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Posts Tagged ‘Friends’

On Leap Day February 29, Facebook announced 4 major changes to your Facebook Business Page that will occur on March 30th. These changes will dramatically affect the success of your business! Here’s what you need to know.

1. Timeline for Pages: Pages are getting those big, glossy cover photos and full-width media highlights which changes how we think about the identity of a business. “Welcome” pages / tabs will no longer be options as a landing page. You can still add the pages, but, they will reside under the cover photo as avatars (with a hotlink under it). Also, Facebook will NOT allow Pages to include “calls to action” or overtly promotional text in their cover photos. Your Page CAN include a logo or an image of your location or your staff in the cover photo, but it cannot say something like “Get 40% off today only” or “See more at our website.” The timeline cover size is: 850 pixels x 320 pixels.Here’s some new business Cover Story photos to help you get ideas:
   https://www.facebook.com/CouponMintMag
   http://www.facebook.com/cocacola
   https://www.facebook.com/mortgageconsultant
   http://www.facebook.com/Starbucks
   https://www.facebook.com/umbro
2. Getting More Customers: There will be a “friends-focused” approach to reaching and growing your audience. Instead of just seeing a wall of information or updates, you’ll first notice how many friends of yours already like the Page. You’ll also see highlighted activity from your friends that’s relevant to the Page, whether it’s a check-in or a story about the brand. It’s this type of activity that will lead to higher engagement with your business page. You can immediately connect with a brand much more personally. This will help pre-sell visitors on your company so you can get more “Likes” and turn those fans into customers!
3. New Admin Panel: The admin panel will appear at the top of any Pages you manage, and it will act as an activity snapshot for notifications, post performance and stats. Page administrators are also getting messaging capabilities so they can respond to messages from everyday users (a first for businesses on Facebook). In addition to stats and notifications, admins also now have the ability to cherry pick “pinned posts,” which will appear at the top of the Page’s Timeline for up to seven days. You can also add past “business milestones” to the page (even if they occurred before you Business Facebook page was created.)
4. Measurement: There will be an all-new dashboard for analytics where Admins can keep track of the activity on their page, respond to people who have commented on their timeline, and view page analytics. The admin panel will display any new likes, notifications, post performance statistics, and messages.

Facebook is providing a LOT of advanced notice. Admins will have ample time to craft, prune, and curate the Timelines and highlighted stories so that the organization’s message is told powerfully and visually.

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!

For those who know how to use it wisely, LinkedIn can be a powerful tool for lead generation. It’s not just a place to put your resume or a job board, though most people tend to learn about it when they are job searching. It’s a very effective tool for targeted, free, online networking and lead generation.

LinkedIn is the largest online business networking site. Using the power of “who do you know,” you can make great connections and generate leads for your business, but, you must get involved to do it. This is the way all the social sites work, Facebook, Twitter, etc… You can’t just open an account and let it lie. Participation is key.

LinkedIn has approximately 45 million members, where Facebook, by comparison, has 300 million and Twitter is reported at 32 million. Just looking at the numbers alone, you can see that if you do not have a presence on LinkedIn, you are missing a huge opportunity to connect with potential customers and connections that can help further your business objectives.

Here are 7 tips to follow to optimize your profile, get involved with the community and connect with some experts in your industry in a targeted way:

1. Fill Your Summary with a Keyword Filled Story:
   That first section before the laundry list of every job you’ve had is the place to tell a story that is filled with keywords about you and your business. Always add a call to action at the end.
2. Add Your Picture:
   Social spaces are about connecting with people. You must add your picture to your profile. The human element is how people want to connect with you. Plus, if someone is searching for you specifically, this helps them identify you.
3. Give and Receive Recommendations:
   Just like references on your resume, get your top clients to recommend your work with a glowing review. And, do the same for them.
4. Participate in “Answers”:
   Read the status updates of your friends, and browse relevant groups to answer as many questions as you can. This keeps your name top of mind, just like a marketing campaign. Plus, all your answers appear on your connections’ home page.
5. Post Questions:
   This is a great way to connect with people and it helps reinforce your name as a “go to” person in your industry.
6. Join Groups:
   After you’ve added everyone you know, make new connections and keep building your network by finding groups that interest you and fit with your industry. Find out who is in your group and reach out to them. This is the most targeted marketing you can get!
7. Add LinkedIn to your Auto Signature:
   And, now that you are actively participating in this incredible social network, add your profile URL to your email auto signature. (And be sure to add any other social media space sites as well, like Twitter and Facebook). You want people to be able to connect with you on any and all social spaces they are using.

You can connect with me at: linkedin.com/in/joannwhetstine