Archive for the ‘Facebook’ Category

Social Media… Part of the Larger Solution

By Amanda Bala

It was not very long ago that the words “social media” and “social networking” were linked to very different connotations than they are today. Many people thought that all things having to do with social media were a passing phase… just another blip on the radar.

But then businesses started to see the return on their investment into social media. Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook became very real marketing tools and people’s opinions about social media began to change. It was no longer a passing fad. Social media was here to stay and was changing the way we advertise ourselves and our companies and products.

Using social media as a part of your marketing strategy is a delicate balancing act. By taking traditional marketing and mixing in social media, you are able to enhance your marketing and strengthen your brand. However, it is important that you do not look at social media as the end all solution to your marketing needs, but instead look at it as a brand enhancer… another piece of an integrated larger solution.

Here’s a few things to keep in mind:

Know Your Target Audience. It is not about how many followers you have on Twitter or how many “likes” you have on Facebook. It is about having the right people follow you and like you. You can get your message out to 10 true potential clients and it will do far more for your business growth than getting it out to 1000 people who have no interest at all in what you are doing.

Think Like A Potential Client. If you were your own customer, what would you like to see on your Facebook page? What things would you find helpful and interesting. Those are the things you need to be sharing and putting up on your social media sites. Base your keywords on terms that your clients use. Be willing to share as much helpful information as possible. The more people come to rely on your site, the more they will talk positively about you to others.

Engage Your Audience. The more you ask of your social media fan base, the more they will give back. Post thought provoking material. Ask for opinions. Even get a bit controversial. Be a character. Make your posts fun or funny. Just get people talking. The more they talk on your page, the more they will talk about you to others who will in turn come to see what they fuss is all about.

There is no doubt about it; social media is here to stay. It is more important than ever that you get with the times and make sure you have your social media strategy in place and working for you.

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FB Timeline for Businesses… Will it Happen?

By Amanda Bala

As Facebook users get ready for the site wide implementation of the Facebook timeline for all profiles, businesses will have to wait for their turn to try it out. As of right now, the Facebook Timeline is not available to businesses and there is no word on when it will be ready, if ever, for marketers.

Many users have a love/hate relationship with FB and the changes that they implement. This is certainly true of the timeline. Some users rave about the functionality and character it gives to the page. Others flat out hate the way it looks, comparing it to My Space and arguing that it it was fine the way it was. Whatever your opinion of the timeline, if you are a business, you don’t have a choice about using it.

At the present time, the social networking giant is not allowing brands to create Timeline pages. There is no set date when they will do this, though they have hinted that it will happen. They issued a statement that, simply put, said they are focusing on the Timeline for individuals at this point, but are considering how to make it consistent for Pages as well.

There is argument on both sides to whether Timeline function will even work for marketers. Some users believe that it won’t work because it so personal and individual. Others feel that is exactly why it will work for brands. Either way, we will not be able know how it works until FB makes it available for pages.

However, with both Twitter and Google+ making changes to their sites that favor marketers in recent months, FB may feel a little more pressure to get the Timeline ready for businesses sooner rather than later. As of November, Google+ allowed brand pages and Twitter did the same. So, FB no longer has the monopoly for marketers on social media sites. How will that effect their decision to create the Timeline for Pages… only time will tell!

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Accidental Marketing?

By Amanda Bala

So, if you have read any of my blog posts, you know that I am a big fan of Emily Giffin. I love her books and I also I think that she is a genius when it comes to marketing and promoting her work. So, it should not come as a big surprise that I also am a “fan” of a lot of her Facebook pages or ones that pertain to her. Recently, I “liked” a page that I thought was about her book and possible upcoming movie, Something Blue. A few weeks later, I ended up getting an unexpected yet pleasant surprise…

About a week ago, I logged onto Facebook and got a message from the Something Blue fan page I had subscribed to. The first post read, “WOW! I just noticed that Something Blue has 43,281 fans… last time I looked it was hovering around 2000. WELCOME! Stay tuned for great deals and interesting facts” Now, looking at this post I realized it was for a jewelry page. I had not subscribed to a jewelry page… what was going on? The next post explained it all, “It looks like many of you are here by accident. Not sure how it happened, it was suggested that Facebook merged similar groups/pages? This page is for Something Blue handcrafted jewelry, not Something Blue the book by Emily Giffin. But, if you like the jewelry too, I invite you to stay for a special Sale event! Visit my shop and receive 25% off your ENTIRE purchase…”

Though I was slightly disappointed that I would not be receiving updates on how the “Something Blue” movie was going, I did look through some of the jewelry on the site. What I found was some absolutely stunning pieces of jewelery! I, like so many others, decided to not only stay a fan to the page but to also purchase some jewelry.

It got me to thinking about how fortunate a mistake this was for the owner of Something Blue Jewelry, or as she refers to it, “A Match Made on Facebook…” She went from having around 2000 fans to having almost 45,000 fans. As of August 18, 2011 she was anticipating her 2000th sale. With the amount of new fans that have been introduced to her work, I would guess that she has doubled, if not tripled her business in the past 3 weeks. Plus the fact that she so graciously offered a discount to those of us that had been put onto her site by accident. Great marketing! With her wonderful products and good customer service, I would not be surprised to see Something Blue Jewelry take off! I will definitely recommend the site to friends and I am sure I am not the only one.

So, in this case of accidental marketing, I would have to say that we are all winners. Something Blue Jewelry gets more customers and we get some fabulous jewelry. I can only hope that the owner sends a beautiful thank you and maybe a gorgeous necklace to Emily!

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