New Year’s Resolutions for Social Media Marketers

Happy New Year! As we usher in 2012, I’d like to suggest a few resolutions for social media marketers. These 3 simple suggestions will make you a better social media user and help you kick off 2012 with, if not a new, at least slightly improved, social media strategy. Cheers!

Allow Facebook Page Comments

By now, most brands have joined the Facebook bandwagon and created a page. But as they deal with the realities of the good (and bad) of having such open and public communications with both fans and foes, a few have decided to take a step back and use social media as a broadcast platform rather than a two-way communication channel. It sounds like a good idea: lock down the Facebook page comments and get your content out there, without having to deal with messy complaints. Wrong.

Take It From Cyber Monday: Gimmicks Work

Now that the holiday shopping hoopla has died down (anybody get anything good?) it’s time to look back at what we can learn from Black Friday, Cyber Monday and now, Small Business Saturday. Besides where to score a flat screen for 70% off.

There are a lot of social media marketing lessons wrapped up in the official kick-off to the holiday season. And I don’t just mean the obvious “post deals on Facebook and Twitter.” The very nature of the holiday shopping weekend is based on some tried and true marketing principles that can–and should–be applied to social media marketing all year round.

Create a Hook

This whole whirlwind weekend of retail therapy started with Black Friday. As online shopping became a bigger and bigger facet of our day-to-day, etailers jumped to get on the bandwagon, while brick and mortars upped the ante with different in-store and online-only offers. The Black Friday and Cyber Monday monikers stuck, creating ad campaigns and trending topics for themselves. Now, people look forward to it every year. And it just keeps getting bigger. Think about how you could do that yourself on your social channels. Create branded or themed posts that recur week after week and keep people coming back.

Top 10 Facebook Marketing Tips

Facebook is a major factor for marketers these days. Nearly every brand has a page, but not all pages are created equal. Facebook is a highly competitive market where you are vying for the attention of fans who have, on average, 130 friends and have liked 90 or more pages. Once they’ve liked your page, you need to be contributing to their community and giving them reasons to stay connected to you.

The deck below outlines the basics for a successful Facebook marketing campaign. Here are a few tips to get you started, but flip through the presentation for real examples of campaigns, promotions and content on Facebook.

10 Facebook Marketing Tips

• Give ‘em what they want by crowdsourcing content and listening to feedback.

• Focus on engagement: make sure they like you and aim for more post comments.

• Pick a pattern and create predictable themes to brand your content.

• Don’t push, persuade fans. A hard sell doesn’t work; you need interesting posts.
  

Creating Social Content to Build Engagement

A Facebook content strategy is essential for any brand looking to succeed on the social network. As more and more people (and brands) join the site, having a relevant and engaging presence becomes a necessary part of any social media marketing strategy. But when you are competing with not only other brands, but friends and family as well, it is important to plan your posts and remember that each piece of content should work towards achieving one or more goals.

The deck below outlines the basics for building a social media marketing content calendar and developing posts that build engagement and interaction on Facebook. Here are a few tips to get you started, but flip through the presentation for some great examples of brands that are rocking it in social media.

Tips For Creating Engaging Facebook Content

• Make sure they “like” you and convert visitors into fans with a Reveal Tab.

• Keep it exclusive and encourage repeat visits by offering something only to fans.

• Crowdsource your content by listening to feedback to build your strategy.

• Create content for comments to increase interaction and boost visibility.
  

How To Find Mutual Friends With The New Facebook Layout

I’ll admit it: I’m a bit of a Facebook stalker. And while the new Facebook layout took some getting used to in general, what really through me for a loop were changes to some seemingly small, yet very important, features. In particular, the ability to view mutual friends when browsing through profiles.

You used to be able to see these mutual friends easily displayed on a user’s profile, with one click to view more if you had lots in common. This made deciding whether to friend (or unfriend) people easily, since you could tell at a glance that you had 80 friends in common, or none.

Facebook hasn’t removed the mutual friend functionality, but it is a bit trickier to find. Now you must visit a user’s profile and click on the “Friends” link below their profile icon to view mutual friends. From there, click on the “Search By Name” dropdown and select “Mutual Friends” to see everyone you’re both connected to.

Easy? Yes. But not quite as easy as it used to be. This extra step makes you take a little extra time to dig around on Facebook, which is always their goal for the site. It also makes you harder to see people you’re already connected to, since Facebook wants to foster more new connections.

Hard to say why this change was made, but I love a good conspiracy theory. The fact that it takes more time and clicks to accomplish a simple task does not seem insignificant to me. But for now, just remember Friends>Search By Name>Mutual Friends.

What do you think about the new Facebook layout changes? What are you liking, or finding hard to navigate? Share your frustrations or favorite features in the comments below.

Non-Friends Can Now Tag You On Facebook

Facebook has opened up the site even more. In an attempt to build networks and increase the connectivity (and therefore advertising power) of the site, Facebook is now allowing non-friends to tag people in posts. Previously users could tag current friends and pages they “liked” in posts. But until now, the site had limited most communications to between friends. Now users can add names of strangers or ex-friends to comments.

Borrowed from Twitter, @ tagging allows users to mention a friend in a post and create a hyperlink to their profile where their name is mentioned. The post will then also show up on the tagged friend’s wall. This feature is also available for pages that a user is connected to. But now, you can tag any person or page on Facebook, even if you aren’t connected on Facebook.

Useful? Maybe. But it also opens up pages for more negative comments and spam, and users to incorrect postings. Remember when Facebook launched Places and the default was to allow friends to check you in with them? The default setting for tagging is to allow all tags to post automatically, without any moderation.

Users can protect themselves by updating their Privacy Settings on Facebook. Login to Facebook.com and click “Privacy Settings” from the top right drop-down menu arrow next to the “Home” button. Click “Edit Settings” next to “How Tags Work” on the list of options and check your settings for the top two options, “Profile Review” and “Tag Review.” This will allow you to turn on moderation and provide a safeguard against unwanted tagging.

Pages can protect their Wall from competitor spam by clicking “Edit Page” and then selecting “Manage Permissions.” Here you can determine whether or not fans can tag you, and what type of content is displayed on your Wall.

Whether you use Facebook for personal or professional use, as a Page Admin or just an average user, remember that with Facebook’s default settings you will be able to be tagged by anyone in a post, and that post will show up on your Wall. It will not show up in your Newsfeed to all your friends or fans, the way a status update from you would, but they could still see it.

As with any new Facebook feature, don’t get caught up int eh excitement of something new to play with. Think about what this really means for you and update your settings to keep your profile or page within your control.

Update Your Profile to Match Facebook Changes

Do you remember back in grade school, when you had fire drills and got to miss a precious few minutes of class? It was always followed by the teacher explaining that we should test the smoke detectors at home and replace the batteries whenever we changed the clocks. Good advice to this day, but the times, they are a-changing. And I’ve got another tip for you: update your Facebook profile settings.

Facebook doesn’t quite follow the predictable pattern of daylight savings time, but they do update their platform several times throughout the year. And when they do, it’s a good time to check your settings and update your profile accordingly. And I’m not just talking about removing cancelled TV shows from your profile. Take a good long look at your friends, apps and security settings to make sure you are still sharing the information you want to be sharing.

Sometimes Facebook clearly states their recent changes. But their end goal is to provide maximum targeting capabilities to advertisers. So you should always double-check that your settings are actually your own, and haven’t been defaulted back to Facebook’s more open preferences. Set your email preferences to receive notifications that are helpful to you, without always logging in, and don’t be afraid to purge old friends or deactivate unused apps. It’s amazing how many dusty promotional apps I found still attached to my profile when I took a look.

Think of it as spring cleaning for your account. And instead of freaking out about more Facebook changes, use the announcement as a reminder to keep your profile within your control.

How to Get Started With a Job In Social Media

Social Media is a relatively new facet of marketing. Actual jobs in the industry are an even newer concept. And so for many people planning their social media career path, it can be hard to figure out where to put your foot in the door. My (admittedly twisty) road is by no means a recipe for guaranteed success or a checklist of must-haves for a social media career. But I thought it might help to share with people how I got here.

The short answer? A little luck. A dash of patience. Employers who were willing to test stuff out. A solid marketing and writing background. And a lot of tasks outside my official job description.

A Strong Marketing Background

I started out an advertising major and graduated from Boston University with a Bachelor’s degree in Communications, where I concentrated on copywriting. At the time, this was largely focused on print. Facebook was just poking and photo posting, and Twitter was still an idea being hatched on a cocktail napkin somewhere. And while writing ad copy for fictitious print campaigns is not quite the same as social posts, I did learn a lot about writing. (The attention grabbing, to-the-point necessities of a headline also apply to Twitter.)

Say “I Do” to Dating in a Digital World

Let’s face it. We live online. Sometimes it’s for fun, but many times, business demands it. Gone are the days of the 9-5 work schedule. Blackberries, iPhones, location based apps and other technologies have made us available 24/7. But while your boss may love that you answer emails at all hours of the night, it can make dating tough. Excusing yourself from a first date to take a work call isn’t ideal, and your friends probably frown on tweeting from their wedding. So by staying connected, you may actually be distancing yourself from the world. Which makes it hard to secure a second (or first!) date.

Unless, of course, you find a partner who understands the way you live and work. Who won’t be bothered by the clacking of a keyboard in bed. But where do you find such a specimen? Easy. At work! What once was taboo is far more accepted, and honestly, expected. So feel free to mix business with pleasure–in moderation, of course.

The trick to making it work? Using digital technology effectively to help maintain a stable work/life balance. Trust me, it can be done. My husband and I met at work. Then we got married, tweeted our vows and wrote a book together. So we know that your soulmate is most likely sitting in the next cubicle, and how to walk the fine line between flirting and stalking online.

A Few Ground Rules

1.) Keep It Casual. Start with office hour lunch excursions, or in-person talks instead of email. Establish a professional friendship before you try for more. This give you an easy out if the conversation stalls, while also allowing a chance to find out what interests you have in common outside of the office.

2) Friend First, Facebook Later. Don’t immediately start adding them on Facebook, Twitter, etc. Ease in with LinkedIn, a professional network, and an IM chat program. This allows for comfortable chatting without stares from coworkers. And when you do add them to Facebook? Do a quick check of your Privacy Settings to make sure they don’t see anything you wouldn’t post on the conference room wall.

3) Safety In Numbers. For your first after-work outing, enlist the help of fellow colleagues and make it a group thing. Look for a fun happy hour spot nearby, and don’t bring friends from outside of works. And above all else, know your limits. Getting too drunk this early in the game is not a good idea.

4) Make Your Move. But tread lightly. By now you should be able to tell if they like you or not, so it’s time to set up a real date. Plan it for a Saturday somewhere away from the office to really distance yourself from coworker gossip and work associations. But don’t feel like work talk is completely off limits. It’s a safe subject you can both relate to–just make sure it’s not the only topic of the night.

5) Don’t Bring The Office Home. Yes, you got together because you spend a lot of time together at work and both understand the way today’s digital world works. But beware of bring too much home with you. Try not to argue over client demands or quarterly projections at home, and don’t argue over who’s on dishwasher duty at the office.

Hopefully these tips will help you navigate the tricky waters of dating a coworker. Want to know more? Vote for my panel as SXSWi. My former coworker and current husband, Dan Zarrella, and I will be sharing stories and offering advice on how to turn a professional relationship into a personal one without driving yourself (or your coworkers) crazy.

To delete, or not to delete? That is the question.

We’ve all seen them. Chances are, you may have even be guilty of writing a few yourself. You know what I’m talking about: Facebook complaints. These dreaded negative posts put fear in the hearts of many a Facebook Page Admin. Some are carefully crafted, artfully worded in their scathing anger and perfect punctuation. Some are posted in the heat of the moment, often from a mobile app, riddled with typos and misguided capitalization. Still others take the tactic of seasoned parents everywhere, expressing disappointment and remorse over a ruined occasion, as opposed to anger.

Don’t Delete Negative Facebook Posts

Mistakes happen. Facebook Pages represent real life entities with fallible humans manning the phone lines, taking orders and offering assistance. Not everything will always run smoothly. But still, it’s tempting to project an air of perfection on Facebook by whitewashing Wall comments and deleting negative posts. But is that really the best strategy?

Think about it from a user’s perspective. If you just posted a complaint and are hoping for some type of resolution, seeing that your comment has been deleted is probably going to make you even angrier, which could lead to even more negative posts. And if you’re browsing the Page to help with a purchasing decision, doesn’t 100% positive feedback look a little fishy?

Resolve Issues Outside of Facebook

For brands, the best bet is to respond to negative posts as quickly as possible and try to find a way to resolve issues offline. Most negative posts involve unique or personal situations that you don’t want to discuss publicly on a Facebook Wall. Provide an email address or phone number for them to contact, or ask them to send their contact information to a specific email address you have control of. If your Facebook Page is tied to a personal account, you can also use it to send a private message.

If they are angry at a more general issue or policy and you have an answer that will benefit everyone on the Wall, feel free to post publicly. Either way, this shows all of your Facebook fans that you are committed to customer service and care enough about them to follow up on issues. And by all means, comment on the positive posts too! People love to know that they are being heard, for better or worse, and responding will keep them coming back for more.

Create Your Own Rules…and Stick to ‘Em

Of course, there are a few types of comments you are justified in deleting. Obscene, harassing or otherwise inappropriate language should be removed, as well as threats or spam. What’s inappropriate? That’s for you to decide. Develop a policy for Wall posting, and stick to it. You may even want to publish it somewhere, so you can reference it when dealing with negative commenters.

Above all else, remember to take a deep breath and calm down before you respond in any way. Get as many facts as you can and take your time crafting a response. You want to respond promptly, but don’t rush. The more you know before you reply, the smoother your resolution will be. And try not to take it personally. Chances are, their issue is not with you. Don’t be personally offended, but do be involved enough to see the resolution through to the end.