Welcome to Part 4 of Putting up a Facebook business page, announcing and linking options in the October 2011 Facebook business page series. Here is a summary of the stories in this thread:
- 111008 - Announcing and linking options for your Facebook page-Part 4
- 111006 - Installing three Facebook content tabs, step-by-step- Part 3
- 111005 - Selecting Facebook welcome and other tabs- Part 2
- 111004 - Putting up a Facebook business page- Part 1
For me, the technical parts were the easiest parts to perform and write about. Since I know a good bit about the Internet, servers, web languages and other features related to programming, search engine behavior, and other Internet related features, the technical activities described in previous articles were more comfortable ground for me. The technical issues did present significant frustrations and difficulties for me, but they seemed to be possible to be overcome.
Announcing and "linking" pages and comments is different. It is filled with the nuances of Facebook. The environment Facebook generated within their programs are a part of their view of the computing world, as they want it to be. Within that world they set a terms of service (TOS) stating how they think businesses should be done in that Facebook world, and the ramifications of violating it in their world. Their view of the world works for them, and others, as they claim that they currently have more than 750 million user accounts.
Disclaimer
I am not, and do not, claim to be an expert in Facebook. I find lots of people who make that claim and when I try to perform their procedures, I find that what they say should happen, does not happen for me. I am sure some of this inconsistency is related to Facebook nuances, and not their expertise.
Thus, I can only discuss what I have run into, and relate them in the hope that others will benefit from sharing the experiences. Every time I think I know something, a Facebook rule or result seems to change. This is consistent with a statement that I heard from a user in Facebook, "after all, the Internet is all about change." I hope that my lessons learned and shared in this series helps you too.
Comparing business aspects of two social experiences
The stated purpose behind social sites is to share. Linkedin and Facebook are two major social sites. I belong to both, and they are distinctly different. As my primary social activities are business related, I am usually more interested in the business aspects of the two social experiences. Thus, I have been on Linkedin for 3-4 years. I joined Facebook in about a year ago.
Linkedin. My experiences with people on Linkedin is that we tend to share professional activities. Most of the discussions are purely business related. We share business expertise, and what is going on within each company's business practices. Telling someone about your weekend yard cookout grill burning your fingers is not considered professional. In all the years I have been using Linkedin, I don't think I have ever seen that kind of information shared.
Facebook. My experiences with people on Facebook is that it is a group who tend to share most, if not all, their personal life activities. Some share very personal experiences. Not only will you tell someone about the weekend grill burning your fingers, you will take pictures of the injury and upload it for all to see the blister. Who turned up at the yard cookout, who did not, and a lot more is both shared and given high priority in the distribution for the event, its photos, who liked it, who didn't, and so on. I saw this the first week after joining Facebook. I have seen it many times since. Personal issues are the most common post to personal wall.
Activities and people are "liked" by an individual, and who they interact with is highlighted, shared, and put into a news feed. I think of The Facebook news feed as a partially open voice mail that lets other people listen in to its playback. The default assumption is that we have an interest in sharing our daily activities "voice mail."
Business and Facebook
A business in Facebook can obtain a business page, but it is attached to a person. Business pages are pretty much viewed in terms of the consumer perspective.
Facebook seems to give priority to business activities that are more b2c (business to consumer). When a person clicks a "like" of a business they are considered to be a fan of the business. The fan count increments, and announcements from the business get added to the news feed for that fan.
Activities between businesses is not given the same level of importance. For example, if you have a business that "likes" another business (b2b), the fan count does not increment. A fan display of businesses "likes" is available and up to five who have acquired a b2b "like" by the business being displayed, will rotate in the business page "likes" area. The business has an option how this display will occur, or limit its display. The default is to display it five and rotate it for each visitor.
A business in Facebook can obtain a business page, but it is attached to a person. Business pages are pretty much viewed in terms of the consumer perspective.
Facebook seems to give priority to business activities that are more b2c (business to consumer). When a person clicks a "like" of a business they are considered to be a fan of the business. The fan count increments, and announcements from the business get added to the news feed for that fan.
Activities between businesses is not given the same level of importance. For example, if you have a business that "likes" another business (b2b), the fan count does not increment. A fan display of businesses "likes" is available and up to five who have acquired a b2b "like" by the business being displayed, will rotate in the business page "likes" area. The business has an option how this display will occur, or limit its display. The default is to display it five and rotate it for each visitor.
Remember: In Facebook, the b2b contact is deemed less important than the contact from the individual to the business (b2c), which will increment the fan count. A b2b relationship does not increment the fan count.
Can they see the business posts: It is a good idea to make all post shown and your wall posts available to everyone. As a business, you do not want Facebook to limit the display of the work you do on Facebook to be limited to just fans or cut back to reduce the complete story line.
As it behaves presently (page behaviors were significantly changed in summer 2011), if I have a business page, and want to interact with another business page by receiving the complete news feed from that business, Facebook forces me to become an individual fan of the business. This clogs my personal news feed with information about my business. (It also generates an inconsistency in the Facebook terms of service (TOS) that says you cannot use your personal account as a business account, as it is almost impossible to not mix it some.)
Note. Unless your friends are also a fan of that business, they are unlikely to see nay of the news feed of the business for which you signed up as a fan. Thus, your friends and family are unlike to be fettered with this b2c fan activity. You can confirm this with the "view as" feature in your personal page.
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| Facebook being used as my personal page |
Some people do not realize that your Facebook the business page activities can, and should be operated as the business page. You can "switch" to your business page so you making your likes and other actions from that business page. Once done, you can switch back to your personal profile, or another business or community page. You can tell that you operating as the business page when the logo near the right top of your page is showing the logo of the business page.
To operate as the business page, and visa versa. Look at the far top right of the page when one of your pages, personal or otherwise, is displayed. Click option arrow \/ to the right of "home" and select "Use facebook as page. " An option box will appear with the pages that are not personal pages listed and a switch to their right. If you are using a non-personal page, that page will show as "logged in" and you can switch to one of the others if desired, or cancel if you want to continue as the logged in page administrator. When you want to go back to your personal page, click the same down arrow and select the "Switch back to name" with the name being your first name that you used for your personal page.
Facebook being used
as biz page
Announcing your Facebook Business Page
Now that your site has stabilized, the wall notifications should be more manageable and less likely to overwhelm those who wish to be a fan. As discussed previously, to avoid losing fans, announcements by your business to your business wall should be limited in number to less than one per day, if not less.
Number of fans is a perk- not the goal. The first step is to realize that it is not the number of fans you have, but the interest they have in your business. Schemes to just raise the number of fans typically do increase the number of fans, but they rarely translate into fans who really are interested. This does not mean that it is still not a good idea to participate in some form of discussions that tend to let you know of other Facebook pages. Participating in these does allow you to learn of other businesses and develop meaningful Facebook contacts with them.
Now that your site has stabilized, the wall notifications should be more manageable and less likely to overwhelm those who wish to be a fan. As discussed previously, to avoid losing fans, announcements by your business to your business wall should be limited in number to less than one per day, if not less.
Number of fans is a perk- not the goal. The first step is to realize that it is not the number of fans you have, but the interest they have in your business. Schemes to just raise the number of fans typically do increase the number of fans, but they rarely translate into fans who really are interested. This does not mean that it is still not a good idea to participate in some form of discussions that tend to let you know of other Facebook pages. Participating in these does allow you to learn of other businesses and develop meaningful Facebook contacts with them.
Business to Business "likes." While Facebook does not give as good a priority for b2b fan signup's and posts, I do think they are a good practice. This lets their business know your business is interested in them, and allows wall posts between each business. If you do not hamper the likes rotation displays for the b2b relationship, each of business will be advertising each other, for free, to any and all visitors, just by being fans of each other. If you do not have a logo loaded for your business page, the b2b display will not be as effective.1. Start with the businesses you know. Every business, even a start up, already has some relationships with existing businesses. The relationship with your existing business vendors, associates, and other b2b relationships database should be used to develop any available b2b "likes." Check Facebook search for the business name. If you do not find it, go to Google and enter "facebook business name," where business name is the name of the business you have interest in. I find that often I cannot find a person or business on Facebook itself, but I can through a Google search. Don't be surprised if they do not have a business page on Facebook. While this is changing, a very large number of businesses don't. Encourage the business individuals associated with those b2b relationships to receive any special announcements by your business, by clicking the thumbs up symbol next to the name of the business at the top center of the page. I suggest staying away from the terms "like" and "fan."
2. Contact friends and associates you know. Next, move to the friends and associates you know. Let friends and associates know that you have opened your business page. An announcement on your wall will probably not be very noticed. The "suggest to friends" is often ignored as well. You may need to contact them directly. Do not ask them to become a fan. I myself don't want to be a "fan" of any business. The fan nomenclature is counter intuitive to how people feel and behave. Ask them to join with you and others in commenting on your new endeavor.
3. Let your customer base know. You have a relationship with your customer base already. Some may prefer a particular media, such as Facebook. Let them know you are present on their media of choice.
4. Use other social media contacts. Your Linkedin or other social media can be used to let others know about the new business page. You can announce it as an addition to other available services. "We are now on Facebook. Join our Facebook news update system by..."
5. Add the link for your Facebook page to your e-mail signature. It is just another way of contacting you. People that prefer contacts through Facebook need to know you have made it available. If you do not put it on the signature, less people will know.
6. Add all social media links to all your web resources. Your website, blog, Linkedin, Facebook, twitter, and other business capabilities can interact more if you put a link to make use of them available on every page of every web resource you have. For an example of this, see my page at: http://www.purpotential.com and my blog at http://purepotential-musings.blogspot.com. You will note the website has a table of the four resources Pure Potential Writing Services currently offer in various media and social resources.
7. Place all the social media on all printed materials. You have an address, why not show the rest?
8. In discussions, blog, and other posts, add the signature after your name. Again, some people prefer the Facebook link and connection process, so make sure they know it is available and where it is located. This applies to twitter and other social media as well.
9. Find a discussion that relates to your business and participate in it. Share shows your expertise, helps you learn from others, and displays your presence. This developers the b2b and b2c relationships you are looking to create and maintain. Don't forget to include your signature in all posts. They may want to contact you more directly and it can be hard to find that contact means, so use the tools you have to do your best to help them find that contact means.
10. Use a social network to learn of other businesses in your field. For example: a civil engineering firm is always looking to know about other businesses who are working in construction, creating building products, and are performing the other disciples that make up the engineering effort. Using other social media, your new Facebook status and theirs, and sharing the experience, is a great way to get to know each other. Just set the ground rules that it is not for the purpose of just getting the fan numbers up, but for the purposes such as I previously stated, or similar. (You will probably end up needing to remind some people of this as the thread continues.)
Make the business page your "page" by clicking the option arrow to the right of the home and select "use facebook as page." "Switch" to your business page so that you making the likes and other actions from that business page. You can tell that you are, when the logo near the right top of your page is showing the logo of your business page.
Monitor your progress and reciprocateLiking a business page as a business. Remember that you probably want to operate and "like" as the business or product page of the group you are looking at, and not just one of their comments or announcements. To like the business or product, while the logo at the top right is showing the appropriate business or product logo, click the small "thumbs up" next to the site name near the top center of the page.
Liking a business page as a consumer. If you want to receive more news feeds from the business, you also need to "like" the business page from your personal page. In that case you need to switch back to your personal and like it again. When you do this, you are stating you want to follow them from a personal sense as a business owner, or as a consumer. Don't be afraid to do this because of your friends and family seeing it, they probably won't, see previous discussion.
Monitor your b2b contact list, personal contact list, and reciprocate as much as you can. It does not help the fan number, but it allows both businesses to receive the displays of each others logos and links in the rotating "likes" section for each business. Make a personal subscribe, or like, as well, as appropriate for your interests, to follow their announcements feed more closely. This will increase the fan number for that business. Make comments or story likes to their feed stories as appropriate. It helps them learn about how people react to their efforts, and helps them learn to better make businesses responses.
Remember. You can make a personal work group to collect and better monitor the business related contact people's discussions.
Reciprocating difficulties
Sometimes it is difficult to find the business or personal name involved in a "like" received.
Sometimes it is difficult to find the business or personal name involved in a "like" received.
Find the owner. If you are on their business page and you want to find the owner and/or administrator, check the "owned by" information at the bottom of the left of the page being viewed.
Find the business. If you are starting from the person's name, and you have trouble finding their business page, you might find it on the left bottom of their personal page. If not, click the info for the person, and see if where they work shows the business page. If not, hopefully their info page with have an e-mail to send a query to them, so you can find out out the firm page.
Wondering if someone has "liked" you?
Make sure you are using your business page. You can tell that you are when the logo near the right top of your page is showing the logo of your business page.
When displaying YOUR business page, click the "liked this?" on the left navigation tab area and a window will pop up with who has "liked" you.
Now, find a person or business that has stated they "like" your business. If you have several you are checking out you will want to be able to go back without losing your place.
Make sure you are using your business page. You can tell that you are when the logo near the right top of your page is showing the logo of your business page.
When displaying YOUR business page, click the "liked this?" on the left navigation tab area and a window will pop up with who has "liked" you.
Now, find a person or business that has stated they "like" your business. If you have several you are checking out you will want to be able to go back without losing your place.
Not losing your place. To be able to go back without losing your place, right click the name of the person or business that liked your business, and open the result in a new window or tab. This will make things easier for most people.
Like them back.
As the page name and type desired, click the thumbs up "like" at the top center to the right of the business name. Usually, at this point, you can leave a comment for everyone to view. When you are entering a comment, if you need to put an empty line or paragraph in your comment, press and hold down the shift key and the push enter key. That will end the paragraph and keep the comment window open. Do it twice to make a blank line for things like a paragraph. Remember that you are posting to the "world," so make it professional and avoid errors if you can. If you make an error, you rarely get to take it back, and- there it is, for all to see.
You might want to then "like" any specific post they have that you enjoy or find useful. You can comment on those as well. These do not increase the fan count and, since they will eventually scroll off the page, are often considered less important than a general post. However, they often appear on more personal news feeds and can have much more impact on the business. The more fans a business has, the more impact it can have.
As the page name and type desired, click the thumbs up "like" at the top center to the right of the business name. Usually, at this point, you can leave a comment for everyone to view. When you are entering a comment, if you need to put an empty line or paragraph in your comment, press and hold down the shift key and the push enter key. That will end the paragraph and keep the comment window open. Do it twice to make a blank line for things like a paragraph. Remember that you are posting to the "world," so make it professional and avoid errors if you can. If you make an error, you rarely get to take it back, and- there it is, for all to see.
You might want to then "like" any specific post they have that you enjoy or find useful. You can comment on those as well. These do not increase the fan count and, since they will eventually scroll off the page, are often considered less important than a general post. However, they often appear on more personal news feeds and can have much more impact on the business. The more fans a business has, the more impact it can have.
Don't spam. Spam is no longer that cheap. It cost more per pound than many other meats. In the Internet, it can be costly too, as you can lose your rights to surf, have a website hosted, or be on Facebook. If you put close to the same message to a comment or other feature more than five times within a specified time (which is set by Facebook and is a secret), you can be put on suspension or even kicked off Facebook. All Internet providers have rules like this. If your messages are too close to the same, they are considered spam. If you enter "I liked you so you like me," that is considered spam.
Don't drop your fan status just because they did not like your business too. Your endeavor here should not be about that. Plus, they may not understand how to operate Facebook as well as you do and may be having problems doing that. Further, if you have genuine interest in their business activities and their personal activities, your comments and discussions with them over time will encourage them to undertake a "like" on their own for your business page.
Once you are done, click the x on the far right of the tab or window you are working within. Usually this will close that window or tab, and bring you back to the window with your pop up present.
Once you are done, click the x on the far right of the tab or window you are working within. Usually this will close that window or tab, and bring you back to the window with your pop up present.
Continue to go through the same process for the next person or firm, until you have responded to all the "likes" or other response you are planning to do.
Keep track your fan progress. When you get new notifications you can do this again later and just stop when you reach the last person to which you previously responded. If you keep you fan list in a database, you can feed it into your Goldmine or other program.
Don't flood your business page's outgoing news feed
One issue is some people do not realize that every announcement they make from their business page sends updates from that business. Some people announce far too often on their business, and it fills the consumer's news feed up with their posts. People may then "unlike" them to stop it. That is not the optimal thing to do when that happens.
One issue is some people do not realize that every announcement they make from their business page sends updates from that business. Some people announce far too often on their business, and it fills the consumer's news feed up with their posts. People may then "unlike" them to stop it. That is not the optimal thing to do when that happens.
What to do when a post is not of interest to you
Here is my suggestion for the post you don't want to have on your page. Perhaps it is just not a story you like, or something like that:Process. Where the story appears, place your mouse cursor over the story and a little x or block will appear to the right of the story. Click it and you will get some options to unlike, block, report, and -- this is the one you want -- hide the story. Click hide. This affects the page rank and how news feeds are disseminated.That action only takes care of the specific announcement and it will not appear again on the page you specified (personal or business). If you get too many posts from a group, rather than dropping them as a friend or business followed, immediately after hiding a story you will get an option in the area where the story formerly appeared to hide all stories from that group or business. Click that and you will not see their stories at all. Of course, that removes you from knowing what they are doing unless you take the time to go back manually to their page. Recently, if you have enabled your subscription services, an unsubscribe option has also been made available which performs a similar activity.
Have a happy Facebooking
Facebook is a large social sharing site that has over 750 million users. It never hurts to bring that community to your business. You will probably find that, even if you are totally and completely business oriented, Facebook will introduce you back to many old friends and family that you have lost touch with. You may find that you enjoy hearing back from them. If you only care about their business potential, remember they are consumers too.
This article completes this series on Putting your business page up on Facebook. Hope this helps. Good luck in your business or community page endeavor.
Sam Martin
Website: http://www.purepotential.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/PurePotentialMusings
Facebook is a large social sharing site that has over 750 million users. It never hurts to bring that community to your business. You will probably find that, even if you are totally and completely business oriented, Facebook will introduce you back to many old friends and family that you have lost touch with. You may find that you enjoy hearing back from them. If you only care about their business potential, remember they are consumers too.
This article completes this series on Putting your business page up on Facebook. Hope this helps. Good luck in your business or community page endeavor.
Sam Martin
Website: http://www.purepotential.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/PurePotentialMusings
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