Facebook: Is the Free Ride Over for Businesses? |  |
- Facebook: Is the Free Ride Over for Businesses?
- How to Use Facebook Custom Audiences to Target Your Market
- 3 Steps To Franchise Success in Google+ Local
- Tips and Tricks For You to Research the Social Web
- How to Use Evernote to Help You Keep Your Blog Active
| Facebook: Is the Free Ride Over for Businesses? Posted: 08 Mar 2013 02:00 AM PST
Of course, Facebook does offer paid promotions to increase the visibility of your brand. The price for these depends on the number of fans or followers in your network. But without paying, page owners don't seem to get the same exposure to their followers as they used to. Said Rachel Parker, owner of Resonance Content Marketing:
New York Times Reporter, Nick Bilton, described a similar phenomenon. In a recent column, Bilton said that when he promoted a post for $7, he saw a 1,000 percent increase in interactions on the link he posted. Despite the option for businesses to pay to get posts in front of more of their followers, the issue is that Facebook's change in algorithm deliberately decreases the reach of unpaid posts so that you have to promote them if you want to have the level of visibility you were once accustomed to. In other words: You have to pay in order for your posts to be seen by your own followers on Facebook. Facebook has denied claims that its algorithm has been changed to force brands to shell out more money to reach the same followers they once could for free. In a post on the official Facebook Studio blog, Facebook Ads Engineer, Phillip Zigoris, insisted:
Aside from paying, there are few options for page owners. Parker said to use image posts as often as possible because they consistently generate more interactions. She also suggested tagging other Facebook pages whenever it's relevant since that can expose you to that page's followers. Another option is to ask followers to opt-in to receive notifications when you create posts, wrote Tristan Higbee in his blog Osmosio. In theory, this would always get your posts seen by those followers. Though Higbee admitted he hadn’t noticed a measurable difference in views and interactions on his first attempt employing this technique, he said he plans to attempt it again in the future. In an email interview, Higbee also said he believed Facebook will probably experience fallout for its new policies:
Parker agreed. She said she has noticed more of an interest in other platforms like Google+ since the change in algorithm that caused a drop-off in interactions on Facebook:
But not all page owners have given up on Facebook or even its unpaid posts. Ramon Ray, Editor of SmallBizTechnology and Author of, “The Facebook Guide to Small Business Marketing,” said that while he has used paid promoted posts to gain reach, he wouldn't discount the value of organic reach on the site just yet:
And with all the changes to the news feed, the necessity of frequent and engaging content is the one thing that hasn't changed. The post Facebook: Is the Free Ride Over for Businesses? appeared first on Small Business Trends. |
| How to Use Facebook Custom Audiences to Target Your Market Posted: 07 Mar 2013 02:00 PM PST
It’s clear businesses have taken to Facebook. According to the company’s statistics, 500,000 pages have used Facebook’s Promoted Posts in the company’s fourth quarter with 30 percent of those being new advertisers and 70 percent being repeat customers. Recently the company has also introduced a new way for advertisers to target their market beyond their immediate Facebook followers. Facebook Custom Audiences allows businesses to reach customers who aren’t yet connected with them through social media. Advertisers begin by visiting the Facebook Ad Manager page and downloading the Power Editor to get started. Use of the Chrome browser is necessary to make the editor work. Facebook Custom Audiences ExplainedHow to Set Up Facebook Custom AudiencesOnce in the Ad Manager, an advertiser selects “custom audiences.” When a box like the one above appears, the advertiser can then upload email, phone, or user ID lists to create a custom audience of existing customers. Advertisers do not need to be connected to Facebook users or have users “like” a specific Facebook page to target them in an advertising campaign. Brick and Mortar Retailers Brick and mortar retailers can use Custom Audiences to market to repeat customers. Though the business may have a Facebook fan page, “likes” on that page don’t necessarily reflect those who visit the business regularly. But if retailers have a method of collecting phone numbers or email addresses from regular customers who buy at their physical locations, they now have a method of targeting these real customers directly on the world’s largest social network. Online Businesses Online businesses can use a similar approach. “Likes” collected on Facebook may not be the same as the people visiting company’s website regularly. But by collecting emails from these visitors, the business can then use Custom Audiences to target them directly on Facebook, even if they’ve never “liked” the company’s Facebook page. Import LinkedIn Connections and Other Lists Jake Hower of the Multimedia Marketing Show explains how to import LinkedIn connections and other lists into Facebook’s Custom Audiences feature. Ad Enhancements ComingLast week, Facebook announced a new enhancement to its Custom Audiences program. The social site has partnered with digital marketing companies Datalogix, Epsilon, Acxiom, and BlueKai to further fine tune the service. Facebook will now be allowing businesses working with any of these marketing companies to use data they collect to further customize marketing campaigns using the Custom Audiences feature. See the recent Facebook Studio post for more details. TechCrunch recently reported that even businesses not working with one of Facebook’s new partner firms will be able to use new customer data uploaded to the site. Facebook says it will set up predefined categories like customers interested in buying a car, luxury fashion buyers, and more for any small business marketers to use. The post How to Use Facebook Custom Audiences to Target Your Market appeared first on Small Business Trends. |
| 3 Steps To Franchise Success in Google+ Local Posted: 07 Mar 2013 11:00 AM PST
Anyone who knows how complex the local search ecosystem has really become has to cringe when they think about how franchises deal with Google+ Local. But there is hope. The key to franchise success lies in understanding Google+ Local on a franchisee level. 3 Steps to Franchise Success in Google+ Local1) Training is EverythingFrom an organizational perspective, Google+ Local can be handled in two ways:
Either way, everyone wins if all franchisees have a basic understanding of Google+ Local. Especially this – your listing is not exactly yours. It's Google's. This may sound counterintuitive, but Google uses information from many sources to form its listings. Data that a franchisor or franchisees provide Google about their locations is just a source of information for Google. It's a trusted source, but not the only source. It also means that your franchise locations probably already have listings that Google created. This is the reason why no amount of franchisor control can save franchisees from issues if they think that only what they provide Google can be a part of their listing. Almost anything a local business does can reflect on their Google+ Local listing. Google Is Looking For Consistency You want data (especially name, address and phone number) about franchisee locations to be accurate and consistent everywhere on the Web. It makes Google perceive your locations as legitimate and prominent. This is one of the most important ranking factors in Google local. Besides that, every brand manager will tell you that you need to be consistent in your messaging. It Matters What People Say About You Getting good reviews will not only make people want to do business with you, but also help you rank in local search. Do you have a review strategy in place? 2) Avoid Technical PitfallsRunning Google+ Local for a large number of locations is not fun. Traps are everywhere. Phone Tracking Those of us who love to measure everything will get disappointed. Tracking phone calls may hurt your performance in Google+ Local. For call analytics to really work, we need lots of phone numbers. One for Google organic search, one for paid search and then one for Yahoo and Bing. Before you know it – your data consistency is compromised. Not Keeping Up With Google’s Guidelines This can be costly. A few months ago, a number of businesses that serve customers at their location decided to merge Google Places listings with Google+ business pages. Many of them lost their listings only to get them back after they deleted their Google+ page. Google changes their guidelines. They never notified anyone so it's your job to keep on top of this. Using Toll Free Numbers Google doesn't hate toll free numbers. They just don't prefer them so you should use local phone numbers whenever possible. Using Bad Words Google has developed filters that prevent using specific words and phrases in a listing. Not all of those are obvious. Mike Blumenthal, an expert on Google Places, talks about it in detail here. Your Business Is Not Eligible To be more specific, your business model can make your franchisees ineligible for a listing. For example, the following situations make your business not eligible:
If You Centrally Manage A Substantial Number Of Locations Your only practical option is to bulk verify everything. Google recommends it if you have more than 10 locations. Read Google’s guide here. If You Don't Have A Lot Of Locations And Savvy Franchisees You might consider training your franchisees to manage their own presence. Knowledgeable, motivated franchisees will do more for their local search visibility than any franchisor could. This is not without risk, however. 3) You Will Need Some HelpThere is literally no franchisee in the world that can do everything needed for success in local search inhouse.
Things To Remember Your performance in Google + Local is important. However, it's not as important as the performance of the website tied to your local listings. These are the times of blended local search where everything counts for something and nothing can be overlooked. Map Photo via Shutterstock The post 3 Steps To Franchise Success in Google+ Local appeared first on Small Business Trends. |
| Tips and Tricks For You to Research the Social Web Posted: 07 Mar 2013 08:00 AM PST
It's research that powers Google and gives search engines such importance. In the world of online marketing, there is plenty of talk that discusses how to improve social media marketing or tips to complete a certain action regarding social media. But it's always good to take a step back and determine where you're really finding this information. How do you research social media and the social web? Tips and Tricks to Research the Social WebResearching the social phenomenon is all about understanding the resources available. It's no secret that social media is becoming more and more important for businesses. So as you can imagine, there are many different resources out there to help make your life easier. Unfortunately, there are so many resources available that things can get overwhelming. It helps to break up some of these resources into sections. Below details different aspects of social web research and some of the most popular ways to make sure you're taking advantage. Forums and Q&A Tools:Learning more about social media for your business often involves finding forums and having places to ask questions. Ironically, using social media to learn about social media is a great trick: LinkedIn Groups LinkedIn groups and communities are often great ways to ask questions and get answers from those in the social media industry. (Or your industry, for that matter.) It's also great because you can see exactly whom these answers are coming from. Another great place to ask questions. I once asked a question about a service called BuzzStream, and I received several well thought out answers. One from the owner of the tool. Here you can ask questions and usually get straightforward answers. You don't always know if the answers are reliable because anyone can get involved. But it often works very well for basic inquiries that you need an answer to fast. Trends and Search in Social Media:You want to know where to go to search for different things regarding social media on the social web and you want to know where you can go to really find trends: This is one of my favorite resources when it comes to researching social media and the social web. It splits up different blogs and different categories to help let you know what's going on across the Web. It's easy to navigation and easy to understand. This is an easy way to use Google. But customize it so that you're only seeing results from blogs or social networks that may have the answer. This is another resource you can use to see what is being said across the social web. It's easy to use, so you don't have to sift through Google results. Instead, you can head right over and know that you're getting the most recent and up-to-date information. Not just an article that happens to have a lot of backlinks. This is probably the best way to see what is trending in social media on the social web. Organizational Tools:It's important to remain organized now that more and more social networks are beginning to emerge, all with different expertise. A few tools to use include: Dashboards There are many different social media dashboards such as TweetDeck, Hootsuite, etc. You can use these to keep your research organized, which should help you research successfully. This is a great tool to help you keep all of the information you find from different RSS feeds organized. This is one of the most popular research organization tools no matter what it is you're trying to research. It helps you take notes when you're on the go as well as when you're online. Here’s a tutorial on how to use Evernote to help you keep your blog active by collecting and storing researched items. There’s also an Evernote business app available. Social Media Tips:Below are a few miscellaneous tips about researching the social web. Subscribe smart Many businesses sign up for subscriptions or RSS feeds of websites that might be of value. But this can get cluttered and turn into a situation where you don't read anything. Go through all of your subscriptions monthly and make sure you're only following relevant content. Setting up Google Alerts is a great way to keep your research going even after you may have given up or found what you needed. It's an easy way to get an email every time your topic of interest is mentioned on the social web. RSS Feeds Waiting around for alerts and going through and researching is great. But it doesn't hurt to have an RSS feed setup to help do some of this collecting for you. Do you have any tips or tools that you use to help you find information faster or easier? Surfing Internet Photo via Shutterstock The post Tips and Tricks For You to Research the Social Web appeared first on Small Business Trends. |
| How to Use Evernote to Help You Keep Your Blog Active Posted: 07 Mar 2013 05:00 AM PST Anyone that has a blog knows there are times that it is very difficult to come up with things to write about. Sometimes you just don't have time to write, but need to create a post quickly. I am going to tell you how I use the free, non-business version of Evernote to keep blog posts flowing and the blogs I write for active. As you are reading this, keep in mind that you can use the items you save in Evernote for research and ideas for upcoming articles. But you can also use the items you save directly in articles. I am going to explain how you can do this. What is Evernote? Evernote is a free tool that allows you to save basically anything that you are interested in. You can save URLs for images, articles, videos, images, infographics and anything else that has a URL. Evernote essentially "clips" an excerpt of information from a web page and the items you clip are organized. You can login to Evernote from any computer. There are extensions for the browsers you use and there are apps for mobile devices. Basically, you can get to your saved information from anywhere. Start by OrganizingIn Evernote you can create "notebooks" (basically categories) and you can tag whatever you save/clip with keywords so you can search your notebooks easily later. The best way to start using Evernote is to create notebooks/categories for the subjects you are interested in writing about. Some examples:
By saving good articles, you always have a way to find great information when writing new articles. You also avoid that, "Where did I read that?" problem. It is important to "tag" articles in any way that can help you sift through articles or web pages later. Once you have 50 articles on blogging, for example, it might be easier if you could just find the articles related to "services" only.
I also suggest tagging with the year of the article so you can determine if information is old or new. Evernote is Amazing for Recap PostsSometimes recaps can be a great way to share information. Recaps can be on any topic and they are often a collection of educational information for the reader. Let's say you work in Excel all the time and you research ways to create things, like pivot tables. Perhaps you want to create a collection of "how to" articles for your readers. If you have saved the educational articles you have read in Evernote you can just go in and search for "Excel" and see a list of articles that might be good for your readers. It is easy to create a recap post this way. Plan Ahead for Recaps As you read, you can save articles you think are great for recap posts. You can even tag them with something like "recap Google analytics." When the time comes you can have all the articles you need in one place. I personally "clip" anything I find that is useful to me or could be for my clients or my readers. When I need a recap post, I have tons of articles to choose from. When you find something great, remember the possibility of recaps and tag accordingly. Use Infographics, Video, Presentations and More with Evernote
There are many items out there that you can use in your blog posts to supplement the information you already provide. To be totally honest, there are times that I have nothing to write about or I just don't have time to write a long blog post. So I dig into things I have saved in Evernote to help me out. I have categories for infographics, videos and Slideshares. Most of the time, items like these just need an intro paragraph or two and I have a blog post. Evernote can be an amazing backup tool for writers that have no time or have writer's block. To organize these types of items effectively, I have to "tag" well. Some of the tags I use are:
Save Whatever Might Be of Use to You LaterBlogging is not easy and keeping a blog active is not easy. If you are responsible for keeping a blog going, I suggest you take advantage of the free version of Evernote. Create a library of information that you think is important and could be helpful to you. Find a way to collect items that will help you with blogging. Whether it be ideas or items to use. You can’t remember everything so let Evernote remember for you. I use it daily and it has helped me with blog posts more than I could ever explain. I hope it can help you too. Also check out the features of the business version of Evernote. The post How to Use Evernote to Help You Keep Your Blog Active appeared first on Small Business Trends. |
If you use Facebook to spread the word about your brand, you may have seen a drop-off in the number of interactions your posts receive. Business owners, marketers and others are noticing—and they are not happy.
Google+ Local seems to be a product in perpetual development. Local business owners sometimes find it gut wrenching. For franchises, it can be even worse than that.
Without a doubt, research is incredibly important in every industry. You not only want to research a specific topic in your field or a topic that interests you, but you want to research – how to research.
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