Is your Facebook fan page supercharged and utilizing its full marketing super powers? Maybe you’ve gotten so bombarded with “social media best practices,” you’ve taken a break from your Facebook efforts altogether. We don’t blame you, (although we don’t encourage that anti “social” media behavior), but your business can’t afford not to use this flourishing marketing platform. So stop your Facebook frenzy, press the pause button on your optimization overload, and tune into our 5 simple ways to optimize, or rather, help people find your Facebook business page and become avid fans.
1. An Optimized Profile Picture
A profile picture is worth a thousand Facebook posts. It is your presence to the Facebook community and your “face” in all posts and interactions with fans. In order to optimize your picture to its full potential, keep it streamline with your company website logo and any other platforms you have online (LinkedIn, Twitter and blog). Your business profile picture can also be the perfect opportunity to capture three important features: business logo, what your business does, and a call to action.
For our /excelamktg profile picture, we include our branded “mktg” logo on top (which we use as our thumbnail), what our business does in the center, and a call to action at the bottom (we encourage fans to “learn more about /excelamktg!”).
Tip: Remember to keep your profile picture aesthetically pleasing to the eye. Avoid packing in too much imagery and/or wording, as it could be distracting and appear spammy. The masterminds at our excela creative department designed our logo.
2. Custom Photo Row
Your photo row consists of 5 pictures that appear under your page name. These photos will randomly change position each time the profile is refreshed, or a picture added. Many businesses leave their row at random, but when you have the capability to get creative, wouldn’t you? By doing so, your photo row can turn into a great way to keep your branding consistent, professional and streamline.
Tip: Choose 5 photos that will make sense no matter what order they appear. For our client Erica Anenberg’s photo row, we highlight various styles of her popular Twosome™ rings:
3. Appropriate Featured Likes
Facebook pages have the option of choosing 5-featured pages that your brand “likes” and essentially, associates with. These pages appear as thumbnails under your “Featured Likes” column. Normally, these thumbnails randomly list in any order, but in your settings you can set these Featured Likes to 5 pages that will always appear. Customizing your Featured Likes is a quick and easy way to showcase what type of business you are, what kind of message you want to emulate and it gives a custom touch to your Facebook page. After all, you are who you associate with, right? Well, your fans will look at you that way.
For our client Face Place, we chose to include celebrities who embody the type of image Face Place desires, and type of audience they like to attract:
4. Vanity URL
Your vanity URL is your virtual nametag. It will determine the success of how search-friendly you are as a business. With over 800 million ACTIVE users (not counting total pages), you need to be specific to rise above the noise. You want to ensure that your Facebook isn’t, “facebook.com/kjhdsfg123424,” but rather, a URL that is search-engine friendly like, “http://www.facebook.com/sunsettower.” To create your vanity URL, simply click on your page’s “Account Setting” in the top right hand corner and enter your desired Facebook “username” in the box provided.
There are truly endless possibilities to customize your business fan page (FBML, apps, etc.), and while these might seem like daunting tasks, they are a necessity in our social world. We are here to elevate your small business and get you on your way to Optimization Om.
What will be the first change you make to your Facebook page? Visit /excelamktg for further customized Facebook ideas, designs and insider tips for optimizing your Social Media.
Be sure to check out our Social Media on a Budget web series. Each week, our panel of experts will take a closer look into the social media hot topic of the week.
Filed under Internet Marketing by on Dec 28th, 2011. 
Feeling rather curious about top influencers on a topic of your choice? Klout has your back as it introduces its Topics beta page today, September 15. As a single number, the Klout score is very useful in ranking overall influence and making a quick judgement. There’s also drawbacks to eye-balling a single number, which Klout intends to conquer with the Topics page. A user is more than than just a 1-100 rating.
The Topics page’s intention is to provide greater context. Klout presents top influencers regardless of their overall score. Pages will analyze topical content, top +K recipients and intends to still add further trends and related content in the near future. Those sneaky enough to opt into the Topic Page perk last month can now access the preview, but if you’re still waiting, Klout is letting more and more people in every day. FYI- they’ve passed on the nugget of wisdom that it really doesn’t hurt to tweet…
Feedback has been positive thus far and Klout thinks this introduction will inspire new users and greater interaction between influencers.
Filed under Internet Marketing by on Sep 15th, 2011.
Facebook pages is the place where a lot of inspiring innovation, marketing and design is happening on the social web.
Major brands are often worth checking out as they can wow you with the the latest in innovation such as Facebook stores, inspiring embedded videos and designs that look like they cost a fortune. If you want to obtain some good ideas it is a good business practice to emulate elements of the most popular Facebook pages in the world such as Lady Gaga or one of the top company Facebook pages StarBucks.
Most companies think they don’t have the budgets and resources to take it to that level.
Some smaller companies who have realised the importance of a Facebook page as an extension of their website and blog are also providing great examples of what can be done on Facebook without big budgets.
Social Media Examiner is running a competition for the best Facebook pages for small business so I thought it would be worth taking a closer look at some of the finalists.
Keep in mind that design is not just how a Facebook page “looks’ it goes much deeper than that it is also how “it works”
10 Top Small Business Facebook Page Designs
1. Arizona Pro DJ’s
Facebook Likes: 10, 128
What’s to Like about this Facebook Page:
1. It looks professional and makes the company look credible and maybe bigger than it is.
2. Provides email sign up tab for capturing those all important email subscribers to add to the database
3. YouTube page with testimonials to capture the excitement in a multimedia format
2. Brasserie Sixty6
Facebook Likes: 4,649
What’s to Like about this Facebook Page:
1. A custom “Welcome” tab that makes the landing page a design that invites rather than turning up to a the wall page
2. A reviews page that displays third party and authentic testimonials
3. Menu is included in a custom tab page so customers don’t have to click away to the website
3. Crafty Mumma’s
Facebook Likes: 13,172
What’s to Like about this Facebook Page:
1. Eye catching design that promotes the brand
2. The Facebook “Showcase Saturday” page makes it easy for Crafty Mumma to showcase clients work. Promoting clients on your Facebook page is a marketing tactic that promotes sharing which is what powers the social web and always works well.
3. A “Promote Your Product” custom tab and page that captures email.
4. Kimberly Castleberry
Facebook Likes: 2,009
What’s to Like about this Facebook Page:
1. There is a custom tab landing page
2. You can buy her eBook on her Facebook site from her “Shop Now” tab
3. Links to her blog and LinkedIn from the menu on the Facebook page
5. Easy LunchBoxes
Facebook Likes: 11,155
What’s to Like about this Facebook Page:
1. Eye catching branded “Welcome!” page
2. Links to “YouTube” , Twitter and the Blog on the landing page as well as the menu
3. Newsletter signup tab for that all important email subscriber acquisition
6. GardenQuest
Facebook Likes: 55,607
What’s to Like about this Facebook Page:
1. Welcome landing tab that provides unique content when the page is “liked”
2.Their Facebook page makes it easy and provides a call to action to share the game with friends
3. Photo page that provides high definition images.
7. HiredMyWay
Facebook Likes: 1,281
What’s to Like about this Facebook Page:
1. Multimedia “Welcome” landing page with great branding and a high definition online video
2. Custom tab with a referral program
3. Link to the the company blog in the menu
8. How to Market Your Horse Business
Facebook Likes: 3,979
What’s to Like about this Facebook Page:
1. Branded Landing page done with a custom tab
2. Sign up for email newsletter on the Facebook page
3. A review page that displays third party independent testimonials
9.Illegal Jack’s South West Grill
Facebook Likes: 2,734
What’s to Like about this Facebook Page:
1. To grab a “special deal” you have to like the page
2. Good branding
3. Includes a “Foursquare” Tab from PlaceWidget
10. Intrepid Travel
Facebook Likes: 78,645
What’s to Like about this Facebook Page:
1. This Facebook page taps into the popularity of games and competitions on Facebook and this has resulted in the highest number of Facebook likes in this list. To enter the competition you have to like the page
2. Holidays and travel is all about the experiences, and photos are the best way to capture that. A photos page is populated with hundreds of high definition images
3. You can search and find tours on the Facebook page without having to leave and go to a website.
These 10 Facebook pages highlight that you don’t have to be a major brand to have a creative facebook page or one that engages with your audience and increases your fan base.
Which one did you like or are there some other small business Facebook pages you would recommend. Look forward to reading your views.
Filed under Internet Marketing by on Aug 25th, 2011.
This is your Monday morning wake up call. Before you attend that all-important meeting or start making those endless phone calls or tweets, do yourself a big favor – update your LinkedIn Company page now. As we all should know by now, LinkedIn is an incredibly valuable networking and marketing resource for businesses. Hopefully you have taken care of your personal brand with a strong, up-to-date LinkedIn profile. What about your company page? Here’s an opportunity to directly attract qualified sales leads from the best known professional social network in the world. Let’s get busy with that.
Getting Started
If you think you don’t have a company page yet, you may be mistaken. When you and your employees sign up for LinkedIn with a common company e-mail address, a company page is created for you. The first person from your company to access your company page is able to start assigning Administrators. Once that happens, only they can update your company page. ***Important*** Make sure that first administrator is someone not likely to leave the company, like an owner. Then, make sure other trusted employees are given administrator access. Why? Because if a single employee is your page administrator, and they subsequently leave the company – you’re stuck unless they voluntarily add new administrators and remove themselves.
Company Page Strategy
Once you’re straightened out company page administration (which is a mess and needs to be straightened out, LinkedIn!), you should create a marketing strategy for your page that is in line with your overall business development strategy. Your objective is to communicate who you are, what you do and why the reader should be interested in your products and/or services. Just like your website, only now you can be pretty sure that your visitors are business professionals, not spammers or SEO companies looking for business.
Company Profile
Complete your profile with all of the pertinent contact information and upload a good quality logo image. Your description is crucial, since this is the first thing people will read about you. Hint: Create an impressive first paragraph, under 297 characters in length, that is essentially your “elevator pitch”. LinkedIn truncates your description and places a “more…” link below that to allow visitors to read more of your description. If you haven’t hooked them before that, there’s little chance they will read more or visit your Products or Services pages. Don’t forget to add a contact person and phone number! While you’re here, make sure you include your company Twitter ID and Blog RSS Feed – those will keep your company page fresh with your latest blog and social media content.
Products and Services
This vital section of your company page is often overlooked. Don’t miss this opportunity to promote your core products and services. Click on the Products and Services tab and include a representative image and a short description for each item. Now you’re making an elevator pitch for individual products or services. Tell your readers what it is, why it’s valuable to them. Address a specific need and how your delivery solves the problem. Next, ask for recommendations. Don’t be shy, ask your best customers to go to your Product or Services page and add a brief recommendation for the ones they’ve purchased. This will go a long way towards convincing new customers, just like customer ratings in Amazon.com.
Promote Your Company
Last but not least, drive qualified leads to your LinkedIn company page. Include a link on your website, blogs, e-mail marketing content, PPC campaigns and LinkedIn ads. I think you’ll find that LinkedIn quickly becomes one of your best sources of qualified business leads and customer conversions.
Filed under Internet Marketing by on Aug 8th, 2011.
As earlier reported, the FTC is said to be planning a broad antitrust investigation into Google’s business practices, and according to the Wall Street Journal, they’re getting ready to serve Google with subpoenas, as well as requests for information from …
Filed under Internet Marketing by on Jun 24th, 2011.
