Alert: Facebook Timeline for Brands

Have you heard the big news??  On March 30, 2012, Timeline is coming to Facebook brand pages (fan pages).  Your business page is about to get a new look and feel, with lots of great, new applications that will make it even more fun and interesting and EASY to engage with your fans.

Please refer to Coca Cola’s new Timeline (they are one of the few brands whose Timeline page is up and running) for a visual on what’s to come for your own page: https://www.facebook.com/cocacola

What to expect:

1. Same tabs (or “apps”, in Facebook terminology).  Your welcome tab with links to your website, contact us tab, videos tab, etc. will all continue to exist and function.  You can now have up to 12 tabs, but only the top four will be in full view (the other eight open in a drop down menu).  The tabs are moveable, so be sure to put those that are most important at the top
2. Full functionality as per your previous fan page.
3. Your fan gate (if you have one) is still fully functional.
4. Your “cover, ” that new, large photo at the top of your Facebook page, will be customizable and is intended to draw attention to your brand, highlight your accomplishments or tell a story.
5. Significantly smaller profile picture, which should be your logo or other, relevant photo.
6. You can now “pin” your favorite posts to the top of your page, highlighting their importance or “star” the posts to make them larger on the page.
7. Expanded admin features that allow you to engage one-on-one with fans and respond directly to comments, etc.
8. Customizable pages are wider and we have more room to create fantastic designs for you.
9. We can direct people to any of your customized Facebook pages thru QR codes, plug-ins and URL’s.

Note that Timeline for brands will not be rolled out till March 30, 2012, so we have plenty of time to help you create a cover design that will shout out to your fans all those things that you want them to see and hear.   Or you can choose an image from your existing photos that you feel best represents your brand.

Check out what’s in store for you by visiting your Facebook business page and clicking “preview” in the new banner (visible only to admins) that is now at the top of your page.  You can then take a tour  (click the “start tour” button) for an explanation of the new features or you can jump right in and begin updating your page to Timeline.

We will be in touch again soon to walk you through the design changes and to provide you with additional assistance in migrating your page to the new Timeline format.  And if you have questions or concerns related to the new page design, please don’t hesitate to contact us on 1-877-236-8160 or post comment below.

Happy Facebook Timelining!!

Facebook Photos: New Features

Say cheese! Photos have always been one of Facebook’s most popular features. It’s worth noting that recently, Facebook made some changes to the way you upload, view and tag your photos on personal profiles as well as on business fan pages.

You may notice that when you click on your “photos” section and select a specific image, the image opens in a separate screen that pops up over the Facebook page you are viewing. This “Photo Viewer” is a nice feature as it enables you to hold your current place on Facebook instead of opening a whole new page. The images are also larger and the “comments” and “likes” fields have shifted to the right hand side of the screen, instead of below the image.

Additionally, you may have noticed that the photo upload process has changed. With this new format, you are able to name your album, list a location, tag photos and write captions in one single screen, instead of completing the process piecemeal, as in the older version.

This streamlines the photo uploading process and makes it a bit less arduous. Note that you can edit photos after the creation of an album, so don’t stress if you initially overlook a section or want to change your album title/captions later on.

Side note: It is important to mention that downloading photos directly from Facebook tends to result in lower resolution images. In other words, if you’re looking to enlarge or print high quality images, you will want to revert to the original source rather than a copy that has been pulled from Facebook.

As always, if you have questions about how to upload your photos to Facebook or inquiries about the new format, feel free to contact us or drop us a comment on our blog!

Twitter Etiquette

A few weeks ago, we went over some basic etiquette rules for Facebook fan pages. Social media etiquette doesn’t start and end with Facebook, however! While users on Twitter are generally more tolerant of and lenient with brand promotion tweets, there are still a few things to keep in mind…

With Twitter, is it critical that you consistently monitor your mentions, direct messages, and other interactions. Checking your account a few times a day and responding to mentions or messages is a great way to build a rapport with your following. Not only is this kind of activity polite, it can actually result in increased revenues, sales leads, or connections with potential customers, suppliers, etc.

Generally speaking, it is beneficial to follow users who follow your tweets. There are a variety of sites that facilitate this process, as they enable you to automatically follow users who follow you! You will need to open an account with the third-party site and then allow them to access your Twitter account, so be sure to use a reputable site such as www.socialoomph.com. These sites often provide other services as well, such as sending an automatic welcome message to new followers, etc.

Even though it is commonly accepted to post frequently on Twitter, there is such a thing as too many tweets! If you’ve spent some time on Twitter, you’ve probably come across users who tweet about 100 times a minute, repeatedly, in order to get their message across. This approach tends to be detrimental to your Twitter efforts, as followers often become annoyed and unfollow your account. Tweeting several times a day, or even once every hour or so, is completely appropriate… but remember that it is possible to overdo it!

Most Twitter etiquette comes down to common sense. If you are friendly and interactive with your followers, and keep your content appropriate and interesting, your Twitter account should thrive! As always, happy tweeting!

Remember to follow us on Twitter at:  www.twitter.com/instantsocialme

Facebook “Hidden Posts”

Ever noticed that some of your posts may seem to mysteriously “disappear” after you write on a fan page wall? This may not be such a Houdini act, after all! An easily overlooked – but extremely useful – feature of your Facebook fan page is the “hidden posts” tool.

Facebook designed the “hidden posts” feature in order to cut down on the amount of spam on fan page walls. It can be very handy if you find yourself constantly deleting obnoxious spam posts on your fan page, as there is no need to manually remove them. To access your fan page’s “hidden posts” (you must be an administrator), simply visit your page and click the link that appears directly under the wall tab.

Unfortunately, similar to email spam filters, this system is not 100% accurate. It is important to check these “hidden posts” every several days, or every day, depending on the popularity of your page. Quite often, posts that are not spam (or that may, in fact, be praising your business, company or services) may be accidentally flagged as “hidden”. These cases generally result from posts that include a link or “@” mention, since these are common elements found in spam posts.

If you have asked permission to post on another’s fan page wall in order to promote your business, but are being flagged as spam, be sure to let the page know! Chances are your posts are being unintentionally hidden.

If you find a post on your fan page has been accidentally “hidden” and does not belong in the spam category, it is simple enough to remedy. If you hover over the post with your curser, a small “x” box will appear on the right hand corner of the post. If you click on this, a drop-down menu will appear. Choose the option “unhide post” to move the post to your wall. You also have the option to “delete” or “mark as abuse.”

Being aware of the “hidden posts” tool can help you participate in cross-promotions and/or easily control your fan page wall posts.  Don’t hesitate to contact us by replying to this email, or commenting on our blog, if you are having trouble accessing or utilizing the “hidden posts” feature. Happy Facebooking!

Just Pin It: An Introduction to Pinterest for Personal Use

There’s been a lot of buzz recently about Pinterest, a hot new social network that functions as an online “pinboard.” Pinterest users can post pictures (or videos) of everything from intriguing photos found on the Internet to recipes, inspirational quotes, or fashion finds.

For the time being, Pinterest is an “invite only” site. If you know somebody who is currently using Pinterest, they can send you an invitation by clicking the “invite friends” button located at the top right hand corner of their account home page. If you’re interested in checking out the site, ask around! Chances are you already know some fellow “pinners.”

Using Pinterest is simple. After you have accepted the email invitation, it’s as easy as signing up and browsing around. Choose a unique username and password, and upload a profile photo/provide some basic information about yourself. You can then set up personalized “boards,” where you can either upload your own pins or “re-pin” (similar to Twitter’s “retweet” function) pins that your followers have put up.

Some ideas for your personal Pinterest account:

-Create a collection of recipes by dedicating one of your boards as a “cookbook”

-Plan your home remodeling or decorating scheme by dedicating a board for each room of your house

-Plan a wedding or other event with decorative ideas, themes, and venues.

Install the “Pin It” button on your web browser for easy pinning. Then, whenever you’re surfing the web and see something you want to share on Pinterest, simply click the button and follow the prompts.

Certain businesses, such as retail stores, photographers/artists or brands, can benefit from Pinterest, too. In future blog entries, we will be going into further detail about how your brand can utilize this hot new site, so be sure to stay tuned! Happy pinning!