This week has been full of Facebook, as the 29th of Feb approaches speculation about what is to be announced is everywhere, however Pinterest is still holding it’s own, being one of the most talked about things over the last seven days. I’ve also found some great reads outside the news, it was really hard to narrow them down as there have been so many good posts. Hope you enjoy my choice.
Pinterest and Copyright
Pinterest has become a real phenomenon. I posted about it here a few weeks ago and it’s popularity has continued to rise since then. Of course when something becomes an overnight success it’s not long before we start seeing the flaws, the most recent concern has been about copyright? Are you breaching copyright by pinning to Pinterest even if the image is attributed and linking back to the original post? The answer is, you could be, depending on the copyright on the original image. This post from Neville Hobson lays it out clearly and is worth a read.
Pinterest have been quick to respond and are now allowing websites to disable pins. More here.
If you are contemplating Pinterest and wondering if it could be effective for your business this is a great read from Write On Track.
New Facebook Ads for Premium Users
With the recent announcement of the Facebook IPO it’s not surprising that Facebook are looking at new ways to make money. I’m expecting to see mobile advertising appearing really soon and will be watching closely for other changes. This week it was leaked that premium ads (that’s ads used by big brands) will be changing too. I’m not going to go into the changes in depth but what is interesting about this for small businesses who use regular Facebook advertising is the statistics that emerged from the leaked document. Apparently ads that originate from page posts are hugely more effective, encouraging up to 40% more engagement. Translated into the regular advertising programme we should maybe look at sponsored stories or ads that bring users into an offer on your page rather than directing them off site. Read more about the new ads here.
Facebook Commerce is Dead?
Large retailers are beginning to close their Facebook shops, read more on Mashable. It seems strange that a year ago we were looking at brands opening stores online and hailing it as the beginning of the era of F-Commerce.
I don’t believe Facebook commerce is dead, in fact I’ve seen some small businesses make effective use of the tools. However to be successful I think you have to make sure that your Facebook store is offering something different to your online store. It could be exclusives or a discount outlet. You also have to be aware that people won’t just visit your Facebook store tab, it will take a lot of work and updates through the newsfeed to drive traffic to your page.
There are rumours that Timeline for pages will bring with it a better commerce tool but I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.
How To Deal With Customer Complaints on Social Media
This is a wonderful post from Social Media Examiner, it’s hugely important to plan for negative feedback or customer complaints and this article can help. All to often I encounter businesses who say they know what they will do but when it comes to the crunch are completely thrown.
There’s some great examples here of businesses that handle customer service and complaints well and it’s a refreshing change from stories about customer service disasters.
Step by Step Guide To Completing Your Linkedin Profile
Have you got a fully completed Linkedin profile? According to Krishna De having a 100% complete profile will improve your visibility in searches and with a huge user growth rate this is going to become more important.
It’s also important to revisit and update your profile on a regular basis, take a look at Krishna’s step by step guide on completing your profile which is as relevant for refining your existing profile as it is for new users.
The Best Ways To Customise Your Status Updates for Facebook & Twitter
It is becoming more and more important to craft your message specifically for the network you are sharing on. Each network has a different user base and a different way of communicating. It is no longer enough to post the same update to all your networks at once, to be effective you must spend time deciding how and why you are posting updates. Yes this is more hard work but as more and more businesses take up the social media mantle it is going to be those who are most creative and work hardest that are going to see the real benefits.
This post from HubSpot is a magnificent resource taking you through the types of updates, the frequency of updates and even the best ways to foster engagement on both Twitter and Facebook. This is my number one top read of the week, if you ignore the rest read this!
Why We Speak Freely On Social Networks
I get a bit tired of hearing the term ‘real people’ referring to those we meet in real life. Does this mean those we interact with online are somehow not real? In some ways those we converse with online are more real. We often feel we can talk more freely online, we share more and give people an insight into our real selves. That’s why I find this article fascinating, it examines the psychology behind why we are happier to share more using online tools when we may find it hard to communicate face to face.
And From Spiderworking.com this week
Discover what social networks your contacts use with Rapportive
Rapportive, a handy tool to research your customers and potential customers via Gmail. I’m still playing around with this tool but I do love that it brings the Twitter feed of my contacts straight into my Gmail account. Read more here.
7 tips from measurement conf #donedealsocial
I managed to condense my notes from Measurement Conference Dublin into 7 key points and look at how we can apply this knowledge to small business.
How to use photographs to get more engagement on Facebook
I seem to be a bit obsessed with engagement on Facebook at the moment and have been playing around to see what works best for me. This video tutorial shows you how a photograph can help you get more engagement, and how to measure it’s success.
If I’ve missed a great link this week do leave your suggestions below.
