social media

Facebook revised  their contest rules in May of this year, but still many people are either unaware of the update, or confused by how to run a successful contest on Facebook.

Every day it seems I see a Facebook promotion in my news feed. And, many times the contest boasts the winner will receive [enter a really great prize here] for ‘liking’ the page. [CRINGE!]

Mistake #1: Using the “Like” Button as a Voting Mechanism

If Facebook could have made this rule any clearer, it would be crystal. OK, silly analogy. But really, Facebook clearly states that contests “must not use Facebook features or functionality as a promotion’s registration or entry mechanism.” Facebook even clearly states that “the act of liking a Page or checking in to a Place cannot automatically register or enter a promotion participant.” Now, that’s not to say that you cannot create a “Fan Gate” – which we will explain in a moment.

Mistake #2: Not Using a 3rd Party App to Administer the Contest

This is actually Facebook’s #1 rule. They state: “Promotions on Facebook must be administered within Apps on Facebook.com, either on a Canvas Page or an app on a Page Tab.”

Running a contest or sweepstake via a 3rd party app is really very simple. We currently use ShortStack App, but have also used Wildfire Interactive in the past. There are actually a lot of apps out there that offer Facebook content features at a very reasonable price. So there is no reason not to use one.

Mistake #3: Giving Away a Prize Unrelated to Your Industry

What is the purpose of your contest? Do you really want to attract people who enter 100 contests a day? Or, do you want to attract potential customers? I’m going to guess you want to attract potential customers. Then instead of offering a $500 Visa gift card, a better prize may be a $500 gift card for your product or service. Or maybe, you give away one of your products for free. In other words, if you don’t work for Ford, then don’t give away a new Ford.

Mistake #4: Not Using a Fan Gate to Build the “Likes”

A ‘Fan Gate’ is as it sounds, a gateway. Many of the 3rd party apps we mentioned have the functionality where a visitor has to “Like” your page before they can enter the contest. I know what you’re thinking. ‘You just told us that using the “like” button as a voting mechanism is breaking the rules.’ Yes, that is true. However, with a Fan Gate, you’re not using the Like as the voting mechanism, only as a gateway to the voting mechanism. Pretty cool, right?

Mistake #5: Making the Entry Super Complicated

To enter just fill out the form, followed by uploading a photo, followed by uploading a video, followed by getting your friends to vote on your photo, then on your video, followed by….. If it’s not simple, people will not enter. Even the most loyal of fan will not follow a 10 step entry to your contest.

Mistake #6: Not Promoting Your Contest

If you create it, they will enter…. NOT! Social media, is just that, social. In order to get the word out about your contest, you have to promote it and encourage your supporters to share it. Start mentioning your contest on your Facebook page a few weeks before you launch it. Follow it up by an invitation to your current fans. Send out an email to your email list too. Larger brands, or those with really nice marketing budgets, may also run a radio or TV spot to promote the contest. You get the drift….

Mistake #7: Ignoring Facebook’s Rules

Read the rules; obey the rules. It’s not difficult to do, I promise.

There you have it. Any other mistakes you think should be added to the list? Feel free to leave them in a comment. For help planning and administering your Facebook contest, request a no-obligation consultation. We’re happy to help.

Inspiration for this post came about the other day when I caught myself on a bit of a rampage, explaining to a friend the difference between a Facebook profile and a Facebook Page. Sadly yes, this is a true story.

I have to admit, I do love when I receive a Facebook notification for a new friend request but, receiving a friend request from a business drives me absolutely batty.  I refuse to accept a friend request from a business, but I’ll hit that Like button all day.

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Reading and Sharing Content Simplified

Google Chrome is one of my favorite web browsers. Its sleek design, serious speed, and abundant library of extensions, Google Chrome is my go-to browser.

The Google Chrome Extensions library is filled with extensions for everyone and everything. From news, social media, and SEO, to productivity, blogging, and sports, Extensions allow you to customize your web browser to suit your every day needs. As an inbound marketing professional and social media addict, the performance of your web browser is critical so, it’s important to have a web browser that can keep up with the pace. continue

I’ve tried out many social media tools both free and paid. There’s one tool that I’ve been using for the past several months that’s so great I just have to share.

So about five months ago, Mashable introduced me to a Twitter analytics tool called Crowdbooster. The post was so intriguing that I went to the Crowdbooster website and signed up for the private beta. Lucky for me, within a few weeks I had been accepted. continue

Have you ever said: “I wish I could like and comment on other pages as my business page.” Well, now you can!

If you’re a page admin, they you’ve received this email from Facebook:

“Facebook pages are getting an updated layout and several new features to help you engage with your fans. Here’s some of what you’ll be getting:

• Notifications when fans interact with your page or posts
• A place to showcase photos along the top of your page
• A news feed for your page
• The ability to Like and post on other pages as your page

Preview your page and you’ll be given the option to upgrade early. All pages will automatically be upgraded on March 10.”

How to upgrade your page early:

It’s super easy… Log on to Facebook and go to your page. You’ll see a notification message from Facebook at the top of the page. Click on “Preview” to see what your page will look like with the upgrade.

Want to see the new page version in action? Visit the CreativeMind Search Marketing Facebook page!

I’ll admit, I’m a loyal and dedicated Foursquare user. As a slightly competitive person, it’s fun to check-in to Foursquare multiple times per day, rack up weekly points, unlock new badges, and of course, earn mayorships. The “real” benefits are even more fun. As mayor of Starbucks, I received a free tall skinny vanilla latte. Driving past the mall the other day, I noticed Express had a Foursquare special: Check-in to receive $30 off a $75 purchase. You guessed it – I totally went shopping. And last but not least, I found a faster route to take to work in the morning, thanks to an awesome Foursquare Tip. Foursquare is just one, of the many cool Location-Based Services (LBS) available.

Last weekend after attending PodCamp New Hampshire (PCNH) in downtown Portsmouth, I realized I had a quite a few new applications to play with on my iPhone; all of them Location-Based Services (LBS). What had inspired me to go into such an app downloading frenzy? A great presentation: Winning the Location-Based Services Game with Walter Elly, Director of Emerging Technology at Microarts.

During his presentation, Walter Elly shared some of his LBS knowledge with us, exploring some of the different ways to become winners of the Location-Based Services game, from  both consumer and business marketing perspectives. From driving conditions, restaurant meal photos, and customer reviews, to businesses claiming their profiles and honoring frequent customers, there are many different ways for us all to win. By the end of the session, I had been inspired to download some of the services I just learned about so I could try them out later. Maybe you’ll be inspired too! Here are some of the cool Location-Based Services Walter Elly inspired me to try:

Waze: How did I not know about this application before? Waze is a a social driving and navigation app providing free turn-by-turn navigation based on the live conditions of the road. You connect to other drivers to get real-time road information you need.

Scvngr: The fastest growing LBS, with 500,000 users since it’s launch in May. Scvngr is a location-based game, like Foursquare and Gowalla, with an intense game experience. Go places, do challenges, earn points, and get rewards like free coffee. Lots of fun for the competitive types.

Yelp!: Yelp! isn’t on my list of newly downloaded apps, but I wanted to include it on this list. Yelp! is an amazing place to find a restaurant and is a widely popular resource to find information about a business. Their tag-line, “Real People. Real Reviews.” is a great summary of what they do. Many people turn to Yelp! to inform their decisions on where to go to eat. If you own a restaurant you need to claim your listing and monitor the reviews. Also, take advantage of the free tools Yelp! offers.

Foodspotting: Foodspotting helps you find dishes, rather than restaurants. Take a picture of your meal and share it using Foodspotting. See what your ordering and help others see before they or. I’ve always been a fan of menus with pictures and this is the real-deal. Definitely try this one out the next time you go to dinner.

These are my favorite Location-Based Services so far, but there are plenty more out there, trust me. Some of the other LBS Walter explored include, Google Latitude, BrightKite, Red Laser, FourSquare, Gowalla, and more. If you want to learn more about Winning the Location-Based Services Game, or to check out Uncle Sam with an iPhone, you can do that here.

What other LBS have you tried out for either personal use or as a business? Please share!

For all of you who could not make it to the Inbound Marketing Summit 2010 last week, I was a participant on the “Driving More Qualified Leads into Your Funnel” on day 2. Chris Brogan lead the discussion for the panel that included myself (Patti Fousek), Mike Damphouse the CEO/CMO of Green Leads, Benjamin Diggles the Agency Channel Sales of Webtrends,  and Bernie Brogan the CEO of Find and Convert.

The CreativeMind gang is back from the Inbound Marketing Summit 2010 (IMS) which took place October 6th and 7th at Gillette Stadium in Foxoboro, MA. IMS is the brain child of Chris Brogan, Justin Levy, and Colin Bower of New Marketing Labs.

This was my second time attending and speaking at IMS. I have to say, each year just keeps getting better and better. While last year seemed to focus on big brands and B2C, this year was chock full of great information for B2B companies. Here are the top 5 lessons learned for B2B marketers.

1. Don’t be afraid to engage.
   For the past two days I kept hearing  the buzz word “engage”. Scott Stratten (@unmarketing on Twitter) told a great story of how he gained 10,000 followers on Twitter in 30 days. How did he do it? He engaged with his followers and tweeted about 7,000 times in those 30 days. Now we all can not be as aggressive as Scott with our Twitter engagement strategy (and he doesn’t suggest it, either), however, we can get over our fear of meeting new people and start conversing. Those that do not engage their audience are those that won’t get anything out of social media.
2. Make useful stuff for free.
   No one likes filling out forms to get stuff.  Why not offer whitepapers on your website for free? There are plenty of ways to generate leads by those who download your free whitepaper.
3. Social Media is about building relationships and trust.
   Social media is about being “social” and building relationships and trust. Social media is not about broadcasting your message with the hopes that someone will buy from you. People buy from those they trust. If you’re pushing sales on Twitter, then you’re not doing it right.
4. Write great content.
   While you may have heard this tip before, ask yourself “are we writing really great content?” People share unique, they don’t share “meh” (thanks Mr. Unmarketing).
5. Think outside the box when it comes to lead generation.
   Many B2B companies focus on generating leads with a PPC campaign, then they wonder why their leads aren’t qualified. I’m not saying that you shouldn’t run PPC campaigns, but you should experiment with tools that can reach your target market better and see if it works for you. Try answering questions on LinkedIn, or running a LinkedIn paid ad. Or maybe a Facebook ad would work for you. The point is, social media generates warm leads. Try thinking outside the box the next time your boss says, “run a PPC campaign for this.”

Were you at IMS10? What lessons did you learn?

I’m very curious to try out the “new Twitter”. From what I can see, Twitter has reformatted it’s interface to look more like the 3rd party apps we’re all accustomed to. What do you think of the new Twitter?

I had the strangest experience on Facebook recently. I logged into my own account and entered the name of a friend into the search bar. Upon hitting enter, I suddenly found myself looking at status updates from people I didn’t know.

My original reaction was ….”who the heck are these people?” Then I realized I was logged in as someone else! I wasn’t logged in as the friend I was looking for either… it was a complete stranger!

I have absolutely no idea as to how I suddenly entered this person’s account, but I did. I was able to view EVERYTHING – their privacy settings, contact information, and more.

What did I do? I logged out immediately and sent an email to Facebook via a copyright infringment form – since it was the only contact form I could find.

What could have happened? If I were the non-ethical type, I could have done some damage in this person’s account.

The lesson. Not all Facebook account hacks are done maliciously. If you find that your account has been compromised, it may have been an accident.