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Time to Make the Posts

October 15, 2018 | Social Media

Facebook Posting. Oh No, It’s Time to Make the Posts!

It’s Sunday and it’s time to do some Facebook Posting for the week for your Facebook Business Page. I feel like that Donut guy, “It’s time to make the donuts.” Yuck!!

Facebook Posting Algorithms

Deciding what to post can give you a headache. Also you are realizing that because of Facebook’s new algorithms, no one may see your posts. But that is not entirely true. If you have a link to your Facebook Page on your website, people will still visit it. If you haven’t posted anything for a month or two, they will wonder what’s up. So yes, keep posting. Maybe not so often. Once a week may now be quite sufficient. But be consistent.

So back to what to post.

Ideas for Posting

Not only do you need to be creative, you need to figure out what your audience will want to read. Sometimes the creative juices are flowing and then sometimes it’s as if you have writers block. You need to build a library of ideas when you are in the mood ready for when you aren’t.

Here are some tips to help you:

Think about ideas that will help your clients relate to your business. If you want something a little more educational you may have to do a little research. I Google the web for ideas and I also read blogs and newsletters that I subscribe to and get ideas from them. You may include holidays or themes during the course of the year in your posts. I save them in raindrop.io for later use.

Create a list of what your audience might want to know about you. Refer to the list when you have brain freeze. In making that list, think about the results customers would have if they used your products or services. How can you enlighten them on what you do? What should they know about you personally? Make a list of at least 10 things and then refer to it as you are creating posts.

Make a list of what your audience’s interests are. For example, traveling, eating out, family outings, baseball games, golf, theatre. Write a sentence about your views on “something.” Write some that relate to what you do and some just pure entertainment.

There are three ways to post

Have fun telling your audience your tip of the week. People are using Facebook Live to post on their page. Just record and then you can save it in the post for those that were not able to watch your live video. How about some kind of demonstration. A short video is always welcomed by your audience. No special software or camera needed. Just use your Smart Phone. If you have the ability to put captions on it, that is great. Often people are scrolling with the mute button on so they can read what you are saying. To learn how to add captions to your videos, check out our blog post, Using Facebook Live for Business to Extend Your Audience.

The third way is using a simple photo. Here are some tips for using graphics. Graphics make your posts more attention getting (eye candy). Write a couple of lines of text and then insert the graphic. Your point will be made.

Grab a picture from www.pixabay.com. You can find royalty free graphics there. Choose a photo and then write something from one of your lists that you saved.

Here is an example of a picture saying a 1000 words:

Facebook Posting graphic

Facebook Posting graphic

 

Social Media Text:  “I might need a lot of practice with my golf swing but I don’t need practice to help you with (what I do).”

Or, just post an inspiring quote. Use this tool pablo.buffer.com and you can pick through a number of pictures and match to their quotes.

Facebook Posting with Pablo Buffer Program

Sample Facebook Post using Pablo Buffer

 

My final comment is to make sure your posts are 80/20. 80% educational/entertaining and 20% commercial. Your audience will appreciate getting to know you, like you, and trust you.

Now when I wake up on Monday morning, and I say “Time to Make the Posts” I just refer to my notes and find something fun and interesting. I schedule my posts and then when asked I can say “I already made the donuts.”

By Janet Elie

Internet Marketing Specialist

Launch4Life

janet@launch4life.com

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Why You Need the Facebook Pixel

October 1, 2018 | Social Media

Why You Need the Facebook Pixel

Do you have a Facebook Page for your business? Are you running Facebook Ads? Then you really need to consider installing the Facebook Pixel on your website.

Facebook Pixel? What on earth is that?

The Facebook pixel allows you track the actions of your website visitors’ actions.

 

Benefit #1

The Facebook Pixel helps you analyze the effectiveness of your Facebook Ads. When the Facebook Pixel is installed on your website, you can track traffic from Facebook to your website. In simple terms, it helps you track the actions of anyone that visited your website from Facebook. This conversion tracking lets you know if Facebook Ad “clicks” are converting into website sales or other website actions.

 

Benefit #2

The Facebook Pixel allows you to capture website visitors and later create a Facebook Custom Audience. Why is this important? Well, whenever someone visits your website they become part of your “warm market.” These folks are more likely to become prospective customers because they already know who you are. With the Facebook Pixel, you can capture that website traffic and then target your products/services to them with a Facebook ad. This clever little marketing strategy is known as retargeting.

While you may not be familiar with term “retargeting”, I’m sure you’ve already experienced it as a consumer. For instance, have you ever looked at a book on Amazon and then later saw in your Facebook newsfeed? It’s almost as if it’s following you. Well, that’s not a coincidence. You were tracked on Amazon’s website with a Facebook Pixel and then a related Facebook Ad is trying to lure you back to Amazon to seal the deal.

Okay, so now that I’ve explained why the Facebook Pixel is worth installing on your website, the next question is… how to get started? It’s actually easier that you might think.

 

Here’s what you need to get started:

 

1. Access your Facebook Ads Account by going to: https://www.facebook.com/adsmanager/

facebook ads manager
2. Click on the menu in the upper left corner.

Facebook ads manager menu selection

3. Choose the Pixels section.

Choosing the Facebook Pixels option

4. Click the “Create a Pixel” button.

Create-a-facebook-pixel
5. Choose the “Install Manually” option and copy the pixel code provided. (This part looks scary, but it’s really not. Below, we’ll share an even simpler method.)

copy the Facebook pixel code
7. Paste the Pixel Code in the “header” section of your WordPress website. This automatically inserts the Facebook Pixel onto EVERY page of your website.

Paste the code into the Header of your website

NOTE: Finding the “header” section of your website will vary depending upon which WordPress Theme you are using. For instance, we use Divi by Elegant Themes, which allows us to paste the code on the Divi Theme Options “Integrations” page.

 

Install the Facebook Pixel using a WordPress Plugin

 

If copying/pasting code feels a little too overwhelming, there are several WordPress Plugins that make the process easier. Here are two plugins that are both free and easy to use. If you have WooCommerce installed on your website, I suggest you use the WordPress plugin by Ads Espresso.

 

Additional Instructions & Tips from Facebook

 

Facebook also offers instructions on how to install the Facebook Pixel on your website. Here is a link to The Facebook Pixel support page. You will notice that there is a lot of great information provided.

Once you’ve installed the Facebook Pixel it’s a good idea to test and make sure it’s working. You can do this by visiting Facebook’s Pixel Helper Page.

As a final tip, keep in mind that It’s never too early to install the Facebook Pixel on your website. Even if you haven’t run a single Facebook Ad, if you think you will in the future, get the Pixel installed today.

A good marketing strategy requires having the relevant tracking and analytic tools in place. This helps you determine what’s working and what’s not. Installing the Facebook Pixel makes good business sense. Otherwise, when you run Facebook Ads you’ll be simply throwing money at the wall hoping something will stick.

Launch4Life - Gillian Whitney

By Gillian Whitney

Communications Consultant

Launch4Life

gillian@launch4life.com

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Using LinkedIn Profile Tips to Increase Your SEO

September 3, 2018 | Social Media

Yoda wants to know if you are coachable

Most small business owners know they need to be on social media. But many neglect LinkedIn because they think it is only a resume builder. I will share why it is important and how with some LinkedIn profile tips, you will be able to optimize search results for your Profile.

With over 500 million people connecting B2B or B2C, you are missing out on a great opportunity. Having a SEO strategy with LinkedIn is just as important as for your website.

Who is On LinkedIn

Let’s start off with who is on LinkedIn. People who have average incomes of $100K or more, usually college educated.  With over 250 million monthly users worldwide and 40% of them daily, you have the opportunity to find people you would never find otherwise. By the way many influencers and decision makers are on LinkedIn. 41% of LinkedIn members are millionaires.  Business professionals are looking for interesting articles and videos to increase their knowledge.

You can use LinkedIn’s search feature and key words to find the people that you want to connect to for business. For example – realtors, insurance agents, chefs, lawyers. Whoever is your target market.  So keep in mind that your ideal customer could be right there waiting for YOU to show up. Finding them is easier than you may imagine. If you are not sure your avatar is on LinkedIn, go online and do some searches.  I think you will be pleasantly surprised.

Why LinkedIn

If someone hears about you from a friend, the first thing they will do is “google” your name.  What better place for someone to know quickly about you than through LinkedIn. They will learn your background, who your customer is, what you look like, what you do and how to find you.  They will see your endorsements, be able to read your articles.  If you have done your homework, they will learn a lot about you. Your goal is to have people know you, like you, and trust you.

There is one more significant reason to be on LinkedIn.  You can connect with people in all sorts of industries and related business fields. It is like having a huge file of business cards at your fingers.  Even if you are an introvert, it is the easiest way to try and create a dialogue without worrying about someone “hanging up” on you.  You can get people to warm up to you through messaging and having people view your posts.  How easy is that?

LinkedIn Profile Tips

Here are some tips for making sure that when someone does land on your profile that it is polished and worthy of consideration of connecting or doing business with.

♦ Photo

Upload a professional headshot. People usually do not connect with people who don’t have a photo of themselves. Make sure it is professional, not casual or family oriented. First impressions last. Make sure it is a good one.

♦ Banner

Create a banner over your photo where the blue grid is. This is valuable real-estate to tell people who you are and what you do and whom you serve. Hint. Upload as a jpg. Don’t know why, but a png doesn’t work. Canva is a great tool to create a banner if you would like to add text to your banner.  Still save it as a jpg.

♦ Header

In your header use lots of great keywords that you would normally use in your website or blog content to describe what you do. Make it client focused. Not about you, but what you do for clients. Separate each phrase with a space or bullet. Google will pick it up. By the way Google doesn’t mind lots of keywords in LinkedIn. Just make sure it is a variety.  Don’t repeat the same ones.

♦ Profile Info

Sure you have your phone number, email, website address in your Profile so people can connect offline. Create some posts and articles for people to learn more about how you can help them solve their problems. Work on getting your connections up to over 500. More credibility with LinkedIn.

♦ Summary 

This is a great place to talk about how you help your customers with their specific problems relating to your business.  Don’t make it about you and your awards and education.  Boring.  Write about the transformation you business creates. How do you solve their problems.

LinkedIn Connection

Screen showing how to connect with someone on LinkedIn

♦ Connections

Focus on building your connections. Searching success will increase as your connections grow. But don’t grow them just for the sake of numbers.  Reach out to people who have synergy for you, partners or perspective clients or potential referrals. Connect with people you think will grow your professional network. Here is a tip: When you are connecting, you can either just press the “connect” button or you can send a message. If someone doesn’t know you, add a note first telling them why you want to connect. Better chances of a successful connection.

♦ $$ Membership  

LinkedIn is free. However there are paid choices. The paid memberships are really for people who are committed to using LinkedIn as their primary prospecting tool.  If you are not planning that, you can get plenty out of the free version.You may never need to upgrade. You may be tempted with their trial but beware it is very expensive for the Sales Navigator or Premium version. Also you can purchase LinkedIn ads.

Final Thoughts

Who would have thought SEO and LinkedIn go together but they do? Writing fresh content with appropriate keywords or posting a summary of your blog with a backlink to your website will aid in that strategy. We all want to get to page one of Google. LinkedIn is a great asset in that pursuit.

Having a great optimized LinkedIn profile will do much to help your SEO as well as set you up as the professional you are.  Hope these LinkedIn profile tips give you some ideas to create one or fix the one you have. At the end of the day, SEO is all about being found by the right people whether on social media or your website so people will eventually hit that “buy” button.

Janet Elie Launch4Life

By Janet Elie

Internet Marketing Specialist

Launch4Life

janet@launch4life.com

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Facebook Business Page Changes [August 2018] What You Need to Know

August 27, 2018 | Social Media

facebook business page changes

Did you know that last week there were some Facebook Business Page changes?

Yep. Once again we’re all scrambling to catch up with the latest Facebook updates. And, what you don’t know could hurt you.

Which is why I wanted to share what you need to know about the latest Facebook Business Page changes.

 

Set It and Forget It Marketing

In the 90’s there was an infomercial for a new and awesome cooking machine. It came with a memorable tagline – “Set it and forget it.” This rotisserie made cooking so easy – you could walk away from it without a care. Full disclosure, I’m a sucker for infomercials and I bought one of these. I love it because it allows me to roast a chicken lickety-split.

 

You Can’t Afford to Ignore Facebook

It’s never a good idea to ignore your Facebook Business Page.

When it comes to Facebook, it’s impossible to “Set it and forget it.” Instead, you want to be posting new Facebook content on a regular basis.

Weekly status updates too hard? Then how about at least once a month? Nothing says “abandon ship” more than a Facebook Page with old content.

It’s also a good idea to do an occasional self-audit of your Facebook Business Page. This will ensure everything is up-to-date. Here are some of the things to look out for. Is your Call-To-Action button set up right? Does your background and cover photos look good on a mobile phone? Are your hours of operation correct?

 

Facebook Business Page Changes

Reviewing your Facebook Business Page is especially important right now. Last week, Facebook implemented some changes. For whatever reason, Mark Zuckerberg and friends, decided they wanted to change things up a bit. As a result, many of us got a brand new template. Whether we wanted it or not.

If you were one of the “lucky ones”, like us, you might have been given a template you don’t like. Even worse, the new layout might include fields or tabs that are not relevant for your business. This means your Facebook Business Page might now be cluttered with empty tabs.

I urge you to check your Facebook Business Page today. See if you’ve got some work to do. Luckily, you can remove irrelevant tabs with just the slide of a button. And, if you’re like us, and don’t like your assigned template, review the others and choose one you do like.

 

How to Check Out the Facebook Business Page Templates

 

Step 1: Log into your Facebook Business Page

To find the Facebook Templates you need to click on Settings, which is located in the upper right hand corner of your screen. Then click on the Edit Page option which is in the sidebar to the left.

Click on Settings and then Edit Page.

 

Step 2: Choose a Template

If you don’t like the one you have been assigned, browse through the Templates and choose the one that works best for your business.

review available facebook templates

Browse through the available Templates.

 

Step 3: Turn off Empty Tabs

Most templates will come with more tabs that you need. For instance, you might have a tab for Show FAQ and you don’t want to have that on your Page. If you don’t want a useless and empty tab cluttering up your page, you can turn it off. Simply, slide the Settings button to OFF. Now the tab will no longer be displayed. If you ever want it back, just slide the button to ON.

remove empty tabs from facebook template

Turn off any tabs you don’t need.

 

Staying in the Loop

If you want to stay on top of the latest Facebook business page changes, consider subscribing to Facebook’s Business Email List. Once you are on their list, Facebook will send you timely emails. This advanced notice may provide you with heads up on the next round of Facebook Business Page changes.

Facebook News Email Signup

While “Set It and Forget It” may have worked for rotisserie chicken, it’s doesn’t work well for Social Media. Especially Facebook. So head over to Facebook now. Get acquainted with the latest Facebook Business Page changes. And make the needed fixes.

Launch4Life - Gillian Whitney

By Gillian Whitney

Communications Consultant

Launch4Life

gillian@launch4life.com

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Something Beyond Facebook – “LinkedIn”

April 2, 2018 | Social Media

Every day we hear about why it is important for a business to have a presence on Facebook, especially with a Facebook Business Page. It is important because Facebook Business Pages are public. If someone “googles” you, they are sure to find you there. But we are hearing that Facebook is continuing to minimize Business Page posts to their LIKE audience. Facebook Ads may be the only recourse. But either way, that still puts the control in your prospects hand, not yours.

How can you find a social media site where you can control finding people, have a better chance for people viewing your posts and articles? Welcome to LinkedIn. Let’s see if LinkedIn is right for you?

First you have to get rid of the myth that LinkedIn is just for job hunting. So not true! There are over 500 million people worldwide on LinkedIn and every 2 seconds someone else is joining. Do you think all 500 million are looking for jobs!! Most people on LinkedIn are there because they are business people and they want to connect with other business people. If your customers are educated people with average incomes of $100K or more, this may be the place for you to be.

Here are a few tips that will help you whether you are already on LinkedIn or you are thinking of joining:

#1 You can have a personal profile and you can have a Company profile. Both free. You can connect them, once they are both created, by adding your personal profile as an employee of the Company.

#2  When creating your personal profile, always make sure your picture is professional looking. Don’t use a photo of you with your kids or your dogs. Have someone take a snap with your camera with you looking your best. If you have a professional one that is great.

#3 There is a space behind your picture that you can customize. Use it. The dimensions are 1584 x 396 pixels. Either use a landscape style photo or create a custom banner with a program like Canva.

Here are two random samplings. One is not taking advantage of his banner. The other one is. Make sure you create a banner that represents who you are and what you offer.

DEFAULT LINKED BACKGROUND

 

CUSTOM LINKED BACKGROUND

 

 

#4 Make note of the Header and make sure the words are Client Facing – meaning “what you do to serve your customers”. No one cares what your title of your firm is. They want to know why they should get to know you.

#5 Make sure your summary tells people what you do, who you serve, and the transformation you provide your customers. Whether it is coaching them to success, creating special evenings, helping them find the home of their dreams, or giving them peace of mind with the right life insurance product, this is the place to tell them that is the end result.

#6 Connect, connect, connect.  Spend at least 30 minutes per day using “My Network” and connecting with new people. If you can, send them a personal message. Here is a tip how to do that: Instead of just clicking the Connect button, click their profile, then click Connect. It will allow you to send a personal message. Even if they are not your “ideal” client, you will be able to connect to others they are connected to. Expand your connections, expand your reach.

 

#7 Once you are connected, you can send Messages suggesting that you and that person get offline and talk by phone, email, or a face to face meeting.

#8 Join LinkedIn Groups. Participate in those groups to learn and build relationships that can connect you to others.

#9 Use the Search Field to explore finding new contacts by a variety of fields.

#10 Add new posts every few days with interesting topics related to your services. Join in conversations of what others post. Do LIKES or Comments. If you are a writer, post some articles. If you are into video, post some personal videos of what you do, maybe seminars that you are offering, or a course they can sign up for. Or share an experience that you provide your clients – add a link to your website.

LinkedIn offers a lot. Access daily on your laptop or with the LinkedIn app for tablets and mobile phone. There are several premium options available with LinkedIn. There are many courses that explain how to really powerhouse LinkedIn. Down the road, you can see if those will be advantageous to you or not. My advice is to start off slowly with the free version. You may never need to upgrade. Get comfortable with LinkedIn being a part of your marketing process. Go find those connections that are looking to connect with you.

By Janet Elie

Internet Marketing Specialist

Launch4Life

janet@launch4life.com

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Facebook Followed Me Around the World

March 12, 2018 | Social Media

It can be very challenging when you are away in another country and you can’t use your mobile phone without costing an arm or a leg.  Your choices are using it only when you have access to WIFI or purchase a local sim card. What do you do when you want to make a reservation for a restaurant or need to contact a local store and you didn’t purchase the sim card?

I wanted to have a manicure during my stay in Spain.  While in my apartment that has WIFI, I googled “Nail Places”.  Up popped a couple of places near me.  I saw one that looked appealing.  I clicked to their website.  Sounded good. I was able to see what services they offered, but if I wanted an appointment I had to phone them. Even though I did have a local Sim card, I was a little nervous about calling.  What if they didn’t speak English. After all, I was in Spain. Thankfully, they also had a listing for their Facebook Business Page.  I clicked onto that.  Now we are talking, I could send them a Facebook message.   With a message through Facebook, we could translate.

I sent a message through my Facebook message app.  Within a couple of hours, I had a response, an appointment, and was able to get my nails done.  You can even see the response time on this post, pretty quick.  Thank goodness for Facebook. It didn’t hurt by the way that the owners were Brits. Lucky for me.

This taught me a great lesson of the power of having a Facebook Page. We often relate to Facebook as having to focus on posting  to show up in people’s newsfeed.  We now know that will be a challenge.  But having a Facebook Page is still very relevant.  There will be times people will want to google you and if you have a Facebook Business Page and your template is “Local business” they will not only find you, they will be able to contact you via phone, email or text or directly through the Facebook Messenger.

Gillian and I went to a new start up restaurant for our Sunday dinner this week.  We did both a checkin and a review for this cute place.  Our comments will help them grow their business and allow other people wanting a good dinner to be able to know this is a good choice.

Traveling abroad can be an amazing experience.  But having apps like Facebook can make your lives a little easier.  You can use the mobile app to dial home via phone, video or text.  No charge as long as you are on WIFI.  Makes staying in communication really easy with your family and friends back home or business associates.

If your business doesn’t have a Facebook Page, you may want to consider it.  It is a powerful tool.  Free to build and free to use.  Now there is no excuses.

By Janet Elie

Internet Marketing Specialist

Launch4Life

janet@launch4life.com

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Facebook Business Page Owners….Keep An Eye Out…Changes Coming!!!

January 15, 2018 | Social Media

Ever since Gillian and I created our Facebook Business Page, the one thing we had to get used to, was waking up most days and seeing a new announcement from Facebook about the newest update. Whether it be changes in the look on one’s phone or laptop, new categories or tabs, or interfacing with one’s audience, Facebook is always evolving. Their changes are driven by two factors. The first one is increasing the experience for people to be able to interact with their friends and family. That is primary. The second factor is Facebook makes their money with Ads, so getting businesses to advertise is key. Having a business page on Facebook is free. But the hope is, that eventually a Business Page will buy Ads. To make it easier for the business owner to create a presence on Facebook, a variety of templates allows a business to showcase their products and services, reviews, videos, photos, and e-commerce are offered.

Buying ads and boosting posts has always been optional.   If you had enough “Likes” you could count on your followers to see some of your organic posts in their daily Newsfeed.  But take heed, changes are on the horizon.

Facebook Announces Coming News Feed Changes Which Will Reduce the Reach of Page Posts

  1. Friend to Friend is primary. The news feed will allow more of the posts from your “friends” than from business Pages. Which means squeezing out a lot of those Business posts.
  2. Long and thoughtful replies get a boost. This was the second half of the announcement, and it seems to be a significant pivot. Recorded videos will not get nearly the weight they once did. Passive scrolling and low-quality engagement are now considered bad. Posts that get long, thoughtful replies will get priority in your newsfeed.

So, what does that mean? How can your Business Page counter this besides spending tons of money on buying Ads?

Facebook’s Head of News Feed, Adam Mosseri offers some suggestions:

“Page posts that generate conversation between people will show higher in News Feed. For example, live videos often lead to discussion among viewers on Facebook – in fact, live videos on average get six times as many interactions as regular videos. Many creators who post videos on Facebook prompt discussion among their followers, as do posts from celebrities. In Groups, people often interact around public content. Local businesses connect with their communities by posting relevant updates and creating events. And news can help start conversations on important issues.”

From Adam’s statement creating “live” video will get you more visibility in the News Feed. But what about those of us that aren’t comfortable doing “live” on Facebook? Does this mean we should dump our Facebook Pages? Or never build one if you don’t have one now? Absolutely not. There are still plenty of good reasons to have a Facebook Business Page, but you will need to use it wisely:

  1. Having a Facebook Business Page to send people to is still important. If someone Googles you, and finds your Page, they will be able to search your Page and learn about you and your services.
  2. Consider changing your “Call to Action” button to: Sign up for My Newsletter or Visit My Website, rather than Call Me or Email Me. They may only visit your FB page once, so get your best value and send them where you want the traffic.
  3. Make your posts more relevant. Showcase your “Blog” or “Podcast” or a new webinar you are hosting.
  4. Create a Facebook Group with your Business Page and provide a community for your followers to interact with each other. With you being the leader, you can announce workshops, webinars or when you have a lead magnet to share.
  5. If you want to have your “followers” see a relevant post, consider “Boosting” it. It will be fairly cheap to reach your current audience.
  6. You can still use your Facebook Business Page to buy Ads. Those Ads will show up in the Newsfeed of the audience you profile for your Ad.  Facebook makes their money in Ads. Those will not go away. Facebook is a great place to buy ads as Facebook can help you optimize your Ad to the right audience.

Hopefully this will give you a clear understanding of the changes. More to come I am sure. But here is one big HUGE takeaway from this story.  I didn’t hear this announcement on Facebook. I received the information from email. Just remember that Email Marketing is still the “King” for getting the word out. Use Facebook marketing to get prospects and customers on your Email list. You own your list. Facebook is just rented property.

Here is Mark Zuckerberg’s announcement of Thursday, January 11th from Facebook:

 

READ FULL ARTICLE:  https://www.facebook.com/zuck/posts/10104413015393571

 

By Janet Elie

Internet Marketing Specialist

Launch4Life

janet@launch4life.com

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Easy FB Posting Using Your Mobile Phone

July 25, 2017 | Social Media

While recently helping a client with their Facebook Business Page, a staff member asked if she could post directly from her mobile phone instead of her computer.  I was a little surprised as she was very proficient on the computer.  Not sure why she wanted to do that, because you actually have more freedom to create varieties of posts from the computer.  But who am I to judge.  It’s what one is most comfortable with.  My answer to her was of course YES.

Since her Facebook experience has been limited to checking in with her friends, I had to give her a little more training on all the options available on her mobile Facebook app.  Which got me to thinking there may be other people who would like some tips on posting from their phone.

There may be a variety of reasons someone chooses to generate posts from their mobile device.  Maybe you are like this staff person or perhaps you are not always near a laptop, you are on the road, and prefer to create posts on the fly.  This blog post is dedicated to offering up a couple of good starting tips.

FB Apps

The first thing you will want to do is make sure that you have downloaded the basic Facebook app as well as the Pages Manager app to your mobile phone or tablet (see FB Apps graphic).

By the way, the Pages Manager app looks very different than the Facebook App.  It has an orange flag sitting on a white background.  It is the application to manage all your Facebook Business Pages whether it is just one or multiple Pages.  I like it because you can do your checking, editing and managing without having to be distracted by your personal newsfeed that you will find in your traditional Facebook app.

Pages Mgr Post

On your Pages Manager app you can manage your reviews, check-ins, shares, see new likes and most importantly create posts.  You also can check your Insights which are your analytics.  But this article is only going to address a couple of posting ideas.  We will save analytics for a blog post another day.

So now that you have your two applications residing on your phone, lets discuss some of the actions you can take.

Let’s start with the Pages Manager App.  You can create a post of text only or text with your own photo or graphic.  Make sure you have a place on your phone where you can find your photo or graphic, usually either your camera/photos or Dropbox.  Open the app, then go to PUBLISH on the Page you are working in (see Pages Mgr Post graphic).  Upload the pic you want and then write some text comments above it.  Press Continue.  Select Publish now or Schedule an actual date and time in the future.  You’re done.     

Pages Mgr More

Another simple task you can do from the Pages Manager app is to go the More tab.  It is the one with the three dots (see Pages Mgr More).  Select “Stories from Pages Like Yours”.  Scroll through the posts and select something that would be appropriate to share on your Page to your customers.  Just click “Share.”  Click “Write Post”.  Make a comment.  Click Post.  Your done.  Isn’t that easy enough.

One last task.  This will be from your Facebook App because unfortunately you can’t do it from your Pages Manager app.  Darn it.  Maybe one day soon.  This is a tip to do a different type of share.  You can share a post from any Facebook business page that you like related to your business or not.  At the top in the search field, type in the name of the business page you want to see (see FB App Share graphic).  Scroll through their posts until you find one you like and is worth commenting to your audience.

FB App Share

Here are the steps to share.  Below the post, you will see “SHARE.”  Click it.  At the next window click where  it says “Write a Post”.  Important hint.  Before you finish, make sure that you are posting as your Business Page not as your personal timeline.  Otherwise the share will be in your personal newsfeed not your business page.  At the top of your app you can change from your personal to business page by the arrow.  Click WRITE A POST.  Write a comment over top of the share that explains why you are sharing it.  Then click PUBLISH.  Note that you are publishing in the moment.  You cannot schedule for a later time.

These three posting tips can be a great start in posting from your phone.  Simple and easy.  Once you get more comfortable with the process there are other applications you can use to sparkle up your posts.  But we will save that for another day.

Try and have a share or new post once a day.  The most important aspect of this daily communication is building relationships with your customers.  Have fun.  See you in a post.

By Janet Elie

Internet Marketing Specialist

Launch4Life

janet@launch4life.com

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Are You Risking Your Facebook Profile for Business?

May 30, 2017 | Social Media

With over 1.8 billion people on Facebook today, it seems it has become a part of our daily lives.  I read that 80% of women between the ages of 18-35 check Facebook before they even get out of bed in the morning.  I don’t know why the stat stopped at age 35 because I know a lot of my friends are checking Facebook early in the morning and I can tell you they are well over age 35.

One of my customers told me the other day that they checked their stats to see when their customers typically check Facebook.  This helps them know the optimum time to schedule their posts.  They said at 5:00 a.m.  Really!  So, see it has become a daily part of our lives.  Their customers are middle aged and senior.  Not the under age 35.

So why does this matter?  It matters because Facebook has become one of the leading methods for businesses to showcase themselves.  People are on Facebook daily looking through their newsfeed to read post messages.

So, what is the best strategy to tap into this market if you want to strut your stuff on Facebook for people to view?  Well a lot of business owners and entrepreneurs are using their Facebook Profile.  That might seem a brilliant idea at first blush.  After all, their friends and family will see their business posts and may even share some of those posts with their friends.  Great idea right?

Many businesses are using this strategy whether from skin care programs to real-estate.  Flood your friends and family with your posts and they will surely take action or refer your open house to a friend.

However, if a business owner shares too much and it’s looking very commercial, your friends might get tired of it and just want to dump you as a Facebook friend.  Yes, “un” friend you.

It’s one thing to actually share your success or share advice that would be interesting to your friends.  It is another story when you are outright commercializing to them.

I have heard and read many reviews of certain businesses that use Facebook to market their products.  The bad reviews include that they hate their friends that are constantly marketing their products on Facebook.  They are tired of it.  So, two things happen here.  They have a negative opinion of the product.  They stop looking at their friend’s posts.  So, either way, it is not a win-win.

So that is one way you are putting your Facebook Profile at risk.  But there is a worst one, if you can imagine.

The second is according to Facebook rules, you should not use your Personal Profile for commercial use.   Don’t believe me, here it is in print:  https://www.facebook.com/terms   Here is a screen capture of the specifics on commercial use. That is why they created Business Pages.  For businesses.

To sweeten the deal and encourage you to use a Business Page and it does make sense, they add a lot of features to a Business Page that are not available in your Personal Profile.  A Facebook Page provides analytics on visits and posts, allows posts to be scheduled in advance, and provides additional fields and tabs for your viewers to know more about your business.  They have various categories to help you find the right Page design.  Oh, and it’s free!!  You can link your Personal Profile to your Business Page so your friends can find it easily.  Let them make the decision if they want to see more about your business.

Once they are on your Page, they can “like” it.  Friending is only for Profiles.  It’s a different world in the Business land.  They “like”.  Once they “ like“ your Page, your posts will show up in their newsfeed just like your personal profile posts.

You can schedule your posts to coincide when you know your audience is on Facebook.  If one of your friends “likes” a post their friends will often see that post too.  Expanding your reach.

Potential customers can find your Page and “like” it without you being friends with them.  This is huge.  Your Business Page is 100% public unlike your Personal Profile where you can limit access to your stuff.  You can share your Facebook Business Page link via your website or email address and anyone even if they don’t have a Facebook Account can get to your Page.

Plus, because of the “like” strategy you won’t have to “friend” people that you would rather not be “personal” with.  I don’t want to share my personal interests and travels with strangers.  So, when someone you know in a business situation requests to be friends with you, gently decline and ask them to “like” your page.  Your Profile is for your friends and family, not customers.  Its personal and it should stay personal.  If your business associate has a Facebook Business Page, offer to “like” theirs.  Now you are networking.

Now you can ignore my advice here and just keep doing what you’re doing.  But what would you do if Facebook one day decided to shut down your Profile because you violated the terms of Facebook?  Your business would take a real hit.  We have heard of people having that exact experience happen to them.

So if you still want to occasionally share with your friends about what is happening in your business or your success, that’s ok.  But please make sure you set up a Facebook Business Page to compliment it and use that to actually do your business marketing.

Once you check out a Facebook Business Page you will be shocked at all the good stuff that is available to you that you won’t find in your Profile.

If every evening Facebook hosts over 100 million Americans in Facebook to both socialize and keep up with newsworthy information you want to be there.  But be there in the right way.

Don’t risk your Personal Profile by thinking you can do what you want.  You don’t own Facebook.  It is rental property.  If you don’t obey the rules, you can go to Facebook jail.  Not real jail of course, but I wouldn’t want to lose my status on Facebook, why would you

By Janet Elie

Internet Marketing Specialist

Launch4Life

janet@launch4life.com

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Try It, You’ll like It – No Not the Pennysaver, Social Media

May 16, 2017 | Social Media

When Gillian and I first started our business, we had heard the buzz about Online Marketing but had no idea how important the internet and social media are to one’s business success.

First of all, no matter what business you own, whether it is a Hair Salon, a Pizza shop, or you are a coach or musician, if you want to market your business you need to use Online Marketing to get customers.  It’s a reality you must accept.  The first stage is having a Social Media Presence.  Let me explain.

In the old days, we would take out an ad in the local Pennysaver and then wait for people to call us.  Some of you may be scratching your head and thinking what is a “Pennysaver”.  It was the local newspaper and I mean local.  There would be one for each neighborhood, particularly in the suburbs of a large town.  In the Pennysaver, you would find out what was going on in your area and you would see advertisements for different businesses.  Believe it or not, we actually read it, because that is how you got your local news.

Nowadays, forget it.  Besides the fact that most people wouldn’t read an entire newspaper, it’s not how people want to receive the news. They want it in bite size chunks and usually they want to be in control of finding what they want to know.  Isn’t that amazing?  Controlling what you want to know.  So, the Pennysaver became obsolete.  With its obsoleteness businesses could no longer advertise.  At least no longer that way.

Fast forward to today.  Your business has to be where the people are….and surprise, surprise, it’s the internet and social media platforms.  News can be had through the internet in a number of ways.  Online newspapers.  Googling.  Platforms like Twitter or Facebook.  People may join Facebook groups where they can learn what is happening in their interest niche.

But how do businesses let people know about their services in this new world of internet and social media?  If you are a brick and mortar store, many people will use applications like Yelp.  They can research lists of hotels, restaurants, bars, health clubs, hair salons, nail salons, hardware stores, plumbers, insurance agents in their neighborhood or where they are visiting.  Plus, they can check out all those businesses before doing business.  They check reviews on Yelp.  Even Facebook that has a “services” type yellow pages.  Besides a business having a Yelp or Facebook Page, businesses can advertise on those same platforms to get first looks.  That might be easy if you are a brick and mortar business but what if you work at home?  What if your business is virtual.  How do people find you?

You certainly can’t sit around and hope they show up. You need to find your own way to these people through the internet.  Once you find them you need to put a stake in the ground so they can find you again and again.  Which means, shudder the thought, you need to use Social Media yourself.  I know, I know, many of you say, well I don’t like it.  I hate Facebook.  I don’t need Linked-In, I am not looking for a job.  Or any number of other excuses you may have.  But the reality is, that is where the people are.  So, if you want them to find you, that’s where you have to be.

The good news is that there are a lot of social media platforms, so you can choose the ones that are best for you.  Just select a couple and then see what happens.  Here are some suggestions for those that are novices to the social media world.  Find the one that fits best into your business world.  By the way, a lot of that decision making depends on your product and your audience.  Facebook for all ages, Linked-in for B2B networking, Twitter for Generation X & Y college grads for short comments.  Snapchat and Instagram for millennials. Pinterest for the hobby stuff.  Now I know I am generalizing here and there will be exceptions to the rule, but this is a good start.

My suggestion is first of all, pick one or two and sign up as a person, not a business.  Watch what goes on in that particular platform.  Find your circle of friends that are on Facebook. See what kinds of things they post.  Do a little research and see if you can find other businesses like yours.  See what they are posting.  See how many comments or reviews they are getting.  They are your competition.  Collect as much statistics as you can.  Secondly, check out the local chambers in your area.  They usually have a Facebook Page.  You may see members announcing workshops or events in the Chamber’s posts.

If your business model makes sense for you to network with others, sign up for Linked-In and then troll around and look up people that you know or people they know.  See what they are saying on Linked-In.  Are they posting articles?  Do the articles have any relevance to your business?  Or if nothing else, you can use it as a conversation starter, if you want to message them to be connected or talk offline.

Lastly, you could sign up for Twitter and then “follow” people you know or who you would like to know and see what they are up too.  If you like the essence of Twitter, which is short messages, you can create your own comments and see who follows you

Follow the same principals I mentioned above for Snapchat, Instagram, and Pinterest.  Be prepared to share pictures and videos.

Once you have done your research you can decide which platform might be good for you to host a Business Page for your business.  In time, you will develop some comfort and build a network within that platform.  With your research, you should feel more at ease every day about the right things to say.  Creating interesting posts with some eye candy graphics might take a little bit of time but it’s not difficult at all.  There are plenty of free graphic sites to pick from.  Also, if you find a relevant article share it.  You can share other Facebook, Linked-In or Twitter posts on your Business Page.

Once you have a platform presence as a business and start posting consistently, people will get to know you.  As they see what you are posting, they will get to like you.  And hopefully they will be able to trust you.  That is the objective.  By the way, no one is perfect so don’t worry about trying to be a top-notch professional.  Just relax and be YOU.

Lastly, if you are reading my advice and still feel you are kicking and screaming, you best accept it.  With pretty much everyone having some form of smart phone, every day more and more people are joining social media platforms.  I can’t imagine what the future holds. Who knows what that will look like but I can tell you, if you haven’t adapted, expect to be left behind.

You won’t be kicking or screaming.  You will be dead in the water.

So, let’s get social.  Try it, you’ll like it.

By the way, if you need some help with all this, Launch4life offers one-on-one coaching, online courses, and training.  Check out our free stuff and then give us a call or send us an email if you want to learn more.

www.launch4life.com/work-with-us

By Janet Elie

Internet Marketing Specialist

Launch4Life

janet@launch4life.com

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