It seems that one of the biggest things that trips up people new to the social networking adventure is the difference between an individual profile and a Fan Page on Facebook. Let’s take a few minutes to try to straighten that out.
When you sign up for Facebook, you create a profile. A profile should only be for an actual human person – not a mascot, dog, cat, iguana, or spiritual being. This is where you connect with people you know – your friends. You share stuff with them, they share stuff with you and everyone’s happy. Here’s my Facebook profile. Now, if you decide you want to be friends with me, please take time to introduce yourself and tell me you stopped by here first, so I know who you are.
If you have a business or volunteer or non-profit group or church (or WoW Guild), and you want it to have a presence on Facebook, then you need to create a Fan Page. For most, the hardest part of creating a Fan Page is figuring out how to get to them. If you look at the bottom of your browser window, just above your Start bar (for PCs) or Dock (for Macs), there’s a little Facebook toolbar. One of the last icons kind of looks like a blue speech bubble on top of a green speech bubble. If you mouse over it, it should say “Ads & Pages” – click it.
From this page, you have the option to create a new Fan Page for your business/organization/guild. Choose the name carefully, as you can’t change it once it’s been chosen. From there, just enter the basic information that’s requested and upload a picture. Then, tell all your friends (or, at least, those that might be interested) about this fabulous new page so that they can become Fans of it, as well.
Stay tuned for more info on how to use & love you Facebook Fan Page. Got a specific question about Facebook or other social networks? Leave me a comment and let me know…
Are you a victim of drive-by Social Networking? Or, worse yet, are you a perpetrator of this mideed?
Drive-by Social Networking is my term for those that send you connection requests on LinkedIn with the default “I’d like to add you to my network” message. With this method, you (as the recipient) have three options:
- Accept the connection with no idea of who this person is
- Spend 5 minutes looking at their LI profile, trying to figure out who this person is, and why they want to connect with you
- Ignore the connection and go about your day.
Social Networking is among the Web 2.0 technologies that are indicated by user-generated and user-controlled content. So, on a social networking site, why would I accept a connection request from someone that I know nothing about and, most likely, knows nothing about me? I have more valuable things to do with my day than to spend time tracking down details of who you are and why I would want to connect with you. And no, being part of the same LinkedIn or trade group does not automatically give me this answer. In most cases, I’m just going to hit the “Archive” button and on about my day.
If you really want to be successful at social networking, just as in real-life networking, it is important to let a new contact know how you can benefit them, or what you hope to gain from them. Networking is about building relationships, so introduce yourself, instead of just flinging a virtual business card in their general direction.
Twitter Fox
TwitterFox is a Firefox plugin that helps you manage your Twitter account. Once installed, it sits in the bottom right corner of your browser window. The interface has tabbed displays to show your entire Twitter stream, your @ replies (Mentions) and your direct messages. It’s very easy to use, and makes retweeting only a right click away.
TwitterBerry
TwitterBerry is great for staying connected to you Twitter friends on your BlackBerry. You can swith between your stream, your public stream, replies and messages through the menu button. I love this app for keeping up while I’m in waiting rooms and traffic.
Ping.fm
Ping.fm is fabulous for managing several social media sites at once. It works with lots of social media sites, and can be managed by using the web interface, SMS text, or email. You can even set up triggers to post only to specified networks if you don’t want to post to all of them.
HootSuite
HootSuite is the perfect tool for managing several Twitter accounts at once. This is so useful if you manage accounts for your clients, or have personal and professional Twitter accounts. Using the web interface, you can make new posts to your account(s) immediately, or schedule them for future posting. HootSuite now integrates with Ping.fm, so you can use HootSuite to schedule posts to all of your social media sites
DestroyTwitter
DestroyTwitter – Gotta love the name, right? DestroyTwitter is a desktop app for managing your Twitter-verse. Similar to TweetDeck, it runs on the Adobe Air platform, so you’ll have to download and install that as well. Accodring to the website, though, it uses less system resources that TweetDeck, so might be easier for you to use if you’re a big multi-tasker. The interface is broken up into two pages of three columns – Home, Replies & Messages on the first page, Groups, Search and Saved Messages on the second. You can define as many groups as you want, but can only view one group’s stream at a time. My only want for this software is to be able to see two groups at the same time, and maybe some options for layout. However, I do like it the program, and get a kick out of the name every time I use it.
The web used to be a great land of “build it and they will come” options. However, the proliferation of websites for every business venture means that your customers have many more options than ever before. A simple search for the topic of choice will direct an interested party to hundreds of websites. If yours is on the list, what is it about your site that will encourage users to stay longer, to look around more and, possibly, to buy your products or engage your services. Below are a few things that you can do with your website to make your website more user-friendly, and increase your odds of visitors hanging around a bit longer.
- Consistent Navigation – Having consistently placed and ordered navigation on your website makes it easier for visitors to find their way around your site. Navigation that’s always in the same place on your site, and links in the same order allow the user to feel comfortable in their surroundings. Navigating a foreign place is always stressful – eliminate that stress for visitors to your website.
- Well Organized Information – Most people agonize about the look and layout of their website but many people forget to consider how the information the site will present is organized as well. Also known as Information Architecture, carefully planning the organization and presentation of your site increases the ability for users to find the information they are looking for on your site. Make sure each page has a clear topic – and only one. Trying to fully inform a visitor about several topics on one page may confuse them and encourage them to leave, quickly.
- Clear Call to Action – Do you know what you want the user to do when they’re on your site? Let them know! And make it easy for them to do what you want them to. Do you want users to sign up for your newsletter? Have the newsletter sign up form located at the top of your page (preferably on the right side). Do you sell products on your website? Make it easy for users to add products to their cart, and easy to checkout.
- Use Common Terms for Common Actions – If you have a shopping cart, call it that. Or shopping bag or basket, or some other term that the average person will recognize. It may be tempting to come up with some cute or witty name for your shopping cart, newsletter, or other features on your site but if your visitors don’t know what they mean, it doesn’t do you any good.
- Write with the user in mind – Who is the target audience of your site? When you (or your copywriter) is writing to copy for your site, make sure you keep your audience in mind. What is their technical or educational level? Writing too simply may turn off highly educated or technically skilled visitors, while writing over the heads of less skilled or knowledgeable users could cause frustration and leave them searching for a website they can better understand.
I was looking through the directory tonight for a professional organization, and was struck by how many people have multiple service angles that don’t seem to have anything to do with each other. The case that sticks out most in my head is the builder, remodeler, Certified Green building specialist and Quickbooks consultant – really?
Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m all for finding your professional passion and running with it. However, when offering different service bases that are so far removed from one another, is it really advisable to offer them through one business, or might it not be better to set up a secondary business for the second set of services. Personally, when I see someone offering such different services, I wonder about their commitment level to maintaining skill level and current knowledge of that service area.
I’d love to hear your thoughts on this.
One of the most comment questions that I get from new web development clients is about what kind of information to include on their brand-new website. Specifically, they want to know what pages and information their visitors will expect to be able to find. Here’s the top 5 pages or information areas that I recommend to new clients:
- Contact info: Your web site should include an easily accessible, comprehensive contact page with a real address and phone number, not just an email address. If you operate your business out of your home and don’t want to give out a home address, obtain a PO box from your local post office, or other places that offer these types of services, such as the UPS Store. Similarly, there are many services where you can obtain a secondary or alternate phone number for your business without the traditional expense of installing a second line in your home of office. (Stay tuned for a post about these services next week.)
- An ‘about us’ page: You hope that your index page does a good job of explaining your site, but sometimes consumers want to know what ELSE you do. An about us page gives you a chance to let your visitors know about you and your company, as well as an opportunity to show off additional services and products that may not be relevant to the website if the site is directed to a very targeted audience.
- Security/privacy policy page: Are you collecting visitor data on your website? Do you have a newsletter sign-up form, or some way for interested visitors to request more information? What about site statistics – do you have a script that tracks information about your visitors, such as location, type of browser, operating system used, and monitor resolution? I’m guessing that the answer to at least one of these is yes. So, if you’re collecting any sort of consumer data, people want to know how you use it. Even if they only skim, just the presence of a privacy policy can go a long way towards building trust with your clients.
- FAQ: Do you find that your visitors and potential clients ask you the same questions over and over? To save your time, and offer better customer service, you should have a “Frequently Asked Questions” (FAQ) page on your site. Does it have to be called “FAQ”? Well, that’s debatable. If you can address the primary questions, for instance, on your home page, and then link to a page called “Customer Support” or “More Information,” you can win the same customer service points without the sometimes ill-fitting title of FAQ. Don’t forget to update your FAQ (or whatever you call it) if you find you are getting repeated questions from potential customers that aren’t already addressed in this area.
- Site map: In a perfect world, visitors would have no trouble navigating your site, and will always know exactly which page contains the information they want, and how to click their way there. Unfortunately, this isn’t the case. A Site map is a page which lists all of the pages of your site with direct links to access them. Additionally, a well-done, XML-based site map can be submitted to Google for optimal indexing, which can help increase your search engine results. (Look for more information about this in an upcoming post.
How many times have you downloaded a report, white paper, or other “freebie” from a website and when the PDF is saved on your computer, the file name that comes with it is something like “SEO White Paper,” that doesn’t tell you, at first glance, where the file came from? Sure, one could rename the file as it’s being saved on their computer but, fact of the matter is, most people don’t. Why are you not giving yourself the credit that you deserve?
If you are offering a download from your website, especially as a way to increase traffic or newsletter sign-ups, make sure the filename includes your business or website name in it. So, instead of “SEO White Paper, ” you have “SEO White Paper from beyond the office”. That way, the subject of the download is still the first part of the file name, but it also serves as a reminder to the reader of where they downloaded it from or, if they’ve downloaded oodles of SEO white papers from many different sites, that this particular file came from you and you care enough to want them to be able to get in touch with you quickly if they want more information.
One of my clients is a smaller college, and I always make sure that the PDF application or viewbook that I am uploading onto the server has the college’s name at the beginning, so that high school students that have downloaded dozens of PDF applications can tell quickly which one is for my client.
Not to mention that if the user does happen to download a similar report from another website that is inconveniently titled the same as yours, your file will not get inadvertently overwritten because it has the same file name.
And if someone is managing your website and isn’t doing this for you, well, shame on them.
One of the more interesting discussions at PodCamp Boston was not scheduled – which is the great thing about PodCamp. It was a mostly impromptu and ad-hoc discussion about women in social media. I joined the discussion about halfway through, as I had started out elsewhere, but was encouraged to join the discussion on the lawn by a VA associate on Twitter who wasn’t even at PodCamp. Word of the fabulous discussion had spread quickly and far.
My favorite quote from that discussion was by Christopher Penn, who said, “I don’t care what you have between your legs, be AWESOME between your ears!” Fellow PodCamper Georgy Cohen had this to say about that:
I guess I just don’t understand reactions like Sarah Wurrey’s, who was angered by Christopher Penn saying that all women had to do was “be awesome.”
I’m sorry, I was unaware that we weren’t already awesome. I can name at least 100 awesome women right now. Why is it the responsibility for changing the state of affairs all on us?
Um. I really don’t think he was saying you weren’t awesome now. But there’s a difference between being awesome in a closet and feeling comfortable and confident enough to wield that awesomeness. And really, in the realm of social media, I don’t think there’s a patriarchy waiting to beat you down. The “responsibility for changing the state of affairs” is on ALL of us, irregardless of gender. It’s called the democratization of media.
As an ironic follow up to this discussion, I atteneded the Southeastern Connecticut Women’s NETWORK luncheon yesterday, where our speaker was Teresa Younger, Executive Director for the Permanent Commission on the Status of Women (PCSW) in Connecticut. She gave an interesting speach about the inequalitiess of women in the work force. Some of the statistics Ms. Younger gave were astounding:
- Women earn $0.78 for every $1 a man earns
- Women stay in [job] positions longer, on average, than men
- Women CEOs are more likely to focus on long term sustainability than men
- 80% of women value customer relationship more highly than business growth and expansion
- There are 14 million people out of work & 10 million woman-owned businesses in this country – if every woman owned business hired just one person we would have the lowest unemployment rate ever!
So, the way I look at it, women are awesome. We take care of our families, our businesses, and ourselves (all too often, in that order) and we do it all for less pay. Changing the landscape of women in social media is a great idea, and maybe empowering women in just one area will push that same passion and enthusiasm into empowering women in other areas as well. Who’s with me?
(Another irony: as I write this, my Twitter stream is exploding to references with the same types of messages.)
One of the great sessions that I attended at PodCamp Boston 4 was about Podcasting, led by Guido Stein. Guido covered many great tech tips about podcasting, from Recording to Editing to Posting and Interacting with your listeners. All of Guido’s great tips are available online. One of the things that was discussed is the importance of editing your recording before posting so that you are presenting a quality podcast to your listeners. All of these tips immediately sprang to mind when I was listening to a back issue of an SEO podcast. Seriously, those people needed to be at Guido’s discussion.
The podcast in question started out okay enough – catchy into music, brief description about what the podcast was about, and what they would be discussing in the episode. Then it went downhill. In that episode, they were interviewing the creator/spokesperson for Knowem.com, a web service for checking the availability of your branded or favorite username at hundreds of different social media sites. Great concept, and I was really interested in learning more about it. However, the podcast was filled with lots of dead air as the hosts were busy checking out websites and having a private tour of some of the enterprise level and soon-to-come features of the service. Hearing the hosts say “Wow” over and over made me want to know what they were looking at but since it was a sneak-peek that couldn’t be shared with the audience yet, it left me frustrated not knowing what they were so excited about. I think a better way for this to have been handled would have been to share the sneak-peek with the hosts off the air and have them talk about it during the podcast, and not spend/waste so much time with checking email and viewing websites that you can’t even describe and discuss with the listeners.
So, this brings me to my podcast point of the day: if you’re going to be intereviewing someone during your podcast, be sure to have your questions/topics outlined before you start, and be sure to edit out dead air before posting.
