Archive for Facebook
Mandatory Changes On Facebook
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If you are having trouble finding your way around Facebook it is because, as of April 1, Facebook made some mandatory changes. This is not a joke. What it is, at the end of the day, is more changes that will affect how you do business on Facebook.
Some of the changes don’t make sense to me, while others clearly make a huge difference for business owners. I have listed 6 of the changes here that I feel will make a difference in your business.
Change 1. Your site now has an 851 x 315 pixel banner above of your timeline. The purpose of this is so Facebook can regain control of all landing pages. You can post any photo you want – but it can not include material that asks people to like your page.
Change 2. Facebook pages have a timeline that is made up of milestones, photos and posts. Be sure to go into Facebook and include your business’ successes as part of your business timeline.
Change 3. If you have customers visit your location, you will now find under ‘page tips’ that you can have a customer like your Facebook Page while they are visiting your location.
Change 4. Facebook has a new feature called Facebook offers. This is similar to Living Social or Groupon but is for your fans to help you, the business owner, keep them as loyal customers.
Change 5. As a business owner, Facebook has made it easier for you to track who is visiting your fan-page and where are they coming from. To learn who is coming to your page go to the ‘insights’ section.
Change 6. Facebook has added a ‘reach’ feature for those in the Facebook advertising business. This provides a new tracking tool to see the depth of your ads exposure.
As in most applications on the Internet, it is important to stay current with changes that will, either positively or negatively, affect your business. Also, you should strive to be consistent with your time spent on social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, etc. services as well as efficient with your time spent posting to them.
If you have questions regarding any of the new Facebook changes contact me at Jackie@TeamInternetMarketing.com.
If you are concerned about any of the Facebook timeline changes give us a call at 404-530-9564. Team Internet Marketing is here to help you.
Social media for the complex sale: Where should you start?
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Welcome to our guest blogger Andy DeBrunner. He is a social media manager at Godfrey, and has worked with Fortune 100 companies to tackle their social media needs. He was also a contributor to Godfrey’s e-book, “Jumpstart Your B2B Marketing.” Follow him @adebrunner .
Your customers are using social media. That’s no surprise. So is it appropriate for you to join in on the fun and get your business on board? I know what some of you are thinking. “Sure, I know everyone’s using social media, but my company sells products that cost a ton of money and sales can take years to close. I can’t generate a sale, or even a lead, for any of my products using Facebook or Twitter.” If you just said some version of that to yourself, let me reframe the way you might want to think about social media for your business.
All too often, Facebook and Twitter dominate marketing meetings and boardroom conversations about social media, both in B2B and B2C. But social media is far more expansive than just these two behemoth sites. There is almost certainly another platform that will suit your company’s specific needs if neither of “the big two” fit. To shift your social media paradigm, consider the following types of social media outlets and how they might benefit a company with a long or complex sales cycle:
- Photo-sharing sites. Is your product visual or design-related? Help inspire your customers early in the sales cycle with a photo stream on Flickr or Instagram, a Tumblr blog or maybe even a board on Pinterest.
- Video-sharing sites. Does your product have killer demonstrations? Would side-by-side product comparisons help close the deal? If so, video sites such as YouTube or Vimeo could be your golden ticket to capture interest early.
- Message boards. There are message boards for nearly every industry under the sun. If you don’t believe me, check out coffin-talk.net. All you need to do is find out where your target customer goes to ask questions about his/her job and help answer them. This is frequently overlooked, but can be unbelievably successful in finding customers who are ready to buy. The key is to understand the message board’s particular tone before jumping in with a sales pitch.
- Industry blogs. You are probably already reading a few of these to stay on top of industry trends. Why not reach out to them to see if you can write a guest post as a representative of your company? This is a great way to get exposure to new audiences and another effective tactic for early in the buying cycle. If you’re skeptical, consider that you’re reading an example of this right now. Of course, if there are no great industry blogs, perhaps you could create your own. Nothing says “thought leadership” like creating the best content in your industry.
- Professional networking sites. There’s nothing wrong with cold calling or e-mail campaigns, but a sales team who isn’t engaged on a professional networking site (let’s be honest, we’re talking about LinkedIn) is missing out on a potentially huge opportunity. There is a right way to use LinkedIn, so be sure your sales team knows what they’re doing before they let loose on their own. If done correctly, LinkedIn can be used to generate leads and nurture them all the way through the sale.
- Social networking sites. I can’t just ignore this. After all, sites like Facebook and Twitter are quite useful for a lot of companies with long sales cycles, but you need to be smart about how you decide to use your account. Using Facebook and Twitter for customer service or simply as a platform to answer customers’ questions is often a great way to get started, though there are countless other ways to use social networks effectively to hit customers at all points during the sales cycle. Before moving on, I need to mention Google+ too. Recent changes to Google search have made it all but necessary for companies to create a G+ page. As always, research is key, so make sure you go in with a plan if you decide to create a page.
- Location-based games. If you have trade shows in your marketing mix, location-based games are a great way to engage an audience and capture early leads. Perhaps you could offer deals or contests for people who check in at your booth.
- Group buying/couponing sites. Group couponing sites have struggled to find their way into B2B, particularly for a complex, expensive sale, so if you have a great idea on how to apply it, I’d love to hear about it!
- Podcasting. Allured by the idea of owning their own radio show to brand their company, many businesses jumped into podcasting without realizing how difficult it is to create and manage a radio show and quickly gave up. But there are more ways to get involved with podcasting than creating your own show. For example, sponsoring a podcast or volunteering to be a guest interviewee on a popular industry podcast are two “early cycle” ways to take advantage of podcasting without the commitment.
- Slide-sharing sites. Do you sell to a target who needs to get approvals from an endless line of executives before he/she can sign on the dotted line? Why not create a sharable slide show (or several) that help your customers sell your product up the chain of command. That way, they have the tools they need to make your case when your salespeople can’t be in the room. Done correctly, slide shows can help you generate leads, then help you again to close the business at the end of the cycle.
In the end, social media may or may not be right for your organization for a lot of reasons, but if you think creatively it can often prove to be a valuable part of your overall B2B marketing mix.
How to Connect Google+ to Twitter and Facebook
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By Jill DuffySocial networking fiends have been lamenting the lack of third-party apps on Google+, which, among other things, has made it impossible to synchronize Google+ with Twitter or Facebook. When you synch Twitter to Facebook or vice versa, whatever you post on one account automatically repost to the other. You can implement special rules and tags so that not every single post reappears on the other site. Linking and syncing makes social media management way more efficient than manually updating each site.
But a Twitter management tool now makes it possible to connect all three accounts! The trick is that you have to connect them in the right order. Here’s how.
Setting up the Connections
1. Go to ManageFlitter.com/plus to connect Google+ to Twitter.
2. Fill out the form that’s provided.
a. It asks for your Google+ account URL, which you can retrieve by clicking on your profile picture on your own Google+ page in the upper right corner. The URL will start with “https://plus.google.com/” and will then have a string of numbers before ending in “/posts”. Copy and paste that URL into the first ManageFlitter field.
b. It also asks for access to your Twitter account. Enter your Twitter username and password when prompted.
c. Optional: Enable advanced settings that let you use tags (i.e., only share Google+ posts including the tag #twt; add “G+” to the start of tweets to indicated they originally were posted to Google+; tweet when you start Google+ Hangout sessions, that is, multi-person video chats; and always include a link back to the original Google+ post).
3. Connect your Twitter account to automatically repost to Facebook.
a. Sign into Facebook and find the Twitter app page.
b. Allow Twitter to connect to Facebook. It may ask you to sign into Twitter if you’re not already signed in.
c. Again, you’ll have some options for enabling hashtags and rules for what should be automatically reposted from Twitter to Facebook.
4. The chain should now be complete. Anything you post on Google+ will now appear on all three sites (following any special rules you’ve also implemented, if any).
How it Works
After I set up this string and sent a few test posts, I found that a post I had written on Google+ about an hour earlier had already appeared on Twitter and Facebook. It did not find older posts (from yesterday, for example), just the one I had written about an hour before.
There may be up to an hour time delay between when you post on Google+ and when the message appears on Twitter, although there should be no delay whatsoever between when it appears on Twitter and when it posts to Facebook. The delay is a result of Google+ not having an API for developers to use to tap into your posts quickly and elegantly.
I sent four additional test posts through to verify the system works (with mixed results): 1) a text-only tweet posted on Google+ to the public, 2) a text-only tweet to a limited Circle only, 3) a post with a photo attached to the public, and 4) another text-only post to the public. Post no. 3 came through first, and the photo link worked, but there was a 15-minute delay before it appeared on Twitter and Facebook. Post 4 came through with a short 10-minute delay. The other two did not come through, and I’m not sure why, although they were in rapid succession shortly after I enabled syncing.
Obviously, it’s not a perfect solution, but it’s the best one I’ve been able to find so far. Another con is that it keeps you on Google+, which isn’t necessarily the platform everyone wants as their primary source. Additionally, Google+ doesn’t give you a 140 character count. If you post something that’s too long for Twitter, it’ll link back to Google+, which, again, is good for Google but not necessarily what you or your followers want. If you’ve got different solutions or ways around these problems, let me know about it a comment.
I just set this up, so I will let you know how it worked out for me.
Facebook Fan Page Notifications With Hyper Alerts Free App!
Posted by: | CommentsOften when businesses set up a Facebook fan page they don’t necessarily have the time to monitor the page regularly for fan activity. Notifications of fan posts and comments would be ideal for so many small businesses and/or new fan page owners.
Fan page notifications have been sorely missing on Facebook. (I always figured it was a sheer volume issue. Could you imagine fan pages that frequently get anywhere from a few thousand to tens of thousands of comments on each post receiving notifications from Facebook? Think of pages such as Vin Diesel, Ellen DeGeneres or Starbucks! That would create a mega notification logjam.)
Many Facebook users have been eagerly searching for a solution. There are certainly plenty of social media management tools and services out there – some free, some for a fee. But, how about a nice, simple, clean email alert any time a fan posts or comments on your wall?
Introducing…
Voila – a beautiful and exciting new app that sends you an email for all posts and/or comments on your Facebook fan page. The app is called “Hyper Alerts” and is currently in public beta. Hyper Alerts was created by Are Sundnes for Hyper Interaktiv in Oslo, Norway.
I must say, I love the graphic design, clean and simple layout, and super easy set up and navigation!
Step 1 – Sign up:
Go here to sign up: http://alerts.hyperinteraktiv.no/
Step 2 – Click the “+ Add new alert” button:
Step 3 – Enter the address of your Facebook fan page:
NOTE: The system does not use Facebook Connect and does not need access to your personal data. Love that!
Step 4 – Select your four settings:
Choose from four different settings: the frequency of alerts, fan posts, fan comments, and your own content. Click save.
Step 5 – Keep an eye on your email!
Even the emails are beautiful: clean and simple with the exact view of what you’d see on your Facebook wall. Plus, they are all text (not an image of the text) so, guess what? Yes, that means your fan page content can now be archived and is searchable! All links are active, too.
Pros:
- Hyper Alerts does not require access to your Facebook account.
- It’s free.
- It’s a beautiful and easy-to-use interface.
- You can easily monitor multiple Facebook fan pages. (“Add as many alerts as you like,” says Hyper Alerts!)
- You can set up multiple alerts for the same fan page – e.g. receive alerts immediately for fan activity, plus a weekly (and/or monthly) report.
- PLUS, you can archive your fan page content! By receiving emails with all your Facebook page content and activity, you now have a *searchable* archive! YES – this is reason enough for me to sign up and just filter the emails to a folder.
Cons:
- Perhaps the ability to reply to fan posts right within your email would be handy.
- Other than that, I can’t see any downsides to Hyper Alerts – try it out and let me know if you find anything not to like about this fabulous app!
Huge props to one of my Facebook community members, Erik Eskedal, for the tip about Hyper Alerts. This blog post is completely unsolicited and unpaid; it’s simply a wholehearted review of the fabulous Norwegian peeps’ great app. I hope they have tremendous success with it!
Other Facebook activity alert systems
Alternative solutions for Facebook fan activity alerts include: the Fan Page Notifier app and Page Notifier app.
Plus, the awesome Postling app which is a complete social profile management system I’ll be reviewing in a future blog post.
In addition, you’ll receive notifications right inside Facebook any time you a) like your own posts or b) @ tag your personal profile in posts. These two methods only cover fan comments though, not fan posts.
There’s also Google alerts which isn’t as reliable, though you might give it a whirl. Try this search string: ago site:http://facebook.com/yourusername. (Make sure there is no space between site:). This will pick up from the timestamp where it always says “xx minutes ago.” Use this method for any keyword alerts too – you’re basically asking Google to search your fan page for whatever you wish. I would recommend against using this method alone.
So, there you have it, a very exciting new app to try out!! Do let me know what you think and if you use Hyper Alerts how it works out for you. Anything else you’d like to see added to the app? Let me know in the comments below!
Facebook right now is like the Wild West. There are people eagerly staking claims and moving from their traditional “homes”. Some people are even striking it rich. You might even see “gurus” who are selling snake oil promising that it will keep you safe. Don’t bet on that remedy as you go across the Oregon Trail yet as they haven’t even blazed the path themselves.
How are you supposed to dominate this great new territory? You have seen articles, blog posts, and been told at different conferences that it is the “place to be”. This land of 500+ million people where over a ¼ of a billion people are active daily is supposedly a land of opportunity. This massive network, which seems to be the Google killer, surely has business for you, right?
There is business to be had on Facebook, when you know the rules. A massive flood of sales awaits the business owner who tackles Facebook with the right methods. Dive into this social network without a plan of attack and you could end up like the Donner party.
With the right methods, powerful strategies, and efficient action items you can end up like Levi Straus. You will take away more gold than the best miner. Be warned, you can’t take 5 minutes of planning and expect to dominate. Don’t be concerned that it will take weeks either.
In this article I invite you to consider putting a strategy into action that will bring you new fans, leads, and business. Whether you have a physical store or you sell online, putting the following methods into action will give you the opportunity to tap into 100′s of millions of conversations.
How is your Business Different?
Before diving on to Facebook, write down how your business is different from your competition. What would compel someone to connect with what you are offering? Whether you call this a unique selling proposition or a marketing message, having an aspect that uniquely separates your business from the millions of other businesses is essential.
You may have to alter your traditional message that you use on your sales letters. Even the messages on your other marketing pieces won’t work directly when applied to Facebook. Facebook is about conversation. When people connect with your business they are raising their hand that they want to be in a conversation with your business.
More than offering simple sales, or new product releases, consider what makes people talk about your business. What will make someone want to take an extra few moments and suggest your business to their “friends”? When you can answer these questions effectively you will be able to tap into conversations. Tap into the right conversations and you will generate business.
How Can You Flood Your Facebook Presence with Traffic Like a Los Angeles Freeway During Rush Hour?
When many business owners jump onto Facebook they feel like they are limited to how many friends they have in their personal network. Some don’t even start because they feel trapped by having just a few friends!
Facebook allows you different methods of bringing traffic. Most people focus on one source of traffic. Counting on once source leads to frustration and disappointment. To achieve massive success, I invite you to consider having at least four methods of bringing new prospects directly to you. With each method of traffic you have an opportunity to reach a different type of customer.
Facebook Advertising
Facebook advertising lets you target prospects by geography, demographically, and even by what they are already fans of. It has limitless opportunities. The amount of people that you can bring directly to you is only limited by the amount of money you can invest on your credit card.
Facebook Ads are one of the most direct and immediate methods of bringing traffic on a daily basis. As people browse through Facebook you get the opportunity to grab their attention with a tiny ad! Put the right ads in place and watch your business grow.
Direct Fan Invites
There are a number of companies that offer the service of targeting specific groups of people. They take your desired target market and invite them to your fan page. With the right service and the right “fan” criteria you can bring a few thousand people to your business in just a couple of weeks. Be careful on the service you choose as you don’t want to get banned from Facebook.
Cross-Marketing
It is likely that you already have a powerful online presence. Leverage the power of your existing website or blog to get more people to join you on Facebook. With free tools, like Social Plugins, you can tap into the traffic that is already on your website.
Email Marketing
Email isn’t dead! Break through the maze of email and invite your existing customers to join you in the conversation that is occurring on Facebook. With a few targeted emails you can quickly jump to a few thousand raving fans that already know you and will keep the conversation going.
There are at least a dozen different methods of bringing traffic to you from within Facebook. The key is to put a minimum of four into action. Four sources of traffic will keep your business growing and eliminate your competition.
Transforming Traffic into Leads and Business
Traffic is great, but traffic that doesn’t convert into leads and sales is a waste of money. Some traffic can be quite expensive. Wasting that investment will hurt your bottom line quickly. In order to maximize your traffic, I invite you to consider two stages of conversion. Get these two elements of conversion correct and you will have powerful ways to grab the interest of your prospects.
Get People to Click “Like”
The first goal of your traffic is to get people to click “like” on your Facebook fan page. With less than 10 seconds to grab a prospects attention, your fan page needs to quickly pique interest. When you have their attention you can compel them to move their mouse and click that tiny little “like” button.
Grabbing their attention quickly requires rich graphics, possibly incorporating video, and ensuring that your marketing message is obvious. When your fan page is graphically rich, extends the brand of your existing business and compels the prospect to take action you will get people to quickly click “like”, giving you the opportunity to market to them in the news feed.
Building Your Email List
After you get people to click “like” I invite you to consider offering prospects an opportunity to optin to your email list. You can offer them your email newsletter, a special report, or create something entirely new. Just give them an opportunity to give you their name and email.
When you have their attention in their email and the news feed, you will be maximizing each traffic source.
By differentiating your business, bringing a flood of traffic, and converting that traffic into “fans” you will have a Facebook marketing strategy that would have made Levi Straus jealous.
You can like us here at Facebook.com/jackietulos. If you would like more help with some of these strategies contact me at 888-479-8540 or go to TargetedLocal.com for more info.
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