Showing posts with label Facebook features. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Facebook features. Show all posts

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Xtab Pages Review

Build Pages Like a Fortune 500 Company
Build Pages Like a Fortune 500 Company
(Photo Credit: fxtab.com)
Build Facebook Pages Like A Fortune 500 Company!

With the arrival of iFrames and the HTML5 framework, the door to new opportunities and possibilities of creating a Facebook Page for the express purpose of Internet Marketing is blown wide open. It is now possible to create an entire website on a Facebook Page. Complete web sites with multiple pages, videos, photo galleries, opt-ins, sales pages, landing pages and links. If an Internet Marketer wishes to run an affiliate marketing campaign, viral marketing campaign, or any other kind of campaign, he or she can now harness the potential of 750 million users on Facebook!

It’s no surprise, then, that there are many apps now out on the market that are geared towards helping Internet Marketers gain a foothold on Facebook and to leapfrog over their competitors. While the question of which app provider is the best is certainly up for debate, few would leave the X-Tab team out of the discussion. And now, they have launched their latest addition to the X-Tab family, XTAB PAGES.

Phil Benham and Daniel Tan had the courtesy to take me through a short walkthrough of their latest app. I was quite impressed by how quickly a Facebook Page with a corporate profile theme was set up. With the use of custom templates and a point-and-click interface, this was all accomplished under two minutes. Of course the text, videos and images are all prepared beforehand, but it goes to show just how easy it is to set up a Page with the right materials. I later learned that one of the challenges facing Internet Marketers on Facebook is the ability to set up Pages quickly and efficiently to meet different demands and needs, and XTAB PAGES accomplishes this role quite well.

The X-Tab has been promoting XTAB PAGES (formerly known as ElementsPlus) with the tagline of “Build Pages Like a Fortune 500 Company”. Well, XTAB PAGES certainly has the cred to back it up. The ability to customize a Page anyway I want is absolutely huge. Custom HTML, custom CSS and even custom Javascript are all direct features of this app. Users can also insert videos and images anywhere on the Page. The videos can be embedded from popular video sharing sites like YouTube and DailyMotion, or directly coded. What’s more, the all-important Like-gating feature is incorporated as well.

However, what really impresses me most with XTAB PAGES is its ability to instantly implement and customize the staple Facebook functions such as Like, Share, Comments and Invite, in any way I wanted. I could essentially modify and customize them however I like.

I tinkered around with the app to create a Page with Like-gating that was aimed at encouraging viral marketing. By using the custom templates, and with some guidance from Phil and Daniel, the Page was set up from scratch in a few short minutes. It was quite bare, but it had the infrastructure in place and is ready for launch. All I needed to do was to include my own videos and images later to make it complete. Phil also shared a nugget of wisdom with me, “When generating traffic to your Page, your absolute goal is to get as many Likes as possible”. Safe to say, with the in-built Like-gating feature and high customization afforded to me by ElementsPlus, such as modifying the Like and Share buttons to my heart’s content, I was able to create a highly compelling Facebook Page.

All in all, I highly recommend XTAB PAGES to any serious Internet Marketer who wants to get a leg up on the competition in their Facebook Marketing niche. You can go here and check out more details about the awesome app.

To your Facebook Marketing success!
Enhanced by Zemanta

Thursday, September 20, 2012

Using Facebook for Social Media Marketing

Illustration of Facebook mobile interface
Illustration of Facebook mobile interface (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Welcome to this beginner's guide to setting up Facebook for Social Media Marketing. In this article, I'll illustrate how a beginner can set up Facebook to raise the profile of their organisation. I assume you already know how to use a computer, connect to the Internet, and use a browser.

Introduction

Unless you've been living on a desert island for the past decade, you'll have heard of Facebook. It's used by millions of people the World over and it's a great way to connect with others.

This fact has not been lost on Marketers and Advertisers and they've moved to Facebook in their droves. Social Media Marketing, as it's become known, is a hot topic. Do it right and your organisation will benefit massively. Do it wrong and you'll disappear off the site like you never even existed.

What is Facebook?

Before talking about how to use Facebook for Social Media Marketing (SMM), it's important to take a moment to clearly understand what Facebook is. Facebook is an Internet based social networking application accessed via an Internet browser. The important element here is that it's for social networking. It's not designed for marketing or advertising (unless you want to pay Facebook to carry an ad for you). Abuse this fundamental viewpoint at your peril.

Everyone that joins Facebook MUST create a profile. It can be a Business Profile or a Personal Profile but you are only allowed one profile.

Creating multiple profiles is a violation of Facebook's Terms of Use and can result in all of your accounts being terminated.

I emphasise the above statement because it's really important. If you spend some time carefully crafting your online persona, it can be devastating to have it all taken away.

Business Profile or Personal Profile?

Facebook has only two primary profile types. A Business Profile or a Personal Profile. The personal profile gives you full access to all the features in Facebook. The business profile gives you access to administer your Pages and ad campaigns only. This is from the Facebook FAQ:

Business accounts are designed for individuals who only want to use the site to administer Pages and their ad campaigns. For this reason, business accounts do not have the same functionality as personal accounts.

Business accounts have limited access to information on the site. An individual with a business account can view all the Pages and Social Ads that they have created, however they will not be able to view the profiles of users on the site or other content on the site that does not live on the Pages they administer.

In addition, business accounts cannot be found in search and cannot send or receive friend requests.

Deciding upon whether to create a Business or Personal profile is a big topic on it's own. But, in short: If you intend to do Social Media Marketing, I strongly urge you to create a personal profile.

Security

Now you've created a personal profile. the very first thing you'll want to do is to check your Privacy Settings by selecting Account > Privacy Settings from the menu at the top right of the Facebook page. Take some time to work through these options before you start to use Facebook.

For example, one of the default settings is that your Family and Relationships are public. I'd suggest that you might want to limit this to friends only.

As another example, you may well want to keep some of your contact information, ie: your home phone number, private.

Completing Your Personal Profile

Once you've created your personal profile, Facebook gives you lots of hints on how to complete your personal information. Most of it is great advice and well worth following. Remember, what you're trying to do is setup your online persona. It will reflect you and your business. Let this guide your actions as you add information and photos.

Your aim is to have as complete a profile as possible so that your own friends will recognize you and will befriend you on Facebook. You'll also want your profile to be engaging enough so that you can make new friends online.

Adding Friends

Once your profile is ready, it's time to add some friends with whom you can communicate. Again, Facebook helps by offering to search through your eMail, Instant Messenger, Skype and other accounts to create a prospective friends list. Select 'Find Friends' from the menu at the top right of the Facebook page, next to the Account menu option you selected earlier.

You'll be presented with a list of contacts that also have accounts on Facebook and you can choose who you'd like to add to your friends list.

Adding current friends is the best way to get started with Facebook. Later, I'll show you how to add other friends.

The Wall and the News Feed

Facebook can be confusing at first so for now, I advise that you limit yourself to two main views when using it, the Wall and the News Feed.

  • The Wall. When someone first visits your Facebook page (or you visit theirs), the default view is the Wall. The Wall is a place to post and share content with your friends. The visibility of the items posted depends upon your Privacy Settings (see above, under Security).
  • News Feed. The News Feed is a constantly changing list of stories from friends and Pages (more later) that you follow on Facebook. It's only visible to you.

To get to your News Feed, choose the 'Home' menu option at the top right of your Facebook page.

To get to your Wall, choose 'Profile' from the menu at the top right of your Facebook page and then select 'Wall' from the menu at the top left of the page, just under your profile picture.

Using Facebook

Now you've set it all up, I suggest using Facebook for a while and getting used to it. Start some conversations and join in others. Write on peoples Wall or comment on what they've said. For now, it's not so important what you say (but remember that this is your online persona for you and your business so do apply caution) but it is important that you get some practice using Facebook.

And so, to Business...

Now that you've got to grips with the basics, it's time to create a Page for your business. To do this, go to your 'News Feed' page and select 'Pages' from the menu on the left side of the page. If you can't see that menu option, click on the 'More' button and it should then appear.

You should now see a button titled 'Create Page'. Click on that and then follow the simple directions.

The team at Facebook have written a number of documents that will help you create your Page. You can download the manual on creating Pages or visit facebook.com/FacebookPages#%21/FacebookPages?sk=app_7146470109 and follow a number of useful links from there.

Your Business Page

Once your page is created, visit it and you'll see a series of steps to get you started. At the top of the list is a button to 'Suggest to friends'. This is where setting up a personal profile (as opposed to a business profile) really helps you. Basically, Facebook will send an invite to any of your friends that you select, asking them to 'Like' your page. This is important because once you have 25 'Likes', you can get a custom URL for your Page that is then easier to find, pass on to others and even use on your business stationery.

Why is a Business Page Important?

The primary reason for creating a business Page is to separate your business life from your personal life. Many business users don't like to mix their personal and business life. While they may be very happy to share some information with friends and family, they may not want that same information made known to their business contacts.

Once you've created a business page, you can invite your business contacts to 'Like' your business page and communicate with them there. This way, you can enforce a separation between you the person, and your business.

Note also that you can add other users as administrators on the business page thus reinforcing the fact that the business Page is a separate entity from individual users.

If Facebook is for Social Networking, How Can I do Marketing?

Earlier, I said that Facebook is a social networking site and that you should abuse this notion at your peril. What I meant by this was that users do not log on to Facebook to suffer interminable advertising messages or to be marketed at. They come online to socialise. If you try and push your business on them, they will desert you.

But, with over 500 million active users on Facebook, there's a very good chance that some of them will be interested in what you have to offer. The 'trick' is to find who those users are, engage with them, provide them with content of value and then promote your product in the right way. I've come across a great phrase that sets the standard for how to do that via Social Media Marketing:

Seduce, don't molest.

However, the topic of actually doing Social Media Marketing on Facebook is large enough to warrant a whole series of articles on its own so I'll cover that in future articles.


Article Source:
http://EzineArticles.com/6355843

Enhanced by Zemanta

Facebook Fan Page Marketing Tips


Make the most of your brand's Facebook fan page
with these
Facebook marketing tips
(Photo credit:
Social Network Asia)
As you're probably aware, Facebook fan page marketing is what most people are talking about in the online world at the moment. However, are most doing it correctly? That reality is no, they are not! There is an art and science to marketing on Facebook and building relationships but most never fully get it.

Here are some tips to help you on the fast-track to getting new customers.

Don't be a jerk and spam people! No one likes an annoying person so don't be that guy/girl. If someone didn't subscribe your status updates, don't pressure them to and send them info without permission. This is a big no-no and will get you kicked off of Facebook fast.

Get a professional background created.

This will help your Facebook fan page marketing more than you realize. It sets the stage for interaction later on. Don't be cheap on your design either. Trust me, you don't want that to be the first impression someone gets of your business.

Get a custom Facebook landing page built

This serves two purposes. One, it will get the prospective new customer to "like" your page. This will allow any status updates you post to appear in their news feed. This helps you have top of the mind awareness with them and be able to provide value their way.

Purpose number two of the custom Facebook fan page is to capture a name and an email. This allows you to keep in contact with the prospective customer on your own terms off of social media. This is essential! You have to get them onto a separate list.

A good thing to do is to offer something of high value in exchange for the leads name and email. You can offer a free report or video training. It's up to you, just make it valuable.

Get traffic

Use the Facebook sponsored ads platform to drive traffic to your fan page. This is very easy to set-up and target to your market. There are literally dozens and dozens of ways to bring visitors to your page / site but pay-per-click runs on autopilot. You can turn it on and turn it off when you want.

Other forms of traffic you can use to get more fans are email marketing, videos, online forums, press releases, articles, blogging, and Google Adwords.

Measure conversions

Always test your Facebook ads and track your conversions. If traffic is king, conversion is surely queen. See which ads perform better than others. You always want to strive for the highest click-through rate.

Using the above Facebook fan page marketing tips will get you more fans and allow you to turn them into actual paying customers quickly.

Discover how to get a flood of new customers each month with Facebook fan page marketing. For the latest free tips and Facebook marketing strategies that work, visit Social Network Asia's blog now!


Article Source:
http://EzineArticles.com/6105442

Enhanced by Zemanta

Monday, September 10, 2012

Facebook Marketing and Social Integration

Illustration of Facebook mobile interface
Illustration of Facebook mobile interface (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Facebook, which was once only known for social gatherings and connecting with friends on the web, is beginning to look more and more like a huge online marketplace. Retailers are scrambling to reach the enormous audience that Facebook draws in daily and turn users into paying customers. It started with the Facebook fan pages, which allowed businesses to build a presence for their brand on the social media website. They can add an unlimited number of fans on their fan page, and many leading retailers have already successfully built a large following. Recently Facebook has been connected to e-commerce on an even larger scale. Many of these businesses that are already well established in Facebook are starting to create their own ecommerce apps, which allows them to sell their products to their fans directly through Facebook. 

If you own an e-commerce business or are thinking of starting one and you have not tried Facebook marketing yet then you better get started. First, you must build a Facebook fan page. It's fast and easy, simply look for the link on their website and fill out the information. Once you have done that, it's time to really begin customizing the page in a fun way that will attract visitors and get them to become fans. Below is a list of features on the fan page and how you can use it to market your business. 

Wall - have fans leave comments in this area, share their thoughts, help make suggestions, ask a question, etc. 

Info - write a description of your business, make it clever and remember to speak to your audience in a way that they will like 

Notes - post the latest news regarding your ecommerce business, announce promotions, etc. 

FBML - create up to 10 customizable html display areas that allows you to add anything you want 

Photos - post pictures of your products and you allow your fans to share theirs 

Discussions - get the conversation started, let fans give you feedback 

Videos - post videos to promote your products and demonstrate how to use them, you can also allow your fans to share their videos 

Events - announce special upcoming events or promotions 

Reviews - let fans rate your products or services 

Others - add other applications created by third party developers that are meant for use on the fanpage 

Once you have your fan page set up you can begin focusing on how to attract traffic. Your page does not have to be perfect, it is one of those things where the more interaction you are able to get, the better the content. So start small and watch it grow and develop over time. Once you are able to better understand your fans, you can think more creatively about what to include on your Facebook fanpage. A good idea is to create exclusive coupons just for them. You can also develop a fun contest for them as part of a promotional campaign where the winner receives something for free. Try to think of as many creative and fun Facebook marketing ideas to increase the amount of interaction on your fanpage. 

Ads are another great Facebook marketing tactic to get people to become better acquainted with your brand. However Facebook ads are in a lot of ways very different from other kinds of advertisements. The advertisements on Facebook cannot focus on direct sales like Google AdWords ads can. The reason is because they each have an entirely different type of audience. The group on Facebook are there to socialize whereas the group on Google tend to already know what they want and actively search for it. When trying to reach a Facebook user, you should not push your products on them. You have to first give them a reason to become a fan and then develop a relationship with them. Once the relationship is there, you can find interactive ways to keep your products and your brand fresh in their mind, and the chances of them turning into a customer is much better. What you need to do is apply to become an advertiser on the Facebook network and create banner ads that link to your Facebook fanpage instead of your e-commerce site. 

Most recently, an increasingly popular Facebook marketing technique is direct selling. Since selling directly on Facebook is now all the rage, there is no reason for you not to do it. The big name retailers are just beginning to make their fanpages even more interactive by listing their products there. Those that have already built a large community are discovering that merging e-commerce with Facebook is turning out to be very profitable.

Article Source:
http://www.articlecity.com/articles/site_promotion/article_2325.shtml
Enhanced by Zemanta

Facebook Social Comments

Social Media Marketing News Headlines