Archive for Social Networking
Facebook and Going Viral
Posted by: | Comments
There are almost 800 million members on Facebook today. With this vast web of interconnectivity, Facebook is fast becoming the leading way for ideas and content to spread on the internet. If you want to go viral, Facebook is one of the main platforms to pay attention to.
Two powerful tools to master on Facebook are Facebook pages and Facebook apps. Both of these are integrated in Facebook’s ecosystem and have access a wide array of tools.
Here’s how to use Facebook’s pages and apps to go viral.
An Idea with a Call to Action
Your idea for a page or for an app needs to have a call to action built into it.
Many of the protests in the Arab Uprising, from Egypt to Libya, were organized on Facebook and/or Twitter. Newly created pages literally got tens of thousands, sometimes hundreds of thousands of followers in as little as a week or two.
They grew so quickly because there was a call to action. Share the page and let the world know what was going on. Even people in non-Arabic countries got involved, because of this strong call to action.
For a more light-hearted example, take a look at FarmVille, one of the most successful Facebook games in history. One of the reasons it was so successful was because there was a constant call to action. People were always being asked to share the game with their friends.
Your idea needs to not only be great, but have a call to action for sharing built into it.
Reporting
Facebook has one very unique reporting feature: it tells you about the viral aspect of your posts and of your app, as a statistic.
The statistic measures how often people share your content. If you primarily have three different kinds of content, say polls, videos and text, you could measure each post individually and see which one(s) people tend to share.
If you find that people share videos released on your page four times more often than text released on your page, you’ll know exactly where to focus.
While it’s possible to derive this statistic on other media platforms, generally they don’t give it to you in this clear-cut form. Facebook makes tracking and optimizing for virality easy.
Making It Go Viral
Going viral on Facebook is all about having a great core idea, then testing and testing until you reach the maximum viral velocity you can reach.
It means testing different messages, different kinds of outreach and different call to actions. If you find it extremely hard to get traction, it’s likely that your idea just isn’t striking a cord. On the other hand, if your idea is spreading, then your job is to accelerate the pace and make the idea go truly viral.
How to Add a Pinterest Button to Your Blog
Posted by: | Comments
Pinterest is the latest social networking craze to take over the country. The concept behind Pinterest is to share photos and images. Users create boards with themes and categories and then “pin” images to their board. It’s a fun site for personal use and also a great way to build your business.
As a business owner you can create a Pinterest account and use it to drive traffic, build awareness, and connect with potential customers. Once you have a Pinterest business profile, it also makes good business sense to integrate Pinterest into your blog or website. That’s as easy as adding a Pinterest button to your website. Here’s how:
Step One: Sign Up for a Pinterest Account
This may actually be the most challenging step because you cannot simply go to Pinterest and sign up. They’re still in Beta, which means that membership is limited. You can sign up in one of two ways. You can get an invitation from someone who is already a member. Once you have that invitation you can sign up immediately. You can also request an invitation from Pinterest. Simply visit Pinterest.com and request a membership.
Sign up with your business email address and create a username that reflects you and/or your business.
Step Two: Add a “Follow” Button
Once you’re logged into Pinterest, click on “About” in the upper right hand corner. You’ll see a drop down menu. Choose “Pin It button”.
You now have a few choices. You can add a “Follow” button to your website. There are three button choices. Choose the one that you like the best, then simply copy the html code and paste it where you want the button to appear on your website.
If you’re adding a “Follow” button to a WordPress blog, get into your editor and add it to the code. Alternatively, if you use widgets then you can simply add a text widget into your sidebar and then cut and paste the code.
Step Three: Add a “Pin This” Button
You can also add a “Pin This” button to your website. This encourages people to add images from your website to their Pinterest boards. It’s a fantastic way to drive traffic and potentially boost your SEO.
There are also some truly wonderful plug-ins for WordPress that allow you to integrate Pinterest into your blog. And as Pinterest continues to grow in popularity, you can bet that there will be more developers creating ways to capitalize on Pinterest.
Pinterest also links to your Twitter and Facebook accounts. Each time you post a pin on Pinterest you can also link that post to your other networking sites. It can be a very powerful tool to grow and build your business.
Check me out on Pinterest, I’d love to connect with you there. No, I am not really marketing my business there (yet!), but I am getting familiar with the site and how people are using it for biz. Mostly, I am enjoying the variety of images. You can even see a few of my own travel photos there on my boards!
Social Media for the Solopreneur
Posted by: | Comments
In the early days of the web, the only ways a marketer could build a connection with customers was either through email or through their website. Then came Web 2.0.
With the advent of social media, the potential depth and breadth of your connection with your customers has become virtually limitless. That is, if you know how to leverage social media properly.
Social media presents an incredible opportunity for the shrewd marketer. How can you use social media to deepen existing connections and attract new customers?
Build Relationships with People Who Don’t Give Email Addresses
It takes a lot for someone to give you their email address. Even top marketers rarely get more than 20% of the people who land on an email capture page to actually give them their email address.
Contrast that with what it takes for someone to “Like” or follow you.
In order to like you, people just need to see a piece of your content that they connect with anywhere on the web, or through their friend’s feed. It doesn’t take much and can be just a passing thought.
The same goes for tweets. If someone sees one tweet of yours that they like, they can decide to follow you.
You can reach a lot of people who wouldn’t have otherwise got in your funnel through social media.
Social Media Is a Two-Way Street
Email marketing and (most) website marketing is a one way street. That means that you’re the one who’s providing the content, while your customers consume the content. You put out emails, they read the emails.
While this can be an effective way to market a product, it’s nowhere near as effective as having a real connection with your customers.
Social media allows you to have a two-way conversation. They can comment on your stories, tweet back, answer polls, like, post on your wall and express their opinions however they like.
This gets people much more invested in your brand and in your product. Someone who just reads your emails versus someone who’s in active discussion with you are two completely different kinds of customers. The latter will vehemently recommend your products, buy from you regularly and share your content, while the former may only purchase every once in a while.
Access to People’s Friends
Finally, social media gives you access to other people’s social networks.
With email marketing, you only get access to one person. On social media, if you make a post or a tweet that someone strongly agrees with, your content will immediately be shared with hundreds of other people. Among those people are more people who might re-share your content.
Social media is a powerful tool for building two-way connections and reaching friends of your customers. If you don’t have a solid social media strategy yet, now’s the time to create one.
Why Facebook Fans Are Important to You as a Solopreneur
Posted by: | Comments
Just about everyone uses social media networks these days. It’s a way to keep up with friends old and new. But, did you know how important it is for the business side of things?
Social Media Hype
What is it about social media that is so appealing? For one, in the age of technology, it is a way for people to keep up when their schedules are too busy for actual face-to-face meetings. People can stay social and share with others over the cyber waves even if they don’t get out much.
Friends and family can stay in touch over the long miles with social sites. You can also meet and make new acquaintances through the personal information that you provide on your profile. Facebook can make suggestions for you of people you might know.
What Does It Mean for Your Business?
If you own a business, whether brick and mortar or online, you can benefit from your association with Facebook. Most of us use Facebook for personal reasons. We chat, share photos and other things. But it can be turned to profit your business.
One way is by creating a business page on Facebook. You can link to this page from your website. Use your social media page to offer special coupons or offers to those who visit and see what you are talking about there.
As your page is an extension of your business, use it as a way to hone in on what your customers are thinking. Do your due diligence as well. Respond to questions and comments asked there. Offer surveys and polls for those who “like” your page.
Highlight what is going on at your business and upcoming features. Target your updates to those who are in your niche market. And, keep them brief and timely so no one is inundated with a lot of posts to their wall.
If you are just beginning a Facebook business page, invite your friends and family members you are already “friends” with to visit and “like” your page. This can get the ball rolling. They can suggest your page to their list of friends as well.
Another suggestion is to hold contests on your business page. Mention them on your website, but only offer entry to those who check in on the Facebook page.
Did you know that Facebook pages appear in search results on major search engines? With that thought in mind, don’t forget to optimize that page just like you have done with your website. Post snippets of your content here with links back to your website for those who find you through the social site first.
Facebook fans are important to your business because there are so many of them. And, through their clicks, you can find more targeted traffic for your website.
Creating Your Own LinkedIn Group
Posted by: | Comments
LinkedIn is the premier social site for business professionals on the Web. If you are not a part of it, get involved today. One effective tool is LinkedIn Groups.
You may be familiar with LinkedIn but don’t really know how it can help you. Being a business professional, it can be hard to connect with other professionals. Running an online business or holding a pivotal position in a company can consume most of your time.
LinkedIn takes the guesswork and legwork out of networking with others in your field. This site allows you to search for, connect with and get needed advice from professionals with a few clicks. There are no face-to-face meetings unless you want them. Even so, you can get to know people through their profiles and interacting in groups and discussions.
LinkedIn Groups: Increase Your Visibility and Expert Status
This brings us to LinkedIn Groups. What are they? These groups are like small gatherings of professionals with similar business niches or interests. The entire site is available to you, but concentrated groups help you to target those professionals with whom you need to network.
Groups help you do many things:
- Discover other professionals to meet quickly
- Actively participate in discussions relevant to your interests and needs
- Zero in on the most influential people on LinkedIn within your professional sphere
- Know which profiles to view and which people to “follow” in discussions
- Begin your own discussions to help establish yourself as a leader in your field
These are also excellent reasons to begin your own LinkedIn Group. Before you do, though, get a feel for the process by joining a group or two. You can search for relevant groups using different parameters.
Once you find one that you like, introduce yourself. Do this by posting a new discussion question and then leaving a comment. Let people get to know you.
LinkedIn Groups can also increase your visibility and popularity on the site. While you are leading discussions, don’t forget to leave meaningful comments on other discussion topics. It will look pretty suspicious if you only post questions and never join in the discussions of others.
Build up a presence and a following. When you are ready, create your own group. If you are an executive coach, creating a group for upper-management motivational ideas is an ideal place to connect with others within companies you want to target.
Ask your new business contacts to join your group. Don’t forget business contacts on other social sites like Facebook and Twitter. Invite LinkedIn members with similar interests as a way of connecting with new faces.
Why should you create a LinkedIn group? You can increase your visibility, ranking, popularity, network and credibility in the business world.
If you want additional tips for using LinkedIn for business, join the Social Media Newsflash today!
