Friday 9 March 2012

Facebook Basics

Those looking for an effective way to handle their social media management may want to turn to Facebook marketing. What most people will find is that this is a very powerful website that can help you to connect with others in a variety of manners. The process to learn how to successfully use this tool won't take too long and by the time you are finished learning, you will have a powerful marketing tool on hand.

Business Goals for Using Facebook

When you are starting your Facebook marketing, you will need to understand that there is a need for you to reach certain goals. These goals are not only designed to help ensure that you have a great experience with using this network, but to also have a chance to gauge the impact you are having at the same time. Consider the following items as being part of this process:

- Reach a certain threshold of likes on your business page.
- Establish an interactive database of fans.
- Expand the reach your posts have to maximise the impact you have with consumers.
- Provide useful information and become an authority in your niche.

Remember, the goal here is to increase business through your social media management efforts and with the right Facebook marketing in place, you can truly make an impact in your industry.

Facebook Vocabulary

As with any social media tool, you will find that there are certain terms that you will need to understand when you are using this website. The following are some of the more common terms you will experience while using the website.

Friend: Individuals whose profile you connect with. When an individual wants to add you, they send in a friend request. This then adds your information to their timeline and they have a chance to socially interact with you.

Timeline Feed: Status updates and posts from friends and fan pages you have liked will post in this area.

Timeline Profile: The history of posts and photos that you have added since you began your time on Facebook.

Share: A button on posts that allows you to share the content of others onto your own timeline.

Like: A button that allows you to note that you did enjoy a post that went up.

Comment: A section below posts where you can share your opinion on particular items.

The overall goal of Facebook marketing is to help to expand your reach and build your online presence. Take the time to explore all the features and benefits that can be associated with this account and take your social media management efforts to the next level.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6904260

Thursday 8 March 2012

Understanding the Basics of Google+

You may have heard people speaking about Google+. It is in direct competition with Facebook and should not be taken lightly. There are many similarities between the two; however, Google+ has some features that you won't find on Facebook.

Hangouts

Hangouts allows you to video chat to more than one person at a time. Those with whom you wish to "hangout" are all seen on one screen so that everyone in the room is able to hear and see him or her. The enhancement of this feature over Facebook is that it allows many users in one room to participate in the call and the chat is then displayed in your status messages. Also, if you see that some people you know are in a "hangout" together, you can be invited to join them. Of course, this will only work if you are in their circle of friends.

Circles

Google+ feature Circles is an excellent way of categorizing people online. Google+ starts with the basic circle and then you can create other circles of your choosing. Because you choose those circles, personally, there is no need to block anyone or to deal with information that you are not interested in dealing with. You can create a circle that consists solely of coworkers, for example, and you can post information that is related to your company or industry. The information will be delivered to people who will truly benefit from it and who are really interested in what you are posting. That type of information would not be of interest to people with whom you share a personal relationship. It is a great way to easily keep people who share different relationships with you separate.

Sparks

Because of the way in which Google+ was designed, it is very easy for you to find information that is of interest to you through Sparks. You can search for a specific topic through the search menu and a list of recent article will come up. Those are articles that are similar to what you are looking for. It is also very easy to share content of interest with others through Sparks. You can save your searches and get alerts in your areas of interest as well. It is a great tool for finding other people with whom to connect so that you can have stimulating discussions on topics that you all love. An interesting feature is that Google+ can separate possible search results in a pop-up window with People or Pages that are a match to your query. Your search results have only two tabs from which to choose. The first tab has "Everything," "People," "Google+ Posts," and "Sparks." The second tab has filtering options for the content sources that you might want to use, such as "From everyone," "From your circles," and "From you."

Always striving to improve

Google+ welcomes feedback. In fact, it is encouraged. The feedback is constantly being monitored so that improvements to the site can be made whenever necessary. Because it is relatively new, certain aspects of Google+ were still being tested initially. Currently, several companies were allowed to create business pages that served as testers for Google+. Now that it has been out for a while, many businesses can create their own pages. Google+ is a great tool and can be of benefit to many businesses.

Conclusion

Google+ is a wonderful tool that makes your online experience much more effective and increases your business's success. Google+ is extremely useful is so many ways. You should try to use it so that you can see how it works best for you and your business. Google is enhancing the tool all of the time and paying close attention to the feedback that its users communicates to them.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6919307

Wednesday 7 March 2012

8 Rules For Social Media Marketing

Have you posted links on Facebook, Twitter and other social media networks and wondered why you never get a response? Do you find your friend requests ignored or have you noticed that you've been removed from lists or groups? Ever stopped to ask yourself why?

Are those with a huge followings and lots of social validation just lucky? Or have they done certain things to attract and keep their following? Believe it or not, these marketers are doing things right. If you do social media marketing the right way, you will attract a large following, get a ton of leads and can massively grow your business almost on autopilot. So what are they doing right?

Here are the top 8 rules for social media marketing.

RULE 1: Never promote your business on the first contact. That's like jumping into bed with them before you ever get to know them. Find something in common and build upon that. Get to know them and ask about their business first. Just be a friend without an agenda. Find out how you can help them.

RULE 2: Never send random or generic invitations to people to join your list or network. When you invite someone to connect, you should always include a message, not a link. Compliment them on a post or a training they shared. Find a common interest you both have. Mention another friend or connection you both have in common. Give them a reason to connect with you.

RULE 3: Once you have made some connections and contacts, don't start bombarding them with messages about your business. You will be 'unfriended' in no time. Instead, give them a reason to stay on as a friend by offering them something of value... (see rule #4.)

RULE 4: Always look for ways to add value to your contacts through education, not sales. Share with them a motivational quote or a link to a relevant article or blog post. Offer free trainings that can be shared without an agenda. Don't always try to be pitching them on your business or selling them the next big thing. Always be adding value to the relationship. (see rule #8.)

RULE 5: Prepare your content and information outside of your social networks. Use the social networks to draw them to your blog, your videos, your website or to the articles you have written. Let your content do the selling for you, rather than you trying to sell them on what you have to offer.

RULE 6: Always get permission from your friend before you send them information about your products, services or your business. Timing is everything. Make sure it is right. They are more likely to take a look at what you are offering if you've developed a relationship of trust first, and then they will be open to receiving what you have to offer, if you have prepared them properly. (Remember rule #3?")

RULE 7: Never do a shameless plug for your product or business on someone's content, comment or material. This is just plain rude and inconsiderate. Find a way to add value to the conversation, not take away from it by shamelessly promoting your product or service. Add value, consistently and often. This will help build trust and rapport, and people will begin to recognize you as a valued contributor.

RULE 8: Master the 95/5 give-to-take ratio, meaning you are giving away something of value 95% of the time. Promote your products and services or business the other 5% of the time. If you give more than you take, you'll sell more when you make your offers.

Well, that's what I consider to be the top 8 rules for social media marketing. I am sure there are others, but if you were just to follow these eight simple rules, you would be ahead of 95% of the other marketers out there who are doing it all wrong.

By following these 8 simple rules for social media marketing, you will attract a huge following, sponsor more people into your business and sell a ton more products and services than those who don't. Guaranteed!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6901038

Tuesday 6 March 2012

Hashtag Marketing: 9 Ways To Avoid Disaster

Marketers creating campaigns centered on hashtags need to be cautious. Hashtags can easily turn into flashing targets that scream, “Hijack this brand!” In the past few weeks, McDonald’s launched a hashtag campaign that was promptly hamburgled, and then Research In Motion’s #BeBold campaign was similarly brandjacked.

Fortunately, there’s a way to avoid these types of situations. Hashtag campaigns happen all the time without any press coverage, usually because there’s no horror story. Here are nine ways to prevent your brand from winding up in a story about social media mishaps.
1. Figure Out Why You’re Using Hashtag

Brands tend to use hashtags, predominantly on Twitter and sometimes other services like Instagram, either to create a centralized discussion around their campaign or event, or to jump into conversations that are already happening. Assess what you want to get out of the hashtag before diving in.
2. Be Upfront About the Risk

No matter how good your intentions are and how well you execute the campaign, hashtags can get hijacked in unexpected ways. Make sure any relevant brand managers, agency account executives, and other relevant parties are aware of what can happen, and share some real examples like those noted above. Also be clear that brands use hashtags in campaigns every day, and there are very few that generate any negative publicity.
3. Determine What Kind of Hashtag Makes Sense for Your Goals

Branded hashtags like #McDstories are very transparent and often descriptive, but they might turn off people who don’t want to include that brand in their messages. They also can give brand haters more motivation to upend the hashtag’s meaning.

Generic hashtags like RIM’s #BeBold have more creative potential both for the brand and for consumers, but the hashtags can be brand-jacked just as easily, especially if the brand isn’t perceived as a match for the tag. Either way, the hashtag should be informative and concise rather than conceptual. You only have a few characters; make them count, and don’t make consumers think too hard.
4. Be True to Your Brand

Jeff Bezos once said, “Your brand is what people say about you when you’re not in the room.” What do people really say about your brand? If you’re a fast food burger chain, having salad on the menu wouldn’t justify a #BeHealthy campaign. Airlines shouldn’t try using #ComfortingThoughts unless their coach seats are really more comfortable than a typical passenger’s living room sofa.
5. Think of the Worst-Case Hijacking Scenario

Then share it with some of your snarky and cynical colleagues. Does it hold up? Would more conservative brand managers be comfortable with it? If it’s too easy to hijack and the brand bashing is too harsh, this is a good time to come up with other ideas.
6. Avoid Piggybacking on Humorous or Risqué Hashtags

Very few brands can credibly contribute to conversations around tags like “#ThingsWomenWant” or “#WorstMondayEver.”
7. Have Your Crisis Plan Ready, With Key Members on Speed Dial

No matter how cautious you think you are, people can be pleasantly unpredictable, even if that can create the occasional unpleasant experience for brands. Make sure it’s absolutely clear what everyone’s roles are should an unfortunate event happen.
8. Monitor the Campaign Religiously
It should also be clear upfront when determining everyone’s roles and responsibilities. When creating an original hashtag that hasn’t been used before, hashtags can simplify reporting on buzz generated, as community managers and analysts can view all relevant tweets in one shot.

9. Spring Into Action
If you wind up in a snafu, be ready to do whatever you can to stop the bleeding, such as ceasing any media support, engaging consumers to steer the conversation back to the original idea, or perhaps taking it on the chin and acknowledging when consumers are right. McDonald’s realized, for instance, that by pulling its Twitter ad, negative comments using the hashtag stopped almost immediately.

Brands shouldn’t overreact to the potential downfall of using hashtags, but marketers need to accept that there will always be a risk when using them. Many more marketers will choose to accept that risk. Twitter’s only growing, and hashtags are a fundamental element of Instagram, Tumblr, and other services. Brands can learn from their peers who tried to #BeBold before them, some more successfully than others

Monday 5 March 2012

5 Reasons Why Facebook’s Timeline Will Enhance Marketing

Facebook just launched Timeline for brand pages. Marketers and brands are looking forward on how the Timeline will enhance user engagement and CRM. Big brands like Starbucks and Coke have launch their revamped brand pages and more brands will follow suit as Facebook reminds that the Timeline change will be mandatory. If you’re a page admin, you can check how your page will appear in Timeline format by previewing it. It’ll help you plan and assess what you need to add on the page aside from a cover photo. The cover photo is one of the visual enticements that the Timeline has. It’s proof that Facebook wants to enable brands to connect with customers using a more visual approach. But is this change favorable for brands? Will user engagement still be the same without the feed? I’ve rounded up a few ideas why the Timeline can make or break a brand’s Facebook page. Read on.

1.) Leveraging UGC
Content is asset. It’s the very lifeforce that fuels the Internet. In the Social Web, content isn’t limited to text or a couple of sentences. We live in a world of instant where users will share content using mobile devices. Photos, videos, location-sharing pins, and site links are the most shared content on Facebook. For brands, it’s an opportunity to utilize Timeline as a powerful syndication tool to spread content. But wait, brands should ascertain what content drives the most engagement. Dunkin’ Donuts is doing it well with their…donuts, and they’re also putting a premium on user-generated content. Their page is very customer-centric which is why it has 5 million fans. With the Timeline format enhancing pages visually, it’s time for brands to drive their fans in sharing content. After all, a brand’s page is really the customer’s page.

2.) No Tabs. No Problem.
The landing page has been a great help to brands and page admins. Facebook’s Timeline is changind the landscape of brand pages. The tabs were options to control an impression a user will encounter. Now that the Timeline format has arrrived, there’s no default page anymore. This means reduced fan-gating and instant likes. It’s either a good thing or a bad thing. The Timeline is designed for users to get “lost” within their page and explore so they can learn more about the brand. The bad? No CTAs like “Like Us to View More” which can add instant fans to the page. It’s up to brands how they’ll customize their facade to make it more interactive for users to share the page.

3.) Connecting More Through History
Sure, the News Feed will be missed. But this is an opportunity for brands and marketers to focus on new functions of the Timeline that will increase user engagement not only with user-generated content but with brand-generated content as well. The Timeline format for brands is no different from an ordinary user’s personal Timeline. It tells us that Facebook is enabling brands to open up itself including every brand’s rich history. Every accolade and milestone that a brand achieves is documented in their timeline and this acts as a wikipedia of sorts. The Timeline format is a pseudo time machine where people can learn about a brand's throughout the years. People are educated about the brand through being open which prevents the idea of alienating users and dismissing them as mere customers.

4.) Humanizing Brands
Facebook is a great community management tool if you know how to use it. Seasoned community managers and page admins are always monitoring and replying to customer queries and rants on their pages. Usually, a thread turns ugly and forms flash mobs even if the complaint of one person doesn’t really concern them. Not all brands are able to put up a social monitoring command center like Dell’s or Gatorade’s, a Facebook page is a practical and easy tool for better CRM. With the launch of Timeline for brands, customers will now be able to exchanged private messages with a company. It makes the conversation more personal and every customer appreciates that.

5.) Real-Time Social Analytics is Imminent
Google launch Real-Time Analytics last year. Facebook didn’t have an answer until Timeline for brands was released. Facebook now plans to gear community managers and page admins with real-time tools for better social monitoring. Page managers will be able to view and analyze real-time date for metrics such as Engaged Users, People Talking About, and Page post metrics. Brands and marketers can also instantly omit what isn’t workin and replace content or ads with better copies and CTAs. Real-time tools will be a game-changer, but with the recent EdgeRank issues it remains to be seen if Facebook’s real-time analytics is actually feasible or just hype.