Stop Following Social Media Influencers

What does being a social media influencer mean?

They’re influencing people via Facebook? Or they’re influencing people about Facebook?

One issue with seeing social media as an industry (which I don’t) is this idea that you should have already heard of everything and everyone who is “an expert”. I constantly hear this from marketing colleagues and people who will soon no longer work with me:

“Do you follow Joe X?” (Joe’s name is blocked here to protect the ignorantly blissful.) And I always reply, “Who?”

This is usually followed by, “Whadya mean ya don’t know who Joe X is!?! How can you not follow Joe X?”

No, I don’t follow Joe X, and neither should you.

No offense is meant to Joe X. Joe X is probably a good writer. I see Joe X’s blog occasionally in search results and I’m usually impressed by Joe X’s writing skills and ideas. I couldn’t write as well as Joe X in a million years. I will be likely to read future posts should the subject appeal to me, or more likely, the keywords match what I am searching. But following? Nope. It’s pointless.

Who should you follow? Two Tactics:

1. Follow influential people in your industry. If you’re in retail, franchising, food services, healthcare, automotive, or any industry, there are many smart professionals with whom you should engage. Don’t worry about what they’re saying about Facebook or Twitter…pay attention to what they’re saying about retail, franchising, healthcare, etc.

2. Don’t follow any specific people; search and follow ideas!

“Be less curious about people and more curious about ideas.”
–Marie Curie

4 Steps to Running a Good Contest on Facebook Since the New Rule Changes

Last week Facebook updated their terms to allow for contests to be executed outside of Applications and on your brand’s Timeline using Likes, Comments, and Messages to enter. Every one-person agency and self-named social media “expert” has been posting and shouting about how this is greatest thing ever and that you should run out and do promotions in this manner as soon as possible. After all, now it’s easy and you don’t need a pesky third-party.

But just because something is easy and you can do it yourself, does that mean it will accomplish a business goal?

(For those self-named social media “experts” and “gurus”, a business goal is something that grown-ups use. It has more to do with revenue than Likes. More on that later…)

Which do you want: more Entrants or more Customers?

Before running out to do the first contest that comes to mind – be aware of a few things. First, by doing a contest via Likes, you’re making winning easier for non-committed consumers to win. These are people who will dog pile onto your contest, maybe win something, but will never be a customer of your brand, store, or business.

Missing in Action: Emails

Second, do you know what your brand page and your local pages will really miss? Your customers’ email addresses! If you start doing promotions only on your Timeline and not using an application, you can’t collect email addresses or other desired data from your fans and customers.

We’re social media focused here at Engage121, BUT we do know the value of a customer’s email address. You still want to be able to collect these for newsletters, announcements, or future plans. What’s the value of a Facebook Like? I don’t know, but it’s less than an email address!

Don’t create temporary Fans

Lastly, by not requiring a Fan-Gated entrance to your app for the contest, you’re diminishing the likelihood of gaining a new Fan. Consumers may Like your status update once to enter the contest but never actual Like your page or engage with you further.

Solution: Let’s do both!

Run your contest as an App and hit your Timeline with it often! Here are four steps to success in the new Facebook dynamic:

1. Run the contest as an Application on your Facebook page. Here’s an awesome example of a successful just-finished contest from our friends at Scooter’s Coffee.

2. Talk about it, share it, and promote it frequently on your Timeline so your fans know it exists.

3. Create good content in the contest: I always recommend against being too self-promotional in your status updates. So the contest itself should be interesting on its own add some value to your fans’ day. If it’s not, then maybe rethink the contest!

4. Advertise: Along with sharing the contest as a status update, think about spending some budget on some well-targeted ads too!

What’s The Value of A Facebook Like? Who’s Asking?

Some ridiculous and reckless newbies in social media monitoring have been promoting an actual dollar amount for the value of any Facebook Like. A recent “study” published the value at $174.17. This was produced by some self-proclaimed social media “experts” who will be selling used cars 12 months from now.

I see similar nonsense coming from small PR agency owners who joined Twitter last year and now want to spin you toward the idea that they do more that press releases.

$147 is the value of a Like? Why not just say a Like is worth $1,000? Sure, let’s go with that. That will make the CEO happy.

The truth is that a Like for Company A has much different value than a Like for Company B.

Social Values Overall

Let’s take a step back and look at all online recommendations and endorsements (if you can truly call “Likes” one of those). A positive review on a ratings & review site may be of great value to a hotel property, but much less to a retailer with a low-cost, hot product. A lousy rating on Yelp may scare people away from a local pizza franchisee but may not matter to a higher-end restaurant.

Take a further step back and look at an old yet still popular social media channel called the telephone: What’s the value of a phone call? I estimate somewhere between 2 cents if it’s an unwanted opinion and a billion dollars if someone is calling to acquire your company.

Ferrari Posters on Your Wall

Pop quiz guys over 30: did you have a poster of a Ferrari, Lamborghini, or Porsche on your bedroom or dorm room wall back in the 80s or 90s? Millions of boys had them in order to indicate which car they would pick up as soon as they had the means, as Ferris Bueller would say.

But how many of those cool young dudes now own a Ferrari or Lamborghini? Probably not many. The 2013 version of the sports car poster is a Facebook Like.

Ferrari’s Fan Page on Facebook currently has over 12 Million fans. I submit that those are 12 Million guys who do not own a Ferrari. Based on my own Facebook friends who I can see Like the Ferrari page, this is true. Seriously, if you guys had a Ferrari, you would not be on Facebook liking the page! A Like for a local sandwich shop may correlate much closer to a customer than that for Ferrari.

This commoditizing of Likes is doing is missing the whole point of engagement with a customer. If we’re merely counting Likes, then we’re measuring our current reputation, brand equity, and cool factor. For those of us marketing and selling Ferraris, the Like is just a starting point of an online relationship with a new prospective customer. Start your engines!

FranCamp 2012: Mapping Your Customer’s Route to Your Store

As we’re winding down the summer and gearing up for a big retail season, I thought I would share my presentation from Franchise Social Media Camp (FranCamp) from back in May. The topic was leveraging social platforms for Franchise systems.

One slide (#6) that lead to some good discussions with attendees is the view of social platforms compared to your franchisees’ stores. Think of it as a map. What platforms are you using as roads to get to other platforms? And, more importantly, what’s the route to get foot traffic in the stores? Are you sharing links on Twitter to draw consumers to an app on Facebook for coupons that drive store traffic? Are you using Google+ or Facebook start a discussion and then sharing video that lives on YouTube that has a great call to action? There are many more combinations than there are platforms! Remember, some channels may be a better or faster route for your customers than other routes.

<div style=”margin-bottom:5px”> <strong> <a href=”http://www.slideshare.net/JackMonson/francamp-2012″ title=”FranCamp 2012″ target=”_blank”>FranCamp 2012</a> </strong> from <strong><a href=”http://www.slideshare.net/JackMonson” target=”_blank”>JackMonson</a></s

FranCamp 2012 from JackMonson

Stop Driving Your Traffic to Facebook

Originally posted at Engage121 Blog

You see it everyday in retail stores, coffee shops, and pizza places:

Like us on Facebook!

Here’s the issue for the owners and managers of these stores: the people reading that sign are already in your store!

And instead of engaging them in real life, having a conversation, or selling them stuff (!), some retailers are pushing them over to Facebook or some other online presence to Like them, take a survey, etc. Don’t fall into this hole! Again, these people are ALREADY in your store! And, don’t worry about Facebook; Zuckerberg’s traffic will be just fine.

Don’t get me wrong – it’s extremely valuable to have your current customers join your online community. Engaging those folks on Facebook or other social channels is key in cementing your relationship, offering customer service, and perhaps creating a returning customer. Also, I think many people are drawn to the Facebook logo and would read anything on that sign!

But please don’t let your engagement in social marketing end there! So far, you’ve preached to the choir. Now you need to find a congregation.

Focus your resources on attracting people who are not currently in your store to come to your Facebook Page. Find consumers who are not already customers and invite them to learn about your business. Use Facebook to drive store traffic, not the other way around.

Remember the progression you want:

Person living in your community —> Person interested enough to go to your Fan Page —> Person interested enough to go to your shop —> Person who buys a product or service

Facebook Privacy and Your Personal Brand

Last week I guest-hosted the monthly Tweet Chat of the Young Professionals Network. This is a very smart and active group of young PR pros affiliated with PRSA Chicago. The topic was career advancement in the PR 2.0 world, which naturally lead to some discussion of privacy on Facebook. I suggested we continue the privacy discussion somewhere … so let’s do it here!

I suggested to the YPN crowd that as PR, Communications, and Marketing professionals that their social channels should be public, transparent, and open to communicate with anyone.

To be very clear, I am not suggesting that your profiles and passwords be turned over to your employer. There’s a big difference between posting publicly and letting an employer access your private messages! If an employer asks for your passwords, run fast! You don’t want to work there.

So what do I mean by being transparent on your social channels? Think of yourself as your own brand. Keep your Facebook profile open and tell your story in a way that clients, employers, and business connections would find appealing.

But what about those drunken college photos that you want to post? Get over it. No one cares. If you must share old pictures with your friends, send them via email or text. To whom, as your own personal brand, are you trying to appeal? Potential clients and employers? Or someone you partied with a few years ago?

Facebook is currently your most valuable way to connect with any business contacts. I’ve heard many young PR pros argue that they don’t want to Friend their boss, a client, or even a journalist / blogger on Facebook. If that’s your bottom line, I would suggest a career outside of Communications.

And, go all the way with transparency. Don’t rely on “friends of friends”-only posts, or trusting Facebook privacy settings, which fail more often than you know.

So let’s hear it! Are you marketing yourself publicly or staying private?

3 Steps to Increase Facebook Engagement

Facebook Fan Page + Facebook Post + Facebook Ad

Last week’s International Franchise Association Annual Convention included several opportunities to learn about localizing social marketing from new IFA member Facebook and its representative Brian Wheelis, Manager of Agency Management Operations.

Brian shared valuable data including new research on where consumers are spending their time on Facebook. The good news is that they are spending more and more time on Facebook. The bad news is that they may not be spending their time on Facebook with your brand. We can fix that in 3 easy steps…

1. Create Engaging Content on Your Fan Page

Many brands’ Fan Pages consist of a slick picture and a blatant advertisement. Why would anyone return to this page after his or her first visit? Very few brands will garner millions of fans due only to loyalty and without having anything interesting on their page. These include Apple, Starbucks, and … I think that’s all.

Your page must include something of value to a consumer: coupons, freebies, rewards, virtual gifts, or downloadable digital content.

Value can also be in the form of assets or tools like informational (or fun!) videos, financial calculators, “ask an expert” type features, polls, quizzes, contests, and games. Remember, it must be valuable for the consumer and potential customer, not just for your brand.

All of the above must be refreshed frequently with new reasons for the consumer to come back. Each time something new is created on your page, you must do step 2: create a post.

2. Publish a Post About Your Page’s Content

You can build the most engaging, fun, or valuable Fan Page on Facebook, but if no one knows about it, they won’t come. Facebook currently has over 800 Million users, but I’m guessing most of them are not looking at your Fan Page right now! Well-executed posts will drive some of them there.

Users spend 27% of their time on Facebook looking at their News Feed. And, with the proliferation of smart phones, most mobile users are looking at the News Feed exclusively. So on a regular basis, post a status update inviting everyone to come play your game, take your quiz, or get the new coupon. This is the quickest, easiest thing to do in all of social media! Write a little text, add a link to the tab on your Fan Page where the feature lives, and submit.

Your update will be seen by your fans on their News Feed and Ticker. Next, we move beyond your fans with step 3: create an ad.

3. Create a Facebook Sponsored Story About With The Post

The Facebook Ad, or more specifically, the Sponsored Story, is the spark that will ignite the inferno on your page. Facebook’s Brian Wheelis says that these ads will be seen by 3 to 5 times more Facebook users than the post alone.

Why? Facebook Sponsored Stories appear not only to your fans, but also to their friends.

That’s the key! Too many brands focus only on the number of fans they have accumulated. That number is important, but the goldmine is in those Fans’ Friends.

Our team at Engage121 has recently launched Engage121 Version 2.1, which now includes the ability to instantly create a Facebook Ad out of your status update. More importantly, you can also instantly create multiple localized ads for each of your franchisees’ or outlets’ local pages.

A marketing misstep is spending too many resources on converting customers to fans. If that sounds backwards, it’s because it is! Yet we see it everyday: print displays or customer service messages asking current customers to become a Fan. I supposed that has had value, as you do want your customers to be a part of the community. But don’t stop there; the people seeing those “please Like us” messages are already in your store, visiting your website, or receiving your invoice! Don’t market Social Media to them; market your business to new people using Social Media. Using the above 3 steps will refocus your attention to converting Fans (and their Friends!) to customers!

Fan Pages: Seen by your Fans

Posts: Seen by your Fans in their newsfeed

Sponsored Stories: Seen by your Fans and their Friends

The Difference Between Facebook and Twitter That No One Seems to Get

Many people used Facebook for a quite a while before using Twitter. For many, this may have created a misunderstanding that Twitter works the way Facebook works: you post content and people with whom you’re connected will see it in their feed. Sure, it can work like that (and does for those who follow only 100 or so people). But here’s the little secret that none of your followers will tell you…

How Twitter Really Works:

1. You post content and none of your followers read it.

What?!? They don’t read it!?! At all?!? Hold on, it’s about to make sense.

2. Then, when anyone, follower or not, searches for a name, keyword, topic, or hashtag, they see your content.

So when we all say great content is key, we’re not kidding. High quality, high value, interesting content – with an attractive headline or catchy wording – is much, much more important on Twitter than your number of followers. Remember, all of those followers aren’t really reading everything you write. Sure they say they are, but Tweeps are nice like that.

More to think about: RTs not only matter, but also perhaps are the most important thing besides quality of content. We used to think about RTs as a great way of your content getting shared into new groups of people and communities. But, no one is reading all of your followers’ Tweets either. Or your followers’ followers’ Tweets. But, once again, it’s all about search. If anyone searches about your topic and sees multiple RTs pop up with your content, I’m betting that it will get read and your links will get clicked more often than if it only shows up once.

So, remember these Twitter points:

Interesting content = Most Important

Searchable Tweets = Very Important

RTs of yours = Important

Number of followers = Not so much…

…

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