Lee Odden - Author of Optimize

Register today to attend the free Social Media Breakfast – Redwood Area on June 1, 2012.

Guest Speaker Lee Odden will be talking about his new book Optimize: How to Attract and Engage More Customers by Integrating SEO, Social Media and Content Marketing.  Everyone who registers and attends will get a free copy of the book!

Lee Odden regularly presents internationally in cities ranging from San Francisco to Hong Kong to London to New York on Search, Social Media, Content and the web.  He is know as an expert and leader in the web and social media field all over the world.  We are very excited he will be traveling just a few hours from his hometown to speak with our Social Media Breakfast – Redwood Area group right here in Redwood Falls, MN.

Social Media Breakfast – Redwood Area

Friday, June 1, 2012 at 8:00 a.m.
Fieldstone Vineyards in Redwood Falls, MN

Speaker:  Lee Odden
CEO of TopRank Online Marketing and Author of
Optimize: How to Attract and Engage More Customers by Integrating SEO, Social Media and Content Marketing

Click Here to Register Online – Seats are Limited!

About the Optimize Book
An optimized state of mind has become increasingly important in executing a successful online marketing strategy.  This book will provide you with the tools necessary to plan, implement, and scale an integrated content marketing strategy which will boost your relevance and increase your online visibility.

“The sheer volume of content created each day coupled with the explosive growth of social media accessed through a variety of Internet connected devices can be overwhelming.  I’ve spent an incredible amount of time testing and making sense of how companies can master the search and social web for better online marketing. My hope is that you’ll find this book quick on the big picture topics and deep on the practical resources for planning, implementing and scaling a socialized and optimized content marketing strategy.”

Learn More about Optimize, Click Here

About Lee Odden

Lee Odden is the CEO of TopRank Online Marketing, a Minneapolis based digital marketing agency specializing in strategic internet marketing consulting, training and implementation services including: Content, Search, Email and Social Media Marketing.

A 14 year veteran internet marketer, Odden has consulted for leading B2B companies including: HP, McKesson, BT, Marketo, PRWeb, StrongMail and the PRSA.

Odden has been frequently cited for his search & social media marketing expertise by leading industry and business publications including The Economist and Fortune Magazine. As an active thought leader in the search marketing industry, he’s contributed to top industry publications such as Mashable, MarketingProfs and writes a column called “Social Media Smarts” for ClickZ. He also publishes one of the most popular marketing blogs on the web, TopRank’s Online Marketing Blog, recognized as a leading business blog by Advertising Age, Junta42 and Social Media Examiner, attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors and nearly 50,000 subscribers.

Odden has developed workshops for the DMA, Public Relations firms and companies on Search, Social Media and Content Marketing topics. He regularly presents internationally in cities ranging from San Francisco to Hong Kong to London to New York. He is a long time speaker at: Search Engine Strategies, PRSA Annual conference, BlogWorld Expo and WebmasterWorld Pubcon.

His Keynote Speaking experience includes: Social Media Junction (Auckland NZ), Search Exchange (NC, US), MN Blogger Conference (MN, US), Online Marketing Summit (MN, US), Search Congress (Barcelona, Spain), Fusion Marketing (Antwerp, Belgium)

Odden is active in the industry as an advisory board member for Search Engine Strategies and is a past board member of the Minnesota Interactive Marketing Association, DMA Social Media Advisory Council and DMA Search Engine Marketing Council.

To learn more about Lee Odden and connect with him on social networks, Click Here.

• Twitter
• Facebook
• YouTube
• Google +
• Tumbler
• Dig

 ”With one in three small businesses using social media, its no longer enough to just have a website, small business must have a social media presence, too.  Don’t know where to start?  This cheat sheet will help you navigate the major sites on the web.” - Flowtown

Flowtown – Social Media Marketing Application

The bottom line with running promotions on Facebook is this:

• Promotions on Facebook must be administered within Apps on Facebook.com, either on a Canvas Page or an app on a Page Tab.

• You cannot do a promotion, contest or giveaway through your Facebook Wall.

Below are some important rules on running a promotion or giveaway from the Facebook Promotions Guidelines.

If you administer or run a giveaway or promotion on Facebook where you select a winner, you need to adhere to Facebook’s Promotions Guidelines.

Facebook’s Promotions Guidelines state:

• You will not administer a promotion through Facebook, except through an application on the Facebook Platform.  Administration includes operation of any element of the promotion, such as collecting entries, conducting a drawing, judging entries, or notifying winners.

• You must not use Facebook features or functionality as a promotion’s registration or entry mechanism. For example, the act of liking a Page or checking in to a Place cannot automatically register or enter a promotion participant.

•  Promotions on Facebook must be administered within Apps on Facebook.com, either on a Canvas Page or an app on a Page Tab.

• Promotions on Facebook must include the following:
  a. A complete release of Facebook by each entrant or participant.
  b. Acknowledgment that the promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook.
  c. Disclosure that the participant is providing information to [disclose recipient(s) of information] and not to Facebook.

• Ads may not imply a Facebook endorsement or partnership of any kind.

• You must not notify winners through Facebook, such as through Facebook messages, chat, or posts on profiles (timelines) or Pages.

Facebook also strongly maintains that all promotions must comply with all laws and regulations of the jurisdictions where the promotion is open.  The responsibility for checking that a promotion can legally offer a specific prize remains the responsibility of the promotion administrator and page owner.

Click Here to the complete Facebook Promotions Guidelines.

What does this mean for you?

Below is my interpretation of the guidelines on using Facebook for promotions based on the Facebook Promotions Guidelines and expert resources like Social Media Examiner and Mari Smith.

• If you are asking people to “Like” your page to win, enter the contest, etc. you cannot promote the contest on your Wall.  This must be done by through a Third-Party Application.
• You cannot use Facebook features or functionality such as the Like button as a method of voting for a promotion.
• You cannot ask people to vote on photos, comments, etc. on your Facebook wall to find a winner.
• You cannot ask people to upload photos to your wall, comment on or like a photo or post to enter a contest.
• You cannot choose a random winner from your fans to give something away.

You can run a promotion where entrants have to first “Like” your page, as long as the promotion is administered through a Third-Party App on a separate canvas page or tab.  All forms of entry must be run through the Third-Party Application.  You may also administer a photo contest where the participant uploads a photo to a Third-Party App to enter the contest.  You must notify the winner of the promotion outside of Facebook as well.

Here’s a great article from Social Media Examiner and  Mari Smith that explains all of the Facebook rules on running contents and promotions.  You will find several examples of what you can and cannot do with running contests and promotions on your Facebook page.  http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/facebook-promotions-what-you-need-to-know/

Should you run a contest and not use a Third-Party App?

Facebook has strict rules on contests and promotions.   In some cases they have shut down an entire page if the Facebook Promotions Guidelines were not followed.

From Facebook: In addition to our other remedies, we may remove any materials relating to the promotion or disable your page, application or account if we determine in our sole discretion that you violate any of our policies.

What is a Third-Party App?

There is a list of several free as well as paid for apps available in this Social Media Examiner article as well.  I use a Third-Party App that allows me to create custom pages or tabs with HTML.  There are many paid apps that even set everything up for you like Wildfire and Pagemodo.  The Facebook app is not included as a Third-Party App.

Watch this Facebook Guidelines Training Video that clearly explains how you can run a promotion on your Facebook page.

Keep Up With Changes

Facebook changes occur often, always be sure to check with the Facebook Promotions Guidelines for up to date information on running a contest or promotion on your business page. You must also comply with rules governing running a promotion or contest based on your location.

As of writing this post, Facebook has also mentioned possible significant changes to Facebook Pages coming soon.  Experts are predicting we will see a Timeline version of Pages by the end of February 2012.  At this time it is not clear how Third-Party Apps using Canvas Pages and Tabs will be affected.

Are you running a promotion using a Third-Party Application?  How have you set up Contests on Facebook using an app?  We would love to hear your experiences!

How do you refer to and create a link to a Facebook Business Page in your status update?

Use the “@” and start typing the name of the business page.  Then select the correct business page from the drop down list and your post will appear on their wall.  You also create a link in your status update to the business page you are referring to.

If you cannot refer to a page, or it does not show up on the list, you may need to “Like” that page first.

You can also refer to people in your personal profile status updates.  You can just start typing the person’s name and a drop down will appear.  If you do not get a drop down to show up, you can use the “@” symbol and start typing their name as well.

At this time you cannot refer to people or personal profiles in your status update on a business page.  You can tag people in a photo you add to your business page if you are friends with them.

Want more tips and tricks on using Facebook and other social networking sites? 
Be sure to like our Facebook Page!  Have a question or comment, share in the comment box below!

1.  In your admin panel on the top of your Facebook business page, find the New Likes section that displays the latest profiles to like your page.  To the right of New Likes, Click “See All”.

2.  A window opens up with People who like your page.  On the drop down menu, on the top left of the window, choose “Pages”.

This window now shows a list of all of the Facebook Pages that have clicked Like on your business page.  The Facebook Pages that like your business page do not count toward your number of “Likes”, but it’s nice to know who is following you.  Now you can like their page and interact with them as well!

Is this a phrase often stated?  “If only I had the staff to take care of this for me” but, do you don’t really have the resources to hire an additional employee?

How about writing a blog article?  You know that you need new and up to date information on your website and want to provide the information people are searching for, but it ends up more about what you want to write about.

A current buzz word is SEO (search engine optimization) and the best way to get your product or service found is to have fresh and consistent content.

The fact is that today people research everything on the web!  You yourself probably do.  Do you look up prices of a hotel room or airfare for that family getaway?  How about when you needed a new lawn mower?  Or maybe you research the best ways to care for your leather seats in your car?  The truth is that after someone does research and finds a solution; whether searching online or checking with their contacts on Facebook and other social networks for a recommendation; you are building a relationship and eventually people will make the call or go to your site to purchase a product or service.

Social Media Marketing is the way of the times and the future of marketing, embrace it.  Four tips for basic social media strategy include making a plan, set goals and objectives, setting a strategy and measuring your efforts.  Here is where we can help you!  Let us become an extension of your team.

Click here to request a quote for Online Marketing & Social Media Management.  Or email colleen@rvtechsolutions.com or call 507.640.0451.

Thanks for your time and I look forward to becoming a resource for you in the future!

The New Timeline

The new version of Timeline for Brand Pages is very similar to the Timeline for personal profiles with the large cover photo (851×315 pixels in size) and the vertical content layout.  The new vertical content layout is said to help brand’s content avoid getting lost on the page.

Facebook will ask you to switch to the new timeline when you log into your business page.  You can go through the steps to set up and preview the new cover photo, profile photo and the complete Timeline setup.

Once you set up the Timeline, you can upload and change your cover photo or graphic by using the “Change Cover” button that appears when you hover over the cover photo.  If you use a photo larger than the cover size of 851 x 315 pixels, you can drag and move the photo to your desired location.  If you upload a photo smaller than the cover size, your photo will be stretched to fit the cover photo space.

Profile pictures are displayed in the lower left corner of your Cover photo.  The Profile photo is also the image that displays in the news feed with your posts.  The Profile photo needs to be at least 180×180 pixels in size.  When you switch to the new Timeline, your current Profile Picture will remain the same.

Timeline Cover Rules

It is important to note that Facebook has rules for the Timeline cover photo.  Cover images cannot be used as ads or items such as:

• Price or purchase information, such as “40% off” or “Download it at our website.”
• Contact information such as a website address, email, mailing address, or information that should go in your Page’s “About” section.
• References to Facebook features or actions, such as “Like” or “Share” or an arrow pointing from the cover photo to any of these features.
• Calls-to-action, such as “Get it now” or “Tell your friends.”
• Covers must not be false, deceptive or misleading, and must not infringe on third parties’ intellectual property.

The About Section below the Profile Photo

If your business page is a Facebook Places Page, the About Section will always show your contact info.  For other types of Facebook Pages, the new About Section can include information about your business, contact information and even links.

Tabs, Apps and Default Landing Pages

In the past Tabs were placed as icons with text links below the profile photo.  On the new version of Timeline, Tabs are featured below the cover photo and can have custom thumbnails that create and upload.  You can have up to 12 Apps and choose which 4 are featured as the main Tabs below the cover photo.

Unfortunately with the new version of Tabs the ability to add a default landing tab for promotions and contests has been removed.  This was where Pages had the ability to entice a visitor to like their page and be redirected to a different location such as the wall, a custom app with promotions, information and more.  Even though you cannot use a Tab as a default landing page (the first page visitors see when coming to your Facebook business page), you can use the URL of the Tab to promote your landing pages and apps on other marketing materials.  Click Here for Sarah’s Blog Tab in the RV Tech Solutions Facebook Page as an example.

Messages to Your Inbox

A new feature of Timeline is the ability to allow visitors to send inbox messages directly to the page admins.  This is a great option for fans and visitors to send you a direct message that they may not want to post on your Timeline wall.  You can turn this option off for your page in the Manage>Edit Page menu.  The Message button is located just below the Timeline cover photo.

Feature Posts on your Timeline

You can edit a post made by the page admins on your Timeline and use the “Pin To Top” option to feature the post at the top of your Timeline for up to seven days.  You will see a little ribbon on the top right corner of the post to represent it being a featured post.  You can also Star or Highlight posts to feature a post horizontally across the entire page.  You cannot Pin a Post to Top if that post is highlighted across the page already.

Milestones

Facebook calls Milestones “key moments you’ve decided to highlight on your Page”.  Milestones are automatically expanded to widescreen and are visible to everyone visiting your Page.   You can add a new Milestone when adding a post to your page, just click on the Milestone option in the status update box.  You can also go back to old posts on your Timeline and create a Milestone.  Scroll through your Timeline to a spot and click the plus (+) on the middle “bar” that goes down the page to post a milestone or other type of story to a specific date.  When you create a Milestone it is featured on the news feed.

Viewing the Wall

There are now four filters available for visitors and page admins available as a button below your Cover and page information.  You can choose from Highlights, Friend Activity, Posts by Page, and Posts by Others to sort posts on a page.  The default setting on all pages is Highlights, which cannot be changed.

One change to the wall is the top right box on every page, which is “personalized” for each visitor.  The box on the top right, below the cover image, is a post from the past by the visitor’s friends or a profile they have subscribed to.

Below that “personalized” section is a box that shows the Recent Posts by Others.  You can also view these same posts by changing the filter to Posts by Others.

Interest Lists

Interest Lists are available for visitors to add pages and profiles to their own unique Interest Lists of who they follow.  Hover over the asterisk next to “Message”, below the timeline cover, and add a page to your Interest Lists.   You can also hover over the “Like” button and choose an Interest List as well. When you get followers to add your page to their Interest Lists it also improves your EdgeRank.   EdgeRank is an algorithm which ranks objects in Facebook News Feeds.  Your EdgeRank determines how likely that a post will appear in the News Feed.  Interests Lists will be a valuable part of getting your posts to appear in follower’s news feed and should be used as part of your online marketing plan.

Admin Menu

The new Timeline also features an admin panel for page administrators at the top of the page to easily view and track activity.  Notifications, insights or analytics, new likes, the ability to respond to messages, set up ads and edit page content are all available at the top of your page when logged into your account.  You can get to the full admin section by clicking on the Manage button at the top of the admin panel, then click Edit Page.

Facebook Timeline Video from Facebook

Check out this great video from Facebook on how to set up and use the new Facebook Timeline!

Make the Switch

Have you made the switch to the new Timeline for your brand?  Or are you waiting until the automatic switch on March 30^th, 2012?  Share your questions and comments below and be sure to add a link to show off your new Timeline if you have made the switch!

If you have more questions or just want to get ideas on how to better use Facebook for business, Like our Facebook page and join the community!

Colleen Marcus - Marketing Consultant

I am so excited to begin this new journey of working for myself to help businesses as an Independent Marketing Consultant!  I will be partnering with Sarah Kuglin and RV Tech Solutions.  Sarah and I worked together for a number of years a short time ago.  During that time I found my passion for using the web to leverage marketing and sales!

With the amount of people regularly using the web, relying on recommendations from others and researching products and services before making a purchase, it is so important to have an up-to-date website.  Search Engines even rank websites based on new and fresh content, so using a blog with consistently new information is essential.  Sharing your content and marketing materials on Social Networks like Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus and others is just as important for marketing online.

With 20+ years in Sales & Marketing I have seen the circle of change in marketing (snail mail, phone calls, print, radio, etc) to the beginning of the “web” and what a change since the start of that!

I see the importance of staying with the times; Online Marketing and Social Media is it.  This is the way of the future – it is here to stay… embrace it!  This is the new approach to reach people beyond what other marketing outlets offer.  With Online Marketing and Social Media you can create and nurture relationships and build a database in which to market and sell as well.  That is where I can help!  I will use my sales and marketing experience, ideas and knowledge to help businesses design and execute a marketing plan that will track and measure results.   Sarah and I will work with you to publish content and marketing materials for your business using online marketing techniques that build brand awareness, enhance customer service, increase search engine results, drive traffic and generate leads.

What excites me most about this venture is that I will have the opportunity to work with many people and many different businesses!    I would like to become part of your team, an extension of your business, by working together to make you successful.

I grew up in Southwestern Minnesota on a family farm, so Redwood Falls is where I now call home and have for 15 years!  I live outside of town with my husband Al and 3 children.

Sarah & I would love to meet with you and discuss what we can do for you and your business. Give us an email or call and we will arrange a personal meeting with you.  I look forward to the future of marketing on the web!

Colleen Marcus
Marketing & Online Consultant
colleen@rvtechsolutions.com
507-640-0451

Connect with me!
LinkedIn  |  Facebook

The bottom line with running promotions on Facebook is this:

• Promotions on Facebook must be administered within Apps on Facebook.com, either on a Canvas Page or an app on a Page Tab.

• You cannot do a promotion, contest or giveaway through your Facebook Wall.

Below are some important rules on running a promotion or giveaway from the Facebook Promotions Guidelines.

If you administer or run a giveaway or promotion on Facebook where you select a winner, you need to adhere to Facebook’s Promotions Guidelines.

Facebook’s Promotions Guidelines state:

• You will not administer a promotion through Facebook, except through an application on the Facebook Platform.  Administration includes operation of any element of the promotion, such as collecting entries, conducting a drawing, judging entries, or notifying winners.

• You must not use Facebook features or functionality as a promotion’s registration or entry mechanism. For example, the act of liking a Page or checking in to a Place cannot automatically register or enter a promotion participant.

•  Promotions on Facebook must be administered within Apps on Facebook.com, either on a Canvas Page or an app on a Page Tab.

• Promotions on Facebook must include the following:
  a. A complete release of Facebook by each entrant or participant.
  b. Acknowledgment that the promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook.
  c. Disclosure that the participant is providing information to [disclose recipient(s) of information] and not to Facebook.

• Ads may not imply a Facebook endorsement or partnership of any kind.

• You must not notify winners through Facebook, such as through Facebook messages, chat, or posts on profiles (timelines) or Pages.

Facebook also strongly maintains that all promotions must comply with all laws and regulations of the jurisdictions where the promotion is open.  The responsibility for checking that a promotion can legally offer a specific prize remains the responsibility of the promotion administrator and page owner.

Click Here to the complete Facebook Promotions Guidelines.

What does this mean for you?

Below is my interpretation of the guidelines on using Facebook for promotions based on the Facebook Promotions Guidelines and expert resources like Social Media Examiner and Mari Smith.

• If you are asking people to “Like” your page to win, enter the contest, etc. you cannot promote the contest on your Wall.  This must be done by through a Third-Party Application.
• You cannot use Facebook features or functionality such as the Like button as a method of voting for a promotion.
• You cannot ask people to vote on photos, comments, etc. on your Facebook wall to find a winner.
• You cannot ask people to upload photos to your wall, comment on or like a photo or post to enter a contest.
• You cannot choose a random winner from your fans to give something away.

You can run a promotion where entrants have to first “Like” your page, as long as the promotion is administered through a Third-Party App on a separate canvas page or tab.  All forms of entry must be run through the Third-Party Application.  You may also administer a photo contest where the participant uploads a photo to a Third-Party App to enter the contest.  You must notify the winner of the promotion outside of Facebook as well.

Here’s a great article from Social Media Examiner and  Mari Smith that explains all of the Facebook rules on running contents and promotions.  You will find several examples of what you can and cannot do with running contests and promotions on your Facebook page.  http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/facebook-promotions-what-you-need-to-know/

Should you run a contest and not use a Third-Party App?

Facebook has strict rules on contests and promotions.   In some cases they have shut down an entire page if the Facebook Promotions Guidelines were not followed.

From Facebook: In addition to our other remedies, we may remove any materials relating to the promotion or disable your page, application or account if we determine in our sole discretion that you violate any of our policies.

What is a Third-Party App?

There is a list of several free as well as paid for apps available in this Social Media Examiner article as well.  I use a Third-Party App that allows me to create custom pages or tabs with HTML.  There are many paid apps that even set everything up for you like Wildfire and Pagemodo.  The Facebook app is not included as a Third-Party App.

Watch this Facebook Guidelines Training Video that clearly explains how you can run a promotion on your Facebook page.

Keep Up With Changes

Facebook changes occur often, always be sure to check with the Facebook Promotions Guidelines for up to date information on running a contest or promotion on your business page. You must also comply with rules governing running a promotion or contest based on your location.

As of writing this post, Facebook has also mentioned possible significant changes to Facebook Pages coming soon.  Experts are predicting we will see a Timeline version of Pages by the end of February 2012.  At this time it is not clear how Third-Party Apps using Canvas Pages and Tabs will be affected.

Are you running a promotion using a Third-Party Application?  How have you set up Contests on Facebook using an app?  We would love to hear your experiences!

To view your External Referrers you need to view your business page Insights.  The link to your Insights (or analytics) is below your profile image on the left side of your business page.

1.  Click on Insights

2.  Now click on the sub-menu called Reach

3.  Scroll to the bottom of the page

4.  At the bottom of the page you will see the list of External Referrers to your page

You can scroll back to the top of the page and change the date range to a specific date.  This will update the External Referrers to reflect the number of visits from the selected date range.

If you are not getting visits from an external website such as your business website, you may want to change your strategy on how you display or advertise your Facebook page.  Click Here to learn more about Facebook Insights.