What Not to Do On Facebook

Anyone watching “Kitchen Nightmares” starring Gordon Ramsey a few weeks ago in the episode featuring Amy and Samy Bouzaglo of Amy’s Baking Company in Scottsdale, Ariz. must still be shaking their heads in amazement at the social media fiasco that has ensued. It seems the owners didn’t think much of the recommendations offered by the often outspoken Ramsey, then took to their Facebook page to begin an all-out flame war with their critics, huge numbers of Reddit commenters that descended upon their page, and at last count have left some 45,000 comments. This developed into a classic lesson in how NOT to do social media. The always stubborn owner Amy, joined in by her husband, opened fire in an epic flaming match with the commenters, including salty language in all caps, to boot. There is no doubt they’ll be dealing whith this for a while, as the vast majority of the comments were, how should we say, less than complimentary. This was an epic social media train wreck if there has ever been one.

What not to do on Facebook

In a sober celebration of this meltdown, we thought it might be a good idea to talk about some the fundamentals concerning how you should comport oneself on a social media site like Facebook.

• Always address complaints, but in a civil manner.
• NEVER get into a flaming match with a poster. YOU WILL LOSE!
• Correct whatever is wrong or misstated, but be sure you keep your end about you. No confrontations!
• Keep a sense of humor whenever possible. Nothing feeds controversy like hurt feelings replied to negatively.
• Be professional, generous, and watch controversy die on the vine.
• Never be vulgar or confrontational. Calling people names, (deserved or otherwise) is a sure recipe for escalation.
• Don’t share a lot of your personal information, but do let your personality shine through!

While Amy’s Baking Company is far from the first to actively engage their fans in entirely the wrong way, (see Nestle) it apparently wasn’t their first rodeo. They got in it with a Yelp reviewer in 2010, and the negative comments are still coming in!

Google Hangouts – The Best Free Webinar Tool Out There!

Google is fast becoming somewhat notorious for launching new programs and then casting them aside whenever the mood changes. Witness Google Wave, Google Buzz and now Google Reader. (I’m still ticked about that one!) Despite many predictions of a similar fate for Google , Google Hangouts, their latest wonder-app, might just save the collective Google bacon.

Google Hangouts – So what is it exactly?

A super easy tool for teleconferencing that could replace or augment your existing webinar or online seminar solutions. Connected to your Google account, a hangout is a snap to launch, and it has several attractive features for marketers. You and up to ten other participants, along with any number of other viewers can see your hangout live. It can be broadcast from your Google page, YouTube channel, or a page on your site. Google records the Hangout, and then a few minutes after you’re done, delivers a YouTube URL to you, which you could then use in many ways.

How to utilize Google Hangouts in your marketing

Here are 10 great ways to use Google Hangouts in your marketing.

• Webinars – Tired of expensive GoToWebinar fees? Now you have a free alternative!
• Conferences – Easy to setup teleconferencing makes a Hangout a no-brainer for sharing a conference experience.
• Meetings – Hold virtual meetings in an informal, yet immediate venue.
• Product Launches – Create a buzz to help your product launch gain attention.
• Interviews – Interviewing people made easy with Hangouts! Recorded, and transcribed.
• Product Demos – Show off your products in a Hangout.
• Virtual Press Conference – Share newsworthy items via Hangouts.
• Live Streaming Events – Many marketers are now using Google Hangouts as their own live TV station, broadcasting weekly shows.
• Q & A with Customers – Build relationships with your customers live and answer their questions and concerns.
• Podcast from your Hangout – Making a Podcast to share through iTunes is extremely easy to accomplish.

If you’re not using Google Hangouts as an element in your marketing mix, you’re definitely missing out on a great opportunity to engage with your audience in a more intimate, immediate way.

What are #Hashtags and How to Use Them

Know exactly what a #Hashtag is? If you’re not a social media expert, and particularly Twitter, you might not have a clue what a #hashtag is. No need for that being the case any longer. A hashtag is a # paired with a word or phrase to perform a number of functions. Twitter users add hashtags to tweets as search conventions, a method of categorizing, and marketing tactics. #Hashtags can also be used in other social media platforms.

#Hashtags guidelines

Be certain to do your basic research and see if the keyword you’d like to use is not being currently employed elsewhere. This is as simple as doing a little research (a search on Search.Twitter.com) to ascertain whether or not that #Hashtag would be a good idea. Also, don’t try to make hay with deceptive #hashtags, even when they may be seriously trending. This will almost assuredly blow up on you. One more thing: make sure you proofread prior to when you create that #hashtag!

4 Ways to win with #hashtags

1. Make your #hashtags short and direct – Making it brief and direct is the best approach to win with #hashtags. If you need to combine more than one, fine, but don’t string together a small army of them, as that will actually annoy your readers and label you an amateur.
2. Make them #hashtags to not forget – Remarkable #hashtags are far more likely to be shared widely. Give some thought to this and you just may get your wish and have it go viral.
3. Use them on multiple social media channels – A #hashtag isn’t much use if it’s not shared. Although started on Twitter, #hashtags have become employed across multiple social media channels including Facebook, Google, LinkedIn and Pinterest. This assists to instill the #hashtag into the minds of their audience.
4. Make use of keywords – If at all possible, work in your brand or major keywords. It is not always feasible, so choose judiciously.

Creating and using memorable #hashtags can keep your brand and conversation before your social media audience, and help perpetuate your campaigns. Give it a go today!

How Can You Use Facebook Graph Search in Your Business?

Facebook is at it again, and this time it’s called Facebook Graph Search. It is their endeavor to sway their search results from the keyword-based model like Google’s, to one where Facebook can make use of its greatest asset, the social interplay between all of its users. Still coming out, Graph Search may not be open to you yet, (still only available in the US, and there’s a waiting list) but it’s coming sooner than you think. And if you have a business that uses Facebook at all, you must learn how this can benefit you.

So what exactly is Facebook Graph search?

Facebook Graph Search is a search model whereby you are served up results based not on any keyword you entered, but instead results based on your social spheres. For example, your search will highlight people who share your interests, photos and videos they’ve liked, and connections you share. These results are unique to you as they’re determined by you and your friend’s interests.

How can you utilize Facebook Graph search in your marketing?

One of the primary benefits here appears to be that Graph Search will reward those people who are making a genuine effort with their social media, engaging and interacting with their fans and followers. Facebook is mum about the aspects of the actual search algorithm, but suffice it to say that it will go a long way towards weeding out pages that are wanting to game the system. Fake Likes and fans coming from strange locations outside of your common spheres, will be viewed with some skepticism.

Rather, this appears as if it’s going to greatly benefit businesses making a genuine attempt at engaging with social media. Some ways you can be ready for Facebook Graph Search are to:

• Be sure your business page profile is entirely filled out, so that users can locate you.
• Make sure to engage, not sell your visitors.
• Be careful of what is posted online, especially on Facebook itself, as this may come back to embarrass your business in a big way!

Would Your Business Benefit from Having Its Own Mobile App?

It’s no big secret that mobile has captured the imagination and a lot of market share when it comes to online shopping.

In its early years mobile faced many challenges, such as people not trusting their provider to provide a safe, secure transaction, to the prevailing practice of using mobile only for location.

Mobile has now overcome much of this and is poised to offer so much more to companies willing to go all in.

One thing is abundantly clear: the numbers are staggering. We can’t resist tossing in some revealing statistics:

According to Frank N. Magid Associates, over three-quarters of Americans age 43 and under now use a smartphone; in other words, the people doing most of the buying.
Nearly all Generation Y consumers owned a mobile phone of some kind and 72 percent owned smartphones. Source: Forrester, 2013
Time spent with mobile apps is starting to challenge television: consumers are spending 127 minutes per day using mobile apps—up 35 percent from 94 minutes a day in the same time last year—and spend 168 minutes watching television per day. Source: Flurry, 2012

However, you still may have questions as to whether or not taking the time and expense to develop a mobile app is right for your business. Let’s look at some pros and cons.

Some of the Pros of Mobile Apps

Repeat business and instant feedback – We crave convenience, and by having your app available makes it easy to get repeat business. You also will get instant feedback, which even if negative can be good to know!
Far better presence – Instead of having the user search for your business on their phone browser, your app is front and center, ready for duty!
Helps you to brand and develop loyalty – By having your app on screens everywhere, your brand is always on their mind, making them far more likely to return to you.
Can also be a useful tool for sales team and vendors – An app for such as the one Bell Nursery uses to keep track of the 1700 people it uses to supply plants to 150 Home Depots is an indispensable aid to their business.

Now Some of the Cons…

Can be wildly expensive – While you can use a do-it-yourself builder or a software solution, the results may not be useful. An app with all the bells and whistles optimized for each mobile platform can run many thousands of dollars. If you can’t afford a multi-platform app just yet, settle for your mobile website until you can.
Need to be fresh – Unfortunately, apps are seldom set and forget. Your users will soon get bored without fresh, updated content.
Requires different apps for each phone platform – Unlike a mobile website, mobile apps have to be built specifically for each platform: Apple, Android, etc.
Difficult to measure return on investment – Can be very difficult to gauge.

Walking Before Running
The fact is, most small business don’t have mobile-friendly website—so that’s where most of you should start before you even consider going the app route. (As it happens, 3 in 10 small businesses still don’t have a website at all!) Nonetheless, it’s certainly worth considering a business app in the future, once you’ve mastered the basics of mobile marketing.