Social Media Consulting • Lead Generation • Social Networks • Blogs

Facebook Pages Changes: No More Updating Fans

Don't even try to update fans after the 30th of September if you have a Faceook Page for your business or organization. Thanks, Facebook, reel us in, get us hooked, charge us?

Have you seen this? If you have a Facebook Page for your business - not a personal profile, this affects you. If you've been on your Facebook Page lately and click on updating fans, this is the message you'll see.

I wonder what tools they will have available for us. Right now their help section states:

Can I update fans of my page using Facebook Messages?

As of September 30th you'll no longer be able to send an update to fans using Facebook Messages. We want you to connect with your audience in the most effective ways possible, and updates that go to Facebook Messages may end up unseen in the "Other" folder.

Here are other ways you can expand your reach:

Post content on your page Wall so people see your updates in their news feed. You can target your posts by location or language by choosing Customize from the audience selector dropdown before you post. 

Consider using targeted Facebook Ads or Sponsored Stories to help grow and highlight your message within the Facebook experience.

Is this going to be a good change for us that use Facebook to grow your small businesses? What do you think? Do you use this way of updating your fans? 

 

Facebook Pages for Business Denver Class

Facebook Pages for Business Class in Denver on Wednesday, September 21, 10am to 12pm in the Tech Center.

Why are major brands including using Facebook to increase their brand awareness and sell services and products? Because it works. And you can use the same strategies to grow your business. Are you missing out on the free publicity?

Join us for this interactive class as we go step-by-step to create your Facebook Business Page. Find out the best times and what to post on Facebook to get more interaction and how to gauge your efforts. 

Bring your laptop computer. Please make sure you know how to connect your computer to a wireless connection.

Who should attend: Entrepreneurs, business owners, and marketing managers.

Prerequisites: Have a personal profile set up and completely filled out on Facebook, knowledge of maneuvering around the home page including answering messages, notifications and posting updates.

Class sponsored by Social Buzz Network, Corporate Office Centers and Your Marketing Gal. Class is Wednesday, September 21, 10am to 12pm, $34 includes snacks. Class is at Corporate Office Centers, 4643 S. Ulster Street, Suite 800, Denver, CO 80237, 720.228.4000. Jo Guerra, owner of Your Marketing Gal is proud to be the trainer for this class. She has taught hundreds of business owners how to market their brand on social media. Contact her at 303.632.2928 or email her.

Reserve Your Spot Today - Limited Seating.

Facebook for Beginners Denver Class

Confused on how to use Facebook?

Everyone is talking about Facebook for business. But before you soar, get the basics down.

Join us for this interactive beginner class in Denver where you’ll:

• get a great start on your PERSONAL Facebook profile
• explore the “Wall”
• post pictures, videos, status updates
• invite friends to join your personal page & more

Bring laptops and plenty of questions.  Don’t forget your business cards because a networking lunch social is included.

This class is for business owners or marketing managers that are brand new or fairly new to Facebook and plan on using Facebook for business.

Don’t waste hours online getting confused and trying to figure out Facebook only to do find out you’ve done it all wrong. Shortcut the process with this step-by-step Facebook for Beginners class.

If you want to use Facebook for business, your personal profile is intertwined with your business – even if you decide to keep everything separate. Learning the basic foundation will make the Business part of Facebook much easier.  

Class sponsored by Social Buzz Network, Corporate Office Centers and Your Marketing Gal.

Facebook Beginner Class will be held at Corporate Office Centers in the Tech Center, Thursday, July 21, 10am to 1pm, and is only $34. Class includes lunch and great networking. Register early - limited seating.

 

Corporate Office Centers is located in the Tech Center at 4643 S. Ulster Street, Suite 800, Denver CO 80237.

Jo Guerra, owner of Your Marketing Gal is proud to be the trainer for this class. She's taught hundreds of businesses and job seekers how to use social media marketing successfully. Contact Jo at socialjo1@gmail.com or 303.632.2928.

 

Denver Facebook Marketing Boot Camp Part 2

Part 2 of Denver Facebook Marketing Boot Camp took place on March 25 in the Denver area. This small-group workshop consisted of different strategies for marketing a Facebook Page including contests, inviting friends, events, connecting yoru blog, Facebook applications, claiming your page and much more. The group of business owners followed step-by-step to learn creative ways to market their business on Facebook - and to make sure they were adhrering to Facebook's policy. The workshop included a book detailing the different Facebook marketing strategies. Here is the presentation.

 

Facebook Denver Boot Camp Part 2

View more presentations from Your Marketing Gal

Ready for a workshop to take your online marketing to the next level? Check out Your Marketing Gal's calendar. Or contact us via email or at 303.632.2928.

Facebook Business Basics and Marketing Boot Camp in Denver

Launch your business success through social networking with this Denver Facebook business basics and marketing boot camp.

Facebook Basics Boot Camp Part 1

In order to soar on Facebook, you have to do it right. Did you know you could be shut down if you are using your personal page as your business? And you’d lose all your friends – so your hard work is down the drain. Learn the basics of doing Facebook right from a personal and business perspective. ­­ Are you needlessly exposing yourself?

• Find out about privacy settings
• How not to be a Facebook jerk
• How to brand yourself and your company by providing expert content
• Avoid the deadly mistakes people make
• And more business Facebook basics
• Best time to share content

This is part one of a two-part Facebook boot camp specifically designed for business. Don’t miss this great opportunity to expand your online footprint. Delicious lunch social follows. Class size is limited.  Bring your laptop if you'd like Part one of the workshop series is Monday, April 18th, 10am to 1pm at Zi Fusion, 7340 South Clinton Street Englewood, CO 80112, 720.287.1479.

Part 1 is Monday, April 18th, 10am to 1pm.

 

Facebook Marketing Boot Camp Part 2

You know the basics and are doing social media right. Now you are ready to create your Facebook Page and integrate marketing techniques that will grow your business. Differentiate your Facebook Page by using the right strategies.

• Invite your friends and customers
• Learn easy tweaks to get targeted people to like your page
• Find the right applications
• Publicize events
• Implement easy branding tips
• Run promotions to increase your "likes" the right way

Leave with a “tool box” full of marketing techniques to grow your business. This is part two of a two-part Facebook boot camp specifically designed for business. Delicious lunch social follows.  Part two of the workshop series is Monday, April 25th, 8:30am to 11am at Egg & I, 6818 S. Yosemite St. Englewood, CO.

Englewood, CO 80112, 720.287.1479.

Part 2 is Monday, April 25th, 8:30 to 11:45am.

 

Don't just be another person trying to learn everything about Facebook for your business by attending a huge conference with absolutely no personal contact. Make it personal - like business should be.

Each session is $59 or attend both for $99. Limited seating so register now.

You will more out of this workshop if you are already familiar with Facebook.

Option 1: Best investment: attend both sessions for $99.

 

 

Option 2: Attend Part 1 Facebook Basics Boot Camp for $59.

 

 

Option 3: Attend Part 2 Facbook Marketing Boot Camp for $59.

Receive individual training and attention from me, Jo Guerra. I've used social media for years to promote my business plus I've been training  and coaching companies to develop manageable, successful internet marketing strategies.  Contact me at 303.632.2928 or socialjo1@gmail.com.

Sponsored by Susan Corriere of Social Buzz Network. Contact Susan at 720.219.9139 or
susan@socialbuzznetwork.com.

LinkedIn is 100 Million Strong

From LinkedIn’s blog:

Today, LinkedIn reached a major milestone: 100 million worldwide. We’re now growing at roughly one million new LinkedIn members every week, the equivalent of a professional joining the site at faster than one member per second.

This milestone was reached on March 22nd. 

Wow, this is amazing. Maybe not over 500 mill22ion that have joined Facebook, but quite an accomplishment. I find LinkedIn to be a great place to network with other professionals. I spend less time on it and always get more hits to my site. There are some wonderful groups to network in and this is where I spend my time. But there are many places to market yourself or your business, such as answers, events, etc.

So, when did you join? Want to find what number you were to join? Click on your profile and then “View Profile”. Now look at the address bar. http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=12108729&locale=en_US&trk=tab_pro.

I joined after they hit 12 million and was the 12,108,729^th member to join. What’s your number?  How do you like LinkedIn compared to Facebook? 

 

Social Networking Success Strategy for Denver Realtor

Mark Kinslow, a Denver Realtor, believes in keeping in touch through social media venues like Facebook. But, it’s the face-to-face that counts in his business.

It’s amazing how many people I run into that confess they need to be on social media. It is like I am the priest and they are using our time together to be absolved of not being on social media or not being diligent about using it. Is it right for everyone? Are you nobody if you are not on social media? 

Mark Kinslow believes that it can be part of the mix. When a met him a few months ago, I saw a well spoken young man with a nice demeanor – not pushy, yet confident. The kind of person you enjoy being around. Quite helpful to his peers and knowledgeable about social media. I was speaking to one of his groups, The Edge, a local Denver area leads group, about using social media for business. His 30-second commercial included an important fact: his team had sold over 30 homes in 2010 – a great feat for the Denver area market.

So, after the meeting I asked him, “What led to your success in this market? What are you doing right? Would love to know the ingredients you feel have contributed [to your success].”

His response:
The main thing we are doing to make our success is just doing what works. You said you were in the business previously and to be honest the more things change the more they need to stay the same. Lots of agents forget that our business is mostly from past clients, friends and family. Networking with people is a must. Facebook and other social media are amazing ways to keep in touch but they still do not compare to face to face meetings. I use social media to get face time with my people.

I can talk to someone on Facebook every day and it means little when you can sit down and have a beer or coffee in person. We do lots of marketing to our sphere and that is where we get our deals from. I don’t like working with cold leads as they are mostly a waste of our time. I like having a large web presence that is only found by someone who is looking for me because a friend, past client etc., ...refers someone to me [and] they can check me out. It saves time and effort.

…I have been running businesses for a long time, I managed a Motorcycle Rental shop as well as our corporate fleet (7 stores in 4 states) and I understand dealing with people pretty well so that got me my background on talking to people and overcoming objections, I did that from when I was 18 till 21 then I got my licensee and opened my own shop which went out of business in 2007 and I decided rather than be a part-time agent I would just do this full-time and .it has worked out pretty well.

Well said, Mark. Oh and congratulations on such a great formula for success. Want to meet Mark and his team? Visit his Buyers blog or Sellers blog.  

When I work with clients, I look at the whole picture, not just the social media part. If you get on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, you are not going to be successful overnight. It takes time to nurture your community and grow your online presence. There are many ingredients to creating a good online and offline marketing strategy. And social media is not magic. But it can certainly part of the overall marketing plan.

Ready to get started on a good online plan? Download your free “Create Your Social Media Marketing Plan” workbook to start on your path to a manageable, successful plan. Or contact me if you’re ready to be coached to success for using online and/or traditional marketing strategies for your business.  

Have a success story you want to share? Just include your contact information as a comment or contact me. 

 

Facebook Social Plugins for Your Facebook Page

Did you know that your Facebook social plugins are not available when using Facebook as your business page? I noticed when I was on my website that the facepile plugin I had previously installed was not available when I was using "Facebook as page".

And this is how my social plugin that I have on my website looked:

But when I went back to using it as "Jo", then my plugin showed up again.

And here it is restored:

What the heck is a social plugin? Well according to Facebook they are "...embeddable social features that can be integrated in your site with a line of HTML." The most important social plugin is the "Like" button according to Facebook. 

Here is Facebook's social plugin information and directions on how to put them on your website.

Ready to create your own Facebook social plugin? Just visit Facebook Developers page to get started on yours.

 

 

Create a Social Media Marketing Plan Denver Workshop

Stop wasting hours online not reaching the right prospects and potential customers for your business. Attend Create a Social Media Marketing Plan Workshop in Denver on Tuesday, March 15th from 2 to 5pm.  It's not too late to create and implement the right plan for your business. 

You understand the basics of social media including social networks, blogs, video marketing, etc. but how do you put this together? This three hour seminar is designed to take you step by step over the important strategies of a successful social media marketing plan including

• keyword selection
• search engine optimization (SEO)
• email marketing
• social networks including LinkedIn, Facebook and YouTube
• websites, blogs blogging and more

This is a hand-on intereactive, limited size class with a lot of personal attention. You'll have a workbook to fill out as you go through the workshop. You are welcome to bring your computer as well, but it is not required.

You will learn

• free and low-cost social media strategies you can implement
• the best tools to make your online time shorter
• the most common mistakes people make when creating a plan
• how to increase your brand awareness
• how to be known as an expert
• how to pick the right media for your business
• analytic tools to measure your efforts

This is not a sales presentation. We will not try to sell you expensive products. This is a true workshop to help you improve your business and create the right online marketing plan for your business.

Who should attend?

• Small business to medium sized business owners
• Marketing managers and professionals
• Sales executives

Class will be at Zi Fusion, 7340 South Clinton Street Englewood, CO 80112, 720.287.1479. 

Class is only $49 - a small investment for creating the right plan. Limited to only 10 attendees. Register now.

 

Receive individual training and attention from me, Jo Guerra. I've used social media for years to promote my business plus I've been training  and coaching companies to develop manageable, successful internet marketing strategies.

Read some reviews:

• She's great. Addressed our questions really well.
• Jo, your talk ...at Creative Connections was spectacular. You are as knowledgeable as anyone I've come across when it comes to knowing the ins and outs of social media. - Othniel Seiden, Author
• Excellent materials ... for business.
• Jo is very willing to educate and help.
• Jo Guerra = Social Media SUBJECT MATTER EXPERT. Jo is the real thing- she provides an advanced social media skill set from years of research, development and application. Beyond knowing inside and out the material she teaches, she has a heart of gold. She takes pride in getting to know her clients, their abilities and their needs to provide them their absolute best product solution that gets results! - Cary Ungvary, UpLevel Communications

Contact me at 303.632.2928 or social jo 1 at Gmail dot com.

 

 

Social Networking: People Care What You Had for Breakfast

We thought no one cared what coffee you were drinking or what you had for breakfast on Facebook, LinkdedIn, Twitter and other social networks. Apparently they do.

Recently I read on the Social Media Insider that people cared what we had for breakfast. David Berkowitz observed that when people talked about what they had for breakfast, dinner or what move they had just seen, everyone commented. And I had noticed that one of my Facebook friends was always posting what she was making for dinner. Personally, I don’t care what anyone is making or having for dinner. But everyone else seemed to as so many people commented.

So I decided to find out if this was true by asking my friends on Facebook and contacts on LinkedIn: I just read on the Social Media Insider that people care what you had for breakfast. Do you care what other people had for breakfast?  

The conversations started out fun and continued. People said no and yes, and let me know what they had for breakfast (ummm, that was not the question, folks). And then the conversation progressed to hunger in different areas of the world – in both Facebook and LinkedIn. There were 32 comments on one of my LinkedIn groups (and we thought it was boring) and so many on Facebook, it was hard to personally respond back to all.

Even though I use Facebook and LinkedIn to brand my business and reach out to current and potential clients, I’ve noticed that when I ask questions that often have nothing to do with business, people answer. Here’s an example: Seen any funny videos lately? Can you share them please?  Yes, I received a lot of links to funny videos and I laughed away. Or What’s for dinner? Another popular question.

Is this about branding my company? No. It’s about reaching out to people and making them feel like they count. We all love talking about ourselves. So, when someone asks a question, we love giving our opinion or sharing knowledge. It’s what puts the social into social media and life. It’s about engaging with people. That is why we have to stay creative in our social media marketing efforts to reach our potential audience for business.

You’ve heard that if you are using social media for business you should share highly relevant useful information from your industry with your target audience. Perhaps you should change that to share highly irrelevant and boring information – at least to you.

My unofficial results of my experiment indicated that:

• People love quotes.
• People like to share what they had for breakfast, dinner and lunch.
• People love answering questions.
• People love sharing things not because it’s important to you, but because it’s important to them.   

One of my LinkedIn contacts summed this up perfectly: “People care less about what others had for breakfast BUT they care more about sharing what they have had themselves!! We all like to put a little of ourselves out there…”

And what did you have for breakfast today? Oh and just for the record, my breakfast consists of four cereals mixed including Kashi Go Lean, shredded wheat, wheat chex, bran flakes, bananas, berries, dried cranberries and skim milk - every day the same thing -  like a cat or a dog. Uh, like you care?

Hey, please like my Facebook page or follow me on Twitter (I'm not there quite as much, but I will be soon).