by jginsberg on December 22, 2010 in Best Practices, FaceBook
FaceBook has enabled you to Filter your News feed, significantly empowering you to select just Status Updates or Links of posts from Pages. This is a pre-emptive strike against the massive influx of poor content from commercial Pages (content from Pages must improve in 2011 or people will filter them out).
We have “Liked” so many Pages over the year, our news feed has become glutted with junk bordering on Spam (yeah, I went there). Simply clicking in the top right of your news feed on Most recent and selecting an option for your filter changes the content in your news feed dramatically.
What else is nice about this? My Lists also show up at the bottom, improving navigation. If you haven’t taken the time to put every one of your friends on appropriate Lists, maybe this motivates you. I have Lists for locations I have lots of friends from, time periods in my life, associations I am in. Rather than simply getting status updates, see the updates from within a grouping of your choice. My Lists vary from the Bay Area to Michigan to Cleveland to NYC, including my high school and fraternity – almost everybody fits on to one of my 7 Lists. Now you are playing with Power.
by jginsberg on December 15, 2010 in Random
I heard today that Phil Wood, the Founder of Ten Speed Press, passed away on Saturday, December 11, 2010 (my birthday). I was privileged to work for the man in 1999 and quickly grew to appreciate his eccentric personality that bordered on craziness. I was too young and immature when I worked at Ten Speed, I didn’t understand how to avoid political suicide. I loved the people I worked with at Ten Speed, including Phil. Why?
Phil was crazy. He was the type of person who was larger than life. From the real estate he owned to the books we published. He embraced the wacky side of life. From his Hawaiian shirts to his little Mazda RX-8 that was way too small for a big man. He loved authors and their creativity, making money always seemed accidental for him – but he was damned good at it. Legend had it that he sold his “Anybody Bike Repair” books out of his bath tub in the 70′s (hello publishing start-up). Rumor also had it that he was a dirty man in more ways than one.
We had lunch at a delicious little restaurant that I can not remember the name of in the”Gourmet Ghetto” of Berkeley. We discussed food, books and his regret for not publishing Manifold Destiny a brilliant cookbook for using your car’s manifold as a cooking surface with cooking times determined by driving mileage. We met someone at lunch and Phil described himself as a real estate investor to the stranger, causally saying he owned a few warehouses in Berkeley. My mouth dropped open in astonishment. How could this creative genius describe his profession as real estate investor? I was sad, maybe even broken-hearted. I loved Ten Speed Press and wanted him to be proud to be the owner and publisher.
The culture had changed by the time I started at Ten Speed Press. Gone where the days when Phil would “Spring” thru the office, have massive boxes of treasures from foreign lands delivered or simply disappear to India randomly to “find himself” in an ashram. There was a fantastic group of kind over educated people working for very little money. But life and health had forced Phil to take a back seat in the publishing business. Most people at Ten Speed had a story of something crazy Phil had done, some way his magic had touched their lives.
For me, it was that lunch. The foolish pride in me insisted on paying for that meal. Part of paying for our lunch was my way of thanking him for enabling me to have my job during the day and chase my artistic dreams at night. I was one of many people that Phil’s passion and creative energy created an opportunity for. As much as he hated computers and would not have understood my current world of social media, Phil would have loved what I am doing. He would have published a book of Twitter Accounts of Celebrities or The Complete Dictionary of FaceBook Status Updates or How to Find a Job using LinkedIn. The light in his eyes was inspiring, the casual conversation was easy. Phil enabled me to believe in me.
Phil Wood was one of the great publishers of our time, pick up an old Ten Speed Cook Book like The MooseWood by Mollie Katzen or a copy of What Color is Your Parachute by Dick Bolles. Then get a copy of The Canabis Cook Book or Psilocybin Mushrooms of the World, love and appreciate that we put out all of those books. In spite of himself, Phil was a great man who published the unpublishable. I choose to remember the man who helped support writers, who inspired me to be better than I was. I will celebrate his life and honor his memory this week by doing something wacky, maybe even in a Hawaiian shirt. RIP Phil Wood.
by jginsberg on December 13, 2010 in Best Practices, FaceBook, LinkedIn
Your second degree network is magical. Pick someone, whether it is a co-worker, friend, partner or spouse – look thru their friends and connections. You will find a few familiar faces and/or names you should be connected to. This is a “best practice” and a “good habit” that you should do monthly. The FaceBook friend finder is a great tool and blows away the LinkedIn tools. That said, nothing beats hunting and pecking – find the gold in your second degree network.
by jginsberg on December 10, 2010 in Best Practices, FaceBook
You have built out a presence on FaceBook, YouTube, Twitter and LinkedIn. Now What? The real dirty work begins. Is there an easy button to click that will build your community? No. Can you communicate with the entire world or your local city tomorrow morning? No. Does that mean you shouldn’t try? NO!!!
Building your community takes time. Start by seeding your content, show people what you will be sharing with them. When they come to your Page on FaceBook or YouTube, show them you are providing useful information they want, not simply advertising to them non-stop. Start inviting your friends and family into your community. These are your ambassadors, you need and want them.
Next, reach out into your second degree network. Tapping into your second degree network is critical to finding the community that really cares about your content. Do this one person at a time. Go thru your first degree network, friends and family – encouraging and enabling them to share your content. Most will not know how, they want to help you – help them – help you. Walk them thru sharing your content or your Page, and show your appreciation.
Developing your community on FaceBook to YouTube takes time, creativity and perseverance. Nike…Just Do It.
by jginsberg on December 1, 2010 in Best Practices, FaceBook
Finally there is a use for those emails you have been collecting for the last decade. Now you can upload them into your Fan Page and send emails directly from FaceBook, inviting people to “Like” your Page.
What is the catch?
- Contact files are limited to 5,000 contacts per file in the following formats Outlook, Constant Contact, .csv etc.
- These contacts must have opted in to receiving emails from you.
What would I like to see?
- The ability to see which of these people are already on FaceBook and only invite them. I see why FaceBook doesn’t find that exciting.
- The ability to send them a “Page Suggestion” easily.
Either way, this is a huge step for FaceBook and our Pages. Get ready for some serious growth.
by jginsberg on November 29, 2010 in Best Practices, FaceBook, LinkedIn
Is your network growth feeling stagnant? Start the month off by checking for new connections on LinkedIn and FaceBook. This is a great habit to implement the first Monday of every month. Let LinkedIn and FaceBook check your email or contacts for new potential connections. Add a few new people and open up the activity in your network. Set yourself a goal for December, “I will add 10 new connections on LinkedIn and FaceBook.” Do It.
by jginsberg on November 22, 2010 in Best Practices, FaceBook
Discussing Events on FaceBook today and how to optimize them for effectiveness and reach, the topic of experimentation came up today. I was reminded of the importance of “Practice.” As with any Social Science, we have to experiment – push the limits, figure out what works, then “practice it.” FaceBook Events are a great example of an extremely viral function on FaceBook. If your Event has not been an effective tool, look at what you are doing and “play” a little. Try using a different approach, focus in on an idea and then try a different idea. When you have some success, try and replicate it – then continue to develop that vein. FaceBook Events can be the most effective way of reaching your audience, the key is Practice, you’ll get better – I promise.
by jginsberg on November 17, 2010 in Best Practices, FaceBook, LinkedIn, Twitter
You’ve just received an invitation to connect on FaceBook, LinkedIn and Twitter – from someone you do not know. What should you do?
1) Research. Click on their profile. If you know them (recognize their picture or have a significant number of mutual friends) on FaceBook or LinkedIn, go ahead and accept them. If you are on their LinkedIn profile, check out their website and Twitter account if it is linked to their profile. This should give you the information you need to make an educated decision. Really we are trying to justify why we should not accept them.
2) Twitter – Follow them back. Give them a chance to be annoying. Don’t waste the time researching them unless you are interested by something.
3) FaceBook – Watch out for the surprisingly good looking girl you do not remember from your high school. She is just cute enough that you really would have remembered her. Click on her profile, notice all of the guy friends and odd wall posts like “where do I know you from?” Do Not Accept her as a friend and do NOT write back to her. Be annoying like I am…report her as Spam.
*Build a strong and vibrant RAINBOW of connections if you want to find that large pot of gold!!!
by jginsberg on November 15, 2010 in Best Practices, FaceBook, Twitter
Now for only $5.99 a month you can upgrade to HootSuite Pro. Now you can pay to update your status on FaceBook and Twitter. Really? Do I sound biased? I am. I have been spammed by HootSuite users whose accounts have been hacked. I find the ow.ly endings kind of annoying. I prefer software like TweetDeck with Bit.ly integration. Do you like HootSuite enough to pay? Or will you start using other services that do the same thing and are free?
by jginsberg on November 15, 2010 in Best Practices, FaceBook
Avoid Double Posting. You know what I mean. You log-in to FaceBook to update the status of your business Page, then immediately go to your personal Page and make the same exact Status Update. It usually isn’t even that interesting and it is just noise. If you are managing a Page, focus on shareable content. If you are being personal, be personal – save the business updates and make them really count. You know who you are, stop double posting!
by jginsberg on November 9, 2010 in Best Practices, FaceBook
Recently I have been working with local Cleveland venue, The Beachland Ballroom. Today we made some significant changes to the type of messaging going out on FaceBook and set into motion a strategy for growing the community on FaceBook organically. More interesting, we launched their first FaceBook “deal.” Check-in upon arriving to The Beachland Ballroom on FaceBook and you will “earn” $1 off the drink of your choice. This is an experiment to see how tech enabled the audience is and reward the audience for social activity. Each time a member of the Audience “checks-in” on FaceBook, they are eligible for the coupon. We limited the deal to being used once every 24 hours thru Sunday night, however we did not limit how many people can check-in.
There are a few other nice “features.” Deals can be made “social,” rewarding friends who are checked in by people and Deals can reward charities. This is a particularly exciting feature when you consider how charities and companies have been working together to “like” pages for contributions. Geo-location is going mainstream very quickly. The future for FaceBook, Places and Check-ins is very exciting, are you engaging your community?
by jginsberg on November 8, 2010 in Best Practices, FaceBook
I was fortunate to speak at Spa Exec with a group of Spa owners in Ft. Lauderdale this week about Social Media and Customer Acquisition. We covered a lot of ground in this mini boot camp focused on developing your community, with an innocent but deceptively important question afterwards. How do I convert people who “Like” my Page on FaceBook into customers?
This is one of the most important questions to every business owner (after what will be the return on my investment for hiring you as our social media consultant). This is not an exact science, it is an ongoing experiment and we are breaking new ground every couple of months. The end sale starts with education. For Spa owners, education is a normal activity that takes place at the front desk every day. Selling products that the clientele may never have heard of requires a surprisingly sophisticated process of education, from training the staff to creating incentive programs to increase the sales.
Why would the conversion to customer be any different? The primary tool for any Spa Page must be education. Spa owners, managers and staff have a wealth of information and are seeing problems every day. If 3 people in a week come in with damaged cuticules, this is a great area to share maintenance and care information about. Use the problems to foster solutions and content for your social media presence. An educated member of your FaceBook Page, will become your best client.
Now that you have educated your FaceBook people, how do you convert them to customers? How do you get them walking into the shop or better yet, making an appointment? This is where you must experiment. It may be posting a special, I tend to think of this as bottom feeding – but it is a great experiment. Demonstrating the information you are sharing with pictures is a soft sell that can be incredibly effective. It is critical to establish the expertise and credibility of your staff. Highlighting the skill set and talents of your staff is the best way to sell their services. Make sure people know you and your staff, it will make it a lot easier for them to pick up the phone and call you. Last but not least, ask. Once a month or every few months make sure you ask in a way that you are comfortable with for their business.
One idea I really like right now is “Ladies’ Night Out.” Take this idea, that is tried and true, and apply it in a new way. Pick off specific women and have them host a “Ladies’ Night” with your Spa on an off night. Give them an easily achievable goal, like 6 women and a fantastic deal to make sure it happens. Getting 4 groups of “Ladies’ Night” women a month thru will expose your Spa to a new audience and create memorable experiences for your clients. When you are successful, you will have repeat business and spin off groups of women coming thru. Take this idea further and partner up with charitable organizations and products to sponsor these nights. Take lots of pictures of these events and share them, document these experiences and communicate with other potential clients how special their “experience” can be.
by jginsberg on November 4, 2010 in Best Practices, LinkedIn
Start by talking to people! Seriously, this is why we get together and learn as a group. The exchange of ideas in a public forum requires conversation. Every conversation is based on the exchange of knowledge/information. Part of this information must be contact information! Yes, you will exchange cards at a conference…the real question is, what do you do with them?
What are cards anyway? Post Modern History? How about the best research tools ever? Take the information and do something with it. You have 24 hours to connect with anybody you meet at a conference. Look them up on LinkedIn, connect to them. Depending on the length of your conversation, make your best call on whether you should personalize your connection request. Whatever you do, take action within 24 hours.
by jginsberg on November 3, 2010 in Best Practices, FaceBook
FaceBook Places opened the door to Check-ins at your business. An easy way to tell your friends where you are. As FaceBook merges Places with Pages, they announce Deals. The ability to communicate with people who have visited your Place is one thing, the ability to offer them a “deal,” when they check-in is a whole different ballgame. This is an incentive to someone who is physically at your location, haven’t we been waiting for this since Minority Report?
We are seeing FaceBook incorporate transactions and real sales into the platform quickly this year. From the gaming credit deals with Zynga and EA to the 10,000 pairs of jeans Gap will give away to people who check-in during their promotion day, real world financial transactions are about to become normal on FaceBook. Ads that you can click on are great for FaceBook and your community building efforts. Deals that people can take advantage of as they check-in to a location will drive directed sales.
Six months from now, you will be able to get a special appetizer at your favorite restaurant or a drink promotion or a coupon. You will be “rewarded” for sharing your location with your friends. Businesses will be able to direct specials better than they can when their employees promote the special. Meaning, the chicken is the special, but did the waiter really “sell” the special or just brush past it? FaceBook Deals is going to be a huge feature accelerating commerce on FaceBook. Are you ready for the largest store in the world to open? Did you know you are already an “exclusive member?”
by jginsberg on November 2, 2010 in FaceBook
Reading on CNN that both Zynga and Electronic Arts have signed 5 year deals to use FaceBook Credits as their payment system, it strikes me as funny that the terms are strangely similar to the 70-30 split that Apple has established with their Application Developers. This may be the new standard for sharing of revenue!
What does this really mean? FaceBook Gaming is here to stay, Farmers start your tractors! That’s right, Farmville is going to be here as we grow from 500 million FaceBook members to 1 billion FaceBook members. Beyond that, social gaming may establish a pattern of paying for activity on FaceBook. Meaning, it may not be strange to buy real items on FaceBook if you are buying virtual items. Social purchasing has been a struggle for FaceBook 9remember the ill fated Beacon advertising system).
If you are selling something, be clear on this, the day when people will buy your products directly on FaceBook just got a whole lot closer and you have social gaming to thank for it.
by jginsberg on October 27, 2010 in Best Practices, FaceBook
FaceBook rolled out some new backend functionality to Pages this week. It is now easier to get into some of the features and even limit your Page from certain countries and set a minimum age if you want to keep the kids off of your Page (really, would you keep the kids off of your Page?). If you manage a Page, click on Edit under the logo on your Page and check out some of the new features. Really, everything has just been streamlined for you – but I am checking out the functionality to see if there are any new features that are truly valuable.
If you are an Admin on a Page, you need to start checking your wall more frequently. Besides looking for conversation, you must delete the Spam. I take an extra minute and report the Spam, but I am annoying that way. There is some borderline Spam, that you may decide to leave up. Like when someone you know posts something promoting something unrelated to your Page and does not acknowledge what you are using your Page for. This is one you have to think about and make a judgment call. Anything that is promoting Acai or anything else that looks suspicious, DELETE it! As a Page Admin, you are responsible for keeping your wall clean!
by jginsberg on October 26, 2010 in Best Practices, FaceBook
As we evolve in how we use FaceBook, more and more people are using FaceBook to announce to groups of people events and news in their lives. The core question I am thinking about is “when is it inappropriate to inform people of truly important news via FaceBook?” Think, engagement, baby, party or even divorce/split-up. Do you have to call some people so they will not be offended they were informed along with “the whole world?” Good friends of mine are dealing with a fractured family situation over FaceBook only invites to their child’s birthday. Wait a minute, can’t they invite people to their kid’s party any way they want to? There is no right or wrong in this area, but it is a touchy area that can cause a family to divide and friends to be unfriendly. Be conscious.
I constantly remind myself that not everybody uses FaceBook as much as I do, be sensitive to the idea that some status updates many if not all of your FaceBook Nation will miss. Do you have to call Mom and tell her the big news, or will she be o.k. with finding out on FaceBook? Kids will have less issue with this than the Gen Xers. What is important is that we think about how we share our lives today and appreciate how easy it is to participate in the community – all while remembering who our intended audience is and how they engage with FaceBook.
Why am I thinking about this? Because I am growing a tiny start-up called Cleveland Groove focused on media creation (content is KING again) and I realized that most people outside of my FaceBook Nation do not know what we are doing. How do I tell the “rest of my people” about my new “baby?” Will my family members who do not tune into FaceBook daily know what I am doing or will they be offended I did not reach out privately? Yeah, I want you to know I am also blogging on Cleveland Groove now, but more importantly, I want you to think before you use FaceBook exclusively to share important information. Don’t just carry that mobile phone around in your pocket, look thru your numbers and call the usual suspects. FaceBook is here to stay, but so is the phone, email and of course meeting up in person to share important news. Share. More. Often.
by jginsberg on October 22, 2010 in Best Practices, LinkedIn
Looking at my network statistics on LinkedIn, I can’t help but think that 80 million profiles on LinkedIn is amazing! It was only August of 2009 that LinkedIn hit 40 million profiles. While this pales in comparison to the growth on FaceBook (over 500 million),many of these profiles are open – public profiles. LinkedIn is investing the resources in improving the quality of the experience, particularly the mobile tools (check out the iPhone App – it rocks).
What is really important to remember, is that your search and the quality of your experience is limited by the size of your network. Grow your network and the quality of LinkedIn as a research tool grows exponentially (second and 3rd degree growth). Do you have a strategy for how you are using LinkedIn?
by jginsberg on October 15, 2010 in Best Practices, Video
Are you paying attention to how you can use your Social Presence to improve your SEO (Search Engine Optimization)? As Google expands efforts to index the social world, your presence will directly impact what people find when they search your name or for your products or services. By controlling your presence and sharing your content socially, you will rise in Google search. Social Search Engine Optimization is what I think we will all be focusing on in 2011.
Recently, I have been looking at a lot of YouTube Channels. This is an easy area to improve your standings in search. First, you can impact how you show up in search on YouTube by optimizing your channel. This means filling in the details you can in your profile, keywords for your channel as well as a Title for your channel. Each video you add is an opportunity to improve your searchability. Take the time to include location, date, a detailed description, links in that description, a relevant title and of course keywords. Is this worth your time? Only if you want to show up on search in YouTube and improve your standings in Google search. Social SEO, the next frontier.
by jginsberg on October 13, 2010 in Best Practices, FaceBook, LinkedIn, Twitter
As you build out your social presence, look around at your “printed collateral.” Have you included links to your social presence? Start with your business cards, have you included your LinkedIn address? This is the easiest low hanging fruit. Make it easy for people to find you.
Do you have your website on your business card? Your FaceBook address may be far more valuable today than your website will be tomorrow. Are you printing a mug, travel cup or other corporate shwag? Think about how you can include links to your social presence. This is the easiest way for you to dynamically promote your community and grow your presence. Do you mail products to people? Can you put stickers with your social address on the box or packaging? Think Outside the Box, Think Social.
by jginsberg on October 11, 2010 in Best Practices, FaceBook, Twitter
Looking at a series of websites, I realized that many people are missing out on integrating social media into their website. This is what I consider a mandatory integration. Here are some choices, based on your risk tolerance.
1) Simple static link.
2) Integrated code – show people what you are talking about on FaceBook or Twitter.
3) Posting code – Let people do a status update directly from your site, sharing a link from your site with their network.
All 3 are easy to integrate in to your corporate website. Twitter and FaceBook provide the code for you, all you have to do is copy and paste it into your site. Or have your programmer do it. Why miss out on enabling your web traffic to become a part of your community?
by jginsberg on October 5, 2010 in Best Practices, LinkedIn, Twitter
That is kind of amazing news. 165 million accounts. Yeah, the redesign is interesting. I am sure some people hate it and others love it. Personally, I kind of miss the minimalism of the old site. That said, most people use software to access or tweet anyway. I am grateful to have a real number to think about with Twitter. 165 million. That is a fantastic size community, more than twice as large as LinkedIn which has 75 million accounts (look under your network statistics).
The real question is, how do you participate in a community of 165 million people? Are you connecting with strangers, friends, people in your local area or people/businesses that share you passions and interests. If you are not connecting with any of the above, what are you missing out on? Get involved, dive into this community. It is not FaceBook or LinkedIn or YouTube. It is Twitter and it is here to stay.
by jginsberg on October 1, 2010 in Best Practices, LinkedIn
As more and more people work remotely or out of a home office, it is critical to stay social. Isolating yourself in an office can be destructive to your mind as well as your business. What about if you work in an office large or small? Should you eat lunch by your self and hide behind a closed door? No! Visit the water cooler. Get coffee with someone. Whatever you do, get out and see people.
by jginsberg on September 30, 2010 in Best Practices, FaceBook
FaceBook Check-ins are here and about to explode. If you work at/own the location, you can claim the site. Why do you care? First because everytime somebody checks-in at your business, you are getting a FREE advertisement to their network. Second, if you claim your location you can message the people who have checked-in at your location. Think about the power of this. Message them on FaceBook and encourage them to come to specific events using incentives. Maybe simply let them know you are listening and appreciate their business? Maybe have a check-in event where you invite them early for a special bonus and people see where their friends are as they get ready to go out?
FaceBook Check-ins are the biggest thing to happen in social media this year. Have you claimed your site?
by jginsberg on September 17, 2010 in Best Practices, FaceBook, LinkedIn
Last week I spoke with the Spa community in Chicago as a guest of Spa Exec and Questex. There was a fantastic panel discussion hosted by Lenny Lacour with Pete Hillman, Tracie Wertz and Rick Duarte – leaders in the mid-west spa community on customer acquisition and retention. Listening to Rick Duarte, the Executive Director of Sundara Spa, talk about how he is managing his advertising now that his budget has been reduced by almost 70%, I shuttered as I heard him utter these words “Print is Dead.”
Rick is not the first person to say they have cut their marketing budget over the last 2 years. But this conclusion came after shedding his print budget, working on smarter marketing deals and having positive revenue growth in a challenging environment. Doing more with less is possible if you are creative and willing (or forced) to take some risks.
What I realized, is it is not the cost of print or even the lack of effectiveness of print. It is the distraction of print that really kills a campaign. I hear a lot about integrating traditional media advertising and social media, I am not a believer. The effort that Rick was spending on managing print advertising had reduced his time, focus and energy for more creative and innovative advertising opportunities. The potential with social media is less time spent on advertising, more time invested in developing and managing relationships.
This reminds me of an area we all need to think about. “What tools are you putting in your utility belt Batman?” Pick your networks and platforms carefully and dedicate an appropriate amount of time to finding success. Don’t let print advertising kill your potential in social marketing. Start with LinkedIn and build out your profile, then your network. Take a deep breath and dive into FaceBook. There is a brave new world out there and Social Media is King.
Kimberly Rhoten of Spa Exec took this photo of the speakers at Spa Exec Chicago 2010. From Left to Right is Jamie Ginsberg (me), Lenny Lacour (LH Connects), Tracie Wertz (Universal Companies) Pete Hillman (Sir Spa), Rick Duarte (Sundara Spa).
by jginsberg on September 10, 2010 in Best Practices, FaceBook
Listening to Tracie Wertz of Universal Companies, talk about preparing for gift certificate campaigns for the holidays and the art of getting gift certificates used early in the year turned on a light bulb for me. The concept of getting that holiday gift certificate used as soon as possible, like January. Why is this important?
Tracie mentioned the dual purpose of getting the liability off the books and making a slow month busy. Very true and practical. I see the opportunity as having 11 months to bring that client back in for more business, or even to get referrals from that client that can come in over the rest of the year. If the client doesn’t come in to claim their gift certificate until June, you lose half a year of potential repeat business and new business.
So what is the secret? Tracie thru us a bone with a simple incentive of “redeem by January 31 and get xyz bonus.” I also like the idea of bring a friend with you and your friend will save 20%. What is truly important is that you are planning now to make these gift certificate deals effective as a promotion. Integrate your social media addresses into the gift certificates and create added bonuses for engaging with your FaceBook page right there on the spot when they are buying that gift certificate. This is a great opportunity to take advantage of FaceBook Places, have them Check-in and get an extra 5% bonus. 2011 is almost here, are you ready?
by jginsberg on September 9, 2010 in Best Practices, FaceBook, LinkedIn
It is impossible to know who all the right people are. Drop every notion you have as to who a “star” is or who is a “great” connection. This is especially true when you are at a conference or event. When you are open to connecting with people and dedicating your time to each individual you are engaged in conversation with, you will be “Meeting All The Right People.”
by jginsberg on September 7, 2010 in FaceBook
Looking for statistics, I remembered that FaceBook said in January of 2010 that users are uploading 2.5 billion photos per month (with about 15 Billion already on the site). Do you realize that means we have probably uploaded 21 Billion photos this year? Even crazier, is that we only had about 375 million people on FaceBook, since then we have grown to more than 500 million people. By my calculations that means FaceBook has at least 36 Billion photos!!! Is your business adding their fair share of photos?
by jginsberg on August 28, 2010 in Best Practices, FaceBook
FaceBook Places is going to change the “face” of FaceBook in an amazing way. Looking out 6-12 months, we are going to have an amazing database of information. You will be able to ask your friends who have check-in at Places what they think of it. Imagine if Reviews on Fan Pages are Tied in with Places and the Fan Pages? This is going to be huge!!!
Until then, this is what you need to know as a business owner directly from FaceBook.
If you are the official representative of your business, please take the following verification steps to claim the Place on Facebook:
1) Search for the Place on Facebook you wish to claim as your business. If no Place exists for your business, you can create a new Place.
2) Once you locate the Place for your business, click the “Is this your business?” link at the bottom of the Place.
Complete the step-by-step verification process to claim your Place.
3) Please keep in mind that only official representatives of a business can claim the Place on Facebook.
Why Claim you Place?
By claiming your Place you can manage your Place’s address, contact information, business hours, profile picture, admins and other settings.
*As you can imagine, FaceBook is also enabling you to promote your Place, hello FaceBook advertising opportunity. If you don’t want to pay for advertising, see my tip below for getting even more valuable engagement.
What else?
Do something very basic, like put up a sign asking people to check-in. This is the best word of mouth advertising you can get. Get more aggressive and ask them to tag you (must be friends) or better yet Tag their friends!
*Think about your business and how you can use Places. Get Creative. Use this as an opportunity to connect with your customers.
by jginsberg on August 23, 2010 in Best Practices, FaceBook
As companies still struggle with what to do with FaceBook and how to integrate their employees into their campaign, along comes PLACES, a blessing in disguise for every business in the world. Why? Instead of struggling to get them to suggest your fan page to their friends, now you can have them “check-in” notifying their friends where they are currently located. For most of us, this will be a company of some sort most weekdays.
1) Easiest way for your employees to promote your company, “check-in” when they get to work everyday.
2) For business to business – Your contacts should be in your FaceBook friends list, if they are not your competition will surely be making friends with them and building stronger relationships thru normal social interaction. If you are connected to your business contacts, there is an easy way to stay in front of your network, “check-in” and your network will see a gentle reminder of where you work.
3) Every coffee shop and restaurant in America should be offering 10 cents off a cup of coffee, free cookies or a drink when you “check-in” on FaceBook.Think about the value of this advertising, trusted agents communicating to their friends where they are drinking or eating, with a map attached, Wow! Put up a sign today at your cash register or real world “check-in” station. Holy Powerful Batman!
Why is this the death of Four Square and Gowalla? Because those games were not really a big enough incentive to get the masses checking in some place. With 500 million users and millions of mobile users on the iPhone, FaceBook “check-in” will be easy to adopt and use. The potential for linking to Fan Pages is almost scary. Get ready world, FaceBook is having a banner year and the world just got smaller and a lot more interesting.
by jginsberg on August 18, 2010 in Best Practices, FaceBook
Of course Facebook wants us to use Geolocation. I’ve got some safety concerns and will be thinking about the greater opportunities afforded by this new and immensely important area of socialization. Check out the TechCrunch article for some great information.
by jginsberg on August 12, 2010 in Best Practices, FaceBook, LinkedIn, Twitter
This piece was done with Alex Sukhoy of Creative Cadence in mind. I’d also like to credit Susie Sharp who connects people on a weekly/daily basis and actively promotes opportunities in the greater Cleveland area. You don’t have to be actively searching for a job to use these tips to grow revenue at your current company. I could have called this, “things you know if you have read every one of my posts on this blog.”
1) Complete your LinkedIn profile.
This should be a 1 hour work session. Fill in the details, make sure your personality and experience shine. This is your “living resume,” make sure you are well represented from your professional experience to your education to your interests. The more information you share in your profile, the easier it will be for people to connect with you. You must have a decent head shot that shows your eyes, an easy to share link to your profile (that should be included on your resume and in the signature line of your email), and your specialties included as keywords. Never ask for a recommendation on LinkedIn, give them weekly until you run out of people to write them for. Giving recommendations on LinkedIn promotes your profile keeping you in front of your network and builds social capital. Write a recommendation for everyone that has worked for you, that you have worked for, that you know professionally or personally. Keep them short, simple and honest, remembering these recommendations build your credibility and communicate how well you write to the reader.
2) Lock down your FaceBook profile.
Yes, your potential employers can look you up on FaceBook and see all of the posts in your newsfeed, if you let them. My rules for FaceBook privacy settings are very simple. Everything should be set to “friends only,” except for Search and Messaging which should be set to “Everybody;” and “Pictures and Videos,” which I encourage you to set to “Friends of Friends.” When you lock down your privacy settings under Account, you do not have to worry about potential employers or school admission teams looking thru your profile. That said, CLEAN IT UP. If you are not comfortable with your mother seeing what is on your FaceBook profile, it should be deleted. You are responsible for what you post and the pictures you are in. If someone posts inappropriate pictures of you, untag yourself and politely ask them to remove the picture. Yes, you must put in your education and employment history on FaceBook. Although FaceBook is your “social network,” it may be your most valuable (especially since it has 500 million users and is growing faster than ever before). Give your friends the chance to know you professionally as well as personally.
3) Tell your network what opportunity you are looking for.
People have to know how they can help you. The worst thing that can happen is people will not respond or they will say no. You must get comfortable telling people what you are looking for and asking them for help with specific goals. Asking to be introduced to specific people or even types of companies is the best way to empower people to help you. You can use the status updates in LinkedIn, FaceBook and Twitter as well as direct email followed by a phone call.
4) Do your research.
Look up companies you are interested in on Google, LinkedIn, FaceBook, Twitter. Do the same thing with people you are meeting or interviewing with. If you are doing your research you will find connections, common ground and areas of focus. How you use this information will play a role in your success. What kind of information will be useful to you? Anything form a shared interest, to a mutual friend, to the alma mater of your potential employer to recent news about the company. You have access to an unlimited power, knowledge. Use it!
5) Expand your connections.
I call this the Rainbow Theory. The connections in your Network make up the rainbow of your life. Each of them is a unique color representing some aspect of you and your relationship. We want a large beautiful rainbow (friends and connections), why? Because at the end of that rainbow is a pot of gold, only you can limit how big that pot of gold is. Expand your connections, friendships and relationships and you increase the potential of that pot of gold. How do you find that pot of gold? See #6.
6) Meet up in public as often as possible.
Social networking is not a competition to see who has the most “friends” or “contacts.” It is the opportunity to get to know people better. You must dig thru your contacts and set up meetings every single week. When you travel, find people in your network and get meetings, breakfast, coffee or drinks with them. Your next opportunity may live in another city yet have a great connection for you. By meeting in public places you will see other people you know, this is not an accident. Follow-up with these people and participate in your community. Remember to stay actively engaged in the process of helping other people with opportunities they are looking for.
7) Be more generous.
Share your skills and time liberally. Volunteer. You can do more good for your reputation and search for opportunity by giving your time and the most valuable skills you have, until you are “running on empty.” People will see the value you bring to the table, you will meet new people in real working situations and you will have positive situations to talk about with potential employers and clients as you look for your next opportunity. You are the most valuable asset you have, the more you share your skills and talent the more valuable of an asset you become to society. Increase your value, be more generous.
by jginsberg on August 12, 2010 in Best Practices, FaceBook, LinkedIn, Twitter
This piece was done with Alex Sukhoy of Creative Cadence in mind.
1) Don’t stalk.
It is ok to connect with people after you meet them and even engage with “randoms” as long as the interaction is real. Your communication must be authentic or you will do more damage than good to this developing relationship. It is great to connect with people you don’t know on these networks and get to know them better. As a rule of thumb keep the “fat” in your network limited to 10%. If you are going to connect to “randoms,” tell them why you want to connect with them. Give them a reason to accept your connection, then give time to let the relationship develop normally.
2) Don’t be negative.
Social networks are overwhelmingly positive. Note the “like” button, ever wonder why there is not a “dislike” button? Add your voice to the conversation if you have something to share, if it is negative, save the thought for a few hours and re-evaluate whether you should share it. It is too easy to gripe, avoid being a “Debbie Downer.” If it really is negative and you have to go there, create a conversation and enable people to discuss the situation. Don’t talk badly about any place you have ever worked or a current or former boss. Posting on any social network may be taken out of context and/or become part of the “permanent record.” Your next employer may be one of your “friends” on FaceBook or even a “follower” on Twitter. Make the glass half full.
3) Don’t “cross the streams.”
Keep your voice authentic on each network independently. FaceBookers do not get Twitter or post with #hashtags or in #140 #characters. You must keep your voice appropriate for each network. Yes, FaceBook can send out Tweets and your LinkedIn Status can be a Tweeted simultaneously. No, your Tweet that you are at the Bar at 1:30 am should not update your LinkedIn status. These networks can work together efficiently, make sure you understand your settings and whatever you do – “don’t cross the streams.”
4) Don’t post your business on your friend’s wall.
Keep your business private. Business is happening via email, chat, instant message and the phone. You can offend someone pretty easily by attempting to use their wall or post as an advertising ground. If you do promote your self in someone’s post or content, try and keep it light-hearted and always be fully transparent (don’t promote yourself as a source without declaring you are the source).
5) Don’t “set it and forget it.”
Your social networks take time and nurturing. A good rule of thumb is you should spend at least 15 minutes a week on each network you are on. You may need to spend 15 minutes a day or have the time to spend 3 hours a day. You will get out of it what you put in to it. If you don’t put in the time, don’t expect to harvest the rewards.
6) Don’t be somebody else.
Be yourself, it is that simple. If you try and be somebody you are not, it will be awkward and weird. Finding your true voice on these social networks is different for everybody. Start slowly, test the waters. Get comfortable with sharing and post regularly. The more you post the easier it will get. If you don’t have anything good to say, allow yourself to “like” someone’s picture or link and move on to something else.
7) Don’t avoid social networking.
Even if you don’t go to the party, the party is still happening. You are the only limitation in your life. By participating in these networks you control your profile, improve your ability to show up in search on Google and create business opportunities. By nature we are social animals, by nurture we can be effective communicators. Come to the party, we are all waiting for you.
by jginsberg on August 11, 2010 in Best Practices, FaceBook
Check up on your FaceBook Fan Page (ok, you should be doing this daily anyway). FaceBook has limited the size of custom fan pages to 520 pixels wide. The odds are pretty decent you need to get in there and clean up that page. They also removed the custom HTML boxes from the left hand side. What does all of this mean? FaceBook will look a little more uniform, time to start thinking about how to break out of the box!
by jginsberg on August 9, 2010 in Best Practices, FaceBook, Twitter
If your company is blocking employees from accessing FaceBook or Twitter or YouTube, then your company is missing the boat. How do you remedy this situation? Start with a social media policy that will help your company grow revenue, set parameters for what behavior is appropriate and build morale. There is a link in the navigation to a sample social media policy that will get you started.
Looking out into 2011, the corporate market is going to change from a “prevent defense” to an “option offense.” Think about your employees as players on your team. Ask yourself, “Does my company empower team players to be successful or are we limiting our own potential for growth?” If your employees are not engaged with your social media presence, then start asking questions now, so you are prepared for success in 2011.
Build More Bridges.
by jginsberg on August 4, 2010 in Best Practices, LinkedIn
A common question I get is, “how much time am I going to have to spend on this social media stuff?” I usually suggest a minimum of 15 minutes per week, per network. There is an upfront investment of 2 hours per network to learn how to use the various websites. The real question people should ask me is, “how much time can I invest before I start to see diminishing returns?” This is about an hour per day per network. The truth hurts.
This summer I got to spend a few days in the Sierra Nevadas with my family, including a brief visit to Yosemite. As I looked out at Half Dome, waterfalls and the expansive mountains, I thought about how long it took to make all of this (see picture below). We spent almost 5 hours driving, just to see this view (nothing compared to how long it took Ansel Adams to get to see this view). If you want to build mountains in your business, you are going to have to commit the time, energy and brain power to getting these networks to work for you. The amount of time you commit to your efforts will directly correlate with your success.
The real question I have for you is, “how successful do you want to be?” If you can answer that question, I can tell you how much time you need to invest in your social and professional networking.
by jginsberg on July 21, 2010 in Best Practices, FaceBook
I was reading about FaceBook cresting the 500 million user mark today thinking, WOW! What does this mean to us? You probably have new/old friends.
1) Use the Friend Finder tool (bottom right of your home page). This tool is surprisingly good at finding people you know.
2) Once a month check your email and see if you have any new potential friends, maybe in the last few months you know some people out of the extra 100 million that have joined?
3) Never Stop Phishing! You can always look thru your friend’s friends and find people you know. Check their pictures for mutual friends who have been tagged!
***What is the single best activity you can do to find people you know?
POST OLD PICTURES!!! Tag your friends in them and make sure friends of friends can view them!
Whatever you do, enjoy the ride. FaceBook is growing and the fun has only just begun.
by jginsberg on July 20, 2010 in Best Practices, LinkedIn
I try and export my LinkedIn contacts at least once a year. Why? Because I want to stay in touch with all of you and every now and then I get paranoid that LinkedIn will delete me and we will be disconnected forever.
Exporting your LinkedIn contacts
- Sign in to Linked In.
- Click on Contacts and scroll down to the bottom – on the right side next to “Sent Invitations” (you can delete these!) is the “Export Connections” button.
- You can also navigate here by clicking on http://www.linkedin.com/addressBookExport
- Leave the default format of “Outlook CSV;” or select whatever format fits your need.
- Type the CAPTCHA word, then click “Export.” Good luck, I always have to type this 3 times.
Save the file to your downloads folder or your desktop for ease of access.
What can you do with this file? The first thing I do is email it to myself so I have at least one back-up not on my computer. You can also edit this file and import it into other social programs or even your rolodex. Get smart, export and back up your LinkedIn contacts easily.
by jginsberg on July 17, 2010 in Best Practices, LinkedIn
LinkedIn and Twitter have a great marriage going on. You should have your Twitter account integrated into your LinkedIn profile. If your company employees are anti-Twitter, then integrate the company Twitter account into the employees profile (think about the power of this).
Ok, now that you have Twitter integrated in, what should you avoid? Set your Twitter account to only post to LinkedIn if you have #in the Tweet. Why? Because if you or your company Tweet frequently you create too much noise on LinkedIn. The value of your status updates goes down. I start to ignore your status updates because they are not really relevant. You must have your Twitter account included in your LinkedIn profile, make the tool work effectively for you!
by jginsberg on July 14, 2010 in Best Practices, FaceBook, LinkedIn, Twitter
Recently I asked some friends on FaceBook for “requests,” something all DJs hate. The topic of Time Management was suggested by one of my peers, Heidi Cool. Heidi is a great Cleveland resource for website and blog design and implementation, who also leads our local blogging meet up – the Lake Erie Moose. I get asked regularly, “How much time is this going to take?” The simple answer is as much time as you can afford. The obnoxious answer is, “depends on how much you want to increase your revenue.” The true answer is 15 minutes per week per network.
That is a lie. It generally takes about 2 hours to get your profile set-up and learn how to use the network. Once you are set-up you generally need to dedicate another 2 hours to expanding your presence on that network. Now you can start using your time efficiently. Some networks need to be checked daily. For example, I log into LinkedIn every day, but only spend a few minutes checking my newsfeed, looking for long lost connections/friends and replying to emails. Once a week you should spend 5 minutes writing a recommendation. If you want to dive into Questions and Answers, prepare to dedicate 15 minutes per question. I generally don’t advise newbies to invest their time in Questions and Answers. Why? Because they are a great way to establish your knowledge base and credibility, but they take an enormous time commitment most people are not willing to give. The ROI is 8-12 months on answering questions. I’d rather see you writing recommendations on a weekly basis. End conclusion, use your time wisely on LinkedIn and you can do very well with 15 minutes per week.
FaceBook. 15 minutes. Yeah right. FaceBook is way too engaging to limit yourself to 15 minutes. But, if you are maintaining a Fan Page then 15 minutes may be perfect. Check the Wall every day and delete any junk posts as well as respond to posts. Once a week make a post (aim for between 2-5 pm EST) and once a week add some pictures. 15 well spent minutes every week on FaceBook.
Twitter. Oy Vey. The first couple of weeks take hours. You should be making posts, Re-Tweeting and finding niche people to follow, adding the ones who follow you back to Lists. Once you get thru the ramp up period, you can settle back into a 15 minute per week routine. Check your List, Re-Tweet someone who has posted something valuable, Tweet, Follow back your new Followers and Follow a few new people. Week in and week out this is the perfect 15 minute routine.
Blogging. Good luck. The 15 minute rule doesn’t apply here. Good blog posts can take hours, sometimes minutes. You determine the frequency, quality and quantity. Be considerate of your readers and avoid doing what I have done here, share excessively.Sometimes a picture is a brilliant Blog Post and it takes just a few seconds to post. Be that bold.
Niche networks. I participate in a variety of niche networks based on my interests and I encourage you to do the same. You will find the conversation more stimulating and the content more engaging, because you are following your passion. How much time do these networks deserve? The real anser is how much time can you afford. Every network we participate in can take hours of each day. Since you control the flow of information you must prioritize based on work/passion balance. All answers are correct here, but I encourage you to keep the 15 minute rule in mind. Limit the number of networks you participate in to the ones you can afford to commit time to.
Real world networking events. This is a tough one. Meet everybody, but invest your time wisely in getting to know new people. You are the best judge of who you want to meet. When you meet interesting people, take the time to get to know them. It may be the only time you ever get to talk in person. If you are at an event and see someone from your network that you have not met before, introduce yourself and remind them how you know them. A few weeks ago I was at a concert and saw a guy I had connected with on faceBook, but never met in person. I shed that uncomfortable feeling and introduced myself. If I didn’t, I would have felt obligated to delete him from my friend list (basic rule – only stay friends with people you would say hi to if you saw them in a random situation – like the supermarket or a show). Whatever you do, know when to say when and move on from a conversation and meet someone else. Use your time effectively!
In conclusion, the 15 minute rule can apply per day or per week on each network. Explore the networks beyond FaceBook and participate in communities based on your passion/hobby. Share you knowledge, your life and your media; but, respect your time and use your time effectively when networking in the real world and online.
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