Category Archives: Facebook

If you are looking for a true HOW TO book, then you’ll do well to get a copy of Inbound Marketing: Getting Found Using Google, Social Media, and Blogs by Brian Halligan & Dharmesh Shah. [This article was originally published in my blog How to do Social Media by the Book.]

We are indeed living in a revolution, and it’s no longer just the big companies with big budgets that attract attention and customers. We’re using the Web . . .

And here are 19 ways to get found there, according to the authors:

1. If you’ve somehow managed to resist signing up for Facebook, despite requests from your friends and family, go ahead and do it.

2. Create a Facebook Business Page.

3. Configure a sub-domain that redirects to your Facebook page (e.g., http://facebook.yourcompany.com) This will make it easy for you to communicate the URL of your page.

4. The next time you host a business event (conference, webinar, training session, etc.), use Facebook events to invite people and get RSVPs.

5. Look for your existing business contacts on Facebook. Invite them to connect with you.

6. Make sure your LinkedIn profile is 100 percent complete. Link your profile to your business web site and blog.

7. Create a LinkedIn user account and profile. And if you have one, make certain it is current.

8. Within the profile, add a link to your company’s web site. Change the default “web site” or “my blog” to the actual name of your company or blog.

9. Use the group search feature to find the biggest groups in your industry. Join these groups and start participating in the discussion.

10. If you don’t find the LinkedIn group you are looking for, create it.

11. Find the most relevant categories for your business and subscribe to the LinkedIn Answers RSS feed for them, so you can provide some answers.

12. Make sure to reserve your company name for a Twitter account.

13. Ensure that you complete your online Twitter profile including a brief bio, your location, and a link to your web site. Many people on Twitter are looking for interesting people to follow. Make sure they can find you.

14. Use tools like Twitter Search and the search feature on Twitter Grader (http://twitter.grader.com) to find influential Twitter users in your industry. Begin forging connections early.

15. Create an account for yourself on Digg. Come up with a catchy and memorable user name. Although, it is usually suggested to maintain consistent usernames, Digg does not like commercial-sounding names.

16. On Digg, subscribe to the RSS feed for whichever category is most relevant to you (likely the business/finance category). This way you can see popular articles.

17. When you see an article on Digg that you like and that’s relevant to your business, befriend the person who submitted it. If the article is very relevant, review some of the other users who have dug the article and befriend them as well.

18. Subscribe to the RSS feed of your friends’ submissions. This way you can track what they are submitting. Digg those articles from your friends that you like and comment on one article a day.

19. Create a StumbleUpon user account, download the toolbar, and follow the same suggestions made for using Digg.

FURTHER READING:

10 Mistakes Made by Social Media Newbies

Inbound Marketing Builds Authentic Relationships for Mutual Gain – includes review of book

Managing Your Online Presence

Twitter Basics

Do we need an Emily Post for Social Media Etiquette

Facebook

11 Do’s and 7 Don’ts For Marketing on Facebook

June 6, 2011 Shari Weiss 12 Comments

Everyone wants to be told what to do, according to 19th century philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson. That’s one reason we read books — and write blogs. I combined the two in a “How to” site with lists I will be reposting here on a weekly basis. If you just can’t wait, though, click on the How-to link for all the lists.

from The zen of social media marketing by Shama Hyder Kabani

Every brand should know about Facebook marketing. Shama writes that the goal on this social media platform should be to attract people to your website, build trust, and gain visibility — all things that inevitably lead to sales.

Here’s what she says you SHOULD DO:

1. Spend time creating an outstanding profile.

2. Let your personality shine through.

3. Reach out to people in a professional and thoughtful manner.

4. Build a loyal Facebook friendship base.

5. Leverage notes and status updates by providing value.

6. Work on attracting people to your site (using real value, not pushy links).

7. Have a friending policy in place.

8. Build a community around your topic or specialty.

9. Be proactive in your networking efforts.

10. Share relevant photos and videos.

11. Participate actively in groups.

And here are her DON’T DO’s:

1. Don’t be pushy.

2. Don’t write your web link on someone else’s Wall.

3. Don’t send or accept frivolous applications.

4. Don’t use your business name as your profile name.

5. Don’t put up crude or thoughtless pictures or comments.

6. Don’t expect social media to “work” for you (you do the work).

7. Don’t “friend” blindly — let people know why you are requesting a connection.

No matter what your business or organization, chances are your customers and potential customers are using Facebook. Bring your business to them.

FURTHER READING:

Shama’s website: The Marketing Zen Group

20 Facebook mistakes you should avoid

HOT off the “ultijmate” Facebook Marketing Guide

What can you do with your Facebook Friends

Patrick Schwerdtfeger discusses Facebook and other social media strategies

Facebook, Guest Post

Is playing Farmville a social media marketing necessity?

February 20, 2011 Shari Weiss 12 Comments

So what do you know about Farmville?

For most readers of this blog — i.e., serious or somewhat serious business types learning how to use social media marketing — Farmville is a nuisance, a game played by people with nothing but time on their hands.

However, it’s just possible that “we” are wrong. According to Feb 18 stats, Farmville has 80 million users; 15% of Facebookers play Farmville, and 31 million do it daily.

The implication for marketers is clear. Your target consumer could be on Farmville and perhaps you need to be there as well. One friend recently told me that her mom spends HUNDREDS OF DOLLARS, i.e., Real American Dollars playing Farmville to buy “things.”

Knowing nothing about Farmville myself, I called upon my British colleague Mike Maynard, one of those 31 million daily players. Here’s one thing he said:

Imagine American kids learning to speak English; cool, awesome, mega, outrageous and heavy; man… If you notice kids getting up really early in the morning and saying Ar a lot; don’t worry they are getting up to do the Farmville milking. Farmville cash – is it real money?

. . . and here is the rest:

Farmville cash: How “real” is it?

Guest Post by Michael Maynard

Zynga the makers of Farmville and other games running via Facebook is in the news trying to raise up to $500M in investment and analysts now value Zynga at $10 Billion.

I checked the price of Farmville cash and Farmville coins this morning:

For comparison I have chosen 115 FV cash for $23 and also 33,500 coins for $23.
You can get it cheaper by buying 650 FV cash for $115 and people are buying in that sort of quantity on a weekly basis.

But is it like real money and should governments regulate Zynga and its virtual money?

It is certainly big business when you have a license to print money! It is thought though that only the Federal Reserve in the US and the Bank of England in the UK have a license to print money; so is this ‘real’ money? If it is like real money, could you go to prison for stealing ‘virtual’ money?

Zynga also has an online poker game, and hacker Ashley Mitchell from the UK hacked the Zynga server stealing 400 billion chips worth around $12,000,000, which he set about selling cheap on the black market. He sold them for a fraction of their “value’”and still made $100,000 from a third of them. Should he go to prison for stealing virtual money? It’s not real is it? The judge at his trial in the UK thinks it is.

Mike’s Farmville Millions

I’ve been writing my Farmville Millions blog articles telling people how to make millions of coins at Farmville with screen shots showing that I have done it.

Now I am working on the Farmville Billionaire. Yes, I am going to make a cool 1,000,000,000 coins:

33,500 coins according to Zynga cost $23 and so what are a billion worth?
I make it $686,567 and so far I have over 377,000,000 of them.
I have made $258,835 and change… well over $12,000 a day.

It’s not taxable is it?

Bugger… I have read that there is a black market for most virtual money in some countries; but I see no way of transferring it to someone else; so it isn’t money.

If Zynga made FV cash and coins interchangeable and then allowed people to buy other things with the virtual money, that would be different. If I could buy a state of the art laptop for say 13,000,000 coins; worth $13,000, I could just about afford that today and I could buy a few for my family over the course of the week. I wouldn’t mind an Android phone, and a new car would be nice. I think 100,000,000 coins for a car is fair — they are worth $68,000 at Zynga prices.

Zynga did offer me FV cash at a discount, though, just after I checked out the prices. They offered me 115 FV cash for $10, and so even they don’t think it’s worth the money.

I suppose some people would say it is worth whatever people are willing to pay for it.

I know that people do go in stores and buy game cards in the USA for amazing amounts of money; I’m amazed anyway! In the UK we are expected to use a credit or debit card. 115FV cash for $10; that’s about £6.00 and what would I get for it? I could have a bakery and make loads of stuff and sell it for coins and an orchard for my trees!

Cool… I have two orchards already though and I have a winery; I don’t really have the time to run a bakery.

If you still think Farmville is silly with these amounts of money involved, consider the themes. The French theme not long ago had American kids asking for croissants for breakfast and learning to Parlez Français; we also had a Tuscan wedding theme. I still have a “holiday tree” on my farm – Zynga talk for a Christmas tree; I think and we are into a Valentine’s theme now.

There is also farming in the English countryside theme coming soon. Imagine American kids learning to speak English; cool, awesome, mega, outrageous and heavy; man… If you notice kids getting up really early in the morning and saying Ar a lot; don’t worry they are getting up to do the Farmville milking. If they offer you the keys to their combine harvester and sing, ‘I got a brand new combine harvester and I’ll give you the key all day’ they’re hooked!

Zynga games like Farmville appeal to different types of personalities. The more macho go for mafia wars and it takes a particular type of personality to be good at Farmville. Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg would have no chance. Bill Gates says young people should start off flipping burgers and work their way up, but he never did that. He started by getting mommy on the board of IBM to give him a hand up – right to the top! I have flipped burgers; it was only for a few hours but I did deal with a drunken security guard. It taught me a lesson: people look down on you as a burger flipper. The next day I had him fired on my way to the office… They don’t teach that stuff in Harvard…

People who have learned the hard way and are used to starting with nothing can take that small bit of land they give you in Farmville and work their way up to a big farm and a billion coins.

I need 69 friends for a larger farm; I’ll get there, we work our way up by being friendly and helpful. If you walk all over people or are narcissistic, as many people are on Facebook; then you languish at the bottom. I need 100,000 XP to go up a level and many of my neighbours don’t have 100,000 XP in total. I will actually get 10,000,000 XP when I spend my billion on mansions and things; it a shame I can’t buy a train…

I had a message from one of my neighbours this morning, it said “hey hi,” she is only 13 years old; her vocabulary will develop. I will have to send her presents to help her get started; she isn’t doing very well. If Bill Gates’ mommy can help him become a billionaire then I don’t see why I should engage in a little nepotism and send a few Farmville cows to my great niece. I wonder if she knows I’m her great uncle.

I’ll be back…

In the meantime you can check out Mike’s blog-with-a-blog: In which you get to meet Mike Maynard and his Farmville strategies

And, of course, tell us your own Farmville stories and tips.

Facebook, LinkedIn, Sharisax Is Out There, Twitter

Social Media Resolutions: a Checklist for Newbies

January 2, 2011 Shari Weiss 14 Comments

Many of my friends and business acquaintances are coming around to recognizing the inevitability of “The Social Network” as key to their future business success. Whether it’s the Facebook movie and Mark Zuckerberg as Time’s 2010 Man of the Year or the predictions of everything going mobile, the time to Get Connected is NOW.

So today’s First-of-the-New-Year post will list my recommendations for becoming part of the Social Nation.

Five 1st Steps to Join the Social Media Revolution

____ 1. LinkedIn: If you have not already joined LinkedIn, then do so ASAP.

LinkedIn is an amazing platform for finding prospective clients as well as information, jobs, suppliers, and partners. Before you can reap the rewards from this site, however, you MUST take some time to optimize your Profile for maximum “find-ability”: check relevant links below.

____ 2. Blogging: If you still feel uncomfortable with the word “blog,” then get over it.

Short for Web Log, a blog is the best example of how every individual and every company can now become a publisher with very little — or no — expense. (A) Writing a blog gives the author an opportunity to establish an online presence as the Go-To Source for an area of expertise, in addition to giving companies a platform for engaging with customers and other publics. (B) Reading blogs has become routine for business people seeking current facts and opinions on news and trends in their industries, as well a the newest “mass medium.”

____ 3. Facebook: If you are still worrying about privacy on the most popular web site on the globe, then you need to understand the business value of Facebook and how to engage with “friends” and “fans” to build and protect your online reputation.

Begin with the knowledge that scores of your prospective customers as well as possible new employees are chatting, gaming, posting, searching, and buying via Facebook. Keep in mind that although we hear about changes and hints of changes on an almost daily basis, getting started with a profile and experience interacting with Friends will prepare you to “roll with the punches” as Facebook continues to evolve into the Place To Be online.

____ 4. Twitter: If you still think Twitter is Stupid, think again.

It may be hard to remember how resistant business was to allowing employees to email in the mid ’90s — and that’s because many of us today depend on letters via computer rather than via post office and messages online where we can access at our leisure rather than phone calls which we either miss or are too busy to answer. Many prognosticators are telling us that email will be going away, or at least will become less useful as people discover the many applications of “microblogging.”

____ 5. YouTube: If you haven’t checked for a YouTube video to teach you how to do something you hadn’t known how to do, then DO It.

And consider buying a flip video or simply take a video with your cell phone and post it to YouTube. You will build your skills as you see how powerful videos are for spreading messages, establishing your expertise, and discovering almost everything you need to know — as well as entertaining you and your friends.

Sharing, not selling, is what the Social Nation is all about . . . and 2011 is a great time for you to start. Remember one important tip, and that is to Take Baby Steps. Start slowly, but start.

RELEVANT READING

Simple Answers to Six Basic Social Media Questions

Worksheet for filling out your LinkedIn profile

Maximize your LinkedIn profile

How to create your own success on LinkedIn

To Blog . . . or Not To Blog . . . that is a good First Question

Avoid these NINE Blogging Errors

Beginning Bloggers Workshop: what should you blog about?

Will a blog help you build your business and other typical blog questions

20 Facebook mistakes you shouldn’t make

How to do Facebook right . . . if you care about your Online Reputation

Twitter Basics workshop “cheat sheet” and other links

Helpful hints for Going Viral on YouTube

and if you’d like to read what NOT to do in social media:

10 Mistakes made by Social Media Newbies

Facebook, Guest Post

20 Facebook Mistakes You Should Avoid

November 11, 2010 Shari Weiss 27 Comments

Have you ever been “scolded” for committing a Facebook faux pas? Did you seek out an Emily Post to figure out what to do and NOT do on the most popular social media sites? I said “Yes” to both those questions last year and then wrote this article.

However, today I found the best article on What Not To Do on Facebook, written by my good friend and social media colleague Karen Clark.

Stop Annoying People on Facebook

Guest Post by Karen Clark

I’ve gotten great reviews of my Facebook Do’s and Don’ts report that you can get when you subscribe to my newsletter. Since writing that though I’ve noticed even more “bad behavior” on Facebook! A lot of it coming from so-called Social Media consultants. I decided to poll people on my Twitter and Fan Page to see what the most annoying Facebook behaviors are.

Here is what we came up with – do you see yourself in any of these? Then knock it off!

1. If you’re an active Twitter user, do not have your Tweets feed into your Facebook Profile or Fan Page – it’s too much, too often, and uses too much Twitter lingo – it’s annoying. Disconnect the auto-publish and either use Selective Tweets to share occasional Tweets, or turn it off completely.

2. Don’t constantly send gifts, badges, eggs, hearts or other “cutesie” items to people. Once in a while, and for a reason, is OK, but not over and over and over.

3. Don’t tag people who aren’t actually IN the picture, note, or video. That’s “tag spam.”

4. Don’t authorize your game apps to post to your Wall (and therefore OUR news feeds) every time you score, win, kill someone or need help. If you must share, post manually not automatically.

5. Don’t post something dramatic leaving out crucial information – such as “Oh my gosh I can’t believe it!” – without giving the details. Don’t make us beg, it’s annoying and manipulative. If you don’t want to tell, don’t post. If you do want to tell, then tell!

6. Don’t post your own self-promotional junk on someone else’s Fan Page wall. Would you go into a brick and mortar store and plaster posters about your business?

7. Don’t use Facebook Mail (private messages) to spam people you don’t even communicate with. Messages are for friends who want to have a more private conversation.

8. Don’t use the Events as a way to promote a non-event such as running an event that runs Nov. 1 to Nov. 30 and the event is “Join My Business Opportunity” – bad form!

9. Repeatedly negative posts – whining, ranting, venting, complaining about how bad your life is. How is this adding to anyone’s life?

10. Constantly inviting friends to participate in games – Chances are if we ignored or blocked one, we won’t agree to any of them, so stop inviting us please.

11. Don’t repost something original and brilliant I said without asking permission and/or giving me credit for it. Use the “Share” link so it says “via so and so” or tag me in the post or at least say “Thanks to Susie Q for this great tip” for example.

12. Don’t keep suggesting I become a Fan of your Fan Page over and over and over. If I am ignoring you, I am IGNORING you. There’s no way for me to block the suggestion so please take a hint. A general rule of thumb is to invite someone once, and maybe once again in a couple weeks and then stop. A generic “share” of your Fan Page link to your wall occasionally is enough to remind people and give them a chance to choose whether to join you.

13.If you’re using FB for business, and aren’t a good speller or have a decent command of your primary language – consider having someone proofread for you – or compose in Word and use spellcheck/grammar check. A minor typo here and there is one thing, but improper English and obviously misspelled words reflects poorly on you as a business.

14. Don’t put your personal problems out there on Facebook and then get mad when people jump in with advice or their opinion. If you don’t want a discussion, don’t bring it up.

15. Don’t start drama on Facebook. Do you know how that makes you look to others?

16. Don’t reply to a status update or a post on your wall by going to the other person’s wall and starting a new post. Just click ‘Comment”

17. Don’t post personal things on someone’s wall or status update that should be private or could be embarrassing.

18. Don’t post overtly sexual remarks or use profane language. If you wouldn’t say it in the company of strangers or friends of friends, don’t say it in public on Facebook.

19. Do not post business related items over and over on your personal profile. We tune you out!

20. And last but not least, we do not need a play by play of your day, every 5 minutes!

What would you add?

Check out Karen’s other Facebook Guest Post on this blog:Tips & Tabs for Facebook Fan Pages.

Facebook, Guest Post

Tips & Tabs for Your Facebook Fan Pages [“Basic” but advanced]

July 13, 2010 Shari Weiss 14 Comments

Karen Clark is as charming as her smile, and I have learned a great deal from her as we both travel along Social Media Revolutionary Road.

One day Karen’s photo appeared prominently on my Facebook profile page, and the next day I met her face-to-face at a get-together for the speakers at the first SocialBiz2010 conference held in Petaluma last April.

Karen leads social media workshops for all levels of learners from beginner to advanced, and the following is an article just posted on her site. Being the friend she is, she has allowed me to re-post it for my readers to learn from, as well. And she invites you to go to MyBusinessPresence.com if you have any questions.

Advanced Facebook Fan Page Resources

Guest Post by Karen Clark

To customize unique tabs on your Facebook Fan Page, use the Static FBML Application:

http://www.facebook.com/#!/apps/application.php?id=4949752878&ref=ts

Under its logo click Add to Page then select your Fan Page.

Visit your Fan Page, and under your picture/logo click on Edit Page. From the list of items on the next panel, find the FBML-FBML section and click Edit. This will bring you to a blank box with the title FBML. Change the title to whatever you would like your new tab called, and then insert either FBML code or plain HTML code into the box. I have some basic HTML commands on this blog post.

To create multiple FBML tabs, while you are editing one of them, go to the bottom left and click Add Another FBML Tab, and you will be able to add up to 10 unique pages.

You can also use an HTML editor to create something the way you would like it to look. I personally use Dreamweaver website creation program, but that is typically too pricey and complicated for non-web designers. Try using something like this HTML editor. You may even have something on your computer already. Just make sure that you are using plain text HTML.

CAUTIONARY NOTE: One particular problem with many text editors (like Word – do not use it unless you can convert to plain text only) will use “smart quotes” or “curly quotes” which do not work in FBML tabs. FBML needs all quotation marks within the code to be completely straight. If you have HTML you are using that isn’t working – check your quotes! Another thing to remember is that if you are using a web page creator, only copy and paste the code BETWEEN the <body> and </body> tags. Everything before and after and including those tags will cause your code to not work. If you have any trouble or need me to double check your code, let me know!

Most of the time you will need the file URL of any images you are using on your fan page. This will be http://www.something.com/images/whatever.jpg or something like that. If you have images you want to use on another web page of your own (do not lift off of others!) then you can usually right-click on the image, View Image to get the file URL or Copy Image Location, then paste that file URL.

PHOTOS: If you do not have access to the image already hosted on one of your sites, upload it to a site like Photobucket. Sign up for one of their free accounts, upload your image, and then find the Share Image section, which will give you either the embedding code which usually works, or the file URL.

EMAIL: If you would like to capture your Fans’ email addresses, you can create a new Static FBML page and copy/paste your email newsletter provider’s website html code and make it work. For mine, I use MailChimp. There is a place to create a “Small Form for Website” which fits fine. Just make sure you check off the box that says to add a non-javascript form.

CONTACT: For a Contact Page where your fans can ask you a question or send you feedback that arrives by email, I use Freedback. This is free if you do not mind your visitors having to see some ads, or you can pay a small fee to get a form ad-free. You will be given the html code to paste into an FBML tab.

REVENUE: If you would like to collect money for services or products on an FBML tab, you can do so using a free shopping cart that I have used for years. This is not actually a shopping cart system as it is a way to add code for an “add to cart” button wherever you would like one, and clicking on it leads to the mals-e page that you are able to customize. The transaction then takes place on the mals-e secure servers and integrates with either Paypal or a merchant account, or you can even tell them to send a check if you prefer. Some people have also been able to simply get Paypal buttons from Paypal and paste the code into their FBML pages but I use mals-e. It emails me when I have an order, and then I log in to get the credit card information, or it confirms that it has been paid through Paypal.

BLOG: Networked Blogs is my preferred application for importing your blog posts into your Fan Page or personal Profile page. You can sign up for it here.

TWITTER: To tie your Fan Page to your Twitter account. This will send anything you post to your Fan Page over to your Twitter account, truncating it to 140 characters including a link back to your Fan Page for them to read the rest.

INTEGRATION: And finally, to manage all of your online presence tasks, consider using an integration tool such as HootSuite. This allows you to access all of your accounts from one screen – Facebook Profile, Fan Pages, Twitter, Linked In – and monitor for replies. It also lets you monitor any keywords or search terms you wish, as well as schedule some non-conversational posts in advance. This is handy if you will be away from the computer or out of town.

* * *

Facebook Fan Page gurus: Any more tips for our readers?

FOR MORE BASIC FACEBOOK INFORMATION:

Do’s and Don’ts on Facebook to Preserve Your Online Reputation

How to put your Facebook Friends into Lists

Facebook

What You Can Do With Your Facebook Friends

April 25, 2010 Shari Weiss 8 Comments

“Facebook Follies” can be avoided when you know what you’re doing with your FB Friends.

At a recent workshop for Newbies, we began chatting about Facebook Do’s and Don’ts and then more basic questions like “Why is the Wall called the Wall?” and “How do you make sense of everything that you see on your Facebook Home Page?”

We took a step-by-step approach to understanding some basics, and one of the participants asked for the lesson in “black and white,” so here it is:

What do you see when you sign in to Facebook?

You go directly to your Home page where you will see the phrase News Feed in the wide middle column [see screen directly below].

To the right of News Feed are the labels “Top News” and “Most Recent”
Below the update box that says “What’s on your mind?” is a stream of updates from your friends.
This stream [by default] is Top News and includes the updates that Facebook has determined are the most popular.
If you select Most Recent, the stream will include updates from all of your friends as they are posted.

BUT . . . do you really want to read every comment from every friend? Probably not.

10 Steps to CREATE LISTS to manage your Friends

1. At the top right corner, you will click on the word “Account”

2. Here is the drop down box to the right:

3. Choose “Edit Friends” on the top of the list.

4. Check the screen below and . . .

5. Click in the “All Connections” link in the left hand corner.

6. Here is your next screen ALL OF YOUR CONNECTIONS:

7. Click on “Create New List”– Here is the Drop Down box:

8. In the “Enter a Name” box, write something like FRIENDS, and then click on every contact whom you want on your Friend List.

9. Perhaps you will make other lists for FAMILY, CLASSMATES, CLIENTS, etc.

10. Once you have divided your groups, you can now select the “streams” instead of merely accepting the Most Recent updates from all your connections.

Are these steps clear enough? Any questions, please list then in the comment section . . . and enjoy your Friends’ Updates.

Facebook, Featured

How TO DO Facebook Right . . . If You Care About Your Online Reputation

April 17, 2010 Shari Weiss 21 Comments

When I heard the title “The zen of social media marketing,” I knew I had to read this book by Shama Hyder Kabani. Her chapter on Facebook was really detailed with lots of tips, so I thought I’d offer many of the items on Shama’s list of Do’s and Don’ts with my own comments.

Facebook DO’s and DONT’s for those with a business to grow

DO:

1. Spend time creating an outstanding profile

a) Begin with the “right” photo. Many people suggest that Best Practice — for those wanting to establish a consistent and credible online presence — is having one head shot that is distinctive, i.e., memorable, but not too casual.

b) The brief message below your photo could be a bio, mission statement, and/or a quote you live by.

c) Personal information you include, like hobbies and activities, can spark deeper relationships when connections see you share similar interests.

2. Let your personality shine through

Remember that people do business with people — not organizations. The whole reason why Facebook works for business is that you as an individual have the opportunity to build one-on-one relationships with people who can grow to like you better and trust you more.

3. Reach out to people in a professional and thoughtful manner

The word I like is “deliberate” i.e., EVERYTHING you write on the Internet needs to be carefully thought out; it’s indelible ink — and Findable.

This does not mean you are “inhuman”; on the contrary, you just need to be your Best Self. If you have just had a bad experience or you’re simply in a bad mood, write your feelings down somewhere else besides on the Global Whiteboard.

When people do discover you online, they should find a person who is the Go-To Source for some kind of information. That is the kind of online reputation you want.

4.Build a loyal Facebook friendship base

Shama suggests having a “friending policy” and most experts agree that if you want to expand your business using social media, you need to expand your definition of a friend, as well. Think connections, not intimate buddies. If you have really personal stuff to talk about, that doesn’t belong online anyway.

5. Leverage Notes and status updates by providing value

Status updates give you an opportunity to engage regularly on Facebook with short messages that show who you are, what you care about, and how you can help your community solve problems and meet challenges.

The Notes section is like a blog on which you can write your own short articles or share helpful information that you read. Your Notes entries will first appear as News Feed updates and then remain accessible on your menu board.

6. Work on attracting people to your site (using real value, not pushy links)

One of the most important “commandments” is Thou Shalt Not SPAM!

People typically come onto Facebook to see who’s there, what they are doing and thinking. The last thing they want is to be sold anything . . . so if you want to “use” Facebook for business reasons, you do not sell products/services — rather, you sell yourself, your nice, friendly, smart self.

7. Build a community around your topic or specialty

This is the Real Opportunity for building your business online: Start a Fan Page. It is a micro website, a public profile for your business/products/services in your Facebook neighborhood.

Invite your connections [i.e., Facebook Friends] to become your “Fans” and then keep them engaged:

Be proactive in your networking efforts
Share relevant pictures and videos
Participate actively with special offers and other reasons to keep your fans wanting to see what’s new.

Use your Fan Page content to build Brand Evangelists!

. . . and here are Shama’s DON’TS

1) Don’t be pushy

2) Don’t post your web link when writing something on someone’s Wall.

3) Don’t send or accept frivolous applications.

4) Don’t use your business name as your profile name.

5) Don’t put up crude or thoughtless pictures or comments.

6) Don’t expect social media to “work” for you.

7) Don’t be impatient.

FURTHER READING

Book Review: The zen of social media marketing

Don’t make these social media “newbie” mistakes

How to do social media “By the Book”

FURTHER WRITING

Please leave your own tips and experiences in the comment section below. Let’s help each other get the most value out of Facebook.

Phoro by Howard Blum

Facebook, Featured, LinkedIn

Social Media Victories — and how to win them

March 25, 2010 Shari Weiss 4 Comments

Bay Area Consultants hear SOCIAL MEDIA TIPS from popular speaker Patrick Schwerdtfeger

Back by popular request, Patrick presented more detailed online marketing tactics — building from his earlier talk on social media basics delivered last fall.

Author of Webify Your Business, Patrick spoke at 127 events around the globe in 2009. He shares social media success stories and practical strategies that inspire his audiences to go home and start creating plans of their own.

Below are 14 videos taken at the 90-minute presentation — from how to introduce yourself online to maximizing the professional opportunities on LinkedIn.

First, however, read the reactions from 10 of the more than 70 entrepreneurs in attendance.

I went into Patrick’s presentation knowing nothing about social media except that someone told me I was being reviewed on Yelp and joined LinkedIn because I was invited.
The one step I decided to implement was making a video for YouTube on how to do something specific in QuickBooks and start a blog to connect to my website.” — Pamela Lyons

Pamela teaches companies to leverage technology with their accounting practices using training, part time CFO, and bookkeepers onsite or remote. She takes QuickBooks to the next level to get results on your financial information.

“I’m going to follow-up on Patrick’s suggestion that we choose one standard head-shot photo to use in all of our online media outlets, as these will become our brands.” — Steven Tulsky

Steven offers financial Expertise for the Nonprofit Sector: The Benemetrics Consulting Group partners with nonprofit executives, directors, and finance staff to develop, evaluate, and communicate meaningful financial information, enabling them to implement good decisions that assure the financial well being and mission effectiveness of their organizations.

“Patrick’s presentation showed me that “doing” social media could be easy and fun! The big thing – get started!
The best tip for me was to create educational videos for You Tube, leverage them with similar related videos, match my current branding and then, get the word out there. Patrick is a great speaker – he loves “this stuff” and enjoys sharing the information.” — Deborah Myers

An acupressurist and Health Educator, Deborah unravels the mysteries of the body, bringing health and wellness to your personal and business life.

” Patrick has a wealth of useful information on Social Media Marketing; he has a gift for simplifying and giving practical tips. I immediately put to use his tips on doing a YouTube video.” — Diane Parente

Diane’s company Image Development & Management, Inc (IDMI) is The Professional Image Resource based in San Francisco providing services and products to fit every aspect of your image from visual to verbal.

“Here is my One Tip that we will be implementing: Adding a Yelp profile for our company and asking clients to write reviews.” — Terry Gault

Terry’s organization, The Henderson Group, helps business professionals transition into high visibility roles where communication skills are critical for success.

“One powerful tip I got from Patrick’s presentation is the fact that there are 400 million users on Facebook and that I need to start utilizing that resource. As a result of hearing him speak, I plan on creating a Fan Page on Facebook to help direct people to my website.” — Carrie Cheadle

Carrie has dedicated her career to helping athletes of all levels enhance their athletic experience by coaching them on how to approach their sport with more confidence, more enjoyment, and empowering them with the necessary support and skills to achieve their goals and perform to their potential.

“Social media can be so overwhelming – lots of choices with little understanding of real marketing value. Patrick’s presentation made both sense and cents, as I feel I can better implement social media to my advantage.” — Bruce Burtch

Bruce, the Cause Marketing Catalyst, develops cause marketing campaigns, joining for-profit and nonprofit organizations, with the focus of building win-win partnerships for the greater good.

“Instead of getting overwhelmed by social media, I plan to commit to taking one step forward each week! ” — Carol Seebach

Carol’s company Executive Gears provides support for executives and boards to bring order and efficiency to organizations.

“The main idea I took away from the presentation was to be redundant on the web: Facebook, LinkedIn, Plaxo, YouTube, all are excellent platforms for getting the word out about your business. I feel more confident about moving forward with this branch of our marketing efforts after listening to Patrick.” — William Buchanan

Bill’s 51 years of federal law enforcement experience combined with an efficient business model assure our corporate and law firm clients the highest quality of investigative services.

“I suppose I have to put my business on Yelp, which I have resisted doing for years. It still doesn’t seem to me like the kind of place people look for my type of services. (After last time, I created a Facebook Fan Page for the Podcast Asylum, though I refuse to have a personal profile on Facebook.) Patrick is a convincing guy.” — Sallie Goetsch

Sallie’s service, The Podcast Asylum, helps you podcast without losing your mind — or driving

your listeners crazy.

SOCIAL MEDIA VICTORIES – and how to win them

More and more people are searching online every single day
Driving traffic to a website is a difficult challenge
Introducing yourself online will spread your influence

Outrun your competition

It’s not difficult to outshine your online competition
Do more than them
Example: 40% of Tweets are useless babble

Raging Rivers – post info for people to find

Understand how every action online can support your business objectives

Digital Divide — embrace the new media

Centerpiece is your blog
Your website meets your customers on a different level
Examples of how “age” shapes opinions:

“If an online transaction goes wrong, I have no recourse VS. If online transaction goes wrong, I can personally destroy their business”

United Breaks Guitars — online payback for customer neglect

YouTube gets real results
Lots of things may fail, but some things really work

Conversations are Markets

Is marketing dead? Of course not, but it is changing
Find the conversation and participate
Awareness leads to interest . . . and more

Facebook — and what to do with it

Your headshot online becomes your brand
Difference between Profiles, Groups & Fan Pages
Facebook ranks really HIGH on Google
Google Juice is the SEO value of what we are talking about

Building Facebook Pages

Do people read updates?
Posting on the Walls of friends
Increasing number of companies have Facebook rather than traditional website
You can create Groups & Fan Pages for your business on Facebook

Tagging People in Photos

Successful winery case study
“That looks like fun” – Fun events to share

Get to 300 Facebook Fans

Viral effect of people engaging will grow your page
Run campaigns and ask questions to grow exposure
Interactions lead to trust

Facebook URL & stunt that “worked”

Losing friends and gaining Whoppers

LinkedIn – searchability

Stats
Excellent Google visibility
Allows for precision email communication
Go to Google: search for LinkedIn success stories
Make sure technical keywords are included in profile

Maximizing your LinkedIn profile

LinkedIn Recommendations

Mixed views on recommendations, but get them

Having a LinkedIn Profile – is not marketing

You have to work
Ask and answer questions
Join and create groups
Post your blog URL in group news items

Members of BACN are independent consultants who are interested in expanding their professional practices through effective networking and professional development programs sponsored by BACN. Attend a BACN meeting to become a member.

Blogging, Facebook, LinkedIn, Sharisax Is Out There, Twitter

How Many of These Social Media Questions Can You Answer?

February 9, 2010 Shari Weiss 30 Comments

My Laney College students are participating in social media to build writing and reading skills. For many of them, however, this is a significantly new experience, i.e., creating blogs and signing up for Twitter.

What is Social Media and why is it important?

and . . . here are many of their other questions:

Where can and will SM take me?

How did Social Media get so big?

Is it possible to become famous on SM?

What percentage of SM is business?

How much time do/should people spend on SM?

Who started SM?

What makes SM important?

Why are people addicted to SM?

Can SM help better the world?

Is SM safe?

What are the most popular blogs?

Who can read my blog?

Are all SM sites free?

Why has SM become popular?

What is the average age of a person using SM?

What is the main reason for using SM?

How can you detect if someone is insincere?

Today I am conducting an introductory Social Media workshop for a Mass Media & Society course at Laney. I will begin asking them to tell me which of those questions they would most like answered.

Then I will chat and show the slideshow below.

And, finally, I will ask THEM to answer any of those questions . . . and I’ll be posting their responses.

Here is the slideshow on

Making Sense of Social Media

Making Sense Of Social Media 2010

View more presentations from sharisax.

NOW . . . FOR THOSE ANSWERS: from the students AND from any of you readers. Please do add your thoughts.

photo credit Howard Blum

Blogging, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter

Use this Checklist for Managing Online Presence

December 26, 2009 Shari Weiss 8 Comments

CHART YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA PROGRESS:

Want to manage your social media sites? Yesterday’s post reviewed Chris Brogan‘s 19 tips: Resolve to Manage your Online Presence.

Today you’ll find a handy spreadsheet to use for weekly check-offs. And there’s space to add other tasks . . . like writing your blog post 🙂

Now you can Check-off when you Do-It

Click HERE for a JPG of the chart

And here are 19 ways to get found there, according to the authors:

Here’s what she says you SHOULD DO:

And here are her DON’T DO’s:

So what do you know about Farmville?

Farmville cash: How “real” is it?

I suppose some people would say it is worth whatever people are willing to pay for it.

People who have learned the hard way and are used to starting with nothing can take that small bit of land they give you in Farmville and work their way up to a big farm and a billion coins.

Five 1st Steps to Join the Social Media Revolution

Stop Annoying People on Facebook

Advanced Facebook Fan Page Resources

What do you see when you sign in to Facebook?

10 Steps to CREATE LISTS to manage your Friends

1. At the top right corner, you will click on the word “Account”

2. Here is the drop down box to the right:

3. Choose “Edit Friends” on the top of the list.

4. Check the screen below and . . .

5. Click in the “All Connections” link in the left hand corner.

6. Here is your next screen ALL OF YOUR CONNECTIONS:

7. Click on “Create New List”– Here is the Drop Down box:

8. In the “Enter a Name” box, write something like FRIENDS, and then click on every contact whom you want on your Friend List.

9. Perhaps you will make other lists for FAMILY, CLASSMATES, CLIENTS, etc.

10. Once you have divided your groups, you can now select the “streams” instead of merely accepting the Most Recent updates from all your connections.

Facebook DO’s and DONT’s for those with a business to grow

1. Spend time creating an outstanding profile

2. Let your personality shine through

3. Reach out to people in a professional and thoughtful manner

4.Build a loyal Facebook friendship base

5. Leverage Notes and status updates by providing value

6. Work on attracting people to your site (using real value, not pushy links)

7. Build a community around your topic or specialty

Bay Area Consultants hear SOCIAL MEDIA TIPS from popular speaker Patrick Schwerdtfeger

SOCIAL MEDIA VICTORIES – and how to win them

Outrun your competition

Raging Rivers – post info for people to find

Digital Divide — embrace the new media

United Breaks Guitars — online payback for customer neglect

Conversations are Markets

Facebook — and what to do with it

Building Facebook Pages

Tagging People in Photos

Get to 300 Facebook Fans

Facebook URL & stunt that “worked”

LinkedIn – searchability

LinkedIn Recommendations

Having a LinkedIn Profile – is not marketing

What is Social Media and why is it important?

Here is the slideshow on

Making Sense of Social Media

Now you can Check-off when you Do-It

Going BEYOND the Social Media Revolution