Five Facebook Tips 12

Posted on May 10, 2013 by Fred van Schie

Here we go again. Five more Facebook tips for you and yours on this Friday.

So social media is NOT about ME (=you/your brand) or being the media (all the time), the focus is on being social. Having a conversation with someone (online or offline) creates a relationship. And since “people do business with people they know, like, and trust”, building a relationship with your past/current/future consumers is key. Otherwise each sale is just “buy”, or “goodbye”. Selling a product once to one consumer is nice, but wouldn’t it be much better if that consumer stays with you for a long(er) time?

1. Keep your Post By Others wall as open as possible
Seeing big (and small) brands turning the “Post By Others” wall off is something I can not comprehend. Ignoring your past/present/future customer, in public, isn’t good marketing in my eyes.
So open up the “Post By Others” wall and then open it up all the way (see screen shot below). You want your fans to be able to tag their friends in your photos, so your content gets spread whenever possible. Having your current fans telling their friends about you is super valuable. We all trust our friends more then anything, and social media is word of mouth on steroids. Why would you try to stop that?

2. Add other Facebook Pages to your Page (that you’d recommend)
As a Facebook Page you can “like” other Facebook Pages, which displays in the right colum on the top of your Page. This is basicly a list of other Pages that you think your fans should “like” as well. So you would add brands, retailers, and athletes on this list that you want to align yourself with. So don’t try to make this list endless. Less is more. I think anywhere from 5 to 50 could be a decent size list.
To add another Facebook Page to your list just go to the Facebook Page you want to add, and click on the “wheel” below the cover photo (on the right) and click “Like As Your Page”. If you handle multiple Facebook Pages you get the option to pick the Page you want to add it to.

3. Display 5 other Pages for people to Like (Featured Likes)
So now that you have a list of Pages added to your “Recommend Likes”, the “Likes” box will display up to 5 Pages that your Page likes. This list will change with every refresh, so each one on the list gets displayed at random. If you “like” more then 5 Pages you don’t control which Pages get shown. But you can set certain “Featured Likes”, so those will show up every time. I don’t recommend locking in all of the 5 spots, as then the others Pages will never show up. So maybe lock in the first 2-3 spots makes the most sense.
To set the Featured Likes go to “Edit Page” and “Edit Settings”. On the left click on “Featured” and then click on the box “Add Featured Likes”. Now the list pops up of all the Pages that you like with your page. Select the ones you want to lock in.

4. Who to make an admin of your Facebook page
For a while now there a 5 different degrees of admin roles. Only the “Manager” can add and delete others. Best is to have 2 people be an manager, in case something happens to one of the profiles from the admin. (Hacked, banned, etc) If someone has a fake (personal) profile you want to be extra carefull, as Facebook can at any time delete that profile. And if that’s the only admin of the Facebook Page you’re screwed. As far as adding any others admin, once again, less is more. If you add more people to your Facebook Page, to post (in specific territories) make sure they now how to post, respond, and tag right.

*Please note that any manager can hijack the page and kick everyone else out. It all comes down to trust, and maybe adding something in the contract of your social media employees.

5. Check the comments after you do a Facebook post
I see a lot of people just post stuff, and not interact. They turn their “Post By Others” wall off and just do one-way traffic. Being anti-social on social media, wtf!
When some people constantly question the ROI of social media, it blows my mind that most of them don’t interact. So when you post something, check back after a few minutes, a few hours, and the next day(s). See if people have questions about the product or anything else. And delete spam comments and approve the comments that were flagged as spam (incorrectly).
More then 60% of the time people check Facebook from a mobile device and most people having notifications turned on, they can and will respond quickly. Keep the momentum going and talk back to them, and more importantly, have a conversation with them. In the first 30-60 minutes you can really help increase the reach of your post by doing this. And you might be able to sell some extra product while being at it.
Are you ready for 1-on-1 marketing yet?

Hope this is once again helpfull.

Check out Facebook tips part 11 from last week for more tips and tricks. Questions or comments? Drop ‘em below! You can of course post them on my Facebook Page or shoot me an email at [email protected].

Five Facebook Tips 10

Posted on October 5, 2012 by Fred van Schie

Ok, here we are again. Due to major website issues (Lunar Pages sucks!) and a lot of work (which I’m so thankful for) it’s been a bit too long since I’ve done an update. It’s not that I ran out of tips, but this idea I had a year ago has become a reality quicker than I thought.

Anyway, with the news of Facebook hitting 1 billion users, I figured it was about damn time I did another update. So here’s 5 more tips and tricks.

1. Talking About This should be 10-15%
You can have all the fans/likes in the world, but if they don’t do anything it’s not worth shit. The “talking about this” number indicates the last 7 days that your fans have interacted with your page in some way. So people liking, commenting, sharing, tagging, etc. One of the main influencers of this number is by responding to everyone that posts on your way (“Post By Others”). Social media is all about being SOCIAL (interacting), not about being the MEDIA (spamming). So listen and respond to your fans, they are more than worth it.
If you need an example go to Corey Duffel’s Facebook page. The Duffman is all about interacting with his fans, in real life and with social media. Now if only brands would start taking their fans as serious as Corey, a lot more people would be stoked on your brand.

2. Use the new Facebook for Pages for app
Facebook is still not perfect on a mobile device, but they are slowly getting there. They still have too much options to squeeze in one app, but some of the main things are in this new app. I’m not a fan of adding another app to my home screen, but if it serves a purpose, I’m all about it. One of the things you still can’t do, and annoys the hell out of me, is taggin other fan pages.

Ps. Recently Facebook updated the regular Facebook app, and now you can’t post on a fan page from the app anymore. Get it!

3. Make sure your tabs work on a mobile device (otherwise don’t bother)
Yeah, those tabs (or apps/applications)…. They are not the magic you are looking for, and if you suck at social media they won’t help you suck less. But if you using Facebook right, they can be a big help. But people check Facebook 50% of the time from a mobile device (65% by the end of 2012?), and Timeline for Pages does not (yet) work on the mobile app, so if you post a link on your wall make sure the tab is mobile friendly. A frustrated fan, that can’t see what you want him to see, is not your goal.

This is what you see on a smart phone (iPhone) if you tab is not mobile friendly. And I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, if it doesn’t work on mobile, don’t waste your time!

4. Tag others when you can, every time you can.
There’s not trick of getting a ton of new fans quickly. And if you think you know a trick, it’s has to be fake. Growing Facebook fans takes time, hard work, and patience, just like growing a business. The best way to grow is by tagging other fan pages when you have a chance. Since your page is growing fans every day (right?) you have to make sure you inform the newbies. So don’t just think people know where your brand is sold, who is on your team, and what other brands and retailers you align with. And leave out the hella in-crowd cool talk. Once in a while won’t hurt, but you want to make sure the newbies feel at home, not estranged. So they can be a consumer for years to come.

To tag another page it helps to have the admin be a fan (like) the page you plan to tag. Adding the page your page’s favorites will help too. Type the “@” symbol and start typing the page name of the page you want to tag. (Yes, that;s why you need a good page name too)

*Please note that the tagging won’t always work (99% of the time it will) and you can’t tag personal profiles. So you won’t spam personal profiles, cause I know you want to.

5. Call to action, don’t just post an update
People see your stuff in their feed. Whether their on a mobile device or computer, people don’t really came to your Facebook page. So you have to make sure that if you do an update, it’s stands out one way or another. Not every time of course, mix shit up! But when you scroll through your newsfeed, most of the things you see are just whatever. So when you ask them a question, it will get people talking. Remember people are on social media to interact with their friends. And the best way to get to know new people is to start interaction with them. Asking questions sparks interaction. And it’s direct feedback from your consumers!

Below an example of a post on the Facebook page of David Gonzalez (that I did) regarding his 3 signature Ricta wheels. A Facebook post gets seen by an average of 10-16% of your fans, this post was seen by more then 50% of David’s fans. And it got a lot of likes, comments and share. Ow, and Ricta gained twice as much fans as on any other day. (cause it was tagged)

Five Twitter Tips Part 2

Posted on January 31, 2012 by Fred van Schie

Here’s the second Twitter tips for you and yours.

Twitter takes a little bit more time to get used too than Facebook and Instagram, but it’s definitely one of the better social media platforms out there. Every self respected brand should be actively taking part in the conversation, respond to, and interact with, their fans and followers.

1. Keep your username short and simple
Since Twitter only gives you 160 tokens to type, or 140 if you add a link or photo, you want to make sure your username is short and simple. I would stay away from arithmetic operators (such as +, -, *, /,) and if possible, numbers. The longer your name the harder it is for people to retweet or quote your tweet. If the text gets too long Twitter makes the last part, that doesn’t fit in, into another link.

2. Use the Twitter search (now discover)
After the recent makeover Twitter renamed their Twitter search homepage discover. The function remains the same. This is where you find other people or brands you want to follow.
You can also search for hashtag that could be used by your possible consumers. Join the conversation and make yourself valuable. Once you gain the respect of people you can send them to your business side of things. Don’t start out with strictly business tweets. If you have no trust people will just see your shit as spam. And they’re right….

3. Shrink your URLs
Any URL that has 19 characters or more will be shortened by twitter to a “t.co” link. For now any link of 18 characters or less, will be left unchanged. But Twitter will sooner or later also change those links into a “t.co” link. The good thing with the t.co links it that you will be able to get the stats of the t.co link.
Once Twitter changes all links into their own t.co links, the use of any other link shortener will become useless. For now, I really like the is.gd link shortener. I’ve been using this one since the Libya drama raised some questions with all the .ly URLs, like bit.ly that many people use. Is.gd is one letter shorter anyway, which sometimes is just enough.
Or use the emeri.ca (or etnie.es) ones that I helped to get with Sole Tech uber webnerd Ivo Janssen (and fellow Dutchman) and Canadian distributor Timebomb. For instance, I just made a Emerica short link for my favorite Emerica shoe of the last few years, check emeri.ca/fredsfavorite.

4. Link to something mobile friendly
A lot of people use Twitter on their mobile (smart) phone, so make sure that whatever link you put in your tweets, works on a mobile. Whether it is a site or a video, nothing is more frustrating than not being able to see what the tweet talks about. And someone who gets frustrated might just not pursue to found out what the link is about. Or worse, stop following you.
So if you want to show a video link directly to the YouTube (or Vimeo) video. You agree with me that it wouldn’t be wise to link people to a site with a shitty video player right?

5. Fill out your bio and link to your website
Make sure to put some short info in your profile section, and add a link to your website. If people have never heard of you but they found you through a friend, a video, or an ad they need to be able to go to your website and see what you’re all about.
The website should be your main hub with information, your social media platforms is the place where you communicate with your fans, followers an consumers.

Check part 1 of the Twitter tips if you haven’t already.

Questions or comments? Drop a comment below!
Or hit me up on Twitter, @fredvanschie.

Mobile Is Taking Over In 2012

Posted on January 26, 2012 by Fred van Schie

If it doesn’t work on a mobile (smart) phone, forget about it.

2012 is gonna be the year that mobile will be dictating what is gonna reach the consumer. Social media is playing a huge part in this change.

On a daily basis, how often do you visit a website on your mobile device? Not very often huh? How often do you check Facebook, Twitter or Instagram on your phone? Five times a day? Five times an hour? Probably way more than you realize….

A few weeks ago I found out Chris Haslam was the newest rider for Bones wheels. How did I find out? Through the Bones wheels Instagram. I didn’t even see, hear or read it somewhere else. I actually still haven’t, and that’s fine. (Because I didn’t look at other news outlets). The different social media platforms on my iPhone are the tools that keep me up to date these days.

I’m 33 years old right now and I remember a time when there wasn’t any internet. But when the internet came up and took over I went along with it. If I still would have stuck with reading print magazines and watching skateboard videos/DVDs I would find out news way later than everyone else. And I would probably miss a lot of skateboarding clips/parts, since most of them only show up online. Social media is web 2.0, meaning it’s the next step, and guess what? If you’re not adapting to this, you’re gonna loose the game. It’s very simply.

The youth always is the future, so anyone over 20 isn’t really having an influence on where things are gonna go. The future is in the hands of the 15 year old skate rat that has some kind of smart phone. Maybe not the latest iPhone 4s, but more likely the hands me down iPhone 3s from one of his parents or his older brother.
And this kid, who is the main consumer for any skateboard brand out there, is getting his skateboard news through his Facebook, Twitter or Instagram account, on his phone. If it’s not posted on social media there is a very big chance he is gonna miss whatever you’re trying to get out. There is so much content being put out every day that’s it’s not easy to get it in front of the consumer. Of course, great content will reach your consumer, but wouldn’t it be great if it reached even more people? Meaning new consumers….

One of the key things for mobile is video. So make it easy for yourself and stop using your own video player. Even if it does work on a mobile device and plays withing Facebook. There are only 2 video platforms that will help you really get your video content out, YouTube and Vimeo. Everyone knows how to email, share (on social media) and embed a YouTube video. Also, do you want a ton of people see your video or you just want your own little group of regular website visitors to see it?
I personally like Vimeo better, but YouTube is the way to go. You need to go where the people are. With 4 billion views per day, YouTube videos are they way to go. I still think you need to upload the videos to your Vimeo account, but YouTube is the way to get the views.

To quote my friend, and etnies video head honcho, Dustin Aron; “If YouTube is good enough for Lady Gaga, it’s good enough for any brand in skateboarding”. “Nuff said!

Questions or comments? Drop ’em below!
Or shoot me an email at [email protected].

Fred van Schie

Social Media consultant

Tag Archives: mobile