Facebook has an objective of drawing and engaging users into the actual facebook site as often as possible and keeping them there as long as possible. Some companies like Starbucks are getting so much activity and engagement from facebook that they are . . . → Read More: Facebook Fan Pages Best Practices]]> What can you do with a Facebook Fan Page? More and more!

Facebook has an objective of drawing and engaging users into the actual facebook site as often as possible and keeping them there as long as possible. Some companies like Starbucks are getting so much activity and engagement from facebook that they are downshifting other online marketing venues.

Starbucks just passed the 20 million fan mark on Facebook. They regularly update their page and reward fans with special offers.

Page fans can manage their pre-paid Starbucks cards via an app in the facebook page. The Cards have about 50,000 “likes”. Separate pages are maintained for the Frappucino and Tazo Tea brands and the Seattle’s Best Coffee brand that is a Corporate subsidiary.

So how can this work if you have a small business?

For a new client with a busy owner, we are setting several goals for interaction and promotions that can be engaged step by step.

Step 1- Establish Local Search placement - because Google, Bing and Yahoo have various protocols for verifying business Place pages and search engine updates for website keywords can take several weeks to all come together, get your Google Places, Bing and Yahoo Place pages and basic facebook Fan Page set up. (This isn’t a facebook best practice, but it is Priority one for any business that has local walk-in traffic or is something that visitors or tourists might search for on a mobile device or smart phone.) (See our Local Search Package)

Step 2 – Basic anchor website cross-linked with facebook and Twitter - Often, clients have poor results from their website due to no keywords and no description giving location information and the products they sell. In Google search, Local Search results show up on top right now…and while this would have been the first order of business a year or two ago, not in 2011. (Find out if you need help)

Step 3 – Evaluate the ROI for Cell Phone, Smart Phone Mobile enabled site. People often interact with facebook and do local searches from smart phones – Google Places, Bing and Yahoo Places and facebook AUTOMATICALLY create mobile sites – for this business, creating a separate .mobi site isn’t in the budget, so we put a link to Google Places and the Bing Mobile Web page that is created when we optimize the Places pages. Unlike creating a dedicated mobile site, Google, Bing and Yahoo do all the work of updating sizes and coding for the hundreds of mobile devices people might be using. Unless the client has the budget and patience for constantly updating and maintaining for changing devices – we don’t do a dedicated mobile site when the important information is contained in the local pages.

Step 4 – Back to facebook – Branding your page -

Profile Badge - Would you open a restaurant without putting up a big sign that people can read when they go by? No!

This is why each Fan Page should have a Profile Badge that contains a brief statement about the business or purpose of the page, an attractive image that will show up well as a thumbnail and contact information like website, phone number, street address.

Many businesses just stick their logo on the page and this doesn’t let page fans use the page as a quick place to look for contact information without having to go into the Info section.

Landing Page - Is it better to greet customers when they come in or just let them wander around? Top businesses in the “real world” stop and greet customers when they come in and make sure that they have an idea of how to get around the store and what you can get there. Friendly welcome gifts are an even better idea and can be distributed when someone goes to the landing page and “likes” the page.

Your landing page can have a video, should have some text describing what the page is about and some “Winning Words” asking for the new visitor to “Like” the page.

Step 5 – Engagement with the new member –

After the “Like” you can have the new member go to a static “thank you” page or into a mini-site using the facebook iFrame protocol that can do all the things a regular website does.

What should they find out next? How, When and Where to Go and What To Do to get special discounts or information promised on the Landing page.

Enroll in a mailing list? Many businesses ask page members to enroll in an external mailing list to gain additional contact information and to create a bit of “insurance” in case there is a disruption in page status or the business wants to promote additional offers or information.

Consumer preference for this is shifting and many people like using facebook specifically because they can get information on a casual basis via page updates showing up on their Wall or deliberate visits to the page to look for new specials, updates and information.

Step 6 – Page Activity Plan – Push, Pull, Engage and Monitor –

I recommend that each business create a basic page activity plan and make sure that someone has the responsibility for what is happening on the page daily.

1. Push – facebook is not a good place to post a steady stream of “Me, Me, Me” messages – putting an update out daily works for larger companies or pages with more engagement like a consultant or author might have…they can use it as a mini-blog or a way to post helpful information from other sources or to address issues in the news that they have expertise in.

2. Pull -invite page members to “check in” at your location and to invite their friends to the page to get special offers. Most apps that do this on a large scale end up being spam, so if you can consistently add value with entertaining, positive, good content it encourages members to read your posts as they show up and to visit the page voluntarily.

You can use “Events” to announce actual “in person” events to your entire membership or a filtered group of your membership. Some community orgs use facebook events to manage RSVP’s for smaller gatherings without having the expense of Meet-Up or Event-Brite.

facebook Ads – facebook ads can be used to promote “liking” your facebook page and targeted to a filtered group of members based on where they work, things and other pages they “Like”, location, age, sex and relationship status. This can be done relatively inexpensively – but is a topic for another time.

Pages that grow very large memberships fast do it with a combination of Ads, engaging content and external publicity such as the American Express “Open” Small Business Saturday campaign or this year’s Facebook Big Break for Small Business

3. Engage - encouraging members to post non-spam things on your wall like reviews, questions and related community events may feel risky, but can be highly effective if you can cultivate a good tone, zap spam comments immediately and respond back as the page or as the owner if warranted.

Contests - these are a separate form of engagement and can really boost page visits and membership, but they have to be managed and hosted via an external app and facebook has some really strict rules on them.   WildFire is a company that explains this well and has a variety of packages for different budgets.

4. Monitor – If you don’t have time to monitor your facebook page, you can hire someone who provides a monthly Social Media package (like we do) – they post specials and updates, respond as the page to comments and reviews and do their best to keep the Wall Spam-free.

The more you can monitor the page, the more engagement you can encourage and the better results you will get.  We recommend monitoring your name, your business name and your company’s website for activity in blogs, on review boards, facebook, twitter and in the press.

Every business is enrolled in Social Media whether you like it or not, and it is your choice whether to do this by default or to choose how, when and where to interact with your community and customers online. (Free Marketing Survey to help you decide where to start and qualify for free consultation)

Step 7 – The ULTIMATE facebook and Online Best Practice - Use Clear, Concise, Powerful, Engaging words in your facebook posts, your blog articles, your tweets and website page calls to action. You have limited space and a very limited attention span, so make the most of it each time!

Free Aid — When you “like” our Big Business Zoo facebook page, you get instant access to the eBook “Winning Words” (if you’ve already “liked” the page you can “unlike” it and see the new Landing page and “Like” to enter the Zoo… or you can select the “Visit the Zoo” tab on the Left to get the eBook from the Welcome page.

Do you need help? Did what you find out make you question marketing matrix? We start right where you are and make it easy and paced with your budget and time resources.

Start Here We’re Ready To Help You Grow!

Marketing Survey Qualifies You For Free Consultation

Call 360-830-6692

EMail – WhereNow@bigbusinesszoo.com

There are several ways this . . . → Read More: Is your business “invisible”? Three quick checks you can make yourself.]]> Invisible is FATAL! Check buy Meclizine online yourself…and check your friends!

It seems like I am saying this over and over again, but bad economic conditions are getting blamed for failing businesses and in some cases, the business is effectively “invisible” online – even if they have a website!

There are several ways this can be happening even if you have a website – and here are three things you can check for yourself or check for your friends that are “make or break” level important.

Local visibility is priority 1! – Many small businesses depend on customers who travel from 5 to 10 miles maximum to do business with them – dentists, hair salons, restaurants, paint stores, insurance agencies are examples. Other businesses like plumbers, carpet cleaners, and service companies may have a range that covers a metro area, but they are still considered “local”.

Search engines – Google, Bing and Yahoo now deliver results based on the location of the person doing the search online. (I am assuming that you realize that having a Yellow Pages ad doesn’t mean people will ever reference it on paper – or go to online Yellow pages. People expect to type in what they want on Google, for example – on their computer or smart phone – and have listings show up that are good businesses.)

Check 1 – Local Visibility – Open a web browser and go to http://maps.google.com (this narrows down local results) and type in the keyword (what you want) and the City and State or Zip Code. Example – cabinet refinishing Minneapolis MN – The number one result today is “Tweeker Wood Renew” – she was invisible a couple months ago and we helped her get to the top of page one in less than 2 weeks.

When you do this, you will get the top results that Google selects for businesses there. If there is a lot of competition, you will see lots of Little Red Dots and several “balloons” with numbers or letters on the map and a list of listings on the side. You want to be up on the top of page 1 of results on the side and you want to have a balloon so that a nice little business preview pops up.

See if you can find your business as a balloon or a red dot – if you can hover over to open the preview box, click on “more info” to see if your business is claimed by owner and if the info is correct.

Correcting this listing IS something you can do for yourself, but there are things you can do to increase your visibility and ranking that you can’t do on this page alone that we recommend you get help with… especially if you are in a highly competitive business! You need to do all you can to show up close to the top on page 1.

Check 2 – Check your telephone number – go to http://google.com and type your business telephone number in the search by itself. If it comes back with generic reverse directory listings at the top, this is BAD. You should get results for a Google Places page, your website and other business directories.

Check 3 – Direct check of your Business Name - go to http://google.com and type in your business name (and postal code if you have a multiple location business or one with the same name as other businesses elsewhere) You should see your website and other facebook pages, twitter accounts, Places pages and articles about your business that have been in the press. This is also where reviews show up prominently and cultivating and managing these is very important.

What did you find? Are you happy? Terrified? Paralyzed? Shocked that you spent several thousand dollars on internet marketing SEO or a website and you are not listed on top? We have a Local Focus Search package for $500 that works FAST to boost visibility and get you up to the top and creates almost immediate (within weeks) visibility and higher credibility with potential clients who expect to find you. If you don’t have a website at all or if you have a very local niche like a restaurant or salon, this also makes you visible on mobile devices like a dream come true!

Do you need help? Did what you find make you question your whole marketing matrix? We start right where you are and make it easy and paced with your budget and time resources.

Marketing Survey
Qualifies You
For Free Consultation

Call 360-830-6692

EMail – WhereNow@bigbusinesszoo.com

This creates privacy concerns and some . . . → Read More: Google Changes Things Too!]]> Continued from Part 1 & Part 2 – Why Does Facebook Change Things So Often?

3. Changes in layout, file sharing and privacy settings force interactions and defacto endorsements from logged in facebook user that visit websites when rearranged options or new options are switched “enabled” by default.

This creates privacy concerns and some debate the ethics of facebook, for example, using your online identity to promote an advertisers product because you mention it in a post. This isn’t a whole lot worse than sewing a big company brand on the jean pocket or store logos on t-shirts, in my opinion. The goal though is to create more interaction between users and make them feel they are more connected, more popular and more “in the know”… we like these feelings – a lot. So if a little trickery or frequent feature switches move us through the Social Network maze and keep us there a little longer – they will continue to use ever more pungent and delicious cheese. Facebook Privacy: 10 Settings Every User Needs to Know

Google recently assimilated data about pretty much all business in the US and Canada that had an online phone listing or yellow pages type listing and in December of 2010 rolled out “Google Places” with 49 MILLION businesses having a FREE business page that they could claim… this is something that on 4%-5% of businesses even know about yet! Their listing is there and Google is letting people know, but it’s a slow process.

•    Benefit? I personally enjoy the social connections and the outstanding  uptime and ability to transfer information, ideas and friendship on several Social Networks. I am doing great helping local businesses use that free Google Places page as a springboard for more marketing success and for many businesses who don’t have a website this will bring them into the game.
•    Caveat? I have someone in my life who buy Dapoxetine online is a stalker and having my personal information shared via my online friends pages is a concern, even if I can personally block them, they can still get access in a roundabout way. On the business side, there are businesses who have incorrect contact information on these free pages and most of them do not know that Google also switched their search pages to feature the ones who claim the Places page higher than those who have invested time and money into SEO optimization! Fixable, but unannounced and shocking to many…. we call it the “Little Red Dot” problem. (Other, less positive people use some more ‘colorful’ language when they find out what happened!)

Is there a way to conclude this? Probably not – Mark Zuckerberg, founder of facebook has been quoted as saying that it is something that will never be complete – it is continuously evolving. But don’t we continuously make new connections, learn and interact in our real-life Social Networks? It’s healthier for us, our families, our relationships and our companies if we do!

So use these tools as you feel comfortable using them, get help if you need it, don’t take it too seriously  This medium is one of constant change…it is also one that goes on forever and you can’t take things back once they are “out there” – be kind to yourself and others.

]]> http://bigbusinesszoo.com/2011/02/14/google-changes-things-too/feed/ 0 http://bigbusinesszoo.com/2011/02/14/why-does-facebook-change-things-so-often-part-2/ http://bigbusinesszoo.com/2011/02/14/why-does-facebook-change-things-so-often-part-2/#comments Mon, 14 Feb 2011 05:54:39 +0000 Kathryn http://bigbusinesszoo.com/?p=501 Continued from Part 1 – Thousands of developers…

It seems like every few weeks facebook, Google, and other search engine and online Socially Networked sites make changes in layout, rankings, file handling and in the case of facebook especially changes to privacy settings that “reconnect” users as a default value in at least some . . . → Read More: Why Does facebook Change Things So Often? Part 2]]> Continued from Part 1 – Thousands of developers…

It seems like every few weeks facebook, Google, and other search engine and online Socially Networked sites make changes in layout, rankings, file handling and in the case of facebook especially changes to privacy settings that “reconnect” users as a default value in at least some of the network.

2. The name of the game in marketing today is engagement and not exposure.

This trend can be seen in video games – they have developed into time consuming, never-ending quests to reach higher levels, Social Networks that create and disband teams on an International 24/7 schedule and the whole system and community is carefully designed, engineered and studied to maximize the time you will stay engaged, the bonds you will create with other players and the likelihood that you will continue with that game franchise and buy the newest version.

2.6 Million players pre-order and play the first day

In November of 2010, at my own personal house, I witnessed the phenomenon of the release of the new Call of Duty: Black Ops game – my oldest son made sure that we had the game delivered the day of release to our house and he and his younger brothers joined a pretty much non-stop at least 3 day binge that assisted the company in a 5 day sales total of $650 million worldwide, 2.6 million people playing the game on X-Box live the first day the game was available. That’s just X-Box, doesn’t include Playstation. COD: Black Ops obliterates MW2 sales record | The Digital Home – CNET News

Why engagement? Because if you can prove that people are engaged and will be exposed to a marketing message, you can command a higher price from advertisers. But this is a dance in the world of Social Networks… if advertising is pushed too soon or too hard, consumers disengage and may even form a dislike for your brand.

Who’s choreographing this dance? In the gaming industry, teams of psychologists, game theorists, designers and marketers study player behavior on many levels including testing their memory and attenuation of layouts, level patterns, team members and virtual objects, their feelings about their team and social bonds (Just try to get a 14 year old boy to step away from the game on short buy Wellbutrin online notice during team play!). They also study brain patterns using virtual MRI’s and EEG readings, hormone level fluctuation indicating pleasure and aggression that are kept in a sophisticated balance and how long it will take the average player to work through enough levels and have the funds and willingness to purchase the newest game version or game station upgrade.

•    Benefit? Social Networking and even game playing increases the speed at which news travels, can increase positive social bonds and greatly enhances long distance relationships. A recent study showed that even non-socially adept and withdrawn game players became more social and developed more real life friendships due to rewiring of their brains to enjoy interacting with others. TED 2010: Reality Is Broken. Game Designers Must Fix It | Epicenter | Wired.com
•    Caveat? Time spent online in games and in Social Networks is a concern for parents, teachers and employers. If you are a traditional marketer, the hostility that may be felt for your brand when you interrupt a viewer or push marketing messages in way they don’t enjoy or feel used by could decrease your business. If you take someone who stops watching regular television or listening to commercial radio and switches to using Netflix or Hulu or other online venues that bypass all or most commercials – and then re-expose them to 25% advertising to get 75% program viewing…it isn’t pleasant.

Part 3 – Google Does It Too!! And you may not like it!

facebook just rolled out sponsored ads… which means that your comments that mention a place or a product that advertises on facebook could be shown featuring a company logo. The Mashable article by Ben Par has an illustration of what this might look like if say, Starbucks were the company advertising.

I know . . . → Read More: Facebook Sponsored Ads]]> http://mashable.com/2011/01/25/facebook-sponsored-stories/

facebook just rolled out sponsored ads… which means that your comments that mention a place or a product that advertises on facebook could be shown featuring a company logo. The Mashable article by Ben Par has an illustration of what this might look like if say, Starbucks were the company advertising.

I know that some people will be upset by this – and you may be able to set your privacy settings so you aren’t an active participant – but here’s a thought if you plan to holler foul…

Growing up in the 70′s do you remember when we were all “butt branded” with Diane Von Furstenburg swans, “chic”, jordache… or the “Members Only” jackets? And clothes, coffee cups, our cars…lots of things we PAY for are branded. As long as it isn’t really distracting, big and tacky and they don’t mistakenly tag me for being at Hooters (I don’t go there because mine are naturally impressive and I don’t want those over processed sweet young things to feel bad, not  into processed food either…lol) then if it helps facebook make a few bucks I’m ok with it.

My company does Internet Marketing and advertising and having years and years of entrepreneurial experience and knowing what I paid per month ($1200-$3000) just for Yellow Pages ads and what we can do now through Google Places, facebook, twitter, Bing and Yahoo for mostly FREE on a GLOBAL scale…is outstanding and I love it! For sure I monitor the privacy settings for me and buy Methotrexate online my family, but this is what it is and nothing can be operated on this scale for free forever.

My two cents…sponsored by

Local Focus Search Package Makes Sure Your Business Is Accurately Listed Online With our . . . → Read More: Local Focus Search Package]]> LISTING CLAIMING
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