Archive for December, 2010
Written by Mhairi Petrovic, December 24th, 2010
Despite this being his busy season, Santa has been really active online again this year:’
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Follow Santa’s progress on Twitter via NORAD and his Twitter profile.
On Facebook there are several Santas - its hard to see which is the real one but NORAD is on there too keeping track of his whereabouts.
Santa now ships to Canada – oh wait, I thought he lived here: shifty You Tube promotion. Ho ho ho.
The Elf Leader shares some seasonal ditties on MySpace.
For more on Santa, check out his wikipedia listing.
Even Wikileaks is in on the act – revealing Santa’s personal documents earlier this month along with his naughty list – hope you are not on it!
And last but not least rumour has it that Santa uses an iphone app to track wish lists now.
I wonder how he finds the time.
Happy Holidays to you all. Thanks for following Out-Smarts this year. We hope Santa is good to you!
Written by Corrie Scott, December 23rd, 2010
A business page is the business equivalent to a personal profile, and has a few advantages over the alternative of setting up a Facebook group for your company, although both have their strong points. Our previous post, Facebook for Business: Groups or Pages discusses the merits of both options, and you can always have both a group and a page for your company. However, between the two options, a Facebook page is probably the best way for a business to have a presence on Facebook.
A good analogy for pages vs. groups is to think of a Facebook page as a separate entity that is your business, whereas a Facebook group more closely resembles a club for your business. In other words, pages focus more on a business, whereas groups focus more on a shared interest in that business. With a page, updates and notices are seen as coming from the page itself, the names of the administrators are not listed, and your personal Facebook profile is not linked to the page which allows you to maintain personal privacy. With a group, you can control who joins your group, administrators are listed, your personal profile is linked to the page, updates come directly from you, and there is a 5000 member limit (no such limit exists for pages).
There are also a number of other features that are exclusive to Facebook pages. One key difference is that, unlike groups, a page is indexed by external search engines and shows up very high in Google search results. Pages also have the ability to add an application, which allows you to customize your page, show more content, and adopt a cohesive online presence. You can either use Static FBML to create your own customized tabs, or browse the Facebook Application Directory for a complete list of all the Facebook applications that can be added to pages. For the above reasons, a page not only appears more professional but also allows for much greater flexibility and room to grow as your customer base expands.
How to Create A Facebook Page:
Creating a Facebook business page is a simple process, just click here and choose whether you are a local business, brand, product, or organization, or an artist, band, or public figure. It is obvious which user type should pick the last category; however, it can be harder to pick between the first two. You should select local business if you strictly sell your product or services locally, and plan to continue this way in the future. For all other businesses, you should select brand, product, or organization. Also, if you chose local business, the template for the page is set up as if you are a brick and mortar business, whereas the brand, product, or organization choice gives you less restrictive info tab options for inputting your information. Choose carefully because once you have selected a category, you cannot change it without deleting your page and starting from scratch!
Once you have chosen your category, name your page, i.e. the name of your business, accept the terms, and click Create Official Page. Done! Again, name your business carefully. You cannot change it once youve created your page.
Now, fill out your new business page with all of your business information, in the same way that you would a personal profile. Finally, once youve completely filled in your profile, promote your new Facebook page and begin to grow your following. There are a number of ways to do this including, providing great content, targeting advertisements towards your target customers, and using Facebook suggestions to suggest your page to people who may be interested.
Remember to install Facebook Insights so you can track and measure your success using important metrics such as the number of fans added/lost per day, total fans, number of reviews, page views, unique views, photo views, video and audio plays, as well as total interactions. Also, dont forget to add your location details, hours of operation, and phone number to the information section so customers can find you offline as well, and remember to regularly update your page with new content to keep your customers engaged.
If you would like more information on Facebook pages, or need help creating one for your business, Out-Smarts Marketing can help – we provide social networking training and consulting services to help you use social media tools effectively. Contact us now to find out more.
Written by Corrie Scott, December 17th, 2010
By now everyone has heard of the social networking service, Facebook. The company isnt all that old – it launched in February 2004, and quickly grew into an internet sensation that currently has more than 500 million active users.
The population of Facebook, if it were a country, would be 3rd in the world after China and India. Those 500 million users spend over 700 billion minutes per month on Facebook, and 250 million active users log on to Facebook any given day.
Smart companies are learning how to harness the power of Facebook – with its vast amounts of information regarding consumer preferences, trends, and like/dislikes, it has never been this easy to reach your target market. However, we recognize that Facebook can be very intimidating for businesses used to operating in the traditional marketing realm of TV advertisements, newspapers and magazines, or radio announcements.
The following information will not only demystify some of the questions surrounding using Facebook for professional purposes but also prove that Facebook is an invaluable and increasingly essential part of a growing business.
How Facebook can help you build your business:
1. Branding
Continue to build brand awareness for your business and create a unified presence across the internet by creating a Facebook profile that uses your company logo and biography. Static FBML also allows you to create customized Facebook tabs. This creates a cohesive image and solidifies your brand in peoples minds.
2. Customer Engagement
Making your business available on a medium that your customers are already using regularly can only increase exposure and engagement. This is a great place to offer special deals, contests and promotions to current customers and to entice new ones to interact with your business.
3. Reputation Management
Facebook is about real people, which means real opinions. This shouldnt scare you off, but rather be seen as an opportunity to grow. If a customer is expressing displeasure at some product or aspect of your company, it should be seen as an opportunity to engage with them and rectify the problem in an open and transparent way. Remember, negative feedback isnt necessarily bad feedback if it allows your company to grow and gain a reputation for quickly solving customer complaints and problems.
4. Customer Feedback
Similar to reputation management, Facebook allows you to have a conversation with your customers by asking questions and responding to replies in a comfortable, non-threatening environment.
5. New Customers and Retention
Potential customers you may not have considered will be able to find and interact with your business online. Facebook also helps you stay connected with the customers you already have, and show them your appreciation for their business through communicating and providing great content.
6. Drive Web Traffic
Facebook shows up very high in Google search results because of the sheer number of people searching for, and interacting with, the social networking site every day. Your business on Facebook will also show up very high in Google search results which is where most people first look when researching a product or business. You can also drive traffic to your official website, or business blog, by including a link on your profile page which encourages fans to explore your business outside of Facebook as well.
7. Research Competitors and Business Leads
Other businesses are also on Facebook including competitors and potential allies. Its easy to view competitors profiles to see who their customers are and how they engage customers with content. This can give you tips to improve your profile. Facebook can also generate new business leads by exposing your business to other companies that may be interested in collaborating with you and vice versa.
8. Viral Marketing
The very nature of Facebook is viral. People see a comment or story they like, and they share it with their friends. Harness this power by providing exciting and engaging content to your customers and they will share it with their friends, who will share it with their friends, and so forth. Essentially, let your customers help promote your business!
9. Humanize Your Business
People like to buy from other people, and having a profile where you post company photos and interact with customers in a friendly way makes your business more approachable than a professional website. Facebook is also an excellent medium for content marketing because it engages customers with your business and entices them to share your information with their friends.
10. Targeted Advertising
Paid advertisements can be targeted to specific demographic targets and consumer preferences. Results can be easily tracked through Facebook Insights so you know exactly how effective your advertisements have been.
If you are interested in using Facebook for business purposes, but still a bit wary about tackling it by yourself, Out-Smarts Marketing can help – we provide social networking training and consulting services to help you use social media tools effectively. Contact us now to find out more.
Written by Mhairi Petrovic, December 03rd, 2010
In our last blog post on the topic of making your business accessible online, we gave a general overview of the techniques you can use to help potential customers find your real world store location using the Internet. This time, as promised, we will hone in on Google Places. Google Places allows you to create a free listing on Google Maps so that when potential customers search Maps for information or directions to your location, they’ll find your business easily. Not only that but they will be able to find out information about your business such as: your physical address, hours of operation and photos of your store.
Google Places is one of the most powerful tools you can use to help people find your bricks-and-mortar location. Its also free and easy to set up. Here is step-by-step guide to help you do so.
Step One – Get a Google Account
You dont need to have a website to take advantage of Google Places but you do need to have a Google account in order to get set up. If you have a gmail address then you can use that, if not, click here to go through the process of setting up your account and password details.
Step Two – Sign up for Places
Google Places allows you to place you business location on Google Maps. It makes it easier for people to find your location and easier for prospects to connect with you. To add your listing go the Google business centre, enter the details as prompted. First you are asked to enter the country and phone number. You will then be prompted to enter your basic information: Company name, address, postal code, email and phone information; then more detailed information such as hours of operation, type of business category and photos and videos of your location. You can also add custom details. Your listing will be previewed in Google Maps on the right hand side of your screen.
Step 3 – Verification
Once you have completed this process, Google will verify your details. They do this either by phone (they usually call you back to verify your information within a couple of days) or you can have the verification information send by snail mail to your address, if you prefer. Enter the verification code to complete the process. Your Google listing should appear on Places within a few hours.
Step 4 – Monitor
Google Place provides some rudimentary tools to allow you to measure impressions and actions for your listing. It is useful to keep an eye on this from time-to-time.
Step 5 – Promote
Google also allows you to promote your products or services using print or digital coupons that offer in-store discounts, giving customers further incentive to visit your physical location.
Google Maps is often the first place people go these days when trying to locate an address. Ensuring your location is listed there enhances the likelihood that potential customers will make it to your door.
