Austin social media consultant, social media coach consulting on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, social media training, social networking.

Facebook introduces new Subscribe Button to follow public updates

by Therese on September 14, 2011

Facebook is rolling out a new feature today, the Facebook Subscribe Button. It allows people to get public updates from others whether or not you are Facebook friends. It also allows people to decide what content they want to see from their Facebook friends. Here’s what it will allow you to do:

Choose what you see from people in News Feed
Hear from people, even if you’re not friends
Let people hear from you, even if you’re not friends

How the Subscribe Button works with Facebook Friends
Right now, you don’t have much choice in what friend activity shows up in your feed. If you’re like me, you block all those annoying games, and get bored with some friends’ content, but other than blocking someone completely, there’s no way to filter it. With the new subscribe feature, you will be able to choose what you’d like to see. Here are the options you’ll have:

All updates: Everything your friend posts
Most updates: The amount you’d normally see
Important updates only: Just highlights, like a new job or move

You should start seeing the Subscribe Button on personal profiles in the upper right corner of the page, as Facebook has started rolling this out today. However, it’s important to know that it will only show up on profiles for people who have opted in to the feature.

How the Subscribe Button works with Non-Friends
If you want to allow non-friends to see your public updates you must opt-into the subscribe button. Then, anyone who wants to subscribe to your public updates, can click the subscribe button on your personal profile. They will only see the updates you designate as public. They will not see information that you have previously set for friends only.

After you allow subscribers, you can decide who can comment on your public updates and whether or not you want to get notifications for new subscribers. To do this, click the Subscribers link that will be on the right side of your profile page. From there, you can also manage your subscriptions, by clicking the Subscriptions link.

How to Allow People to Subscribe
To allow people to subscribe to your public updates go to the Facebook Subscribe page and click Allow Subscribers. Facebook also has a short Facebook Subscription FAQ that you might want to read.

How to Post Public Updates
This isn’t a new feature but if you’re not sure how to post public updates, it’s easy. Just click the drop-down under your status box, and click on public. After you post your update, if you want to go back to posting for friends only (or another custom setting) be sure to click the appropriate option in the drop-down box again.

If you aren’t sure if an update you posted was public or not, just look for the icon off to the right of your post. If it’s the little globe, it’s public. The silhouette icon means it went out to friends only, and if it’s the gear icon, it went out to a custom group of people that you specified. For example, I made this update public, so it has the globe icon on the right.

I’ve been toying with the idea of setting up a Facebook page in my name, but just haven’t been sure I want to go that route. I have it made, and it’s sitting in “visible to admins only” mode for a while. Now that Facebook has introduced the new Subscribe Button I think I’ll let that page sit there for a while longer. I already have a personal profile and a number of pages, so being able to use my personal profile for personal and business reasons may be a real time saver. If you want to subscribe to my public Facebook updates, go here.

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Tough situations call for social media smarts

by Therese on August 18, 2011

. . . or, how doing the right thing in a tough situation can actually help your business.

Pet food companies are notorious for trying to bury their pet food recalls. It shows a real lack of respect for their customers as well as a lack of understanding of how social media works. They have been known to do all of the following, which are all pretty darn shady:

Post recalls on their website, but in a place very few people (if any) will find them.
Post press releases or other announcements about recalls late on a Friday night, a holiday, or on a weekend.
Don’t post them anywhere on their website. Instead, they let the FDA post them.
Don’t use their own social media accounts to let people know about the recalls.

Pet owners are getting wise to these slimy tactics though. Many of us keep our eyes out for recalls and are eager to get the word out whenever we see them. I, for one, scramble to post a pet food recall at PetsitUSA. Many times, recall notices pop up on blogs and social media accounts long before they appear on the company websites. And we quite often call out a pet food company when we think they are jerking customers (and their pets!) around. Some pet food companies are learning though.

Recently Purina had to recall some cat food (FYI, here it is: Purina One Vibrant Maturity recall) because of possible contamination with salmonella. Rather than try to sweep the recall under the rug, they set up pay per click ad campaigns on Google, Bing, and Yahoo to announce it. It’s been almost three weeks since the recall was announced, and their ads are still showing up in searches. Here are some screenshots of the ads:

Why publicize their own recall?

It’s simple, really.

The recall happened. It’s a fact. People ARE going to talk about it, so it’s best if people can hear about it from the source, Purina. The truth is, Purina will likely lose customers due to the recall. But, they’re going to lose a lot less than they would have if they tried to hide the recall. And my guess is that they will even gain customers because of the way they handled it.

Rather than letting social media work against them, Purina has figured out how to make it work for them, the pets who eat their food, and their customers. And not only is it the right thing to do, but it’s damn good PR as well! This isn’t just about pet food recalls though, it’s about how companies can use social media to their benefit, even in a tough situation. Many companies are catching on, and Purina’s just one example.

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Your website is your online world headquarters

by Therese on June 17, 2011

Even though social media websites such as Facebook, Twitter, Yelp, and others are essential tools to marketing your business, your website is still important! I see a number of people getting into social media, which is way important, but they’re not setting up their own website, which I think is just as essential. Here’s how I like to explain it to my clients . . .

Your world headquarters

Think of your website as your world headquarters. This is where you can show everyone what you have to offer, talk about the company background, when it was founded, your company philosophy, offer testimonials, have a blog where you can interact with visitors, give people a way to contact you, etc. Just like the world headquarters for any brick & mortar company, your online world headquarters is the ultimate destination for your business.

Your branch offices

While your website is your online world headquarters, your social media accounts are like branch offices for your business or like a kiosk in a mall. They give people an idea of things like:

The ability to purchase products or services
Your location (your website and brick and mortar location)
Testimonials from clients/customers
Contact information
A little bit about the people behind the business
How to visit the main office

The McDonald’s effect

When you have branch offices, you’ll have a presence in areas people frequent, which means more visibility. Think of McDonald’s. Whether you like them or not, they’re everywhere, and because they’re everywhere, most of us think McDonald’s when we think of fast food. The same strategy will hold true online. If people see you wherever they go, they’re more likely to think of you when they need a product or service your company offers.

And, where are people online today? Facebook, Twitter, Yelp, YouTube, and many other social sites. And, remember, it’s not just people who visit these sites who are likely to see you. Since search engines are incorporating more and more social sites in their results, if you’re active on them, you’re upping your chances of appearing on Google too.

You’re your own landlord

Let’s go back to the kiosk idea for a moment. Companies that operate out of kiosks have to conform to certain standards. Their carts have to be of a certain type, they have to present their products in a specific way, have special signage, etc. In other words, they must adhere to set ways of doing things. It gives them great exposure, but it may limit their creativity a bit. Social sites are the same. While they provide excellent ways to get noticed by more people, you might want to do something that’s simply not available on one of these accounts. Because you have a website though, you generally have much more freedom to do what you want.

Another thing to keep in mind, is that if you have your own website, you won’t run the risk of becoming a victim if one of the social sites you’re using changes drastically or even goes away. GeoCities is a good example of this. GeoCities provided people with a way to set up free websites and many used them for their small businesses. Then, in 2009, the service was discontinued and the websites were gone. People who didn’t move their files over to a different hosting account were lost. And even then, because they’d built up their SEO on URLs based on their GeoCities site, when they changed to a new host, they had to start over. Social sites are similar in that you’re at their mercy if they make major changes or discontinue their services.

Credibility

Having a website helps solidify your online presence and lends a bit more credibility to your company than if you just had social media accounts. However, your website and your social media accounts should work together so that when people visit one, they can easily visit the others if they like. So, even though your Facebook page, Twitter, etc. may be the main way you interact with people, it’s in your best interest to have a solid website as your online world headquarters.

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How to Convert a Facebook Profile to a Business Page

by Therese on March 31, 2011

Yes, you read right! Facebook has finally set up a way for people to convert their personal profiles to business pages.

First, why convert a profile to a page?

Because it’s against the Facebook terms. If you have your business on a personal profile, you run the risk of having it deleted. (and yes, I do know of people who have had this happen) Profiles are for people and pages are for businesses. For more info, see my earlier blog post, Facebook Fan Pages vs. Personal Profile.

Things you need to know before converting your personal profile to a page:

All your confirmed friends will be converted to people who like your new Page.
Your profile pictures will be migrated to your new Page.
Photo albums, profile information, etc. will not be transferred. Be sure to save any important content before beginning your migration. (see step one, below)
Once you convert your personal profile to a business page, that profile will no longer exist.
You will not be able to convert your page back to a personal profile.
You will continue to login with the email/password that you used before you converted the page.

Now, here’s how to convert your Facebook profile to a business page:

Step one
Backup your Facebook profile. Login to Facebook and click the down arrow next to Account in the upper right corner of your screen, then select Account Settings. Toward the bottom of that page, you’ll see Download Your Information. Click the learn more link to the right and follow the instructions.

Step two
Go to this page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/create.php?migrate and select the type of page you want to create. If you’ve never set up a Facebook page, you’ll see that you have a number of categories to select from. Pick the one that’s right for you, and follow the instructions.

Now, if you want to, you can set up a personal profile in your name, and make yourself an admin of the new page. You can also assign admin rights to someone else if you’d like.

I could be wrong, but my guess is, that since Facebook is making this option available they may be gearing up to crack down a bit more on businesses that are set up on personal profiles. So, I think it would be wise for anyone with a business presence on Facebook to be sure it’s set up properly – on a page.

IMPORTANT UPDATE

Apparently, although Facebook has made converting a profile to a page, all of the bugs haven’t been worked out yet. Earlier this evening, one of the Mashable bloggers wrote about some of the problems she had when she converted her personal profile to a business page. See her post here: Facebook Profile Migrations: A Cautionary Tale.

UPDATE #2 (April 2, 2011)

Facebook has disabled this feature. Hopefully they’ll fix it and make it available again.

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How To Show Featured Admins on Facebook Pages

by Therese on March 22, 2011

By default, Facebook pages don’t show who the admins are. I have long thought it would be great if Facebook allowed page owners to make it easy to show visitors who the admins were. Personally, I want people to know who is running my business pages, so on the info tab I give people my name and let them know how to get in touch with me. I don’t know how many people see it though since it’s not very prominent and not in a place people are accustomed to looking for a contact name. Well, finally, along with other changes Facebook made recently, they made it easy to publicly show admins for a page.

Using this feature means you will be showing a link to your page admin’s personal profile, which I know won’t appeal to everyone. Some people don’t want to make their personal profile publicly available to people they don’t know. This is perfectly understandable, but I highly encourage anyone with a page to at least include the a name and contact info somewhere. Again, think transparency!

For people who use Facebook like I do, as a way to interact with a number of different people, I think this is an excellent way to be a bit more transparent with my business.

Watch this short video to see how you can show the admins for your page. . .

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5 Easy Ways to Promote Your Facebook Page

by Therese on March 6, 2011

“If you build it, he will come” – that may apply to baseball fields, but with a Facebook page, you’ll need to do some things to get people to come visit. Here are a few ideas to get you started.

Send people an email
If you have a mailing list, send out an email letting them know you’re now on Facebook. Ask them to like your page, but also tell them why they should like it. Do you give free doggie biscuits to all new (4-legged) clients? Are you donating money to a local animal charity for every like? Let people know what’s in it for them if they click the like button.

If you’re just starting out, and don’t have a mailing list for your business, ask your family and friends to like your page. Their friends will see it and may decide it’s interesting enough to like it as well.

Link to it on your website
Make sure your website has a link to your Facebook page. You can use a Facebook icon or a Like Box, (like we have on our PetsitUSA blog) which will show who likes it already – and if they have friends who like it, they’re more likely to like it. And make sure it’s in a place where people will notice it!

Set up a Facebook social ad
Once you determine the demographic you want to reach, set up a social ad on Facebook. You’ll be able to set the ad up so that it only goes to the people you want to see it. Before doing this though, make sure your fan page really rocks! You want them to be compelled to click the ad, but your landing page needs to sell them on clicking the like button.

Add it to your marketing materials
Whether you’re designing new brochures, a print ad, new business cards, a flyer for an event – include the link to your Facebook page. Ideally, if you have more than 25 fans, you will have already set up a custom URL and can share the exact link. Keep in mind, that the easier you can make it for people to get to your page, the more likely they are to go there.

This:

Find us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/petsitusa

is much better than this:

Find us on Facebook!”

If you just say “Find us on Facebook” you’re making people work to find you. If you give them the link they don’t have to play a hunting game. And face it, there may be more than one ABC Pet Sitters on Facebook. You want them to find YOU, not someone else with a similar name.

Post interesting content
When you post interesting content, people who find it interesting may share it with their friends. Doing this not only shares the content, but it lets people know who posted it in the first place. If it’s interesting enough, they may check your page out and click the like button so they can get your content first hand.

What are some of the ways you’ve promoted your Facebook page?

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Blogging Success Summit Online Blogging Conference

by Therese on January 15, 2011

Here’s How to Get Your Blog Working for Your Business

Suppose you could hire 23 of the biggest names in blogging to give you proven tips and techniques for using a corporate blog to generate leads, win customers and achieve your sales goals.

Suppose each of those experts came to your home or office and gave you 60 minutes of their time. Each one could easily charge you hundreds of dollars.

But suppose you got all of those experts for less than $300. Not $300 per expert, less than $300 for all of them. Only $300 for 14 hours of highly implementable training.

That’s exactly what you’ll get when you sign up for the early-bird discount to attend Social Media Examiner’s Blogging Success Summit 2011. (aff) It’s an online conference scheduled throughout the month of February 2011. You won’t need airline tickets, hotel rooms, a rental car or a week of fast food.

All you need is an Internet connection and speakers.

Just look at this partial list of the 23 instructors:

Richard Jalichandra, Technorati CEO
Darren Rowse and Chris Garrett, authors of the best-selling book, ProBlogger: Secrets to Blogging Your Way to a Six-Figure Income
Debbie Weil, author of The Corporate Blogging Book
Douglas Karr, co-author of Corporate Blogging for Dummies
Joe Pulizzi, co-author of Get Content Get Customers
Brian Clark, founder of Copyblogger
Michael Stelzner, founder of Social Media Examiner
Rick Calvert, co-founder and CEO of BlogWorld
Denise Wakeman, co-founder of The Blog Squad

You’ll also hear from people in the trenches – bloggers and social media marketers from Ford, McDonald’s, Southwest Airlines, Sony, Cisco and Procter & Gamble.

Here are some of the things you’ll learn: