There is a lot of hype right now about all the changes to Facebook. At the very basic level, these changes make it simple for any website to integrate content into Facebook. The magical power driving this change? The “Like” button.

When you click the “Like” button anywhere online, a few things happen:

1) Your Facebook profile is updated with a link to the page you “liked”

2) Updates on that page now appear in your feed giving marketers easy access to integrating their content on facebook

3) Your picture shows up on that page viewable by your Facebook friends who also come across that page

These are obviously just the very BASICS but a good start at helping to explain the changes. Getting the button is a simple copy and paste here: http://developers.facebook.com/docs/reference/plugins/like

Btw – while you’re here…. try it out above!

This article from Ad Age does a great job simplifying the process of banner ad optimization. It also reminds us to never be satisfied with the performance of a display ad campaign. Creative plays a major role and it can always be better.

Making Online Ads Suck Less in 8 Easy Steps – Advertising Age – DigitalNext.

You know who you are! I understand it was an accident but that doesn’t make it right. I smashed my car into an SUV a few months ago while mapping on my iPhone. It was an accident but I still had to correct the situation (well, Allstate did but I helped).

The point is, a business should have a facebook “page” not a “profile.” You still get to interact with your friends. The only difference is that they are now called “fans.”

Your posts still show up in their feeds and they can still comment on your posts. There are even a few extra perk to having a fan page:

1) You can send a broadcast email to all your fans! You can’t do this with friend profiles!

2) You can create custom HTML pages on the page to share branded information or embed interactive functionality.

So go ahead and make the switch. You can offer an incentive/contest to your “friends” for switching over to become “fans.” You’ll be surprised how easy it is.

Do it and I won’t expose you!

Another day, another social media expert… Or so it seems.

As marketing/advertising firms struggle to find clientele during the “Great Recession,” more and more of them are turning to social media as a timely service offering that can drive new sales. The reality is that more often than not, these firms/consultants have no practical experience and end up taking their client’s money for work that a college intern could do in their sleep.

In an attempt to expose the pseudo from the authentic social media experts, here are 5 questions you should ask before signing any contracts.

1) “How do you approach social media?” — If the first thing they say is, “You need to have a presence on all the social networks – especially Facebook and Twitter and then all the lesser known ones.” Thank them for their time and continue your search. Just like going to a high school dance, you won’t get kissed sitting along the wall. Get a plan and determine what makes sense before jumping in to anything.
2) “What success stories do you have?” — If their success story is a lucky idea that took place over 3 years ago, it’s completely irrelevant and won’t apply to your business. As the saying goes, “What have you done for  me lately?” Social media is changing every day and what worked 3 years ago won’t work today. Also, if their success was spawned from a “viral idea” it means they got lucky. Viral success isn’t repeatable without millions of dollars. Think about it, how many Central Ohio companies have had viral success online? 1 maybe?
3) “What metrics do you use to measure success?” – The wrong answer is “number of followers, number of fans and comments.” Ask for real numbers from  their other clients like average visitor value from social media traffic, e-commerce conversion rate, time on site, weekly interactions, etc… Being popular sucks if you’re popular for the wrong reasons. Number of followers and/or fans means absolutely nothing if the other stats are less than desirable.
4) “How did your firm learn these skills?” — Most likely, they read a book. You could do the same and spend $30 instead of $13,000. Experience is the correct answer.
5) “Will social media work for my business?” — They shouldn’t be able to answer this question in the first meeting. After hearing your business goals for the first time, they should do a little research and thinking before offering a blanket guarantee that social media will drive your business success.

BONUS QUESTION

6: “Is social media the best way to spend my money?” — I’ve seen a lot of situations where companies are spending money with a social media consultant while missing more obvious internet marketing strategies that have the potential to drive significantly more results. In other words, don’t do social media just because it’s the thing to do. Should you eat the doughnuts in the break room just because everyone else does? Spend money where you’ll get the quickest results. Once you’ve maximized your marketing investment, look for other ways to generate results.

With these questions, you’ll expose the impostors and find the best consultants that will be certain to help you achieve your goals for social media.