About Facebook’s New Timeline: I’ve Changed My Mind!!!

Remember my post of March 14 extolling the virtues of Facebook’s new Timeline?  Well, I’m exercising the right to change my mind! I have come to the conclusion, after making use (or trying to make use) of the new Timeline that, in actuality, it kind of sucks!!

Furthermore, I’m not alone.  I’ve done some research and have spoken to numerous people, and this seems to be the overwhelming response to what is arguably Facebook’s most critical transformation to date.

To be fair, I’ll admit that there are a couple of features that are actually beneficial, at least from a business standpoint.  The Cover is a great idea for businesses due to its large size – perfect for branding.  The fact that you can ‘star’ stories that you want to highlight is also a good thing.  When a story is starred, it is prominently displayed in widescreen mode and presents your business with the opportunity to highlight important messages like promotions and special events.  Same deal with being able to now ‘pin’ stories to the top of your business’ Page timeline.  A story can remain pinned at the top for seven days – again, an effective way to draw attention to crucial events, sales or promotions taking place.

But, that’s about it.  Over and above what I’ve mentioned, there’s really nothing that impresses about the new Timeline.  In fact, some of the comments I’ve read hold nothing back.  Here are few snippets:

“It’s just too cluttered.”

“…a pain in the arse!”

“Hate it.  Now I have to look forward to styling my life as a sort of public magazine…”

“Google +, here I come!”

“I can’t find anything…”             

You get the point.  And, I’m afraid I must agree.  Here’s a link to a poll featured on msn.com that drives the point home: http://www.technolog.msnbc.msn.com/technology/technolog/facebook-timeline-poll-overwhelming-negative-reaction-84717

The new Timeline appears jumbled, confusing and just downright unappealing.  It’s simply not well-structured or user-friendly.  And to boot, there seem to be a lot of people expressing concerns with the issue of privacy – or lack thereof – with the new set-up.  I heard one person say that it certainly makes Facebook more “stalker-friendly”.  And, uh … well, that’s just not a good thing!  To that point, I’ll reiterate one more time – watch what you post!  Never post any content or photos that you don’t want the whole world to see – and don’t forget to make use of those privacy settings.

In summary, I’ll concede that, given the past positives of Facebook and all it does have to offer from both the personal and business points of view, I believe that most of us will stick it out and try to adapt.  But, only time will tell…

What do you think about Facebook’s new Timeline?  Please leave a comment and let me know!  And, in the meantime – Happy Facebooking!!!

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

Recently I had another problem with ASUS customer service and decided to write a short blog about it to see is ASUS was listenening.  Despite the number of views the blog received, no response from ASUS was forthcoming.  Below is a link to the original blog.

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


Here are some links to ASUS customer Service complaints boards!


http://www.customerservicescoreboard.com/Asus

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/computers/asus.html


There lack of response to customer complaints is astounding.  We are just one company that will no longer purchase or recommend ASUS computers.  This level of negative customer "good will" must impact business volume.  I would divest of ASUS stock if I had any!

4 REASONS WHY IT’S CRUCIAL TO KNOW YOUR SOCIAL NETWORKING AUDIENCE

Social media is all about engagement and connecting with other people.  To successfully run any customer-facing business, the first rule is:  Know your clientele.  And, in social media speak, that means: Know your audience.

Why is this so important?  Because your audience (hopefully comprised in large part of your clients and prospects) is your sole reason for being active on social media sites from a business standpoint.   

Here are four definite advantages to knowing who your audience is and what they’re all about:

1. You’re Able to Better Focus – If you can focus intently on whom you are targeting, it makes it easy to create content that resounds immediately with these people.  And, that’s important because generating valuable content that allows you to engage the highest number of relevant people is the essence of your social media business strategy.  You want to capture their interest.  You want to keep their interest so that they’re coming back often to see your latest Facebook and blog posts.

2.  The Walls Come Down – You’re able to listen to what people have to say about your business – the positive as well as the negative – and respond in kind.  Social media is all about, well… being social.  And interactive.  Social networking affords you the opportunity to effortlessly communicate with your audience in an unprecedented manner.  Take advantage of that!  The more you interact with your audience, the better you come to know them.

3. You Can More Readily Respond to Specific Needs – Imagine being able to get to know clients so intimately through social media that you come to the point where you’re able to offer them what they require prior to them even inquiring.  You can make valuable suggestions to them and can tailor your services to fit them specifically simply because you have made the effort to communicate with them via social networking sites.  Ask lots of questions and interact often.  Soon, you’ll know what they need before they do!  The ultimate in customer service.

4. You Can Position Yourself as an Industry Leader – When the people in your audience (your clients and prospects) have industry related queries or need to be apprised of valuable information, you want to be the one they turn to, don’t you?  Make yourself readily available to people on your social networking sites – let it be known that you are the expert in your field!  Blog, blog, blog and then blog some more.  Blogging is a prime way of showcasing your wealth of industry knowledge.  And, don’t forget to post links to your blog posts on your other social networking sites – Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.  Get your messages heard by the people you want to reach – your audience.  And, get to know them as well as you can, so you can better serve them and become their go-to person.

For more information on social media and the importance of getting to know your audience through social networking, join one of our Social Networking for Business workshops.  For a schedule of upcoming workshops in your area, please visit: http://www.escomputertraining.com/courses/details/industry/2/course/20

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!

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 6^th 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…