If you are new to the Facebook timeline, you can read how to custom brand your Facebook page using cover photo.

Facebook marketing has become essential for promoting any business on the internet today. Your company’s brand page on Facebook is at the heart of this. Here are 10 Facebook tips that will help you to get more out of your company’s Facebook page.

1. Use Relevant Cover Photo & Profile Image

The introduction of cover photo is one of the most noticeable features of the new Facebook Timeline. The cover photo is a header image of 851px width and 315px height which is displayed at the top of your Facebook page. See image below.

Choosing the right cover photo and profile image is the most important aspect of creating custom branded Facebook page for your business. This is essentially where most of your branding is done. It is however important to note that Facebook terms prevent use of contact information, direct sales or promotions, or call to action such as “click here” or “buy now” in your cover photo.

The profile photo is a square icon of 125px by 125px that is displayed as an inset over the bottom left corner of your Facebook page. This is typically your logo however you can also use it more creatively and use it to complement your cover photo.

2. Create Sticky Post With ‘Pin to Top’ Feature

By default, new posts are displayed at the top of the timeline and older posts are pushed down. However, you can take advantage of ‘Pin to Top’ feature to create a sticky post that will always be displayed at the top of your timeline above every other post. This can prove useful in several ways such as creating an introduction,  promoting a special offer, or other relevant information.

Take a look at “Manchester United Fans” page below. On match days, a match banner is often used as a sticky post.

3. Highlight Important Posts with the Star Feature

Highlighting a post by clicking on the start icon, allows you to give more focus to chosen posts. It also helps break the monotony of the default double column layout of posts.When you highlight a post with a star, it stretches to cover the full width of the page, making the post more prominent.

See image below.

How to Highlight or Make a Post Sticky:

Both options i.e. highlighting using ‘star’ and making a post sti

4. Use CustomTabs and Tab Thumbnail

Facebook also allow you to include up to 12 custom page tabs on your fan page displayed below your cover photo. Each tab, that includes an icon and title, is a link to a particular app or sub-section of your page. The first tab is always for photos by default. The remaining (a maximum of 11 more) can be customised as per your needs.

Tabs work like navigation and offer an excellent way to create a structure for your Facebook page. For example, you can have a custom tab pointing to your products or services, for your Blog, and another call to action such as email sign-up or perhaps an enquiry form.

Choose options carefully to highlight the main areas you wish to target. Use of custom tab icons or thumbnails for each tab helps grab attention as well as improves visual appeal and usability.

5. Take Advantage of Milestones

The new timeline layout of Facebook also lets you create milestones for your fan pages. Milestones can be specific events or dates that are important for your brand e.g. founded, launched, and other important events in your history. You can specify your milestones that can include any dates from the past and associate posts with that.

See image below.

6. Integrate With Twitter

Facebook offers a number of integration features for connecting your Facebook page with Twitter. You can connect Twitter directly from your profile settings or via an app. You can choose to display your tweets in your timeline and even choose to auto-post to your Twitter account.

7. Syndicate Your RSS Feed

If you have a blog, you can easily syndicate your RSS feed using one of the many free apps. Alternatively, you can also syndicate the feed of other external blogs. There are many RSS apps that let you do this. Adding any one to your page  will add a blog tab and retrieve new blogs posts automatically. Most RSS apps also let you choose if new posts should be automatically posted to your timeline. This is a great way to ensure your content is always fresh and up to date.

8. Use Custom URL (Username)

Facebook lets you choose a custom URL for your page once your page has received at least 25 “likes”. Custom URL offers the opportunity choose your brand name or another memorable name as the page address e.g. Facebook.com/your-brand-name. You can do this with the ‘change username’ link in your admin panel.

See image below.

9. Add the Facebook Plugins to Your Website

The more users engage with your content, the better is your overall reach and chances of going viral. One of simplest ways to do this is by using social plugins on your website or blog that make it easy for your website visitors to share your content.

10. Post Quality Content

This may seem obvious but needs to be reinforced nevertheless. The only way to be successful on social media is by sharing quality information with your audience regularly. There are many Facebook posting tips that you can take advantage of.

What Strategies Do You Use on Your Facebook Page?

What methods do you use on your Facebook page to improve results? Please share your thoughts by leaving a comment below. If you like this post, please share it with others on social media.

Separating Yourself from the Pack

To utilize your fan page effectively, you must try to avoid the social media fluff that pervades so many pages. Many business owners get stuck in the rut of counting their fans and not communicating with those fans. A great way to distinguish your page is by providing real value to your fans.

Providing solutions, or links to solutions, is a great way to connect. Your product or service should be part of that solution so you can generate revenue from fans’ interest or questions. However, you can also branch out and direct your fans to businesses and pages that you feel are of genuine value and that you have built mutual relationships with through social media. More specifically, you can set up your page to include memorable content, links, and advice.

Creating Memorable Pages

Creativity is king. Many social entrepreneurs strive to find the perfect format that is equally entertaining and informative. Bright colors and social media incentives can definitely help bring an audience to your page, but what will keep the audience coming back? You must add value to your page. Here are some ideas:

Tutorials: Whether it’s a free or paid tutorial, your audience has a chance to educate themselves and learn from experts. Supply the information and training to empower your audience and leave them wondering what knowledge they will gain the next time they enter your site.

Business Resources: Those tricks of the trade you gather can be imparted on your audience through a list of resources provided on your page. Your audience will appreciate the information and possible contacts to help them establish themselves. This can also include a list of software applications you find useful in your day-to-day business.

Special Sales Promotions: People love deals, and they will check back with your page periodically if they believe you present great deals. You’ll want to create a variety of promotions that could derive from the season, holiday, or new product you have to offer. Combine the promotion with customer testimonials and reviews to add personal value and connection.

Custom Fan Page Tabs: These are essential for building rapport and return audiences. The audience will appreciate the extra effort that goes into customizing material for their needs. You can be creative and offer a variety of items that a fan can choose to customize, and the fan can keep informed and entertained by developing their own unique take on your page and the information it provides.

The most important strategy to remember is that you want your page to remain current. An audience will skip your page if they feel it is outdated or not maintained. You should always be on the lookout for new information you can share and new questions you can answer. Keep your page fresh, modern, and exciting. By adding a few flourishes to your page and focusing on how your strategies affect your revenue, you can create a page that commands your loyal fans and reaches out to a new audience.

Source: Social Media Today

Lots of companies are using Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and other social media, but unless they are part of a broader public relations and marketing strategy, they may be missing the boat.

That is what brand strategist Marni Salup of The Salup Group says in a blog on the Huffington Post on Thursday.

“Social media cannot exist on its own; without using it alongside other PR tactics, you will be unable to build on your community and reap the potential benefits of fan-building,” Salup writes.

Among suggestions she makes are:

— Approach social media teams for similar brands or media outlets and offer promotions, giveaways, interviews and product announcements on those brands’ Facebook/Twitter pages.

— Spend a day on a media outlet’s Facebook or Twitter page answering reader questions. Having a celebrity or client or brand spend a day

— Create content and programs that engage consumers both online and offline simultaneously, so that your presence is felt beyond social media.tweeting for a brand can be fun and engaging for the audience, she says.

Salup’s recommendations come as the Business Journal is accepting nominations for Social Madness presented by Capital One Spark Business. It’s a competition in which local businesses of various sizes will be measured by the growth of their social media influence, including on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

Local winners will advance to a national bracket-style tournament.

To enter, nominate your company here. Read the rules closely to ensure that you qualify.

The deadline for nominations is May 15, and the local challenge begins June 1.

Source: Puget Sound Business Journal

Most business owners are familiar with the 4 P’s: Product, Place, Price, and Promotion. The 4 P’s are widely used to define a company’s “marketing mix,” a general phrase used to describe the different kinds of choices organizations have to make in the whole process of bringing a product or service to market. The three basic objectives of promotion are to 1) present information to consumers as well as others, 2) increase demand for a product (or service), 3) differentiate a product.¹ If managed properly, companies can use social media to accomplish all three objectives more efficiently and less expensively than any other means available.

SOCIAL MEDIA-AS-PROMOTION

Traditionally, marketers have used a variety of media to promote their product, such as advertisement, special events, endorsements, and newspapers. They also try to incentivize would-be purchasers with discounts, free items, or a contest to increase the sales of a given product. These efforts are considered proven and indispensable aspects of the promotions mix.²

Thanks to the Internet, social media channels have centrality and reach; businesses can now accomplish all of these promotions efforts more efficiently, saving time and money. They can control company messaging by effectively interacting with and quickly responding to the needs of their consumer base. Also, given the proliferation of marketing automation software businesses can analyze social media campaigns to figure out what’s working and what isn’t, and adjust their promotions efforts accordingly.

WHY IT WORKS

There are four broad reasons why social media-as-promotion is effective for businesses:

• Amplified Messaging- Reach out to a massive audience to tell your story; educate consumers about your product on your terms; go viral with promotions; increase demand for your product or service.
• Deeper Engagement- Connect to prospects and form deeper relationships with customers; personalize your brand; show your company’s human side.
• Efficient Brand Management- Nimbly manage your online reputation- address customer concerns and respond to user feedback; promote new marketing campaigns;  define and redefine your messaging based on user feedback.
• Real-Time Analytics- Track user responses to your promotional efforts; aggregate data to figure out what’s working and what isn’t; analyze successes and failures.

If your business isn’t using social media-as-promotion, I strongly suggest you look into it. Chances are your competition already has.

Source: Social Media Today

Actively engaging your network will help maximize conversions. Would you like to learn more? Check out these:

7 Essential Steps of A Successful Social Media Campaign

STEP 1: Designate Who Works What Networks
Avoiding the annoyance of double contacting is worth the time it takes to organize who handles which branch of your business’s successful social media campaigns.

When several people reply to the same person or question, it’s annoying & amounts to overkill. You’ll come across as dysfunctional, if not desperate.

Be concise, consistent & know your niche. Encourage other team members engaged in successful social media campaigns on other networks to do the same. 

STEP 2: Narrow Down Which Networks Your Target Market Uses Most

New social media networks are popping up all the time. It’s impossible (& impractical) to think you can and should join each one. Through a bit of applied research, identify where your primary customer base spends the bulk of their social media time, pay close attention to what they’re saying, then dive in – using tactics you’re sure will be noticed & will generate positive response.

A few tools to dial you into what’s hot on the social network:  Google Blog Search, Bloglines, Twitter Search, Technorati & HubSpot’s Hubfeed.

STEP 3: Engage Your Followers to Convert Them To Customers
This may sound incredibly simple (and it is) but with social networking, it’s been shown that people running successful social media campaigns frequently post a thought-provoking question to get people actively responding.

For example, ask what they think of one of your products/services they recently used. Or ask what would it take to make them become a user. If they post a complaint about one of your products/services, respond; find out how to fix it for them. People are very forgiving when they feel they’re being listened to (or read, in this case)

Once you’re Tweeting/IMing/posting, etc., and they feel a rapport building, then when appropriate, direct them to a landing page, sale notice, etc. The equation basically goes:

• Convert Reader to Responder
• Engage with Responders
• Use Some Humor along the way (Always helps)
• Direct Responders to Landing Page(s), Sales. etc.
• High Percentage of Responders Convert to Customers

That’s one tried & true recipe that’s worked for many successful social media campaigns. Check it out!

STEP 4: Embrace LinkedIn

Still considered 3rd (behind Facebook & Twitter), LinkedIn is a social media force to be reckoned with when utilized properly and has more built-in business-quality-cache than either Facebook or Twitter. Create Groups & build a following, then post there regularly. Put the LinkedIn plug-in for sharing on your website.

STEP 5: Blog On & YouTube for Amplification
Twitter, Facebook & LinkedIn all limit update length (particularly Twitter) Establish your blog as your “home base” & post links to it for updates. Add a clever video on YouTube, then post that link. The most successful social media campaigns piggyback off of the other networks. Stats show that Facebook posts with the word video are shared 30% more often than those without.

STEP 6: Website Analytics = Successful Social Media Campaigns
Employ the use of tracking codes, closed loop marketing & analytics software to track visits, leads & resultant sales from your social media activities.

STEP 7: Consistency Says You Care
Now, nobody could (or should) be at their social media dashboard 24/7, poised to post that perfect comment or response. However, consistent interaction with content flowing out to catch all time zones you’re interacting with is important. Schedule posts to pop up when you’re otherwise engaged & respond ASAP.

Successful social media campaigns can be yours!

Source : Social Media Today

Kotex launched what is considered to be the “first brand Pinterest campaign” with their “Women’s” which targeted 50 women in Israel to find what inspired them. Their boards inspired gift boxes which were individualized and sent to them – these gift boxes exploded onto Pinterest and blogs garnering700K + impressions. This campaign was great because it embraced the true nature of Pinterest – and let’s be honest, don’t we all hope that someone would send us a package with everything we pin onto our “wants” boards?

Another campaign that I didn’t see a lot of press on was British Midland International (bmi)’sPinterest Lottery. This campaign didn’t completely clinch the Pinterest idea of individualization, but played off the “board” aspect – turning it more into a game of numbers and chance.  To play, consumers had to repin bmi destinations (each was labeled with a number on the bmi boards) to their own boards. Then, bmi chose six numbers and the consumer with that combination on their board would win.  It had more than 3,000 entriesin the first two weeks alone – which is downright impressive for one of the first Pinterest contests out there.  I liked this because it really plays up the “game” aspect, making it a bit more interactive and fun than others. Since they have let consumers know that they will continue releasing new boards for the lottery – it will be interesting to how popular they increasingly become overall on the platform.

One recently introduced Pinterest contest by Cloud 9, has me initially skeptical – due to the involved nature and effort consumers will need to put into their entries. Involving multiple steps and 10 required pins, it could have just been the writing, but halfway through the directions I threw up my hands and decided it was too time consuming (but wait, aren’t we all spending almost an hour and a half on there anyways? These facts seem to escape me at the time).

So what do we want from upcoming Pinterest contests? Let’s get a quick recap from the examples – personalization, multiple chances to win & fun interaction and easy steps and instructions. One thing that I do appreciate about Cloud 9’s contest is the chance to get personal about your submission – something I think is key for the future of these contests. While we all appreciate the quick and easy submissions, Pinterest is all about getting your personal preferences and likes out there and stated for everyone to see.  Lets cross our fingers for more creative contests and campaigns in coming months and see if they will aid Pinterest in moving up from third place.

Source: Social Media Today 

The Pablove Foundation

watch?feature=player_embedded&v=VBUV62n73vQ

The Pablove Foundation’s mission is to fund pediatric cancer research and treatment, as well as educate and empower cancer families by improving the quality of life for children living with cancer. The foundation has seen extensive success on Google+ far greater than many big name companies you would come to expect being influential on any social platform. What are they doing on Google+ to succeed?

• Sharing photos from community events - Highlighting workshops, marathons and other Pablove events in photos on their Google+ page has proven to be one of the most successful ways of engaging their audience. The photos they share give their community an insiders look into how the foundation is helping children deal with living with cancer and how they too can join in with a donation of time, companionship or money.

Keep Reading at Social Media Today……

Social media is democratizing marketing and is enabling the aspirational brands to challenge major brands for global mind and market share.

The gap between how companies market with media and how customers consume media is significant. In some industries, especially  technology, up to 90% of buying decisions start with an online search. Despite this, the marketing budget for digital media as a share of overall advertising spend is only 8%.

The CEO in most organisations has been raised on a diet of mass media and traditional marketing. Their paradigm in the past has often been to stick with the known because it was safe.

The CEO and the Socially Engaged Enterprise

Slowly but surely the “C-Suite” generation is realizing that digital media is where their audience hangs out and social media is much more than just having a Facebook page.

They are starting to wake up to the fact that a well planned and resourced social media marketingt strategy can lead to closer engagement with customers that is changing customer  service and how the business sells and markets its brand.

To be a socially engaged business is no longer an option, it is essential, just like the website was initially perceived  in the 1990′s.

A study by PulsePoint Group in conjunction with “The Economist” Intelligence Unit titled “The Economics of the Socially Engaged Enterprise” has revealed that the socially engaged companies have a 400% greater impact.

The study also outlined the steps that are essential to becoming a socially engaged business.

Step One: Plan It

There are two phases to this step.

1. Get Executives Sold and Comitted

This requires getting the C-suite on board so that the time, money and resources can be allocated to ensure that is done properly. The CEO and the executives will need to be convinced that  there will be a return on investment to be a socially engaged enterprise before committing the budget required.

This was hard in the past as there was no case studies or leading examples of businesses reaping a reward from investing in the selection, design and development of the platforms and tools needed to start listening online to feedback from customers and prospects and then acting on it.

2. Develop a Strategy

Developing a strategy that is clear on its goals and audience is the next phase. It includes weaving the strategy into the existing marketing plans so that they are synergistic and relevant.

Step Two: Build It

Essentially there are  four phases to step two.

1. Select your SWAT Team

This could be internal or a mix of internal and external staff that are passionate and skilled about teaching, training and evangelizing employees on an ongoing basis. This team will also need to choose the technologies required to achieve the strategic goals. In most enterprises the Marketing and Communications departments are seen as responsible for the project for becoming socially engaged.

2. Create a Social Media Command and Listening Center

Obtaining real time information that provides feedback from your customers on Facebook and Twitter and other social networks will assist you with determining if your products and services are resonating with your market. Essentially negative feedback means remove or change and positive means do more of the same thing that elicited that response!

3. Integrate Social Engagement into every Department

Listening and then acting on what you are hearing is vital right across the organisation including sales, customer service and product development. A socially engaged company will make rapid changes to its products and customer service approach as feedback and comments that are monitored on the command center are received, taken on board and then acted on.

4. Create a Publishing Plan and Schedule for your Content

You will need to plan your blog posts, Facebook updates, YouTube videos and other updates to your social network outposts that will be relevant for your audience, goals and brand message.

Step Three: Drive It

This is going to take time and commit to spend the next 12 months making sure that the team is acting on the strategy plan. This will involve three phases

1. Keep the Technology Up to Date

Social media is a fast moving and ever evolving technology, ensuring that the technology platforms are up to date and are providing the right tools to be efficient is vital. Upgrades to your blog, Facebook, analytics and measurement technologies will bee needed to ensure that you are not left behind as new tools and tactics emerge.

2. Learn from Your Mistakes and Celebrate your Wins

You will make mistakes as the socially engaged enterprise is still a new and and emerging marketing displine. Make adjustments quickly and move on. Celebrate wins with the team regularly to reinforce a success culture.

3. Assess Regularly

As with all proper business practice, develop a weekly management process that ensures that assessment of progress is made and the appropriate adjustments implemented. This will ensure long term success.

Source (Jeff Bullas.com)

We’d spent a bit of time distilling the main points down here for you to give you a taster as to how pages have been affected by the changes. The pages were assessed BEFORE timeline was adopted on the 29^thFeb and a month after. Engagement comparisons were then made between the two periods. It’s worth bearing in mind that the real acid test will be a month from today – once all pages have had the chance to adopt and adapt to timeline.

So what are the big learnings?

In all but the top volume pages, engagement figures have had a marked increase, whilst 10m+ pages have seen a general decline in all engagement areas.

The BIG takeaway: Pure fan volume should no longer be your primary focus when evaluating Facebook’s effectiveness.

So what content is now seeing the most engagement?

The data analysed 4,800 posts over the month from which we can draw the following conclusions:

Pre-timeline

• Status updates were the best ways to generate likes and comments, outperforming the next best post type by 21.8% and 17% respectively
• Video posts were the best way to generate shares, outperforming the next best type of post by 69.5%

Post-timeline

• Status updates continue to generate the most likes, outperforming the next best post type by 21.1%
• Photos are marginally better than status updates at generating comments, generating more comments by 8.3%
• Videos are now comfortably the very best way of generating shares, beating the next best post type, photos by 90%

The BIG takeaway: Timeline is clearly working best for visual media. Dig out as much visual content as you can. Consider also, in your new posts, how you can tie in a visual to support the status.

What about Pinned Posts and Features Posts?

At this early stage, there is a mixed message. This table compares pre-timeline posts and compares them to the subsequent featured and pinned posts. It’s pretty clear that whilst featured (full width) posts have little impact on likes and comments, they are significantly the most shared type of format.

Photos as pinned posts are achieving significant value across likes and shares types – but use them wisely. In many cases at the moment, pinned posts are replacing the like gate to point people to apps so don’t be alarmed if they generate fewer comments than the average.

The BIG takeaway: Use featured video posts to generate the most engagement across the board. At this stage, full-width, quality video is a honey trap for fans – but choose your content wisely. Photos appear to have the most significant impact as pinned posts.

Source (Social Media Today)