This document summarizes Facebook and LinkedIn for business purposes. It discusses setting up business pages and profiles on each platform, how to engage audiences and build connections. Key recommendations include creating Facebook and LinkedIn profiles, linking accounts, joining relevant groups, posting regularly, and connecting with contacts to expand professional networks.
Facebook and linkedin masterclass (the business network) 10.08.2010
1. FACEBOOK for Business Natalie Reynolds Inspiration Ltd The Business Network, Swansea Tuesday 10 th August 2010
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11. Facebook Facebook – Summary TODAY Create your basic page & search for other pages to ‘Like’ TOMORROW Commit to logging onto your Business Page for 10 minutes per day THIS WEEK Write out a list of content to post on your page NEXT WEEK Tell people about your page & secure your username THIS MONTH Include your Facebook Page on all marketing materials NEXT MONTH Keep up the good work … .and don’t forget to keep posting quality information and join my page! www.facebook.com/inspirationltd And of course www.facebook.com/thebusinessnetworkwales
(Facebook, Twitter & Linkedin being just 3 of them) (The information gets shared via these social media sites will vary from person to person – for that very reason is why people shy away from these sites as a business tool as some people take the sharing of information to the extreme – such as what they are having for lunch, severity of hangovers, how much they love/dislike certain family members etc, Facebook have created a platform within their site specifically for businesses – we’ll come to that later) (There are many different ways to market your business through from your more traditional face to face networking, advertising, printed material, websites, however Social Media is just another method and does not replace other marketing, of course, you can’t beat a bit of face to face networking!)
Social Media is an additional tool and I will not promise that it will generate leads, close sales and it will certainly not generate your invoices, so this presentation is not to brainwash you to thinking that Social Media is the be-all and end-all of marketing, it is simply an additional tool that could help you market your business. Social Media is about putting the right message, in front of the right person in the right medium, sales will happen – it happened to me! Because more and more people are using these social media sites, businesses are now using them as a tool to connect with their customers and potential customers
Swansea Population approx 228,000 National office of statistics states 60% are of working age = 136,000 Facebook states approx 90,000 users live in Swansea and within a 10 mile radius (aged 18-64) 2/3rds of the Swansea Population (of working age) are registered on Facebook
A business page keeps your personal profile information separate – be cautious of friend requests from businesses January 2010 statistics , the 35+ demographic now represents more than 30% of the entire user base, and the 55+ audience grew an incredible 922.7% in 2009 alone . Yes, Facebook is addictive, but you can control the amount of time you spend on there – make sure you keep business to business and personal for your own time. For those who say they havent got time, then you could be missing out on some valuable networking opportunities. Facebook is a tool that needs to monitored and updated with useful, relevant information for your audience
Cost – free to use these websites (Just time, but I’ll get to that) Drive traffic to website (explain google and how back links work – currently your website maybe very static, SEO) Your current and potential customers are using it! (Chances are, you’re target audience is out there on these sites, some audiences a little more difficult to find) Times are changing (Take you back to the eighties, where we used fax machines, telephones and type writers to communicate – these days we now use mobile phones, computers and emails) – if you don’t change with the times, you could be losing out Are your competitors? (You might not be on these social media sites, but your competitors may be – I certainly know that I use the social media sites to search for businesses and services – in fact, I did on the weekend) Social Media has worked for me as an individual and as a business. There is no guarantee that it will work for you, but it’s worth a try There are no defined rules – each individual and business will approach social media will be different
Setting up a page Common Mistakes Personal Profile vs Group Vs Public/Business Page Edit Settings/Privacy Tabs Links, Photos, Events, Notes, Reviews, Discussions, Video Additional tabs/applications Networked Blogs, Google Calendar, Ebay/Paypal, Linkedin Profile Applications – add them and access them via ‘edit settings’ Some applications are not simple to add, some ask for money, lots are not made by Facebook – be cautious
Quality not quantity Page username (more than 25 ‘ikes’) www.facebook.com/username Website badges/widgets Facebook Adverts ‘Promote Page with an Ad’ Static FBML Pages – using the code to hide content <fb:visible-to-connection></fb:visible-to-connection> Insights
Cost – free to use these websites (Just time, but I’ll get to that) Drive traffic to website (explain google and how back links work – currently your website maybe very static, SEO) Your current and potential customers are using it! (Chances are, you’re target audience is out there on these sites, some audiences a little more difficult to find) Times are changing (Take you back to the eighties, where we used fax machines, telephones and type writers to communicate – these days we now use mobile phones, computers and emails) – if you don’t change with the times, you could be losing out Are your competitors? (You might not be on these social media sites, but your competitors may be – I certainly know that I use the social media sites to search for businesses and services – in fact, I did on the weekend) Social Media has worked for me as an individual and as a business. There is no guarantee that it will work for you, but it’s worth a try There are no defined rules – each individual and business will approach social media will be different
How do I start the ‘Viral Effect’? Before starting the viral effect, I would recommend browsing other pages, groups, and events on facebook Join/like any that could possibly be related to your business including liking other businesses, events that are of interest, To get you started: Inspiration Limited, The Business Network, Wales, South Wales Business Networking, Charity Events Wales, Use the search box to look for keywords – Location, Industry Certain directories are linking to Facebook with the search tool – including Booking.com and it2.biz Watch out for Community Pages – Facebook combining Wikipedia Tag photos Tag status updates with other pages, people, events & groups (using ‘@’) Share content from page to your personal profile Encourage ‘Comments’, ‘Like’ and ‘Share’ Encourage other business pages to ‘Add to Favourites’
Online address book – keeping in touch with your contacts Online CV – search for jobs & be found – also useful as a tool for students getting started to source potential employers, work experience and expertise Online networking – sharing knowledge & expertise Raising your individual and personal profile Business Development - create and find opportunities Source suppliers Build your network of contacts
This is how you will save time in the future! Vary the content and make it look and sound interesting
Name & Photo (Use Head Shot to start, however you may want to occaisionally use your logo to raise the awareness of your brand) Headline – Job Title and Company Location Industry Previous Positions (and duties) Previous Education Websites Summary Specialities Personal Information (Phone number, address, birthday, marital status)
Online CV Add to your network- colleague, classmate, we’ve done business together, friend, other, I don’t know – some will request that you verify their email address Linkedin can be used as a business development tool, gathering information when starting a new business, sourcing suppliers, sourcing staff, finding a job,
Import your desktop email contacts – export a csv file from outlook to check to see which connections are on Linkedin Add ‘name’ to your network Get introduced through a connection People you may know Sending Messages/InMail My Connections (Filter & Find) Check out new connections
Find relevant groups to your business & industry – click on groups – either use top right search box or the more detailed search in the Group Directory Join groups (await approval in some cases) Set up notifications
Contribute to discussions Post a question – be careful not to post the same question to multiple groups as possibly seen as spamming and make sure its not a blatent sales pitch “ South Wales Business Contacts (751 Members)” Settings to allow direct messages to be sent Increase awareness of you and your business Show that you’re an expert and/or well connected Track the updates in the group and respond to questions – not too much though as the group will track the person who contributes the most or ‘most influencial’ Use the group to make relevant connections – again be careful not to just sell, sell, sell Set up your own group? -
Online CV Add to your network- colleague, classmate, we’ve done business together, friend, other, I don’t know – some will request that you verify their email address Linkedin can be used as a business development tool, gathering information when starting a new business, sourcing suppliers, sourcing staff, finding a job,