Greatson Media – Saco, Biddeford Maine Website Design & Hosting

To develop the insights for this guide, I watched 23 different Facebook and Twitter accounts for a period of three months and monitored over 2,865 status updates. I personally consider this a fairly small data set, but it is large enough to show some important trends that warrant consideration and further discussion.

As the clients that my firm writes for are in diverse markets, purchase different service engagement levels, and have unique starting levels of follower/fans, it is impossible to state from my data unequivocally how to specifically grow a social networking account. However, there are some statistical averages and trends that I have found and wanted to share with you.

The Timing and Consistent Posting of Your Updates on Twitter Can Grow Followers

Contrary to what has been published on the web in a recent statistical report I’ve found that for our clients, a unique time schedule for status updates and tweets works for most accounts to grow their follower numbers. To test this strategy, I had our writers schedule the publishing of content based on the following schedule trying each program for a full 30 days to see which made the biggest difference if any in follower and fan counts.

Widely Reported Best Twitter Posting Schedule:

For Twitter: 6 a.m., 11 a.m., noon, 6 p.m., and 9 p.m. For Facebook: noon and 7 p.m.

After 30 days we posted content on a new schedule for Twitter:

For Twitter: 6 a.m., 9 a.m., noon, 3 p.m., and 6 p.m. For Facebook: 10 a.m. and 3 p.m.

Here is a sampling of data for several of the accounts that I monitored:

Facebook Page

Although it appears that all accounts had increases using the second schedule, the variance in the full statistical data does not allow me to make such a blanket statement. Additionally, although I monitored both Facebook and Twitter accounts for this report, there were such small differences in Facebook numbers for many accounts that it is best to consider the second schedule best to use mainly for Twitter growth.

When I looked at the overall data, I found that followers grew at about a rate of 5% using the first schedule and grew on the average of 10% on the second schedule. Although not every account had the same growth and some accounts actually grew faster on the first schedule, the recommendations in this guide were based on overall average growth across all accounts.

It is important to note that although we used a very specific schedule unique to our needs, your results may be different. I feel personally that setting a schedule and being consistent about posting at the times you personally choose are important. You may want to test several schedules to see what works best for your audience.

The Changes Facebook Has Made That Have Impacted Business Pages

Facebook made some very big changes in the fourth quarter of 2011 that have impacted how businesses can use Facebook Pages and how they interact with fans.

As a quick review, here are the changes:

1. Facebook got rid of the ability to send a note out from your Business Page to all fans. The best feature to have a Business Page in the first place!

2. Removed tabs and the ability to do FBML markup pages. (You now have to use iframes).

3. Killed off the notes and discussion sections.

4. Removed the ability to auto feed your blog to your Facebook Notes Page.

5. Lowered the value of a like. No one needs to like your page to see your wall or to interact with you and post on your wall.

6. Changed the News Feed for personal profiles. People must now subscribe to your updates to be assured of seeing them in their News Feed. Now Updates are typically lost in the “noise” that is a part of the News Feed.

These are some very serious changes and have really strangled a business’s ability to connect with users on Facebook. As a result, these changes have caused fan growth for pages under 100 fans to come to a near halt.

I do not recommend that brands and businesses abandon Facebook. Business models change and what Facebook has done to kill off brand and business interaction will certainly change over time. For now, I personally feel that these changes were made to drive businesses into Facebook pay per click advertising before the Facebook IPO. As monetization of the Facebook platform is essential for their continued growth, these strategic changes most certainly have been made to force businesses to “pay to play” on Facebook.

I still feel that businesses should be on Facebook keeping a presence there, but maybe not in the same fashion as we recommended in early 2011.

The Reality of Facebook Follower Growth and Engagement Challenges

I started following our client Facebook accounts right when Facebook was altering the data it reveals on fans and their interaction levels. Again, I would not consider the data I have recorded as scientifically accurate, but I did see some trends on fan growth for pages with different starting levels of fans.

By Nancy McCord (c) 2012

Social Networking has taken the world of business by storm. Properly used, it can establish you as an expert in your field, keep you in-touch with customers, sell your products, and market your business or organization. It is an around-the-clock marketing machine that doesn’t ever sleeps.

In our seminars, we are asked how to get started using it. While that is a simple question, it requires detailed understanding of the company, knowledge of business goals, and much more information as well. So, to provide people with meaningful assistance we developed these steps. Be advised that they do not provide answers, but lead you to asking the right questions.

Why? Pertinent questions that apply to your business and situation only are invaluable. And those questions, my friend, are far more valuable to you than their answers. There are people, books, consultants, aplenty to give you answers, but if you don’t answer the right questions, where are you? By developing the high quality questions that apply to your business, you will create a social networking campaign that is customized to your specific needs. To be successful, that is essential because your customers, their needs, your employees, your very business is unique. This is not a one-size-fits-all endeavor.

So, treat these steps as guidelines. Reorder them, combine them, delete any that you care to, but read them all. Number nine you will find particularly interesting as it combines the online world and the offline world. Social networking has been around for hundreds of years. Don’t think that it only takes place from your keyboard. Nothing could be further from the truth.

1. Goals are not Wants and Wishes. List the goals of your social networking campaign and verify that they are achievable. As one goal approaches completion have the next goal ready to implement.

2. Who Will Conduct Your Social Networking Campaign? Creating your content takes time. If you hire someone to create your content, provide information on your company and approve the material before it’s published. If you give the job to an employee, provide the time and resources necessary to carry out the work.

3. How will you Motivate Your Audience to Tell You What They Want in Your Social Networking Campaign? Ask, and provide a premium. For example, a free report, a discount coupon, entrance in a contest, a gift, or something else of unquestioned value for the time they spend responding to your query.

4. Determine What Social Media Sites are Best for Your Needs. Look for ways to distribute your social networking campaign into every niche. Visit the major social networking sites and determine which are best for your needs. A blog requires writing, a micro-blog requires you to write tight headlines, video requires you to make, edit, and upload them. Choose the site(s) that fit your needs and create your accounts.

5. Your Web Site is the Crown Jewel of Your Social Media Campaign. Bring your Web site up-to-date and be sure that it supports your social networking campaign by providing the pertinent information your audience is looking for. Integrate your site into your social networking campaign. Give your Web site our 30-second test – here.

6. Create Your Content, Place it Online, and Implement Your Ongoing Content Creation Plan. Only create content of unquestioned value that your audience wants. There is no point spending time and dollars to create material that no one will view. Remember, you are selling your social networking campaign for something more valuable than money, someone’s time.

7. Go Live and Tell the World. E-mail your audience to notify them that your social media campaign is online. If you have an over-the-counter business, place signs in the store, include an insert in bags, put your online information on all company paperwork including business cards, invoices, and billing statements.

8. Determining the Effectiveness of Your Social Networking Campaign. Look for increased activity on your Web site. Have your Web master provide you data on where your visitors are coming from. Look for traffic from your social networking sites.

9. Offline Activities to Assist Making Your Social Networking Campaign Successful.

* Attend conferences in your field and those related to your target audience.

* Become an acknowledged expert in your field by publishing in Twitter and on a blog. Publish articles in industry magazines, newsletters, and blogs.

* Collaborate with cause marketing. The old saying, “Two heads are better than one,” is true.

* E-mail marketing, use it as a marketing tool and to keep-in-touch.

* Engage your employees in your social networking campaign. Publish a social networking policy that tells them what they can do, not what they can’t do.

* Give a free seminar at your place of business. Promote it online and with a press release.

* Host free seminars at your place of business.

* Join Chambers of Commerce, networking, and business groups.

* Paper magazines. Don’t throw them away, cut them up and send pertinent articles to your clients. Find the article(s) online and use e-mail to send a link your clients.

* LinkedIn is perfect for your needs. Use it.

* Market to those who can refer business to you, and to those who do business with you.

* Publish a Newsletter. Include trivia, winter driving tips, a crossword puzzle, Windows and Mac tips, new products with links to independent reviews, gift ideas, etceteras. Do not use your newsletter for selling. Do keep it informative, timely, and fun.

* Send hand written Christmas cards, and thank you notes to your clients. Begin writing them in October, if that’s what it takes.

* Quality content provides unquestioned value. Customers want answers. Provide them.

* Speak at conferences and industry events.

* Subscribe to industry magazines, blogs, and newsletters that your customers read.

* Take every opportuníty to get together with customers, and potential customers.

* Throw a party.

* Use both sides of any handout. The space you waste could be marketing for you.

* Video. Create your YouTube channel and place your videos there.

* Your Web site is the crown jewel of your social networking campaign. See that its design supports your business needs.

By Wayne English (c) 2011

No one wants to invest time in something only to be mediocre at it. We want to be great. But before you can be great you have to understand what being great looks like. What are you trying to achieve and what are you aiming for? What do people who are great at X look like? Because before you can be better than them, you at least have to be equal. And that takes some understanding on your part.

Do you want to be great at social media? Well, below are 23 things that great businesses do in social media. Maybe you can help me and add to my list in the comments.

Ready?

Great social media brands…

1. Bring sexy back to word of mouth marketing.
2. Dedicate time to answering questions from customers, potential customers and people first learning about the brand.
3. Constantly poll their community for opinions, feedback, and criticism.
4. Make it a habit to highlight other brands that are doing cool things, even if they’re doing it outside of their particular industry.
5. Start conversations that others are scared to have.
6. Give their employees a unique voice and the permission to connect to others.
7. Regularly save the day.
8. Push back the curtain to give their audience a better understanding of how things work, why they work that way, and what the company believes.
9. Bleed company culture.
10. Use tools to monitor their social media activity and makes adjustments when things aren’t working.
11. Don’t take social media too seriously, but are too smart to view it as a joke.
12. Understand the importance donuts and share them regularly.
13. Don’t forget to tie offline events into what they’re doing online so there’s cohesion between strategies.
14. Track their brand name in social media and knows when to respond, how to respond and how to engage brand advocates.
15. Give us “the why” to go along with their social media calls to action.
16. Plan for social media as to not leave channels voiceless for long periods of time just because they’re busy.
17. Never, ever automate human interaction.
18. Understand social media doesn’t belong to just the marketing department, but the company as a whole.
19. Enter the waters with a social media plan to help guide their interaction and make sure they’re getting something for their investment.
20. Use their social media plan to avoid falling victim to Shiny Object Syndrome.
21. Understand that social media is the medium, not the message.
22. Pass on insights gleaned from social media throughout the entire organization so that the right people are hearing the right conversations.
23. Have clear social media guidelines so that employees know how to engage on behalf of the brand and connect with customers