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Posts Tagged ‘Business Online’

Did you set up a Facebook Fan Page for your business recently? Great! Do you know what and how often to post in Facebook in order to make the News Feed? Are you aware that Facebook has two news feeds and that if you are not active with your fan community, you may not even be shown based on the Facebook Algorithm?

OK – that’s a lot of questions, but, I’m trying to get you thinking. Facebook is a wonderful free tool you can use to market your business online. But, just creating a fan page is not enough to achieve success in social media.

Here’s 3 things you may not know about Facebook that can hurt your online marketing:

1. There is a Facebook Algorithm!
   Facebook, like Google, has an algorithm they use in order to determine who you see in your news feed. Have you ever wondered why in your personal profile you only see about 8 of your friends posts, when you have 178 contacts? Facebook has decided for you that you will, by default, see only the “Top News”. They determine who is part of this feed based on interaction (comments, likes and shares). To see every post by everyone and every business you are connected to, you must click “Most Recent”.

   If you have a business fan page, and you are not getting comments, likes and shares, you may NOT be making it into the news feed of your fans. This means no one is seeing your marketing messages and Facebook will not be effective in getting leads, building your brand and driving sales for your business.

2. Community Engagement is Key
   The only way to ensure you are part of the “Top News” feed is to get your fans engaged with you. By posting often (I recommend 3 times per day, spread out throughout the day, or when you know your fans are online); varying the posts with video, text and URL links; asking questions people will comment on, being shared, and asking people to “like” the post, you can improve your probability of being in the valuable Top News feed.
3. Live vs. Pre-scheduling
   I love pre-scheduling! It’s a time saver and great for those who have a small staff (or just themselves) as their Facebook Community Manager, but, automated and pre-scheduled posts all the time will not help you become part of Top News. Live posts are also necessary (ie. Log into Facebook directly and post from the wall).

   Also, when someone leaves a comment, you should reply in kind – and make it personal (ie. Use their name). This goes back to the engagement piece above. When your community is responding to you, you must also be involved in the conversation. Social media is not just online marketing, it is relationship building and your “fans” are your community. Nurture these relationships, and give them a reason to seek out your posts and come back to visit your Fan page often by entertaining them, providing good content they cannot get anywhere else and coupons for your products and services.

I hope this article provides food for thought. I wish you a successful day of Facebook marketing!

Business Women's Mega Mixer

Thursday night I was honored and excited to have been one of the over 400 women to attend the Business Women’s Mega Mixer in Downtown San Diego, CA. It was a great in person networking event to celebrate Women’s History month. I was even more excited to see an old boss and colleague, who I admire and respect as a powerful San Diego Business Women and leader, Barbara Bry, as the keynote speaker.

It was a great opportunity for professional women’s organizations and female owned businesses to network and make important business connections. I was able to meet about 50 women while I was there, and everyone I talked to said their business either had a social media presence, were just starting one, or really knew they needed it and was so glad I mentioned it to them because they were finally going to get on board! (It was the latter told me they would tuck my business card in a special spot that evening so it wouldn’t get lost because they knew they needed to call me.)

Social media is not the wave of the future, it is here now. Social media marketing is a must for any business. In addition to having a strong web site filled with your keywords optimized for SEO and a way to collect leads, every business needs a blog, Twitter and Facebook site. People are searching for your business online daily, and you can be much more easily found and virally recommended if you are participating in the social media spaces. The percentage of people using the yellow pages to find something is slim to none. People will ask a friend or Google it! Either way, with social media, your business can win.

So, how did Social Media help me learn about this great event? I was making connections in LinkedIn one day when I came across the Ladies Who Launch group, which as a woman business owner, really resonated with me. I joined their email list and it was their email newsletter that advertised the Business Women’s Mega Mixer.

Making connections and networking online in Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn is powerful. Joining a actual in-person networking group is also a great way to reach out and make connections. Remember, every time someone sees your brand whether it’s through email, an online visit to read an article on your blog, direct mail, radio, TV or print, every “eyeball” helps to build your brand and keeps you top of mind. Social media is just one piece of your marketing strategy, but, a very important piece that in today’s world cannot be overlooked.