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View Full Version : Do you REALLY embrace Social Media or are you just going through the motions ?



Harold Mansfield
09-07-2009, 07:15 PM
I always look around at different companies, competitors and individual profiles on Twitter, My Space and Facebook to see how much people actually embrace them and put actual time and effort into using them as a marketing tool.

I've come to the conclusion that it's about 50/50. Most people go through the motions, but rarely go the extra mile to entice people to participate and follow up on any connections.

For instance, lately, when I visit someones profile and see that they haven't taken the time to fill it up with information, company logos and graphics, custom backgrounds and such, I view them as less than "web savvy"....maybe unfairly, but I am sure that some potential clients do the same.

Do you guys go the extra mile to make your profiles look "snazzy" or do the complicated interfaces, like for instance My Space which painfully operates like it was coded by 8 year old's, keep you putting it on a back burner for a later ?

Personally, it's very time consuming but a necessary evil. On the one hand it seems everyone is on Facebook and Twitter, or the other people that I speak to in the "real world" have no clue what is happening on them, or how to use them. My mom still thinks it's a security risk, but she is coming around.

Do you keep your profiles fresh with info ?
How important do you consider them to your overall web presence ?

Steve B
09-08-2009, 04:38 AM
I don't have a presence on those things ... so neither.

Spider
09-08-2009, 09:42 AM
..Do you keep your profiles fresh with info ?
How important do you consider them to your overall web presence ?I'm on Facebook several times a day and LinkedIn once or twice a week. Haven't got any business from them. Can't say I have figured out how to, other than just be there and socialize.

And what's this about ... they haven't taken the time to fill [their profile] up with information, company logos and graphics, custom backgrounds and such? How can you do that? I don't see such things being available.

Harold Mansfield
09-08-2009, 11:27 AM
I'm on Facebook several times a day and LinkedIn once or twice a week. Haven't got any business from them. Can't say I have figured out how to, other than just be there and socialize.

And what's this about ... they haven't taken the time to fill [their profile] up with information, company logos and graphics, custom backgrounds and such? How can you do that? I don't see such things being available.

Well, on Facebook you can open a Fan Page for your business (any kind of business or profession) where you can include your logo (for your image), business location, hours of operation, custom HTML boxes and basically get creative with the options to promote the different aspects of your business, and communicate with potential "fans".

* Frederick, I noticed that you are a published author, you can open a business fan page as an author or writer where you can post your resume, promote your book, services and just about anything else. Although it gets more difficult if your personal page is incorporated with business and you have already begun to build FB friends over time.

Don't feel bad, I just started getting into it myself, although I have been looking at company, and musician profiles for a while and wondering how they did that. It must be a little daunting for other as well since I a lot of services opening up that will set up your professional profiles (Something I'm looking to get into myself)

On Twitter, I think a custom background is a must if you are promoting your services on it, with you logo, name, and contact info. I basically do mine with GIMP (or photoshop) but there Twitter Background sites that you can make them with too for around $5.

My Space is a bit harder to get a feel for to me, but it;s all about custom themes, especially for musicians, nightclubs and such.

Linked In is pretty basic, I think a logo is about it, but I haven't explored it too much.

I haven't done too much with Ning, Friend Feed or many others. You have to look at the overall demographics of the site. For instance My Space is probably a waste of time for a local plumber since the Demographic is about 13-29 and getting younger...but a necessary evil for someone like me who runs a Dance Music blog to communicate (or get updates) with DJ's and such.

But I do think that you should include those profile links on your webpage or blog, if you have them.

Mind you, I really don't see all of this necessary for every kind of business, especially those that provide local services, but I think that every business should at least have a Facebook and Linked In page, and I think anyone providing web services or targeting customers Nationwide or Worldwide should go the gambit.

It may not directly bring you business, but it's another free option to show off you business, and maybe impress the few customers that you have that are web savvy.

Did I mention that it was free publicity ?


JMO

Spider
09-08-2009, 02:38 PM
..* Frederick, I noticed that you are a published author, you can open a business fan page as an author or writer where you can post your resume, promote your book, services and just about anything else.....After checking the options, I opted for a FB group rather than a fan page. Fan pages, it seemed to me, were quite static and soon forgotten. A group, at least potentially, can be active through the group discussion boards. I'm finding it tough to keep the discussions going, though.

KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE PRIZE | Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=87380788039)

Harold Mansfield
09-08-2009, 02:48 PM
After checking the options, I opted for a FB group rather than a fan page. Fan pages, it seemed to me, were quite static and soon forgotten. A group, at least potentially, can be active through the group discussion boards. I'm finding it tough to keep the discussions going, though.

KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE PRIZE | Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=87380788039)

What ever works for you, glad to see you get into it. I see you work pretty fast, nice set up :)

FYI, fan pages have the same options and you can set up discussions on them as well.
As far as the static look, you can set which page of your profile will be the landing page.
Some opt for their wall to be the landing page, others opt for the information page, photos, or what ever.
It's really up to you. It pretty flexible and there is not a whole lot of difference in the options. There are a few things that are characteristics of fan pages, groups and such that are not available on personal profile pages and visa-versa.

It's really all about what works for you. I think what you have done is a perfect fit for what you do. Nice job.

KristineS
09-08-2009, 02:56 PM
I have done some of that for Twitter, since it is the one I use most for the company. I am looking into setting up a company page on Facebook but haven't had time to do it yet.

I don't do as much with these tools as I should, but that's more a time thing than it is a lack of interest thing. There simply isn't enough time to do all that needs to be done.

Spider
09-08-2009, 05:47 PM
...I think what you have done is a perfect fit for what you do. Nice job.Thanks for the compliment. I forgot to mention that I have also linked my blog through the NetworkedBlogs application, although it is not properly linked in that I do not yet have an RSS feed. As Kristine says--There's not enough time!

There's another small item that really ranks bigger than it seems, in my opinion (I've only just realized this) -- On your personal Profile page, just under the photo, above the 'Information' box, there is a box for a description. I had my mission statement there (Very "social"! Warm and fuzzy!) I saw several people using this for their Elevator speech. (Duh! Of course!) This is the first place any prospective client would look. So, if FB is going to be a business tool, make sure this box is appropriatey worded.

Harold Mansfield
09-08-2009, 05:57 PM
Thanks for the compliment. I forgot to mention that I have also linked my blog through the NetworkedBlogs application, although it is not properly linked in that I do not yet have an RSS feed. As Kristine says--There's not enough time!

There's another small item that really ranks bigger than it seems, in my opinion (I've only just realized this) -- On your personal Profile page, just under the photo, above the 'Information' box, there is a box for a description. I had my mission statement there (Very "social"! Warm and fuzzy!) I saw several people using this for their Elevator speech. (Duh! Of course!) This is the first place any prospective client would look. So, if FB is going to be a business tool, make sure this box is appropriatey worded.

Yeah some of the festivals and record labels that I follow have their whole roster of performers there or tour schedules. I think that's pretty cool.

vangogh
09-09-2009, 02:19 AM
Interesting question. I think for the most part I embrace social media, though I do tend to drift in and out of many sites as time permits. I generally have to enjoy a service before I'll really participate and I do forget at times to fill in certain parts of profiles.

Typically I'll hear of a site that sounds interesting and quickly set up a basic profile and poke around. Some sites don't hold my interest and so I don't revisit. Others do grab my attention and I'll really embrace the site. The sites that didn't grab me sometimes will later though. For example I never cared much for Facebook, but lately I've been reading up on it more and trying to learn the site better. I can't say I've done much with the site yet, but I likely will before too long and when I can find a little more time.

It's easy to see where I could make better use of some sites where business is concerned, but there are only so many hours in the day.

Harold Mansfield
09-09-2009, 11:43 AM
Interesting question. I think for the most part I embrace social media, though I do tend to drift in and out of many sites as time permits. I generally have to enjoy a service before I'll really participate and I do forget at times to fill in certain parts of profiles.

Typically I'll hear of a site that sounds interesting and quickly set up a basic profile and poke around. Some sites don't hold my interest and so I don't revisit..

Man, if I had a nickel for every profile I have set up on some "fly by night" or start up Social Network over the years, I wouldn't have to work anymore.

It's amazing when a site comes across your desk that you think you may have heard of in the past, and you figure you'll give it a shot and set up an account, only to get the "this email address is already assigned to another account" message and realize you signed up months ago and never came back.:o
At the same time, there were a few sites that I thought had a chance and I set profiles and bookmarked them. Upon cleaning up my bookmarks and revisiting them, almost all are gone now or haven't realized their potential and are just sitting there like an old rusty car in the front yard.

Remember all the rage about Entrecard, and My Blog Log, ? Last I saw Entracard was for sale (don't know if anyone purchased it) and My Blog Log cashed out to Yahoo at the perfect time and Yahoo really hasn't done anything with it.

I mean, let's be honest, there's a new Social Media, Social Networking, Social bookmarking site popping up every month (even I have a Pligg site sitting in limbo), but it has slowed down some since last year when it was everyday, and there is just no way to capitalize on all of them.

India (who is where we were on the web 5 years ago) is launching social sites faster than a 5th grader can shoot a spit ball, but most of them are regional.

As I always say, "You gotta get in where you fit in". Pick the one(s) that appeals to you most based on options, reach and demographics and work the heck out of them.

I'm pretty much centering in Twitter and Facebook, that's where I figure I'm going to find the most professional adults.

vangogh
09-09-2009, 12:25 PM
I hear you. It does make sense to set up a profile quickly if only to secure the username you want. Not a problem for some of us, but it could be if you have a reasonably popular name.

Trying out the sites is also part of what it's all about. You can't really know the community until you've become a part of it to a degree so you do need to join to know if you want to stick around.

New ones are springing up all the time. Most won't last, but some are good. More and more you're seeing niche social communities and I think that's where you're going to see things. Most of us will join Twitter and Facebook, and LinkedIn or whichever few general social sites you like. Then we'll also pick a few niche social communities to become part of. I'm sure there are a few music specific social communities and it would make sense for you to join those to test their waters.

Harold Mansfield
09-09-2009, 01:16 PM
I'm sure there are a few music specific social communities and it would make sense for you to join those to test their waters.

There are a few. For my music niche, most of them are centered around forums or individual communities centered around specific artists or labels.
I haven't really seen one that is ready for prime time IMO. I have toyed with the idea of doing one, but I really don't have that kind of time, nor, a marketing budget to advertise it.

Better I build my own community up first, then it will be easier to launch something if I still have the desire.

Paper Shredder Clay
09-13-2009, 06:00 PM
While, I see a lot of people moving to Facebook, I still personally think Twitter is the best way. But that could be because I'm more on Twitter than Facebook. When I signed up for Facebook, I wanted to use it to keep track of my friends. I don't go for all the extra stuff in it. Yet when I want to find out about a product or service, I search Twitter. I ask questions to those who have talked about the product or service.

Harold Mansfield
09-13-2009, 08:36 PM
While, I see a lot of people moving to Facebook, I still personally think Twitter is the best way. But that could be because I'm more on Twitter than Facebook. When I signed up for Facebook, I wanted to use it to keep track of my friends. I don't go for all the extra stuff in it. Yet when I want to find out about a product or service, I search Twitter. I ask questions to those who have talked about the product or service.

They both have their advantages. I think Twitter is a great place to do product or market research because people speak their minds under the cloak of anonymity (thank God for spell check), more so than when their "real" name is on a comment.

The thing that bugs me about Twitter ( and I am running 5 accounts in different niches) is that, it is just out of control. Targeting is way off, because people will follow anything just to build numbers. It is so common now for me to see profiles with 8k followers, following 7k people, and 0 Tweets. No one is paying attention anymore. Blacks could be following the KKK and Jews could be following Natzi's, and neither would ever know it...just clicking "follow" on every profile.

When I started my first Facebook page, the last thing on my mind was connecting with old friends, although now I am glad that I did (thinking about making a trip to Ireland soon) ..and my current friends, we just pick up the phone. I don't even like texting.

However, when it comes to building a business page or profile, you can't beat Facebook...it's better than all of them, even Linked In. Although slow, the customization options are pretty damn good....a little HTML, Photoshop, knowledge of the apps, and some creativity and imagination...and you can basically build a mini socially enabled web page for your product or service...great for potential clients who live on Facebook like a lot of people do, and it's free to use. (no hosting or service fees)

I always give everything the "Mom" test. My Mom is pretty inquisitive, and loves gadgets and technology. I can tell how "mainstream' something is for "regular" people who don't live on the web like I do, by how easy it is for my Mom to use it.

I turned her on to Facebook a while ago and now she loves checking out business profiles and of course looking up people.
She is actually the one who got me into making custom Facebook Business pages..She would check out a page and call me..."I can't believe this company with all their money has such a crappy Facebook profile. It's embarrassing...look how well done their competitors page is."..and it got me thinking...("Why don't they have a better page ? Who is in charge of that ? They have thousands of fans, why don't they do something for them ?")

I think the most important thing is to find the medium that works best for your purposes. Everything, is not for everybody, nor every kind of business.

vangogh
09-14-2009, 01:43 AM
Interesting you mention your mom. A few months back my mom started asking me a few questions about some social media sites including Twitter and Facebook. She opened accounts with both. She tweeted once and I don't think she's ever been to Twitter again. She continues to use Facebook, mostly to keep up with friends and family and less often to post something herself.

Between the two I like Twitter better, but I think Facebook makes more sense to people lower on the tech savviness scale. Twitter becomes better with desktop clients and other associated tools. That alone adds another level of complexity to it. Also on the surface Twitter seems like the less useful option.

Both have their advantages and disadvantages though. At their core both are about connecting with other people. They just go about it in different ways.

KristineS
09-14-2009, 09:05 AM
I've never gotten the appeal of Facebook. I have a profile, but I don't spend a lot of time on it. I think, for me anyway, the appeal of Twitter is the immediate response. Plus I seem to have had more success on Twitter making the sort of contacts I wanted to make. Facebook seems to be more contacts with people I haven't heard from in 25 years. I'm not all that nostalgic for my younger years, so that doesn't have a lot of appeal for me.

Harold Mansfield
09-14-2009, 10:31 AM
I've never gotten the appeal of Facebook. I have a profile, but I don't spend a lot of time on it. I think, for me anyway, the appeal of Twitter is the immediate response. Plus I seem to have had more success on Twitter making the sort of contacts I wanted to make. Facebook seems to be more contacts with people I haven't heard from in 25 years. I'm not all that nostalgic for my younger years, so that doesn't have a lot of appeal for me.

That's what I though too, and the last thing on my mind was connecting with people from High School...I wasn't that fond of most of them when I was there:p.

But the ability to have a page for your business, website, group or organization really took my respect for it to a whole new level, and just adds another way to connect.

I like Twitter, don't get me wrong. I run Tweet Deck most of the day to keep up with my accounts... but it's a fleeting connection. Once you throw a Tweet out there, it's gone in seconds, and getting your timing right to catch the most amount of people at the busiest time can be challenging to say the least, and it does nothing for socializing for people in different time zones who are never on Twitter at the same time as you. (Unless you set up automatic re-tweets for a later time to catch them).


Facebook sends your updates directly to your friends, followers, fans, whatever and keeps them in their in box for them to read when they are on the site, or get an email notification that you have updated information. I also don't have to be logged into Facebook all day to catch information. or communications directed at me.

You don't have that control over Twitter unless you "@" or DM someone directly, and it's not exactly easy to do that to all 2k of your followers at once.

Mind you, I'm not trying to sell you on Facebook, just throwing my observations out there about both as it pertains to business connections, and marketing.

Now, you know of course, that there are apps where you can manage both simultaneously..feed your tweets into your Facebook wall, or visa versa

I do get a good amount of click throughs from Twitter, and have converted some sales. I also have made some media connections for my blog and some great post ideas and information, but for the life of me, I really can't see it as a sole networking or communication platform for a business over Facebook, Linked In, and to some extent My Space (for entertainers).

This past Saturday I logged into both during the Michigan / Notre Dame game (GO BLUE!), and I found it much easier to actually have a conversion, and network with other Michigan fans on Facebook than Twitter. There is just too much "noise" on Twitter and it makes it frustrating. I tried to target my account as specifically as possible for fans of Detroit and Michigan Sports, and follow people who "seem" to be interested in the same thing based on their profile and link, yet still there was more garbage tweets during the game about "Making money online" and "gaining more Twitter followers" than I could take. And the groups are no better.

On Facebook, all we talked about was the game.

To me, that's the big difference. Twitter is just out of control and although I use it a lot, I even recommend it. But I compare it to air dropping fliers over a neighborhood. Some people will actually read it, some will collect as many as possible for scrap paper, but most will copy down the phone number to add to their spam list.

There is a certain savvy to using Twitter that I just don't see the average "non-tech" business person taking the time to learn, and out of the "tech" people that have learned it and use it effectively, most have leveraged that knowledge to spam the crap out of it. Again, it has become one of those things that the "tech" people have taken over and for a business outside of any tech or IT fields to leverage it properly, they need to learn it or hire someone to manage it (which is guess its good news for us) to get any real benefit from it.

Now don't get me wrong, I run contest on Twitter all the time that work well. I have made some sales from Twitter, especially during events (I have a NASCAR stuff, Detroit Sports stuff, and Harley stuff affiliate stores online) that I probably wouldn't have made any other way, and I have had some heated political discussions (on my politics profile), but you really have to dissect the noise from the music to get a good stream going. If you just follow everyone, like most people do, you will have garbage all in your flow.

I thought that example of the restaurant using twitter to alert customers of daily specials was great, but no doubt they marketed that in house, not via Twitter alone. If you have the ability to market any social networking profile to your in-house audience, you are going to see success because you already have a base.
Look at Best Buy's new campaign marketing their Twitter profile on T.V. I mean, you can't beat that.

But doing it from the ground up, takes some time and savvy, but I guess that can be said for any of them.

But I ask you, if you are out and you run into a potential new client or someone who may be interested in your business and they ask if you are on any social networking sites, which would you feel is more appropriate to properly show off your company, Twitter, of Facebook ?

vangogh
09-14-2009, 11:29 AM
Great points about Facebook and nice comparison between it and Twitter. Fundamentally both are tools for communication and each have strengths and weaknesses in who with and how you communicate.

One of the things I know I should do is set up either a group or fan page around something related to my business.

Your example about the Michigan/Notre Dame game is a good example. I can see how there would be less noise in the conversation when it comes to Facebook. It's one reason I think groups become a necessity in Twitter. Groups make it much easier to find the signal in all the noise.

KristineS
09-14-2009, 12:49 PM
I have to admit, I haven't used Facebook much for business yet. That's on my agenda, but it hasn't made it to the top of the list. I'm guessing if I did use it for business I would have a different experience than I have as a personal user.

I do agree there can be a lot of noise and interference of Twitter. I try to minimize that by only following and accepting follows from people who seem to pertain to the particular business or issue I'm discussing, and that does tone it down some, but it doesn't eliminate the issue.

I'll have to give the business Facebook page a try and see what the results are. I suppose that would probably be a more accurate comparison.

Harold Mansfield
09-14-2009, 04:30 PM
I have to admit, I haven't used Facebook much for business yet. That's on my agenda, but it hasn't made it to the top of the list. I'm guessing if I did use it for business I would have a different experience than I have as a personal user.
.

Don't feel bad, it took me 2 1/2 years from the first time that I even heard about it. Try not to procrastinate on it as long as I did :).
It really only started being "Facebook" in 2006, and took off in 2007, so no one is truly far behind or completely out of the loop.

It is number one now with over 250 million worldwide users, beating out My space for the top spot this year, which based on the user experience of My space, was a spot waiting to be lost IMO.

KristineS
09-14-2009, 05:17 PM
Never did use Myspace, so don't know anything about it.

I'm hoping to get started on Facebook this week. We'll see how that goes as any plans I make in the beginning of the week usually morph quite severely by week's end.

Harold Mansfield
09-14-2009, 05:37 PM
Never did use Myspace, so don't know anything about it.

I'm hoping to get started on Facebook this week. We'll see how that goes as any plans I make in the beginning of the week usually morph quite severely by week's end.

If I can offer any tips, feel free to drop me a message.
I wouldn't worry too much about My Space. Unless you are in some kind of music, or your demographic is 13-25 year old's, I really don't think it's worth the frustration trying to configure and customize it.

Spider
09-14-2009, 07:45 PM
Let us know when you join Facebook and provide a link to your profile so we can be-friend you.

KristineS
09-15-2009, 09:18 AM
Thanks guys. Eborg if I have any questions, I'll let you know. I've been doing some reading about Facebook business profiles, so I think I'm getting the hang of it, but it's always nice to have another resource.

Frederick, I certainly will let you know. I'm not sure how interested any of you would be in an embroidery supplies company site, but I'll let you know when it's done.

Harold Mansfield
09-15-2009, 10:52 AM
Thanks guys. Eborg if I have any questions, I'll let you know. I've been doing some reading about Facebook business profiles, so I think I'm getting the hang of it, but it's always nice to have another resource.

Frederick, I certainly will let you know. I'm not sure how interested any of you would be in an embroidery supplies company site, but I'll let you know when it's done.

If you can build or edit a web page with HTML, you should have no problem customizing Facebook. Sometimes it's just painfully slow and will make you want to come back to it later.

lav
09-17-2009, 06:12 AM
eborg, that profile box application you are using on facebook is cool I want that!!!

Harold Mansfield
09-17-2009, 10:27 AM
eborg, that profile box application you are using on facebook is cool I want that!!!

I think it's just simply called "The Profile Box" in the utilities category of the apps. You set it up using HTML.

greenoak
10-02-2009, 08:52 PM
my fan page is new...and my tekk abilities so limited...but im trying to add some of the things your mentioned eborg....
and maybe do what spider is trying and find some groups...
i am trying some punk and steampunk things on etsy....thats about my only national thing.
..im sooooooo local!!!!
thanks for good info....ann

aussieroo1
10-27-2009, 10:53 PM
I'm learning a lot with social media sites, and have also tried using them for business. There are just so many things you can do with them and it's up to you how to maximize them, whether for business or personal use.

vangogh
10-27-2009, 11:03 PM
it's up to you how to maximize them, whether for business or personal use.

Good point. I think some people looking to social sites in a generic way and assume you just have to do a couple of easy things to have success. Each site is unique and has its own features and community. The more time you put into learning the site and the people using the site the better the chance you'll make the site work for you either personally or professionally.

It also helps a lot if you genuinely enjoy engaging with the site and the community.

greenoak
10-31-2009, 06:20 PM
so true van gogh....and my goal....but i have a lot on my work plate and its hard for me to try and learn and apply... ....love this thread!!... im sending my webmistress to read here and see how rich eborgs site is....

im a few more weeks into facebook since my last post on this thread.......and have over 100 fans..... in the store i asked someone if they wanted to be on our email list to get info......and she said no, im on your fan page, thats enough.....
so im pretty impressed with the power of it...and i am thinking most of my 20 to 40 yr old customers are on it...

..and amazed at how rich eborgs site is..i didnt know you could do that much......but after my big openhouse im going to work on ours.....and use some of then ideas from here......
ann.

Harold Mansfield
10-31-2009, 07:22 PM
..and amazed at how rich eborgs site is..i didnt know you could do that much......but after my big openhouse im going to work on ours.....and use some of then ideas from here......
ann.

Easy, as soon as I get done with something, I'm bored of it already, and what I do have is never good enough for me.

Also, I'm on my computer all day everyday, so I have time to learn different tricks and such.
As you can see my actual promotion skills are far behind...I have about 1/5 the amount of fans that I should have by now.

greenoak
10-31-2009, 07:58 PM
i noticed that your fan amount wasnt too high.......i have quite a few compared to you and in just a few weeks., mine are organic and probably mostly local tho...which i aim for......but still , i didnt realize you could get so much on a facebook page..
..my web person sure doesnt realize it....i want her to look at yours ...lol...
did facebook change how you look at and use your blog? i still want both of course...
ann

Harold Mansfield
10-31-2009, 08:04 PM
did facebook change how you look at and use your blog? i still want both of course...
ann

A little...I use FB for more of an annex for information overflow that I don't post on the blog, and it's where I run all of my contests now too.
The only thing that I wish I could do on it is protect the fan page, the way you can a regular profile. I notice that people go, but not everyone joins...that kind of bothers me since they still get all of the information without joining...but it also means that they can't win anything either.

I keep saying that I am going to concentrate on promotion more, and then next thing you know, another week has gone by.

greenoak
11-01-2009, 07:33 AM
we are trying a facebook ad...local to married women ...aka hopefully homeowners...
this is just a short experiment...we are just doing about 80$$..
i do think its a part of lots of my customers days...but havent worked on how to get to them at all.... i really dont know how we got the fans.... this is so new to me....
but as usual coming here has shown me some new ideas....
ann

Spider
11-01-2009, 08:54 AM
...The only thing that I wish I could do on it is protect the fan page, the way you can a regular profile. I notice that people go, but not everyone joins...that kind of bothers me since they still get all of the information without joining... You realize, do you, that if you want to keep your content available only to members, you have to be a group. Groups and Fanpages are now looking very similar but with a few basic differences - one of which is you can make a group available to members only. This is done at two levels - 1) make the group closed, and 2) make the group secret.

Another way to do it is have the restricted content on a separate (but look-alike) page on your own website, then have password protection on that. My Bookstore at Self Improvement | Facebook (http://facebook.com/selfimprove) is not hosted on Facebook at all, although it looks like it is. It could be easily restricted by pw access.

ADDED: Just thought: You could keep your fanpage as is and create a matching group. Make the group secret and link to it from the fanpage. If the layout is identical, people won't notice which page they are on and the group can have your restricted content. You could then make people pay for access or compulsorily collect e-mail addresses for access - or whatever "price" you want to charge.

MrKent
11-01-2009, 11:45 PM
I am on Facebook and twitter. Mainly because I think I'm supposed to be.

Neither have helped to my knowledge. Could be because I don't know what I'm doing.

Twitter is so overwhelming with sales pitches or nonsense updates. Despite all I have read, I don't get it. Maybe one day soon.

Patrysha
11-02-2009, 01:03 AM
Twitter is so overwhelming with sales pitches or nonsense updates. Despite all I have read, I don't get it. Maybe one day soon.

This article may help shed some light on how to use Twitter as a small business reaching out to a local audience
UnMarketing Blog Archive TwitterTown: How To Engage A Local Market (http://www.un-marketing.com/blog/2009/10/29/twittertown-how-to-engage-a-local-market/)

vangogh
11-02-2009, 10:58 AM
Neither have helped to my knowledge. Could be because I don't know what I'm doing.

Don't feel like you have to be there just because it seems like everyone else is. Think of both sites as communities and think of the people you connect with on both sites as unique communities within the overall community. Take some time to understand how that community works. What do they like? What do they respond to? When you're ready start interacting with them. Ultimately what you're trying to do is build relationships with real people that will become part of your network.

It does take time though.

Spider
11-07-2009, 11:15 AM
This thread has been very helpful to me - Thanks, everyone.

Here's another difference between FB fanpages and groups - and a problem that I hope someone can solve--

When I comment on my group's page, the comment only appears on the group page but not anywhere else that I can see. It is not on my news feed (under the Home tab) and the only reference on my wall (under my Profile tab) is that I have commented but not the comment itself. The only way I can get my group page comment to be visible to my friends on my news feed is to post it again on my wall, then it appears on my news feed.

When I comment on my fanpage, the comment also appears on my news feed. I presume it appears on my friends' home pages, too. It does not appear on my wall.

Now - here's the problem --

I am trying to get more discussion and comment on my group page. If the only way to get my comment onto the news feed is to post it again, when my friends comment, their comments appear on MY wall and not on the group page.

I want friend's comments to appear on the group page and not on my wall.

Anyone have any idea how to do that?