Facebook Introduces Profile Completion Bar

In a move to further increase the site’s marketability, Facebook now has a profile completion bar. The bar, which can be found in the top right corner of the About tab on the user’s Timeline, displays the percentage completion of the user’s profile page.



The information displayed on a profile page informs Facebook marketers of potential targeting options. For example, last year Facebook users were asked “which city do you live in?”, the answer allowing businesses operating in the same area to target them specifically.

Both LinkedIn and Google+ already have percentage completion bars on their profile pages. Facebook’s introduction of their own completion bar comes days after they began trialling a new Collections feature, which displays many similarities to Pinterest.

Both the percentage bar and the Collections feature are believed to be moves by Facebook to increase their online marketing revenue.

Do you think Facebook Collections and the new percentage bar are good ideas?

Contact us on Twitter and Facebook, or leave your comments below.

First Impressions of the Newest Social Site: Pheed

The most buzzed-about startup in Silicon Valley launched this morning and I’ve been switching between work and my Pheed all day. All the while, I’ve wondered what element set these guys apart from their intimidating list of competitors: Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram (to name a few). From the moment I googled the site to now, their slogan has answered that question: express yourself.

The social design on Pheed encourages users to create original content. Users can easily upload video, audio, words, pictures, or even a live stream onto their Pheed. One of the first aspects of the site I noticed was the little “copyright this pheed” button at the bottom of each post I made. The mere presence of this button serves as a little, constant reminder that you should be posting your own content. The idea of original content on social sites has always been confusing, and Pheed has taken a massive step in offering peace of mind to their users (without making them dig through a mountain of privacy policy pages).

Another massive difference with Pheed is their incorporation of easy monetization. By upgrading to a premium account, you can charge others to subscribe to your Pheed. Many uses come to mind for this setup. Bands and DJs could launch new demos to their Pheed followers before the general public, social marketers could use it like a private “Secrets for Success” mailing list, or it could just serve as a way for internet celebrities to streamline their monetization strategy. Time will only tell if this subscription service catches any traction.

Overall, I’m excited. I always get excited when we get a new social UI from Silicon Valley. Over the next few months, we’ll see if Pheed can deliver on the enormous pressure set by their CEO’s statement, “The wheel had to come about before the car. There are stages, like how Friendster came, then MySpace, then Facebook, each one improving on and adding to the format. There was Twitter and now Pheed—the evolution of a genre.”

3 Social Media Mistakes that Make You Look Like a Rookie

Poker is a game of skill, chance, and luck.
The key element that sets it apart is the ability to bluff your opponents, regardless of the cards you're dealt.
So you're not always playing the cards in your hand. You're playing your opponents.
Anytime they say or do something unexpected, they're possibly giving you hints about their cards. This tell is usually involuntary, but it can clue you in to what cards they're really holding.
If you're experienced enough, then you can pick up on these quickly and know exactly what type of player you're up against.
The same is true online. There are certain "tells" that aren't obvious to most. But if you know where to look, you can quickly uncover the truth.
Here are three social media mistakes that could make you look like a rookie.

Mistake #1: No "Anchor"

Each individual status update should be a part of a larger strategy.
The careful coordination of your activities will give you much better return in the long-run. So before doing anything, you need to start with an overarching goal. The one you pick will act as an anchor that brings order from chaos. And it will simplify your decision making when you need to choose between conflicting options.
Typically, there are three primary ways to use social media:

1. Growth / Awareness
2. Engagement (Proactive)
3. Service (Reactive)

With that in mind, you could write one status update three different ways. This "anchor" is what ultimately guides those small, day-to-day decisions.
So get in the habit of running marketing campaigns that build off each other. When you string enough of these micro decisions together, you'll start to get some momentum. But only if the next one builds off the last.
And focusing on higher leverage tactics, like business development, is a much better use of your time. Because you're investing in one campaign that will give you multiple returns (Content + SEO + Social).

Mistake #2: No Consistency

Online marketing is part art, part science.
You have do a lot of experimenting, and failing before you find what really works well.
So when you do find successful tactics, try to make them as "repeatable" as possible.
Obviously this helps to manage your customer's expectations. But it goes deeper than that.
When you have repeatable tactics, you can start to estimate and forecast potential results.
For example, if "X" tactic gets you between 200-300 visits each week, and that traffic converts at "Y"%, then you will make $"Z".
You'll immediately uncover the areas you need to address to increase sales (bring in more customers and/or increase conversions). And you'll know how much you can invest to achieve or improve your results. Like start advertising or hire extra staff to scale these tactics for you.
If you have to invest $50 or one hour to get 100 visits, then think about how you can make that process more efficient and squeeze out a little more, for a little less.
And you'll start to see that you really don't need 10 different tactics or to be on every single social network.
You just need a few that are performing well, with possible room to grow. And you can focus your energy on doing more with less.

Mistake #3: No Engagement

Customer engagement is the missing link between strangers and loyal buyers.
Because people need to trust you before they're going to buy anything.
And blog comments aren't the only form of engagement. Look a little deeper, and see if people are engaged with your online presence:

• High time on site and/or pages per visit
• Low bounce rates
• Above-average conversion rates or click through rates
• High email member ratings (based on open and click rates)

So how do you increase engagement and create customer loyalty?
Research!
Demographic information only gets you so far. Online, you need to understand what makes them take action or freeze up when it's time to buy.
And many times your online audience will be different from your loyal, past customers. (The "curse of knowledge" prevents us from seeing the obvious.) Last year I surveyed a client's customer database of over 400,000, and less than 25% even knew they had a blog or Facebook page!
So obviously, you either need to do a better job of getting these people to your online properties, or you need to change the message to match your potential online customers. And use a mix of both methods:

• Qualitative: Pair short, open-ended surveys with incentives to drive up response rates.
• Quantitative: Watch metrics like the ones above to see if your marketing messages are actually making a dent. (People sometimes say one thing, but do another.)

It doesn't matter if you're using the hottest marketing strategy and the most cutting-edge social media techniques.
If you're aiming at the wrong target, then you're going to struggle to get traction.
And the first place to look for a clue is your engagement.