Good Plum » Social Media

The Benefits of Setting up a Facebook Business Page

Scott Reynolds — Thu, 27 May 2010 19:18:28 +0000

Facebook is the single biggest social networking site, in terms of number of users. It’s easy to use; you can easily separate business and personal ‘friends’ and it’s a wonderfully simple way to connect with your target audience on a regular basis and in a meaningful way. However, in order to take advantage of all that Facebook offers, you may want to consider setting up a page for your business.

What Is a Facebook Business Page?

A Facebook business page enables you to drive traffic to a unique place separate from your profile page. It enables you to post all of the information about your business including updates, promotions and events, links to your website or blog and even content.

In fact, some people are foregoing a website all together and using a Facebook business page as their primary business tool to represent them online. This isn’t necessarily a good idea because Facebook changes their rules often and if your business page is your only online page then you may run into challenges in the future. However, as a supplemental marketing tool a Facebook fan page is an excellent way to build and grow your audience.

It allows you to customize it however you choose. You can add photos, discussion forums, micro-blogging, videos, events and a whole host of features and tools.

It provides you with the ability to instantly update your page.

You have access to the more than 300 million Facebook members. The “Business” page allows you to gather fans rather than friends and this separation means you can send messages to your fans without updating your personal profile. It enables you the unique ability to separate personal and professional on Facebook – a feature many business owners are finding is very necessary.

A business page enables you as a business owner to hold serious business discussions with interested, and qualified, prospects. It helps you build a community around your business, a vital tool to growing an online business.

Facebook business pages also provide business owners with analytics and data so you can test and track responses and make educated decisions about your business and your social networking strategies.

And because Facebook has an API they’ve released to developers, there are a large number of people working on ways to expand the features, tools and usability of a business page.

Facebook business pages offer business owners a unique opportunity to create a web presence on a social networking website – a social networking website that’s presently the biggest in the world in terms of subscribers. It just makes good sense to tap into this market to build and grow your online business.

You Also Might Like

The Problem with Social Media Fame

Elliott Kosmicki — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 13:40:11 +0000

No one knew what Internet or social media fame was 10 years ago. I don’t even think anyone thought ahead far enough to see it was a possibility. It’s interesting, though, looking at some of the “famous” people and watching what they do with this fame. There are some stories of true success – but more often than not, there are stories of propaganda and scams.

Without naming names or getting too specific, I want to touch on a few of the situations that I’ve observed over the past couple years and how they’ve evolved. I’ll also try comparing them to “real-world” superstars — I think you’ll soon see where the problems are.

The Twitter Trainer

He was nobody before Twitter loved him. He found a way to get 10,000 followers by following 15,000 people over a 12-month period and setting up auto-replies, auto-tweets, and auto-direct messages. Now, he’ll teach you that secret in his new ebook for just $29.95.

Some people will say that Twitter is the new MySpace — primarily because of the eagerness people have to build-up their “Friend” numbers. What does this get you? It gets you 10,000 people who could care less about what you have to say, and a seat in Followholics Anonymous.

The Twitter Trainer is akin to the guy who figured out how to scam supermarkets and food manufacturers for coupons, effectively reducing your grocery costs to zero. In theory it might work once, but in practice it’s unsustainable.

The Social Media Mistress

She was a geek in high school, and now that geekery is cool, she’s cut back on clothing and upped the makeup budget to lure vulnerable social media men. Once in her trap, she can promote and blog about anything – all to rave reviews from her hypnotized drone-like followers.

She easily garners attention by her provocative profile photos and her videos of holding a vibrating game controller while making a lustful face. Men flock to her and women hold meetings about why people like this are hurting the reputation of all women in social media.

The Social Media Mistress is like, well, I don’t know if she’s like anyone in the real world except for maybe a Paris Hilton-type. Men don’t care that she’s useless and women can’t believe that men fall for it.

The Social Media “Consultant”

He’s 35 and has been on the internet since the inception. He’s had accounts on everything from bulletin boards to chat rooms and forums and has observed how businesses and individuals can use these tools to their benefit. Because he’s a witness, he’s an expert – just ask him. He’ll sell you an hour of consultation for $199.

I feel like this would be similar to a music critic who’s listened to every CD ever made, and now wants to sell you his book on how to make it in the music business.

Why It’s Bad

There are people and businesses who hear that they should be using Twitter and Facebook in their marketing. They may be business-minded people, but the internet is new to them. How are they supposed to know who’s real and who’s fake? Watching someone get suckered makes my stomach turn.

I can’t tell you how many email I get through this site with people asking opinions about certain aspects of social media (especially Twitter) – 9 times out of 10 it has to do with how to get more people to follow them and if so and so product would work. I can tell you for a fact that what works is being real, having something useful to give to others, and engaging conversations with like-minded people. That’s it.

In the end, the people who put up fake and worthless persona to achieve some sort of fame or wealth, will end up creating a debauchery of the whole social media system. Who can be taken seriously when it turns out “everyone” is a fraud?

Your Advantage

The advantage you have is in using social media as the GATEWAY to your true self. Whether that is a blog that helps people with a real problem (not an intangible problem like getting more followers – please), or a product, or your retail store.

The difference between you and them is that you’re not just setting up a lead capture page or a sales page and using Twitter to sell-out your next conference call or webinar — you’re using Twitter as a single piece of a larger puzzle. You’re on Facebook to network with long lost friends, as well as stay in touch with new business aquaintances – and while you’re there, you also manage a fan page for your website.

Maybe you’ve been tempted to become famous on on the web. Maybe you’ve even been tempted to put together a product or service based on nothing more than the knowledge that you could probably get thousands of people’s money.

But you didn’t.

You didn’t because you have the desire to build a business that relies on your character. If fame is a byproduct of that someday, fine. But you’re in this for the long run, to make people’s lives better, and to secure a future for yourself and your family.

Congratulations.

You Also Might Like

Get a Following on Twitter by Giving

Elliott Kosmicki — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 13:40:07 +0000

It’s really not a mystery how people become a success. They provide something of value. All too often on the sites many of us frequent, such as Twitter, I find the majority of users thinking that if they just get their spammy message in front of enough people, the numbers dictate they will eventually get rich.

This is simply not true.

What these people are showing us, is that the only value they have to give is spam. Links from strangers who we don’t know or trust telling us to do something we don’t know why we should want to do in the first place… is pointless and disgusting. Ick.

Now, I’m sure these people do have actual value to give somewhere inside them – but just don’t know how to convey it. So, we’re going to start small with some tips. Future articles will definitely build further on this topic, as it’s becoming more and more necessary to get the message of value out there.

1.) Focus.
How many people do you know – especially on Twitter – who have a few hundred people following them, but are following 2,000 themselves? This tells me one thing right away – they click ‘follow’ on everyone’s profile, in hopes that they will get some reciprocal or auto follows. This is how many of the Twitter auto-spam scripts work. It also tells me they are interested, not in people, but in scamming someone. Whether this is the intent or not, it’s the message they’re sending.

So, your rule for following people should be: ONLY follow people YOU are interested in learning from. If that’s only 30 people, then that’s all you follow. You may have hundreds of followers by using tricks, but none of them are actually interested in anything you have to say so all of your scam effort has been useless. As far as the content of your posts, your rule can be: would YOU follow YOU?

2.) Have Patience.

Social media marketing, whether on Twitter or otherwise, should be treated just as marketing and networking in the real world – with patience and persistance. Building a smaller organic list of followers – who actually care about you and what you have to say is far more valuable than hundreds of followers who simply auto-follow everyone that follows them.

Having patience with this process is key. By providing value to your followers, you’ll recieve mentions on other people’s posts – which in turn, build your followers naturally.

3.) Give.

All-too-often online marketers do only one thing: ask for something. Click this link, come and follow me, visit my blog, buy my product, etc. No one, I repeat, NO ONE is intersted in listening to someone they don’t know, trust, or respect.

By all means, share a useful link. Re-quote a mindful thought you heard or read. Give a short tip about your expertise, or give away an entire product. Giving is the only thing the Universe accepts as paymet for all it’s done for you – and will do for you. Give, and you will recieve goodness back 10-fold.

The caveat to giving is that it must be done with the recipient’s best interest in mind. For example, if you’re giving only to get something back – that’s not really giving – that’s a scam. This isn’t easy if you’re not used to it and it may take an entire shift in the way you think, but figuring out how to make this little change in the way you do things day-to-day can impact your life forever.

In summary, your only focus online (and in “real” life for that matter) should be to give all you can. Provide true value to your network and that network will support and sustain you through the thick and the thin.

How do YOU provide value?

You Also Might Like

The Twitter Followholic: a Definition

Elliott Kosmicki — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 15:39:10 +0000

I have an article coming out on Mashable either today or tomorrow [It's up and you can read it here], and I wanted to touch base with my readers to inform them about what it is I’m talking about.

My article uses dry humor to describe the epidemic going on online. I coin the term “followholic” (and variations like followholism). What exactly does this mean?

In my opinion, a followholic is someone, specifically on Twitter, who is following the same amount or more people than is following them. The reason for this is simple: the only ways for this to occur is if they are following everyone back who decides to follow them, or, they’re clicking follow on many profiles in hopes those people will follow them back.

Both scenarios are detrimental to the purpose of Twitter, in my opinion. Twitter can be one of the most powerful networking tools you can use – if you use it properly. By following only those people who you would be willing to pay for, you allow yourself to keep your group small at first – you’re then able to create value and engage in conversation.

::: It’s like throwing a party with the purpose of meeting and getting to know people, but you invite 5,000 instead of 50. With 50, you can obviously get to know each one a little bit, and find out how you can provide value to them. With 5,000 – there is no legit way for you to do this.

I hope my readers ‘get’ my sense of humor when this article comes out today. The people who have read it already think it’s funny, but I also hope everyone takes away a bit of truth as well.

If online networking is going to continue to replace real-world networking, we need to treat it in similar ways. Respect the people we invite into our space, and serve the people who invite us into theirs.

You Also Might Like

Twitter Enlightenment for Business Owners

Elliott Kosmicki — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 22:31:15 +0000

You’re confused and I know it. The increase in questions I’ve been getting lately from small or home business owners confused about how to tackle the Twitter service is astounding.

I’m sensing that the crossover from Twitter being a “geek-only” tool and then partially spread into the mainstream has started to hit full-throttle into individuals and businesses who have heard of Twitter, but have finally bit the bullet to try and figure out how they should be using it too.

They sign up, post their first Tweet (something like “Figuring out this Twitter thing,” and that’s where they hit the wall.

Some questions that first cross their minds:

- Isn’t this the same as Facebook updates (if they indeed are using Facebook already)?
- Am I supposed to be just Tweeting everything I do all day?
- If so, how is that helpful?
- I’m worried about spamming people asking them to buy stuff from me!
- Who do I follow?
- How in the world do I get people to follow me?
- Wait a minute, why would someone want to follow me?

These are all good questions. Let’s take a look at where Twitter came from and what it is, how some people use it, how you can use it, and why you would even want to use it. We’ll even throw in some etiquette lessons.

My hope is that some part of my opinion about this strikes a chord with you, the light will go on upstairs, and you’ll be able to have a great new tool for online networking.

What Is Twitter?

At the most simple level, Twitter is what people see it as initially – a simple status update service. This was how it was initially used by all members at launch. I was member number two-thousand-something and remember stopping using it almost right away because it seemed like such a waste of time.

On a deeper level, Twitter is a learning tool, a sharing platform, and a networking system beyond any other online tool I’ve used – and I’ve used them all… it’s what I do! I’ve “met” more amazing people on Twitter than on any other web site combined!

So, on the deepest of levels, I would describe Twitter as a customizable personal network. Customizable because you have so much control over people you reach out to and who reaches out to you. The power of immediate interaction with like-minded individuals is life-altering when used and developed correctly.

How You Should Use Twitter

Because we’re addressing small and home businesses here, we’ll focus on great ways you can use Twitter for your business. Here’s an excerpt of one of the many emails I received last week asking about Twitter for business:

“I want to figure out how to use twitter to my favor – business wise. I saw [your article] on the huge amount of choices one had and another list that was even longer. I need someone to walk me through getting it all together before I make a mess.
I asked another site for help and the gal told me NO business stuff on Twitter, but I know that isn’t so. I’m not after spamming for sure.” – Myra

Myra obviously isn’t alone. You want to be able to take advantage of new web tools like Twitter, but don’t know how to start using it, and don’t want to come off as someone who just pukes “buy my stuff” all over the place.

As a business owner, you should be looking at Twitter simply as a networking tool. There ARE ways you can use it for promotion, such as for a live coupon feed, sale-of-the-day, etc. However, you should only be using it this way if you already have a customer base you can direct to it – places like Amazon do this very effectively. You should NEVER use your feed to simply have a running promotion of all your products and services.

Networking on Twitter

So if the small and home business owner should be treating Twitter as a networking tool – how do you go about that? The quick and fast answer is A) by helping people and B) by having patience.

Your Purpose

First of all, you need a purpose. This purpose should relate to a skill or knowledge that you have that other people can benefit from. For instance, if you’re a Realtor, you could present yourself as someone who can answer home-buying questions. If you’re an accountant, you could offer simple tax advice, etc.

By creating your purpose, you can then enter your 160-character self-description in a way that shows that you’re there to support the community – not sell to them. Your Tweets will now also reflect your purpose – the links and quotes you share, the help you provide – will all come back to your purpose.

The website you list on Twitter should be your own web page or blog. A MySpace or Facebook page does not build trust with someone. Having your web site listed there should be a way for people to find out more about what you do once they’re interested in your description.

Remember, selling never happens before trust is built!

Search for People

There are a lot of services out there to find like-minded people on Twitter, but in my experience, the fastest way is by using Twitter Search. Simple type in a keyword of someone you’d have similar interests in. If you don’t know who that is, then you might be in trouble…

Who is your customer? Do you have a description of your customer written down? There are probably many different molds, but having those personas clearly defined will tell you what you’re customers are interested in. Try searching for those things and start following people who look interesting to you.

Note: Do NOT follow everyone who follows you! Only follow people who fit the criteria you define as a someone you could learn from or find interesting.

Join the Conversation

Once you’ve found people you find interesting (start with 20-30), you can start joining-in. Reply to people who ask questions when you know the answer. If someone says something interesting, forward (or Re-Tweet) their Tweet.

Another great way to build rapport with your future audience, is to promote others. If you see someone interesting, Tweet why you think so – they’ll appreciate and remember you for it!

Your Followers Will Come

It may not happen overnight, but if you use Twitter on a regular basis, people will start to find you. If you’ve defined a helpful purpose and displayed that properly in your description, when people click-through to your page it will be clear to them if you’re a fit.

Remember to mention your Twitter name whenever you comment on blogs or forums. It’s also nice to add it into your email signature since so many people are now familiar with, or at least have heard of, Twitter.

Patience

Patience is key, as none of this happens over night. Even though my followers grow by about 10-20 per day now, it only started taking off quickly after I started writing regularly for Mashable. People saw what I was knowledgeable about, and they were interested too – so they followed me. It takes time though.

I know there will be a ton of questions, so if you think it can’t be answered in one sentence – try contacting me here instead. Otherwise, let me know your thoughts or feelings on using Twitter!

You Also Might Like

Add Social Networking to Your Website

Elliott Kosmicki — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 20:25:13 +0000

With a couple of new tools, anyone (yes, even you) can add social networking features to their website! If you’re not sold on the idea, imagine going to a Starbucks in the morning and everyone being invisible. No talking, no meeting someone new… just empty silence. THIS is the standard world of visiting a website today. What if you could create an atmosphere of community by allowing your visitors to see who else is there? Allowing them to interact in a similar way that they would in the real world gives people the opportunity to feel connected – to others, your site, AND YOU!

Let’s touch on three of the primary options you have for integrating some social activity into your site. For each method, I’ll also discuss how I use it and why:

Your Options

Google Friend Connect

My current favorite, Google Friend Connect allows easy copy-paste code for you to integrate social modules right into your site. Recently, they added an option to have a “social bar” – instead of using a standard box that might go in your sidebar. Although it seems the colors can’t be customized yet (social bar only), I prefer this bar over a box because of how it seems more integrated into the site. Now, if you haven’t yet, look down and join us! ;)

Comments can be left between users and people can see who else has become a member of the site’s community. Google allows you choose whether you have comments exist for each page, or the entire site. I’ve opted to have comments carry through the entire site simply because on a blog, people are used to commenting on a post the old fashioned way.

Google Friend Connect is also integrated with your Twitter friends. If someone you follow on Twitter is a member of the site you’re on – you’ll see them listed as a friend in Google Friend Connect.

If you go the sidebar/box method, you have an option to also display a rating box. This box allows the user to rate the page or site (again, your choice). I’m not using this, but considered it for post ratings.

Facebook Connect

Facebook Connect is a little more complicated right now. There are some plugins to make parts of integrating this into your site, but for some people it might just be too much. Essentially, you can allow user’s to log into your site, post comments, and have those comments sent to their Facebook stream. This is a very in-depth integration and it becomes obvious why it can get more complicated.

The plugin Good Plum is using for this is by Sociable. The WordPress Facebook integration plugin provides a sidebar that displays all the members that have connected to your site through Facebook (we’re not using this part anymore), allows users to leave a comment using their Facebook login, and then optionally sends that comment into their Facebook stream (great for virality).

The bottom line with the Facebook Connect system is that until they make it easier for people without coding experience to implement, it’s not going to be taking leaps and bounds into the average person’s site.

MyBlogLog by Yahoo!

The easiest of the easy, MyBlogLog is the oldest and easiest way to add basic social networking features to your site. After creating an account, you grab a widget to post into your site. Then, other logged-in MyBlogLog members who come across your site will be listed, as well as people who choose to “join” your site.

You likely see these boxes on many blogs across the internet (including one here to the right). The reason it’s become so popular is because it’s very easy on the author to implement, as well as the user to use. Simply log-in if you’re not already and click “join.” Instant community!

Are you using social networking tools on your site? If so, let us know what you’re using and how it’s working for you!

You Also Might Like

HOW TO: Build a Small but Powerful Network

Elliott Kosmicki — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 03:24:28 +0000

It’s not too often that social media bloggers post something that really catches my eye – something obvious, simple, but rarely done correctly. Today, Chris Brogan posted about creating goals for the new year and creating a small network, specifically via Twitter, in order to help those goals become reality.

You can find his post here, but I’d like to take a moment to break it down how I see it:

ESTABLISHING YOURSELF

If you’re starting from scratch in the social media space, the best thing you can do is create a space to explain who you are. People do this in different ways, but essentially when you’re “meeting” someone online – you may not even be aware you’re meeting someone. They find you linked from somewhere and now have a basic need to know who you are. If this need is not filled, they will move on – if it IS filled, they can then make a decision to engage you or not.

The key here is to be able to show someone who you are quickly, and then give them more options to get to know you further - a blog for instance. In my case, I have a summary page at ElliottKosmicki.com which leads to this blog, my personal blog (which isn’t kept up as often), and many other social networks I’m on. This gives someone who is interested in learning more about me the opportunity to do just that.

If the person who has now met me has a basic platform developed where I can reciprocate and meet them as well – we have a chance to become “friends.” I quote that because we’ve only just met, online, which is just the beginning.

Without having a good, basic source of information about yourself – and linking to that from everywhere – you’re automatically in the hole when trying to create connections online. It’s like going to a face-to-face networking event and never opening your mouth to introduce yourself!

CONNECTING THE NETWORK

So we’ve met a few people, have an idea of what they do, but do we really know what their goals are? Is that even important to you? If you’re looking to create deep connections with people, what their goals are should be the most important thing in the world. Here’s where the law of attraction comes in… if you’re making a connection to get something out of it, you’ll attract the exact same people — looking to take but not give.

Make a point to spend time each week reaching out to various contacts you’ve made and simply ask them what their goals for the new year are. In Chris’s article, he talks about creating a shared Google Document to keep track of these goals. This document can be shared around the network, and slowly but surely it grows into a full-on repository of ways you can spend your day helping people. Simply keep an eye on what people need to accomplish, and where you see ways you can help – reach out to them and let them know you’d like to lend a hand.

PLUGGING IN

If you’ve gone about this the right way, for the right reasons, you’ll have build a small, but extremely powerful network of motivated people who have you’re back. You’ve brought them together, you’ve helped them achieve their goals, and in return – they’ve done the same for you. Now, whenever you meet someone else, you’re instinct will drive you toward knowing what they want from life and looking at not how you can benefit, but how you can help. Chances are, you now know someone off the top of your head who you’ll be able to refer them to – and probably who they can help as well.

Once this small network is built, maintain it and you’ll have the most powerful resource you could ever need in life – a personal network.

What experiences do you have in networking online? How have you overcome the challenges of being monitor-to-monitor instead of face-to-face?