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How Facebook Places Works

By Westwood Virtual Associates Leave a Comment

Facebook Pages helps business owners to get more exposure and interactivity to their local, physical businesses.

People who’ve never heard of your business can find you by clicking on “Nearby Places” in their mobile apps. They can also find your business through their friend’s walls, when they “Like” your business or “check in” to your business.

Though there are a few other local check in based apps (e.g. Foursquare,) none can boast Facebook’s 500+ million users.

Here are some of the main features and benefits of using Facebook places for business owners.

Appearing on Friend’s Feeds

Anytime someone checks into your business, it’ll also show up on their friend’s feeds.

Appearing in the iPhone’s “Nearby Places”

When someone’s near your business, they can easily find you by clicking “Nearby Places” or by searching for a specific type of business. (i.e. “restaurant.”)

Appearing in the iPhone’s Friends Check in

iPhone users can also see a list of all the places their friends are at or have been to.

Likes and Check ins Displayed

A business that has a lot of people checking in, liking and posting on their wall has a lot of social proof.

Much like how people prefer to go to crowded restaurants rather than empty restaurants, social proof will help you get more people through the door through perceived popularity, as well as help you get even more likes, checkins and comments. It’s like a snowball effect.

Through effective promotions, you can get a lot of people to like and checkin to your place. That, along with the snowball/social proof effect, can turn into a very effective marketing mechanism.

Example: A café’s credibility increased through having many users.

Having Your Own Wall & Pictures

Once your page is active, you’ll have an interactive wall where others can interact with one another, a photo gallery where you can put business-related shots, as well as all the other features of Facebook Places.

Detailed Business Information

You can put a lot of details that your users would find useful on your Facebook Place. They’ll be able access this information online or on their mobile device.

Users will be able to find your website, your hours of operation, your phone number, your address and even a map showing your location.

As you can tell, Facebook Places offers some incredible opportunities for business owners to connect with their customers, as well as to make it easier for more people to find their business.

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How to Add Your Place to Facebook

By Westwood Virtual Associates Leave a Comment

Have a local business that isn’t added to Facebook yet? Getting your place listed is actually quite easy.

Before you start, you’ll need a smartphone. At the moment, you can’t create a place just online.

Here’s how to get your place listed in Facebook.

Step 1: Physically Locate Yourself Near Your Business

To add your business, you’ll need to be close to it, preferably in your store or next to it.

Take out your phone and access the Facebook application.

Step 2: Click “Places”

Click on “Places,” located in the center of the Facebook springboard.

Step 3: Click “Check In”

Click “Check In” in the upper right hand corner.

Step 4: Click “Find or Add a Place”

When you click “Check In,” Facebook will display a list of all nearby places. Instead of clicking on one of these locations, search for the name of your business.

When Facebook doesn’t find it, you’ll be prompted to add your business.

Click on “Add [your business name].”

Step 5: Add Your Business

Enter your business name and an optional description. Click “Add” in the upper right when fininshed.

Click on “Add” when prompted.

When your place is added successfully, you’ll see this screen:

Congratulations! You’ve just added your local business to Facebook Places.

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5 Ways to Increase Your Facebook Fan Activity

By Westwood Virtual Associates Leave a Comment

Gone are the days when you marketed “to” your customers. Now, with the popularity of social media, there is a new way to market: it’s interactive. You no longer have to figure out creative ways to relay messages that will somehow get peoples’ attention, and then sit back and hope it’s working. By marketing through social media, you get to hear your customers’ reactions first-hand, and can tweak your marketing efforts accordingly. If you have accepted the new reality of social media marketing and are ready to take your Facebook potency to the next level, it is time to start thinking about improving your interactions with your fans. How do you do that?

Here are five ways to increase your Facebook fan activity:

Interact on other fan pages. This is quite simple: if you want to establish your credibility on Facebook and lend some relevance to your fan page in order to stimulate fan interactions, then you need to be active in the Facebook world. One of the best ways you have of doing that is to be visible on other, related fan pages. Get involved in serious discussions, post useful tidbits of information, or even just show support for the page, and people will reciprocate by participating more on your fan page.
Apps. There are a number of useful applications that you can plug into your fan page in order to encourage interactions amongst your fans. For example, the “Fan of the Week” app actually keeps track of your fans’ participation and acknowledges your top fan of each week. People love recognition and this app will encourage them to hang out on your page more often.
Be genuine. Your fans don’t want to feel that they are communicating with a robot. Be human. Be yourself. Interact on a personal level and people will respond.
Fan page partnerships. Make it a point to promote other fan pages that you support, and those fan pages will do the same for you. You can promote other fan pages by sharing their pictures and posts, and by linking to their pages from your own page.
Have a contest. Host a giveaway of some sort and provide your fans with a chance to win it, based on their participation. You can set this up any way you like. Many fan pages pose a silly question, or even a photo caption contest, and then advertise the prize and the deadline date.

As you can see, there are some very simple steps you can take to increase your Facebook fan activity. If you want to get the most out of your social media marketing, contact the professionals. We at Westwood Virtual Associates can help take your Internet presence to the next level. Contact us by phone, at 513-317-3049, or email: Joanne@WestwoodVA.com.

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5 Ways to Use Facebook GeoTargeting for Your Business

By Westwood Virtual Associates Leave a Comment

Facebook’s GeoTargeting

feature now makes it possible for you to pick and choose the exact target location of your audience, on a per-post basis. This has many useful implications when it comes to business marketing, so it’s a good idea for you to learn how to use Facebook GeoTracking to maximize the effectiveness of your business’ fan page. Need some tips?

Here are five ways to use Facebook GeoTargeting for your business:

Time zone effectiveness. If you understand the ins and outs of social media marketing, then you know that your posts are most effective when they are live – that is, when other people see them fresh on the newsfeed. News travels quickly, and fades just as quickly, when it appears on a rapidly shifting newsfeed, so it is important that you get your posts out to all of your customers in real time, no matter where they live, and without clogging everyone’s newsfeeds. You can do this by sending your posts to the appropriate time zones at the appropriate times, and Facebook GeoTracking enables you to do this.
Keeping it local. If you are sponsoring a local event or offering a special that is only relevant to your local customers, then it is pointless (and a nuisance) to repeatedly advertise it to people who are not in your target area. Use Facebook GeoTracking to keep local news local, and to spare everyone else of wasteful posting.
Targeting photos and videos. You can really customize your targeted marketing campaigns by posting geographically-specific photos and videos to areas of your choosing. This is a great way to create a memorable, interactive experience for customers all over the globe, on a per-location basis, and that means loyal customers all around.
Multi-lingual opportunities. If your business caters to a mixed crowd who speaks a variety of languages, then you can use Facebook GeoTracking when you post language-specific posts that might otherwise crowd your fans’ newsfeeds with text they can’t read or understand.
Comparison testing. You can use geotargeting to gauge your fans’ responses in different geographic locations. That way, you can identify market trends that are location-specific, and can create campaigns to target specific zones that you know will be most responsive.

As you can see, Facebook GeoTracking can be a very useful tool in your marketing grab-bag, and it may be used to size up your social media market for other marketing outlets outside of the Internet. To take advantage of all social media can do for you, we at Westwood Virtual Associates can help take your Internet presence to the next level. Contact us by phone, at 513-317-3049, or email: Joanne@WestwoodVA.com.

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5 Ways Your Local Business Will Benefit from Facebook Advertising

By Westwood Virtual Associates Leave a Comment

As a business in today’s techno-centric market, it is imperative that you have a strong Internet presence, and that you learn to use the web to its full marketing capacity. One of the best things you can do to increase your business’ Internet performance is to participate in the world of social media. Facebook is your best place to start, as it offers a lot of features that are especially helpful for business owners like yourself. If you aren’t making use of Facebook fan pages and advertising, then you should be, no matter how small or localized your business is.

Here are five ways your local business will benefit from Facebook advertising:

Highly targeted marketing. One of the best things about Facebook ads is that you can specify exactly who you want to view your ads, based on things like age, interests, and geographic location. For example, if you run a mobile salon business, you may opt to target your ads to women in your area who have expressed an interest in beauty, hair care, fashion, and salons.
The snowball effect. Basically, any time someone clicks on your ad and lands on your page, they have the option of “liking” your page if they are pleased with what they find. Any time someone likes your page, that activity shows up in that person’s newsfeed. This means that all of that person’s friends are exposed to your page and have the option of liking it themselves. Facebook ads are a great way to attract attention to your page and gain fans on an exponential level.
Reach. The numbers don’t lie: Facebook is the world’s highest ranking website, and is viewed on a global scale. You may have a small local business, but there is no question that if you sell a product, your business could benefit greatly from having a broader reach.
Smart phone users. Most people these days access the web from their smart phones on a regular basis. By using Facebook advertising, you are making your presence known to local smart phone users who only search for businesses while on the go.
Customization. In addition to the previously mentioned targeting, Facebook ads also allow for a lot of freedom when it comes to customizing ads to your liking, especially when compared to Google ads (a very common advertising platform that you are likely already using). For example, the extra allowance for text length and the ability to add images allows you create ads that best suit your needs and marketing goals.

To make the most of your social media marketing, contact the professionals. We at Westwood Virtual Associates can help take your Internet presence to the next level. Contact us by phone, at 513-317-3049, or email: Joanne@WestwoodVA.com.

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Tips for Creating an Effective Facebook Profile for Business Use

By joannewestwood Leave a Comment

If you’re thinking of sharing about your business via Facebook, creating an effective Facebook profile is important. It’s easy to go into Facebook and set up a Facebook profile that doesn’t do much to reflect what your business is all about. A few tips can improve that. Here are some tips for using for Facebook profile and perhaps the updated Timeline version effectively for your business. [Read more...]

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#2: Become an Affiliate

By joannewestwood Leave a Comment

Affiliate marketing is a great complement to any other business model. Basically, you recommend products and services to your readers, and every time one of them makes a purchase through your referral link (a piece of code inserted in your blog), you receive a commission. Commissions can range from a few percent of the purchase price, to upwards of 50%. Physical products usually have a lower commission rate, while digital downloads have higher commissions. [Read more...]

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Facebook Posts Mystery Revealed

By joannewestwood Leave a Comment

I know some of you have done a spectacular job of setting up your Facebook page but then get stuck for what to post. The primary objective for your Facebook page is to get engagement with your fans. There are many reasons why this is important.

It’s social media so having a two-way conversation is a big deal. Getting an ongoing opportunity to talk with your market is crucial.
Each time someone engages on your page either by “LIKE”ing your page, comment, post etc Facebook will send a feed out to their friends indicating their LIKING of your content.
When you talk with one person, all your fans see the content so you are speaking with many instead of just one person on the phone. [Read more...]

Technorati Tags: business marketing, engagement, Facebook, posts, updates

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How Facebook Places Works

Appearing on Friend’s Feeds

Appearing in the iPhone’s “Nearby Places”

Appearing in the iPhone’s Friends Check in

Likes and Check ins Displayed

Having Your Own Wall & Pictures

Detailed Business Information

How to Add Your Place to Facebook

Step 1: Physically Locate Yourself Near Your Business

Step 2: Click “Places”

Step 3: Click “Check In”

Step 4: Click “Find or Add a Place”

Step 5: Add Your Business

5 Ways to Increase Your Facebook Fan Activity

Here are five ways to increase your Facebook fan activity:

5 Ways to Use Facebook GeoTargeting for Your Business

Facebook’s GeoTargeting

Here are five ways to use Facebook GeoTargeting for your business:

5 Ways Your Local Business Will Benefit from Facebook Advertising

Here are five ways your local business will benefit from Facebook advertising:

Tips for Creating an Effective Facebook Profile for Business Use

#2: Become an Affiliate

Facebook Posts Mystery Revealed

Affiliate Links

Recent Posts

Internet Marketing Puzzle

513-317-3049

Twitter

LinkedId

Appearing on Friend’s Feeds

Appearing in the iPhone’s “Nearby Places”

Appearing in the iPhone’s Friends Check in

Likes and Check ins Displayed

Having Your Own Wall & Pictures

Detailed Business Information

Step 1: Physically Locate Yourself Near Your Business

Step 2: Click “Places”

Step 3: Click “Check In”

Step 4: Click “Find or Add a Place”

Step 5: Add Your Business

Here are five ways to increase your Facebook fan activity:

Facebook’s GeoTargeting

Here are five ways to use Facebook GeoTargeting for your business:

Here are five ways your local business will benefit from Facebook advertising:

Affiliate Links

Recent Posts

Categories

513-317-3049

Facebook

Twitter

LinkedId