Tips when setting up a Facebook Page

Here are a couple of tips to consider when setting up a Facebook Page for a business to help you make the most of this social media channel.


1) Think about using a different landing page (the page that is first viewable). You could select the Info page or customise your own page like this: The Brown Jug on Facebook. To set the landing page go to Options under the Share button.

2) Make use of the fact that your profile picture is not restricted in terms of height (it has to be 200 pixels wide). You can use the extra space to add a phone number, your web address and email.

Put your business on the map with Foursquare

Social networks combined with location features (or geo-tagging) look destined to be the ‘next big thing’. Twitter users can automatically tag their tweets with their location and Facebook members will be able to add their location to their status updates later this month. The king (or perhaps that should be Mayor) of location based services is Foursquare.

So how does it work? In the same way that youtube has videos at its centre and Flickr has photos, Foursquare has places. That is bricks and mortar establishments like cafes, restaurants, bars and train stations. Members of the service can share the places they have visited by ‘checking in’ using the app on their iPhone, BlackBerry or Android phones. As well as sharing with members of Foursquare you can also announce your check in on Facebook and Twitter. The service works by using GPS and is based around the mobile phone so you can’t check in via the Foursquare website. You can also view when and where your friends last checked in which is useful if you want to meet up or contact them.

Foursquare also has a game like element in that you can compete with other members and earn badges. For example, after visiting my local cinema on the 10th occasion I earned the Zoetrope badge. If you check into somewhere more than anyone else you become the Mayor of that location. So you might be thinking, ‘Big deal, who cares?’

Well, first of all it’s fun and addictive and secondly it’s really easy to use and only takes about 10 seconds to check in. So it’s likely that plenty of people are going to be taking part. The service has only been going a year and more than a million people are registered. If you’re an owner of a café, restaurant or bar then for ‘people’ read ‘customer’.

So how can it help you sell more cup cakes, beer etc. It’s a completely new marketing channel that can alert people to your premises and your offers and also reward regular customers. When opening Foursquare in your vicinity your potential customer will see your venue and be alerted to any special offers or news you have. So for example, if you are a café near a concert venue you could let people know you are open after the gig. Everytime someone checks into your premises you’ll get free publicity to all their followers on Twitter and friends on Foursquare and Facebook.

For regular customers you can offer rewards such as ‘check-in 5 times in a month and get a free coffee.’ Think of Foursquare as a digital coffee loyalty card and you’ll get the idea. Any variation on this sort of offer is possible. Why not reward people for visiting on what’s usually your quietest day?

Members can also leave reviews and comments which if positive can encourage others on Foursquare, Facebook and Twitter to visit and try out what your premises has to offer.

Having talked to several owners of pubs and cafes in Cheltenham recently, it’s interesting that Foursquare activity is going on based around their business yet they have all been completely unaware of it. Now that members are beginning to increase it’s time to take advantage.

So how can a business get involved? At the very least you should add your business to the list at foursquare.com so that potential customers are aware of you. You could also take advantage of the functionality that Foursquare has recently made available to businesses. This allows businesses to advertise promotions and to obtain data on their customers, for example, how many times people are visiting. See the business section at foursquare.com for more information. Once your company is listed you can post special promotions and provide customers with news and updates.

Like all social media, used in the right way Foursquare is a great way to engage with your customers.

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Foursquare Forum, an informal social gathering, is held every other month on the second Thursday in The Brown Jug, Cheltenham. Schedule and booking - FREE event: 
http://bookwhen.com/intranetfuture

Yes, Twitter really can help your business

Twitter. The word suggests that the conversation will be shallow and trivial or just plain gossip. While it’s true that there’s plenty of meaningless babble on Twitter, it’s also a great tool that can help businesses in several ways.

Twitter can be used to broaden your reach and to connect with potential customers, to share best practice, to service your customers, to obtain feedback and to promote your events and special offers - you get the idea. In short, it’s a free tool that you can use to help grow your business.

There are currently approximately 107 million people on Twitter, and around 300,000 are joining them every day. Some of these people are your customers and potential customers and it’s likely that sometimes they are talking about your company. It’s even more likely that they are talking about your type of business or product. You have the opportunity to be a part of this conversation.

For example, perhaps someone is in need of advice on building a shed in their garden and you own a DIY store. You could reach out to them and offer assistance and information and this could lead to some business. On Twitter, the conversation is open so not only will your advice be of use to the guy building the shed, but also to other shed builders too. This is an approach that Home Depot - @HomeDepot - takes in the United States and it works very well for them.

In London, a baker has set up his oven with a Twitter account at @AlbionsOven. When the cakes and biscuits are ready the oven tweets an announcement along with photos of the freshly baked goods. I like this imaginative use of Twitter, and it’s great for their business with the account having nearly 2000 followers.

Whether your aim is to improve customer service or increase sales with Twitter, the key to success is engagement. Twitter facilitates interaction with your customers so you should take advantage of this and engage with them rather than broadcast to them. The above examples might have sparked some ideas already but here are a few more. To increase sales you could run competitions or special promotions. To improve your offering to customers you could ask people for feedback on an existing or new product. To improve your customer service, you could use Twitter as a more personal, real time and powerful alternative to the telephone or a call centre.

Finally, I love the Virgin Atlantic brand. Why? Well, before I flew to Los Angeles last year they picked up on one of my tweets where I mentioned I’d bagged a great fare. Within 10 minutes @VirginAtlantic got in touch congratulating me on my purchase and asking me what my plans were in LA. During the course of the conversation they gave me some great advice and hints and tips. So before I stepped onto the plane I was feeling great about my choice of airline. On landing I tweeted my appreciation and I’m still writing about it now.

Are you ready to join the conversation?