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Posts Tagged ‘Facebook’

How to Integrate Email, Facebook and Twitter in a Marketing Campaign

April 6th, 2012 :: Monika Jansen

Integrating your email, Facebook and Twitter strategies into one marketing campaign doesn’t have to be hard. And, with all of the following benefits, smart marketers are syncing their efforts to get big results.

Social drives email opt-in: On Facebook, you can drive visitors to Like you and to opt into your email list with a custom welcome tab. On Twitter, you can send out teasers promoting your next email campaign, with a link to an email sign-up page.
Email drives social campaigns: Including social share buttons in all your email messages can increase traffic, followers and Likes.
Increase the reach of your message: Your entire email list may not be on Facebook and Twitter, and not all your fans and followers may have opted into your email list yet. Cover all your bases with an integrated marketing campaign.
Increase the potential of word of mouth: Using sharing buttons and sending fans and followers to an email list sign-up not only increases your reach, but it also increases the opportunities for word of mouth communications.
Integration helps nurture a lead further along: Perhaps one of your leads received an email from you and then clicked over to your Facebook page. There, he or she receives more information and enjoys your Facebook content, helping to lead the prospect further along the conversion funnel.

Socialize Your Email Marketing

To get started integrating your email and social media strategies, embed social media links into your emails. You may want to consider one of the email marketing solutions with features that allow you to easily integrate social functionality into your campaigns. Lyris HQ offers tons of social features such as the ability to add social enhancers to email messages and segment recipients by social activity. You can also ask email recipients to share and retweet content with your own buttons embedded in the emails.

Build a Helpful Toolbox

Use tools to help integrate your strategies. Here are several worth checking out:

Vanity URLs: If you haven’t done so already, create a custom URL for each social media page you set up. Try to use the same name for all your platforms if possible (Facebook = facebook.com/mycompany, Twitter = @mycompany)
Embedded Like buttons: Add a Facebook Like button to all your channels, from your blog to your email messages.
Facebook Connect: Allow your website visitors to log into Facebook as they browse your website content.
Twitter Search Widget: Use this widget to display real-time tweets for a specific term within your Web content.
TweetDeck/HootSuite: Easily manage multiple feeds for consistency with these third-party dashboards.
Radian 6, SM2 and Sysomos: Track social media using these tools.
Buddy Media: Create landing pages for your marketing campaigns across different platforms.

3 Steps to Integrating Your Message

A total digital marketing campaign should focus on a unified message, stretching across different platforms and complementing and leveraging each one’s strengths. Though it may sound complicated, this process can be really simple.

Step 1: Use your email subject line to define your message. Keep your writing clear and tight, using no more than 50 characters. State what your readers can expect from your email, including what’s in it for them, and what action you want them to take as a result from your email.

Step. 2: Tweak your message for Twitter. Translate that 50-character email subject line to a 140-character tweet. Use the additional space to add more interest and to clarify your call-to-action.

Step 3: Modify your message for Facebook. Now you have plenty of space to flesh out your message further. Still keeping brevity and clarity in mind, develop your message into a full Facebook post. Add a compelling image, and you’re all set.

How about you? How do you integrate your marketing efforts on Facebook, Twitter and email into one cohesive campaign?

Image courtesy of creative design agency Arrae

Tags: Email marketing, Facebook, Marketing, social media, Twitter
Posted in Email Marketing, Marketing, Social Media | No Comments »

Facebook Marketing: 3 Easy Ways to Get Better

March 27th, 2012 :: Monika Jansen

It’s hard enough to manage a busy Facebook page, along with the other marketing tasks pulling you in a million different directions. Add to that Facebook’s ever-changing landscape and features, and Facebook marketing becomes quite the challenge. To help you out with your Facebook marketing strategies, I’ve done some research and found three simple steps that will have you building brand loyalty and driving revenues in no time.

1. Observe what others are doing.

Take notes on companies similar to yours and competitors and big brands you admire. Visit other business pages, and pay special attention to the following:

How often are they posting, and at what times?
What types of content are they posting, and what is getting the most interaction? (photos, videos, questions, etc.)
How many people are interacting with the page? (Liking, commenting, etc.)
Does the page have a Welcome tab or any other custom tabs?
What is not working for the page, and what could you do better?

Your mission is to take plenty of notes from a week or two’s observations of the pages you’ve chosen to study. Look for similarities across the pages, and watch for patterns to emerge. These patterns are your guide for what to do with your own Facebook page. Copy what is working for others, and adapt the successful techniques to your own page.

2. Learn best practices that deliver results.

As with any other form of marketing, there are rules of thumb that work well on Facebook. Some of these best practices will be gleaned from your observations, and others are well-known tactics that get results for most businesses.

Post daily: As people make more friends and Like more pages on Facebook, you’ll want to be sure your posts aren’t missed. Stay on your community’s radar with regular interaction.
Be engaging: This simple tip can never be repeated enough. Your goal is to connect and get a response from your community, so ask questions, post helpful information, and link to interesting content that people will want to Like and Share.
Include a call to action: Ask people to Share, Like or comment on your posts, or send them to your website to watch a video.
Use the 80/20 rule: Be sure your content isn’t a never-ending sales pitch, but do include product or service information from time to time. The 80/20 rule is a good guideline to follow for connection content vs. sales pitch posts.
Have fun: Let your brand shine through, and remember that Facebook is a social place, so have a little fun with your community.

3. Create an editorial calendar to schedule your Facebook posts.

A calendar will help you plan your content and integrate it with other marketing strategies. It provides a roadmap to be sure you’re covering all the topics you want to cover, and it helps you balance the types of content you’re posting.

You should create two types of calendars: one as a larger roadmap of promotions and events to highlight over the year and a weekly calendar to give structure to your daily content. The weekly calendar could look like this:

Monday morning: Photo from an event/photo of a product

Monday afternoon: Poll about your products/industry topic

Tuesday morning: Third-party link to an interesting article

Tuesday afternoon: Question about news event/crowdsourcing question/social question

Wednesday: Your newest blog post

And so on….

***

Try these three simple steps for improving your Facebook marketing strategies, and let us know how they worked for you. Do you have any other tips to share with our community?

Image courtesy of creative design agency Arrae

Tags: Facebook, Facebook marketing, Marketing, social media
Posted in Marketing, Social Media | 6 Comments »

5 Ways to Find Leads via Facebook

March 22nd, 2012 :: Monika Jansen

According to Entrepreneur’s Ann Handley, 70% of B2B marketers used Facebook in their content marketing strategy in 2011. While Facebook can help businesses generate leads, the process can be a delicate balance of sharing useful content and turning your community into customers.

Businesses should think of Facebook as a way to interact with real people on an individual level. Even if you’re a B2B, there are actual people behind the purchases your business customers make. To build your lead generation efforts, Handley suggests thinking of the individual people you do business with when you interact on Facebook, along with the tips below:

1. Start with like, then work your way up to love.

Before you can engage with your fans on Facebook, you have to get the like. That may sound obvious, but companies often focus too much attention on engagement without putting more effort on increasing likes. Few people will ever engage directly with your Facebook page after the initial like because they will engage with your content in their news feeds. Your page lays the groundwork for communicating with you and builds trust so fans will know you’ll provide them with interesting and useful content.

Once you’ve gotten the like, you can get fans to love you by offering special deals, promoting special content, and offering exclusive information on your products and services, all of which can help you generate leads. So lock down the like by including elements on your page such as video overviews, an invitation to test out new products, or a link to sign up for a free account – for liking your page. Once you get the like, the real engagement begins.

2. Use content to get leads.

Much of your content will center around providing useful and interesting information to your Facebook community. However, you should sprinkle in lead generating content every few posts to build your lead list. Offer an exclusive e-book for contact information, or promote your e-newsletter sign up to your Facebook fans. This process involves a well-balanced give-and-take, so you have to give as much (or more) than you ask for. The key to this balance is to provide plenty of free content such as white papers and videos, in addition to the content created specifically for lead generation.

3. Attract fans with a sweepstakes or contest.

Everyone loves winning, but B2B companies can have a difficult time finding contests or sweepstakes that work with their niche industry. If your product or service doesn’t lend itself to prizes, you may consider partnering with another company to provide you with valuable prizes that entice people to like your Facebook page. Your contest partner will also benefit from the added exposure and will likely attract many of its own new fans.

Just be careful to understand Facebook’s promotion guidelines before launching a sweepstakes or contest. Facebook requires that promotions be run on a separate page, such as a canvas page or as an app on a page tab, and does not allow certain communications to take place on your wall. Check out the guidelines here.

4. Make friends with EdgeRank.

EdgeRank is Facebook’s algorithm for finding the best content to include in users’ news feeds. Understanding this algorithm is crucial for staying on your fans’ feeds, and therefore, continuing to share lead generating content. EdgeRank loves content that ignites interaction and is relevant to the community. This type of content includes compelling and creative posts, with the occasional personal post thrown in. For engaging content, try:

Creating posts that offer value, rather than sales pitches
Posting at different times of the day and on weekends
Asking open-ended questions and inviting comments
Limiting posts to no more than one or two per day

EdgeRank also loves posts that include photos and videos, so be sure to mix up your text-only posts with these visually engaging ones.

5. Go beyond Facebook.

Take the lead generating engagement beyond Facebook by embedding plug-ins and widgets into your business’s website. Include Facebook sharing buttons in your emails and landing pages so people can easily share your offers with their own networks. An effective Facebook marketing strategy is one that is integrated with the other marketing tactics your company uses. Whenever you create a new marketing initiative or communications piece, ask yourself, “How can I integrate this with Facebook?”

***

Have you found an effective way to generate leads through your Facebook page? Share your B2B Facebook success story in the comments section below.

Image courtesy of creative design agency Arrae

Tags: content marketing, Facebook, lead generation, Marketing, social media
Posted in Marketing, Social Media | 2 Comments »

How to Get Your Company On Board With Social Media

March 16th, 2012 :: Monika Jansen

Here’s the problem: As a small business marketer, you know social media offers an affordable, effective way to promote your business, products and services online. You’ve done your research and understand how to leverage social networking to generate new leads and build brand loyalty. But, your co-workers are still shrugging off social media, not convinced it will provide adequate ROI.

What’s a smart marketer to do? Here are several ways to convince your company that social media is an important part of your overall marketing plan.

Hold an Event to Educate

Before you notify the company of your social media plan with a mass email asking them to Like the company’s new Facebook page or contribute articles to the blog, you will need to educate employees about the power of social media.

Social media speaker Marcus Sheridan suggests holding a “social media summit” to show your company that social media has potential beyond its personal use for keeping up with family and friends.

The first half of the event should be devoted to education. Teach employees about the different types of social media and how each can be used for marketing communications. You will also need to explain how content marketing works, as many people do not understand this marketing strategy and how it can be leveraged on social networks and blogs.

Your job during this phase of the summit is to help employees understand how social media affects lead generation, customer satisfaction, revenue, sales, brand loyalty, etc. Understanding these links will show them why social media is important to your company.

Make a Plan

Once everyone understands why social media matters, you will be ready to make a plan of action. Show each person in the company how he or she can be involved in the social media marketing strategy and why their part matters.

For example, ask each employee to list information they have expertise in that may be helpful to customers and clients. Just be sure this information is relevant to your industry, company, products or services. The customer service department will know the most often asked questions of clients and customers, the technology department will have the technical information customers want, and product managers will be able to provide deeper knowledge of your goods and services. If you are a professional services company – such as a financial services, web design or law firm – you will have numerous options for sharing information with clients.

If you are blogging, ask employees to commit to writing articles that share their expertise. For social networking sites, ask employees to create tweets/posts containing links with the useful information they are willing to share.

If everyone pitches in, your social media content will be rich and varied, and the responsibility will be evenly distributed, rather than being placed on the shoulders of the CMO. Most importantly, when employees feel they have an important role to play, you will be able to garner more support for your efforts.

Keep Everyone in the Loop

Once you have gotten your company’s social media program off the ground, you will need to work to sustain it. Sheridan recommends marketing officers publish a regular newsletter to employees to share the results of their social media efforts.

Letting people know how their contributions have made a difference will provide recognition and keep the momentum going. Employees will also be able to see how their co-workers created useful content, hopefully getting new ideas in the process.

Some examples of what to include in the newsletter are leads and sales that came through social media efforts, examples of customer satisfaction resulting from social media communications, increases in the number of website visitors, excellent blog articles and the staff members who wrote them, and opportunities for employees to provide feedback or ask questions.

Continue Training for Long-Term Success

Because social media changes rapidly, you will need to continue your education efforts to keep your company up to date. You can use the social media newsletter for small updates, but you may want to consider holding periodic meetings to keep employees abreast of new social networks you’ll join or new campaigns you’ll be implementing on social media.

When new social technologies arise, it will be your job to train employees and give them the confidence to use them on behalf of your company. Sheridan uses video marketing as an example of a social technology that is gaining ground. If you train employees on the basics of video production, they will be able to contribute product and service videos that can be tremendously helpful to customers as well as beneficial to your brand. In any form of social media and content production, the more employees who help out, the better your results will be.

***

What other tactics have you successfully tried to convince your company that social media is worth the effort? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

Image courtesy of creative design agency Arrae

Tags: blogging, Customer Service, Facebook, lead generation, Marketing, marketing communications, revenue, sales, social media, social media strategy, Twitter
Posted in Marketing, Social Media | 2 Comments »

Have Facebook Stores Flopped?

March 7th, 2012 :: Rieva Lesonsky

By Rieva Lesonsky

What if you opened a Facebook store and nobody came? That’s the situation some major retailers are facing, reports Bloomberg. It’s a big change from a year ago, when Facebook stores were being touted as a threat to dominant shopping sites such as eBay and Amazon.com.

As the top online destination in the world, Facebook’s entry into ecommerce was widely touted as a game-changer. In June, Bloomberg says, Facebook’s director of business development David Fisch contended the site would make online shopping a social experience.

The company hoped that retailers buying ads to drive traffic to Facebook stores would increase Facebook’s revenues. And in January 2011, Booz & Co. projected Facebook would be responsible for the majority of “social commerce” sales, which it forecast would surge from $30 billion to $5 billion by 2015.

But those high hopes haven’t panned out. Within the past year, major retailers including Gap Inc., Gamestop Corp., J.C. Penney and Nordstrom have all opened Facebook storefronts. But despite having millions of Facebook fans, all the retailers have since closed their Facebook stores, citing insufficient return on investment.

What’s behind the failure? One Forrester Research analyst told Bloomberg that trying to sell products on Facebook is like “trying to sell stuff to people while they’re hanging out with their friends at the bar.”

Gap and Gamestop both shut their Facebook stores after finding that consumers preferred to shop on their regular websites. A spokesperson for Gamestop told Bloomberg that shopping on the website was already convenient for customers, so a Facebook store didn’t offer any advantage. Instead, customers preferred Facebook as a means for communicating with the company and getting news about deals.

What does the failure of big companies’ Facebook stores mean for your company? The jury isn’t entirely out on Facebook stores (or F-commerce, as some have dubbed it). If your company already has a successful ecommerce site, a Facebook store might be unnecessary. But if your Facebook page is getting a ton of traffic, you don’t have an ecommerce site and you’re trying to test the waters, setting up a Facebook store could be a useful step for your business. Finally, take a lesson from big companies: Track and measure the ROI on your Facebook store, and if it’s not worth the time and effort, cut your losses.

Image by Flickr user birgerking (Creative Commons)

Tags: Facebook, small business, social media
Posted in Marketing, sales process, Small Business, small business, Social Media, social media | No Comments »

Small Business Social Media Trends

February 21st, 2012 :: Monika Jansen

When it comes to small businesses, Anita Campbell, author of Visual Marketing, knows a thing or two. Recently, Michael Stelzner of Social Media Examiner interviewed Campbell for her insight on small business social media trends. Here are some of the key takeaways:

Believe it or not, some small businesses won’t get much business from social media, no matter how hard they try. For example, a small landscaping company that gets most of its business from local neighborhoods may not see an impact from Facebook or Twitter. Campbell suggests businesses like this should stick to fliers, word of mouth marketing, and customer testimonials to get their message to the target market.

Campbell’s biggest tip for growing an online community sounds familiar, but it is worth repeating: When it comes to social media communications, don’t just broadcast – engage! Campbell believes in pulling information back in from your social networks and fostering back-and-forth conversation, rather than sending out tweets and posts that simply tell your audience what you’d like them to know. Give them a chance to talk, too, and you’ll get a better return for your investment on social media.

And, what is the biggest mistake Campbell sees small businesses making online? It’s neglected websites, and they’re really a turn-off for customers. When your website is out of date, and you greet customers with 2-year-old information, you’re sending customers a bad message. If you are neglecting your website – your online storefront to the world – how much attention do you give to your customers or to other parts of your business?

Campbell is constantly watching small business trends through her sites, BizSugar and Small Business Trends, and here is what she is seeing now:

Everyone is going mobile, including small businesses. They are embracing mobile marketing with text messaging, location-based coupons and QR codes.
Many small businesses are getting really good at social media. They’re out there testing different campaigns and communications tactics, and they’re getting big results.

Are you one of the small businesses embracing mobile and excelling at social media? You can check out more small business marketing tips and trends from Anita Campbell on BizSugar and Small Business Trends.

Image courtesy of creative design agency Arrae

Tags: Anita Campbell, engagement, Facebook, local search, Marketing, mobile, qr codes, social media, trends, Twitter, Visual Marketing, websites
Posted in Marketing, Social Media | 4 Comments »

Social Media Small Business Success Stories: Part 2

February 16th, 2012 :: Monika Jansen

This entry is part 1 of 2 in the series Social Media Success Stories

In the first part of Social Media Small Business Success Stories, I highlighted four companies that have shaken things up online to create results-driven social media marketing campaigns. This article introduces you to four more success stories, to give you ideas on how to make their strategies your own.

Success Story 5: You can probably imagine that a company called Social Media Explorer nails it on the social media marketing front. This company is a B2B agency that teaches – you guessed it – social media marketing techniques and provides information products. Here are the secrets to their success:

Social Media Explorer uses Intent, a Twitter plugin, directly on their homepage to show users whether they are already following the company on Twitter. Are you making it easy enough for website visitors to follow you on Twitter or Like you on Facebook?
The company features numerous guest authors on its blog, and it promotes them by prominently highlighting authors’ social profiles to encourage reader interaction. Do you give social love to guest authors to help them expand their influence and feel appreciated?

Success Story 6: Take a moment to visit JarvieDigital to enjoy gorgeous photos and learn a couple of social media tips. Scott Jarvie is a professional photographer and namesake of the photographic method, The Jarvie Window. Here are his social media strategies:

Of course, Jarvie has exceptional photos on his site, but it’s his use of these photos that makes him a social media success. He uses different strategies to promote his services on Facebook and Google+ through photo sharing. Have you thought about the unique challenges different social networks present for your social media strategy, or are you trying to apply the same strategy to completely different communities?
Jarvie shares resources on his website and social sites to demonstrate his expertise and to grow his fan base. Are you freely sharing resources to establish yourself as a thought leader and to encourage more follows and Likes?

Success Story 7: Point your browser to SEOMoz, a search engine optimization and social monitoring service provider. This company uses its technical expertise to help it stand out socially. Here is what they do:

SEOMoz uses gaming mechanics to generate participation from their site members and writers. When these users post, comment, or Like content, they earn points to distinguish their expertise. How can you make engagement more fun and addictive on your own site?
The company knows to use social proof to build trust and credibility. Their home page features the logos of companies that use SEOMoz so everyone can see they’re in good company. Do your clients showcase your success? Consider using well-known clients to establish trust with visitors by using social proof.

Success Story 8: EasyLunchboxes is another example of a solopreneur using social media to compete on a higher level. This blog by Kelly Lester helps parents find healthy solutions for packing lunches for kids to take to school. Take a cue from Lester by trying these tips:

When users visit the Facebook page of EasyLunchboxes, they are greeted with a custom welcome tab explaining what the page is all about and why users should become fans. Don’t forget this valuable piece of Facebook real estate by seizing the opportunity to encourage visitors to take the next step and Like your page.
Even though she is a busy mom and an actress, Lester has taken the time to deliver unique content through Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and her blog. Her marketing plan includes strategies for each of these platforms, as well as integration across all her social media channels. Have you thought about your social media marketing plan in pieces and as a whole? Even though different strategies should be used for each platform, they should all integrate into a cohesive communications plan.

The companies highlighted in the previous two articles range in size from small to large and span across various industries. Use their stories to inspire you to create your own story of social media marketing success.

Do you have your own success story to share with our readers? Please leave a comment below.

Image courtesy of creative design agency Arrae

Tags: blog, custom Facebook tabs, EasyLunchboxes, Facebook, games, Google, guest authors, Intent, JarvieDigital, Kelly Lester, Marketing, photos, Scott Jarvie, SEOMox, social media, Social Media Explorer, social proof, Thought Leadership, Twitter, YouTube
Posted in Marketing, Social Media | 1 Comment »

The 5 Most Common Types of Social Media Buzz

February 8th, 2012 :: Monika Jansen

Buzz is buzz, right? When it comes to getting people to talk about your company or products online, as long as they are talking, should you be content?

Smart marketers not only listen carefully to what customers are saying online, but they also learn to use social media buzz to strengthen their brand and enhance customer satisfaction. Recently, I came across an article dissecting social media buzz. Here’s a breakdown of the five most common types:

1. Compliments

The good news is that loyal customers love to talk about their favorite brands. If you’re doing a great job, your customers are likely to share their experiences online, and the results can be stellar: online compliments have the power of becoming viral through “likes” and re-tweets, and personal recommendations can introduce your company to many new customers.

2. Complaints

The bad news is that people are quick to complain when you’ve failed to meet their expectations. It’s so much easier to tweet about poor customer service than to go directly to the company to complain. The thought of customers sharing stories of product defects or shoddy service might be scary, but this type of buzz creates opportunities as well. By responding to problems online, you get the chance to win back the complaining customer, and hopefully, to give them a more positive story to share online!

3. Suggestions

Think of the social media universe as one big focus group you can drop in on at any time. When social media buzz takes the form of suggestions for product or service improvements, marketers win big. If you’ve released a new product or upgrade, find out what customers love or hate about it, as well as what features they’d like to see in upcoming products.

4. Recommendations and Comparisons

Shopping is often a social endeavor, as consumers talk about which products they would suggest to friends, or why they prefer one brand over another. While they’re getting information from each other, marketers can gather information from these conversations. Recommendations can offer data on how customers are using your products, or why they are not. Also, you can get a frank assessment of how your brand stacks up to the competition.

5. Purchase Behavior

This type of buzz gives marketers a window into customers’ buying processes. Forum sites can reveal which brands or products customers are comparing, which distribution channels are being shopped, and why one brand is chosen over another. These insights can show marketers who their biggest competition is, provide ideas for future marketing campaigns, and help them to tweak pieces of the marketing mix to promote sales.

***

Even though listening to the din of social media buzz can be disorienting, with so many voices across so many platforms, organizing the types of content related to your brand can help you make sense of the noise. What other types of buzz do you find useful in evaluating your products and services?

Image courtesy of creative design agency Arrae.

Tags: complaints, compliments, Customer Service, Facebook, Marketing, purchase behavior, recommendations, social media, social media buzz, Twitter
Posted in Marketing, Social Media | 1 Comment »

What Small Businesses Can Learn From Big Companies on Facebook

January 31st, 2012 :: Monika Jansen

Just because you’re a small business doesn’t mean you can’t have a huge impact on Facebook. The social network has enabled small businesses to stand side-by-side with large companies to grab customers’ attention and interact with them online.

Even if your marketing department is small, or even if you’re a company of one, you can still learn a lot from the big business approach to Facebook. Try these four ideas for running Facebook campaigns get big results, regardless of your company’s size.

Plan for success

One of the major reasons big companies succeed on Facebook is that they plan. Don’t make the mistake many small businesses do and launch a Facebook page just because everyone else has one. Do as the big companies do, and set goals and strategies for your efforts online.

Think about what you’d like to get from your Facebook activities. Do you want to drive more traffic to your online store? Are you hoping to build your newsletter list? Or, maybe you want to encourage repeat business and brand loyalty? Whatever your goals are, state them clearly, and create a strategy that will get you there.

Interact with your fans

Often, the most successful Facebook pages are those teeming with interaction. This is where big companies have a major advantage, simply because they’re staffed to keep the community active.

To compete with larger businesses, you need to go beyond static content (bio, a couple of pictures, and links to your website), and fill your page with content that engages the community. Creating a custom tab enables you to offer fun stuff on Facebook, such as contests and virtual gifts.

But don’t think you have to employ a pricey designer or know how to code to get the same eye-catching and interactive custom tabs big companies have. A custom tab app, like the one offered by ShortStack, can help you create tabs with the same functionality for an affordable price.

Be there for your fans

Big businesses know that social media provides a direct connection with their individual customers, so they hire community managers to communicate with customers on a full-time basis.

Even if you can’t hire someone to tend to Facebook full-time, you still need to check in more than sporadically to build a community. Try working social media interaction into your routine, being sure to respond to questions or comments on your page at least every day. You can tag-team Facebook page management among several staff members to be sure you’re covered, and you can hire responsible interns to help with social media management. Just be sure not to neglect your customers online – if you don’t answer their questions, someone else will!

Take advantage of your smaller size

Being a small company means you’re nimbler and more flexible than your larger competitors. For example, smaller businesses have the advantage of moving quickly to gather information from their community. If you want to know what customers think of your newest product, you can create a Facebook poll or simply ask them to post suggestions to your wall – and you can do this without the bureaucratic hierarchy that slows bigger companies down.

Or, maybe you want to scan Facebook for general feedback, responding to customer complaints and compliments. Because you’re the owner, you can make decisions like this and reply in real time.

Another example of leveraging your smaller size is offering deals to your community when you need to. If you need to clear inventory quickly, or you want to be sure your venue is filled tonight, you can offer great deals to your Facebook fans right now. Being a small business means you can avoid the lethargic corporate decision-making process and do what’s right for your business in a flexible way.

Have you noticed other big-business Facebook tactics that can be scaled to fit a smaller company? Talk to us in the comments section below!

Image courtesy of creative design agency Arrae

Tags: engagement, Facebook, Facebook fans, Marketing, social media
Posted in Marketing, Social Media | 2 Comments »

Who Were the Major Social Media Players of 2011?

January 26th, 2012 :: Monika Jansen

From social media IPO activity to the entrance of several upstarts, the U.S. social networking market is strong – and exciting. comScore recently released its report, “It’s a Social World: Top 10 Need-to-Knows About Social Networking and Where It’s Headed,” an in-depth look at the global social networking market. Here are some highlights from the U.S. market:

Facebook on top

It’s no surprise that Facebook is still the top U.S. social networking site, boasting 166 million unique visitors in November. And, how much time are we really spending on Facebook? The average user spent 6.6 hours in November, up 37 percent in the past year.

We’re number two!

LinkedIn and Twitter have been vying for the number two spot in audience size for a while now. Twitter took second place in November with 35.4 million unique visitors, only slightly ahead of LinkedIn with 35 million unique visitors.

MySpace still alive and kicking

Even though we don’t hear much about MySpace these days, the network is still holding its own. MySpace is currently in fourth place with 25 million unique visitors; however, its audience has declined steadily over the past two years.

Upstarts worth mentioning

Three newish social networks are gaining prominence – and audience members – while introducing fresh engagement tactics. Tumblr has increased its U.S. visits by 131 percent since November 2010, to 15.9 million. Tumblr is also winning points for engagement and is second only to Facebook, as its average user spends 2.4 hours on the site each month.

Google+ has gotten plenty of attention this year, and it got plenty of traffic, too. In November, the site received 15.2 million unique visits, just behind Tumblr. What’s really exciting about Google+ is its future: its integration with other Google products make it an important one to watch in 2012.

Finally, Pinterest, which I recently wrote about, deserves kudos for its quick rise in the social networking ranks. Since May 2011, Pinterest has soared from 418,000 unique visitors to nearly 4.9 million in November. Its engagement rates are impressive, too, with the average visitor spending nearly an hour and a half on the site each month. Add to that the fact that users spend more than 15 minutes on Pinterest per visit, making the site third in consumer engagement.

Even though Facebook currently remains the clear leader in the U.S. social networking market, there is plenty of room for other players to shake up the industry with new innovations. 2012 looks to be equally exciting on the social media front, so be sure to watch for emerging trends.

Image courtesy of creative design agency Arrae

Tags: comScore, Facebook, Google, LinkedIn, Marketing, MySpace, Pinterest, social media, Tumblr, Twitter
Posted in Marketing, Social Media | No Comments »

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