3 Ways to Keep Your Facebook Fans Engaged

You want to keep your Facebook active and your fans engaged, right? Here are three simple ways to do just that: 

• Entice your fans to tag themselves
• Give away something useful
• Provide content they can't get anywhere else

#1 Entice your fans to tag themselves
Each time a fan is tagged in a photo, it's instantly shared with their friends. This can create a powerful viral effect. You can do something as simple as offering something each time you're tagged in a photo or keep a running tally (competition always works). Use this strategy wisely and have fun, but also be careful, because you will annoy fans if you tag them without permission.

#2 Give away something useful

You can use white papers, DVD's, tutorials and various forms of research to give to your fans and get them talking on Facebook. As you have probably already heard, Guy Kawasaki is doing this very well. When a fan likes his page, Guy offers them a free download of his first book. It's fabulous because it give fans something cool and encourages them to pass it along, plus Guy now has permission to contacts these fans again.

#3 Provide content they can't get anywhere else

If you want to get people excited and sharing, you've got to provide something they can't get anywhere else thus starting the chatter tree. Livestrong does a great job of this by sharing various information for research on cancer and expert advice for those affected by cancer. They also connect other organizations to those that follow them, therefore making their Facebook page the "go to" page for people needing more resources or data.

These are all very simple ways to enhance your Facebook page and further engage your fans. Get creative and show some love.....you will reap the rewards!

Social Media in the Travel/Tourism Industry

This is a good video on the uses of Social Media in the Travel and Tourism industry. It displays some good points, at a grass roots level. If you are getting started in Social Media.....it will be helpful.

It's Called SocialNomics - It's Not a Fad!

I completely love this video on Social Media and all the stats that it shares with us. Great job guys! In case you or anyone you know has any doubts on where Social Media has taken us and where it is taking us.....please watch. Awesome video!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIFYPQjYhv8

Twitter’s Official Analytics Product Has Arrived

Twitter’s Official Analytics Product Has Arrived

Seriously, I haven't been this excited since I learned how to connect multiple accounts on HootSuite ;-)

Facebook E-Mail (Of Sorts) – One More Way FB is Engaging

The ultimate battle discussion amongst Social Media experts is “which audience is more engaged” and therefore (ultimately what we want to know) are more likely to buy? Twitter or Facebook?

Today, Facebook launched its e-mail product. As of right now, it is by invitation only, but within 2-3 months it will be free to all to use. It’s a blend of email, chat and SMS. It is not designed to replace your old email account, only to augment. Everyone on Facebook will get a @facebook.com address based on your user name. So, if you have not done so already, go register your user name today.

This new evolution of messaging will allow the user and end recipient to communicate by whatever medium is convenient for them and the conversation would take place in real time. This way you don’t have to remember who likes blackberry messenger over IM, you will just type their name and message. The program is modeled more closely to chat vs. email. For instance, there is no cc, bcc etc. It is meant to be quick and instant.

Mark Zuckerberg said that he feels “e-mail has past its prime in the age of texts and instant messages.” He further said, “the company doesn’t believe e-mail is going to be a modern messaging system.” (Per Yahoo! News)

The notion that people are moving towards favor of shorter, more immediate chats is relevant. Research shows that younger people rely on text messaging vs. face-to-face contact, e-mail and phone calls. (According to the 2009 survey conducted by Pew Internet and American Life Project) And, this trend will only increase over time.

So, as much as I wish we had more options, Facebook has the leading edge in the market. Don’t get me wrong, I do love Twitter. However, with 7 out of 10 messages not every being seen by your followers, it is time consuming to pursue marketing efforts via this medium. Not to say, it’s not worth it, because your followers are extremely invested and have chosen to be part of your world. However, Facebook is a captive audience that now, with this tool, will be directly messaged all at once and guaranteeing sight of your message immediately.

Stay tuned….this could be the beginning of Web 3.0.

Downloading Social Media Buttons?

I wanted to post this for all of you using blogger (which does not have good Social Media pluggins for sm buttons). I hope it helps you. It is incredibly easy....just follow closely or email me if problems occur.

Go to: http://www.ezuca.com/55-cool-free-social-media-network-icon-packs/ (You can also just do a google search on Social Media Buttons and find literally thousands. I just like this site) Find the Social Media Icon Pack that you like. You can see I am using 64x64 - I like them big and bold ;-)

Once you find the buttons that fit your needs, download them (to a place that you will remember - sometimes downloads go into a dark place never to be found again) onto your computer. Then, upload them into a site like Photobucket and snag the HTML code. I love Photobucket because it allows the code exchange super easily. Just be sure and explore with the sizes of your icons on your page before you download too many.

Next, change the code to insert the destination you want (twitter, facebook, etc.). Here is an example for your to follow. It will literally seem too easy and that is correct!

The HTML code you upload will look like this:

<a href="http://photobucket.com/

albums/ac279/MyPics/September%202010/?action=view&current=DSC_10205.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://photobucket.com/albums/ac279/MyPics/September%202010/DSC_10205.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

Copy the code for the destination (your facebook page, twitter page, etc.) and insert it into the bold area. For example, if you want the button to link to Facebook, use your Facebook profile URL and insert in between the "".

<a href="fhttp://photobucket.com/albums/ac279/MyPics/September%202010/?action=view&current=DSC_10205.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i907.photobucket.com/albums/ac279/MyPics/September%202010/DSC_10205.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

Add an HTML widget to your blog and insert the code there. That's it....see, how easy!! Best of luck friends!

Great Facebook Marketing Tips

Browse through this list of my recommended blog posts to help you master marketing on Facebook! I hope you find something useful for helping to grow your business; I know I have found some invaluable ideas.

10 Ways to Grow Your Facebook Following

21 Creative Ways To Increase Your Facebook Fanbase

13 Ways To Move Your Facebook Fans To Action

7 Scientific Ways To Promote Sharing on Facebook

4 Proven Steps To Facebook Page Success

8 Success Criteria For Facebook Page Marketing

Vote for Jennifer Parker for Paradise Hunter!

Social Media - Are We Truly Engaging Customers?

I had the privilege of meeting a new friend last night and we sparked up a somewhat philosophical discussion about Social Media. We weren't on different sides of the topic; it was more that we both felt equally passionate about the need for companies to see the bigger picture.

Social Media is here and it's not going away. It will only get stronger, stranger, more complex and more interesting. It will be used (in 5 years) in ways that we can't even begin to dream up today. So, we all know we need to do it, but how and why? I recently had a client say, "well, I just need a FB and Twitter." My answer was yes, you do, but not just because your competitors have it. You need it because you are trying to expand and it's a marketing expansion tool (when used properly).You need Social Media to attract more business, engage with your customers and make them feel like they are buying from you because they trust, admire and respect your brand.

At that point, she bought in and was a believer. We took her distributor list and client list and threw them into http://www.flowtown.com/ just to see what was out there. We are now targeting those avenues and have created a communications strategy and marketing goals around connecting those people virtually and engaging them into her brand. For you Social Media wizards out there, this isn't rocket science (I didn't just impress you). But for that 70% of the rest of the world, you don't know where to start. It's not a bad thing, it just means you need to hire a Social Media marketer/strategist, set up properly, ensure it's strategic and then take it over when you are prepared. Not every Social Media strategy will begin this way, this was just appropriate for her business. But, you get the picture.....start somewhere.

Lastly, my friend and I spent a ton of time talking about engaging customers. This is the hardest part of Social Media by far. As a company, you have to decide what your voice is going to be to the world and how many of those voices you will allow. You must, I repeat must, engage customers immediately, if not within 24 hours of them reaching out to you. Even if their comments are silly and humorous, they are looking to engage.... that's the hook.Your Social Media team needs to be set up to handle those conversations and understand how to elevate as appropriate and/or forward to the correct business unit to keep business flowing for that particular consumer.

When starting you Social Media Strategy, please consider what "engaging" your particular customers looks like and what they would be looking to you to provide. What are all the ways that exist in which you can add value to their lives and also do you have the right people in the right roles to accurately follow through on those conversations. Last, but not even close to least, track your ROI. Track your Social Media to ensure that it's working to not only open up communications, but to enhance the experience that the consumer has with your organization. This will result in stronger relationships and stronger brand thus meaning sales for you.

Hope you enjoyed! Stay tuned for more soon.
Thanks for your time!

Social Media Strategy - Wild Game Marinades - Local Legends

I am working with a new client whom I adore! She sells spices, rubs and marinades to the fishing/gaming industry. I am intrigued and excited to help her get "social". The fun news is that her target market is easy to identify. The tough part is that it may be limited (yes, I might be stereotyping now) in that a portion of that industry is not social yet and will be harder to reach. However, those that we do reach we will be focused on developing long-term and deep relationships to further her business.

The other interesting thing is that she primarily markets B2B and a large portion of our business plan is to engage more stores who will carry her products. She will sell B2C, but it's not her ultimate goal. We will have to integrate this into our strategy without taking away from her B2B client focus. Hmmmm - stay tuned!

Her products are absolutely fabulous! Instead of masking the natural flavors of wild game, their recipes enhance the essential elements of Duck, Goose, Venison, Elk, Pheasant, Chuckar, Quail, Dove, Grouse, Wild Boar, Wild Turkey, Salmon, and Trout. Check her out at http://www.tastealegend.com/.

Okay, so time to get busy, I need to put together an outline for our strategy. We need to identify our objectives, define how it will integrate with her existing communications strategy, decide what her capacity for future will/can be, define measurements (short and long-term) and make decisions on the most important network needs (character, competence, numbers, strength, information, relevance or diversity) (as per Scott Allen; thevirtualhandshake.com). Time to go...lot's to get done quickly!

TTYL - Jenn

Still Looking for Work - But Not Bored...

Each day I continue to search for my next big career. Hopefully that will be in some form of Social Media Marketing/Commerce role. It's an interesting world of Social Media in that 70% of my friends still don't understand what it does and all of it's capabilities. However, you see tons of one-man shows claiming to be the expert and then on the other end of the spectrum large agencies with over 20 years experience. Has Social Media been around 20 years...hmmmm?!?! No matter what your level of experience, I can see there is still a large percentage of the businesses out there that need help. Organizations - you MUST get on this Social Media bandwagon now! You are missing your clients every day. And, yes, you can reach them daily now, even hourly without being too impersonal and marketing driven. You can start small and then leverage into something bigger, but start. Don't do it hap-hazardly, certainly get your communications strategy in place first, but then start!

For me, for now....I am building a website for a friend and I have a Social Media client. I am completely new to website design and shoot me now, because it is very labor intensive! The Social Media client is fun and has fun products. Next, I will integrate Social Media into the website to help get them some notice.

So, yes, I am still looking, but I am certainly not bored ;-)