This is Part Two of our ongoing educational series. Our goal is to aid our users in understanding the constantly shifting Social Media landscape.
Explore other topics through the link below:
Facebook 101
: A practical guide
Before incorporating Facebook into your
marketing strategy, there are a few basics
you will need to consider, including how a
like page works.
A like page, once known
as a "fan" page -- typically a company,
association or cause that users choose to
"follow" or "like", has become a popular
tool for businesses. As like pages are
attached to a specific account, you will
need to create your own profile page.
Some tips to get you started:
Getting Started
Founded in 2004 by four Harvard students, Facebook has become the most popular social networking site worldwide with over 500 million registered users, or one out of every fourteen people.
In Canada, approximately half of the population--16,958,800 individuals--have a profile. Facebook has changed the way people interact with one another, allowing for a one-stop online shop for email, instant messaging, photo sharing, status updates and interests.
It has also created a new vocabulary, where the words facebooking and facestalking are part of the accepted social fabric. The word unfriend was the 2009 Oxford Dictionary word of the year.
One email, one account. Facebook aims to allow each user only one profile which is attached to an email address. It is advisable to tie your social media persona -- across Facebook and other sites -- to one, cohesive profile to help brand yourself and your business.
Manage your profile. Update your bio using a first person, conversational tone. A professional headshot for your profile picture that is consistent across all social networking sites will help facilitate people finding you. Consider a relaxed, informal look instead of a traditional corporate photo. Also, crop group photos as people who don't know you will not be able to identify you.
Make your brand "human". Social media is bringing company leadership out of the boardroom and into the public eye. Communities are increasingly wanting to interact with brands who embrace transparency and show a human face. Don't shy away from including family photos, interests, reading lists or other information that may make you more relatable to your public.
Adjust privacy settings. It is possible to use the same account for personal and professional contacts as long as your privacy settings control who sees what content and pictures. Feel free to upload vacation photos as long as you manage which contacts are privy to the information.
Do some research. Learn how 'likes' and 'interests' work as well as how to manage a community page. Facebook continually makes changes to the site to improve the user experience. Staying current of new developments will ensure your marketing strategy is up-to-date with the latest trends and developments.
Use for professional networking. While Facebook has largely been used as a purely "social", social networking site, don't rule out the possibility for professional networking. Reach out to business prospects, media contacts, potential mentors/collaborators and friends of friends. Keeping in mind that networking is equally what you can do for them as what they can do for you, offering your insight and assistance will go a long way in building relationships.
Make some Friend Lists: To enhance your privacy, Facebook allows you to make lists of friends with different levels of access to your information. This allows you to filter who sees your news feed as well as control who can see you on the chat function. You can have the potential of up to 100 lists with 1,000 friends on each, making this a useful tool to distinguish business contacts from personal.
Join groups. Look for relevant groups where you can engage the public and share your insight on economic/industry trends and related information. Most group owners will allow you to post information on the wall, so consider posting worthwhile articles, videos or insight, while being mindful that you should present yourself as a resource, not a salesperson. Group members may also be more likely to opt-in for your newsletters and additional communications.
Start a group. Consider creating your own group to engage friends, colleagues and current/potential customers. You can invite contacts to join or use Facebook's paid advertising to attract new members. Much like an email list, you can send periodic communication about new thought leadership, special promotions or general industry news.
Make a video or two. Social media has facilitated the rise of multimedia sharing. Consider producing some videos to share on your wall, the walls of friends and within your groups. Videos should be professional, yet need not be expensive. They could range from a company executive sharing insight in an interview format to a more lavishly produced video with the potential to go viral. As more people share your video through their Facebook walls or groups, or even through external Blogs and microblogs, your brand will garner additional exposure and coverage.
Create a welcome greeting. Consider creating a personal video greeting to be seen by your new Facebook friends and tag them to the video. They will get the notice to watch the video, thereby increasing your impact and communication with these individuals. They will also have immediate exposure to your company leadership, thus breaking down barriers and making your company more personable.
Facebook Strategy: How To Create One?
Creating a Facebook page or Like page is easy. With 500 million registered users, having a like page will allow you to connect with current or potential customers while building your brand reputation. There is no limit to the number of like pages available to an account, nor is there a limit to the number of people who can 'like' it. Some things to remember:
Content is public. All like pages are public, meaning people can view your page even if they are not logged into Facebook. Additionally, content posted on the page gets indexed on Google, so individuals can find your company even if they are not users of the site.
Content can be segmented. Looking to engage with a specific country, city or language group? Your posts can be customized and segmented by location and language, resulting in targeted, specific messaging. Share the work. You are able to add additional administrators to your page. Keep in mind, however, that everyone will have the same rights to the page, including adding or removing other admins, so choose wisely!
Add content. Think of applications you may include on your page including videos, rich text, graphics, opt- in box, internal job postings, links etc. Get creative and check out some of the third party applications to make your page stand out from the crowd.
Promote. Use Facebook adverts to promote your Like page to individuals, segmenting by location, age or interests. You can test different image and text based adverts to see what works and manage your budget through cost-per-click (CPC) and cost-per-impression (CPM) based pricing.
Convinced that leveraging Facebook to communicate with and engage your customers is the right option for you? Consider creating a strategy to ensure you are getting the most out of your time and financial commitment. Consider this 5 step approach:
Objective. What is the purpose of your account and/or like page. Is it to build brand awareness, enhance customer service, establish leads to build an email list, drive traffic to other sites, engage your community or a combination of the above? If you've identified more than one reason, it is important to prioritize and establish goals.
Design your social media strategy. Will you use Facebook as a stand alone marketing tool or integrate with other sites such as LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube or a company blog or website? Will you cross-populate content and followers to increase your overall company reputation? Creating a targeted and measurable plan will help you derive value from Facebook while also ensuring return on your financial and time investment.
Determine your content. Develop a plan for publishing content, including updates, photos, videos and links. Consider creating a matrix to determine what content will be fed to which site to get the right messages to your followers. Using a platform such as Tweetdeck or HootSuite will allow you to schedule your content and send out automatically. Also, remember the rule of 'thirds': one third of the content should be about your brand, one third about yourself or your leadership and one third about industry or related information.
Plan to promote. As discussed above, consider ways to promote your social media accounts. This may be through paid Facebook advertising or promotion on your website, blog, other social media sites, direct marketing literature, groups, updates etc.
Aim to convert. While it is great to have large numbers of followers, it it inconsequential if they don't convert into customers. Build your community by providing timely and relevant content, while also engaging in dialogue. Social media is about two way communication, not just feeding followers content. Also consider promotional strategies such as coupons, discounts or incentives to ensure your followers also help generate revenue.