Facebook Timeline.  Timeline is Facebook’s new format, and as of March 2012, all Facebook users will be automatically switched over to Timeline.  Timeline is a completely new way of organizing your posts in chronological fashion, and you can literally go back to the day of your birth and fill in all the important blanks, add pictures, and highlight important memories.  Timeline is like a detailed, digital scrapbook of your life, and although it will take some getting used to, it is not going away.  Your best bet is to learn to use it, and now.  You might be surprised to find how amazing some of the new features on.  You might even find that you are a Timeline fan.

Picture viewer.  The way you view pictures on Facebook has undergone some major changes.  Now, when you click on a picture, it pulls up the picture viewer feature.  This allows you to flip through albums, make comments, and check off what you like without leaving the page you are on.  When you are done, simply close the viewer and you are right back where you started from.

Privacy policy.  Facebook is notorious for constantly updating its privacy policies.  These are serious changes that affect your personal privacy, so there are definitely some things you should be aware of.  Now the privacy policy is easier to access and understand, and you have more options upon initial registration.  The amount of data social plug-ins are able to collect from your account will be further limited.  You will also be able to delete unwanted data from your Facebook dashboard, including friend requests, pokes, tags, and more.  Facebook’s complete 2012 privacy policy can be found on the Facebook site :  http://www.facebook.com/about/privacy/.

To make the most of your Tacoma or Seattle Business’ social media participation, contact us today.

Networked Blogs.  If you don’t maintain a blog for your business website, you should . . . but that’s another article altogether.  Networked Blogs actually works on both profile and fan pages, and is a great way to get your blog from point A to point B so that all of your Facebook friends and followers will receive notice of, and get the chance to read, your blog posts as you submit them to your site.  In addition to uploading your blog posts to Facebook, this great app also maintains a visible blog roll on your fan page for easy access.

Slideshare.  Take your Facebook business marketing to the next level by using a multimedia approach.  Slideshare is just the app to help you do that, with features that enable you to post portfolios, conference talks, PDFs, PowerPoint and Keynote presentations, and much more right on your Facebook fan page for all your followers to see.  Using slideshare is a great way to create an interactive experience for your Facebook following, and to attract new “likes.”

YouTube Channels.  It is an undisputed fact that people tend to prefer video over any other medium while surfing the web for information.  If your business already has a YouTube Channel (and, again, it should!), then adding the YouTube Channels app to your Facebook fan page is a super easy way to add a video element to your Facebook presence.  YouTube Channels also works on profile pages, as well as application pages!

To sum it all up, Facebook is a hotbed of marketing opportunity, and Facebook applications make it possible for you to kick your social media marketing up to a whole new level.  Try these awesome Facebook apps out for size.  For help making the most out of your Tacoma or Seattle business’ social media marketing efforts, contact us today.

Timeline Highlight.  The new feature that allows you showcase any and every post you want to call special attention to is called “Highlight.”  Highlight is super easy to access and use, as you will see in this breakdown.  (Side note: the Highlight feature applies to Facebook fan pages only.  The same feature is actually called “Feature” on standard profile pages.  However, both Highlight and Feature work the same way.)

How does Timeline “highlight” your posts?  Basically, when you choose a post to highlight, that post is expanded to the full width of your screen (or the full width of the Timeline, that is).

Where is the Highlight feature?  This is easy.  Simply hover your mouse around the upper right hand corner of your post and two buttons will appear: a star and a pencil.  The star is your Highlight button.

The highlighting process.  Click on the star.  Yes, that’s it.  If you make a mistake and highlight the wrong post, or if you have a change of heart and decide that a post you highlighted is unworthy, simply click the Highlight star again to remove the highlighting.

What can you highlight?  Anything you post on Facebook may be highlighted.  This means status updates, photos, videos, Timeline events, and much more.  As a matter of fact, you may use Highlight to customize the look of your page in any way you like; for example, you may opt to highlight every one of your posts if you prefer that your page fans have a large, simplified view of everything you post.

Facebook’s new Highlight feature can be a powerful marketing tool, if you know how to use it.  To make the most of your social media marketing, contact the professionals.  Contact us today to get your Tacoma or Seattle business’ Facebook Timeline page on the right track.

Photos.  Perhaps the easiest way to create your Timeline cover image is to choose a favorite photo.  Panoramic photos work the best, but you can crop any photo to make it the right shape and size.  Just make sure the end product is 851 X 315 pixels and the highest quality possible.  You may even opt to create a photo collage using photo editing software, which you can then easily upload to your cover using Facebook’s easy to use platform.  Remember that you also have a smaller inset where you can insert a photo, so you can get really creative here and choose two complimentary images, or even two photos that seem to interact with each other.

Premade designs.  There are numerous resources where you can find a multitude of creative, eye catching cover art designs.  Try myprofilecover.com and coverphotofinder.com, for starters.  Or, handy apps like SiteCanvas allow you to choose from a variety of pre-made templates, plug your personal pictures in, and create a one-of-a kind cover.

Your logo.  Use your Timeline cover like a billboard and keep it simple by using your logo and nothing else.  Or, you may opt to adorn your logo with related photos, using your photo editing software.  Get creative here, and put your logo and your Timeline to their best use.

As you can see, creating a dynamic Timeline image does not have to be a difficult task.  Use these suggestions to create a Timeline cover that works best for your Tacoma or Seattle business.  If you need help getting the most out of your Timeline, contact us today.

Cover all your bases.  There are number of different social media platforms on the world-wide web, and your policy needs to specify which sites it covers.  Consider including references to Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and/or LinkedIn.  If you are in doubt as to whether or not a social media site pertains to your business, your best bet is to include it in your policy.

Personal versus professional.  Your policy should clearly state that it applies to both personal and professional use of social media outlets.  Basically, any time your business is mentioned in social media by an employee, that communication needs to fall inside of your policy guidelines.

Proprietary information.  Many businesses require that their employees sign confidentiality agreements.  Even if your business doesn’t, your social media policy should state that the mention of any and all confidential or proprietary information regarding your business operations on social media sites is strictly prohibited.

Social media use at work.  This is up to your discretion, but whatever your business’ social media usage guidelines are, they need to be thoroughly outlined in your social media policy.

Protecting your brand.  Your social media policy should state that employees are not allowed to use the company logo, or other unique brand identifiers, in social media postings without your prior approval.

Your business perspective.  Your employees should never post on the company’s behalf without your prior approval.  Any personal posts having to do with your business need to clearly state that any opinions expressed are not necessarily those of the business.

Rights reserved.  One way of protecting your online reputation even after the fact of a faulty social media post is to include a section in your social media policy that assigns you, the business, with the right to remove or alter business-related social media posts that don’t meet your social media policy guidelines.

Creating a social media policy for your business is no small task, but it is a very important one.  For guidance and professional consulting when it comes to your Tacoma or Seattle business’ social media presence, contact us today.

The truth, and nothing but the truth.  There cannot be anything of a deceptive nature in you cover image.  That means that you must leave catchy hooks out, in favor of clear, straight-forward, and easy to understand images and language.  For example, don’t attempt to lure fans in with offers or promises that don’t exist.

Call to action.  Your cover photo cannot contain any type of call to action.  You can’t even urge page viewers to “like” your page, “spread the word” about your page, or otherwise interact with or promote your page.  Save the sales pitch for the fans who want it.

Contact information.  Anything that belongs in your About section (email, phone number, address, etc.) must stay out of your cover photo.

Facebook user interface references.  You are not allowed to allude to any Facebook user interface features (such as “like” or “share,” for example).  Facebook cover photo policies also forbid you to include any imagery (such as an arrow pointing to the like button, for example) that directs the page viewer to a user interface feature.

Business transactions.  Your cover image cannot contain any information in regards to the purchase of your product or service.  Displaying prices, discount advertisements, or instructions to order are strictly forbidden.

While the new Facebook Timeline will take some figuring out, it is worth the time and effort you put into it, as it provides you with a multitude of features to help grow your business.  To make the most of your Tacoma or Seattle business social media marketing, contact the professionals at Main Street Marketing llc.

Highly targeted marketing.  One of the best things about Facebook ads is that you can specify exactly who you want to view your ads, based on things like age, interests, and geographic location.  For example, if you run a mobile salon business, you may opt to target your ads to women in your area who have expressed an interest in beauty, hair care, fashion, and salons.

The snowball effect.  Basically, any time someone clicks on your ad and lands on your page, they have the option of “liking” your page if they are pleased with what they find.  Any time someone likes your page, that activity shows up in that person’s newsfeed.  This means that all of that person’s friends are exposed to your page and have the option of liking it themselves.  Facebook ads are a great way to attract attention to your page and gain fans on an exponential level.

Reach.  The numbers don’t lie: Facebook is the world’s highest ranking website, and is viewed on a global scale.  You may have a small local business, but there is no question that if you sell a product, your business could benefit greatly from having a broader reach.

Smart phone users.  Most people these days access the web from their smart phones on a regular basis.  By using Facebook advertising, you are making your presence known to local smart phone users who only search for businesses while on the go.

Customization.  In addition to the previously mentioned targeting, Facebook ads also allow for a lot of freedom when it comes to customizing ads to your liking, especially when compared to Google ads (a very common advertising platform that you are likely already using).  For example, the extra allowance for text length and the ability to add images allows you create ads that best suit your needs and marketing goals.

To make the most of your social media marketing, contact the professionals. Contact us today to get a professional, productive Facebook page for your Tacoma or Seattle business.

Learning to use Insights.  Facebook Insights is basically a way for you to monitor the performance of your fan page.  When you access Insights, you can view a variety of metrics that, literally, give you clear insight into how your fans and other Facebook users are interacting with (or even reacting to) your fan page.  To access Insights features, click on the Insights link, found in the left sidebar right under your profile picture.  Once you click on the link, a new set of options will be displayed in a drop down menu.

Main Insights.  Some posts are more effective than others; some posts will get attention and win you new fans, while others may inspire fans to unlike your page altogether.  Therefore, you need to know which types of posts are stimulating what kind of action.  You can see exactly how people are responding/reacting to your posts in the Main Insights area.

Interactions.  This Insights metric basically tells you when your posts are reaching the most people “live,” and thus getting some fan page interactions.  By tailoring your post times to your busiest interaction times, you can be sure to get your fresh posts in front of the most people possible.

Users.  When you know who your target market is, you can customize your posts to them and win even more fans like them over to your fan page.  The Insights Users metric shows you the exact demographics of the people who are most interested in your page.

External referrers.  This metric shows you where your fans are coming from.  They may either be directly from Facebook, or they may be clicking on a link from your website.  Knowing how your fans are finding you is a great way to identify areas of your Internet marketing that might need some work.

Of course, there is a lot more to Facebook Insights than can be covered in one short article.  To learn how to use your Tacoma or Seattle businesses social media presence to its fullest, contact us today!

Time zone effectiveness.  If you understand the ins and outs of social media marketing, then you know that your posts are most effective when they are live – that is, when other people see them fresh on the newsfeed.  News travels quickly, and fades just as quickly, when it appears on a rapidly shifting newsfeed, so it is important that you get your posts out to all of your customers in real time, no matter where they live, and without clogging everyone’s newsfeeds.  You can do this by sending your posts to the appropriate time zones at the appropriate times, and geotracking enables you to do this.

Keeping it local.  If you are sponsoring a local event or offering a special that is only relevant to your local customers, then it is pointless (and a nuisance) to repeatedly advertise it to people who are not in your target area.  Use geotracking to keep local news local, and to spare everyone else of wasteful posting.

Targeting photos and videos.  You can really customize your targeted marketing campaigns by posting geographically-specific photos and videos to areas of your choosing.  This is a great way to create a memorable, interactive experience for customers all over the globe, on a per-location basis, and that means loyal customers all around.

Multi-lingual opportunities.  If your business caters to a mixed crowd who speaks a variety of languages, then you can use geotargeting when you post language-specific posts that might otherwise crowd your fans’ newsfeeds with text they can’t read or understand.

Comparison testing.  You can use geotargeting to gauge your fans’ responses in different geographic locations.  That way, you can identify market trends that are location-specific, and can create campaigns to target specific zones that you know will be most responsive.

As you can see, Facebook geotargeting can be a very useful tool in your marketing grab-bag, and it may be used to size up your social media market for other marketing outlets outside of the Internet.  To take advantage of all social media can do for your Tacoma or Seattle business, contact us today!

Interact on other fan pages.  This is quite simple: if you want to establish your credibility on Facebook and lend some relevance to your fan page in order to stimulate fan interactions, then you need to be active in the Facebook world.  One of the best ways you have of doing that is to be visible on other, related fan pages.  Get involved in serious discussions, post useful tidbits of information, or even just show support for the page, and people will reciprocate by participating more on your fan page.

Apps.  There are a number of useful applications that you can plug into your fan page in order to encourage interactions amongst your fans.  For example, the “Fan of the Week” app actually keeps track of your fans’ participation and acknowledges your top fan of each week.  People love recognition and this app will encourage them to hang out on your page more often.

Be genuine.  Your fans don’t want to feel that they are communicating with a robot.  Be human.  Be yourself.  Interact on a personal level and people will respond.

Fan page partnerships.  Make it a point to promote other fan pages that you support, and those fan pages will do the same for you.  You can promote other fan pages by sharing their pictures and posts, and by linking to their pages from your own page.

Have a contest.  Host a giveaway of some sort and provide your fans with a chance to win it, based on their participation.  You can set this up any way you like.  Many fan pages pose a silly question, or even a photo caption contest, and then advertise the prize and the deadline date.

As you can see, there are some very simple steps you can take to increase your Facebook fan activity.  If you want to get the most out of your Tacoma or Seattle business social media marketing, contact us today.