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Posts Tagged: Facebook

How Do I Get More People To LIKE My Facebook Page?

This is the question that every Facebook Page Administrator has asked at one time or another…if not daily! How can I get more people to come over and LIKE my page? Some of you might even be wishing you would have gone against those stupid Facebook Terms of Service and set your business up as a personal profile so you could just go around clickity click, inviting everyone to be your FRIEND–BUT YOU CAN’T!  Don’t do it.  A business is NOT a person and you should not have things showing on a business page like “Where you went to school” or “In a relationship” or my favorite…”someone POKED you!”

A business page should be BUSINESS!  You don’t want to see Suzi’s cousin’s baby pictures on your business wall because they tagged everyone in it.  You don’t want invitations to join Mafia Wars on your business page.  Let’s, instead, focus on how to get the RIGHT people over on your page!

Once you set up your page (Here is specific information on how to set up your page) it does take some work…okay, it takes regular work, to drive traffic over to your business page and get them spreading the word.

***Side Note*** Some ask “Why should I put effort into driving traffic to my Facebook page instead of my website?”  First, there are more people “hanging out” on Facebook and it is easier for people to click over and check out your Facebook page, comment and share on items they like, than on most websites.  Second, if your website is super interactive, allowing people to like and share pieces with their friends and community, then by all means, send them there!  But if your website is an online brochure with little if any interactivity or places for your social consumer to interact…send them to your Facebook Page.  ***Done with that rant***

Here are 5 things (and one BONUS tip) you can do to get more people to join your Facebook Business Page:

1. Sign up for Twitter.  That’s right, Twitter acts as a vehicle to engage a targeted audience in conversations about your and your business and then invite them in for viewing photos, more tips, deeper discussions, etc. On Twitter you can clickity-click and follow people just like you can on Facebook, but without having to ask their permission.  Find and FOLLOW people who live in a specific zip code, city or other geographic region if that is important to your business.  Find and FOLLOW people who are in the arts community if your business page is fitting for that group.  The more targeted your Twitter followers are the greater the chance of them wanting to come over and LIKE your business page.
2. Personally “Invite Friends” from your personal profile.  Be careful on this one.  Most people don’t respond to a blasted invite sent to them to join pages–since we receive so many.  This method should be used to invite specific people you know well enough that they will respond when they see this invite.  The INVITE FRIENDS link is to the right on your business page.
3. Entice people through your personal Facebook status.  This is more effective than the last method.  On your personal profile, write a status update letting people know that your Page is OPEN FOR BUSINESS and tell them what benefits they will gain by “joining your community” there.  Let them know that you will be sharing tips, and offers reserved for this new community.  Be sure you have content loaded on your page before you send out this invitation! Post 4 or 5 updates ahead of time.  Post this update on your Facebook profile 3 or 4 times in the first week (different days and times to capture the greatest number of eyeballs), 2-3 times the next couple weeks and then at LEAST once or twice a week after that.  Don’t forget, when people are connected with 100 others, your posts can easily be overlooked if someone is not logging in right when your content is posted.
4. Add your Facebook URL to your business cards, email signature lines and other traditional marketing items.  Most people forget to integrate their marketing efforts–everything should cross pollinate.
5. Ask people to SHARE and tell their friends.  Sometimes we forget the obvious.  Simply ask people to help you spread the word to others who might benefit from your information.  At the bottom of some posts, remind people to SHARE this with your friends!

****BONUS****  Now for the BONUS tip most don’t know about.  When you are on your business page, on the right column look for USE FACEBOOK AS YOUR PAGE.  Click that link, which enables you to go and visit other pages on Facebook AS YOUR BUSINESS PAGE.  Find pages that are complimentary to your own.  If you are a Clothing store, find and LIKE designer’s pages, television shows like WHAT NOT TO WEAR, as well as your local chamber of commerce page, associations you belong to, charities you support.  When you LIKE those pages, you can also like, comment and SHARE posts from them on your business page which leaves a link from your page on theirs and many businesses will reciprocate and promote what you are doing as well.  Each day when you log into your Page, click that USE FACEBOOK AS… link and then when you select your HOME page link on the top right, it will show you posts from the businesses you have LIKED.  Once you are finished you can click back to USE FACEBOOK AS YOURSELF and that home link takes you to your personal profile home base.

 

(I found this Gettin’ Geeky video deep in the vault from a couple years ago when we called these pages “FAN PAGES” but there are more tips in here that are still VERY relevant.)

Hey You Like Me… I’ll Come Check YOU Out

Recently I have become an Instagram addict. (Instagram is a social photo sharing app built for iPhone and iPad2 users.) Snapping photos of the mundane and everyday activities I am involved in and applying a little app magic to turn crappy photos into stunning works of art! Well, most of them look pretty cool. (This sunrise shot has NO FILTERS or magic applied–God did all of that for me on this day!)

At first I just thought it was a cool way to integrate some fun pictures I was taking into Facebok and Twitter, but I soon realized there were some fascinating people following me on Instgram. How do I know they are fascinating? I kept getting notices that people liked or commented on my photos and were now “following” me on Instagram, so I wanted to go check them out.  I found beautiful pictures, creative postings and a whole new group of people I would have never discovered.

 

When building a social network, most people sign up for accounts and then wait for people to come and follow, friend or like them.  The best way to get going is to set up the accounts an then go check people out.  Whether it is through exploring other blogs and commenting, or saying good morning to someone new on Twitter or Facebook, when you show that you are interested in others, they just might come and check you out next!

Find me on most social sites @GinaSchreck and you can be sure that I will be coming to CHECK YOU OUT!

 

 

 

 

 

Gina Schreck
President & Chief Hooligan at Synapse 3Di

@GinaSchreck

Spring Cleaning on Your Social Sites: FACEBOOK

Last weekend I decided it was time to clean my office.  Not just put away papers or bring coffee cups back into the kitchen, which I also did, but I mean, unplug every device and reroute plugs, shred stacks of old bills, dust under and around printers kind of cleaning.  I had so many cords woven under and around my desk, I was sure there would soon be a fire (at least I wouldn’t have to shred or file the paper!)  I had old files and empty binders that I was saving “just in case” that need for a used ugly, white binder would come up.  I had sticky notes that would have sent shivers down any professional organizers back piled up “to read later.”

I had been putting this off, but lately found that it was taking me longer to find things, and I was always trying to guess which plug I could safely unplug so I could fit in one more gadget!  Spending a couple hours cleaning can save you multiple hours of time.  This same principal applies to our social media platforms.  Let’s tackle one at a time, as not to overwhelm you.  Here are 7 tips to help you be more efficient and much more effective with your Facebook account.

 

Cleaning Your Facebook Profile

1. Go through Facebook contacts and put into lists (clean out unused Lists).
   Simply go up to ACCOUNT and EDIT FRIENDS (yea-too bad we can’t do this in real life!). Now you can CREATE A LIST or EDIT CURENT LISTS.  You can send content out to specific lists and most importantly, you can read updates JUST from a specific list when your time is limited–so create your lists accordingly.
2. Unfriend people you never communicate with or that you do not know...It’s time.
   Yes, most of us have been guilty of “friending” someone just because we had 500 people in common with them, but if you have not engaged in conversation or learned anything new about the person…it’s time to break it off!  Go to their profile and look for the UNFRIEND link under their profile picture.  I know, some of you who are conflict avoiders will find this difficult, but it’s actually easier than sending a Dear John letter!
3. Pick your fab five photos for your wall.
   Facebook showcases 5 of your most recently tagged or loaded pictures on the top of your profile page.  Some Facebook pages look like a random mess with photos of someone’s abdomen or the side of a building that you can’t make out.  Start by clearing out the UNDESIRABLES.  Click on the tiny X in the upper right corner of the photo.  It will ask you if you want to HIDE PHOTO–say YES.  This does not delete the picture.  It will still be in your photos tab or on the page of the person who tagged you in it, but it will not be displayed on your profile banner.  Now YOU decide which 5 photos you want representing YOU.  To keep those 5 up there, you will have to check regularly and HIDE any new tags that try and encroach on the space.
4. Remove apps you are not using.
   This is both, good for cleaning up your page from looking like that of a 14 year old with quizzes and POKES all over it as well as for safety and security!  Third-party apps are allowed to use the Facebook platform, but they are not necessarily governed by Facebooks privacy policies.  Only use apps that you NEED and know are not malicious in nature.  Many people recently got snagged by the SEE WHO CAN SEE YOUR PROFILE app that once you log into, takes all of your contacts and spams them. Zynga (makers of Farmville, Words with Friends and many other games) is a reputable company–annoying at times–but reputable.  The random quizzes and guessing games may not be.  Go up to ACCOUNT, then PRIVACY SETTINGS, scroll to the bottom to find APPS & WEBSITES.  A list of apps that you have installed will display.  Delete the apps you are not using.  Here’s a Gettin’ Geeky video we did about kicking the Farmville apps to the curb (or any other for that matter).
5. Remove wall posts that are not serving your brand.
   Similar to the quizzes and games, some people will post things on your wall that just don’t represent your brand well.  You can remove any post or item that gets put on your profile.  Simply click on the X that displays to the right of the post (you have to hover over there to see it appear) and delete. This is for your WALL not your HOME page.  That page is news for your eyes only.  Your WALL is what others see when they search for you.
6. File those Facebook photos and set privacy settings accordingly.
   This can be time consuming but very important.  Depending on the day and position of the planets, the easy method of moving photos on Facebook will work…. part of the time.  When you load a photo from your mobile device the default file is called…MOBILE UPLOADS.  Now to move them from MOBILE UPLOADS to a more organized filing system you have to either save them to your computer and then REUPLOAD into a file or occasionally it will work to OPEN THE PHOTO, refresh your browser, when the photo changes into the old Facebook view, look to the bottom for the EDIT PHOTO link which will allow you to MOVE it into another folder location!  I have had this NOT work, more often than it WORKS!  When you load photos from the UPLOAD tab on your PHOTOS link, you can decide where the photos should go.  You can set privacy settings on each photo ALBUM separate, allowing you to have a FAMILY PHOTOs album that only FAMILY MEMBERS (in your LISTS) can see, CRAZY FRIENDS photos that only “those friends” can see.
7. Separate Personal and Business.
   Lastly, if you have been using your Facebook profile for business and you struggle with keeping personal and professional lives separate, perhaps this is the time to launch that Business PAGE.  Here is a post that explains the simple steps to get that going!

Now don’t you feel better?  Sure it took some time, but you won’t sneeze as often when you open up your Facebook account and you might even find yourself saving so much time that you will be ready to do some cleaning around that Twitter nest!  That post is next!

The tidy team at SynapseConnecting is always here to help you use today’s technology tools to build your business and manage your brand.  Please let us know if we can help you in any way.  We have loads of helpful content here on our website or you can give us a shout and we will bring our brooms and dusters to help you clean things up a bit!

 

 

 

Social Media Marketing for Your Business: 6 SUPER STEPS to DO SOCIAL RIGHT!

Perhaps your business has been trying to make sense of this new social world and searching for that elusive ROI to help justify the vacuum sound you have heard as your time has been sucked away.  You may have set up accounts, and tweaked the accounts, even had your college son or daughter post content for you on Facebook or Twitter, and still the frustration grows.  You wake up and ask “Is there anything interesting to post today for our business?”  You leave work asking, “Why can’t I get more people to follow our posts or take action on them?”  You are probably standing on your desk right now, crying out, “What am I doing WRONG?”  Okay, so perhaps that’s a bit melodramatic, but hearing your cry and rushing to your aid, we bring you 6 Super Steps to Do Social RIGHT!

1. Have a plan. Why are you wanting to set up social media sites? Do you want name awareness?  Will you use these avenues to be more responsive to customers?  Do you want the ability to share your expertise and be branded as the go-to person or company in your industry? Are you wanting more sales, or are you just wanting to make sure you aren’t the only person left on the planet who doesn’t have a Facebook Page for their business?  The answers to these questions will determine who should manage your social media (marketing, customer care, communications) and how you connect strategically on each site. 
2. Be Realistic with the Time it Will Take to do it Right! Many think if they throw a Facebook page or Twitter account up, people will flood to their doors.  It doesn’t work that way.  You must dedicate time each day to update sites, listen and respond to the community and be fabulously interesting…well at least somewhat interesting!  In the beginning this may just be 15-30 minutes in the morning and then 15-30 minutes in the afternoon, but when your business grows and the community starts engaging, you will need time to analyze where your community members are coming from, what links are getting the most click-throughs, what content gets the best conversations going and more.  Many organizations start by bringing in an intern to help with their social media marketing and find that they need someone with more of a marketing focus and it turns into a full-time position or they outsource a big chunk of the daily tasks.
3. Don’t BROADCAST! It is called SOCIAL Media, not BROADCAST Media.  Those who just post (and usually it’s automated…even worse) get tuned out quickly.  Unless it works for you to go to networking events and just stand in the corner handing out your business cards and postcards as you yell “BUY FROM ME!” it probably won’t work in your social networking either!  Here’s a list of 7 things you can share BESIDES your products.
4. Listen More Than You Talk. Like any good sales person will tell you, the key to success is to spend more time asking questions and listening to your community in order to learn how to best serve them.  Listen and respond to what they are talking about in your social circles.  Spend some time each day scanning and replying.
5. Be Interesting and Helpful. My rule in social media is, “Be interesting, be helpful, or BE QUIET!  Be sure your posts are worth reading and passing on. Too many people post content that is so over used or trite that no one will forward, share or ReTweet it.  And when people ask me how to get their information to be more viral or ReTweeted more often I simply say, BE MORE INTERESTING!
6. Use the right tools. If you took a pair of scissors and set out to cut your lawn, you could certainly do it, but it would take you all of Saturday and Sunday…for the next two months.  Using the right tools can make all the difference.  There are many to choose from and each one does something different.  For conducting searches, connecting strategically to your target audience members, tools like Hootsuite, TweetDeck (both tools to manage Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn), JustUnfollow (a service that shows you who you have followed or connected with on Twitter that has not followed you back so you can clean house a bit), SocialMention (a site that sends alerts like GoogleAlerts on information heard on the social vine), Analytics HD(iPad app to measure site traffic), or even good ol’ Google Analytics to see where your clicks are coming from and how to be more effective.  These types of tools will help you be efficient, strategic and much more effective.
7. Be consistent. Posting once a week or two times a month will not get you anywhere in the social media arena. Your customers and potential customers are out here everyday talking, sometimes about you and your topic and sometimes talking about or with your competitors.  You can choose to engage in the conversation or hang the GONE FISHING sign up in the window.  If you cannot commit to posting regular content (daily at minimum) hire someone to help you with this piece.  It is important that you find someone who can be “on” when your customers are “on” and that the person or company you hire understands your brands personality, values and policies for replying to customers. I did an earlier post about that.

What SUPER Tips do YOU have?  We’d love for you to share your superpowers with us!

 

Like Batman, Superman, or Tweeterwoman, Gina and her team of superheros are just a tweet or phone call away!  Let us know how we can help you succeed in this new social world!  Gina (at) Synapse3Di.com or of course on Twitter @GinaSchreck

 

Gina Schreck
President & Chief Hooligan at Synapse 3Di

@GinaSchreck

Facebook Depression Hits Teens! Don’t They Know It’s like Disneyland and Mickey Isn’t Real?

According to the official Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics, more and more teens are suffering from what they are calling FACEBOOK DEPRESSION. This is a condition caused by teens comparing their lives to those of their “friends” on Facebook.  I am fascinated by this and wonder how many adults suffer from these same feelings.

Facebook, and any other social site, is a place for people to post all of the wonderful things about themselves and their lives (of course there are those few friends who post so much of their dirty laundry that we wonder what they were thinking!).  They are places where people put their best foot forward.  What we need to remember is they have ANOTHER FOOT!

When you go to Disneyland, everyone is smiling.  The janitor cheerfully points you in the direction of the bathrooms, even though he has been asked “Where are the restrooms?” 5,000 times in the past hour.  Even the ground is clean enough to eat off of…well okay that is a stretch, but after all, it’s called the MAGIC KINGDOM! A place where pumpkins deliver princesses to balls and mice bake cupcakes in little pink houses. Of course it seems grand…IT’S NOT REAL!

Just like Disneyland, Facebook Land is filled with ultra-white smiling faces (created using PicNik, a photo editing app) and beautiful children who sit quietly studying advanced calculus (probably a fake family picture found on Flickr), as all of your Facebook friends count their millions from online sales of their latest book… all acquired from that beautiful Facebook Business Page.

Instead of comparing our REAL lives to those vacation snapshots we read each day on Facebook, we should take a step back and look at all we have to be grateful for.  We have REAL friends who love taking pictures of us that we can NEVER share on Facebook.  We have a perfectly imperfect family that gets mad if we talk about them or tag them in any pictures, and we have lived a life filled with wonderful experiences, hurts, and successes, that now enables us to be BRILLIANT and GENEROUSLY share our knowledge and encouraging comments with others on the walls of their lives!

Now go use that airbrush and teeth whitening feature on PicNik, you want your photo to look good when Oprah calls for you to be on her show…broadcasting LIVE from Disneyland!

Gina and her MAGICAL team of Mousekateers help individuals and organizations use today’s technology and social media tools to build that PERFECT business and manage a MAGICAL brand.  You can reach Gina on Twitter @GinaSchreck or her glass slipper phone 303-978-0887

Gina Schreck
President & Chief Hooligan at Synapse 3Di

@GinaSchreck

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