Friday 30 March 2012

6 WAYS TO A MORE EFFECTIVE FACEBOOK PAGE FOR YOUR BRAND

Congratulations to you if you’ve already created a Facebook page to lend further exposure to your brand.  You’re well aware of the benefits and advantages Facebook pages have to offer and making use of a Facebook page, as you know, is one of the smartest things you can do for your business.   Here are a few tips to help optimize your brand’s page and to let you effectively engage and maintain significant dialogue with your fans & clients:           
1.  Develop a distinctive voice for your brand.  Consistency is key here – you want people to know who you are and what your brand stands for.  It’s important to adopt a voice that best represents your brand and to sustain that voice.  I’m not suggesting that you should never try to mix it up a bit and be predictable to the point of being boring, but people like to be able to identify with something, so let your brand speak in a voice that will enable that identification.
2.  Never propagate the hard sell.  I’ve discussed this prolifically in previous posts.  Social media is not about blatantly advertising to your fans.  It is all about engagement and interaction.  And, that’s what your brand’s Facebook page is for – to connect with your fans and clients and to be accessible to them.
3. Promote dialogue and discussion by posing questions and encouraging fan involvement.  What better way is there to improve upon and expand your brand than to ask your audience for their feedback?  The inter-connectivity of your brand’s page makes this simple and straightforward.  Ask questions; ask for feedback and commentary.  People love to share their thoughts and opinions, and again, who better to listen to than the very people you are trying to engage. 
4.  Never inundate your fans.  The idea is to engage and enlighten, not to overwhelm.  Of course you want to post on a regular basis to maintain your audience’s interest, but nobody wants to be flooded with a hundred posts a day.  You’ve heard the expression “too much information”.  One or two posts a day will suffice, however, if you receive a comment or are asked a direct question, an imminent response is always warranted.
5. Post lots of photos, videos and polls.  Informative, thought-provoking posts are great!  But, human beings are, by nature, visual creatures.  If you really want to step it up a notch, ensure that you post photos and videos to enhance the visual aspect of your Facebook page - makes things more interesting, enticing and fun.  And, polls are a very effective way of fostering audience participation and garnering information.  It doesn’t always have to be business related either – sometimes a fun poll can lighten the mood a bit and let your fans know that you do have a human side – which leads me to the next point…
6. Be personable and show you’re human.  Social media have significantly altered the way businesses interact with their clients.  They have allowed for, well, just what the name indicates – ‘social’ behavior.  In enabling two-way communication between business and client, social media have broken down the barriers to allow for unprecedented personal, individual attention and interaction.  Take advantage of this and talk to your fans on a human level, the way social media have intended.  Get more personal with people – ask more personal questions – get to know them and what makes them tick.  Wish clients a happy birthday or congratulate them when their children are born!  A Facebook page not only allows for, but begs this type of interaction.   It all goes to customer service & satisfaction and developing a loyal fan base!

Wednesday 21 March 2012

HAPPY 6TH BIRTHDAY, TWITTER!

I couldn’t resist – I couldn’t let the day go by without posting a short item about the fact that today is Twitter’s 6th birthday.  So, happy birthday to you, Twitter!!  (Or, should I say “twttr” as it was first called.)  
Yes, six years ago on March 21, 2006, Twitter’s innovative creator, Jack Dorsey, tweeted the increasingly popular microblog’s very first tweet:  just setting up my twttr.”
You’ve got to wonder if even he realized at the time just how immensely pervasive within pop culture Twitter was about to become.  With over 500 million users worldwide (and counting), Twitter is now, according to an article on Mashable.com, “…the largest one-to-many open communication platform on the web.”  And that’s saying something! 
The hashtag (#) and @ symbol will never be the same…

Wednesday 14 March 2012

BIGGER & BOLDER: WHY FACEBOOK’S NEW ‘TIMELINE’ IS A GREAT IDEA FOR YOUR BUSINESS

You’ve probably noticed by now that Facebook is offering a new Timeline that can replace the standard Facebook profile that we’ve all come to know and love.  In doing so, Facebook is introducing a grand overhaul for business pages that will go live for all on March 30! 
You are now offered more control with respect to the look and ambience of your business’ page.  The new page is designed to allow even easier interaction with your fans – a priceless feature for any business.  It also enables enhanced graphics, the capability to feature posts and it allows for private messaging with fans.  Better still - have you seen the size of the Cover photo???  Facebook maintains that the ideal size for your cover is 851 X 315 pixels.  It’s huge – so use the space wisely – think branding and letting people know what your business is all about.  And, you’ll still be afforded your standard, smaller profile picture (which you might want to consider re-positioning for the sake of the look of your new page if you already have an existing business page).  The profile picture is still a great way to feature your company logo!
Here are a few more reasons that the new Timeline business page is a no-brainer when it comes to the greater good of your business:
- The New ‘About’ Section Showcases the Core of Your Business – This is the section that was previously concealed within the “Info” tab (on your existing business page).  It’s now displayed prominently at the top of the page for all to see.  Ensure that it’s brief and to-the-point.  Include something that captures the essence of your business without going into too great detail.
- You Can Now Control How Content is Displayed – Now, your most relevant and important post can be pinned to the top of your page, where it can remain for up to seven days.  If you’re offering a special deal of the week or if you’ve just changed the location of your business, these are things that you want people to see first and foremost when they visit your page.   This feature also enables you to change the dates of postings in order to keep more relevant posts displayed prominently at the top of your page.  You can furthermore “Star” a post and enlarge the size of the post (so that it dominates the entire width of the page!).  How’s that for getting your message across?
- You Can Showcase Your Business’ Highlights, Milestones & Accomplishments – You’ll be able to track your company’s history and along the way, feature the business’ milestones - you’ll be afforded the opportunity to highlight your business’ events, news and accomplishments.
- The New Admin Panel makes Your Life Easier – The admin panel is where you can go to view notifications, see and respond to messages from people/clients that you might not want others to see, view your page’s activity and view your page’s stats.  This very cool feature will simplify your online business practices.
Business pages will be universally upgraded on March 30, but Facebook is offering a preview of what your page will look like.  Just click on the preview button located at the top of your existing page to have a look.  And, if you like what you see, you have the opportunity to publish the new page now rather than waiting until the end of the month!  Exciting stuff!

Monday 5 March 2012

Here's testing out Social Media for Business - Is ASUS listening

ASUS afterwarranty product sales and service stinks!
As a computer infrastructure company, we purchase and supply companies with computers, software, turnkey systems and provide support as well.  One of our clients owns a half dozen ASUS machines.    Among other things, one of the adapters is broken.  So I have been trying to get it replaced.  My local hardware generic computer store had none, and as I was driving by, I stopped into the ASUS repair depot to get the adapter replaced.  Although they have such adapters, they could not replace it nor could they sell me one since it was past warranty.  Well it only was a 10 minute loss.  And they gave me the website to order from.

So back at the office I tried the website.  Neither Google Chrome nor Explorer could load their page.  So I spent 15 minutes on hold, phoning the ASUS estore.  The person who answered explained that you had to order online.  I told her about the webpage problems.  Her suggestion was to try another browser!

Okay, I am trying to buy something here, not remake my current computer!  Their lack of trying to provide parts is appalling.  Last time I tries to get an adapter from them, they would not let me purchase it until I found and confirmed the serial number of the computer to prove somehow that I purchased it in Canada.  Its way too much work to be an ASUS customer!