Archive for Facebook
Facebook’s Profile Boxes to Get the Axe – What to Do
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On my Facebook personal profile and business page, I’ve added several “profile boxes” – third-party applications that appear in the lefthand sidebar that link to things such as my e-newsletter subscription form, Twitter account, NetworkedBlogs, etc.
You’ve likely added profile boxes to your account, too.
The folks at Facebook, in their infinite wisdom (or their quest to keep users constantly confused and frustrated — I’m not sure which), are eliminating the profile boxes and replacing them with bookmarks that will appear on the left menu of your Facebook home page.
Here are instructions from Facebook’s Help Desk.
How to bookmark your profile boxes before they disappear forever:
To bookmark an application, click on the “Add bookmark” button that should be visible while you’re using the application. If no option to add a bookmark is available, it is possible that the developer has not yet built this functionality for their application.
How to add an application bookmark:
1. Click the Account drop-down menu in the top right corner of your home page and select “Application Settings.”
2. Find the application you’d like to bookmark. If you don’t see it in the list, select “Authorized” from the drop-down menu to view all of your authorized applications.
3. Click the “Edit Settings” link for the application you’d like to bookmark.
4. Choose the “Bookmark” tab in the settings box. From this tab you can select or remove the bookmark for that application.
Please note that if you don’t use a bookmarked application within 30 days, you will have to click on the “More” link in the Left Menu to access the bookmark.
Facebook Case Study: How One Restaurant Owner Creatively Builds His Following
Posted by: | CommentsDavid Jones, owner of Blazing Onion Burger Company
“I’m not very social,” confesses David Jones, owner of the Blazing Onion Burger Company. “But when it comes to my business, I’m an extrovert.”
A year ago, Jones created a personal Facebook account and began following “the big guys” — Starbucks, Subway, McDonald’s, Red Mango, Five Guys Burgers and Fries, Red Robin.
As he lurked on their Facebook pages, Jones learned what to do — and what not to do. “Some of those restaurants only post announcements of new store openings. That’s boring. And others only post promotions. Also boring.”
Jones vowed that the Blazing Onion’s Facebook page would not be boring.
And it isn’t.
In my September Relationship Marketing column for the Snohomish County Business Journal (Washington state), I detail several innovative techniques Jones uses to keep the Blazing Onion’s business Facebook page interactive and interesting.
You can steal — er — adapt these simple techniques for your own Facebook page. Read the full article and please share one thing you learned from David Jones that you can try on your Facebook page.
Should You Promote Your Business Via Your Personal Facebook Profile?
Posted by: | CommentsChris Berggren, a professional photographer from Sonoma, California who recently joined our new Social Media Support Group on Facebook (we’re also on LinkedIn), is a new Facebook user.
He writes:
I am striving to offer interesting content, pictures primarily for now, also I often get asked for photographic related advice. …Should I just promote through my personal page? How do I communicate with friends through my business page?
Many of us struggle with this issue, Chris, and how you use your Facebook account is largely a matter of personal preference.
Facebook’s terms of service state:
- You will not use your personal profile for your own commercial gain (such as selling your status update to an advertiser).
- You will not send or otherwise post unauthorized commercial communications (such as spam) on Facebook.
Keep ‘em separate
Both of those terms feel rather “gray” to me; to be on the safe side, I’ve elected to keep content on my personal profile and my business page separate. My personal profile “friends” are friends in real life. I stream my Blogging Bistro blog posts into my personal profile, but the remainder of my updates are about stuff that goes on in my personal life. My privacy settings are customized so that only my friends can see most of the information I post there. My personal profile is just that: Personal.
My business Page (@bloggingbistro) is devoted to business-related updates. I like Pages because they’re public. Similar to a blog, anyone can access your Page and read your updates. If they have a Facebook account, they can “like” you (formerly called “becoming a fan”).
If you choose, you can allow your “likers” to post updates, comments, videos, photos, and links to your Page, so the possibilities for interaction are endless.
Use ‘em in tandem
That’s my approach and it works for me. But others use Facebook differently. One of my clients – real estate agent Joni Kerley – uses her personal profile AND her Page to help build her business.
On her personal profile, Joni regularly shares cute pictures of her daughter’s French Bulldog puppy, and chats with friends about other “day in the life” events. She also streams her Everett Area Real Estate blog posts into both her personal profile and her Page.
And, to entice some of her friends to “like” her new Facebook business page, she posts teasers on her profile that include a hyperlink to her Facebook Page. Here’s an example:
When you click the link to go to Joni’s Facebook Page, you’ll get access to her “Hot Buy of the Week” video, exclusively for her Facebook fans.
Joni uses her Facebook business page to build her reputation as the go-to real estate agent in Snohomish County, Washington. Daily, she posts interesting, quirky updates about happenings around her county.
Now, back to Chris.
After taking a look at your new FB Page, Chris, I’m liking what you’re doing with photos. Each day, you’re posting one image that showcases various aspects of your photographic talent: weddings, commercial photography, and scenic shots.
This is nice because it allows visitors to focus on a single image (as opposed to an album of images), and it shows us, at a glance, the type of work you do. As you add more pictures, you can organize the previously-posted images into albums so visitors can easily access all your photos from one central location on your FB Page.
An effective value-added technique to get people to subscribe to your page is to offer photographic advice. Perhaps a photography tip of the week. Since you own a photo studio, I assume you’re marketing to prospective clients, so your tips should be geared for them. You could write tips such as “how to color-coordinate your family for a family photo” or “the five most important things you need to know about passport photos.”
Your turn!
Please share how YOU coordinate your Facebook personal profile and Page.
And if you have ideas for Chris to try, please share them!
While you’re at it, please give the folks mentioned in this article a little Facebook love:
Custom Image Sonoma (Chris Berggren)
Everett Area Real Estate (Joni Kerley)
Blogging Bistro (Laura Christianson)
And join our Social Media Support Group:
…on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=137678352938961
…on LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/groups?mostPopular=&gid=3279553
Do You Have a Social Media Support Group?
Posted by: | CommentsEvery day on the Blogging Bistro Facebook page, I post a “social media tip of the day.” Monday’s tip says:
Expect it to take 6 months to 2 years to build a fan base of quality online followers.
Mary Beth Smith responded:
Laura, thank you for pointing that out – this is not instant pudding – it takes time to build that audience, and is the most fundamental task of beginning a social media presence.
I love Mary Beth’s “instant pudding ” analogy. [Aside: my 14-year-old recently discovered how easy it is to whip up a box of JELL-O instant chocolate pudding; we're buying a Costco-sized pallet of it.]
Should we invest less effort in nurturing online relationships than we do in-person relationships? I believe all valued relationships require a long-term commitment. And because we don’t see most of our online contacts face-to-face on a daily basis, it’s safe to assume that virtual relationships take longer to build.
I propose a forming a social media support group for small business owners and solopreneurs. The group would be comprised of people who are committed to helping each other build our brands online. When we post an important article, video, or update, other members of the group can share the link with their networks.
As I was mulling over how a support group of this nature could work, I thought, “Why not create a Facebook Group?” So I did. It’s called Social Media Support Group, and it’s open to anyone who’d like to join.
Head over to the Social Media Support Group and you’ll see a sample update to give you an idea of how to share your links.
And because I know some of you prefer LinkedIn groups, I created a duplicate Social Media Support Group at LinkedIn.
Join now from either Facebook or LinkedIn — whichever network you use most often.
Questions? Suggestions?
Reader Dilemma: Duplicate Content on Facebook Page and Group
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One of my readers — Ann — asked the following question about Facebook. She’d like to hear from other Facebook users who have encountered her dilemma. Readers, it’s your chance to shine and offer Ann your advice!
Ann writes:
I have a personal Facebook profile and started a Facebook Group for a ministry I run.
However, I realized that maybe I should have started a FB Page, instead of a Group, so I created a Page (and kept the Group, too).
Because I want the people on the Page and the Group to get my post, I have to now do a double entry by posting on both the Page and the Group. However, there are people who have signed into both the Page and the Group, so they get the post twice. If they’re also part of my personal page they get it three times.
I’ve had one friend send a message to say that they get my posts multiple times and wonder if they should opt out of one. They still want to hear from me but not fill their FB inbox with so many of the same thing. How can I help them?
Ann’s issues, in a nutshell:
- Can she eliminate doing a double entry? If so, how?
- Can she prevent people who subscribe to her Page and her Group from receiving multiple copies of her post?
Five Fabulous Facebook Tutorials
Posted by: | CommentsYou won’t want to miss the June/July issue of Bright Ideas Blogzine, which is landing in Inboxes everywhere today.
This issue features five fab Facebook tutorials. You’ll learn how to create business pages (pages that are and aren’t connected to a personal FB profile); vanity usernames; add cool forms and widgets; stream your blog posts into your Facebook account, and more.
Subscribe now to receive this issue. You can either use the bright yellow form in the righthand sidebar, or send a blank e-mail to bloggingbistro@aweber.com.
You’ll receive a confirmation message in your Inbox within seconds. Click the link in the confirmation message, and you’re all set.
You can read all the back issues of Bright Ideas from the Archives page.
Sing Along With The Facebook Song
Posted by: | CommentsIt’s Facebook Friday, and what better way to celebrate than with a little levity. Sing along with “The Facebook Song,” courtesy of Rhett and Link.
Nab New Followers: Host a Facebook Contest
Posted by: | CommentsThis week, we’re helping one of our clients, Rich’s for the Home, run a Facebook-only campaign. Their goal: grow their Facebook fanbase.
Rich’s is a major U.S. retailer of BBQ grills, outdoor furniture, hot tubs, and hearth products. Since Mother’s Day is this Sunday and Big Green Egg® just released a new cookbook, we created a Big Green Egg recipe contest.
Our theory:
Guys love any excuse to fire up their EGG, and what better gift for the woman in your life than to grill, smoke, or bake something juicy for her on Mother’s Day?
We started by giving our potential contestants a little inspiration. On Rich’s blog, we reprinted a delicious recipe for Molten Chocolate Cake from the hot-off-the-press Big Green Egg Cookbook. (The publishers of the cookbook gave us permission to reprint the recipe.)
The blog post includes instructions for how to enter Rich’s Facebook contest:
- “Like” Rich’s Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/Richsforthehome
- Type your favorite, original EGG recipe on Rich’s Facebook discussion board: http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=66670019700&topic=17401
The prize, of course, is a Big Green Egg Cookbook, with the winner announced Mother’s Day, May 9. Rich’s will print the winning recipe on their blog this coming Monday.
The Facebooker at Big Green Egg is helping out, too – they’re publicizing the contest on their Facebook page, and allowing us to post updates about it on their FB page, as well.
Of course, we’re cross-promoting the contest from Rich’s Twitter account and posting regular reminders on their Facebook page.
Recipes are beginning to roll in, and Rich’s fan base is growing steadily this week.
If you or a friend own an EGG, be sure to enter the contest by Saturday midnight. Who knows? You just might become the proud owner of a Big Green Egg Cookbook!
Facebook Changes Its Fan Page Protocol Today
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Starting today, you no longer have to become a “fan” of someone’s Facebook business page. You simply have to “like” it.
This change was made because zillions of Facebook users complained that they don’t “like” the term “fan.” It sounds too strong. It sounds as if you’re a rock band groupie.
The folks at Facebook explain it this way:
We believe this change offers you a more light-weight and standard way to connect with people, things and topics in which you are interested.
So, what does it mean to “like” a Page?
Essentially the same thing as becoming a “fan.” The Page will be displayed in your profile, and in turn, you will be displayed on the Page as a person who likes that Page. The Page will also be able to post content into your News Feed.
Another change regarding “liking.” When you see a Feed story about a friend Liking a Page, there will be no feedback links below that story. However, if you hover over the Page name, you will see a small preview of the Page and the number of other people who have also Liked that Page. You can then Like that Page to add it to your profile, or you can click through to the Page itself.
And there is a difference between “liking” something one of your Facebook friends posts and “liking” a business Page.
- Liking a Page means you are connecting to that Page (in other words, it’s exactly the same as the now-defunct “becoming a fan” of a Page).
- On the other hand, when you click “Like” on a piece of content that a friend posts, you are simply letting your friend know that you like it without leaving a comment.
Glad we got that cleared up. Now, it’s time to test it. If you’re not already a “fan” of Blogging Bistro’s Facebook Page, hop on over and “like” me!
http://www.facebook.com/bloggingbistro
You’ll receive a social media tip of the day, every day of the year (we’re on Day 110 of 2010). See you there!
How to Encourage People to Share Your Posts on Their Social Networks
Posted by: | CommentsEva Marie Everson, a writing colleague, e-mailed me a question about her Blogger blog:
How can I encourage readers of my blog to share my posts on other social networks?
I asked Eva Marie whether she wanted to add a “widget” so people who like a particular blog post can re-tweet it or post it to one of their social networks OR whether she wanted to add social media icons to her blog’s sidebar (when people click an icon, they’re linked to Eva Marie’s Twitter or Facebook account, so they can begin following her).
Many people don’t realize these are completely different functions, so I needed to make sure I was answering the right question.
Eva Marie did, indeed, want her fans to be able to re-tweet her blog posts on their own social media sites.
To do this on Blogger, you add a “gadget.”
- Click the “Layout” tab from within your Blogger admin area.
- Then click “Page Elements”
- Click “Add a Gadget”
- In the upper righthand corner of your screen, you’ll see a “search for gadgets” form. Enter the search term “share”
Here are several sharing gadgets you can experiment with:
TweetMeme Retweet – useful for people who want to re-tweet your post.
UpTweet - does the same as TweetMeme.
Share it – a helpful gadget that allows your fans to share the post on either Twitter or Facebook.
Sociable – allows users to share your blog and posts on social networks and social bookmarking sites like Google Bookm arks, Del.icio.us, Digg, Reddit, StumbleUpon, Technorati, Facebook, Twitter and others.
Facebook Share – allows your fans to share your post on Facebook.
- Once you’ve selected the gadget you want, click the big “plus” sign on the right side of your screen.
- A pop-up form will offer you some configuration options. Configure the gadget, click Save, and then drag and drop the gadget where you want it to appear in your blog’s sidebar.
Eva Marie went through the process, and e-mailed me:
I DID IT!!!!
You have no idea how BIG this moment is.
Do you have a question for the Blogging Barista? Ask away; I regularly feature reader questions on my blog.