FACEBOOK: THE RECIPE FOR SUCCESS
Facebook is a crafty seductress. Those 500 million+ users are very tempting to anyone trying to reach today's consumer who, on average, are spending 55 minutes every day there chatting with their friends. Not only that, the fastest growing group on Facebook today is 55 and over with the 2nd fastest growing group being 35 and over- our industry's sweet spot.
However, there are critically important facts you need to know about running a Facebook Page for your business. It's a bit complicated, but stick with me. I will do my best to help you understand (and this is a long post, I know, but I hope it will be helpful to you).
First, a few definitions for you (and this is very confusing because, in FB lingo, a Page is a formal definition)
PROFILE- Facebook lingo for what an INDIVIDUAL creates. Profile is an interchangeable word for individual.
PAGE (with a capitol *P*). Facebook lingo for what a BUSINESS creates. Page is an interchangeable word for business.
FRIEND - what a Profile is to another Profile. This has nothing to do with whether or not you know the person. It is simply Facebook lingo for the action of a Profile who is requesting to connect with your Profile.
LIKE - what a Profile does to a business' Page. This used to be called *Fan* but it is not called this any longer. Now, Profiles *like* Pages, they do not *Fan* a Page.
WALL - the blank space where you post the information you want to share.
NEWS FEEDS - the stream of information a Profile sees when logging onto Facebook. Getting Page information into the News Feed of Profiles is the key to success with Facebook.
CONTENT - A synonym for information. Posting *content* means the same as posting *information*
You cannot have a business *Page* on Facebook without having an individual *Profile* first. *Profiles* are the administrators of a business' *Page.* Only give people you trust access to your *Profile* password. Once they have access to your *Profile* password, they control your *Page.*
You CAN make someone an administrator on your Page without giving them access to your Profile's password.
Facebook does not allow for Page to Page connection. In other words, if your business' *Page* wants to *Like* another business' Page, you cannot do this. Only *Profiles* can *like* *Pages*. What does this mean? It means this: if you comment on another business' Page and you think the admin of that Page will see your business, they won't. Facebook doesn't allow for it. The other business' Page admin will only see your Profile's information. Take care with what that Profile looks like if you are going to be using it to communicate B2B on Facebook.
Next, and critical to understand for Facebook success:
You may have 200, 500, 1000, 2000 Profiles *liking* your FB Page. It doesn't matter. Facebook Pages are not about the number of *Likes* you have UNLESS those Profiles *liking* your Page that first time consistently engage with your Page
Why? Read closely.
When the administrator of your business' Page posts content to your Page's *wall* it is NEVER SEEN (but there is an exception so read on) in the *News Feed* of Profiles.
Ok, let me say that again. Whatever the admin of your business' Page posts to your Page wall is not seen in the main News Feed by the Profiles who like your Page. That's right, it's not seen! Where does it go? It goes to the left hand side of the Profiles' FB screen in the *Messages* box and then, when you click that link, you will see another(!) dropdown link for *updates.* That's where everything you post to your FB Page wall is going!
Unless...and here is the key to success with a Facebook Page:
Unless...the Profiles that have *liked* your Page - originally - keep engaging with your Page and liking, commenting on and/or sharing your Page content with their friends. It is ONLY in this way that your Page content will ever have a chance in showing up in the News Feeds of your Profiles. The algorithm that allows for your Page's content to show up in your Profile's News Feeds is controlled by Facebook and secret.
YIKES! Yep, yikes is right...
The people that *like* your Page originally will never see anything else you post to the wall on your Page (unless they check that *two click away* update box) if you don't give them content that makes them continually want to check in with your Page.
Does Facebook really work then to drive sales and viral sharing? YES. YES. and YES, but, does it take work? Yes. Does it take time? Yes. Is it free? No.
A key:
Your business has to actively drive traffic to your FB Page via every consumer facing touchpoint possible or your Page will die on the vine no matter how many Profiles *liked* it originally because very few people will ever again be seeing your Page posts.
Again, why? Because most Profiles do not check their updates link on the left - they pay attention only to their News Feeds and, to be successful, you have to show up in the News Feeds of Profiles who have *liked* your Page because this is what most Profiles see everyday. FB controls this. FB wants engagement by Pages and they reward Pages who work hard to engage their Profiles by giving them access to the Profiles' News Feeds.
What works best for continuous engagement? Coupons, special deals, polls, questions and fun pictures and videos. What bombs: marketing messages without a special deal for the Profile that has taken their time to come to your Page.
One last thing:
There is a LOT of information coming at all of us today. I encourage you to think of this question. Why would YOU go back to a business' FB Page? Post the content to your Page wall that adds real value to people (hint: your ads do not really add value) and you will be well on your way to success.
And soon, if you are consistent and sincere, the Facebook community you grow on your Page will really become your new best friends - and they will bring their friends along for the ride. And what could be better than that?
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Still have questions? Come see us at @WorldMarketCtr Las Vegas this week where we will be managing the Hotspot: Social Media Bar or tweet us @tkpleslie or @tkpsev. Underwritten by World Market Center Las Vegas, modeled after Apple's Genius Bar and free for registered attendees, make your half hour appointment to see our team to get your questions answered on Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday 9-5 in Bldg. C-1096. For appointments on the half hour, email hotspot@wmclv.com.
@dhatfield commented:
Great article Leslie! Really liked your response to Thom "only those businesses who learn to ask their friends, followers, etc. questions, listen well and actively engage in two way conversations consistently, transparently and authentically are successful using these new social tools." SO true!
Mozeaik - Furniture store directory commented:
Great article! As great and easy as having a FB page looks, it requires a lot more work and strategy than one would know until they are doing it. At the end of the day it's all about content and engaging your audience.
Leslie Carothers commented:
Great point, Thom. Too many businesses use social tools to talk *at* people and not *with* people. Social media itself means: Online media that allows for social conversation. Definition of social? Two way!
In my experience, only those businesses who learn to ask their friends, followers, etc. questions, listen well and actively engage in two way conversations consistently, transparently and authentically are successful using these new social tools. Otherwise, they ARE, as you state, just another thing to do that makes the consumer feel they are not being heard.
Thanks for stopping by to add your input. I really appreciate it. Leslie
THOM commented:
Ahh, Facebook. Another way to keep connected with the world by talking "at" each other vs talking "to" one another. How many more ways to we need to communicate with one another? Internet, email, snail mail, TV, radio, phone, texting, etc...
THOM commented:
Ahh, Facebook. Another way to keep connected with the world by talking "at" each other vs talking "to" one another. How many more ways to we need to communicate with one another? Internet, email, snail mail, TV, radio, phone, texting, etc...
Leslie Carothers commented:
If you follow me on Twitter @tkpleslie, please see the excellent link @BarinaCraft tweeted 2 me from Techcrunch. Unfortunately, FToday 's site does not allow for any bit.ly links or code in their posts, so I cannot link to it from here.
In this post, Techcrunch shares info (but not specifics) about the *EdgeRank* algorithm that FB uses to determine what content (called OBJECTS in FB lingo) gets into the default News Feeds of PROFILES. It will give you an idea of exactly how hard you have to work to appear in the default News Feeds of the PROFILES who have *liked* your PAGE.
Please let me know if you have any questions!
Thanks for everyone's comments-they're all so valuable becuase FB doesn't make it easy to understand their definitions and what those definitions really MEAN for businesses who have PAGES on FB.
Leslie
Leslie Carothers commented:
Dear Warren:
Thank you for your comment. There IS so much confusion!
Here is what is causing confusion. UPDATES and WALL POSTS are two separate things in FB lingo. Pls. see definitions below:
WALL POSTS: FB lingo for a PAGE or a PROFILE making a comment, posting a vid, pic, etc. in that little rectangular box. Posts are distinct from UPDATES. See next definition.
UPDATES: Updates (as you correctly state, Warren) are targeted messages to a PAGE's *likes*. You CAN send out an *Update* to ALL of the PROFILES who have *liked* your PAGE or you can target only certain PROFILES who have *liked* your PAGE using UPDATES. However, UPDATES are not the same thing as WALL POSTS and UPDATES ONLY appear in the link to the left below *Messages* which means that the PROFILES who have *liked* your PAGE are not seeing those UPDATES unless they click through twice on the left to get to them.
NEWS FEED: The *News Feed* is what you, as a PROFILE (individual )see when you log onto your PROFILE on Facebook. This is the DEFAULT setting for Facebook and Facebook alone controls what gets into this default setting that PROFILES see when they log into Facebook. Again, your PAGE wall posts DO NOT show up HERE (which is the truly important place since this is the default everyone sees when they log into FB) if you are not getting enough engagement.
RECENT NEWS: This setting is what a PROFILE has to MANUALLY CLICK in order to see ALL the news from their FRIENDS in chronological order. RECENT NEWS still, to the best of my knowledge, although I could be wrong here and I welcome proof that I am, still does not include a PAGES' *wall posts* AUTOMATICALLY.
However, the important point is that your PAGE wall posts are NOT appearing in the DEFAULT News Feed that PROFILES see when they log in UNLESS you are getting enough engagement and this algorithm is controlled by Facebook and they do not make it public.
Point? Work hard for engagement so your PAGES's posts (again, not *Updates*,but *wall posts*) will appear in that Default News Feed!
So, again, if a PAGE is not getting enough engagement and/or the PROFILE is not manually clicking thru to *Recent News*, then all the wall posts that PAGE is sending are never being seen.
I hope this helps everyone!
midwest dist commented:
aaahh facebook...it always generates conversation...
Warren Patterson commented:
I think that What Jessamyn is saying is different from your response Leslie. You are both agreeing about one point - that wall posts are visible to people who 'interact' with a page regularly. That's it.
The comments that you made about updates seem to be very incorrect. Sorry to say but it is true based on how Facebook works. The updates section never displays a wall post from a page. Wall posts from pages are displayed in the news feed and you can *always* find them if you look in the 'all items' news feed and increase your viewable number of friends to a high enough number.
This is important everyone... The updates area is only used to store 'updates' that pages send out. If a page does not send an 'update', then you won't see anything in your updates area from that page. This is *not* a secret place where all old wall posts go to die. An 'update' is the equivalent of a mass email that goes out to all of a page's fans. That's it. It is not different from the 'messages' area (facebook email) which explains why the 'updates' link is stuck within the 'messages' section.
I hope that this clears the air a bit about exactly what the Facebook Updates section is for. I think I will go send an update to my own fans about this response right now. ;-)
Leslie Carothers commented:
Dear Jessamyn:
Thank you for your very clear comment. We are, however, saying the same thing!Let's backtrack a minute, though, to make sure everyone reading this is clear.
Definitions: An individual has what Facebook calls a *PROFILE*. A business has what Facebook calls a *PAGE*. Each of these are separate entities in Facebook and have their own sets of rules. Facebook does not allow for PAGE to PAGE communication-only PROFILE to PAGE communication.
Ok. Now..next:
A PAGE's wall posts are NOT SEEN-ever- in a PROFILE 's news feed UNLESS, the conditions Facebook imposes based on their secret algorithm (as you've outlined above) is met.
So, the key, as I've said, is getting that engagement to take place on a continuous basis and not just when a PROFILE *likes* your PAGE the first time. If the PROFILE is not continuously engaging with the PAGE, the PAGE's wall posts are not showing up in the PROFILE 's default *News Feed* but only on the left hand side when the PROFILE clicks the *Messages* link and then the *updates* link that drops down underneath that.
Many businesses are very frustrated that they cannot seem to get more *Likes* and more engagement with their special offers, etc. on their FB Page and have no idea that unless they work very hard to drive this continual engagement -both through their offline and other online channels-that everything they are doing on FB is, for the most part, never being seen unless the Facebook determined algorithm makes it possible for their PAGE wall posts to be seen in the News Feeds of the PROFILES that have *liked* their PAGE the first time.
Thanks for taking the time to comment and if you would like to discuss this in any more detail, please feel free to call me at 713-705-2482.
Thanks so much, Leslie
Facebook is controlling which Page wall posts go into a Profiles' News Feed based on the formula you outlined. If this level of engagmement is not present, then all Page wall posts are going into Profiles' *Updates* link. This is a fact that most people do not know.
Jessamyn commented:
Leslie is correct in saying that you need a dynamic social media campaign in order to get fans to interact with your page & posts. However, your wall posts DO NOT go to the "Updates" section of your Messages. When you click on "Update your Fans," your message appears in this section like an email. Wall posts, however, appear in your newsfeed based on a formula developed by Facebook that takes into account when your page was last viewed by the user, if they have commented or liked your posts previously, and if other people have commented or liked your post. You can read about how the newsfeed formula works by going to techcrunch.com and search for "Edge Rank." Look for the article "Edge Rank: The Secret Sauce that makes Facebooks Newsfeed Tick." (I am unable to post links through this comment section, but you should be able to find the article with this information.)
Jessamyn Bean
Princeton Marketing
Pillowthrowdecor commented:
Wow... enlightening information... especially about admins posting on their wall and the whole world NOT seeing it. Hmmm... I may be talking to myself on FB. Sighhhh more to learn! Thanks Leslie. Cheers Christine
Tracy Hiner commented:
Thank you for this article, I had no idea that people didn't see what I was posting and always thought it was odd that only the same people seem to comment, like, and engage with my page. They are probably the only ones actually seeing it in their feed. I had no idea about the updates section as I have never looked there. wow.
vince jelenic commented:
Fantastic run through, I almost understand facebook now,
I hope it stays the same for a couple of weeks so I can try out a few ideas.
signed silly Profile who has a Page :-)
-V
Cameron Carothers commented:
Thanks very much Leslie! That "yikes" was a real eye opener. I appreciate your helpful insight.
Cyra @ DuQuella Tile commented:
Thanks for the great info. It can all be a bit confusing - but you've helped so much to make understandable!
Carmen @ The Decorating Diva commented:
Leslie,
Fantastic article, and I learned a some new things I didn't know about using Facebook. Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge and insight regarding Facebook.
- Carmen
Mike Eisley commented:
Very helpful, it cleared up a few things that had me confused. Interesting to know Facebook has its own algorithm that determines whether your posts show up on your "likes" news feed.
jennab commented:
Facebook is fine but sooner or later it's nice to get out and see what is really going on in the world. I was pleasantly surprised to see a new Functions furniture showroom open up in my West Hollywood neighborhood and there was no hint of it on facebook. functionsnews blogspot com
Vicki Semke commented:
Great Article, Leslie! Vicki
