Lee & Rachael answer your top Facebook questions.
I’m proud to say that we’ve trained hundreds of folks who prefer the do-it-yourself route when it comes to social media. Yes, we have other clients, too, with whom we develop a strategy, build or upgrade their website…but there are those independent spirits out there who are determined to tackle the social media universe on their own. It is in their honor that we reveal what Professional Mojo has found to be the top Facebook questions (both non-techy and techy). Enjoy!
Top Non-Tech Questions
5) Isn’t Facebook for youngsters?: Nope. In fact, if your current prospects/clients/vendors/partners aren’t on Facebook right now, they will be soon. The fastest growing demographic is the 35+ crowd.
4) How much should my personal profile and the business stuff overlap?We routinely recommend that you keep your personal stuff private. Trust me, posting pics of you or your spouse on vacation in Bermuda will do more harm than good – no matter how good looking you think you are.
3) Isn’t Facebook a big black hole sucking up all my and my employees’ time? Well, that depends on if you think developing relationships with prospects and customers is a waste of time, too. Remember, it’s not about the platform, it’s about how you use it, track it and monitor it. If you think your time is wasted…honestly, friends…you’re not doing it correctly.
2) Why can’t I get any fans/members to my page/group? You need to see #3 because you’re probably not executing on a good plan. When we evaluate social media efforts, we find that a failed Facebook presence is usually a symptom of these ills:
* Poor moderation/administration: Not asking questions, not responding to comments, not updating regularly, spewing unilateral sales-y propaganda
* Not reaching out: Not friending/fanning others, not commenting on other pages or groups, not asking your contacts to be your fan
* Poor or little integration with your site and other marketing: Treating Facebook like a stand-alone silo, not promoting it on your site (prominently), not promoting it in your other marketing efforts
* Bad content: making it all about you and your organization, not having fun, not being a resource for your fans, not giving them relevance and useful info
1) Do we even need to set up a Facebook page? Do you care whether or not you are left behind when your competitors reach more and do more? Then, yes, you probably do. NOTE: If you are unable to commit to it or create a plan that fully leverages Facebook, then don’t do it.
Top Facebook Tech Questions
5) How can I save time? Use both Facebook and third party applications to quickly and easily integrate your Facebook info into your site and your other social media assets (blogs, Twitter, etc.) into your Facebook fan page.
4) Can I set up a business page without a personal account? Yes, you can. Go to http://www.facebook.com/pages/create.php and choose your settings. At the end of the process, Facebook will ask you if you have a profile and you choose No. Then, simply enter your email address and your birthday. That’s it. No profile set up. CAVEAT: you can do all regular admin tasks this way, but if you want to notify others to be a fan or search within Facebook, which we recommend, you will not be able to do that without a personal profile.
3) Can I customize my page with cool graphics? Yep, you sure can. Although Facebook is notoriously persnickety about customization, you can use various HTML and FBML third party apps to add links, graphics, and a general customized look and feel. Keep it simple, though.
2) I have a group. I want a page. What do I do now? This is related to #1. Again, Facebook isn’t use friendly on this count, but you can follow these steps: a) create your biz page, populate it b) go to the group and begin messaging them to move over and fan your new page (I let them know that the group will be closing in X days) c) after your group members are fans of the biz page, then manually remove every group member. When you remove them all and then yourself, the group goes away.
1) Should I set up a group or a page? This is the #1 question and the answer really is based on your social media strategy (please tell me you have one). If you need a private, invitation-only, members-only area, then a group is for you. Many NPOs have had great success with groups. On the other hand, if your strategy is to promote, engage, and build community in a broader sense, improve your SEO rankings, use ads to promote your page, etc., then a business page is the way to go.
What are your top questions? Let us know and we’ll collect them for another edition of Top Questions Revealed! Starring Lee & Rachael.
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