Case study: Who 'likes' my Virtual Bagels? For the past week, I've been running a very successful small business via Facebook. It is called VirtualBagel and more than 3,000 people from around the world have decided they "like" it - despite the fact that it does, well, absolutely nothing. But in running this non-existent firm I have learned quite a bit about the value of those "likes" prized by so many big brands, and the usefulness of Facebook's advertising.
When social media consultant Michael Tinmouth told me of his concerns about the returns his small business clients were getting from advertising on Facebook, I decided I needed to mount an experiment. Could I persuade Facebook users to click on adverts for an imaginary business and like it? The idea for VirtualBagel was born from something my oldest son came up with many years ago, as he watched a picture download very slowly from the internet onto our first computer: "What if we could download doughnuts too?
" Image copyright Facebook Then I pressed the button and waited. Emerging Entrepreneur Nick Unsworth: How To Market On Facebook Like A Pro. My Social SherpaHow To Manipulate Facebook's Algorithm And Increase Sales. It’s strange to think that my businesses, and by extension my life, wouldn’t exist as it does today if it weren’t for the one simple bit of knowledge that changed it all. If it weren’t for this, I’d have nothing. After all, it’s with this seemingly benign piece of information that I have been able to add tens of thousands of people to my clients’ email lists, hundreds of thousands of dollars to their pockets, and expose millions to the magnificence of their brands. It is with the untold power of what can be summarized in eight words that I was able to launch my own business and build something vastly larger than I had ever built for any client.
I’m getting ahead of myself. Looking back, it’s not surprising that I fell in love with computers. Computers think in a series of rules (i.e. Whether it was a result of this environment, my inherent nature, or a combination of both – I began to become obsessed with understanding how the world worked. Work towards an established goal. Small Business Owners Share Their Tricks for Using Facebook More Effectively. On Tuesday, the five-stop Facebook Fit summer tour kicked off in New York City. Announced in the beginning of May, the initiative is a "bootcamp" aimed at helping small business owners succeed on the social platform.
"If you know how to use Facebook as a person, you can use Facebook for business," said Dan Levy, the company's director of small business, in his keynote speech. He also provided a rundown of tools and technologies on the platform for small business owners. Following Levy's remarks was a discussion among a panel of local entrepreneurs: Emmanuel Peña, co-owner of Harlem's Astor Row Café; Tavy Ronen, co-owner of The Yarn Company; Alexandra Barber, digital marketer at Roundabout Theatre Company; and Jacqueline Donovan, marketing executive at Fairway market. The group shared the tips and tricks they use to better connect with their respective audiences on the platform. Here are some of the major takeaways: Get your employees engaged Use your fans to get more fans Give feedback. Tips. 10 Steps to Create a Facebook Page that Gets "Likes" Facebook Promoted Posts: A Proven Strategy to Target Fans and Non-Fans. Facebook and Proper Posting. Most of us see quite a few posts on Facebook a day, be they messages from friends or for brands.
Some Facebook posts register with us (adorable photos of kids doing hilarious things) and some just simply pass us by (your friend who just posted the 36th wedding update.) Why? What is it that makes a well crafted Facebook post stand out? When analyzing what makes a well crafted Facebook post verses what makes just another message in a sea of millions that gets buried in a users’ newsfeed, we must first consider Facebook’s News Feed Algorithm. What is it? The News Feed algorithm determines what content shows up where in a users’ news feed. A post’s news feed placement more or less depends on three things: Engagement levels.Relevance to the user (i.e. have they interacted with this brand or person posting this post before? There is no way to “trick” the system. Facebook and Well Made Status Updates. In the midst of last year’s holiday shopping madness, IBM’s Jay Henderson wrote a super detailed post on his company’s Smarter Planet blog about how social media affects holiday shopping.
He concluded that social media isn’t just “another channel to have a personalized dialog with a consumer.” The key to using social media for holiday marketing, he wrote, is motivating consumers to share their purchases, their experiences and their likes with their friends. And yet, as any business owner knows, it can be challenging to get news about your deal, your special event or your new product heard above all the rest of the online noise, especially during the holidays. In that spirit, here are some ideas for well-crafted Facebook posts that your fans and followers will Like and want to share with their friends this season. 1. When crafting sale-related posts, think about why people have become fans of your business.For early access to sales? 2. The clothing brand J. In their post, J. 1. 2. 3. 4. How a Winery Uses Social Media to Increase Sales and Brand Loyalty. How can wineries use social media to increase sales when the law prohibits them from giving away product samples?
Whitehall Lane, a 20-year-old Napa Valley winery run by the Leonardini family, has hit on a winning social media formula that pays dividends in both increased sales and brand loyalty. Wineries face special challenges in promoting their business on social media. The federal Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, known as the TTB, considers social media “advertising,” and regulates what wineries can do. The regulations primarily affect Whitehall Lane in two different ways. They cannot run contests that give away wine, and they must monitor user-generated content for anything that might promote irresponsible drinking. “We don’t fool around with the TTB regulations,” said Katie Leonardini, direct sales manager for Whitehall Lane. But that hasn’t stopped them from successfully using social media to grow a loyal fan base outside the tasting room. Social Media Handles & Stats. The Ultimate Guide to Facebook Marketing.