Entries Tagged 'facebook' ↓

Using social media has become a part of our everyday lives.

Once upon a time, we would pick up the phone or pop round for coffee when we wanted to catch up or arrange outings.

Today, it’s a whole different ball game. You can maintain relationships through outlets such as Twitter and Facebook. But there is one major difference with the social media age compared with the ‘olden days.’

91% of employers use social media to screen applicants

When you post a comment on Facebook or send out a tweet, it’s not something that just disappears after your conversation has ended.

Before, you could say anything to anyone (within reason) and you could get away with it. Your private life and social life were completely separate from your employer. Unless you told them about the bender you went on at the weekend, they were unlikely to find out.

But, social media changes everything.

The rather sobering statistic above was recently reported by The Drum.

Because your status updates on your social media sites are there for all to see, they are an invaluable source to perspective employers.

Let’s face it, when in an interview situation, we all just tell the panel what they want to hear, so the impression they get of us isn’t always the whole truth. But now, by using social media channels such as Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn, they will see the bigger picture.  In fact (according to the Reppler survey):

• 47% of employers check social networking sites to screen prospective employees immediately after receiving their job application
• 69% have rejected a candidate based on something they saw
• 13% of candidates were rejected because they’d lied about their qualifications
• 11% were rejected because of posting inappropriate comments, inappropriate photos, posting negative comments about a previous employer or demonstrating poor communication skills

But before you head off and delete all your social media accounts, it’s not all bad.

68% were found to have employed someone because of what they saw about them on a social networking site, with a positive impression on their personality and organisational fit being at the top of the list.

The moral is…

Social media is great, but be careful what you post.

As the above shows, more and more employers can use these channels to dig below the surface and discover the type of person you really are.

So next time you are about to post in haste, stop and think about what you’re typing.

Sally Ormond – copywriter and social media addict

Social media is all about conversation and sharing.

The premise is simple:

1. Generate great content
2. People pick it up and share it with others
3. You get more followers, fans and comments

That’s all well and good, but what happens when you’ve been using social media for a while and yet no one is sharing your stuff?

Well, you’ve obviously hit a few barriers because before the above can happen, people have to be able to find your content, they have to read it and then they have to want to share it.

Why is your content being ignored?

First of all, don’t panic. If no one is sharing, all you have to do is rethink how you’re using social media.

Below are 5 scenarios that could hold the answer to why your content isn’t being shared.

1. Trust

If you want people to share your stuff, they have to trust you.

Trust is developed through engaging with people, being open and chatting. If you’re merrily throwing stuff ‘out there’ without taking the time to get to know your followers and fans, it’s hardly surprising they don’t trust you.

2. Caring about your brand

People will only share your stuff if they care about your brand.

How do you get them to care about you? Well, for starters, you can’t make them care. Again, this one comes down to building relationships.

If you are generous with your information, tell them about offers, give away tips or even freebies, you will begin to develop a deeper relationship. They will follow you more closely and tell their friends to do the same.

3. Don’t be boring

No one wants to read something that’s boring, so they certainly won’t share it.

If you churn out blog posts, Facebook posts and tweets that are dull, you won’t be engaging with anyone.

Don’t be afraid to inject a bit of humour into your activities. People like to laugh; it makes them feel good. And if you can make someone feel good, guess what? They’ll share your stuff to make their friends feel good too.

4. Passion

Don’t panic, I’m not suggesting you have to get passionate with all your followers and fans.

If you want people to share your information, they have to feel passionate about what you do. This can be done by showing your human side.

Yes, I know that sounds scary, but if they can see you are human, they’ll warm to you. By writing about things you care about, you’ll be sharing your loves with others. And when we write about something we love, our emotion shines through and touches the reader.

5. Building relationships

There’s no getting away from it, if you want to engage people you have to build relationships.

Setting up your social media portfolio one day, and expecting great results the next, isn’t going to work.

Social media is something you have to work at.

You must listen, engage, chat and debate with your fans and followers to find out what they really want. If you put out information they’re not interested in, they’re not going to share it.

Create a strategy

If you’re in business and want to leverage the power of social media, you must have a strategy in place.

‘Doing’ social media properly is going to take time and effort, so you must make sure it pays off.

Your social media strategy should encourage engagement and prevent PR nightmares.

The most important thing to remember is that social media isn’t a form of advertising. Consumers are far cannier these days and won’t easily be fooled by expensive adverts. As a company, you have to use social media to engage with them and provide them with useful information.

The time has come to move on from yesterday’s market methods. Today, you must listen to your customers, find out what they want and provide it for them. In fact, you have to exceed their expectations.

Marketing is tough as there are more companies chasing a diminishing amount of cash. Today you have stand apart from you competitors and social media will help you do that.

Over to you

Are you successfully using social media?

Leave a comment below and share your experiences.

A (not so) quiet revolution in marketing has been taking place over the last few years.

Customers are showing they enjoy doing business with companies that have a strong social media presence. They enjoy buying from people they like, know and trust.

What’s the fastest way to generate relationships like those?

Through your Facebook presence.

With over 750 million active users, Facebook has become the place to be in business. In fact, customers are beginning to expect you to have a presence on this phenomenal social media platform.

Because of this, many business have set up pages but without the in depth knowledge they need to leverage them fully.

The Facebook Success Summit 2011

If you’re a regular here on Freelance Copywriter’s Blog, you’ll know I’m a huge fan of SocialMediaExaminer.com.

Facebook is evolving into a one-stop resource for people’s communication needs with new features such as:

• Cleaner pages
• Users being given more control over their news feed
• Emails when someone comments on your page
• iFrame instead of static FBML
• The ability to offer deals to people checking in on mobile devices
• The ability to make Skype calls

It is becoming more and more important to master it if you want to fully utilise it for your business.

Therefore, SocialMediaExaminer have announced their forthcoming Facebook Success Summit 2011.

Due to start on 5^th October (running for the entire month) it will help you discover how to attract and engage quality customers with Facebook.  With help and advice from 19 Facebook pros, it is an essential summit for anyone serious about leveraging the power of Facebook for business.

For more information, check out this post on SocialMediaExaminer – Is Your Business Maximising Facebook?

There is a short video there to tell you a bit more about it.

Most businesses today have embraced social media.

It makes sense because that’s where their customers hang out, so if they want to engage with them, they’ve got to join the club.

One aspect of social media, Facebook, has become phenomenon.

• It has over 750 million active users worldwide
• There are 900 million pages, groups, events and community pages that people can interact with
• Over 30 billion pieces of content are shared every month

(Statistics from Facebook.)

So it’s little wonder that so many businesses now have a page on Facebook. But the question remains, how do you direct your fans back to your website?

Your Facebook page is great for SEO and to interact with your customers/fans, but you will also want these people to use your main brand website too.

How to drive Facebook fans to your website

Many businesses are too concerned with building their number of Facebook fans and don’t give any thought as to how they are going to get those fans to interact with them through their website.

After all, it’s through your main website that you will sell to them, so you have to devise some tactics to encourage them to visit your site.

Ben Pickering wrote a great post recently on socialmediaexaminer.com that looks at this issue. In 5 Tips for Driving Facebook Fans Back to Your Website, Ben looks at the following methods:

1. Use of tabs
2. Sharing blog posts and articles
3. Using teaser content
4. Running contests on your brand website
5. Special offers on your brand website

As you read about these in more detail, you will see that each not only adds to the value of your Facebook page, they also actively encourage your fans to visit your main website through various calls to action.

This ‘two way street’ of information adds to the users’ experience and so continues to add value to your relationship with them.

Integrating this approach into your social media activities will also strengthen your SEO strategy so everyone wins.

Over to you

Are you already using some of Ben’s techniques? Do you have your own method of driving fans back to your main site?

Leave a comment below and share the techniques you use to link your Facebook fans to your website.

Sally Ormond – freelance copywriter, Tweeter, blogger and Facebook fan

More and more businesses are arriving on Facebook everyday.

They set up their page and sit back and wait for hoards of people to drop by and ‘Like’ them. As they watch their numbers increase (hopefully) they start to feel pretty pleased with themselves.

But there’s a problem. All the ‘Likes’ are from employees, friends and family. What happens when those sources run dry? Where do you get your new ‘Likers’ from?

Facebook marketing – ‘Likes’ aren’t enough

Although the ‘Like’ button is there for people to show they use/enjoy your brand (and it probably makes you feel all warm and fuzzy), its buying customers you want to attract.

Having a Facebook business page takes a bit of effort – just like all your other marketing streams. If you want people to ‘Like’ you, hang around and bring along their friends, you’re going to have to do some work.

1. Newsy

Just like your newsletters and marketing materials, the content on your Facebook page has to be kept up dated.

So whenever you publish a new blog, have an event to promote or a new product/service to shout about, post it on your Facebook page.

Your fans want to be the first to know what’s happening so don’t disappoint them.

2. Be real

Even though your Facebook page is for your company, your fans want to engage with a real person. Don’t hide behind your brand. Stand up and voice your opinion and speak on behalf of your brand.

3. Talk don’t shout

The wall of your Facebook page isn’t just there for you to shout from. You want to encourage two way conversations with your customers so make sure you listen to them and reply to their comments (good and bad).

4. Chat

Closely aligned to number 3, encourage your fans to contribute to your page. Ask for their opinions, stories – even run competitions to boost engagement.

You want to cultivate a sense of community so make them feel welcome, listen to what they have to say and talk to them.

5. Tell them what to do

As I mentioned earlier, ‘Likes’ are all well and good but you’ll also want to encourage your fans to buy from you. Therefore it’s vital to have a call to action on your Facebook page.

You could ask them to sign up to your newsletter or for a report. Perhaps you could write a short piece about one of your products/services and insert a link to take them to the relevant page on your website.

Whatever you do, make sure you interact with them, build trust and then help them spend money with you.

6. Have a plan

It’s very easy to think you must get a Facebook page (because everyone else has got one) and just dive in without thinking.

That’s a recipe for disaster. Before you begin make sure you have a plan in place. Understand how you’re going to use the page, how and when you’ll update it and draw up a policy on how to interact with your fans.

Facebook is a great way to interact and build trust. You can use it as a forum to provide information or even as a customer service tool to help your customers get in touch with you.

But before you start make sure you have a plan so you understand what you’re doing and why.

Do you use Facebook in your business? If so why not leave a comment and tell us how you’re using it and your experiences.