facing facebook for small business

Facing Facebook for small business

Aerin GuySpaceRace

www.gospacerace.comMarch 25 2011

About meAerin Guy

I am the co-founder of a digital strategy consultancy and web

development agency called SpaceRace. I work with companies

and individuals to develop and execute stuff on the web. I make websites. I launch products. I “do”

social media and PR . I write. I teach. I’m always online. It’s OK.

me PublishingMarketing

Web StrategyPR

Community ManagementBlog

TweetEat

Sleep

Pearson CanadaMcGraw Hill Canada

MySparkOntario Disability Employment Network

Totally ADDCharity Village

DreamBox LearningWiley Canada

The Wellesley InstituteNew Leaf Media

Pollywog Bog BooksChildren’s Aid Society of Toronto

Trillium FoundationEdvantage Interactive Science Publishers

Oxford University PressEarth Rangers

The Beach Lifestyle RealtyBregman Real Estate

49 Pixels

clients

social media

social media

• social media refers to the tools we use to communicate in a wired world

social media

• social media refers to the tools we use to communicate in a wired world

• also refers to the online content we create

social media

• social media refers to the tools we use to communicate in a wired world

• also refers to the online content we create

• also known as web 2.0 (and 3.0 with greater networking tools and collaborative capabilities in real time)

What’s Facebook?

• Most visited website

• 500+ million active members

• 700+ Billion minutes are spent on Facebook every month

• 20+ Million apps installed daily

• 900+ Million objects people interact with

Video

• http://vimeo.com/20198465

http://www.allfacebook.com/facebook-questions-launches-or-relaunches-2011-03

• 200+ Million access via a mobile device

• Average user generates 90 pieces of content every month

• 250+ Million people engage with Facebook on external sites, through comments, “Liking”

What’s your Facebook history?

Facebook relationship ending timeline

Facebook gaming is huge

FB for biz

• Facebook offers a platform like no other; instant content distribution and reaction for an immediate conversation with individuals, whether local or far away. (INC: http://www.inc.com/20-awesome-facebook-fan-pages-2011/index.html)

• Facebook offers unprecedented segmenting opportunities because people tell it everything. Everything.

why a presence on FB matters

• multi-formats - can your website do that?

• targeting

• interactive, fun, social

• movement building

• cost effective

Pages are profiles for brands

• Page launch comes as many companies using user profiles, violating terms of service

• Brand pages can do everything a user page can do, and more

Pages have access to user’s feeds

• when users “like” your page, they will be notified of your status updates anytime you update, via their primary news feed

The News Feed is Now Real Time

• it’s instant

• right now

• breaking news

Pages can integrate multiple applications

• video

• events

• polls

• places

• you name it, there’s an app for it

I “like” you

A “like” means...

• permission for posted content to appear in my stream

• access to my social graph

• my friends see my wall and see your content

• I can share it if I really like it! (amplification)

the new rules: you have to make people want to join your

page

• Users are more discerning than on other sites (don’t litter my stream with junk)

• Create exclusive content. Like anything on the web, you live and die by your content. Exclusive content attaches value to your page.

• Give people something powerful and fun to share (discounts, giveaways, videos, pics), and they will.

• Or else they’ll hide you. Or (sob) Unlike you.

Best Practice Pages

• http://www.facebook.com/brendansirish

• http://www.facebook.com/burtsbees

• http://www.facebook.com/ecycler

• http://www.facebook.com/pages/Mabels-Labels/6494469723

• http://www.facebook.com/threadless#!/threadless?sk=app_103691713028371

More

• http://www.facebook.com/tinyprints

• http://www.facebook.com/whistlerblackcomb#!/whistlerblackcomb?sk=app_197369276959659

Do it right (excerpted from Hubspot’s Facebook Marketing Guide, 2010)

Key Benefits

• customization

• cost effective

• apps for everything

• fun. is your advertising usually fun?

• information about your customers

• identify key influencers

Why you may want to hold off

You don’t have the resources to invest there

• worse than having no presence is having a bad one

• time and resources to create content, start conversations, respond, moderate

• once it’s there, you have to work it

Your audience isn’t there

• waste of time to invest in something that’s not going to convert

• look at your analytics, referrer traffic, and ask your customers if they want to interact with you on Facebook

• which social networks do they use?

Does Facebook align with your business goals?

• if you have to run everything through legal and PR - Facebook can create a bottleneck

• maybe you don’t actually want to interact with your customers

You can’t keep up with it

• Facebook updates and changes constantly

• do you have the resources to keep up with regulations, features, best practices?

• things change fast in social media

tips and tricks

• Use images that tell your followers who you are and what you have to offer

• Chose a name for your page that your customers can identify with. City names are good.

• Use a vanity URL - facebook.com/username

• Give your followers information. Max the search optimization with keyword rich descriptions

More tips & tricks

• Personalize your page with iFrames or an application like WildFire or North Social

• Offer exclusive, channel specific features to your fans

• Tell your customers where to find you. Link to FB from your website, biz card, etc.

integrate

• add social and share buttons to your site content, events etc

• add the Facebook comments plug in to your blog (comments appear on your wall)

• tell people

• explore ads

Resources

• Facebook Marketing: An Hour a Day by Mari Smith

• Mashable Guide to Facebook

• allfacebook.com