facebook

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.

Facebook and Privacy are a combination of words that have been handcuffed together and receiving a lot of attention lately. In a post we wrote earlier this week, we discussed the announcement that Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg made on Wednesday afternoon that satisfied many Facebook users: Facebook simplified its privacy controls.

Attention Facebook Users: Facebook is simplifying its privacy controls. Facebook has been growing and making many changes to the site over the past few years. Recently, Facebook tried to give users’ more control over their privacy settings- but all of the customization options were just too confusing.

In response to many complaints and criticism, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said that his company would “simplify” privacy controls starting with a re-designed privacy settings page.

So what does this mean for Facebook Users? On the official Facebook blog, Mark Zuckerberg posted, “Today we’re starting to roll out some changes that will make all of these controls a lot simpler. We’ve focused on three things: a single control for your content, more powerful controls for your basic information and an easy control to turn off all applications.”

We will keep you updated by posting new information up on our blog about the new Facebook privacy features, so check back soon.

What happened this week in Social Media?

Facebook Location Feature Leaked

LinkedIn Celebrates it’s 7th Birthday

Foursquare Adds “Like” Button to Venue Pages

Twitter to Release “Embedded Tweets”

Foursquare Goes Down

Microsoft Spindex Puts New Spin on Social Networking

Digg.com Cuts 10% of It’s Workforce

Have other stories to share? Let us know.

I was speaking with a client the other day about social media marketing and the benefits of getting involved. The client is new to the whole “social media thing” and had a great point of view. From his perspective, lots of companies either use social networking sites (like Facebook and Twitter) for shameless self promotion. Or, they only post nonsense, like what they had for dinner or how much they are enjoying the weather.

Seeing that he was very skeptical of the benefits, the topic of social media do’s and don’ts quickly arose. From this conversation, and other similar conversations I’ve had about social media, I compiled a list of common social media pet peeves. Here are the top 5 Social Media Pet Peeves that will surely turn off potential Twitter followers or Facebook fans.

1. “Used Car Salesman” Syndrome
   Social networks are for building communities and adding value. Those that use social media to constantly push their own products or services are not only NOT adding value, but they may be turning off potential prospects.  No one likes to be sold to. If you’re not using social media to offer value to your community, then you’re doing yourself and your company a disservice.
2. The Ghost Town
   Have you ever been asked to become a fan of a Facebook page or follow someone on Twitter, just to land on an empty page or profile? Before asking for fans or followers, be sure to have content that your readers will want to read.
3. Using Facebook Personal Profile for Business (enter your own snazzy title here)
   There’s nothing worse than logging into Facebook and be greeted by sales pitch after sales pitch. Facebook personal profiles are just that – personal. Facebook has three sections…. personal profiles, business fan pages and groups. It’s not rocket science people! Want to promote your business, then create a fan page and stop cluttering your family and friend’s walls with sales pitches. Besides, using your personal profile to self promote is a violation of Facebook’s terms and your account may get suspended for this activity.
4. The Stalled Effort
   To be successful at using social media for business, you must commit. If you’re guilty of starting, stopping, then starting again….. make up your mind already. The more you put into it, the more you’ll get out of it.
5. Eat Spam!
   We all hate spammers. Don’t know if you’re spamming? Well, if you send a direct message to someone on Twitter including a sales pitch a link to your website – you’re spamming. If you send a friend request to a fan of your business page so you can get their contact info – you’re spamming. If you @ reply a follower on Twitter with your own sales pitch and link – you’re spamming.

So there you have it – the top 5 social media pet peeves. Have more pet peeves? Feel free to list them in a comment.

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Social Media Workshop

Facebook Marketing 201 – How to Build a Fan Base and Get Noticed

When: Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Where: 50 Market St., Portsmouth, NH (Portsmouth Chamber of Commerce)
Cost: $65/pp if signed-up before May 8th. After May 8th – $75/pp
Description: This workshop is great for those that have a Facebook Fan page for their business, but need the know-how to take it to the next level.

Attend This Event

On April 6 from 9 to Noon we will be offering our Facebook Marketing 101 workshop. We want our Facebook Fans to receive a special discount. Simply become a fan of CreativeMind Search Marketing on facebook, send us an email to training@cmsearchmarketing.com and you will receive a discount code to use when registering.

In this 3 hour workshop Patti Fousek, President of CreativeMind Search Marketing, will give you the tools you need to create a Facebook fan page and build an interactive fan base. Those who attend this workshop will leave with a Facebook marketing plan and an updated Facebook fan page.

Who is this workshop for:

• Small business owners
• Marketing managers
• PR professionals
• Entrepreneurs
• Non-profits
• Real estate pros
• Restaurant owners
• Business professionals looking to gain a competitive edge on Facebook

Sign up now, registration closes on April 4, 2010.

Just when everyone was getting used to the last Facebook change (the “News Feed” vs “Live Feed” thing), they once again make another change to their home page.

According to Facebook, the new home page is “provides easy access to your entire Facebook experience”. That statement has yet to be proven. From what I can see, the most apparent changes are:

1. Search field has relocated from the upper right corner to the upper left center

2. Friend requests are in the upper left corner, identified by this symbol: 

3. Messages are next to the “friend requests”, identified by this symbol:

4. Notifications are right next to “messages”, identified by this symbol: 

5. If you are the admin of a Facebook “fan” page, you can now enter that page via the left side bar (moved from the bottom footer bar), identified by this symbol:

6. Privacy and account settings can now be found under the “Account” drop down in the upper right corner

Of course this change couldn’t come at a worse time. Yesterday I hosted a four hour workshop in Social Media to a local real estate company, 1.5 hours which were spent on Facebook, and everything they learned has changed.

Honestly, I can see how the new changes will make Facebook easier to navigate, but they should just leave it alone. Facebook may soon find that their 400 million users may dwindle due to frustration.

Tell us what you think of the latest Facebook changes. Your comments may appear on CreativeMind’s  Facebook Fan Page.

Matt Cutts from Google explains in this video how all links are created equal, even those from Twitter and Facebook.

My thoughts

Even though links from Facebook or Twitter may not count towards page rank (if they are no follow links), I think they’re still important for driving traffic to your site. So, should you work towards building inbound links from Facebook and Twitter? Yes, for traffic purposes only.

People ask me all the time how to create a fan page on Facebook. It can be a little difficult on Facebook to find where to begin. In this post I’ll walk you through the steps of creating your fan page. Creating the page is relatively easy to do, developing a strategy to build and engage fans is a bit more difficult. We’ll talk about Facebook fan page strategies in another post.

Here are quick and easy instructions to create your Facebook fan page:

Step 1: Create a personal profile.

First off, you need a personal profile to go along with the fan page. Facebook does not allow fan pages to exist alone. If you are a marketing person building a fan page for your employer, I suggest you create a new profile using a generic business email, like marketing@yourcompany.com so that your personal account is not linked to the fan page.

Step 2: Create the fan page.

The easiest way to create the page is by clicking on “Create a Page for My Business” link from another fan page. Or just click on the link I just created, it takes you to the correct place.

Step 3: Choose a category for your page.

This is where it gets slightly confusing. If you’re a local business, you may choose “Local” then pick the appropriate category. If you have an online business, or sell to a national audience, then choose “Brand, Product, or Organization”. This category is also suitable for non-profits. Bands and Public Figures option is self explanatory.

Step 4: Name your page.

Be careful! You can not change the name of your page. Choose the name wisely. Brands should use the name of their company. For retailers, I like to use the name of the product first, followed by the name of the company. For example: “Leather Jackets by Shoreline Traders”. I tend to name pages with the product category first for search purposes.

Step 5: Finish sign-up process.

Fill in the secret code and click “continue”. Facebook will ask you if you have a Facebook account or if you’re creating a new account. If you created your profile in Step 1, then choose “I already have a Facebook account” and log in. If not, then create a new account following the instructions and click continue. Note: choose to keep your page private for now, you’ll be able to publish it when you have finished uploading content.

Step 6: Add content to your page.

Ta-da! Your page is created. Now, it’s up to you to fill in the details. Next you’ll want to:

1. Upload a logo or picture for your page. Hover over the big question mark where the photo should be and you’ll see the link to change the photo.
2. Include your contact information and website by clicking on the Info tab. Click the “Edit Information” link on the right to do so.
3. Include a brief description of your company or product. Look under the photo area (that big question mark), you’ll see the box where you need to add a description.
4. Add photos and other content. I usually like to add at least 5-10 wall posts before publishing the page. This way the visitor has something to actually read when they get to your new page.

Step 7: Publish your page.

Now that you have content, you’ll want to publish it so it’s visible to both search engines and Facebook users. Click on the “publish the Page” link at the top of your page.

Step 8: Invite Friends to fan your page.

Once your page is published, you’ll see a “Suggest to Friends” link on the left side of your page under the Edit Page link under your photo. If you created a new profile and do not have “friends” yet, then you’ll want to read my next post on developing your Facebook strategy (stay tuned).

So there you have it. 8 Simple steps to creating your Fan page on Facebook. If you need further instruction, or would like us to actually do the work for you, feel free to contact Patti Fousek at CreativeMind Search Marketing for a no-obligation consultation.

So, you’ve decided that your company needs to be involved with social media.But you keep asking yourself the same questions: how do I get started, and do I have the time. Here are eight tips to help you on your way to becoming a social media maven.

Tip 1: Have a Plan

I can’t stress this point enough. Many companies and freelancers dive right in to social media without a goal. Before you start, ask yourself “what do I want to achieve with social media?”

Social media can be used to:

• Build buzz around a brand or product
• Increase traffic to a website or blog
• Brand yourself an expert in your field
• Network with business professionals and/or consumers
• Communicate with customers

Tip 2: Listen to your audience:

Remember when your parent told you to do something and you ignored him/her. What would they say? “You’re not listening.” Well, your customers are constantly telling you what they want. Be sure to target your message to them. I like to use Google Alerts and TweetLater as my “listening” tools. I also read many blogs that pertain to my industry and area of interests.

When you listen, pay attention to:

• How does your target market communicate/interact on the social web?
• What are they discussing? What is important to them?
• What types of social networks are they using?

Tip 3: Brand yourself with your profiles

Social networking sites are sort of like going to a networking event or a party, only virtually. Your profile on these sites are your online billboard and should be used to emphasize your strengths. Think of your profile as a 60 second elevator pitch. Write in conversational style, keep it interesting, use keywords so you can be found, and voila!, your profile is born.

Tip 4: Get your feet wet

Start participating on social media sites by sharing content and knowledge.You can participate by:

• Link to helpful articles or blog posts in your status updates on Twitter
• Answer questions on LinkedIn
• Join a group and join in discussions on Facebook
• Give recommendations on LinkedIn to former co-workers or employees

Tip 5: Connect with those you know first

Your email inbox is a great wealth of information… use it. Use the tools in LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to find contacts you know on these platforms. Write personalized notes when you wish to make a connection. Especially if you’re connecting with a former colleague or boss. A personal note will help jog their memory of who you are and make you stand out from the crowd.

LinkedIn is a super helpful tool to start connecting with people you know. Once connected, ask for recommendations from former co-workers or employers.

Tip 6: Engage your customers

Notify your current customers that you have a profile on LinkedIn, you’re on Twitter, and have a fan page on Facebook. Encourage customers to follow you – or connect with you on these sites. Other ways to promote your social media status is to:

• Add badges and widgets to your website
• Link to social media profiles from your email newsletters
• Send out a post card announcing your Facebook Page

Tip 7: Track and measure your results
As a business owner, you want to know if social media is working for you. One great way to measure how much reach you have is to use your web analytics package to track visitor statistics (i.e. Google Analytics or HubSpot). There are also many tools out there to help you measure your reach on social media. I use Google Alerts and TweetBeep to track mentions me or my company.

Tip 8: Manage your time wisely

It’s easy to get carried away with using social media. If you keep your end goal in mind, it’s easier to stay on track. When I first started out using social media tools, I would set aside 15 minutes in the morning and 15 minutes at lunch to update my status and to share links. Now I incorporate social media activities into my marketing calendar.

To help save time, I use Ping.fm which is a great tool that supports over 40 social networking sites. You post your status update once in Ping.fm and Ping updates all of your social media sites. I love it, it’s a great time saver!

Conclusion

Remember to always have a plan, start with the end goal in mind, and manage your time wisely.

Have any other tips? Feel free to leave a comment and share with others.