Like Facebook, Love our Fans

If you use Facebook at all you've no doubt been involved in the recent switch in vocabulary.  We have been able to "like" a status update and "like" a photo for a long time.  But now, instead of becoming a Fan we also "like" an organization. So where did all the Fans go? Good News.  They 'er still here!

When we decide to "like" a page it is different than simply liking a photo. Communication about liking a page is a two way street.    Facebook pages still collect stats on their Fans.  And Facebook Fans still show images, events, and more on the profiles.    I like to think of it this way: Clicking that I "Like" an organization is the process to becoming a "Fan."

How can you help smooth the transition?  Think about it from their perspective.  Like Facebook and love your Fans.   

1. Be sure you have a direct link to your Facebook Page from your website. 
2. Be dedicated to communicating through your Facebook Page so Fans know it's still relevant
3. Use Facebook Ads to help direct traffic to your page and increase conversions from visitors to Fans. 
   

The Social Media Popularity Contest

Most of us have received emails, tweets, and facebook notices asking us to "Vote for Me!"   We vote for cute puppies, cute babies, and more just so the recipient can win their photo on a box of dippers. But is there more to it than that?

Yes.

In a recent article by Pam Fessler, she describes just how much more some nonprofit's can stand to gain by participating in legitimate online fundraising campaigns.  The totals can be substantial.  For instance, Pepsi's Refresh Everything awards cash prizes from 5,000 to 250,000 dollars simply because your cause received enough votes.
What does this mean?  Several things:

1. Yes, there are some tools out there to raise funds.
2. A worthy cause is simply not enough - you've got to bring the masses to their feet (or desks).
3. These events can be a useful way to generate energy and produce audience participation via your social media sources.
4. It's a long shot.

Fessler elaborates on additional pros and cons while telling the story of one nonprofit in Virginia that chose to participate in such a campaign.  For those of you considering your own participation or find real-life examples a more useful learning tool than a how-to-punch-list it is worth the read.  Please see the article link below. 
Nonprofit's Find Social Media Present New Challenges
by Pam Fessler - April 15, 2010

Put More Tickets in the Raffle Bucket...

"I need a website." 

This is a statement I hear a lot.  Being the web designer that I am, in most cases, I would completely agree.  Let's face it... we all have something we'd like to promote and commonly, the first thing we think of to do so is a website. 

A website can be the flagship of our external communications.  It's available 24 hours a day and seven days a week to answer questions and provoke interest.  Does anyone have a more dedicated advocate than that!?  But the truth is that a website alone is often not enough.  What many of us need is a Web Presence. 

Put more tickets in the raffle bucket...
We all want to be the top choice in search engine results, right? Right. When you submit your website you've taken the first step and ideally, all of your careful attention to meta tags, site maps, and more will launch you to the top!  But what else?  What if you had a blog?  Now you have two chances to come up in a search result.  What if you were also on Facebook or Twitter?  Three... four chances. 

Is everyone going to sit at a computer and search for you?  What if their friend passed along a coupon from your email campaign?   Maybe someone shared a tip or statistic from your Facebook page?  A picture is worth a thousand words so how much does a video say? 

The bottom line:  Our business (no matter what you are promoting) is communication.   To be an effective communicator you can't just think about what your audience wants to know but how they are going to find out.  How will you take your communication from a website to a web presence?