Increase Fans

A Billion Personal Profiles
October 16, 2012 In Blog No Comment

In my last blog post I discussed the facts of social media. I have to admit that the most impressive statistic is the one billion users on Facebook. While the Facebook Newsroom/Press Release section of their website confirms this number, I have my reservations about this factual information. As an aside, it also makes me think of this movie clip from the Austin Powers series.

Here are two reasons for my billion doubts:

1. Personal Profiles Being used as Businesses

Although Facebook’s policy clearly states that personal profiles are to only be used by individual people, there are many individuals who have set-up their business as a personal profile. When I click “Find Friends” in Facebook, I am bombarded with companies and not people. If you’re a company, it’s guaranteed I will not click +Add Friend.

On this topic, I wanted to highlight a few elements that business may want to consider when developing a presence on Facebook. First, there is less functionality in a personal profile than in a page. Personal profiles are limited to 5,000 “friends” as opposed to unlimited “fans” in a Facebook page. Pages also have access to a greater number of applications that customize a user’s Facebook Page experience.

Second, many users do not want a company to gain access to personal information that is meant exclusively to friends. Businesses are not privy to my personal information and photos.

2. Duplicate Accounts

I work with many individuals who have duplicate accounts. Here are some of their thoughts:

“My daughter set me up with this account, and I made this one.”

Or

“I forgot my password so I made a new one.”

Or

“I made a new profile to see how my other profile looked to ‘outsider.’”

While Mark Zuckerberg claims they have surpassed 1 billion users, I have my reservations. Facebook is currently working on “cleaning-up” fake accounts so as to provide more accurate numbers. I am looking forward to updated statistics soon… even if they are much less than a billion. Remember 500 million active “real” accounts are better than 1 billion fake accounts.

Jennifer Baker Consulting

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Why Don’t The Likes Count?
September 25, 2012 In Blog No Comment

I’ve fielded a number of questions related to “like count” over the past few days. In light of this confusion, I have decided to clear up this misperception.

You know you’ve said it: “Wow! We got 2 new likes today… but why did our Page likes only go up by one?”

Acquiring these new ‘likes’ can be challenging. So whenever a new like appears in the administrative panel, you rush to see how the numbers have changed.

And then comes the question many of you have asked: “But when a page ‘likes’ my page, it doesn’t count towards my number.”

The reason behind this is only Facebook Personal Profiles count towards a Page’s ‘like’ count, and not Page to Page ‘likes.’ Think of it like this:

Personal to Page = YES

Page to Page = No

Facebook will, however, provide you with a list of the Pages who like your Page. To see this list:

1. Visit your Admin panel

2. Next to New Likes, click “See All”

3. Select “Pages that Like This”

This will provide you a list with all the pages who have subscribed to your updates.

Jennifer Baker Consulting

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4 Branding Tips for Twitter
September 24, 2012 In Blog No Comment

1. Change The Background

Although Twitter supplies 19 pre-made background option, users have the opportunity to upload a custom branded image.  So why not get creative (or get your graphic designer to get creative) to develop a background that represents your brand. A simple background that showcases your logo, or an intricate background that includes all your social media contact information – both are great options. I love what Halton Recycles did for their background. Because they have a number of individuals updating their account, they include their photos, names, and Twitter handles so that residents know who they are communicating with!

2. The Header

This is a new change to the Twittersphere as of late September 2012. Users now have the ability to even further brand their image via their Twitter profile. The folks at Twitter have realized that we are a visual generation who constantly seek images to which to relate. While users are still waking up to this change, why not be one of the first in your social circle to make this leap.

Note: The image dimensions are 1200x600px, and a max size of 5mb.

3. Your Profile Picture

Okay folks. This is not the first time I have told you about Twitter Profile Photos. First, find one that represents your brand. This could be your company logo, a variation of your company logo, or your professional photo. Now take this image and upload it! No one wants to follow a yet-to-be-hatched Twitter egg. Kingston’s KEYS Job Centre developed a custom Twitter profile picture to advertise their job postings!

4. A Descriptive Bio

To follow you, to not follow you… that’s the question. By providing a descriptive and relevant Twitter bio, users will be able to determine if you’re an account that is worth following. Include key words about your business, and the product/service that you offer. It is very clear what @MenchiesKTown is providing to Kingston – FroYo!

I hope that you take advantage of these great branding opportunities!

Jennifer Baker Consulting

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Social Media Management
September 12, 2012 In Blog 2 Comments

Yesterday I was one of the breakout speakers for a professional development day hosted by Advocis, a professional membership organization for financial advisors. Each of my sessions had between 20-25 enthusiastic financial advisors.

One of the participants in the first session asked, “With all these social media platforms, how are we to effectively manage them without wasting our day?”

Great question!

There are many different third-party social media management applications, including software for your computer, apps for your mobile devices, and real-life people who manage accounts. Today, however, I am going to discuss Hootsuite, a social media management system that was launched in 2008 by Vancouver’s Ryan Holmes and has over 3 million users.

HootSuite allows users the opportunity to update multiple social media accounts, like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, FourSquare,   MySpace, WordPress, with a few clicks of your mouse. This saves people time logging into each social media account to create the same (or similar) update.

The management system is free to use, but paid registration is required for additional features in excess of the basic package. If you’re wondering, the “free” HootSuite membership works well because basic users get access to many of the time-saving tools and features.

Once you sign-up for HootSuite, the management tool will ask you to connect and authorize your social media accounts. (This step will allow HootSuite to update these accounts!) Once your accounts are added to the HootSuite stream, start creating tweets and posts! These updates can include links (which can be shortened via a link shortner), as well as media like photos. Next choose the date and time that you would like these updates to be released. Click “Schedule.” You’re done. If you know that you will be out of the office, or busy, you can schedule all your updates/posts for that time. (Note: This works well if you’re on vacation).

With all this “pre-scheduling” updates, don’t forget to log into your social media accounts and monitor and respond to any comments, RTs, mentions, or replies. A social media management tool is not a free ticket to “set-and-forget.” Also, it is important to remember your audience for each social media platform. For example your tweet may include a hashtag (#); while this is acceptable in Twitter, it is not well received on platforms like LinkedIn. So before you send the same message to all your social media platforms, you need to understand who will be reading it.

Have fun with your new-found tool.

Jennifer Baker Consulting

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Three Ways to Promote Your Facebook Page
September 3, 2012 In Blog No Comment

You’ve finally taken the plunge and created a Facebook Fan Page for your business. Your mother, naturally, is your first fan… I mean “like.” Your big brother, media savvy sister, and peculiar second cousin have brought your “likes” up to four. Oh, don’t forget to “like” your own page – that makes five.

And then you wait. And wait… At this point you’re thinking “how do I promote my page, and increase my fans?”

1. Email Signature

Include your Facebook Fan Page URL in your business email signature. Some people prefer to include the complete web address (i.e. facebook.com/JenniferBakerConsulting), while others prefer to include the Facebook logo that links directly to your Facebook Fan Page. Either way, both are really great ways to encourage people to navigate to Facebook and check out your page.

2. Social PlugIns

Social plugins are embedded social features that provide individuals on external websites with information and a way to interact with your Facebook Fan Page. These plugins on external websites work by pulling content from your Facebook Page. This underutilized (free) tool is provided by Facebook – all you need to do is add the code to your website. If you’re wondering, my favourite code is the “Like Box” because it streams new content from your Facebook Page. To start using Social Plugins, visit the Resource section of your Facebook Page.

3. Share with your Friend List

Share your new Facebook Fan Page with your existing friend list (from your personal profile). Statistics say that each personal profile has an average of 150 friends. You can select who to share your page with, and can only share your page once per person. To share your page, while using Facebook as your personal profile, click “Build Audience” then “Invite Friends.”

These three tips will help you grow your Facebook audience!

Jennifer Baker Consulting

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