Instant Personalization

By now, many of you have probably noticed changes (yet again) with Facebook.  The social media community is still in the process of evaluating the impacts of the 'Like' button to individuals and businesses. 

One thing that stands out for me is that Facebook is helping us to share our interests in a bold and bigger way.  I am not sure that I am comfortable with that right now.  Maybe after I understand the implications I will find it to be an OK idea, or maybe even a great idea.

Please note that opening your 'likes' to the public is not an 'opt-in' event.  If you do not want to participate in this openness, at least for now, you have to 'opt-out'.  The way to do this is as follows:

How to Opt out of Instant Personalization 

1. On the top right of your Facebook page, click Account and then Privacy Settings.

2. Click Applications and Websites.

3. Click the “Edit Setting” box to the right of Instant Personalization (this is the last item on the menu).

4. Once inside Instant Personalization, uncheck the box at the bottom.

Stay tuned and we will start to see how Facebook's new concept enables changes across the web.

Can You Really Do Consulting Over the Miles?

When I first started focusing my consulting business on Social Media and the internet, I remember espousing to my sister how I could "take it where ever I go."  I was looking forward to moving closer to her and it made her feel better that I would not have to start my business all over again once I was near her.

Well, my sister is now gone but I am still going to move closer to where she lived.  As I finally sold my house in Tucson, I am forced to look at the reality of moving my business.  Do we really have the tools to be able to connect on a personal level? 

One of the tools that I have come to love is Skype. (www.skype.com) Yes, I have challenges with it almost every night, but I don't let it get to me.  Typically my video freezes about 5 times in the first 10 minutes of a call, but it is easy enough to click it off and then to click it back on again.  Once in a while we have to totally shut down and come back up to get things cleared up.  I don't know why.  I can't figure it out.  I just deal with it.   The good part is that the voice and audio seem to work great.

I also use Jing, (www.jingproject.com)  which is a tool that will capture all of my movements on my computer screen.  This allows me to demonstrate what I want my client to do on their own computer.  I can narrate what I am doing in order to explain the process.  I then send it to my client and they  can look at this 'video' at their own pace and follow the instructions.

Of course there is still the telephone!  I find that whether I am 2 miles away or 2000, many of my clients want to just pick up the phone and ask a quick question.  As most of my clients are baby boomers, we tend to gravitate to the telephone as our preferred means of communication.

How does Social Media Networking fit into this?  I have already started to join groups on LinkedIn that support the Long Island community.  I am able to see who is involved and what they do.  I am getting to know them.  When the time is right, I will help them to get to know me (right now I am overwhelmed with moving).  Once physically in place, I will get myself out to meeting the small business owners in the community.  Having seen some of them on LinkedIn, will help me to feel more comfortable.

I look forward to a continued relationship with my Tucson clients and friends.  Except for the time change, it will mostly be the same.  I also look forward to enhancing my business with new relationships and being able to be a contribution to the East End Community of Long Island.

Using Facebook to Gather Information

Regardless of whether or not you use Facebook to promote your business, there is an enormous amount of valuable information just waiting to be harvested by you.  I suggest setting up your User (personal) Account to enable you to have this information sent to you as soon as it is published.

First, of course, you need to have a personal account.  If you are afraid of your privacy being compromised, go into your Privacy Settings and adjust each one to a level that is comfortable for you.  Facebook makes this rather easy to do.

Then, spend some time searching for Pages, or Groups that are related to a topic that you are interested in.  Use the 'Search' box at the top of your Facebook page.  Type in a topic.  For instance, if you are in the Home Health Care business and want to be kept in the loop about trends and issues, type in Home Health Care.  As you type, results will be placed in a drop down box.  Be careful.  If you simply hit the 'enter' key, you will get the top item in the drop down box.  If you want to see more choices, cursor down to the bottom of the list where it asks if you want to see more choices.

Now, you will be presented with a few selections from your search that were found in "Pages" and then those from "People".  Note, if you want to see more selections under "Pages" then you need to look down the right hand side of the list to where it says, "View all results".  Pages, are where you will usually find that businesses publish useful information. 

If you find a business page that looks interesting, click on it and take a look around their page.  There are tabs across the top of the page that bring up various components of information.  Check out their "Wall" to see what kinds of things they are posting.  Do they post links that would give you good information about your topic?  Do they have informative posts on their wall?  Do they post often enough, but not too much to be annoying.  Check out their information page to get an idea of the source behind the business page.  Do they feel like a legitimate company that seems to have similar ideals as your own?

Some companies also have their blog posts showing on their Fan Page.   Check this out and see if you think the information is of use to you.  Sometimes videos are also posted and can be of great value.

If you decide that this is a good page for you to follow, then click on the button at the top of the page that says "become a fan".  It is that easy!  Now whenever this Fan Page posts something new, you will see it on your News Feed on your own home page.  You may not click on every link they post, but if you are clicking on some now and then, you are getting free information sent right to you.

This is one of the ways to use Facebook to retrieve useful information from the internet.  If you take some time to do some initial searching, you can then sit back and let Facebook feed it to you.  Give it a try and see what comes up.

Do I need a personal Facebook profile in order to set up a Fan Page for my business?

Do I need a personal Facebook profile in order to set up a Fan Page for my business?

The short answer to this question is "No".  You do not need to have a personal profile in order to have a business Fan Page or to run ads.  A better questions is, "Is it a good idea to manage Fan Pages from my personal account or just set up a business account?"

I have copied the following from the Facebook help pages:

What is the difference between a business account and a user [personal] profile?

Business accounts are designed for individuals who only want to use the site [Facebook] 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.

http://www.facebook.com/help/?faq=12320

What are the key points here?

1. Since Business Accounts do not have the same functionality as personal accounts, you will not have as much flexibility in using Facebook to attract more potential clients.
2. If your business does not show up in search, your chances of being found are much smaller.
3. Business accounts can not send out or receive friend requests.  Attracting Fans to your pages will be much more difficult if you do not have this feature.

If you are worried that your personal privacy is going to be in jeopardy, Facebook has this to say:

Please keep in mind that the fans of any of the Pages you administer will not have visibility or access to your personal account or profile. Any actions that you take as a Page administrator on your Page will show the Page’s name as the actor and not your personal name.

You may be thinking that you will have your personal profile for your friends and family, but want another account for your business page.  Here is what Facebook has to say:

If I already have a user profile, can I create a business account?

Maintaining multiple accounts, regardless of the purpose, is a violation of Facebook’s Terms of Use. If you already have a personal account, then we cannot allow you to create business accounts for any reason. You can manage all the Pages and Socials Ads that you create on your personal account.

http://www.facebook.com/help/?faq=12841

From what I hear, Facebook is very serious about this.  Do not try and get around the TOU (Terms of Use) with them.  They will take away your accounts if they feel you have violated the TOU.

My suggestion:   As a small business owner, set up a personal user profile.  From there you can create a Fan Page for your business.  You can even set up more than one Fan Page if you have multiple businesses to market.  You do not have to use your personal profile to post information.  You can direct all of your friends to become Fans of your business page.

Let me know if you have had any experience with this.  I look forward to your input.

Building a Platform

I started writing this post wanting to talk about the balance of automated control of your social media messaging and that of using your own personal voice.  Then I realized that there are so many "it depends" to this, that I found myself going back to basics (once again).  Just a checkpoint to make sure that there is clarity around your small business.

Stepping into the world of Social Media Marketing can be an overwhelming process.  It is a good time to take a step back and re-evaluate your business from a marketing point of view.  This will help you build a marketing platform upon which to build your Social Media voice.

Some of the questions to ask yourself are:

• What do I do? - Better yet, what is the customer problem that I solve.

• How do I do it? - Is this a one-on-one business, or am I providing a commodity?  Does the buyer need a lot of information to make a decision?  What does the buyer invest in the purchase?  Is it just money or is it also their time or their beliefs?

• Where do I do it? - What are my geographic limitations?   Am I strictly a local company where people need to be physically in a particular place, or can customers receive my product or service online or via shipping?

• Who are my best customers? - What are the characteristics of my best customer?  Is there a demographic that they fall into (age, gender, income, geography, etc.)?

• Who is my competition? - What market am I playing in?  Am I competing with only local businesses, or am I competing with hundreds of other businesses on the web?  How can I differentiate myself from my competition?

The questions are brief and straight forward.  Sometimes the answers can get out of hand.  It is worth it to keep working on the answers until you have been able to simplify your marketing platform.  Find your focus.  Find the words that succinctly describe what you are about (we tend to call these words 'keywords' now-a-days).  Use these words and this focus to guide your future marketing choices.

Depending on the answers to these questions, you will then be able to better determine how much automation and how much personal voice you want to have on your social media sites.

What are you really selling?

I have had an opportunity this week to look at various businesses, to go beyond the product that they sell and consider the feeling that is being sold.  By this, I mean that when we purchase something we come away with something much deeper than the product or service.

My friend in the jewelry business says she sells a feeling of being beautiful and deserving.  If it were just the beauty of the necklace or earrings, then the buyer would simply hang them in the closet to be viewed now and then.  The beauty comes when the purchaser wears them for all to see.  It says, "I feel beautiful when I wear this.  I deserve to have such a stunning piece to augment my beauty."

So many businesses sell 'hope'.  The hope for a better future, a better day.  You go to the chiropractor in the hope of relieving your back pain.  You go to the gym with the hope of having a body that allows you to experience life more fully.  Your money adviser gives you the hope of living without financial struggle.  Your realtor sells you the hope of starting a happy life in your wonderful new home.

So, I asked myself, "As a Small Business Consultant, what is it that I really sell?"   My watch word is always "simple".  My goal is to get things simplified for my clients.  Sort through the myriad of options and target the ones that will help their individual situation.  Do I sell "simplicity"?  No, I don't think so.  Going beyond that, if business life is less complicated and confusing, it is less stressful.  Having a clear direction is less stressful.  Having a clear vision of what a business does and how they do it is less stressful.  So, do I sell the hope of a more focused and less stressful business life?  Hmmm... perhaps I do!

I encourage you to consider what it is that your business really sells.  I am interested in knowing what you come up with.  If you would like to share it, please leave a comment here, or on the "Promoting Small Business Through internet Technology" Facebook Fan page:
http://budurl.com/SchecherFanPage

Go ahead, give it a try!

Have you ever gotten on to a Social Media site and been overwhelmed by the options, questions, invitations, and glut of information that pops up on the screen?  Yup, me too!  In my case, I find it a challenge to figure out how to get control over this, or to use it to my benefit.  Many people though, get paralyzed by it and find that they never go back to the site again.

Today I would like to encourage you to be bold and to try some exploring on a site that may have baffled you in the past.  Take a look around.   Hit some buttons.  Watch some drop down menus guide you into parts unknown.  For the most part, if you change something, you can change it back.  (Of course, removing your account is not one of them.) 

Every time the site changes format (hmmm, Facebook seems to like to do this), don't panic.  Take a deep breath and start to look around.  You will probably find that the changes actually make things easier to find and to control.  The folks at Facebook don't just sit around in the office and think up things to change, they actually ask the users what they could improve.

A word of caution about applications (apps).  Many apps want to grab your information and use it elsewhere.  I am not sure how that all works, but I do know that it is worth it, especially in Facebook, to review your apps now and then. 

• Go to ACCOUNT in the upper right hand corner.  This drops down options. 
• Click on Application Settings
• There is a drop down box in the upper right side of the page that will give you options about which apps to show. 
• Click on Authorized.
• This will give you a list of all of your apps.  You can then edit each one to set up security.

You may be surprised at what functions of Facebook are apps.  You have the ability to delete them and limit them if you want.  So even if you got bold one day and agreed to take the "What is the Color of My Name" quiz, you have the ability to get rid of it in the future.

Sure there are some things that you can do on Social Media to annoy people and to get into 'trouble', but I think that you really have to work at it.  Just doing some exploring and some looking around will help you to build your confidence and experience more of the power of the sites.  Remember, if you do manage to make a mistake, Social Media is the perfect venue for sending out your apologies.