Too Many Options – Which Social Media Tool to Choose?

With the emergence of social media platforms many clients are confused about which ones they should use for their business.  If not planned correctly Social Media can take over your life and return little results.  The one key to remember is that Social Media is social and you are there to build relationships.  Keeping that in mind will make the progress easier.  Below I have listed the big four Social Media platforms and why you should use them.

The Big Four are:

• Facebook
• Twitter
• YouTube
• LinkedIn

I also recommend to my clients there is no need being on 30 social media sites and not spending any time on them.  Pick a couple and work them through.  If you can manage them, you can then add more later if needed.  So what is the difference between Facebook, Twitter, YouTube & LinkedIn? Which one should you be on?

Facebook

My favourite and the original.  Started by a college student as a way to connect with students, Facebook now has over 500 millions users.  50% of these users log on daily for an average of 55 minutes.  Facebook’s style is relaxed, fun and like a party.  Users are of all ages with the majority between 25 – 45.  The largest growing demographic on Facebook is 55 plus.  Some users are business owners whist others are employees, mums and retirees.  Users have the choice of personal profiles, business pages and groups.

Twitter

Twitter is a micro blogging site where users express themselves in 140 characters (similar to an SMS on a mobile phone).  Users can be individuals, businesses and celebrities.  Users follow you to gain access to your Tweets (information you share).  Most of the users with large followings are celebrities.  It’s style is similar to Facebook – fun and relaxed.  Your Facebook and Twitter accounts can be integrated together saving you time.

YouTube

YouTube is a video sharing website where you can upload videos.  When uploading videos you can also add descriptions and tags that are used for search engines to find them.  The best videos are the ones that go viral (spread organically through recommendations).  Theses are fun and interesting videos.  YouTube videos are now coming up on the front page of Google so make sure you add a link to your website in the description.  YouTube has a mix of fun, interesting, professional, corporate and how to videos.  Ideally all businesses can take advantage of videos.

LinkedIn

LinkedIn is know for the professional, business based users.  All users are either business owners, in the corporate world or have corporate clients.  If you think of Facebook as a fun party where LinkedIn is a party where your managing director is present.  So it’s more formal and business based, less personal updates and more business focused.  On Facebook and Twitter people will share what they had for breakfast whilst on LinkedIn they are discussing business challenges and the economic climate.  It’s not my favourite but it really depends on your business and it may be the best platform for you and your business.

If you aren’t sure about which category you should focus on contact us for a Social Media Strategy Session – available in person, over the phone or via Skype.

How to import your blog to your Facebook Fan Page

I am a bit believer in using your Facebook Fan page to increase your chances of higher search engine rankings. One of the easiest way to do this is by importing your blogs posts directly into your Faceboook Fan Page. It also allows more people to see your blog as it appears not only on your Fan Page Wall but also in your Fan’s News Feeds. Here are the step by step instructions on how to import your blog into your Facebook Fan Page.

Once on your Facebook Fan Page
1. Click on “Edit this Page” which is located under the profile picture
2. Go down to the application section and find notes
3. Click on “Edit”
4. This brings up your notes page and on the right panel is “Note Settings”. Select “Import a blog”
5. Enter either your blog URL or your RSS URL ie http://feeds.feedburner.com/Socialmediaforyourbizcom or socialmediaforyourbiz.com
6. Click that you have the authority to do this
7. Select “Start Importing”
8. This brings up your recent posts
9. If this is correct click on “Continue Import” from the top right.
10. Facebook will now check your blog every few hours and import the blogs. They will be shown on your Fans New Feeds and on your Facebook Fan Page Wall.

How to add a discussion board to your Facebook Fan Page

Using Social Media in your business is all about interacting with your clients and getting them involved with you, your business and industry. Adding a discussion board to your Facebook Fan Page is a great way to start the conversation. Here are the step by step instructions on how to add a discussion board to your Facebook Fan Page.

Generally the discussion board is already part of your Facebook Fan Page when you create it, however if it’s not, this is how you add it.

1. Using the search box at the top of Facebook, type in “discussion boards” In this list this should bring up “discussion boards app” Click on this.
2. You will be taken to the Discussion Board Fan Page.
3. Under their profile photo is a link “add to my page”
4. This will bring up a list of your pages.
5. Select which pages you want to add the discussion board on
6. Click on “add to page”
7. Navigate back to your page and the discussion board should be part of your page.

All my pages already have the discussion board, so I couldn’t test this correctly. Please let me know your feedback on if this works for you.

How to Set Up A Facebook Fan Page

I always recommend to business owners that they need to set up a Facebook Fan Page. Here are the step by step instructions on how to setup your own Facebook Fan Page.

1. Go to http://www.facebook.com/pages/create.php
2. You are creating an “Official” page, so select if it’s a business (most people reading this blog), brand or product, public figure.

3. When you select this option, it brings up drop down box. From this box select your type of business. If you can’t find your business type – select professional service.

4. Now give the page a name – generally your business name ie Brilliant Web Design or Social Media For Your Biz
5. You then have select that you have the authority to create a page on behalf of this business.
6. Select the button “Create Official Page”
7. You have now created your Facebook Fan Page
8. You page looks like this:

There will be more postings coming soon on editing your page and making it search engine friendly, but the basics are:

Changing Your Profile Picture
1. Roll the mouse over the question mark – then click on “edit picture”. From here you can upload your new photo

Adding Your Info
1. Click on the Info tab and select “edit information” from the right and input your business details

Description
1. Under your profile picture is a small box with text that said “Write something about Your Page Name” click in this box and write a description. Remember this is one of the first things people look at – make it meaningful.

Post your new Facebook Fan Pages below.

How to Claim Your Unique Facebook URL

Once you have reached 25 fans you are able to claim your own unique Facebook URL.

The URL will be www.facebook.com/theusernameyoudecideon

There are a few things to consider before creating your username.

• Once created if can’t be changed
• Do you want to use your business name or the main keywords user are searching for ie brilliantwebdesign vs goldcoastwebdesign
• Facebook is indexed by search engines quicker than most website and hence your fan page could appear in the search results quicker than your website
• Make sure you follow their terms & conditions to ensure that you can keep your username.

As per Facebook Terms & Conditions
Usernames were created to make it easier for Facebook users to identify their profile and share with others. As a public figure, business or brand with a Page on Facebook, your username should be straightforward and easy to remember. Facebook encourages you to consider the following when creating a username for Pages:

• Create a username that is as close as possible to your public figure or business name (e.g. AshtonKutcher, PizzaHut).
• If you own the rights to a given name, make it your username so that others cannot obtain it.
• Usernames can only contain alphanumeric characters (A-Z, 0-9) or a period (“.”).
• Choose a username you will be happy with for the long term. Usernames are not transferable.
• Your username must adhere to Facebook’s Statement of Rights and Responsibilities.

Ok, so you have decided on your username, now claim it.

Once logged into Facebook
1. Go to www.facebook.com/username
2. Select “Select a Username” for your page
3. This brings up a drop down menu, select the page you want to create the username for.
4. If your page is eligible > 25 fans it will bring up a box
5. Enter your desired username and click on “check availablilty”
6. If it’s available, you will be shown some final terms – if you are happy click “confirm” otherwise select “cancel” to try another one.
7. You can now give out your new Facebook URL – www.facebook.com/username