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Categories
Facebook

Facebook Chat on Website

Have you noticed you can now install Facebook Chat on Website? A potential client could now start a conversation with you and the message goes directly in to your inbox.

Facebook Chat on Website – good idea?

So long as you are pretty good at responding to messages (I mean within a 24 hour period) then potentially yes. It could be great! We certainly couldn’t hurt.

However, if it normally takes you more than 24 hours to respond this isn’t the chat facility for you. The message will only appear in your Facebook inbox for 24 hours.

For you, it may be a case, if you wanted to use chat on your website to look to other chat apps.

How to install

It really couldn’t be easier. I am going to show you how easy it is within Facebook for WordPress. And this link will take you to Facebook’s Business Support where you’ll find step by step instructions for other platforms.

Facebook Chat on Website, plugin

To start with head on over to your Facebook Business Inbox and here you will see the chat plugin icon

Check you have the correct domain name and click on the set up button

Facebook Chat on Website, set up

Choose your language, add an additional domains. Just click save and continue as you go.

Now you can either take the code from here and input in to your website. Or better still, do it the easy way!

Facebook Chat on WordPress Website

It really couldn’t be easier. Go to your dashboard, to plugins and add new. Search for Facebook Chat Plugin

Facebook Chat Plugin WordPress

Click Install now and then activate. Once you have activated you will see the Facebook chat header in your left hand menu.

Now click on Facebook Chat to edit the settings. Pick the page you want to connect to your Facebook chat facility.

Now follow the step by step instructions from the set up guide

Facebook Chat box edit design

You can even edit the colour of the chat box so that it is on brand. You can set up automated messages and FAQ’s too if you like. The chances are if you already have automated responses on your Facebook page, these will appear here for you.

Chat Box Live

And that’s it! Your Facebook Chat facility will be live on your website.

Go on, have a play and let me know how you get on! You could always get in touch through the chat box on my website!

Categories
Facebook

Facebook Competition Rules

Facebook Competition Rules

There still seems to be confusion from Companies as to the Facebook Competition Rules, so I though I would write you a quick blog to remind you of the do’s and dont’s!

Facebook Competition Rules – Like and Share

Like and Share competitions are, and have always been, contrary to Facebook’s terms and Conditions.  If you run Like and Share competitions you run the risk of having your page taken down!  I have seen this happen to so many pages! I don’t know of any who have been warned about breaking the terms and conditions, their pages have just been deleted.

But Everyone Else Does it

This is the argument I hear day in and day out. People think that they can get away with it ….. you may for a period of time, until Facebook purge, and then, hey presto your page will be gone

So what are the rules?

Facebook Competition Rules

This is the offical wording from Facebook:-


Communicating a promotion

If you use Facebook to communicate or administer a promotion (e.g. a contest or sweepstakes), you are responsible for the lawful operation of that promotion, including:

  • the official rules;
  • offer terms and eligibility requirements (e.g. age and residency restrictions); and
  • Compliance with applicable rules and regulations governing the promotion and all prizes offered (e.g. registration and obtaining necessary regulatory approvals).

Required content

Promotions on Facebook must include the following:

  • A complete release of Facebook by each entrant or participant; and
  • Acknowledgement that the promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed, administered by or associated with Facebook.

Administration of a promotion

Promotions may be administered on Pages, groups, events or within apps on Facebook. Personal timelines and friend connections must not be used to administer promotions (e.g. “share on your timeline to enter” or “share on your friend’s timeline to get additional entries” and “tag your friends in this post to enter” are not permitted).

Facebook Competition – Assisting promotions

Facebook will not assist you in the administration of your promotion, and if you use our service, you agree to administer your promotion at your own risk. So what this actually means to you …. DO NOT ASK PEOPLE TO SHARE TO ENTER A COMPETITION – DO NOT ASK PEOPLE TO TAG YOUR FRIENDS TO ENTER You can however ask people to like your post. Why not suggest to them that they share with their friends, because if they win, they might share with you! Try running a competition for a meal for 2 and say to enter simply like this post and tell us who would you bring with you? You’re not asking people to tag their friends, just say who they would bring if they won. Therefore, not a requirement of entry to tag! (yet people will still do so).

Facebook Competition Rules – How should I word it?

You can get people to tag and share you know, without making it a condition of entry.

Start by giving away something for 2 people.

To enter the competiton simply like our page and tell us who you would give the second one to. (Note tell us not tag).

Then … feel free to share with your friends. You never know, if they win you might get their second prize.

Subtle, right?

Categories
Facebook LinkedIn

Social Media Plan

Do you have a social media plan? A social media strategy. It’s amazing how many people don’t. Furthermore, how much time people waste staring at their screen wondering what to post. But in the words of Benjamin Franklin ….

“By Failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.”

How to create a social media plan?

So let’s start by thinking about what should be in your social media plan.

Let’s start with the most important question. Who is your target audience?

Target Audience

You need to establish this, to decide which platform it is you should be using. There’s no point concentrating all your efforts on Facebook marketing, if your audience isn’t there.

So many people will pick a platform, because that is the one they are most comfortable with. However, if your target audience is mainly on LinkedIn and your are marketing on Facebook ….. well we know how that is going to end.

Content

Once you know who you are talking to, you can start to think about what to talk about.

If you are looking for engaging content then you need to think about what type of content your audience are most likely to engage with. What interests them? What do they like? And do you know what? It isn’t necessarily information about your business.

Learn about the Social Media Platforms

Learn how each of the social media platforms you are going to use works best. Which type of content do the users tend to react more positively to?

On Facebook, for example, for most businesses, you’ll find that posting personal content about you will work best. The person behind the business.

This often baffles people, but at the end of the day …. as well we know …

People Buy from People, they Know, Like and Trust

Social Media Plan, Facebook Insights

You can see from the above screen shot that one posts sticks out in reach, far more than the others. And why?

Social Media Plan, Personal Posts

Because it is something personal. It is a post that gives the reader an insight in to my life. The person behind the business.

Now I know, this wouldn’t be the right type of content to use for example on LinkedIn. It’s a bit too personal. So although I might think this is perfect for Facebook – I may think about diarising my working week for my LinkedIn updates.

Maybe on my Company Page on LinkedIn I might alternate posts between industry related articles and my workshops?

Let’s be a bit more Abraham Lincoln…

“Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.”

In the long run, putting that thought in to your social media plan, before you start posting, is going to save you so much time. In other words, creating that plan is going to make your social marketing more efficient and more effective.

Map it out

We use Excel for our strategy / plan. Days of the week along the top – platforms down the left hand side.

In to this you can input which platforms you are posting on on what day. Also, what you are going to post about.

You could use this as a weekly content callendar (or monthly if you prefer). Uses websites like daysoftheyear.com You’ll find some great days of the year, which will trend year in year out, on here. Some of them will be appropriate to your target audience.

Need Help?

If you feel like you need some support please do get in contact – I offer Social Media Content and Strategy training too.

Categories
Facebook

Hashtags on Facebook -Yes or No?

Hashtags on Facebook

Should I be using hashtags on Facebook?

This is a question I am often asked. Are they functional? What is their purpose? Do they really work?

They were first introduced on Facebook in June 2013 when they annouced

“Starting today, hashtags will be clickable on Facebook. Similar to other services like Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr, or Pinterest, hashtags on Facebook allow you to add context to a post or indicate that it is part of a larger discussion.” – Greg Lindley

But the use of them really didn’t take off. There was a further update in March 2016 when Facebook stated …

Hashtags turn topics and phrases into clickable links in posts on your profile or Page. When people click a hashtag or search for a hashtag, they’ll see a results that contain the hashtag so they can learn more about topics that interest them. – Facebook

And they offered suggestions on how hashtags should be created and used. Still not many, in the large scheme of things, used them.

Some people started to feed their Instagram posts to Facebook with 30 hashtags in, but it didn’t and still doesn’t look right. However you are going to see yet another push from Facebook on hashtag use because ….

Facebook want you to use Hashtags

Therefore you are going to start seeing prompts on your posts. And guess what? By using hashtags you are going to start seeing an increase in your reach.

What’s the purpose of them?

In other words you are simply going to increase the potential reach of your post, raise your audience, reach a new audience. Why wouldn’t you want that?

Using Hashtags on Facebook, blue hashtag
It’s time to start using hashtags on Facebook

Using a hashtag groups a conversation together. So you can imagine Facebook’s next step right? They will start to encourage users to follow hashtags – don’t miss out!

Top Tips

  • Try using some popular hashtags (you can research them for now on Instagram
  • In addition use Trending hashtags – find them on Twitter – Twitter provides the most recent trending topics being talked about right now
  • Don’t use too many hashtags – you don’t want your followers forming negative feelings subliminally towards you! 2 or 3 will do
  • No space – the minute you put a space when typing a word after the # sign it will “break” the hashtag
  • No Punctuation – as above

In conclusion, if you would like any help with your Social Media Marketing, please do make sure you sign up to receive our emails, with dates of our upcoming online Social Media Training workshops.

Categories
Facebook

What are Facebook Followers?

Have you noticed people who you have not accepted as friends on Facebook can actually be your Facebook Followers?  

I was asked the other day about how to find out who these followers are.  There really is a very simple way.

Facebook Followers – who are they?

To find out who your Facebook Followers are go to your profile. You will see in your Intro Section the amount of Followers you have.

Facebook Followers

Click on the number of people and your Facebook Followers list will appear.

Followers on your personal profile

How do I stop people from following me?

To stop someone from being a Facebook Follower go to their profile and block them. Simples.  After that click on the three dots to the right of their cover photo and choose the option to block. You won’t be able to see their information any more and they wont be able to see yours.

How to block Facebook Followers

What do Facebook Followers see?

Your Facebook Followers will only be able to see those posts that you choose to share publicly.

Who sees what on Facebook?

If you have something that you are sharing that is more private, chose the option, for instance, to be seen by Friends only.

Are you aware that you can actually create your own “lists” on Facebook? This enables you to share posts from your personal profile to a specific group of people?

Simply click on the more button under “Friends except…” and you’ll see what I mean.

Where are my Facebook Followers settings

On your personal profile click on settings and then you will see an option on the left hand side which says public posts.  Click here and you’ll see right at the top  “who can follow me”. It’s here that you can change your settings if you would like to.

Edit Personal Settings

If you would like to block more than 1 of your Facebook Followers you can. Go to your settings and click on blocking. Type “All Followers” in to the Block Users Bars. As a result your list, although not as details as above, will appear.

blocking people following me
Block people on Facebook

I do hope you’ve found that useful.  Furthermore, if you have any Social Media questions please feel free to send them to me via the contact form on my contact page  

If you would prefer you could email me directly amanda@northeastsocialmedia.co.uk or come and ask on my Facebook Page