Let’s talk Facebook today, shall we?
Sorry, Howie. I know you’re not a fan so you can go read another blog today.
I’m going to make a pretty big assumption most of you have at least checked out the new timeline. Even if you hate it, if you’re using social media for work, it’s important to understand how these most recent changes affect your business pages.
You’re going to become pretty creative in how you use Facebook now. I’m going to give you some tips.
- Ads, Sponsored Stories, and Creativity. Mari Smith, Facebook expert extraordinaire, posted, “The news feed is *clearly* favoring posts and activity from friends and subscriptions (vs. fan pages) — it’s becoming increasingly difficult to get fan page content seen in the news feed. So, do businesses then need to turn to ads/sponsored stories?” While I’m not completely sold on the idea that, in order to be seen in the news feed you have to buy the space, creativity is definitely something you need to have in order to get people to see your stream. We do Facebook question of the week to get people to visit our wall. Some additional ideas are coming this year.
- Subscriptions. If you don’t already have the subscription button turned on for your wall, do it now. This allows people to subscribe to your feeds so they always see what you have to say. You can create public posts and private posts so you’re not sharing everything with everyone. Think about the people within your organization doing the same thing. For instance, my subscription feed is public and I put stuff on there that is both characteristic of me and newsworthy or interesting. The people inside your organization are what makes the culture. Share them with the world.
- Recommendations. On the right-hand side of the company Facebook wall is a spot for recommendations. Ask friends to write something there. Not only does it live on that right-hand side for all to see, it hits the stream of the person who wrote it, expanding your network beyond the people who already know you.
- Photos. Use the cover photo and other photos to tell the company story and show off the culture. And change them frequently. People like to look at something visual and, the more you give them, the more apt they are to spend time on your page.
I’m sure there are a ton more ideas. In fact, you should pick up a copy of super smart Facebook marketer Brian Carter’s, The Like Economy to get some additional ideas. He teaches you not only how to be found in the news stream, but to do it in an engaging way that generates revenue.
What else would you add?