The creative, inspired and innovative among us will rejoice in all of the new ways that Facebook allows you to share your story.

Migrating to Timeline for your business.

The thought of updating your page to the new layout may feel a bit daunting, so I’ve compiled a simple list that will help you navigate the process.

Phase 1:  Setting up your Timeline

1. Add cover photo

Your cover photo should be a minimum of 399 pixels wide.  The Ideal dimensions are 850 pixels by 315 pixels.

An important note regarding the cover photo: per Facebook, “This space is not meant for promotions, coupons or advertisements. Your cover photo should not be primarily text-based or infringe on anyone else’s copyright.”

Further, it may not contain:

• price or purchase information, such as “40 percent off” or “Download it at our website”;
• contact information, such as Web address, email, mailing address or other information intended for your page’s “About” section;
• references to user interface elements, such as “like,” “share,” or any other Facebook site features; and
• calls to action, such as “Get it now” or “Tell your friends.”

It’s clear that Facebook wants brands to use the cover photo to tell their story and not as a banner advertisement.

2. Add profile picture

The ideal dimensions are 180 pixels by 180 pixels.

3. Complete your About section

The “About” section for businesses who have a physical location will reflect their local information.

For all other pages, Facebook displays 170 characters of your About section.  This is a great place to add a strong call to action.

4. Review your apps

Facebook has removed the ability to set a default landing tab for new visitors. Therefore, you may need to revisit your Facebook apps to determine if they are still relevant.   You have the ability to feature two apps.  Another important thing to note is that tabs have increased in size from 520 pixels to 810 pixels.

If you’d like to change the default image of the app, visit your admin panel and:

1. select “manage”;
2. select “edit page”;
3. select “apps”;
4. select “edit settings” on the app you want to update; and
5. under customer tab image, select “change. “

(Hopefully, they make this process easier in the future)

Important note regarding apps:  Before you go “app crazy,” it’s important for you to understand that it is unlikely that people will actually visit your custom apps unless you publish the links directly to your fans feed, or you use advertising to drive new visitors directly to your custom apps.  As a result, I recommend focusing on your content before you begin to obsess over installing a bunch of new apps.

5. Configure your settings

By visiting the back end of your page, you can customize your page settings to match your personal preferences.

Important note regarding messages:  I would advise you to make sure that fans of your page can send you messages.  Here  are the steps:

1. visit admin panel;
2. select “manage”;
3. select “manage permissions”; and
4. check off “Show Message Button …”

(See below for more on Messaging.)

Phase 2:  Adding and highlighting content

You now have the ability to hide, star, add milestones and pin your content.

1. Add important Milestones

Take the time to go through and add the important Milestones to your business that will help people get a better understanding of your business.

I would recommend checking out Burberry to see a great example of a brand sharing their Milestones. They feature interesting historical facts about the company that really tell a story which may help customers develop a personal connection with the brand.

2.  Highlighting content

To highlight important stories, simply click the star icon.  The story will expand to the full width of your timeline.

3.  Pinning

Facebook allows you to anchor the most important story to the top of your Page for up to seven days. This is known as “pinning.”

Many brands are taking advantage of this new feature to highlight an important story.  It’s a great way to ensure that your important stories get the most exposure.

Phase 3:  Managing your page

One of the major enhancements to Pages is the new admin panel.  With the admin panel, users will have the ability to view notifications, messages, new likes and insights on one screen.

1.  Build your audience

You can upload your contacts to invite them to your page.  I personally feel that this is one of the least effective ways to grow your audience.

If you have an email list, I would send a personal message explaining to them what type of information you will be sharing on your page and why they might consider liking it.

If you’re just getting started, you may want to invite your close friends and loyal customers.

Here is how:

1. select “Admin Panel”;
2. select “Build Audience”;
3. select “Invite Friends”;
4. select “Friends”; and
5. select “Submit.”

2. Monitor notifications

You have the ability to view notifications from your admin panel.  I would get in the habit of checking your page notifications at least twice a day.

3. Monitor messages

One of my favorite new features is the ability for fans to send businesses direct messages.  This is a great way to take a public conversation to a private one-to-one chat.

I envision brands adding strong calls to action encouraging fans to send a direct message in status updates.

I tested it out with Big Daddy’s BBQ (see below):

As you can see, this messaging process allows for a new level of direct interaction between businesses and customers. Brands will no longer feel the need to drive fans back to their website, as conversions can happen on Facebook.

Concluding comments

So, that’s an overview of some of the new and exciting features of Facebook’s Timeline for Businesses.

If you need some inspiration for your own page, I’d suggest checking out these pages:

• The Corcoran Group;
• Mashable;
• Burberry;
• Chevy Sonic;
• Ike’s Place;
• Modern Family; and
• Magnolia Bakery.

If you have any questions about Timeline, please feel free post below and I’ll be sure to comment.

For additional reading:

• 28 Things you need to know about the New Facebook Pages
• The Complete Guide To Facebook Timeline Pages
• 7 New Facebook Changes Impacting Businesses
• Facebook introduction
• Facebook Training Videos

Since the recent changes to Facebook’s news feed, many businesses have reported a significant decline in the impressions and engagement they are getting from their posts.

The chart below represents the findings from a one-month study by EdgeRank Checker. The study concluded that the average page reported a decline in impressions, likes and comments.

In addition, every business’s customers are connecting with more and more people everyday, AND to make matters worse, their friends are sharing more information. And that matters because it means that businesses are competing against more competition for their customers’ collective attention.

As overall sharing increases, it’s harder and harder for any business to be heard among the noise of the feed.

During Web 2.0 Summit, Mark Zuckerberg was quoted as saying, “I would expect that next year, people will share twice as much information as they share this year” (see Zuckerberg’s Law).

What does this all mean?

Our customers are becoming inundated with content, and it’s only going to get worse.

If we are to succeed using Facebook as a customer relationship tool, we must first capture our customers’ attention.

And that’s a real challenge.

But there could be a solution to this.

And it might be easier than you think.

Facebook groups might just be the perfect tool to help you solve that problem.

Why Facebook groups?

Facebook groups are highly accessible.

As you can see with the screenshots below, groups have a prominent position on all versions of Facebook (desktop, native app and mobile).

Your customers are more likely to interact with your group because they are constantly being exposed to it.

Facebook has also built in a more robust notification system.

When your customers become a member of the group, they are notified via email and Facebook notification when there is any activity within the group. This creates a powerful “pull” that draws your customers back into the group.

My personal experience:

On March 15, 2011, I launched my first Facebook group.

I had a seemingly simple and obvious idea of creating a place where real estate professionals could seek help for their technical problems. I called this group the “Tech Support Group for Real Estate Agents.”

In the last 11 months, the group has surged to more than 3,400 members.

It has become an amazing place where real estate professionals can connect and engage with like-minded people.

When I launched The Frugyl Club this past month, I created the same type of environment for my customers.

By creating a Facebook group for The Frugyl Club, I’ve been able to gain an intimate knowledge of what my customers care deeply about. I have used these new insights to create a better experience for them. This knowledge has been an invaluable asset to the successful launch and early-stage growth of my business.

Why build on Facebook?

Simple: because it’s where the people are, and it’s where they spend the most time. To add some perspective … of the 70 billion minutes being spent on social networking sites, 95 percent of that time is devoted to Facebook.

By creating a destination for your customers to learn, share and connect on a deeper level, you increase your chances of capturing their attention. And keeping it for the long haul!

And if you can do that, you have an opportunity to create an amazing experience for your customers and build true customer loyalty.

Security tends to be an afterthought for many people who are using Facebook, until this happens (see below)

The obscene photo above was posted by an unsuspecting user whose account was hijacked by a virus. In this article, I’ll walk you through how to set up your Facebook Security settings and what to do if your account has been hacked.

Getting Started- visit your Facebook Security Page 

Secure Browsing

When you log into Facebook through a secure connection, all of your activity becomes encrypted, thus making it harder for anyone to access your information.

At this time, this feature is not available for mobile.

I’d recommend accessing Facebook through a secure connection whenever possible.

Login Notification

Any time your account is logged into through a device that you haven’t used before, you can have Facebook send you an Email or Text message alerting you of the activity.

Here is an example of a notification email sent from Facebook

If you do not recognize the device, you can click on the link provided in the email to end the active session and secure your account.

Login Approvals

When you log into Facebook from an unknown device, Facebook will text you a code that you will use to sign into your account.

Without that code, a user cannot access their Facebook account.

App Passwords

If you have activated Login Approvals and you are trying to access Facebook through an app like Skype, Xbox of Jabber – you will need to generate an App Password.  I do not think you will ever use this feature.

Recognized Devices

When you successfully log into a new computer for the first time, Facebook will ask you if you want to add this device to your Recognized Devices list.  If you add a device to a Recognized Devices list, you will be not be required to jump through a security hoops to access your account.

Be sure to check this list to ensure that you haven’t unintentionally added a work computer or public computer to this list.

To remove a computer, simply click the Remove link to the right of the date stamp.

Active Sessions

Under Active Session you can see a list of all your recent activity on Facebook.

You will have visibility to when you logged into the account, the device name (if you have login notifications set up), the location and the device type.  As an additional security feature, you have the ability to End Activity for any unauthorized session.

I’d recommend reviewing your active session at least once a week.

Removing a Spammy App

If you believe your account has been compromised as a result of authorizing a malicious Facebook app, visit your app page.

You will see a list of all the apps that have access to your Facebook personal profile.  Go through the list and remove any app that you do not recognize.  To remove an app, simply however over the “X” to the right of the edit hyperlink.

Fixing a Hacked Account

Fixing a hacked account is fairly simple.  Follow the steps below to restore your account

• The first step is to visit http://facebook.com/hacked
• Select Continue
• Reset Password  (Must be a new password)
• Review your Account

You are your best defense

If you want to protect your account, you must ensure that you do everything in your power to keep it secure.  Avoid logging into Facebook from public or shared computers, review your active session regularly and activate the Login Notifications and Approvals.

 Additional Reading

Facebook Security Help – Facebook Security FAQ’s 

Facebook Help Center for Hacked Accounts 

Areweconnected.com How to Kill a bad Facebook App

Facebook Security Facebook Page  

Sources http://sophosnews.files.wordpress.com/2011/10/facebook-security-infographic.pdf

On October 19th, The Geeky Girls launched a contest to give away a prize to their top fan.

How did they do it?

They stirred the pot

They announced the contest (on their blog)

They posted it on Facebook

They stirred the pot some more

They kept their fans up to date with results

They announced the winner

Results

Data compiled from 10/12-10/18 over 10/19-10/25

• 263% Increase in People Reached over previous week
• 205% Increase in Page Likes over previous week
• 196% Increase in People Talking About This over previous week
• 187% Increase in Page Views over previous week
• 401% Increase in Unique Users Post View over previous week

Conclusion

The Geeky Girls were able to significantly increase their traffic, page likes and engagement by giving away a t-shirt.

Total cost = Less than $10.00

Facebook has just introduced their latest version of Page Insights.  

With Pages Insights, you can:

• Understand the performance of your Page;
• Learn which content resonates with your audience; and
• Optimize how you publish to your audience so that people will tell their friends about you¹

Here is a list of examples;

• Liked your Page
• Liked, commented on, or shared your Page post
• Answered a Question you’ve asked
• Responded to your event
• Mentioned your Page
• Tagged your Page in a photo
• Checked in or recommended your Place

This metric is displayed in two ways; Page level and Post level.

• Page Level – How many people are “talking” about your page in the last 7 days.
• Post Level – How many people are “talking” about a particular post.

At a page level, the Talking about This metric is a useful way to get a quick snapshot of your pages activity.

If you’re interested in doing an in-depth analysis of what really gets people to engage, I would recommend drilling down to the post level to review each post individually.

Quick Tip: Make a list of your top 5 “talked” about post, do more of that. Make a list of your least 5 “talked” about post, do less of that.

Friends of Fans Network

The Friends of Fans: The number of unique people who are friends with your fans, including your current fans.²

This metric gives us insight into the potential reach we have when we simply engage our current fan base.

To be able to tap into the vast Friend of Fan network, we must first engage with our current fans.

comScore released an excellent white paper on this topic. The chart below illustrates the effect Fans can have over their friends when it comes to visiting a brands website.

Quick Tip: If you can ignite meaningful conversations with your current fan base, you not only influence them, you can influence their friends.

Reach and Frequency

Reach and Frequency are two key metrics used in measuring the effectiveness of your marketing strategy.

• Reach – How many people are seeing your brand messages.
• Frequency – How often are they seeing it in a defined period of time.

Test.

We no longer have to guess what is resonating with our fans, we can now analyze our posting history and find out what’s working and what’s not.

Under Page Post > you can analyze your post going back to 7/19/2011.

You can sort posts by:

• Date
• Post Type
• Reach
• Engage Users
• Talking About This
• Virality

A very powerful metric that is worth monitoring is Engage Users.

The overwhelming majority of users who see our stories do not comment, like or share them.  This metric now gives us insight to what this silent majority (lurkers) is actually doing.

It is easy for us to monitor clicks, video plays, photo views and other types of interactions; such as click on a timestamp.

Why does Engagement matter?

The goal of analyzing our Page Insights is to gain a better understand of what our fans deeply care about.

Once we understand what that is, we can begin to share more engaging content.

More Engagement Content leads to New Conversations

New Conversations leads to New Relationships

New Relationships leads to New Business.

A Personal Note from Jimmy 

I’m hosting a free training session on 15 Big Facebook Mistakes and How to Avoid them on Thursday Oct 13th at 2pm EST – You can register for the event here - Facebook Training Webinar

¹ Facebook Page Insights http://ads.ak.facebook.com/ads/creative/insights/page-insights-guide.pdf

Timeline is your new Facebook Personal Profile.

You’re going to love it.

How to get Timeline Right Now:

Timeline will be available to all users in the coming weeks. Thanks to an excellent article written by Techcruch.com, you don’t have to wait.

Follow these steps:

1. Log into Facebook

2. Type “Developer” into Facebook Search Box

3. Select the Developer App – then allow.

Overview:

Facebook’s new subscribe button allows users to subscribe to public posts from non-friends and business profiles.  Additionally users can control the amount of information they receive from their subscriptions.

Users can also subscribe to their friends updates.  They can also filter how much information they receive from their friends – All Updates, Most Updates, or Only Important Updates.

Highlights

• You must enable this feature to activate it – here is the link 
• This feature is only available for personal profiles and business profiles (not Facebook Pages).
• Non-friends will only have visibility to your public posts
• To manage your subscriptions, visit your personal profile and click on the “subscriptions” link below friends
• You can control the types of updates you receive by simply hovering over the list

Here is a definition of the types of updates from Facebook’s blog.

• All updates: Everything your friend posts
• Most updates: The amount you’d normally see
• Important updates only: Just highlights, like a new job or move

Important Note:  When you send a friend request to someone, you are automatically subscribing to their public post.  Users have the ability to control who they share their post with – public, friends, or custom. (Thanks Mari) .  To learn more about this feature – visit Facebook’s blog post.

Smart List

Overview:

Smart lists - You’ll see smart lists that create themselves and stay up-to-date based on profile info your friends have in common with you–like your work, school, family and city.

Facebook analyzes your work history, school, family and location to determine who will be added to your Smart List.

Highlights

• List will be bookmarked on homepage
• Smart List will begin rolling out this week
• Will be available for mobile in a few weeks
• You have the ability to add or remove people from this list.
• Using this feature is optional.

Lists versus Groups

In groups, everyone can see everything. If John posts an update in a group, all group members have visibility to that post.

When you share a post to a list, that post is only visible to people on that list. If your friends are not on that list, they will not see that post.

Facebook Usernames Available to All Pages

In the past, only pages with 25 Likes could set up their custom username.

Facebook now allows every page (even those with less than 25 likes) to set up a username.

Say goodbye to post like these!

If you have create a page and do not have your username set up – visit the username page.

Important Note: Once you select your username, you cannot change it. Try to keep it short and simple.

Fewer Emails from Facebook

To avoid overloading users with email notifications anytime something happens, Facebook will begin to email you a daily summary of the “less important” things.

To activate the email frequency feature, visit the notifications page  and select the check box (see image below)

If you’d like to customize your notification settings, you will have to disable this feature.

Additional Updates

Translate Button

View Shares

When you share a link, post a video, or upload a photo – you can now view who else has shared it.

Link Preview

If you’re interested in learning more about recent Facebook changes, I recommend that you read Katie Lance’s 4 Important Facebook Changes You Need to Know.

There are over 550 “365 things to do in (Insert Town)” Facebook Pages.

Many saw the success of people like Maura, Dale, Stacie and Kristy- thought to themselves, I could do that.

They were wrong.

What we are left with is a graveyard of abandoned Facebook Pages.

Finding Inspiration

In my guide, 7 Awesome Facebook Pages, I profiled a Canadian Bank that takes an unorthodox approach to marketing.

They Surprise their Fans.

They ask questions that a Bank wouldn’t normally ask:

They Solve Problems

They make a personal connection with their fans in a video series.

They have a Cause

Inspiring a new savings movement, helping Canadians obtain financial security.

Why do 99.9% of Realtors struggle to realize any significant returns from there Facebook Page?

Because they don’t know WHY they are on Facebook.

They started a Facebook Page because their competitor started a Facebook Page.

They syndicate their listings to Facebook because their competitor syndicates their listings to Facebook.

If we want remarkable results, we must do remarkable things.  (Tweet This)

Copying the competition is just another example of “better sameness.” (doing the same thing as the “other guy” just a little bit better)

Ask yourself

1. Why spend your time on Facebook?
2. Why does your Facebook page exist?
3. Why should anyone care?

Take the time to answer these questions before you invest another minute into marketing yourself on Facebook.

Each of us has ~5,840 waking hours each year.  Assuming we work on average 50 hours a week, we are spending 2,600 hours per year working.

Like it or not, work is a large part of our lives.

Many Realtors struggle with the issue on whether or not we should separate our personal presence on Facebook from our Business life.

I don’t think it’s worth the effort, as Jay said, they are too interwoven.

In fact, I think we should take it one step further and “friend” your clients.

Here are a few reasons why:

Generate more Referrals

Do you read automated canned emails?

I don’t.

I like taking a more proactive approach to “staying top of mind.”

Here’s how Facebook can help:

• Connect with as many clients as possible
• Add them to a Facebook List.
• Filter your News Feed to only show this list.

Your News Feed becomes a real time feed of client conversations.

This is powerful.

If you haven’t done this already, stop reading this post and go do this now.

I have used this technique personally.  I made a Facebook list of “influencers” and made a concerted effort to engage with these people as often as possible.

Trust me, it works.

Make New Connections

If you are interacting with your clients on Facebook, it is inevitable that you are going to cross paths with their friends.

Again, we are practicing the art of proactively networking.

This is not the time or place to “hard sell” your clients friends, that is the quickest way to ruin a great opportunity.

I’d recommend following Dale Carengies advice’

“You can make more friends in two months by becoming interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get other people interested in you.”

Protect your Brand

If someone was saying something bad about me, I’d like to chance to respond.  Ignorance is not an excuse – your reputation is too important not to monitor.

Quick tip – Set up a Google Alert for your name to receive an email any time someone mentions your name online.

A Bad Time to Post to Facebook

You’ve been working with a client for 12 months helping them purchase a short sale.  The bank has approved the offer, you have all your ducks in a row, and you’re a few days away from closing.

You get a call from the client.

They want to back out of the deal, then they inform you that they no longer need your services, they are now going to be working with another local agent.

Needless to say, you are livid.

Now is not the time to *rant* on Facebook.

It may make you feel better for a second, but once you hit “share” the damage is done.

You must do your best to always remain professional and respectful even when the s*** hits the fan.

Rules I live by

●    I don’t talk about Politics.
●    I don’t talk about Religion.
●    I don’t constantly promote my company. (that means don’t syndicate your listings)
●    I don’t use Facebook as my Personal Diary.
●    I don’t trash talk my competition or my clients (yes…I have seen that happen)

What about Facebook Terms of Service?

“You will not use your personal profile for your own commercial gain (such as selling your status update to an advertiser).” Section 4.4

Translation…Don’t sell stuff and don’t “rent” your profile to advertisers.

Is Facebook trying to forbid networking?  Of course not!

The secret to using your personal profile for business gains?

Be a Professional and practice the art of Proactive Networking.

Your businesses success is dependent on the the breadth and depth of your network.

Start Networking Now.

Have you ever shared a piece of content that you thought was very valuable, yet nobody responded?

How we share content is as important as what we share.

I’ve compiled a cheat sheet for you to help you come up with new ideas for content, as well as creative ways you can share content.

Here is my list:

Agree or Disagree?

When you’re asking a question, don’t make your fans work too hard to answer it.  Be direct – Yes or No, Agree or Disagree, Like or Dislike.

Real Estate Trivia

Here is a great example of talking about Real Estate on Facebook in a fun and engaging way.

This is much more enticing for your fans than “Open House Sunday at 1pm.”

Local Photo Albums

The Corcoran Group has an excellent Facebook Page.  The posts that seem to get the most amount of engagement are the “Checking-In Around” photo albums.

Matthew Shadbolt takes beautiful photos (on his iPhone) of specific areas around New York City and uploads them to Facebook.

Fill in the Blank

Simple, fun, and usually gets a good response.

A or B?

This is another great example of how to talk about Real Estate on Facebook in a fun and engaging way.

Zillow takes two images (usually the same price) and asks their fans which one they prefer.  A or B?

Simple and effective.

Give away something free?

People love free stuff.

Maybe there is a new restaurant opening up in your area?  Call the restaurant owner – get a copy of the menu.

Here’s an example of what you may post 

“Dino’s Italian Restaurant is opening in 2 weeks.  I just got a copy of the menu, the food looks great. If you’d like me to email it to you – please comment below.”

You help promote a local business and you give something of value away to your fans.

Total cost = $0.00

Under Construction

Posts about parking lots can be interesting.

There is always some construction project happening in and around your town.  Jack Attridge, who runs the widely successful All Marblehead Page, does an excellent job of keeping his fans up to date with the latest construction projects.

Ask your fans to share their stories.

What is the best thing you have ever ate?  What do you love most about our town?  What is your favorite thing to do in the summer in New England?

Your fans have stories to tell, are you asking them to share?

Promote Local Pages

Linda Davis is always coming up with creative ways to keep her community engaged.

Her page is fun, informative and personal.

Linda does an excellent job at promoting other local pages.

Many local businesses have a Facebook Page.  Make a personal connection with the owner and help them promote their business.

That business owner could turn out to be a great source of referrals or even a customer.

A trip down Memory Lane

My first job was at Mel’s Tee Off in Litchfield, NH.  I worked the batting cages, the go kart track and the driving range.

What was your first job?

Does thinking about it make you smile?

Liz Landry who runs the Lakeland, Florida Facebook Page does an excellent job at asking a question that elicits an emotion from her fans.

Look at your last 10 post – Would you consider any of them to be creative? Inspiring? Interesting?

If it weren’t the one who shared it, would you comment?

Next time you’re stuck, try using one of these techniques and let me know how it works out.