter profile, LinkedIn Profile/Company Business Page, Google+ Page, Blog address, etc.
You can further showcase your business by providing a Company Overview, Description, Mission, Founded, Awards, Products (a call to action with a website link is recommended here), etc.
12. Tabs & Apps
Newsletter sign up, Twitter feed, e-Shop, website link or iFrame - these are just a few examples of how you can utilise your Business Page Tabs through the use of Third Party Apps, another feature exclusive to Facebook Pages. Not only that, but the majority of these Apps are completely FREE to download and use and, in many instances, customisable to your own business' needs. You can even set up an Amazon or eBay!
One of the many advantages of these Tabs is that followers can sign up to your Newsletter, view your Twitter feed, purchase your products/services, etc. without ever leaving Facebook. And, since Facebook's M.O is naturally to encourage traffic to stay within its own walls, you're in good hands. I have chosen to utilise one of these Tabs for my Blog (in addition to the website area where it can also be displayed).
13. Advertising & Promotions
Okay, so they're not free but Facebook Adverts still wipe the floor with many other (free) and organic techniques for growing your fan base. I'm not saying other methods aren't as powerful, far from it, but there's a reason you pay for Adverts - they REALLY WORK!
Facebook Adverts appear in a sidebar on the right-hand side of your Timeline (Newsfeed) right before your status bar of friends who are/aren't online. Whilst an Advert can only be set up by a Page, the beauty of them is that their audience is not restricted to Page fans; they can be used to target your friends too.
Whilst Facebook Adverts are a paid entity and can prove expense if not managed properly, you can control your spend with a budget, start and end date and maximum price per click (if you are going down that route), etc. Facebook offers you the choice of several tiers of advertising to suit your budget and objectives. You can also manage the Adverts from your Pages' Admin Panel to track their effectiveness in the same way as Facebook Insights (see 19.).
Promotions are also a paid entity but work slightly differently to Facebook Adverts in that they appear within your Page Newsfeed so appear more natural and less aggressive or targeted. And, whilst most of us know that by clicking on an advert the person who posted it is paying, this isn't so obvious or widely known with Promotions.
14. I'm just Checking in!
The Check-In Tool is another fantastic feature you can utilise to encourage people to engage and interact. It's also an easy way to provide the social proof that your Business Page is resonating with people and useful to them. In other words, those people who have Liked your Business Page have effectively endorsed your business to their friends. And this kind of social proof is an integral driver of a consumer's buying decisions.
Of course, this does rely on you having a physical location so if you are a work from home digital marketer it may not be the most useful feature but still worth knowing about and something else that is not available on a Facebook Profile!
15. Notes
This vastly under- utilised and valued yet fully interactive Facebook Tool can be used almost like a Blog and as another platform through which to further expand on your Products, Services or Brand. Notes are similar to Blog posts in that you can add or edit content and also avoid the 420 character restriction of a status update.
Fans can even Like and comment on your Notes and equally any Notes within which your Business Page has been tagged or commented on is accessible by you. They can even interact with other Fans about your Business Page which not only increases your Page's exposure but also provides you with the opportunity to increase traffic to your Blog and your industry authority and credibility.
You can add comments, photos and images, tag other Fanpages, and even format the style and layout of Notes, i.e. use bold, italics, or underline, numbering, bullet points and quote blocks.
Why are they important? Well, Google will index your Notes if you have properly optimised them and increase the probability of them appearing in a Google search, which of course means an additional stream of traffic for your Business or Brand.
Several years ago you could also use the Notes feature as a bonafide blogging platform but this seems to have been buried by the updated Newsfeed. There are rumours however that Facebook will revive the blogging functionality of Notes so watch this space for developments!
Do you use the Facebook Notes tool - if so, what for?
16. Import Contacts/Invitations
As long as you are using Facebook as your Page, you can invite a whole host of people to Like it and increase your number of Fans exponentially. This is absolutely my recommended port of call when you first set up a Business Page because they are already your captive audience and therefore incredibly influential in growing your Likes through their own Newsfeed. As I said in point 14., the people who have Liked your Business Page have effectively endorsed your business to their friends. And this kind of social proof is an integral driver of a consumer's buying decisions and which also helps non-profits to garner support. After all, word of mouth is the oldest form of marketing in the world but arguably still the most powerful, right?
There is nothing wrong with periodically re-inviting contacts to Like your Page and your lists will no doubt have grown since you last did this anyway. Facebook does also allow you to select which people you would like to invite to Like your Page so you can make it more targeted if you so wish.
17. Link Your Business Page To Twitter
If you sync your Facebook Page with your Twitter account, whenever you create a post in Facebook, both Social Media channels will be updated simultaneously. Not only is this a quick win but you are working smarter as you don't have to update both channels with the same content. Be mindful however if you use the HootSuite Social Media Dashboard that you don't post to both Social Media channels otherwise even the most diehard Fans will quickly turn off if they are seeing double every time!
18. Unique Username
A unique username or Vanity URL, such as Facebook.com/example will also assist with your search ranking and make your company name synonymous with Facebook, especially valuable if this is also your brand/product/service.
Much as you would add your current job to your Facebook Profile if you were an employee, you also have the facility to add your Business Name to your Profile with a link to your Business Page (please note that this will not link your Facebook Profile and Page, merely show where you work).
19. Analyse Your Page's Activity
Once you have 30 Likes, you will be able to view Facebook Insights, which provide in-depth analysis on every one of your Business Page posts to see how many people your post reached how many engaged with it and how many talked about it with their Friends. You can also compare your different posts by showing the percentage of people who talked about your post to their Friends after seeing it. You can also export a report of your Facebook Insights to a spreadsheet and email it.
As defined by Facebook, "Insights provides Facebook Business Page owners... with metrics around their content. By understanding and analysing trends within user growth and demographics, consumption of content, and creation of content, Business Page owners... are better equipped to improve their business with Facebook."
Ultimately, Facebook Insights provide a platform for something you should really be checking anyway - what content is resonating the most with people, be it particular status updates you post, links to Blog Posts or your latest Newsletter or something else so that you can tailor your messaging for maximum impact.
Are you in the Facebook Profile or Facebook Business Page camp? What other advantages or disadvantages have you encountered with both? I'd love to hear your experiences!
I was compelled to write this three-part article after meeting so many business owners who have not yet realised the benefits of a Business Page for their brand, products or services and are, in my opinion, really missing a trick. And then there are those who either misunderstand the separate entity concept of a Facebook Business Page or mistakenly think that it gives people a portal to their private lives online. I have even met business owners who to my dismay have set up multiple Facebook accounts with separate log-ins - so much unnecessary work for them.
1. Personal vs. Private
A Facebook Profile and Business Page are (nearly) mutually exclusive and lead very separate lives providing you always remember to post updates as your Page. Whilst there is a limit to what is 'public' on your Facebook Profile unless somebody is friends with you, if you are still concerned about the distinction, it doesn't do any harm to lock down the settings even further if you wish to - Facebook gives you the flexibility and control to do this.
On the flip side, putting yourself in the shoes of your family and friends, they probably don't want to see an update on your business every time they log in to Facebook same as you wouldn't want to read about a friend's job every time you did. Of course, if they have chosen to Like your Business Page then it's a different story but keeping the two separate in the first place gives everybody the option and upholds an individual's preferences.
Thereafter you have one universal log-in and there is no limit to the number of Pages you can create and administer.
2. It's Not About You!
There is nothing more frustrating than clicking on a Facebook icon on a website for it to then take you to somebody's Facebook Profile. This looks amateurish and as if you don't have a handle on how to use Facebook for business. I have lost count of the number of times this has happened to me and when it does, rather than taking the time to find out if there is in fact a separate Page, I simply turn off and close the webpage.
I am not personally in the habit of sending friend requests to people I don't know, but say in this instance I did? So, I've landed on a Facebook Profile by clicking on the Facebook follow button on a website and sent a friend request. This has now been accepted. BUT I still don't receive business updates, but rather the photos, comments, friend updates, etc. of not only the person in question but their friends as well who I equally don't know from Adam. Have I made my point?
3. Brand Newsfeed
A Page Newsfeed or Timeline is the equivalent of your Email Marketing on Facebook and underpins your success in reaching and engaging with people. Think of it as a person's inbox to which you deliver your entire Business Page related news, i.e. a Newsletter to which Fans have subscribed to. With the added bonus of a far lower unsubscribe rate, no reliance on subscribers forwarding it to their friends (albeit with an incentive for doing so built in), it is far less time-consuming to keep up to date and a sentence or two is all it takes for you to potentially obtain new Fans and increased exposure.
But let's also not forget the reverse, because what you read from others in your own Page Newsfeed will not only provide a wealth of inspiration and material for your own content ideas but also provide further opportunities for you to comment on the posts of others and be seen by their Fan/Friends.
The bottom line is that without your Page Newsfeed, you wouldn't be seen or noticed on Facebook - it really does embody the Domino Effect!
In essence, your Page Newsfeed equals increased exposure for your business/brand, invaluable insights into what you are saying most resonates with people but also provides ample opportunities for conversations with new audiences.
Just make sure that you are using Facebook as your Business Page in order to comment/post on the Business Pages of others.
4. Tagging & Commenting As Your Page
Isn't it great when your friends and family Tag you in photos you didn't know you were in or at a location you were both at? All well and good but imagine if your Facebook Business Page name could only be Tagged or commented on by them - it would be a very limited audience, right?
Well it's a good job that this isn't the case - another highly advantageous feature of Pages is that in addition to those who Like your Page, any Business Page owner can Tag/comment on your Business Page which opens it right out to a viral audience. And of course, each time they do this, you are maximising the number of Newsfeeds your Business Page name appears in and ultimately not how many Fans see it but also their own Fans too which offers rich pickings in terms of engagement and new fans.
5. The Sky's The Limit!
Did you know that a Facebook Profile is limited to 5,000 friends? Not that I know anybody with that number and if I did, I'm pretty sure they'd be too thinly spread to ever spend any time with yours truly!
A Facebook Business Page is a different story with no limit to the number of Likes it can receive. Whilst 5,000 friends on a Facebook Profile might be met with scorns of derision about its authenticity, if you've got 5,000 or more Likes on your Business Page you're going to be held in pretty high regard. But why stop there?!
6. Google Search Results
Whilst it is key that your online activity focuses on driving traffic back to your website, Social Media is the lifeblood of your overall online presence. Facebook Pages are indexed by Google which means that they are optimised for search engines. So the more active you are the more visible your business will be in a search resulting in an increased online presence and active and prolific impression on Social Media.
7. And The Winner Is...
Who doesn't love a freebie?! Contests/Competitions are a great way to build engagement with your followers/Fans and also incentivise other people to Like your Business Page and share your content, making them an instant ambassador for your Brand or business.
They are, in my humble opinion, one of the most fun and creative Facebook Business Page features and something else that a Facebook Profile cannot offer. The main reason for this is that they are generally only available via Apps or Advertising which Profiles do not offer the software for and, in the case of Apps, generally only installable to Facebook Tabs (see 12.), another exclusive Business Page feature.
Contests are a really effective way of incentivising people to share your Business Page or content and grow your Likes. Enough said?
8. Featured Likes
This enables you to showcase the pages of other brands/businesses that you Like - providing not only an insight into your brand/business and its interests but also to showcase the Pages of those businesses you have Liked which should also encourage reciprocity by those businesses.
Simply clicking on the 'Like Pages' link on the left-hand side of your screen allows you to choose from a list of Pages under various categories, including Brands & Products and Companies & Organisations. Of course, businesses similar to you or those whom you have an affiliation or association with, such as complementary services, trusted suppliers and so on, are always going to have maximum impact.
9. Business Page Owners
As with the content management system of a website, an Administrator of a Business Page can delegate administration rights to other Facebook account holders with a tier of different permission levels, which as well as allowing you to work smarter and free up your own time to focus on other areas of your business, provides an additional level of security because you don't have to give them the username/password for your own Facebook account.
10. Featured Business Page Owners
You can also make anybody who is already an Administrator of your Business Page a Featured Administrator/Business Page Owner. This will simply associate them with the Business Page by displaying their Facebook Profile Picture in the About section of your Business Page and also state that they are a Business Page Owner on their Facebook Profile. For my own business, the benefit of this is to allow people to see who the people in the business are, in the same way as the About Business Page of a website does.
11. Business Showcase
A Facebook Business Page allows you to display such information as your business's opening times, location map, telephone number, email address(es) and website address(es), etc. without compromising any of your personal contact details, such as a mobile number, Gmail address, etc.
In the website section you can also add up to three addresses of your choosing in addition to your business site - some suggestions are a link to your Twitter profile, LinkedIn Profile/Company Business Page, Google+ Page, Blog address, etc.
You can further showcase your business by providing a Company Overview, Description, Mission, Founded, Awards, Products (a call to action with a website link is recommended here), etc.
12. Tabs & Apps
Newsletter sign up, Twitter feed, e-Shop, website link or iFrame - these are just a few examples of how you can utilise your Business Page Tabs through the use of Third Party Apps, another feature exclusive to Facebook Pages. Not only that, but the majority of these Apps are completely FREE to download and use and, in many instances, customisable to your own business' needs. You can even set up an Amazon or eBay!
One of the many advantages of these Tabs is that followers can sign up to your Newsletter, view your Twitter feed, purchase your products/services, etc. without ever leaving Facebook. And, since Facebook's M.O is naturally to encourage traffic to stay within its own walls, you're in good hands. I have chosen to utilise one of these Tabs for my Blog (in addition to the website area where it can also be displayed).
13. Advertising & Promotions
Okay, so they're not free but Facebook Adverts still wipe the floor with many other (free) and organic techniques for growing your fan base. I'm not saying other methods aren't as powerful, far from it, but there's a reason you pay for Adverts - they REALLY WORK!
Facebook Adverts appear in a sidebar on the right-hand side of your Timeline (Newsfeed) right before your status bar of friends who are/aren't online. Whilst an Advert can only be set up by a Page, the beauty of them is that their audience is not restricted to Page fans; they can be used to target your friends too.
Whilst Facebook Adverts are a paid entity and can prove expense if not managed properly, you can control your spend with a budget, start and end date and maximum price per click (if you are going down that route), etc. Facebook offers you the choice of several tiers of advertising to suit your budget and objectives. You can also manage the Adverts from your Pages' Admin Panel to track their effectiveness in the same way as Facebook Insights (see 19.).
Promotions are also a paid entity but work slightly differently to Facebook Adverts in that they appear within your Page Newsfeed so appear more natural and less aggressive or targeted. And, whilst most of us know that by clicking on an advert the person who posted it is paying, this isn't so obvious or widely known with Promotions.
14. I'm just Checking in!
The Check-In Tool is another fantastic feature you can utilise to encourage people to engage and interact. It's also an easy way to provide the social proof that your Business Page is resonating with people and useful to them. In other words, those people who have Liked your Business Page have effectively endorsed your business to their friends. And this kind of social proof is an integral driver of a consumer's buying decisions.
Of course, this does rely on you having a physical location so if you are a work from home digital marketer it may not be the most useful feature but still worth knowing about and something else that is not available on a Facebook Profile!
15. Notes
This vastly under- utilised and valued yet fully interactive Facebook Tool can be used almost like a Blog and as another platform through which to further expand on your Products, Services or Brand. Notes are similar to Blog posts in that you can add or edit content and also avoid the 420 character restriction of a status update.
Fans can even Like and comment on your Notes and equally any Notes within which your Business Page has been tagged or commented on is accessible by you. They can even interact with other Fans about your Business Page which not only increases your Page's exposure but also provides you with the opportunity to increase traffic to your Blog and your industry authority and credibility.
You can add comments, photos and images, tag other Fanpages, and even format the style and layout of Notes, i.e. use bold, italics, or underline, numbering, bullet points and quote blocks.
Why are they important? Well, Google will index your Notes if you have properly optimised them and increase the probability of them appearing in a Google search, which of course means an additional stream of traffic for your Business or Brand.
Several years ago you could also use the Notes feature as a bonafide blogging platform but this seems to have been buried by the updated Newsfeed. There are rumours however that Facebook will revive the blogging functionality of Notes so watch this space for developments!
Do you use the Facebook Notes tool - if so, what for?
16. Import Contacts/Invitations
As long as you are using Facebook as your Page, you can invite a whole host of people to Like it and increase your number of Fans exponentially. This is absolutely my recommended port of call when you first set up a Business Page because they are already your captive audience and therefore incredibly influential in growing your Likes through their own Newsfeed. As I said in point 14., the people who have Liked your Business Page have effectively endorsed your business to their friends. And this kind of social proof is an integral driver of a consumer's buying decisions and which also helps non-profits to garner support. After all, word of mouth is the oldest form of marketing in the world but arguably still the most powerful, right?
There is nothing wrong with periodically re-inviting contacts to Like your Page and your lists will no doubt have grown since you last did this anyway. Facebook does also allow you to select which people you would like to invite to Like your Page so you can make it more targeted if you so wish.
17. Link Your Business Page To Twitter
If you sync your Facebook Page with your Twitter account, whenever you create a post in Facebook, both Social Media channels will be updated simultaneously. Not only is this a quick win but you are working smarter as you don't have to update both channels with the same content. Be mindful however if you use the HootSuite Social Media Dashboard that you don't post to both Social Media channels otherwise even the most diehard Fans will quickly turn off if they are seeing double every time!
18. Unique Username
A unique username or Vanity URL, such as Facebook.com/example will also assist with your search ranking and make your company name synonymous with Facebook, especially valuable if this is also your brand/product/service.
Much as you would add your current job to your Facebook Profile if you were an employee, you also have the facility to add your Business Name to your Profile with a link to your Business Page (please note that this will not link your Facebook Profile and Page, merely show where you work).
19. Analyse Your Page's Activity
Once you have 30 Likes, you will be able to view Facebook Insights, which provide in-depth analysis on every one of your Business Page posts to see how many people your post reached how many engaged with it and how many talked about it with their Friends. You can also compare your different posts by showing the percentage of people who talked about your post to their Friends after seeing it. You can also export a report of your Facebook Insights to a spreadsheet and email it.
As defined by Facebook, "Insights provides Facebook Business Page owners... with metrics around their content. By understanding and analysing trends within user growth and demographics, consumption of content, and creation of content, Business Page owners... are better equipped to improve their business with Facebook."
Ultimately, Facebook Insights provide a platform for something you should really be checking anyway - what content is resonating the most with people, be it particular status updates you post, links to Blog Posts or your latest Newsletter or something else so that you can tailor your messaging for maximum impact.
Are you in the Facebook Profile or Facebook Business Page camp? What other advantages or disadvantages have you encountered with both? I'd love to hear your experiences!
The Power of Facebook Advertising
By Matteo Grasso
Social media was once considered to be only for teenagers or for
those looking for romance and relationships but that has changed
dramatically in recent years. Facebook has evolved as one of the most
valuable assets to advertisers who are striving to reach a particular
niche audience.
Facebook is the largest and most visited social network on the web today is.
Not
only is it a popular location for social interactions but also it is
becoming a fiercely competitive marketing tool. Many entrepreneurs are
beginning to tap into this advantageous method of generating leads and
sales for their businesses. Research is showing that the average
Facebook user spends just over 6 hours a month on Facebook which is
double the amount of time of its closest competitor, Google. Over 50% of
these users are perusing Facebook from a mobile device which means that
there are more than 543 mobile users searching for goods and services
while on-the-go. Every day there are more than 3.2 billion items that
are liked or commented about on Facebook pages and that translates into a
very powerful mode of advertising for any business.
Advertising
campaigns on Facebook are providing up to a 5 fold return on any
investment because of the strategic targeting of the right audience.
Consumers are becoming more aware of brands and are recalling what they
are seeing more than other online advertising averages. Facebook
advertising is the catalyst for more positive conversations about
businesses as well. More importantly, the 47% trust rate for advertising
on Facebook commands a respect and awareness of this tool that can
effectively be used to expand the bottom line.
When considering
the most efficient way to invest advertising dollars, you should include
Facebook advertising in your plan. You can connect to this exploding
power to target new business, to generate high quality leads, and to
piggyback additional advertising strategies, like word-of-mouth
advertising, to more effectively stretch your advertising monies. An
entirely new world of possibilities will be opened up to you with
Facebook advertising.
Facebook advertisers are permitted to
geo-target an audience by country which allows the advertiser the
ability to limit or expand the message of their ad based on settings
that are selected. Most of the countries in the world are now Facebook
friendly which expands boundaries that once limited the sale of products
to smaller areas and locations.
One of the features of
advertising with Facebook is the advantage of keyword interest
targeting. When a user signs up for Facebook, they create a profile page
that is based on their interests, likes, and activities. When you
create your ad for Facebook, you have the option of searching and
selecting keywords that are of interest to a specific user. This will
better target an audience that is already interested in your ad before
they even see it. As an example, let's say that you as an advertiser are
trying to reach people who are doing home remodeling projects. When you
type in the word home remodeling, a list of keywords will be pulled up
for you that are related to the profiles of users who listed home
remodeling as one of their interests. You can then choose any of these
keywords in your ad to reach those people who have these keywords in
their profiles. You are targeting an audience who is interested in your
information and who will respond to your ad.
Before you begin your
advertising campaign, it's important to clearly know who you want to
target. Customize your Facebook advertising to the target market so that
this tool work better for you and your company. Try to vary your
approach so you can attract different groups. 20 year olds will view
your ad differently than a 40 years old will even if they have the same
need for your product. Appeal to your potential client in a positive and
attention-getting way. Be clear, concise, and brief.
There are
several ways to advertise on Facebook; you can use these cost-effective
ways to increase the traffic to your website and generate more business
and profits for you. The first way to advertise on Facebook is to create
a business profile so you can interact with your list of "fans" whom
you will persuade to become clients. You can send out updates, news
articles, special offers and promotions, and discount information to the
entire list; Facebook affords you the ability to communicate instantly
with a list of people who have already indicated that they are
interested in your products.
Another way that you can advertise
powerfully on Facebook is to buy an ad that is targeted toward a segment
of the user base. Each one of these users has an enormous amount of
information stored in their profiles. This information can be used to
target them based on a selected keyword or filter. Using this method
will assure you of reaching potential customers who are most likely to
buy your product.
Word-of-mouth advertising has been brought into
the digital age with Facebook's beacon tool. News feeds let users access
each other's personal profiles and postings or comments. Facebook
allows businesses the ability to report a user's actions with the
business website and company to the user's friends. If a Facebook
customer buys a product from you or engages in discussion regarding
their satisfaction with your company, their interaction with you will be
posted in the news feed which will automatically create a referral
system for your business. It's word-of-mouth in cyberspace.
The
first thing to consider as you plan your Facebook ad strategy is your
goal. Are you going to advertise your product, expand the number of
people who like your business page, inform the Facebook community of
your business and what you do, or are you simply getting the attention
of potential customers. As your goals become clearer, begin to decide on
the type of ad you will create; there are three types from which you
can choose.
Crafted ads target Facebook users by filtering
demographic information such as age, location, and gender. These ads
will be featured in the right hand column of Facebook pages. You can
create sponsored stories which interact with a Facebook fan's page with
the specific story. The ad will show up in the right hand column once
the fan likes your particular post. You can also select promoted posts
which are more visible in the posts on friends' pages and on their
contacts' pages as well. One of the most powerful aspects of Facebook
advertising is the customer loyalty that you will build. Create your own
business Facebook page that will allow you to directly interact with
your clients. This will give a more personal touch to your business and
also will allow you to use word-of-mouth advertising that you generate
from your Facebook ads to spread the word in a cost-effective way.
Client satisfaction, customer service, and buyer protection are all
tenets of a marketing strategy that will work nicely for you and your
Facebook advertising campaign.
You can offer special promotions,
new products, or the latest trends with your product with your Facebook
ads to reach clients that are strategically targeted and already
interested in your product or service. This will provide up-dated
information to your clients and keep them better informed in a
time-efficient way. Today's consumers on are the go with busy schedules
and demanding deadlines. These ads will connect with them and solve
their issues and concerns in a timely fashion.
Facebook ads are
much more flexible than other internet locations. You will be offered
additional character length for any ad descriptions that you might have.
You can also improve your flexibility with image-based ads that attract
the visual buyer. If someone participates in the Facebook community,
then they are already proven to be a visually stimulated consumer. Use
images and photos of high quality and that convey your message with the
power of a thousand words. Your Facebook ads will be more visible to an
audience who is there to engage in obtaining information as well as to
create it themselves.
With the Facebook site itself generating
such a high rate of traffic on a daily basis, your ad has a much better
chance of being seen and having a positive effect. It will be seen a
multitude of times by a targeted audience who is already comfortable
shopping the online arena. Users visit the site many, many times a day
and your ad will be there to greet them as they login and begin to
participate.
You are also allowed with your Facebook ad to
purchase space on a click-based or impression-based fee structure. Using
your budget and personal preferences, you can tailor your ad campaign
to meet the needs and goals of your business plan.
Because of the
targeted nature of Facebook, advertising on Facebook can be affordable
for you company. You can reach your targeted audience with your online
campaign for a very reasonable price. The selection of packages that you
can select is extensive so that you can reach as many users as your
budget will allow you to.
The use of smart-phones has skyrocketed
in recent years and your ability to reach this high volume of consumers
is phenomenal. Access to these devices happens every second of every day
and you can tap into this gold mine of prospects. Your ads won't just
be limited to laptop and computer users; you will be expanding your
potential client base.
You will be offered a choice between
pay-per-click (CPC) or per 1,000 impressions (CPM). Studying your
demographic clicks and responses will be an important first step. Begin
by starting a campaign that includes everyone and then, after a set
number of impressions, see who clicked on your ad and the responses that
you received. After some study and careful insights, you can then
rewrite the ad to appeal with that demographic audience in mind. You can
then reset your campaign as a CPC method. Finely segment your ad to
appeal to different age groups, or sexes, or relationship statuses. With
this small touch, you will get more bang for your advertising buck.
Continually test and modify your presentation to foster higher results
with substantially lower costs.
With Facebook targeting, the
natural skew is toward a younger than average audience that is female.
Sometimes users mislead others by submitting incorrect data on profile
pages. This will cause misrepresentation of data and some of your ads
will be seen by users who are not interested by their very nature; you
can only get a rough estimate of the people who might see your ad. When
initially targeting your ad to an audience, you might begin with 10,000
people; 50% of them will log into Facebook and see your ad. By choosing
this number, you will keep your costs under control and more efficiently
modify it before you launch the ad to a larger audience. Carefully
select connections of people you know who trust you and your business.
This will give you a base circle of community with which to begin your
advertising campaigns.
Another important thing to consider when
you are creating your advertising strategy is to include additional
languages other than English. Inexpensive translators can be hired on
some of the work at home web locations to translate your copy for you.
Many advertisers neglect this segment of the population and lose many
dollars in profit for this lack of attention to detail. You can open up a
new section of loyal clients with just a simple effort of reaching them
in a language in which they feel comfortable purchasing.
Another
powerful tenet of advertising on Facebook is the low risk involved in
using this format. You will have full control of your advertising budget
and it will be a good testing ground for your ad. You can learn if your
message is effective in communicating to a potential buyer who you are,
what you are offering, and how they can purchase your product quickly
and safely. You are free to modify your message as needed and promote it
to a better target. You can ascertain what works best with a particular
demographic and how to reach them with your message. Especially if you
have a fledgling business, you might want to use the high power, lost
cost approach of a Facebook ad.
If you are striving to target your
local audience, Facebook ads have been proved to be very effective. You
can inform local and regional clients about your business and have the
"friend" network assist you as well. Many local communities enjoy
supporting local businesses that give back to civic groups and Facebook
can get your ads to them quickly and efficiently. When you have a happy,
satisfied customer, they can tell the seven people in their social
circle and those seven people will tell seven of their closest friends
and so the network will distribute the message about you and your
product. Testimonials serve to peak the interest of clients ready to buy
but who have just one more question. If someone has purchased your
product already, they can attest to its quality and your excellent
customer service. Facebook is being used in your area by all of the
local people who are just waiting to be approached by your ad. The
appeal of Facebook extends to everyday people; you don't have to be a
computer genius to take advantage of this advertising power.
By
promoting your Facebook business page through the ads you place on
Facebook, you are guaranteed that the people you are targeting with your
ads already have a Facebook account. You can be assured your ads are
reaching the audiences most likely to buy from you and the communication
vehicle is at your disposal 24/7.
One of the most powerful
reasons of advertising on Facebook is the budget management that is
available to you. Thousands of dollars of advertising fees are not
required upfront. So, you don't have to have capital outlay at the onset
of your advertising campaign. Your budget can be as low as $1 per day
if that is the option that you choose to employ. Budgets can be changed
daily or at any time and by any amount that you wish. The measure
performance tools available on Facebook advertising allow you to see and
test ad rotations and explore which are the most effective tools for
you. After you run your first ad, try changing a combination of the ad's
image, description, and title. You will measure the performance rate of
your campaigns by viewing the click-through rate which is the
percentage of clicks from the number of times it was viewed on Facebook.
You will select the ad which shows the highest click-through rate for
you.
In a world of social media, advertising can be an excellent
way to reach customers. The users of Facebook are very active; they log
on daily sometimes multiple times. It provides a way for you to reach
customers with whom you might not have otherwise connected. They are
going to find your ad on a social media sight more rapidly than they
would your own blog or website.
The exposure you receive is a very
lucrative benefit to advertising on Facebook. The more customers who
are exposed to your product, the higher your profits can become.
Facebook does an excellent job of allowing all advertisers a multitude
of targeting options that include age, gender, interests, and
relationship status. These targeting filters will strategically develop
an audience who is primed and ready to buy. This is possibly the most
beneficial tool of Facebook advertising.
In addition to an
effective list of potential clients, you will have all of the benefits
of instant results. In our fast-paced society of today, speed in
purchasing is important. A client will spend approximately 90 seconds
looking at your ad before moving on to something else. Quality images
and representations of your product along with concise and clear
descriptions are dynamic tools to capture the attention of the audience
and cause the perusing to develop into purchasing. You can attract many
new customers in a single day and the profits can rise along with those
viewing your ads.
Before you even begin your advertising campaign,
you must set your budget and stick to it. There are expensive options
for you with Facebook advertising but you will have to operate within
your budget to obtain the success you are seeking. Use a common sense
approach with your newly acquired technological advertising to promote
your company and profits.
In addition, a Facebook ad will provide
you with a more personal platform of advertising. Research shows that
consumers are more likely to trust your ad especially if they see a link
to a Facebook friend. Your ad is placed in the right hand column and is
a bit more engaging than an ad they see randomly on a search engine.
Even in the world of internet marketing the handshake and confidence in a
deal is important to make. By personalizing your Facebook ad, it's like
extending your hand across cyberspace to reach out and seal the deal.
This type of business advertisement will foster good business
relationships that ensure repeat business.
In effective
advertising, everything is a balance. You don't want to spend a lot of
time reworking your ads if they aren't accurately targeting the audience
you need to be targeting. Spend time tracking your progress and your
effectiveness but don't forget to interact and connect with potential
and current clients. Follow through with all of your strategies and the
components of your plan to generate new customers and increase your
profits. A Facebook ad campaign will be an effort that takes time and
patience. Keep in mind that Facebook advertising is about developing
relationships and connecting with consumers not just selling them a
product immediately. This platform of marketing is still developing and
using these advertisements effectively will take research, study, and
modifications that better hone your ad for consumers to view.
Facebook
has become a powerful tool in the advertising world. The expanse of
active users coupled with the micro-targeting tools make this method of
telling others about your product one that will reap dramatic rewards
for your bottom line. You will boost sales and maximize profits at a
cost-efficient way for your business. Your business will be given the
opportunity to build, improve, and maintain client relationships which
is a satisfying aspect of having your own business.
The clients
with whom you connect will provide you with feedback, encouragement, and
testimonials that can help you reach your goals and dreams as a
successful entrepreneur. By using the proper demographic, copy, and
image, you will see your Facebook ad come to life. Don't be afraid to
try this new and unique method of advertising. It's a fun and
interesting way to reach an enormous audience with a few simple
guidelines that anyone can perform.
Monetizing Facebook Through Contests
By Kevin P Coombe
Nowadays, thousands of online entrepreneurs, small businesses,
and large companies are monetizing Facebook through contests. It is not
uncommon to see businesses pushing products, services, or causes through
contests hosted in the social networking site. If you own digital space
of any kind, you should be doing the same. The power of Facebook as a
marketing tool is undeniable. Facebook is after all the biggest social
media site out there. Its members are close to approaching the one
billion mark. If this doesn't make you rush out and use Facebook like
crazy, nothing will. The great thing about the social network is that
you don't have to be an online entrepreneur to be able to make use of
it. Even if your business only operates offline, you can still make a
huge online presence for it on Facebook.
Holding a Facebook contest is nothing new. Ever since the site's beginnings, people have been using it to conduct contests. Now that the site has grown into a whole new level, it's not surprising to see hundreds of contests being held on it in a daily basis. Marketers have seen the potential of Facebook contests and they are taking full advantage of it. You should be doing it as well if you want to leverage Facebook's huge traffic and member levels. Of course, the process is not as simple as offering prizes and stuff. You have to plan everything just like any marketing campaign. You can't just go in there without any directions or goals. If you do, you will likely fail.
Everybody knows that besides Facebook's advertising program, everything on the site is free to use. You don't have to pay a cent to make use of the services, resources and tools that it offers. Speaking of tools, there's one tool that is particularly helpful in holding Facebook contests and that would be the Facebook Connect feature. If you want to try monetizing Facebook through contests then Facebook Connect is something you should look into. This is going to make the whole contest process easier to conduct and of course simpler to track and measure. Facebook Connect was specifically made to help outside parties like you to get a better experience on the social network. With regards to contests, Facebook Connect will amplify the results of your contest campaign.
But first of all, what exactly is Facebook Connect and why does it matter in hosting Facebook contests? In the simplest of terms, it is but a feature of Facebook that allows users to share their information and activities with third party websites and applications. You are basically connecting your Facebook account with third party websites. That is of course if you allow them to. Looking at this scenario on a marketing perspective, this is a huge opportunity for entrepreneurs, marketers, and businesses to get connected with customers, readers, clients, fans, etc. It is therefore not surprising to see many websites holding Facebook contests by leveraging the Facebook Connect feature. You will simply double or even triple the number of people you can reach if you use Facebook Connect on a contest.
Here's what happens if you host a contest on Facebook and then make use of Facebook Connect. Let's say you create a web application specifically for the contest you have in mind. In order for people to join in on the contest, they have to have a Facebook profile and they have to connect it to the web application you created via Facebook Connect. To use the web application, they will log in using the Facebook login details because this is the whole point behind Facebook Connect. You simply use your Facebook login details to sign in into third party websites and applications.
Now, whenever these people interact with your application, these interactions will be shown in their Facebook walls. They will show up in the feeds of other users who are friends with the people who joined your contest. In essence, people who join your contests will be promoting your contest for free. More people will be directed to your Facebook contest. There's a snowball effect. This is where the magic happens. If your Facebook contest is interesting enough, it could go viral. If the contest is geared towards promoting a product or service of yours, expect a spike in your sales. That's how powerful Facebook contests can be.
One obvious drawback of using Facebook Connect on a contest is the fact that people nowadays are more aware about security issues. They won't just give up their Facebook login details. Although Facebook Connect is pretty secure, you cannot discount the fact that people sometimes get freaked out when asked to connect their Facebook profiles to websites external of the Facebook banner. However, if the offers or prizes in your contest are hard to refuse, Facebook users have proven time and time again that they take risks when confronted with great free offers. With that said, if you play your cards well, people will be more than willing to connect their Facebook accounts to your website or application.
Now, let's go to the monetization part. The goal is monetizing Facebook through contests right? That basically translates to making money off Facebook. Most businesses use Facebook contests for marketing purposes like branding, introducing a new product or service, etc. You can also use the contests to make money right off the bat. The goal is to drive as many people as possible to your website or web application through the Facebook Connect feature then introduce them to your offers and services. It's as simple as that. In other words, the contest is merely a bait. This may sound a bit unethical but most of the time this is what Facebook contests are all about - just a small part in a huge marketing puzzle. It's a very effective marketing strategy as long as you have high quality products and services that will draw customers towards you.
Here are a few tips on how to effectively conduct a contest using Facebook Connect:
Holding a Facebook contest is nothing new. Ever since the site's beginnings, people have been using it to conduct contests. Now that the site has grown into a whole new level, it's not surprising to see hundreds of contests being held on it in a daily basis. Marketers have seen the potential of Facebook contests and they are taking full advantage of it. You should be doing it as well if you want to leverage Facebook's huge traffic and member levels. Of course, the process is not as simple as offering prizes and stuff. You have to plan everything just like any marketing campaign. You can't just go in there without any directions or goals. If you do, you will likely fail.
Everybody knows that besides Facebook's advertising program, everything on the site is free to use. You don't have to pay a cent to make use of the services, resources and tools that it offers. Speaking of tools, there's one tool that is particularly helpful in holding Facebook contests and that would be the Facebook Connect feature. If you want to try monetizing Facebook through contests then Facebook Connect is something you should look into. This is going to make the whole contest process easier to conduct and of course simpler to track and measure. Facebook Connect was specifically made to help outside parties like you to get a better experience on the social network. With regards to contests, Facebook Connect will amplify the results of your contest campaign.
But first of all, what exactly is Facebook Connect and why does it matter in hosting Facebook contests? In the simplest of terms, it is but a feature of Facebook that allows users to share their information and activities with third party websites and applications. You are basically connecting your Facebook account with third party websites. That is of course if you allow them to. Looking at this scenario on a marketing perspective, this is a huge opportunity for entrepreneurs, marketers, and businesses to get connected with customers, readers, clients, fans, etc. It is therefore not surprising to see many websites holding Facebook contests by leveraging the Facebook Connect feature. You will simply double or even triple the number of people you can reach if you use Facebook Connect on a contest.
Here's what happens if you host a contest on Facebook and then make use of Facebook Connect. Let's say you create a web application specifically for the contest you have in mind. In order for people to join in on the contest, they have to have a Facebook profile and they have to connect it to the web application you created via Facebook Connect. To use the web application, they will log in using the Facebook login details because this is the whole point behind Facebook Connect. You simply use your Facebook login details to sign in into third party websites and applications.
Now, whenever these people interact with your application, these interactions will be shown in their Facebook walls. They will show up in the feeds of other users who are friends with the people who joined your contest. In essence, people who join your contests will be promoting your contest for free. More people will be directed to your Facebook contest. There's a snowball effect. This is where the magic happens. If your Facebook contest is interesting enough, it could go viral. If the contest is geared towards promoting a product or service of yours, expect a spike in your sales. That's how powerful Facebook contests can be.
One obvious drawback of using Facebook Connect on a contest is the fact that people nowadays are more aware about security issues. They won't just give up their Facebook login details. Although Facebook Connect is pretty secure, you cannot discount the fact that people sometimes get freaked out when asked to connect their Facebook profiles to websites external of the Facebook banner. However, if the offers or prizes in your contest are hard to refuse, Facebook users have proven time and time again that they take risks when confronted with great free offers. With that said, if you play your cards well, people will be more than willing to connect their Facebook accounts to your website or application.
Now, let's go to the monetization part. The goal is monetizing Facebook through contests right? That basically translates to making money off Facebook. Most businesses use Facebook contests for marketing purposes like branding, introducing a new product or service, etc. You can also use the contests to make money right off the bat. The goal is to drive as many people as possible to your website or web application through the Facebook Connect feature then introduce them to your offers and services. It's as simple as that. In other words, the contest is merely a bait. This may sound a bit unethical but most of the time this is what Facebook contests are all about - just a small part in a huge marketing puzzle. It's a very effective marketing strategy as long as you have high quality products and services that will draw customers towards you.
Here are a few tips on how to effectively conduct a contest using Facebook Connect:
- Offer great prizes. Give people reasons why they should connect their Facebook account to your website or application. If you are offering prizes of $5, why would anyone even bother connecting to you? So offer prizes that will blow people away that they will have no choice but to join.
- Create a Facebook Page specifically for your contest. Keep in mind that a Facebook Page is different from a Facebook Profile or a Facebook Group Page. A Page differs because it can be viewed by anyone on the web whether he/she is logged into Facebook or not. This makes it a very great tool in promoting your contest.
- Encourage those who joined your contest to share the contest with their Facebook friends. This will ensure that your contest is exposed to as many people as possible. Imagine someone sharing your contest to a thousand of his friends then these thousand friends do the same. The numbers can easily grow as people start sharing your contest.
Kevin Coombe is the Owner of Market Web Group, LLC an online
media consultant firm. He founded Market Web Group, LLC in 2009. The
mission of Market Web Group is to generate a consistent stream of
qualified leads for Businesses.
Market Web Group does Real Time
Marketing for Businesses, both Business to Business (B2B) and Business
to Consumer (B2C). Strategies include: Video Marketing, SEO, SEM, PPC,
Local Search (Google Maps), Social Media Marketing, Mobile Marketing,
and most importantly (Automated Follow-up).
Facebook Fan Pages - Key to Social Media Marketing
By Tink Boord-Dill
The phrase "Social Media" is everywhere these days, and if you
are like me, you may be a bit unclear about what it actually is... the
infamous phrase "I'll know it when I see it" comes immediately to my
mind!
I went looking online for a short, easy to understand definition and found this analogy:
Think
of regular media as a one-way street where you can read a newspaper or
listen to a report on television, however, you have very a limited
ability to share your thoughts on the matter.
Social media, on the other hand, is an active two-way street that gives you the ability to communicate and respond.
As
the internet develops and evolves, the various Social Media websites
are also growing and changing. Several years ago, MySpace was the place
to be but it is now, generally, considered to be on the wane. Likewise,
on MySpace, 33% of its users are aged 17 or less.
Ravalry is a
relatively new, large community based around knitting with over
1,200,000 registered users. As you would expect, its membership is
primarily female and the average member age is not available.
Facebook provides this information about its users:
- More than 500 million active users (I recently saw the number 600 million, but it hasn't been changed yet, on the Facebook site)
- 50% of our active users log on to Facebook in any given day
- Average user has 130 friends
- People spend over 700 billion minutes per month on Facebook
As you can see, each Social Media site appeals to and has a different user base than any other site.
One
of the powerful considerations about using a Social Media web site is
the fact that most of them provide a level playing field when it comes
to small business owners vs the big boys. For instance, you can build a
Facebook Fan page for your offline business and so can a major
automobile manufacturer. Within those Facebook Fan pages, both you and
the multi billion dollar car maker have the same tools and resources. On
Twitter, as another example, both you and the big companies are limited
to 140 characters per tweet. They can't buy more characters and blast
you out of the competition.
When considering which Social Media
site to use with Social Media Marketing, you should consider the site's
membership but you should also evaluate its culture and how the members
interact. It is important that any Social Media site have a population
whose interests are in line with your goals and, also, that it have a
structure and pattern of interaction that is compatible with your
objectives.
In addition, you must keep in mind that things change
on the Internet, sometimes at breakneck speed. As an example, between
March 2011 and May 2011, Facebook implemented some major changes which
changed the whole landscape of using it for business. Suddenly,
controlling the content on a business Fan Page and using product images
to build a brand became game changers... for those who knew how to do
it!
While a particular Social Media site may be a good fit now, be
aware that it may not always be a successful marketing vehicle for you!
Monitor the efficacy of any Social Media site you are using AND also
keep an eye out for the next big thing!
With all of that in mind,
at the current time, I consider Facebook and Twitter to be the Social
Media sites most likely to be compatible with the majority of offline
businesses and their needs.
In this article I am going to briefly
cover Facebook, its structure as it pertains to Social Media Marketing,
discuss some of the pitfalls, and propose some strategies appropriate to
it.
Facebook Marketing for Small Business
Facebook's membership has exploded and is currently greater than 500 million, according to its own website.
It
originally began as a way for college students to keep in touch with
fellow students. As a result of that, the basic Facebook community seems
to start from an academic basis, joining students and former students
with friendship circles widening out from there. If you are like me, you
will be shocked at how many members from your high school class seem to
appear out of nowhere!
As part of the Facebook mechanism,
possible Friends are suggested to you, based on Friends that you and the
other person have in common. While you can do searches, it is hard to
find and befriend a person that Facebook doesn't think you should know.
On the other hand, Facebook makes suggestions that will extend your
network, based simply on friends you may have in common with someone.
Another
important mechanism is the Facebook Like option, which has now been
extended beyond Facebook Profile pages and Facebook Fan Pages and out
into the web at large.
A third and exceedingly important Facebook
mechanism is the ability to link between websites, Facebook Fan Pages,
and Twitter accounts. This can be done with a variety of website
creation software options. At the moment, I am encouraging my clients to
use the blogging software, WordPress, for non blog websites.
With
WordPress as your website management system, once you have signed up
for the Networked Blogs Facebook App(lication), you can set your website
to show any changes on your Facebook Fan Page and your Twitter account.
Your Twitter Account can be set to show Facebook Fan Page Comments
along with Posts from your WordPress website. In addition, your Tweets
will be displayed on your Facebook Fan Page and your website.
Now,
I know that the previous paragraph was confusing so let me give you the
abridged edition! In my example, you have three web presences for your
business - A Facebook Fan Page, a website built with WordPress, and a
Twitter account. Any Post made on one of those three sites will
automatically appear on the other two sites.
This is VERY powerful
and is a REAL time and energy saver IF you take the time to plan your
web marketing strategies with this capacity in mind!
With the
potential of getting a three to one benefit from any of your Social
Networking posts, as described above, let me go a bit deeper into the
opportunities afforded to an offline business by having a Facebook Fan
Page.
NOTE - It is important to understand that while a Facebook
Fan Page can be considered a potential web site substitute, it offers
long term hazards that, in my opinion, are not worth the risk.
Building
your business's primary web presence on a third party web site is
taking the time, effort, and money to build a nice new house on land
that you DO NOT OWN! You might be OK in the short term, but later down
the road, you may lose you house, simply because you do not own the
land.
While you may decide that it is efficient to start with a
Facebook Fan Page, you should also plan to build your own website ASAP!
As a business owner, you should be careful to own and control as many of
your business assets as possible.
With that warning out of the
way, before utilizing any Social Media site for your Social Media
Marketing, take the time to read the site's ToS or Terms of Service. Do
NOT assume that you know what is allowed and what is not.
As an
example, you may have multiple Twitter accounts, but each account must
be tied to a different email address. Any email address can have only
ONE Twitter account.
With Facebook, any human is allowed ONLY ONE
ACCOUNT! This means that any Facebook Fan Pages built for any businesses
will be offshoots of your primary, personal Facebook account.
If
for some reason, you do not want a Facebook Fan Page to be obviously
tied to your personal account, you can set the Privacy setting to
obscure the connection. In the case of most offline businesses, this
would not be a concern. However, I have a number of online businesses,
some of which I am open about and others that I have chosen to run from
behind the scenes. There is nothing questionable about doing this, I
just prefer to keep the connection quiet to minimize others copying my
business model. However, ALL of my business Facebook Fan Pages are
offshoots of my SINGLE personal Facebook account.
Part of the
evolution of the Facebook Culture is that, in most instances, it is
considered appropriate to ask other members to share with their Friends
about your Facebook Fan Page or your new post or any of a number of
other Facebook interactions. This is markedly different from other
websites and their culture, and as a business owner, it is a powerful
tool.
It is perfectly OK to ask others to LIKE your Facebook Fan
Page. In fact, this can be an important traffic builder for your
Facebook Fan Page!
Google AdWords vs Facebook Ads
Another
online marketing benefit offered by Facebook is the option to use their
Pay Per Click advertising. In the Facebook universe these are known as
Facebook Ads - which seems obvious, but online, things are not always
obvious!
Last night, I was on a call with one of my consulting
clients and she mentioned that she had just gotten a $100 voucher for
Google AdWords. She wanted to know if this would be worthwhile. I said
that I thought that using Facebook, creating a Facebook Fan Page for her
business, and spending her limited budget on Facebook ads would be a
better use of her resources, even considering her $100 AdWords voucher.
I explained it to her this way:
Google
AdWords and Facebooks Ads are Pay Per Click... each ad is shown (this
is called an impression) and you pay when someone actually click on the
ad.
While the mechanism for figuring ad payments is the same (PPC
or Pay Per Click) the basis for showing an ad differs drastically
between Google AdWords and Facebook.
On the surface, the ads
themselves are similar. While they may or may not have a picture
included, the text or content of the ad is short and presented in plain
and simple text. Ads are displayed off the side in vertical stacks or
within the body of the page's content. For the most part, these ads are
subtle and unobtrusive.
However, the Ad Display Criteria is where the biggest differences lie.
In
Google, AdWords are shown on the pages generated with Search Results as
well as on website pages related to the Ad's specified search term.
This means that Google AdWords are displayed using a mechanism of which
terms are being used in online searches. As AdWords have developed, in
some instances they are also displayed according to the geographical
location of the person doing the Search.
Facebook actually takes
an entirely different approach - Facebook Ads are displayed in front of
PEOPLE who meet the demographic requirements that you have chosen.
To
simplify further, Google AdWords are displayed based on the content of
the page where they are shown and Facebook Ads are shown based on the
interests, and even the physical location, of the person doing the
looking!
As you can see, there is a radical difference between Google AdWords and Facebook Ads.
This is one of the reasons that I feel that Facebook Ads may be far more beneficial for offline businesses.
It
is also important to note that when creating a Facebook Ad, you have
the choice of sending people who click either to an offsite web page or
to a specific Facebook Fan Page.
All in all, I consider Facebook a
strong option for offline businesses, since you have the ability to
target both demographically and geographically. The potentially viral
effect that is inherent in the Facebook culture is another good reason
for adding Facebook in to your online advertising mix.
How to Use Facebook For Business
By Wayne Kessler
There are a growing number of social media sites being used by
businesses in their company marketing efforts. The secret to using
social media effectively is not to be everywhere, but instead to have an
online presence where your current and prospective customers are
online. Contrary to what many believe- Facebook is not just for college
students or for personal use. Facebook is increasingly being used by
companies in many creative ways such as to build their brand image, to
drive traffic to their website and blogs, to announce or get feedback on
new products, manage their online reputation, attract employees,
communicate company information, and as a means to intercept potential
prospects. For many companies, this increased company communication is
leading to enhanced relationships with current and prospective
customers. In this article, I will outline how a planned internet
marketing approach can lead to positive results for your business. I
will begin the article by addressing a few common misperceptions about
Facebook that I hear most frequently from my clients. Next, I will
detail how to use and set up the various sections of a Facebook account.
I will conclude with several recommended applications that will add
functionality to your company Facebook page.
Common misperception #1: Facebook is only for personal use
Each time I give presentations on using social networking sites for business there is the perception in the audience that Facebook is only useful for communicating with friends and family. Facebook started as a closed community for college students, and has not been as effective as LinkedIn at highlighting the business page and advertising features. However, Facebook continues to grow in use by companies looking to reach the more than 200 million active users, and has very powerful and targeted demographic tools that help companies to hone in on their target market.
Each time I give presentations on using social networking sites for business there is the perception in the audience that Facebook is only useful for communicating with friends and family. Facebook started as a closed community for college students, and has not been as effective as LinkedIn at highlighting the business page and advertising features. However, Facebook continues to grow in use by companies looking to reach the more than 200 million active users, and has very powerful and targeted demographic tools that help companies to hone in on their target market.
Common misperception #2: Facebook is only for college students
According to the Facebook Press Room page, there are more than 200 million active users on Facebook and a million new members are joining each week in the U.S. alone. Contrary to what many of my audiences believe- more than two-thirds of Facebook users are not in college. According to comscore.com, more than 50% of Facebook's users in the U.S. are over 35; the single biggest age demographic in the U.S. on Facebook is now between 35 and 44, and Facebook's fastest growing age group is 55 and older. They also reported that Facebook ranks as the top social networking site in the majority of European countries.
According to the Facebook Press Room page, there are more than 200 million active users on Facebook and a million new members are joining each week in the U.S. alone. Contrary to what many of my audiences believe- more than two-thirds of Facebook users are not in college. According to comscore.com, more than 50% of Facebook's users in the U.S. are over 35; the single biggest age demographic in the U.S. on Facebook is now between 35 and 44, and Facebook's fastest growing age group is 55 and older. They also reported that Facebook ranks as the top social networking site in the majority of European countries.
Common misperception #3: I am too busy for this, and besides-it is not worth my time
Some of the reasons why social networking sites like Facebook are increasingly being used by companies is because they provide businesses the opportunity to easily and efficiently communicate regularly with the people in their network. Networks can include people with whom they are currently doing business, people whom they would like to do business, vendors, and potential business partners.
Some of the reasons why social networking sites like Facebook are increasingly being used by companies is because they provide businesses the opportunity to easily and efficiently communicate regularly with the people in their network. Networks can include people with whom they are currently doing business, people whom they would like to do business, vendors, and potential business partners.
Social networking sites
like Facebook are serving as an adjunct to, and in some cases,
replacement for, traditional means of communication such as newsletters
and direct mail. Facebook can be used to regularly announce or get
feedback on new products, spotlight new employees or existing employees
accomplishments or talents, reward customer loyalty, promote special
events and special offers, as well as to create partnerships. According
to a Forrester Research interactive marketing online research survey
(March 2009): "40% of companies surveyed expect to cut direct mail
budgets, while 35% will decrease newspaper spend, and 28% will slash
magazine money in order to spend more in interactive media." Some
companies have reported that by using these online means of
communication they have reduced their marketing budget while at the same
time increasing sales.
Why Social Networking works:
What companies that use social networking sites are finding is that these sites allow them to more regularly communicate with people, vendors, clients, colleagues, and prospects, which, in turn, helps business understand their customers needs better, increase trust, and therefore build better business relationships. Most people know that Facebook has been helpful as a tool for connecting or re-connecting with friends, family and co-workers. And most understand that even the personal connections have the potential to become new business opportunities-so it makes sense that Facebook can be used to communicate with those in the business milieu.
What companies that use social networking sites are finding is that these sites allow them to more regularly communicate with people, vendors, clients, colleagues, and prospects, which, in turn, helps business understand their customers needs better, increase trust, and therefore build better business relationships. Most people know that Facebook has been helpful as a tool for connecting or re-connecting with friends, family and co-workers. And most understand that even the personal connections have the potential to become new business opportunities-so it makes sense that Facebook can be used to communicate with those in the business milieu.
How to Set Up a Facebook Profile:
To make use of Facebook you need to set up an account. After registering you need to do the following in order of importance:
To make use of Facebook you need to set up an account. After registering you need to do the following in order of importance:
1. Create a Profile
In order to begin to use Facebook you must create a profile detailing information about yourself. Based on site policies, you can create only 1 profile, and it must be tied to a human name, preferably your real name, not a business name. We will review setting up your business page later in this article, but first you must set up your personal profile. If you are a married female, use your maiden and married names so more people can find you. Facebook has a "Friend Finder" feature that allows users to search for people by school, company, or organization. In order for people to find you -you must so be sure to list all of your previous schools, organizations, employers, in your profile. Thoroughly complete the "About Me" section to describe your business and what services or products you offer. In the "Information" box on your profile page, you need to include links to your website address, newsletter, blog and other business information such as your company contact information, logo and a photo of yourself. Your profile page should be considered your "branding" page or your marketing campaign. If you are working for a company-you don't have to list all your personal interests-just limit your entry to listing your professional interests. You can syndicate your blog on your profile page. By doing this you are enabling any post that you make to automatically appear on your profile page and all of those people who are connected to you will see it.
In order to begin to use Facebook you must create a profile detailing information about yourself. Based on site policies, you can create only 1 profile, and it must be tied to a human name, preferably your real name, not a business name. We will review setting up your business page later in this article, but first you must set up your personal profile. If you are a married female, use your maiden and married names so more people can find you. Facebook has a "Friend Finder" feature that allows users to search for people by school, company, or organization. In order for people to find you -you must so be sure to list all of your previous schools, organizations, employers, in your profile. Thoroughly complete the "About Me" section to describe your business and what services or products you offer. In the "Information" box on your profile page, you need to include links to your website address, newsletter, blog and other business information such as your company contact information, logo and a photo of yourself. Your profile page should be considered your "branding" page or your marketing campaign. If you are working for a company-you don't have to list all your personal interests-just limit your entry to listing your professional interests. You can syndicate your blog on your profile page. By doing this you are enabling any post that you make to automatically appear on your profile page and all of those people who are connected to you will see it.
2. Build Your Contact List
Facebook was created based on the concept of connecting with friends. You can send and receive "friend requests" and once accepted, your friend can view your profile and you can view theirs. To begin connecting with people that you know, you can either import your address book/ contact database, or you can also search Facebook for individual people.
Facebook was created based on the concept of connecting with friends. You can send and receive "friend requests" and once accepted, your friend can view your profile and you can view theirs. To begin connecting with people that you know, you can either import your address book/ contact database, or you can also search Facebook for individual people.
You can also view the friends list of each person with
whom you are connected. If you know any of your new friend's
connections, or you would like to know them-you can send a connection
request. You can grow your friend list by inviting all your clients,
business associates, customers, family, friends, co-workers, school
alumni, neighbors, and anyone else you think would be interested in
connecting. I would suggest also using the search feature on Facebook to
look up people with whom you have lost contact. After befriending -your
profile will show up on all your friends' pages. Therefore, the more
friends you have- the more pages your profile will appear-leading to
more people who will see your page and possibly get in touch with you.
3. Communicate by using Wall Posts
Each Facebook member has a "wall" where friends can post messages. In the business networking world, this is the online equivalent of calling them on the phone. You can send a complement to a colleague on their work by writing this on their wall, comment on their new service or product offering, or communicate an upcoming training or networking opportunity.
Each Facebook member has a "wall" where friends can post messages. In the business networking world, this is the online equivalent of calling them on the phone. You can send a complement to a colleague on their work by writing this on their wall, comment on their new service or product offering, or communicate an upcoming training or networking opportunity.
4. Update Your Status
At the top of your Facebook page is a status box. When you post a status update, everyone in your friends list can see your update on their home page. For business owners, this is the place to share tips, promote events, post blog updates, announce new products, links to your affiliate programs, links to interesting video or audio presentations, websites, articles, and newsletters.You can add updates as often as you are able in the " What's on you mind?" box. These will appear on all of your friends' pages so ensure that they are meant for everyone on your friend list, and are professional in nature. Otherwise, you risk people removing you from their list.
At the top of your Facebook page is a status box. When you post a status update, everyone in your friends list can see your update on their home page. For business owners, this is the place to share tips, promote events, post blog updates, announce new products, links to your affiliate programs, links to interesting video or audio presentations, websites, articles, and newsletters.You can add updates as often as you are able in the " What's on you mind?" box. These will appear on all of your friends' pages so ensure that they are meant for everyone on your friend list, and are professional in nature. Otherwise, you risk people removing you from their list.
5. Participate in Groups
Online groups allow you to network virtually with potential clients and peers. You can also join Groups on Facebook that are related to your work. There are groups for therapist, teachers, coaches, and every conceivable profession. You can network, and learn from experts in the field. Another way to maximize the potential and relevance of these groups is to start one of your own. There is no cost to do this and this is a great way to improve your company's visibility. For example, I started a group for mental health facility administrators in Boston. This group is now a resource for sharing best practices and may over time lead to mutual referral relationships. To access groups, start from your Facebook home page, view the list of applications and click on "Groups." You can browse through thousands of groups by area of interest, by industry and geography. There are an incredibly varied selection of topics and professions all over the map.
Online groups allow you to network virtually with potential clients and peers. You can also join Groups on Facebook that are related to your work. There are groups for therapist, teachers, coaches, and every conceivable profession. You can network, and learn from experts in the field. Another way to maximize the potential and relevance of these groups is to start one of your own. There is no cost to do this and this is a great way to improve your company's visibility. For example, I started a group for mental health facility administrators in Boston. This group is now a resource for sharing best practices and may over time lead to mutual referral relationships. To access groups, start from your Facebook home page, view the list of applications and click on "Groups." You can browse through thousands of groups by area of interest, by industry and geography. There are an incredibly varied selection of topics and professions all over the map.
6. Build Your Friends List
For business purposes, it makes sense to have as many friends as possible. One way to do this is to join a group and send connection requests to fellow members with a note letting them know of your interest in connecting with them on Facebook. Just as you would with an in-person business introduction, be sure to check out their profile and learn about what they are currently doing. Networking always works best when there is a two-way exchange. Find ways you can be helpful to them such as introducing them to a colleague or potential business partner and they may likely reciprocate and return the favor. Also, create your own events page, or post on the Facebook "Events page." You can even see how many RSVP and get feedback from attendees.
For business purposes, it makes sense to have as many friends as possible. One way to do this is to join a group and send connection requests to fellow members with a note letting them know of your interest in connecting with them on Facebook. Just as you would with an in-person business introduction, be sure to check out their profile and learn about what they are currently doing. Networking always works best when there is a two-way exchange. Find ways you can be helpful to them such as introducing them to a colleague or potential business partner and they may likely reciprocate and return the favor. Also, create your own events page, or post on the Facebook "Events page." You can even see how many RSVP and get feedback from attendees.
7. Create Fan Pages
Because Facebook requires that a profile be designated to a person, not a business, they have instead provided the ability to create fan pages. You can create a fan page for a business, book, product, author, speaker, celebrity or just about anything else you want. To create a fan page, scroll all the way down to the bottom of Facebook and click on "Advertising" (don't worry, this is free to set-up). Next, click on "Pages" at the top of the screen. You will find some helpful explanations about how pages work, along with the link that will allow you to create your own fan page. Once your page is created you can add links, events, discussion boards and other features that make them interactive. Your updates from your fan pages will appear on your profile so your friends will know about them. You can invite people to become a "fan" of your page as an alternative to sending friend requests which will help you to further cultivate an online community
Because Facebook requires that a profile be designated to a person, not a business, they have instead provided the ability to create fan pages. You can create a fan page for a business, book, product, author, speaker, celebrity or just about anything else you want. To create a fan page, scroll all the way down to the bottom of Facebook and click on "Advertising" (don't worry, this is free to set-up). Next, click on "Pages" at the top of the screen. You will find some helpful explanations about how pages work, along with the link that will allow you to create your own fan page. Once your page is created you can add links, events, discussion boards and other features that make them interactive. Your updates from your fan pages will appear on your profile so your friends will know about them. You can invite people to become a "fan" of your page as an alternative to sending friend requests which will help you to further cultivate an online community
8. Use the Marketplace
Facebook has an online marketplace that allows you to list your services and products at no cost. This is a great way for you or your company to get exposure. You can also use the marketplace to find items or services that you need.
Facebook has an online marketplace that allows you to list your services and products at no cost. This is a great way for you or your company to get exposure. You can also use the marketplace to find items or services that you need.
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