I’ve been getting ALOT of questions recently about Google Adwords, how it works, and how to optimize results. This video from Google helps to demystify why ads show up, and what some of the factors are for getting good ranking.(hint: there’s more to it than paying enough money!) Enjoy!
There’s two approaches to marketing. Conventional vs Common-Sense.
A conventional marketing plan probably sounds alot like this:
“In an effort to promote brand-awareness within a cross-section of your target demographic, and increase your monetization potential, it is recommended that you leverage your self-contained locomotive capabilities to establish your physical presence within the center of the highest density collection of core potential consumers(also known in lay terms as a group of people), and capitalize on your vocal assets, and your facial contortions(aka “smile”) to begin the process of introducing your cold market to the services that form the core of your monetization potential. Enhancing this venerable approach by presenting free tangible wood or cotton based sheets of information that your potential clients can retain for future reference purposes can only further improve the efficacy of the potential returns per unit of time and effort expended, thus allowing capable marketers to work “smart” and not hard. Capisce?”
As opposed to the common-sense version:
“Go tell people about your business!”
Don’t let all the marketing technical jargon confuse you. It’s just what marketing experts use to make their advice seem important. But is it really so hard to find a couple of ways to get the word out about your product/service?
Just a thought from AT Design.
If you’re always on the run, you may not have time to sit down at a computer and update your page every day or two. Did you know that you can update your page status from your phone? Using a service like Ping.fm, you can send a text message or email that will automatically post to your page. While Facebook does already have a similar integrated feature, Ping.fm allows you to post the same thing to several different places, such as twitter, MySpace, other social networks, a blog, etc. You can send updates, and sometimes pictures from the web, your phone, your chat software, or an email.
If you already have a blog, or podcast, you can set your Facebook page up to automatically import it, and post it as a note. To set it up, click on Edit Page in the left hand column, and then click the pencil icon under the Notes section, and select Edit. You will then be taken to the Notes section, and will see a link on the right-hand side that says Import Blog. This will take you to a place where you can paste the link from your blog. Once you’ve done this, you will be able to preview the import, and confirm that it is correct. From then on, your blog will automatically be imported soon after each new post.
You can add a badge to your website that advertises your Facebook page, and gives people the ability to immediately become a fan. You could also add a link to your email signature.
Do you want to expand your fan base faster, across a larger area? Then you may consider using Facebook’s paid ad program. Your ads will then show up in the right-hand column of Facebook pages. Cost is based on the number of clicks, and you will have access to stats showing the number of clicks and ad impressions.
http://www.facebook.com/apps/directory.php#/apps/directory.php?app_type=0&category=100
This is a list of business applications that you could add to your Page, to extend it’s functionality. The sky is the limit when it comes to applications. Just make sure that the applications you use actually add something to your customers experience, not just used for the sake of adding it, or because of it’s “coolness” index!
I hope this series has helped you to see how easy, and useful a Facebook fan page can be for your business. For more help and up-to-date information, be sure to visit Facebook’s own help section. Jump in and get started today!
So how can you get the most out of the time you spend maintaining your page? Read on!
It’s really easy to create a page, but for real results from your page, it’s important to be consistent when adding information. This way you are keeping people engaged, and demonstrating trust with your customers. Simply becoming the latest flash in the pan, doesn’t benefit anybody.
Facebook offers all sorts of exciting ways for businesses, large or small, to connect with their customers. Getting the most out of your page is all about finding ways to help your clients, not simply annoying them with announcements, and gimmicky sales. Nothing is more annoying than a greedy self-centered business spamming our personal profiles.
While Facebook can be a great benefit to your business, you shouldn’t see it as simply a marketing tool. You see, the benefit to your business comes from creating loyalty with your customers. When you focus on connecting with your customers by asking for feedback, and showing a more personal side to your business, your clients will appreciate it, and develop more trust with your company. These days, a trustworthy company that cares about it’s customers is valued more by consumers than businesses which simply try to compete financially within a given market. If you’re focused on providing the best for your customers, then Facebook will be great for you. If the money is all that matters at the end of the day, then go market on QVC, and stay away from Facebook. Remember, you can’t fake sincerity! Your customers will know.
That’s all for now. Stay tuned for Part 3 on Friday!
Simple! Much of the web is based on a ‘pull’ method. You are constantly trying to pull people to your website, for information, pictures, sales, etc. Facebook allows you to “push” updates to where people are already spending much of their time, and as a result becomes a marketing tool to pull people back to your website for more information(where you have full control of the site, and your customers experience), if you already have a site.
Actually, Facebook’s demographic’s span the entire gamut from young to old(whatever your definition of old might be!). In fact right now, Facebook’s fastest growing demographic is people between the ages of 45 and 55. Hardly just your college students anymore! It’s a marketer’s dream come true, practically every demographic represented, with an easy, low pressure way to connect with them.
Short answer: Yes, you could, and no you shouldn’t. Facebook fan pages present a much more professional approach to putting your business online. Fan pages are much more public, and easy to join. They also protect the members of the page from businesses. Businesses don’t see as much of their members profile, thanks to greater privacy controls. This means that more people will be willing to join a fan page, than might want to join a personal facebook page used for business, and risk exposing their contact information to overzealous marketers. With Facebook fan pages, you still have the ability to contact your members, but you simply do it within the structure that Facebook has setup(more on that in a future article).
Having your own website gives you more flexibility over how you present information to your clients. It also allows you to present a custom website to your clients, which helps to re-enforce the legitimacy, and professionalism of your company, as well as re-enforce your brand. A combination of a good Facebook page, pulling people back to a good website, can be one of the most effective online marketing tools for creating top-of-mind awareness for your company.
It’s all a matter of creating trust. Anyone with a few minutes can create an excellent looking Facebook page for their fly-by-night business, but few can or will invest the time or money into creating a great professional looking website for the same company.
Setting up a Facebook fan page is actually very very easy. I would recommend that if you don’t already have a personal Facebook profile, you should create one, and use it for a couple of weeks, to familiarize yourself with Facebook, and begin adding friends. Then once you’re familiar with the interface, and familiar with how others are using Facebook, then go ahead and create your business page. You’ll thank me later!
Click on the following link to go through the page creation form. http://www.facebook.com/pages/create.php It is extremely simple to use. Just select the type of business you have, type in the name, and type in your full name as a “signature”. Once you click “Create Page”, you will be asked to either sign in, or create a personal account from which to manage your page’s profile.
Once your page is created, you will see a placeholder on the top left of the page for a profile picture. Mouseover that image and you will see a link pop up over the image that says “Change Picture”. Click on the link to be taken to an upload form, or to select a previously uploaded image.
Click on the Info tab, and then click on the “Edit Information” link. (I told you this was pretty easy!). Make sure to add your phone number, address, hours, and your website.
You can also upload picture, and even videos by clicking on the appropriate tabs at the top of your page. If you have videos on youtube or a similar video site, you can share those on your page by simply pasting the link to the video in the Share box.
You can simply announce an event through the Share box, or by clicking on the “Add Event” link in the left column of your page.
That’s all for today! Part 2 will cover some Best Practices for maintaining your page, including the do’s and dont’s on content. Part 3 will cover tips and tricks for getting the most out of your page, and a few plugins, and applications to enhance your page’s content.
Part 2 will arrive on Wednesday, and Part 3 will be available on Friday, so stay tuned!