• Before You Start: You are setting up a business Twitter account or fine tuning your Twitter profile.
• Learning Level: 2 | Getting Started
• Article Last Updated: Sunday, December 4, 2011

Twitter Bio Contents

Your Twitter bio is an important part of your business account profile. This is the one place where you can explain a bit about your business and show a little of your personality. Potential followers check out your bio to see what you are about and to learn how to become your customer. It’s a short but critical piece of your Twitter account.

There is an art to writing a concise Twitter bio that tells people what they need to know about your business. The bio should mostly provide factual information, but should have enough flair that it doesn’t sound like a press release.

Here are some bits of information that you may want to include in your business Twitter bio:

• What your company provides (products or services) and how they benefit the person reading your profile. Assume that the person has never heard of your company. What do you do and why should they care?
• If you company has multiple Twitter accounts (for customer services, sales, etc.) explain the role of this account and point people to your other accounts.
• The names of the people who who speak for your company through this account. Many companies give names followed by initials inserted in tweets for each person. For example: Jane Adams ^JA, Tom Stephens ^TS
• Your business marketing tag line.
• Awards and recognitions.

Twitter Bio Examples

Here are some great and not-so-great examples of Twitter bios with comments.

• AZHighways: This is the official Twitter account for Arizona Highways magazine. Our mission is to promote travel in Arizona. | Good example because it is factual and concise, but it lacks personality.
• CiaoBellaGelato: The official Ciao Bella twitter profile. Ciao Bella has been dishing out boldy unique gelato & sorbet for over 27 years. Your Tastebuds will Thank you. | Great example except for the mistakes in capitalization.
• PooreBrothers: Poore Brothers® Intensely Different™ flavored chips are the alternative to those boring, big-batch potato chips that lack flavor, freshness and a flare for fun. | Great example.
• Mashable: The hottest Twitter news, Twitter tips and Twitter help. Plus, the best social media links around! | Good example that could be improved with some personality.
• SaundersMFG: We are the clipboard people! | High on personality and helping readers connect with their products, but the emoticon is too much.
• JoesRealBBQ: Downtown Gilbert eatery featuring award-winning food in the Heritage District | Good example that lacks personality but communicates many facts efficiently.
• The_ASBA: Arizona Small Business Association (asba) can help your business save money, make money and create opportunities. Join asba. Be amAZed®. Call(602)306-4000 | Almost great example that needs just a little editing to have enough room for spaces in phone number.
• ArizonaDOT: Driven to get Arizona residents where they want to go. News and information from the Arizona Department of Transportation. (Tweeting and Driving Don’t Mix!) | Great example but lose the parentheses.
• AJBombers: Voted Milwaukee’s best new burger joint, smoke free and loads of p-nut bombs. Where everybody knows your name. Well, at least your twitter name. | Great example.
• MySpace: MySpace is a technology company connecting people through personal expression, content, and culture. | Bad example because it reads like a corporate mission statement. It doesn’t connect with the reader or explain its benefits for the reader.
• Yelp: The official Twitter voice of Yelp HQ. It’s a place for us to talk about press, product and policy at Yelp.com. | Good example that could be great if it explained what Yelp is.
• Firefox: I make the web a little faster, safer, smarter, better. | Weak example that could be improved by explaining what Firefox is and correcting the grammatical error.

• Ebook: Twitter For Beginners
• 9 Ways To Engage Your Twitter Community
• Naked Pizza: The Power of Twitter
• Twitter Conversation Checklist
• Your Twitter Web Link Options
• Twitter Profile Checklist
• Add  A Twitter List

• Before You Start: You created a Facebook business event and you are ready to invite people to attend.
• Learning Level: 3 | Building Skills
• Article Last Updated: Wednesday, November 8, 2011

Facebook Accounts & Events

Before going any further, make sure that you understand what kind of Facebook account (how you log into Facebook) you are using right now. This is not the same thing as separating your personal profile from your business page.

This is one of the most confusing things about Facebook.

If you log in to Facebook using a business account, you can’t invite your friends to your business event because as a business, you don’t have friends! However, if you log in to Facebook using a personal account and you are a page (or event) administrator, you have the option to invite your friends to your business event. In fact, anyone that you make an event administrator can invite their personal friends to your business event.

Facebook Business Events

Facebook doesn’t allow you to invite your business page fans (the people who like your business page) to your event. While this does limit businesses who schedule business events, it fits with the Facebook emphasis on individual privacy. When someone becomes a fan of your business, Facebook keeps their personal information private from your business.

You do have many options for inviting people to your event using your Facebook event. You just have to think about your strategy for invitations and be prepared to reach out in unexpected ways. Don’t rely just on Facebook to send out your invitations. You need to use every communication method available to your business to invite people to attend your event. You can use your Facebook event to provide the event details and manage the RSVPs.

Invite People To Your Facebook Business Event

There are several ways you can notify people of your event on Facebook. You are not limited to people who are on Facebook.

The Event On Your Business Page

Facebook automatically added your business event to your business page as a wall post. Anyone who sees your event on your wall or in their news feed can RSVP to your event.

• Everyone who is a fan of your business page sees your event in their news feed just like they see your wall posts. (There is no guarantee that Facebook displays your wall posts to every fan. It uses a complicated process to decide who sees your wall posts. That’s a topic for another article!)
• Anyone who has a Facebook account who lands on your business page sees your event on your wall.
• Depending on your Event application settings, you may have an Events menu option in the left column.

Update Your Page Fans

Facebook removed this feature in September 2011. They have not replaced it with any similar feature.

You can send an update to the fans of your business page. However, updates are not like messages and your fans may not know where to look for them. You can’t count on your fans reading your updates.

To send an update to the people who like your page:

1. Display your event page.
2. Click Update Fans of [your business page name]. If you are using Facebook as your page, you will have to switch back to your profile to complete this task. Facebook displays the Send An Update page.
3. You can send the update to all of your fans, or use the Target This Update check box to focus your update to specific fans based on demographics.
4. Type the update message subject.
5. Type the update message text.
6. Click Send.

Your fans find your update in the Updates tab of their Messages inbox.

Invite Your Personal Friends

If you have a Facebook profile and you are an event administrator, you can use the Select Guests To Invite event option to invite your personal Facebook friends to your business event. It is a best practice to not mix your business and personal contacts on Facebook. However, you may have a friend or two whom you would like to attend your event.

Ask Your Customers To Invite Their Friends
Anyone who visits your event page and has a Facebook personal profile can use the Select Guests To Come event option to attend your event. This feature allows them to review a list of friends and select the appropriate friends to invite. The newly invited guests receive a personal invitation from the person who sent it, not an invitation from your business.

• Create a Facebook Event
• Backing Up Your LinkedIn Connections
• Should My Business Be On Facebook?
• Manage Your Facebook Event
• Keeping The “Social” In Social Media

• Before You Start: You have a Facebook business page. You are planning a business event and want to use Facebook to provide event information and manage RSVPs.
• Learning level: 3 | Building Skills
• Article last updated: Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Facebook Events

One way you can bring people to your business is by hosting an event. Your event might be a workshop, a brown bag lunch speaker, or a tweetup at your business. Facebook allow you to create an event listing that you can share with people on Facebook. Your Facebook event can also be seen by people who are not Facebook users.

At the end of this article, you have added a Facebook event. Before you get started, here are some decisions you need to make:

• What is the event name? This is one event detail that you can’t change later, so make sure you start off with the best name.
• Do you want to make the event private? This means that only invited guests know about the event and the event administrator must invite each guest.
• Do you want to make the invited guest list available to anyone who visits the event page?

If you have a personal Facebook account and want to make a business event, it’s important that you follow these instructions exactly. Unfortunately, Facebook makes it easy to create an event that isn’t attached to your business page. If you create a personal event, you can’t attach it to your business later.

Add A Facebook Event

To add an event for your business:

1. Switch to use Facebook as your page.
2. Click Events (left column). Facebook displays a list of upcoming events for your business (if available).
3. If your page doesn’t have an Events option: Click Edit Page. Click Apps. Locate Events in the list. Click Edit Settings. Facebook displays the Edit Event Settings window. Next to Tab, click Add. Click Okay. Click View Page. Return to Step 2.
4. Click Create An Event. Facebook displays the Create An Event page.
5. Add an event photo using the Add Event Photo button. Add a picture from your computer. You can add your company logo, but a picture that includes people is more effective. The image is an important part of the event page. Don’t skip this step.
6. Enter the event date and time, including an end time if appropriate.
7. Type the event name at What Are You Planning? Choose carefully because you cannot change the event name after someone RSVPs that they are attending.
8. Type the event location, and add a street address if desired.
9. At More Info, type the event description. This information describes your event to people who receive invitations or land on your event page. Be clear and focused, but include enough information that people understand your event and are excited to attend.
10. If the guest list is public, leave the Show The Guest List On The Event Page checked.
11. If you want guests to be able to write on the event’s wall, leave the Non-Admins Can Write On The Wall checked.
12. Click Create Event. Facebook displays the event page.
13. At the event page, review your event details and use Edit Event to make any necessary changes .

You have created the event and the event page appears in Facebook. In the next article, you learn how to invite guests to your event.

• Organize A Tweet-Up!
• Invite People To Your Facebook Event
• Create A Facebook Page For Your Business (Part 1)
• Create A Facebook Page For Your Business (Part 2)
• Understanding Facebook Accounts
• Manage Your Facebook Event
• Growing Your Tweet-Up

• Before You Start: You created a Facebook event and invited people to attend.
• Learning Level: 3 | Building Skills
• Article Last Updated: Sunday, December 4, 2011

Manage Your Facebook Event

After creating your Facebook event and inviting people, there are still things you can do with your event before the event date.

• Update Event Details. At any time, you can update the event details and features. Click Edit Event. From here, you can edit the event information.
• View The Guest List. You can view a list of all RSVPs that includes separate lists for people who are attending, might attend, declined, have not yet responded, and blocked. Click See All or View and choose the RSVP status from the drop-down list under View Guest List window name to see this information.
• Remove People From The Guest List. You can remove anyone from the guest list in any RSVP status. To remove a person, display the guest list, locate their name in a guest list, hover the mouse over their name, click X (remove), and click Okay to confirm.
• Block People From The Event. You can ban a person from the event. To block someone, display their name in a guest list, click X (remove), click the Ban Permanently checkbox, and click Okay to confirm. You can see a list of blocked people in the Blocked status in the guest list.
• Message People Who Like Your Page. You can send out a message to all or some of the people who like your page. Click Update Fans Of, type the message, and click Send. To restrict which people receive this message, check Target This Update checkbox and provide geographic or demographic restrictions.
• Add An Additional Event Administrator. The person who created the event is automatically added as the event administrator. You can add other administrators to help you manage the event. View the guest list for any RSVP status, locate the person in the list, and click Make Admin.
• Cancel The Event. If you need to cancel the event, click Edit Event, click  Cancel This Event, type a personal message, and click Okay. Facebook sends the message to everyone invited to your event.

Related Articles:

• Create a Facebook Event
• Invite People To Your Facebook Event
• Get A Custom Facebook Web Address (Username)
• Create A Facebook Page For Your Business (Part 1)
• Organize A Tweet-Up!
• Facebook Status Update Tricks
• Facebook Places and Your Business

• Before You Start: You are curious about the mobile aspect of social media. You may have seen a QR code on a business door.
• Learning Level: 1 | Getting Started
• Article Last Updated: Wednesday, August 17, 2011

QR Code Basics

Have you noticed these weird spotty square images showing up on business doors? They are called QR codes (for Quick Response) and you are going to start seeing a lot more of them.

These codes, also known as two dimensional (2D) bar codes, came from Japan where they have been used to quickly scan parts in automobile factories. They are called 2D because they can be scanned either side to side or top to bottom. Normal bar codes can only be scanned side to side.

They quickly became popular when people realized they could be used to create a hardlink, a link from the physical word to the internet. They spread to Europe and are just now starting to appear in the United States.

How QR Codes Work

Smart phones can read these bar codes with specialized software (apps) installed on the phone. You take a picture of the code with your cell phone camera, and the QR code software interprets the website and uses the phone’s network to take you to the internet address hidden in the code. This process is also known as mobile tagging.

How a cell phone processes a QR code.

Business Use of QR Codes

QR codes can be used to hold other types of information, such as your contact information, but the most popular use today is a hardlink to a special website page. For example, you could put a QR code at your business front door, on your business card, in a print ad,a mailer,  or on even on a billboard that takes people to a special coupon or promotion page on your website.

You can create your own QR codes from several websites, and you can download the QR reader software for your smart phone from your phone’s software application store.

With the number of mobile internet users on the rise, you can use QR codes to tap into the mobile advertising market. It’s really easy once you understand these few basic concepts.

Your turn: Have you started seeing QR codes on businesses in your town? Can you think of ways that you could incorporate QR codes into your advertising for the mobile internet market?

Related Articles:

• The Mobile Revolution Is Coming
• Geolocation, Geolocation, Geolocation
• Google Maps And QR Codes
  
• Facebook Places and Your Business
• What is RSS? And Why Does It Matter?

• Before You Start: You want to start using Twitter. Some of the topics make more sense after you have a little experience using Twitter.
• Learning Level: 1 | Social Media Basics
• Article Last Updated: Wednesday, August 17, 2011
• Ebook Last Updated: May 13, 2011

Twitter For Beginners Ebook

Note: Updated version (version 7) is now available!

Twitter is a great communication tool for companies who want to embrace social media. But Twitter is something brand new, and is unlike anything else you have ever used. That makes it a little harder to understand at first. The Twitter For Beginners ebook is designed for anyone who is thinking about using Twitter, or anyone who has jumped into the Twitter swimming pool but isn’t happy with their Twitter experience.

Ebook Contents

This short ebook (only 32 pages) covers the basics and explains many of the Twitter features. Here’s some of what you learn in the Twitter For Beginners ebook:

• Basic overview of Twitter and how it works
• Importance of defining your Twitter business goal
• Best practices for setting up your Twitter account profile
• Strategies for defining your Twitter community
• Guidelines for crafting effective messages
• Procedures for using each message type
• Deciphering message components and their importance
• Planning weekly activities that build your Twitter success
• Start using Twitter on your text-message enabled cell phone

Reading & Printing

The ebook is designed to be read on your monitor. You can read it online, or you can download it to your computer and read it there. You can click on any of the links (in orange) to access the articles and information mentioned. If you don’t want to read it on your screen, you can print the ebook, but you won’t be able to click the links.

Share This Ebook

This ebook has the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. This means you can email it, print it, tweet about it, post it on your Facebook wall, and share it any way you like with two exceptions. You must not change the ebook in any way, and you cannot sell it.

What’s New In This Edition

This is the seventh version of this ebook and is updated and expanded from the previous version. It is one page longer, and now includes information about using new Twitter and its features. If you have an older version, download the new version today!

Download Now!

Related Articles:

• Twitter Is Like Attending A Party
• Understanding Your Twitter Community
• Twitter Profile Checklist
• Your Twitter Web Link Options
• Twitter Search and Saved Searches
• Grow Your Twitter Community
• Communicate With Your Twitter Community
• Help! My Twitter Account is Suspended!!
• Twitter Conversation Checklist
• 6 Reasons Why Potential Customers Won’t Follow You on Twitter
• Using Your Twitter Goals

• Before You Start: You have one or more active social media accounts.
• Learning level: 4 | Creating Solutions
• Article Last Updated: Wednesday, May 2, 2012

How Do Your Online Visitors See Your Business?

Recently, I walked into a local business for the first time. It was a factory showroom, so the space was functional and minimal. But a sense of warmth, of welcome, and friendliness oozed in the space.

How did they accomplish this with a bare cement floor, white walls, and almost no furnishings?

First Impressions Matter

When I walked into the space, I found a small table loaded with essentials: business cards and brochures. But it also provided pens (so I could take notes) and a selection of candies including breath mints.

At first, I was alone in the space, on my own to discover the items on display. Soon, someone came from the office and asked how they could help me. They invited me to look around and asked if I wanted anything to drink, and offered me a list of beverages including both hot and cold drinks.

A few minutes later, another employee walked into the space, and when he discovered me there, again offered me something to drink.

By the time I shook hands with the person I was meeting, I had encountered four employees who all welcomed me and offered me something to drink. In those few minutes while I was waiting, I had formed a strong opinion about this company, their brand, and their business culture. And I decided that I wanted to do business with this company.

All of this in a bare bones factory showroom space.

Make Your Visitors Feel Welcome

So what does this have to do with social media?

One of the key success factors for social media is your ability to make people feel welcome. That’s hard to do in a digital space. You get some control over your website through colors, layout and the words you use. But on sites like Facebook, everyone gets the same basic blue page, like a room with minimal furnishings.

How can your business really communicate your personality online so that potential customers feel welcome? Here’s a few ideas:

• Talk to people. When someone comments on your blog, replies to a tweet you sent, or comments on your Facebook post, make a friendly response.
• Anticipate their questions. Since the dawn of the internet, websites have posted frequently asked questions (FAQs). Make sure that you provide answers to common questions in logical places.
• Anticipate their needs. Like putting pens and breath mints at the door, what do your visitors need? Every business has different clients with different needs. What about an overview of how you work with clients? Or publish a chart that compares your products or services so people can easily see which one best fits their needs?
• Make it easy to become a customer. If you have a physical location, don’t just provide your address, add a map or a map link. On your website, provide a contact form that requires the information you need and gives them an expectation of how soon you will respond. On social media, provide links to your website and contact form.

When possible, do more than they expect from you. In my showroom visit, the pens were a nice touch. But the breath mints and candies exceeded my expectations.

This doesn’t have to cost much or take much time. I didn’t get free or discounted products–I got mints. Saying hello and offering me a drink took less than a minute of time away from their jobs. The gestures were all small, but all right on target.

A little switch went off in my brain. I realized that I was dealing with a company who would provide outstanding service and attention to detail because of how welcome I felt in those first minutes.

Turn Visitors Into Customers (And Fans)

If you want to build a thriving online community of fans who rave about your business to their friends, you need to exceed their expectations. You need to delight them with the small details that show you care about them and that you are paying attention.

In other words, it’s not enough to just do your job well. In the social media age, you need to figure out how to make your community members feel welcome. And you do that by putting yourself in their shoes and anticipating what they need from you.

Related Articles:

• It’s Not About You–It’s About Your Customers
• A Twitter Band-Aid Can’t Save Your Business
• Put Your Best Foot Forward With Technology
• How To Respond To A Negative Review

• Before You Start: You have a Facebook business page.
• Learning level: 3 | Building Skills
• Article Last Updated: Thursday, March 8, 2012

Facebook Business Page Timeline Changes

On March 30, 2012, all Facebook business pages will convert to the new timeline format. This change is not optional. It will happen automatically.

Here’s 12 of the most important changes you need to consider before March 30th.

Facebook Page Header

The timeline format changes the information and images displayed at the top of your page.

1. Cover Photo. Your page allows you to share a large image (850 pixels wide by 315 pixels tall) of your business, products, staff, or your client work. Here’s where you can get creative. There are some new rules you must follow. For example, you can’t include words for contact information, offer special prices or products, or ask people to like your page.
2. Profile Picture. Previously, Facebook took your profile picture and created a thumbnail image that it used when you posted or commented. Now, Facebook uses the thumbnail version as your profile picture. If your profile picture doesn’t work in the new format, you can upload a new one that is square (180 pixel maximum). When your profile picture appears on posts and comments, its only 32 pixels square. Make sure it looks right at this small size, also.
3. About Your Business. The About block moves from the left column to right under your profile picture. You can write up to 170 characters about your business, a big improvement over the last layout. However, if you want your website link to appear, you have to include the entire link, even the HTTP stuff at the beginning.
4. Views and Apps. Your existing tabs and applications are moved from below your profile picture to a single row across the header next to the About box. Four boxes appear here, but you can have up to 12 items here. The down arrow (beside the AWeber box in the example) lets your visitors access the other views and apps.

There is some good news and bad news about the new Views and Apps.

• If you currently have a custom landing page, you can no longer force people to land on a landing page. They will always go directly to your Timeline view.
• Your existing tabs still exist, and they are larger than before.
• You are stuck with the Photos box, but you can swap out the others. Make sure that your most important tabs appear as your first 3 boxes so they are always visible to your visitors.

Facebook Page Timeline

The way Facebook displays your wall postings also changes with the timeline format.

1. Highlighted Posts. You can feature a wall post by clicking the Highlight star (upper right corner of the post). This makes the post widescreen so it stands out in your timeline. You can also pin a post (upper right corner of the post) which keeps this post at the top of your wall postings for the next 7 days. Starred posts remain wide screen but move down as you add new items to your wall.
2. Posts By Others.  Previously, posts made by other people on your wall appeared on your wall (depending on your settings).  Now, Facebook lumps them together and puts them into a special box where people can see a summary and click to see more details on each post. With the timeline format, it’s possible to remove posts by others from your display, and you can break out individual posts to display in your timeline, but it’s a bit of work that you have to repeat for each post.
3. Standard Posts. Every post you make appears in a single column in your timeline. People can still interact with your post with all of the features you expect (like, comment, etc.).
4. Featured Likes. Facebook moves the Featured Likes list (selected pages that your page likes) into a separate box near the top of the timeline.

Facebook Page Admin Panel

With the new timeline format, your page administrators get some new and improved tools. To access your Admin Panel, click the button in the top right corner of your page.

1. Notifications. This is where Facebook shares notifications of interactions with your page.
2. Messages. With the timeline format, people can now send a message to your page. This is a great addition to the page features. If someone has a question for you about your business, products, or services, they can ask you in private rather than having to post on your wall in public. In addition, they can attach a file or a photo to their message.
3. New Likes. Facebook shares the names of the people who most recently liked your page.
4. Insights. From this box, you can access the improved Facebook Insights that show you detailed statistics of how your page performs.

Take some time to preview your page in the new timeline format and start preparing for the rollover now.

Related Articles:

• Get Your Message Out On Facebook
• Use Facebook As Your Page
• A Facebook Page Means Business

Pin It

Here is the recording from the second session of Create Ebooks Your Customers Will Love (January 2012).

Create Ebooks Your Customers Will Love (session 3) (65M) (1:22)

To download the recording, right click on the recording title (above). Choose “Save Link As…” or “Save Target As…”. Choose the location to store the file on your computer.

Don’t forget to schedule your 30-minute consultation call with me.

• Before You Start: You have a Facebook business page where you post items frequently each week.
• Learning level: 4 | Creating Solutions
• Article Last Updated: Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Do You Understand Facebook?

How well do you understand Facebook? Check your understanding by answering this question.

• Question: Does everyone who likes your business page sees everything you post on your business page wall?
• Answer: NO!

Does this surprise you? It shocks most business people.

Facebook News Feed Filter

It turns out that Facebook has a complicated formula it uses to decide what to put into each person’s news feed. It takes all of the possible items from all of their friends and every business they like, and figures out which items each person most likely will love to read. That’s right! Facebook filters what goes into each person’s news feed. So what does this mean for your business?

• Some who like your page may never see anything you post.
• Other people will see some of what you post.
• Most likely, no one who likes your page will ever see all of your posts.

What Is Facebook Thinking?

Facebook has a good reason for filtering the news feed. They want everyone with a personal profile to have a great experience on Facebook. So they want to provide items in the news feed that are most likely to delight each person. Facebook’s primary concern is not getting your business message out. Facebook’s primary concern is giving people (not businesses) a  wonderful Facebook experience. If that means eliminating your business wall posts from the news feed, they are okay with that. Facebook does give each business another way to reach people, a way that they guarantee will reach your target audience. That tool is Facebook ads. The odds are stacked against your business page wall posts getting the visibility you want. So is it even worth your effort to be on Facebook? And if you decide to use Facebook, is there a way you can still get the most from your Facebook wall posts?

Should My Business Be On Facebook?

Choosing which social media tools to use for your business is one of the most important decisions you make for your business. The right social media tools help you business in many ways.

• Showcase your products and services.
• Help you build stronger relationships with existing customers.
• Help you reach out to the public and potential customers.
• Increase the visibility of your business and products.

Facebook is the largest social media tool on the planet. It can help you reach your existing customers and find new customers whether you are B2B or B2C. It’s not a perfect platform for every business or every industry. But having a Facebook presence can help most businesses.

How May People See Each Post?

Facebook tells you how many people see each item you post on your business page wall. To see this, you must be using Facebook as your page. Display your business page wall. At the bottom of each post, right above the links for like, comment, and share, Facebook says: “X people reached.” This tells you how many people got this item in their news feed.

Measuring Post Visibility

You can calculate what percent of the people who like your page see each wall post. To do this, take the number of people reached and divide it by the number of likes for your page. For example, if Facebook says 48 people reached and you have 287 people who like your page, you take 48 ÷ 287, or approximately 17% saw that post.

Getting Your Posts Seen

There are things you can do to increase the chances of people seeing your business page wall posts. It’s really worth your effort to do these things. They can double or triple the visibility of each post. With a little effort, you can increase the visibility of each wall post and keep reaching deeper into your Facebook community. But to really reach your online community with your message, you need to be using tools other than Facebook. For example, you can:

• Share your Facebook posts on Twitter with a link to the individual post.
• Mention your Facebook posts in your email newsletter.
• Talk about your Facebook posts when you conduct conference calls or webinars.
• Add a link to your Facebook business page to your website and email signature.

The key to getting your message out on Facebook is to increase the chances of people seeing your wall posts. Then, use other tools to direct people to your Facebook page. Together, these practices will help you reach deeper into your Facebook community.

• 6 Ways To Get Your Facebook Wall Posts Seen
• Use Facebook As Your Page
• Connect With Facebook Tags
• Facebook Status Update Tricks
• Should My Business Be On Facebook?
• Facebook As A Social Media Hub
• Does Anyone See Your Facebook Posts?

Pin It

Here is the recording from the second session of Create Ebooks Your Customers Will Love (January 2012).

Create Ebooks Your Customers Will Love (session 2) (28M) (1:08)

To download the recording, right click on the recording title (above). Choose “Save Link As…” or “Save Target As…”. Choose the location to store the file on your computer.

Use the comments on this post to:

• Ask questions. I’ll be stopping by every day.
• Get feedback from others in the class.
• Add feedback to other people’s comments.

See you next week!

Here is the recording from the first session of Create Ebooks Your Customers Will Love (January 2012).

Create Ebooks Your Customers Will Love (session 1) (54M) (1:03)

To download the recording, right click on the recording title (above). Choose “Save Link As…” or “Save Target As…”. Choose the location to store the file on your computer.

Use the comments on this post to:

• Ask questions. I’ll be stopping by every day.
• Get feedback from others in the class.
• Add feedback to other people’s comments.

See you next week!

There are a few things you need to complete before the first webinar session on Tuesday, January 24:

1. Download and print the webinar workbook.

Your workbook contains information to help you during and after the webinar. It’s important that you use the workbook to take notes during the session so you have everything you need in one location.

Create Ebooks Your Customers Will Love Workbook (47 pages)

To download, right click on the workbook title (above).  Choose “Save Link As…” or “Save Target As…”. Choose the location to store the file on your computer. Then open the file and print it.

You will need the free Adobe Acrobat reader to view and print your workbook. (Most people already have this program on their computer.)

2. Start looking at other people’s ebooks.

There are as many ways to do ebook as there are people making ebooks! Nothing is right or wrong. There are options that are easier to read and use than others. The rest of the choices are all about style.

Here are some ebooks to help you get started. It doesn’t matter about the topic of these ebooks. You are not reading them to learn about the topic. You are reading them to get ideas about things you like and don’t like about ebook layout and formatting before you start working on your ebook.

• 10 Facebook Promotion Myths.
• David Meerman Scott. (choose any or all of his ebooks)
• Website Migration Handbook.
• International Women’s Day Gift.
• The Poinsettia.
• Five Mistakes Creative People Make With Money.
• One Minute Website.
• 16 Ways To Use Writing To Promote Your Business.

Or, you can do a search for “ebook” and see what you find.

3. Sign up for the first session.

On Monday, January 23, you will receive an email with the webinar invitation. Click the link to sign up for the session. You receive a customized link that will allow you to access the webinar on Tuesday.

You will receive a webinar confirmation email within a few minutes.

Would you like to rewatch the introductory video? I’ve posted it online for your review.

I look forward to seeing you on Tuesday!

• Before You Start: You have a business blog with comments.
• Learning level: 4 | Creating Solutions
• Article Last Updated: Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Blog Comment Insights

When you first start a business blog, you write your heart out, click publish, and wait for the comments to roll in. Sometimes, you have a long wait. But after time, your blog begins to pick up readers, then regular readers, and soon your posts are getting comments.

Now the fun begins.

Here are 5 things you can learn from your blog post comments.

#1 Hot Button Topics

Occasionally, you will write a blog post that seems to have a life of its own. It gets tweeted, shared on Facebook, and you are drowning in comments. That’s all good stuff.

It means that your post hit a hot button topic with your readers, and they felt compelled to share your post with their friends, and give you their opinion on it. It doesn’t matter if they showered you with praise, or told you that you might be the anti-Christ.  What matters is that you found a topic that people really care about.

This is a topic that you should explore in more depth. But be careful as you start planning future posts. If you got a lot of negative feedback, make sure that your next post has rock-solid logic, and that you express your opinion in a respectful manner. It’s not about stirring the pot. It’s about giving people new ideas and new perspectives to consider.

#2 Dead Topics

While you are building your audience, don’t blacklist a topic because a post didn’t get any comments. But when you look at your blog as a whole, the posts with fewer comments may be telling you that these topics missed the target.

This is an opportunity to revisit the topic with a new post with a fresh take on the subject. This time, add something new to the mix, a story about your experience, more opinion, and a catchy title. If the new article doesn’t resonate with your audience, put that topic on slow rotation and write about it infrequently. Or don’t write about it for a while.

#3 Burning Questions

I love when people ask questions in blog post comments. There is no better way to find out what is on the hearts and minds of your readers. When someone asks a question, they show you how they see that topic. Armed with this information, you can see new ways to write about this topic, and new background information your audience wants to hear from you.

Answer their questions in the comments, but use their questions to write more engaging blog posts in the future, also.

#4 Timing

One common question with no easy answer is: what time of day and day of the week should I post? You can ask the same question for your blog, Twitter, Facebook, and other publishing platforms. You can get a clue about when people are reading your posts by seeing the time of their comments.

Combine the comment time with their time zone to get a sort of profile of when people are reading your posts. You can try shifting your publication date and time to right before your most popular reading time to see if you get increased (or decreased) readings.

#5 Reader Identity

I use the email addresses of my blog comments to figure out who is reading my posts. Did they use a business email address or a personal address? Can I tell from the top level domain identifier (.com, .co, .au, etc.) where in the world the commenter is located? Do I have a lot of commenters from the same country or region of the world?

Ask yourself if the information you provide is truly international. Is there a regional variation or twist that might interest your readers? Can you start to include examples in your posts from other parts of the world?

Related Articles:

• The Value Of Your Experience
• Find Social Media Topics For Your Business
• How Does A Blog Help My Business?
• What is RSS? And Why Does It Matter?

Holiday Ebook Webinar (session 3) (60M)

To download the recording, right click on the recording title (above).  Choose “Save Link As…” or “Save Target As…”. Choose the location to store the file on your computer. Use the comments on this post to:

• Ask questions. I’ll be stopping by every day.
• Get feedback from others in the class.
• Add feedback to other people’s comments.

Thanks so much for your active participation in this course. Don’t forget to take advantage of the bonuses available only to you.

There are a few things you need to complete before the third webinar session on Tuesday, November 22th:

1. Download and print the session workbook.

Your workbook contains information to help you during and after the webinar. It’s important that you use the workbook to take notes during the session so you have everything you need in one location. Download the workbook file and print it.

Holiday Ebook Webinar: Session 3 Workbook (13 pages)

To download, right click on the workbook title (above).  Choose “Save Link As…” or “Save Target As…”. Choose the location to store the file on your computer.

You will need the free Adobe Acrobat reader to view and print your workbook. (Most people already have this program on their computer.)

2. Keep writing your ebook.

Use your detailed outline to guide you through the writing process.

3. Keep looking at other people’s ebooks.

You need to see a lot of ebooks before you can start making layout and formatting decisions for your own ebook.

4. Sign up for the final session.

On Monday, you will receive an email with the webinar invitation. Click the link to sign up for the session. You receive a customized link that will allow you to access the webinar on Tuesday.

You will receive a webinar confirmation email within a few minutes.

I look forward to seeing you on Tuesday!