Source: faceitsocialmedia.com via Sue Ann Kern - on Pinterest
Latest and Greatest: “Facebook for Smart People”
“In this world, nothing is certain except death and taxes.” – Benjamin Franklin
Obviously, Benjamin had never heard of Facebook. If he had, he would have added “changes to Facebook Pages”.
The latest, greatest, most up-do-date version of
Facebook for Smart People
is now available!
This informative book provides a simple, step-by-step, yet detailed explanation of why you need, how to create , and how to effectively use Facebook for your business.
Over 150 pages with everything you need to know to take advantage of the power of Facebook for business.
•What is this Timeline and how do I use it?
•Why use a Page instead of a Group or Personal Profile?
• Facebook as a Page or Facebook as my Personal Profile??
• What is the difference between a Wall and a Newsfeed?
• How in the world do I find my way around my Page?
• How do I create compelling posts?
• What the heck is my “voice”?
• What tricks will help me engage my Fans?
• How do I track my Page’s success?
• What about guidelines for my staff?
Order your copy today!
If you’ve taken my classes, this will be a great resource. If you haven’t, then the book won’t replace hands-on training, but it will give you everything you need to know to about Facebook Pages for business.
This version was printed in March, 2013, and is about as up to date as you will find. However, Facebook introduces changes frequently, randomly, and without much advance notice. As changes are made, I am diligently trying to upgrade my blog with posts explaining these changes and how they affect the functionality of your page. For major updates, I will update the book online, and you can order an updated copy at www.createspace.com/3805682.
Check my blog and my posts on social media sites to learn of any Facebook changes and updates.
Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions. AND, be sure to LIKE Face It Social Media on Facebook, Follow me on Twitter and Connect with me on LinkedIn!
“Presenting Yourself Professionally” at Canyons Resort in Park City, UT
Canyons Administrative Conference "Positive Under Pressure"
Sharing a Post With Your Facebook Page
Sharing a Post With Your Page
So there you are, perusing your Facebook wall with your morning cup of coffee and you see an interesting post that would be great to share on your Facebook Business Page. Sure, you can go to the trouble of recreating the post, sharing the video or link, but chances are, you are in a hurry and will put that on your ever-increasing to-do list.
There is an easier way! Click on the “Share” button, just as you would if you were going to share this post on your Personal Wall with your Friends. Now, click on “On your own timeline” chose “On Your Page.” Now, a dropdown menu will appear with the list of Pages that you administer. Chose the Page, make your supporting comment, and now that post will be shared on your Page.
One thing to notice is that, when you have shared this post, it will say that the Page shared a video, link or update from the original person or Page who posted it, not from your Personal Profile.
Spring 2013 Social Media Classes
Need fixes to your Facebook? Having no luck with LinkedIn? Got some interest in Pinterest? Or maybe you just want to try Twitter. Improve your business’s social media presence with these classes that I’ll be teaching this spring in the Park City and Heber area. Take your pick and register today!:
The Park City School District Community Education Leisure Learning
Pinterest Tuesday 2/12 5:30-8:30 PM
Twitter Tuesday 2/26 5:30-8:30 PM
Facebook for Business Tuesday 3/5 5:30-8:30 PM and 3/9 9am-12noon (2-day class)
LinkedIn Tuesday 3/12 5:30-8:30 pm
All classes will be held at the Park City High School.
To register, goto http://www.pcschools.us/index.php?page=92
.
If you prefer the Heber area, classes are also being held at the 
Wasatch Campus of Utah Valley University this spring.
Twitter Thursday 2/28 5:30-8:30 PM
LinkedIn Thursday 3/7 5:30-8:30 PM
Pinterest Thursday 3/21 5:30-8:30 PM
Facebook for Business Thursday 5/2-5/9 5:30-8:30 pm (3 classes)
To register, goto https://www.uvu.edu/ce/community_ed/Wasatch2013.swf
LinkedIn Exploits the Power of Networking
Click HERE to read how “LinkedIn Exploits the Power of Networking” in the Concrete Openings December 2012 Issue.
Who Sees Your Tweets?
Twitter, the frat party of social media sites, is beautiful in its simplicity. Everybody is talking, or tweeting, at once about a myriad of topics. You tweet about ideas, thoughts, images and articles that you think are compelling. You follow other users and see what they have shared. You retweet their posts if you find them 
interesting. You reply to posts that provoke a comment. You favorite posts you want to refer back to later.
Simple? You would think so. Overwhelming, yes. Useful and effective? Apparently so. But how do you really know who sees what you tweet? Why do you see someone’s tweets if you don’t follow them? How can you increase your exposure in the Twittersphere?
Tweets
The basic premise of Twitter is that the tweets, or posts, from any profile that you follow will show up in your tweet stream along the right side of your homepage. The more profiles you follow, the more tweets will show up in your stream. The tweets just scroll down the stream like a Wall Street ticker tape. First in, first out. When someone follows your profile, your tweets will show up in their stream. The more profiles they follow, the more tweets will show up in their stream. It’s that simple.
To improve the visibility of your tweets, add keywords that can be found in Twitter search. Obviously, a stream can get quite lengthy, and a user may not scroll down far enough to see your tweet. But they may search on a topic of interest. If you are posting a link to an article on sustainability, for example, and your tweet simply says, “This is interesting”, then your followers may not take the time to find out what exactly is interesting. They peruse their stream quickly for keywords that stand out, or they do a Twitter search. Add the keyword “sustainability” so your followers can hone in on your tweet and so that others who don’t follow you can find your tweet when they search. Add other keywords, like “ecofriendly”, “green”, “environment”, etc, to improve your search visibility. Don’t use a hashtag for keywords.
Hashtags
When someone searches Twitter for the keyword “sustainability”, every tweet with the word “sustainability” will show up in the search results. Any instances of the keyword being used with a hashtag (#sustainability) will also show up. However, if you search for the keyword with the hashtag, then only those tweets with the hashtag will be displayed. The tweets with the keyword without the hashtag will not show up in the search stream. Save the hashtag for phrases and keywords related to a specific conversation topic or event.
For instance, during the presidential debates, searching on “#debates” returned all tweets referring to the debate in progress. Searching on just “debates” would bring in all of those tweets plus any other tweet that contained this word. Note that hashtags are not unique and are not proprietary, so some hashtags may refer to multiple conversations or events.
Retweets
If someone follows you, they will see your tweets in their stream, and vice versa. If a profile that you follow retweets a post (regardless of whether or not you follow the original poster), you will see that post in your stream, with the underlying note below the tweet stating who retweeted it (the profile you are following.) If you don’t follow them already, you may decide follow the new profile who created the original tweet.
Likewise, when you retweet something, all of your followers will see the post that you retweeted (with the underlying note that you retweeted it.) You have exposed that new profile to all of your followers. Maybe, some of your followers will follow the original poster because of it.
Consequently, when something you post is retweeted, you should thank the profile who retweeted it because, now, all of their followers will see your post in their stream. Maybe you will gain followers because of it.
The concept of retweets as described above is also simple. However, it goes a bit deeper than that.
Expand
Following most tweets will be the Expand option. When you click on this option, you can see who, if anyone, has retweeted or favorited this tweet. These will be people you don’t follow. (Remember, if someone you follow retweets something, you will see it directly under the tweet.)
When a post is retweeted, the thumbnail picture for the profile that retweeted it will be shown, and anyone who has clicked on Expand will see it. So, any profile that retweets a post will have the chance to be seen by the followers of the profile that posted the original tweet, or anyone else who has found this tweet in search. (Who’s on first?)
If you click on Expand and view other profiles that have retweeted the post, you may find other profiles that you wish to follow. When you retweet a post, and others click on Expand on that post, they will see your thumbnail picture and may click through to see if they want to follow you. Do you see how retweeting can improve your visibility?
Mentions
Mentioning another profile also helps improve your visibility. This is done by using the @ symbol before the profile name that you want to mention. When you are typing your tweet and then type the @ symbol, as you start typing the name of the profile, you will see a drop down menu with possible options. Click on the profile you want to mention to make the connection. Your mention in your tweet will then be hyperlinked to that profile. Note that you can only mention profiles that you follow, even if they follow you. In the Whole Foods Market example above, the profile @Method Tweet was mentioned.
When you mention another profile, your followers will see the tweet, just like they see your other tweets. However, mentioning a profile doesn’t mean that your tweet will show up in their followers stream, but it will show up in twitter search. The profile that you mentioned will be notified, and hopefully respond to your tweet. Then it will show up in their followers’ streams. It will be hyperlinked to your profile, so all of their followers will now have the chance to see the tweet and link to your profile and, ta-da, follow you.
Replies
Another way to increase your visibility is by replying to a tweet. It is similar to a mention, except that you put the user name (preceded by the @) at the beginning of the tweet. Only if someone is following both the profile that replies and the profile that is replied to will they will see the reply in their stream. So, your followers will not see a reply unless they are also following the profile you are replying to.
Just like mentions, no one will see the reply other than the sender and the recipient, unless the recipient responds publicly.
Go Forth and Tweet
Twitter’s simplicity is beautiful. But digging deeper and utilizing these tools and tips will enhance your experience, improve your visibility, and help you grow followers.
Now You Can Schedule Facebook Posts – and Promote Them Too!
Facebook has added many new features since introducing the Timeline in March. In fact, if you haven’t been on Facebook since then, you may not recognize it! Two of the more recent features breathe new life into your Page: Scheduled Posts and Promoted Posts.
Scheduled Posts
Now Admins can create a post and schedule for it to be published hours, days, even years in the future. Pictures, links, and events can be embedded into these posts just as you would normally.
To use this feature, click on the clock icon in the bottom left corner of the Composer. This allows you to choose when you want the post published from a series of drop down menus requesting the year, month, day, hour, and minute of the future post.
It is even possible to backdate posts as far as 2009. What is the use of this, you might ask? If you are creating a new Page, this feature allows you to build your Page with posts about past events, awards, and other information without having every post say today’s date. One client had commingled her Personal Profile with her Business Page for over a year and decided to separate them, but she still wanted to retain her past posts. If this feature had been available at the time, we would have been able to repost everything with the original date. Another example: say a photographer finally sent you the pictures from an event that took place two months ago. It is now possible to upload the photos and properly date them. This has the same effect as posting an update and later editing the post to change the date.
You can view your Page’s scheduled posts by going to the Admin Panel, selecting “Edit Page” and “Use Activity Log”. This will allow you to view, edit and delete anything that has not yet posted.
Promoted Posts
In case you are about to release an extremely important update (or just need a visibility boost), Facebook has provided a way to inorganically increase the effective range of your posts. Basically, a promoted post gets a boost to its EdgeRank. The “Promote” feature is available to Pages with between 400 and 100,000 fans, and is accessed by the button labeled “Promoted Post” in the bottom right side of the Composer.
Posts can be promoted in the Composer just before they are posted, or within three days of the post date. Posts cannot be promoted indefinitely because they are visible in the News Feed, which is meant to be full of relevant, timely information. The most noticeable feature of the drop-down menu (besides the megaphone icon) is the dollar amount in the center of the box. Yes, promoting is a paid feature that exchanges currency for exposure (really any type of currency, just in case you want to pay exclusively in Guatemalan Quetza.) The estimated audience increases with the budget, which is a one-time charge, not a daily recurring charge.
Promoting changes nothing about how your posts are viewed: people who like your Page can still see your posts that haven’t been promoted. So why promote your posts at all?
Well, in the News Feed, not every post is given a lot of face time. Some people have hundreds of Friends and Like dozens of Pages, all vying for attention, and your post can get swept up in the flood and lost. It is unlikely that everyone will see every post you make, even those who Like your Page, because other Pages or Friends may be given preference over your business due to EdgeRank. Promoted posts are viewed in the News Feed as “sponsored stories,” (labeled below the post itself) and are more likely to be viewed by your Fans and by their Friends. Promote overrides EdgeRank, giving preference to your Post in your Fans’ News Feeds. However, if a Fan has chosen to hide posts made by your Page, even the promoted post will not appear on their News Feed.
Because promoting is a powerful tool to increase the influence of a post, it is important to use it efficiently. Promote content that will really appeal to your Fans: special offers, new products, events, questions, and flashy videos. Interactive or interesting posts are more likely to be discussed by your Fans and, through them, reach a larger audience. Consider pinning promoted posts to the top of your Page’s timeline to maximize visibility over its lifetime. Make the most out of a promoted post… remember, it only lasts three days!
What are some other reasons to take advantage of scheduling Facebook posts?
Do you think it is worth the effort and money to promote your posts?
Facebook Creates New Admin Roles
One Friday evening ad few months ago, I received a desperate call from a client who told me that one of their staff had been let go and was not happy about it. The individual was one of the Admins of the Facebook Page and could I help them by removing this person before he started doing damage by making inappropriate or mean posts on the Page, or deleting the Page altogether. Of course, I hurried to help, because I knew that these things were a valid concern and this individual could, indeed, cause some trouble if he deleted me or the other Admins first.
The Admin functionality on Facebook has always frustrated me. I’ve shared this frustration in the classes I’ve taught, but was unable to offer a solution. Every Admin had the same management and posting privileges, and this opened the door for Page hijacking. A disgruntled employee who had Admin privileges could easily delete all of the other Admins and have full control of the Page, including deleting it. It was a big risk, and I know many companies in addition to my clients had issues with hijacking.
Now, Facebook has created a hierarchy for Admins which will greatly help with this problem and put those fears to rest.
There are now 5 Admin Roles that can be assigned to an Admin: Manager, Content Creator, Moderator, Advertiser, and Insights Analyst. The Manager has total control of the Page. Their functions include managing the Admin roles, editing the Page and adding applications, creating posts as the Page, responding to and deleting comments, sending messages as the Page, creating ads and view Insights. The Manager is the only Admin that can use Facebook as the Page, and as such, is the only Admin that can Like other Pages and view the Page News Feed. When a new Admin is added, they are by default, given the Manager status.
The next Admin in the hierarchy is the Content Creator. This individual has most of the privileges as the Manager except that he cannot use Facebook as the Page and cannot manage other Admins. The Content Creator cannot Like other Pages or view the Page News Feed, but they can edit the Page and add applications, create posts as the Page, respond to and delete comments, send messages as the Page, create ads and view Insights. It is unfortunate that the Content Creator cannot use Facebook as a Page, as there are many times when this feature is helpful in interacting with other Pages, tagging and commenting on other Page Walls and posts.
The Moderator has fewer abilities than the Content Creator. This individual can only respond to and delete comments, send messages as the Page, create ads and view insights. The Advertiser can create ads and view insights, whereas the Insights Analyst can only view Insights.
This change is a step in the right direction. I like how you can now access Admin Roles from the Admin Panel-Edit Page button rather than having to click all the way into Admin Panel-Manage-Edit Page sequence. Still, the 5 roles are a bit overkill, and there is too big a gap between the authority of the Page Manager and Content Creator. But I, for one, am glad that Facebook has attempted to address this issue.
Have you ever feared that your Page could be hijacked?
5 Tips To Tame The New Facebook Timeline For Pages
It’s been about 6 weeks since the announcement of the new Facebook TimeLine for Pages. How do you like it so far?
I admit that I’m a creature of habit and often have a difficult time accepting change…but I’m excited about a lot of things that new Facebook Timeline feature has to offer. This was another adjustment for Page Admins who not only had to become familiar with the many changes, but also had to create new strategies involved in engaging their Fans and enticing new ones. But we’re used to Facebook and their ever changing ways, right?
The new Timeline primarily affects the way the Page Wall appears and functions. For the most part, posts shown on your Fans’ Newsfeeds are not affected. For instance, your Fans will not know if you have pinned or highlighted a post unless they see it on your Page. Facebook Users will only see your Timeline Cover image if they go to your Page. No longer can you count on a custom landing page to encourage visitors to your Page to become Fans. However, the new features implemented do affect how your Fans posts appear on your Page Wall, so you need to be aware of the changes what you can do to take advantage of this new Facebook Timeline for Pages feature.
Take a look at these 5 simple tips to tame the Facebook Timeline:
1) Create an engaging Facebook Timeline Cover Photo. The Cover Photo is an important feature of your Page. Because if the amount of room it takes up on your Wall, it is the first thing any Facebook User will see when they visit your Page. Use this image to set the tone for your Page. Use photos of your products, a menu item, artwork, or a photo of your business represented at a recent community event, or yourself at a speaking engagement. Try something a bit more abstract. You could even create of picture containing a collage of photos. This image was created by a fun application called PhotoFunia. The Cover Photo should be at least 851 pixels wide x 315 pixels long for minimum resolution.
Facebook has very strict rules about what can and cannot be used for a Cover Photo. It is not meant to contain for a call to action, contact information, or other details that can be found in the “About” Section of the Page. In fact, try to limit the amount of text that you include in your Cover Photo.
To be sure that your Cover Photo conforms to Facebook rules, adhere to the following guidelines:
- Do not include special offers or purchase information
- Do not include contact information such as your email, phone number, address, or website.
- Do not refer to any Facebook features such as “Like our Page” or “Share with your Friend”.
- Do not make any calls to action such as “Call today”, “Download our app” or “Enter our contest”.
2) Utilize the Custom Tabs to Help Make Your Page Unique. The custom landing tabs that we came to know and love have been eliminated. So how are we to differentiate our Page with unique content above and beyond our posts? There are thousands of Facebook applications that will make your Page more interesting and engaging for your Fans. When you create your Facebook Page, it is already loaded with a few default Applications: Photos, Videos, Events, and Notes. As you load new apps, they will populate this list also and can be accessed from this window. The applications that you install will be shown on your Page Wall.
Your Page can have as many as twelve application boxes that can be accessed by your Fans. However, only four can be seen without any effort. To see the remaining application tabs, you must click on the number that you see to the right of the fourth tab. (If you do not have more than four tabs, you will not see a number.) The Photos application is always the first application and cannot be moved. The remaining eleven (or as many as you are using) can be organized so that you can choose which other three are always visible. You can add a tab for your YouTube videos, contact forms, a custom HTML tab, or even a reveal tab that requires a visitor to your Page to Like your Page to view your content. (There are dozens of options, but try Hosted iFrame, My Tab, or Static HTML to create your own unique tab for starters.)
Take advantage of the opportunity to change the name of your custom tab and to upload a unique image that relates to the content. When you click on the small button with the number on the far right of the tabs, then hover over the custom tab you want to change, choose “Edit Settings”. This will allow you to change the name of the tab and upload a new catchy image.
If you are just developing your Fan base and are not too excited about the number of Fans that you have so far, then add a couple of custom tabs to give more information about your business. Then you can move the Likes tab to the second (or third) row of four so that people won’t see the number without clicking and searching for it.
3) Pin and Highlight Important Posts. These new features allow you to draw attention to special posts when someone visits your Facebook Page. Sometimes a post is important enough that you don’t want it to get lost in the
Timeline, but you don’t want to repost it every day or so. In this situation, you can Pin a post to the top of your Wall so that it stays in that position, even when you make subsequent posts later. Pinning adds a small orange flag to the top right corner of the post and keeps that post on the top of the Wall to draw attention. Note that a post can only be pinned for seven days. After the seventh day, the post will revert back to its place in the Timeline on the Wall. Only one post can be pinned at a time. Also, pinning has no effect on the post in your Fans’ News Feed.
You can also give some extra attention to the message by highlighting a post. This feature causes the post to span the entire width of your Page Wall, making it stand out more when a Facebook user visits your Page. The post will stay in the same chronological position, but the larger size will help bring awareness to the important information that you want to share. Highlighting has no effect on the post in your Fans’ News Feed.
To pin or highlight a post, hover over the post and look for the two boxes to appear. Clicking on the pencil will allow you several options, one of which is “Pin to the Top”. Once the post is pinned, you can hover over the post, click the pencil again, and then the post will revert back to its position in the Timeline on the Wall. Clicking on the star will highlight the post. Once the post is highlighted, you can hover over the post, click the star again, and then the post will switch from the highlights format and revert back to the regular size.
4) Solicit Recommendations from Clients. The new Facebook Timeline format gives much more “real estate” to the recommendations section for your Page. When someone writes a recommendation for your Page, it will show up in a box on the right hand side of your Wall for all to see. Yes, the number of Fans that you have is important, but having a client share their great experience with your business is priceless. When a Fan writes something complimentary on your Wall, thank them and ask if they’d repeat that sentiment in the recommendations section of your Page.
5) Don’t Settle For A Blah Thumbnail. Previously, it was tricky to add a photo to a link if you didn’t like the attached thumbnail, or if there was not thumbnail at all. Often, the thumbnails that are attached to a link you want to share are completely arbitrary and have nothing to do with the content of the link. Plus, a post with an image draws attention than a post with just a link and no image. Now, it is easy to add your own image when you post a link. You can upload the image of your choice (search for something interesting, and not copyrighted, on Google Images). Then add the link to your status update and choose “No Thumbnail”.
So it is time to embrace change and take advantage of these new features. It’s time to tame the Facebook Timeline.
How do you like the Facebook Timeline as a Page Admin?
How do you like it as a Facebook User?
Still needing some guidance in using the Timeline, or Facebook for Pages in general?
Everything you need to know can be found in the simple, step-by-step guide “Facebook for Smart People”.
This book covers everything from creating your first Page to developing content, understanding how to engage and grow your Fans base and utilize your Page to promote your business.
Click Here to order your copy today – because it’s not just for dummies anymore.
Everything you need to know to create, develop,understand and use your Facebook Page for Business!
Click HERE to order yours today!
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