Here, There and Everywhere...Where in the Social World Should You Be?

There are so many different social media platforms out there, that I thought I would summarize and suggest a few of my favorites. See the table below to see where in the social world you might fit in!

Facebook Interests - The Latest Change to Facebook

If you are familiar with Twitter, then chances are you are familiar with making lists to categorize people that you follow. Good news...if you are also an avid Facebook user, Facebook will be rolling out a similar feature entitled, "Interests." You can now organize all of the pages and people that you follow on Facebook.

Below is a glimpse at how the new Interests section on your Facebook profile will appear. (It will show up in your sidebar on the lefthand side of your profile). You can either create your own Interests lists or you can subscribe to lists that other users have created and made public.

Below is a screenshot of what will appear if you click on the word interests (in the screen shot above). Here you can organize, edit and delete your interests categories.

Do you want to learn more? Rather than reinvent the wheel, I thought instead I would share this great article from Digital Brand Marketing, which give an in-depth description about the new Interests capabilities on Facebook! Enjoy. http://digitalbrandmarketing.com/2012/03/16/what-interests-you-facebooks-new-interest-lists/

Facebook Timeline Images [CHEAT SHEET]

As I mentioned in my blog post last week, starting March 30, 2012, whether you like it or not, Facebook will be converting all business Facebook Pages to the new Timeline layout. Here’s a quick checklist of things that you have the next 21 days to complete:

1. Design an eye-catching cover photo (851 px wide x 315 px high)
2. Correctly size your logo to fit in the new “profile picture” position (125 px wide x 125 px wide)
3. Design custom pictures for your “favorite” apps that will show on your timeline (111 px wide x 74 px high)
4. If you have created custom tabs, you’ll need to resize them to 810 pixels wide 
5. Dig up old photos (or as Facebook refers to them, Milestones), upload them to Facebook and include in your timeline. This could include a picture of your original building, a product or service launch, when a new employee was hired, etc.

Now for your challenge: for the next 21 days, you will have the option to preview what your page will look like in the Timeline format before you take it live. This gives you a great chance to play around with different designs, photos and layouts. 

A Few Facebook Insights Defined

Have you ever looked at the Insights for your Facebook Fan Page and wondered how to use the metrics that you are given to better market through Facebook? Do you know what the metrics mean? Following are the definitions of two very important metrics when it comes to marketing your business on Facebook:

People Talking About This

• The only Facebook metric that is visible to the public
• Represents the total number of people who have engaged in your page in any way. over the past 7 days, (i.e. liking, commenting, sharing, answering questions, responding, etc.)

Track “engaged” users

• Engaged users are unique people who have clicked any where on a post (during a 28 day time period)
• You can click on the number to see a pie chart of how your audience interacted with a particular post 
• The pie chart will also tell you if there has been "negative feedback" to a certain post. This usually means that someone has hidden your update

A screen shot of the engaged users box that shows how your fans have interacted with a specific post.

These are only a few of the important metrics that you should keep track of for your Facebook page. So, if you have 30 likes or more, head over to your Facebook page and start sorting out your insights!

Source: “FB Marketing All-In-One for Dummies” by Amy Porterfield

Social Media IS The New Word of Mouth Marketing

Word of mouth marketing has always been the most effective form of marketing because, naturally, we trust our friends opinions about products and services that they have used. Social Media has changed word of mouth marketing because now you are able to get opinions from more people than just your social circle. Did you know that product reviews posted by strangers are among the most trusted sources of information?

According to DP Dialogue, “14% of people trust ads, while 78% of people trust consumer recommendations. This means that 2/3 of the economy is influenced by personal recommendations.”  

Before today’s consumer visits a store, they grab their laptop, Ipad, tablet, smartphone, or any other wired device and visit social media sites, company websites, reviews sites,  and etc. to learn about a product or service. The following are some social actions that consumers take:

• Getting an online referral from a friend

• Becoming a friend or follower of a brand

• Reading blogs where products and services are discussed

• Writing reviews about products and services they have purchased

• Seeing a brand mentioned on a social networking site such as Facebook, Twitter, 

   or Google+

So, keep in mind that customers are talking about your brand right now, both online and offline. Word of mouth marketing is FREE, but it is your job to get out there and be responsive and interact with your customers.