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Author: PMGD

Categories
News

North East Social Media North Shields

North East Social Media have arrived in North Shields. For 3 weeks I have been planning on writing this blog, and now at 11pm on a Friday evening I have finally found the time!

Well it has been an extremely busy few weeks to say the least. This has included a big move from my office of nearly 3 and a half years. I’ve moved from Team Valley and am now at the North Tyneside Business Centre.

North East Social Media | North Shields

North East Social Media North Shields

I can’t believe how quickly the office has felt like “home”.  The reasons I moved North East Social Media to North Shields was twofold really.  Firstly, I was at The Business Centre most of the week, working with North Tyneside Businesses at The Business Factory and secondly my youngest, Andy, managed to find himself an apprenticeship at a Print Company based at Silverlink. Being the soft mother that I am, I told him that if he was successful in getting the apprenticeship I would give him a lift to work.  Imagine my delight when he received his contract with his starting time of 07:30 – yes 07.30! He starts on Monday, so it’s new routines for us all!

North East Social Media – North Tyneside Business Centre

So, this is how it all looks inside the office.

https://www.facebook.com/northeastsocialmedia/posts/1363996933630708

Mind you, these pictures were taken 3 weeks ago and my desk might be a little more chaotic now. It’s amazing how much “stuff” you accumulate over the years.  I couldn’t believe I filled a van – when I say I, I did supervise, but my husband and my 2 boys did all the filling, and loading and unloading and carrying.  I waited patiently, sitting on a chair, next to the van, observing / supervising.

Social Media Training North Shields

So, I am now delivering Social Media training for both my private client’s from all over the North East and for North Tyneside Start-ups and existing North Tyneside businesses through North Tyneside Council’s The Business Factory and I am loving it.  In the last week alone I have delivered 2 Social Media Workshops and worked with a variety of established businesses in 121 sessions:-

  • A Flooring Contractor
  • A Utilities Consultant
  • A Reiki Master
  • A Beauty Salon Owner
  • A Public Speaking Specialist
  • An HR & Recruitment Consultancy and
  • A Jewellery Designer

I love the variety and the different challenge each session brings.

If you would like to hear about our upcoming workshops, please make sure you sign up on our Workshop Page

In Other Social Media News

In other Social Media News – what do you think of the new LinkedIn layout – if you haven’t got it yet, it’s on its way….. I will of course love it, I need to, to make you love it too, I’ll be happier when it finally settles down, bug free, so we all know what we are doing with it! First impressions, if they bring back a few of the missing parts that we used to know and love, it should be a more effective and certainly easier to navigate the platform.

In Other News

I nearly forgot! Guess who hit the big 50 on the 4th February! I had a lovely time with the family, 22 of us had a fabulous meal at the Eslington Villa and I have a few things planned to come, spread out over the year.  Well come on, surely it should be 50 celebrations for the 50th year! Celebrations include, a treat from my friend Joanna with a spa day at Slaley Hall; a cream tea for 2 at Lumley Castle, a night away with 14 lovely ladies at a venue in Allendale oh yes and my first ever trip to Benidorm with the girls at the end of April – now that should be interesting!

Categories
Facebook

Live Streaming from your Facebook Business Page

Do you have the ability yet to Live Stream from your Facebook Business Page, not just through a mobile device, but through your laptop or desktop?

What are the benefits of Live Streaming from your Facebook Business Page?

Scaredy-cat, live streaming on Facebook, North East Social Media

If you’re a scaredy-cat and keep thinking about using Facebook Live, but you keep chickening out, now is the time to embrace it! Start live streaming from your Facebook Business Page.

Live video is raw, pretty much unrehearsed – having said that you can plan your stream and many people follow notes throughout – bullet points to remind them what point it is that they want to get across.  Facebook is giving priority to Live Streaming updates – ensuring that as many people as possible are notified that you are currently Live Streaming and the reach is fantastic.

Live streaming will help you to grow your audience organically – increasing your likes on your Facebook Business Page,  without having to pay for it!  Live streaming from your Facebook Business Page will make your audience feel like they are connecting with you – putting a face to the name, showing them that there is a real person behind the business. It’s the start of enabling people to feel like they know you, trust you, want to do business with you!

The fact that you can now Live Stream from your Facebook Business Page directly from your laptop or desktop will really help people, those that worry the screen would be too shaky (yes I’ve heard that as an excuse), if they had to hold their phone, pointing it at themselves, whilst streaming. Many people are happier, sitting at their desks, talking to their webcam, as let’s face it, many people are used to this speaking on Skype.

So, now is the time to check to see whether or not you have the facility to Live Stream from your Facebook Business Page from your laptop or desktop. This is what you are looking for –

Facebook Live Icon on your desktop

You may need to click on the button that says “see all” to find the tab. If nothing is displaying at the moment, sit tight, it’s on its way!

Best Tips & Tricks for Live Streaming From Your Facebook Business Page

Now I could list the tips & tricks for you, for there are many, but instead, I will direct you to the wonderful Facebook Help Section which lists them all for you!

By the way, when you have completed your Live Stream on Facebook, and saved it to your Facebook Business Page, you could always embed it in to your website too – just a thought….

https://www.facebook.com/watch/live/?v=1228359400527796

Categories
Facebook

Blocking on Facebook

Blocking on Facebook, Blog North East Social Media

Hello there. I am often asked about blocking on Facebook. This along with many other questions on my Facebook Business Page  .

What I love about these questions is the fact that they give me content for my Social Media blog! I’ve realised if someone does ask a question, there may well be other thinking about the same thing so I may as well create a blog with the answer. So here we go with a frequent question:-

Blocking on Facebook – How do you block someone from a Facebook Page?

Block someone from Facebook Page, North East Social Media with Amanda Dixon

The person asked “How do I block someone from my business page? I can only seem to do it through my personal profile, so will this also cover the business page? Kind Regards J”

Well the first thing to understand is if you do ban someone from your business page, it will just stop them from being able to write on your page, or like and comment on your post. It will stop them from being able to privately message you too –  it WILL NOT however block them from seeing what you are posting, unfortunately, neither will it block them from being able to share your post elsewhere on Facebook.

Your Facebook Business Page is Public, and to be honest, even if it did work in such a way that you were able to block someone so that they couldn’t see your content, they would always be able to log on to someone else’s account and access your information that way.

So your options on Facebook are to either …..

Remove or ban someone from your Facebook Page

If you were to remove someone from your page, they would no longer “like” your page, but that wouldn’t stop them from “liking” it again. Why would you remove someone? Well quite simply it would stop your status updates and posts appearing in their News Feeds or the News Feeds of their friends. But, as I mentioned above, your page is public, so if they realise they no longer “like” your page, they can like it once again.

What happens when I ban someone?

If you ban someone from your page, it will stop them from interacting with you, as I mentioned above. Banning is particularly useful if you have someone who continually tries to spam on your page, sell their products/services etc without your permission. Banning them will stop them from being able to do this.

In answer to the question as to whether blocking someone from your personal profile also blocks them from your business page I’m afraid the answer is NO.

So here’s how you do it (you have a couple of options).

Firstly, click on settings and then choose People and Other Pages in the left column.

Ban People from your Facebook Business Page, North East Social Media, Amanda Dixon

Click the small box to the left of the person you want to ban and then click the cog on the right hand side, which gives you the option of what to do with this person.

Actions on People who have liked your page, Amanda Dixon, North East Social Media

Your options here are to a) Assign a Page Role (ie make Admin) b) Remove from Page Likes (as mentioned above) or c) Ban from page. If you click on Ban from Page a box will appear with the person’s name for you to confirm your action.

You can also carry out this same action, i.e. banning or blocking someone from your page, from your Page if the person has commented – click the downward arrow next to the post and click hide post, then choose the option to ban. Likewise, from the same downward arrow  you can ban people from your message centre or Visitor Posts.  You have the option to ban them anywhere.

Blocking on Facebook – Conclusion

So in conclusion, blocking on Facebook will stop the person from interacting with your posts, but wll not stop them from seeing what you do.

I am sure this answer wasn’t exactly the answer you wanted, but at least you are now aware.

Take a look at my other blogs and see if they answer any of your questions, or maybe even answer things you hadn’t even thought about.

Please feel free to ask any Social Media questions you may have on my Facebook Page. It really does help me with blog content!

Categories
News

Social Media North Tyneside

I’m over the moon and thought I would share my good news with you.  I have been the Social Media Specialist for North Tyneside Council working on The Business Factory project in North Shields for 3 years, having won the contract in 2013.

The tender was up for renewal in July 2016, ready for the new batch of funding. From what I gather 14 Social Media companies applied. To say I was thrilled to find out 2 weeks ago that my tender was successful is an understatement. We had to wait 10 days before saying anything about it, due to the stand off period (I believe it’s called that). But now am allowed to shout it from the rooftops 🙂

The Business Factory

Social Media at The Business Factory North Tyneside

But now, that period is over, and it’s time to celebrate. 3 more years of working with some fantastic North Tyneside people and 3 more years of working with the amazing Team at The Business Factory.

The Business Factory offer FREE support and guidance to people wanting to start their own businesses. Helping them with everything from the initial idea concept all the way through to start-up and beyond.  There are loads of free course available too.  I deliver courses including;

  • An Introduction to Social Media
  • Facebook for Business
  • Twitter for Business

I also run a problem shooting Social Media Surgery – 15 minute appointments to “fix” any problems people may be experiencing on their Social Media Accounts. The Business Factory have consultants at hand to help with

  • Branding
  • Web content
  • Marketing
  • Sales training
  • Accounting and Bookkeeping

Client’s are also referred through to me when they need extra help, a more structured approach, for 121 sessions. The programme has changed this time around and The Business Factory will be able to support existing North Tyneside businesses too. It’s a fantastic project and I love being a part of it.

Social Media Support and Consultancy North Tyneside

I’ve provided Social Media support and coaching to a variety of businesses on this programme including

  • Web Designers
  • Heritage Centres
  • Coaches
  • Wedding and Event Planners
  • Solicitors
  • Organic Retail client’s
  • Sports Therapists
  • VA’s
  • Film Producer
  • Construction Consultants
  • Beauty Therapists
  • Physiotherapists
  • Chiropractors
  • Theatre Projects
  • Shop Owners
  • Artists
  • Cafe’s
  • Alternative Therapists
  • Copy Writers
  • and even a Doctor of Seaweed!  

That’s what I love most about this project. The fact that it is so varied. Each client is so very different.

The only complaint I have ever heard over the past 3 years is “Why is this only available to North Tyneside Residents?”.  The Business Factory  is part of North Tyneside Council’s menu of Business Support. Wouldn’t it be amazing if other Council’s in our area followed by example. Gold star for North Tyneside Council!

Please do get in contact if you need any support!

Categories
Twitter

Use of Hashtags on Twitter

Today is Thursday 28th July and as usual the hashtag #ThursdayThoughts is trending on Twitter. There are some great, thought provoking, tweets mentioning #ThursdayThoughts, there are some funny ones and others that are completely inappropriate.

So firstly for those who are unsure of of what I mean by something trending on Twitter let me explain.

What is a trending topic on Twitter?

A trending topic is the most talked about conversation that is happening, right now, on a particular platform – and today I’m looking at Twitter. You can find the trending topics here on the left hand side of your Twitter newsfeed.

Use of hashtags on Twitter, UK Trends, Social Media Training Gateshead

You can see from today’s trend in the UK, the main conversation being talked about, at the moment, right now is #ThursdayThoughts followed by tweets about #IAmAFeminist  followed by tweets about #BeatrixPotter (who would be 150 years old today!).

You can change the settings on your trends to have them exactly how you want them.  You may like to look at what the whole of the UK are talking about, you may prefer to change it to Newcastle trends, or you could try tailored trends which Twitter will base upon your location and the people you follow.

Why get involved in Trending Topics?

Taking part in the trending topic of conversation, is a great way of raising your profile and improving your reach.

Just by using a hashtag, your potential reach increases. Think about it.

When you tweet your potential reach will be the people who happen to be online, at that time, and who follow you.  Thereafter, if those people interact with you, Re-tweet your tweet, that will increase your reach further to the people who follow them, who are online when that tweet is re-tweeted.

By adding a hashtag to that tweet, you are also increasing your reach to, not only those mentioned above, but also to anyone who happens to be following that subject.

Make sure your tweet is appropriate

If you decide to take part in the trending conversation, please make sure your tweet is appropriate, that it really is to do with the subject that is being talked about, appropriate to the hashtag being used.

This is an example of a good #ThursdayThoughts tweet. It’s a “thought of the day” type quote and quite appropriate (with an image too which will help to attract people’s attention.

Here’s one with a bit more humour…

Now, as you can imagine, I don’t want to post an example of a bad one, as I don’t want to upset anyone, but I’ll give you some pointers of what I mean. I’ve just seen one tweet which says something along the lines of “Just so many days to go until our event, book your tickets now – #ThursdayThoughts” and another one reads “Check out our special offers today #ThursdayThoughts” – Neither of these have got anything to do with #ThursdayThoughts and people will start to build negative feelings towards them as this is, in essence, looked upon as a form of spamming.

If people put a little thought in to their #ThursdayThoughts they could come up with some excellent ideas – love how this Pizza company have used it.

Have a think about it and see how you can best fit #ThursdayThoughts in to a tweet.

Use of hashtags on Twitter

So to summarise, do, absolutely use hashtags on Twitter, but do make sure they are appropriate.  Get involved in the trending topics, but only if your tweet is truly appropriate.

Oh and one final thing to mention …… the networking hours on Twitter.  You are only meant to use the hashtags used for networking hours on Twitter, for example #Gatesheadhour and #NorthEastHour when the networking hour is actually taking place – not in every single tweet you send out. As a North East Business you may want to use the hashtag #NEFollowers, which can be used at any time, and is used to connect North East businesses and people.