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Tag: Facebook

Three Weeks to Ideal Engagement on Any Social Media Platform – Week One

Are you ready to increase the engagement of your brand or business online? Or are you ready to start a new outlet for it? This is a single-platform engagement plan, so don’t worry about other platforms yet.

Why Only One Platform?

We start this reboot or the kickoff for your engagement implementation on a single platform for two reasons:

  • Changing your mindset and starting new activity on one platform will take a concerted effort to use the platform differently. At first, the learning, but more so the implementation, curve will be steep. We are changing behavior here, and it won’t be easy at first.
  • It will take a lot more effort to participate in the conversation that is social media than you’ve done before. You will have to find time, efficiency, and dedication to get it done on a single platform. Can you imagine if you started all this extra work on the five platforms where you have a presence at once?

Week One – Fixing Your Feed

First things first.

Stop posting content on this platform. That sounds crazy right now, but it will make sense.

Doing things as you had always done them wasn’t working for you, so ceasing that content creation and posting will improve your listening and context while we are overhauling how you engage on social media. You were not adding value to enough people to keep it up, so, for the re-boot, no new content created or posted. Period.

To begin, we have to fix the feed that the platform presents to you by shocking the algorithm. Much like we outlined when we sought to change the content before you on a platform because it wasn’t what you wanted to see or stressed you out, we need to fix the feed of the platform.

Out With the Useless, In With the Valuable

On the first day of Week 1, go through your connections, friends, pages, accounts, groups, and hashtags to UNFOLLOW/UNFRIEND/DISCONNECT all the users of the platform that don’t add value for you. You should also consider if the value they add for you is within “The Five,” the five areas of focus for your content creation. By getting rid of the creators that don’t add value for your experience in the areas where you need to focus, you will let them crowd out the content you need to see and fall back into doing things the way you’ve always done them.

Now that you’ve pruned all the useless and valueless from your feed, explore the connections from those that do add value to you. Take time to look at their content, join relevant groups, or add certain hashtags to the content you consume that will add value to you, specifically in the five areas of focus you have. Doing this will give you an immediate win in controlling what content is served to you. Every platform programs their algorithm to give you more of what you just indicated that you wanted to see. They want you to see that newly-added content, because you will act like a child with their newest toy, ignoring all the ones you have to focus on the fresh one that you now have.

This process to tailor the sources of content you’re served will take a while, but get it done on the first day of this endeavor. This drastic change in how you connect with the platform will get rid of the dead weight and add new and valuable creators, telling Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, or LinkedIn that you need to see THIS content that is now relevant to you.

The rest of the first week gets way easier for you, and you should invest the time of the remaining six days to help the platform really understand you by completing a solitary action repeatedly.

“Like” Posts

Indicate an interest in the creators that show up in the “new” content you see by simply tapping or clicking “like” on the posts that give you even the slightest bit of value.

Simply “like” them. Don’t leave any comments, reply to them, or even react. Just a simple “Thumbs up” for Facebook, LinkedIn, or YouTube and a heart for Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter to let the platform know what kind of content you value. Perform this activity with an emphasis on valuable content in “The Five.” Instead of focusing on seeking out new connections, take the time to consume A LOT of content and force the algorithm to understand the “new you.”

Let’s Start Week 2, Shall We?

The Value in Facebook Stories, Live, and Watch Party

This is based on an answer offered on Episode 14 of Hustleburg.

Question: Is there any benefit to using Facebook stories? Or should I just stick to Instagram for that? What about Facebook Live or Watch Party? These are kind of confusing and seem like they could overlap and I’m just not sure how to use them. 

Facebook Stories

There is absolutely a benefit to Facebook Stories. The first benefit of using Facebook stories is that it’s a great way to connect with the younger users on the platform. As we’ve discussed on Hustleburg, the fastest-growing demographic on Facebook are over 60 years old. Utilizing Facebook stories is going to be a good way to get your content in front of the eyes of Facebook’s younger demographics. Regardless of the age demographic of what you do, reaching younger users plants seeds with them for the future, when they’ll be looking for what you do. You can build your brand identity with them now. Also, you’d be surprised how many buying decisions are driven by interactions between the teenaged sons and daughters and their mothers and fathers.

Stories are also a better way to promote your “Me” content, the links to your website, promotional content, and short videos documenting your business. Because of the quality recording possible with your handheld device, you get two wins here. You are able to produce less polished and more frequent content for both Facebook and its sister platform Instagram. Rather than posting these types of content in your feed as frequently, you can share things in a “Me” way and more “sales-y” in nature, and leave your feed to build your brand. That’s not a hard and fast rule, but generally, that’s kind of how I can segregate the content that I put out that goes there.

An interview I’ve referenced recently with Adam Mossari, Instagram CEO, lends itself to this as well. In it, he discussed the addition of stories as a way of giving people a “behind the scenes” glimpse, a peek into your life, business, or brand. It gives you a way to offer “insider access” to what it is that you do. These looks are a great way to engage with the community you’re building online. As such, these stories shouldn’t feel as polished or produced as some of the things as some of the other videos or images that you see in the feed.  

You’ve likely noticed that some of your more “off the cuff” and less polished content offers some great engagement. That’s because we’re seeing communities respond to what they view as more authentic rather than highly produced content anyway. This is akin to how, about a decade ago, we saw a huge rise in reality and competition TV over traditionally scripted TV. Survivor kicked off the trend, followed up by shows like America’s Got Talent, The Voice, American Idol, all those kind of overtook the scripted television for the most part on network TV. Even The Office and Parks and Recreation took that documentary feel into the world of scripted television. Now that our phones offer HD-quality video and a billion megapixels, we’re seeing that kind of authentic content that doesn’t have that same polish or production value as your general feed content be more engaging with our audience. 

Don’t Auto-Post

You’ve probably noticed if you are using the Instagram Story features, you have the ability to auto post to Facebook stories as well, if you’ve connected your business page on Facebook. The temptation to put out two pieces of content on different platforms is great, but it should be resisted. First, you can’t swipe up on the Instagram Story, unless you are paying for it via advertising or you are a mega account. Facebook Stories allow you to have all of the same features as Instagram, but they also allow you to have the “Swipe up.” I definitely discourage the auto-posting from Instagram to Facebook Stories, because you don’t have as many features available to you. It isn’t as feature-rich.

Second, if you cross-post from one platform to another, this flies in the face of putting out content that has context to each platform’s audience. You have different audiences on each platform, because your content there resonates differently on each. Generally, what you’re going to see is that something you say to your Instagram audience isn’t necessarily going to be received the same way that you say it to your Facebook audience. When you cross-post, you’re not providing adequate context for the communities that you’ve built in both of the places it’s tempting to cross-post to and from.

Facebook Live

So, if you have a good reason to offer video content, especially live, streaming video content, Facebook Live is a great avenue to do so. Newer features, allow you to create an event (both on the platform and in real life) around your business or your brand. Events like this give your community an opportunity to instantly connect and interact with you.

Facebook Live gives you the ability to build up your livestream as you schedule that Live, alerting your community about the upcoming interaction. With these new features, Facebook Live can now be used as a souped-up version of Reddit’s AMAs and other platform’s Ask Me Anythings, even if you don’t have an immediate offering for live video content. You get real-time interaction with the brand as a member of their community, and your business gets to create a deeper connection with your true fans in that community. The video component makes it feel more like an in-person interaction that you’ve created, so it truly is a win-win for you and your community. There’s an extra bonus for you if you have video content that will add value to your audience that can be live-streamed, as they engage with your brand in a deeper way. 

Facebook Watch Party

If you don’t have the ability or desire to go live with a video to engage the community, Facebook Watch Party offers part of the same value that is possible with Facebook Live. Watching the same content simultaneously gives you the instant connection and interaction capability with the community, surrounding content offered by your brand. It also gives you the opportunity to share more polished, edited video content to your audience, while also giving you the direct interaction with them over it. If you’re 35 or older or have ever had a long-distance relationship, you probably remember calling your friends or significant other on the phone to watch a TV show or a movie together when we were in separate homes. This ability to watch something together but separately, especially in the era of COVID-19 isolation, is a way to connect instantly when you can’t be in the same room to watch the same thing physically together. Watch Party brings us that same ability and feeling to connect and engage with our brand and the community instantly and deeper in the digital space, specifically on the Facebook platform.

As we’ve mentioned before, Facebook is the most important social media platform right now in 2020, and these newer features give you a way to connect in a more personal way going forward.

What Can You Do to “Unplug” or Change What You See on Facebook?

This is based on an answer offered on Episode 12 of Hustleburg.

Question: With everything that’s going on recently, sometimes I need a little break from seeing the constant news cycle, especially about COVID-19, aka the coronavirus. What do you recommend for when you just want to unplug and think of happy or educational or fun things? I love using Facebook to promote my business, I just need a break. I feel bad, and like I’m not putting my business first by taking that break.

Take a Break

If you find that you need a break from social media’s onslaught of news and posts about COVID-19, the 2020 election, or whatever has you feeling this way, push back your laptop, close the platforms or the apps on your phone that you’re using. Take a literal break, by going for a walk around the block, calling to check in on your mom (she says you don’t do that enough anyway), playing or snuggling with your dog, cat, or whatever pet is in your home (they are also saying that you don’t do that enough).

Then, just turn off notifications on your phone and shut your laptop for a while. Only enable the ones that you absolutely must have on for the phone. If you’re an iPhone user, you can enable Bedtime, which is a feature in your settings to take a break in the clock app. Many Android phones have something called Zen mode, where you can’t do anything on the phone except to receive calls for a specified time so that you can disconnect. Use this “unplugged” opportunity to pick up that book or your Kindle to read for fun for an hour.

Focus on Something Else

Personally, I’ve taken to trying to meditate more, using an app on my phone to do so. By doing so, I get to relax while I ignore the world around me for 5, 10, or 20 minutes, by focusing inward, on happiness, or my relationships with other people.

You likely have some “extra” time right now due to a lack of commute, and you can use it for some self-care or to develop yourself. Think of that time as an opportunity, because no one is expecting that you’re going to be “on” all the time, that you’re going to be online all the time, and that it isn’t going to be something that does kind of drive you away.

Now that you’ve taken that break for yourself, I have some great news for you. When it comes to your online experience, you actually find what you seek online. The platform’s algorithms are designed to give you what they calculate that you want to see. If you interact with political posts, they’ll show you more politics. That also means that if you engage with stories about kindness, you’re going to see more kindness. Who couldn’t use seeing more about kindness and the good in the world?

The Good News – You’re in Control

I recently listened to an interview with the CEO of Instagram, Adam Mosseri, who designed the newsfeed for Facebook before moving over to Instagram. During that interview, he confirmed that they really try to tailor what you see online with the type of things that you engage with. So, the good news is that you truly hold the keys to design your own online experience.

Ready for the even better news?

Your most recent activity holds greater weight for the algorithms than your older activity. That means that the best time to change your online behavior, in an effort to change what you see, is NOW. Start engaging with the people, groups, and pages that bring you joy by making you the happiest. Disengage with those that are dragging you down by blocking them, unfollowing them, and just scrolling by. If you make your focus to comment on, click on, and like the posts that give you something of value, while disengaging with the people, pages, and groups that don’t, you’re going to see a huge change in what’s in your feed. By taking control over what you see online and who you interact with, you’re actually going to see a complete shift in what’s presented to you in your feed, no matter which social media platform that’s got you down.

Here’s How It Will Change

I remember a period of time when I worked in the non-profit political world, where everything in my feed was political stuff. Today, that’s really not the case, because I unfollowed many pages, I left a lot of groups, and I’m no longer connected with many of the people I was. I no longer interact with many of the same people that I did in that world, and it has completely changed the way social media is presented to me. It’s very rare that I see a political post that isn’t just the news of the day. There’s hardly ever political opinion within them, so I know from experience that you really can switch this on and off, almost like a light switch or a really fast dimmer.

If you are discouraged about what you’re seeing, whether it’s the upcoming 2020 elections, coronavirus, or whatever it is that just has you down, know that you can change what’s in your feed just by fine-tuning who you even allow to put things in your feed, and who you engage with among those that do have that permission.

Hustleburg Episode 14 – Answering Listener Questions About Facebook 4-2-20

In this Q&A episode of the Hustleburg podcast, Brett answers listener questions about Facebook in the second of two parts. This is the second episode of a platform-specific series on the Q&A episodes about the varying social media platforms. Episode 12 is the first part of this Facebook-specific Q&A series.

Should I be Using Facebook Stories, Live, or Watch Party? Why?

There is absolutely a benefit to each of these features for the small business owner.

  • Facebook Stories – Unlike Instagram, Facebook stories allow you to have all the same features, as well as swipe up capability without the need to pay for ad or be a large account. It’s also a great way to connect with younger users on the platform. The addition of stories to Facebook gives you a way of offering your community a glimpse “behind the scenes” of your life, business, or brand. It gives “insider access” to what you do, deepening the connection to your brand.
  • Facebook Live – If you have a good reason to stream live video content, this is a wonderful tool to do so. I like that you can create an event and hype around your business or brand that gives your community instant connection and interaction with you. It helps to deepen their connection, acting like a souped-up version of Reddit AMAs with real-time interaction.
  • Facebook Watch Party – I see the same value in offering the instant connection and interaction to your community that Facebook Live offers, in kind of the same way we used to call one another to watch a TV show or movie together, but separately.

What’s the Best Way to Grow My Facebook Likes? Should I Use Ads?

The key is to add value to the ongoing conversation that is social media. Your page should have plenty of content before you publish and even invite your mom or spouse to like it. Create 10 or so posts before you launch, so that visitors will have something to look at when they visit. This gives them an opportunity to decide if they want to give you the “like.” Tactically, invite those on your friends list to like the page slowly, making sure you utilize the tools Facebook has available to you. I’ve found better results when inviting people both through a notification as well as a well-crafted message in messenger from your personal profile. Both of these invitations methods are only possible on the desktop version. I answered a similar question in greater detail on Episode 4 of Hustleburg, where I discussed getting greater reach organically.

When it comes to ads, I’m not a big fan of paying for “likes,” because they are generally superficial, and I’d prefer that they come for something of value that you’ve offered. Using targeted ads based on demographic and psychographic information to drive them to something you offer that will add value to them is a great way to grow your audience. They’re more engaged than someone who just likes your page in a “drive by”

Page Messaging is Mystifying Me. Is This an Important Metric for Customers?

My answer about the importance of this public-facing metric is going to be different for different businesses. If you’re in a fast-paced environment and customers expect that you’ll respond quickly, this is something to make sure you prioritize with your page. For example, if you’re operating an auto repair shop and a potential customer wants to know if they can bring their car in today to have it repaired this afternoon, you’re going to want to make sure you can reply to that person nearly immediately, like fielding incoming phone calls. Facebook calculates this metric by measuring your response rate to private messages… ALL private messages to your page. They measure two things, the percentage of messages you respond to and the speed with which you reply. For the first, you’ll need to reply to 90% or more to have a “Very Responsive” label on your page. For the latter, you’ll need to respond in a very timely manner. An explanation of calculation for both is included in the episode.

Start Marketing Your Business Online With These Three Easy Steps

If you’re just getting started marketing your business online, Beyond Your Side Hustle offers a FREE Getting Started Guide.

Find out more about Beyond Your Side Hustle here:

Website
Hustleburg Listener Community
Facebook
Instagram
Brett’s LinkedIn

If you enjoyed what you heard in this episode, please take a moment to subscribe, rate, and review this podcast on your favorite player. Each episode is available on its own post, with the entire catalog here. It’s available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite podcast catcher. We listen to this show and our favorites on Castbox. It’s hosted by Podbean. We appreciate your attention, and we can’t wait to have you back for the next episode. 

Be a Guest on Hustleburg

If you have any questions you’d like to have answered on an upcoming Q&A episode, please take a moment to visit beyondyoursidehustle.com/podcastquestion and ask there. If you’re a St. Pete businessperson who’d like to sit down for an interview, please reach out to us here. 

Hustleburg Episode 12 – Answering Listener Questions About Facebook 3-19-20

In this Q&A episode of the Hustleburg podcast, Brett answers listener questions about Facebook in the first of two parts. This is the beginning of a platform-specific series on the Q&A episodes about the varying social media platforms. Episode 14 will be the second part of the Facebook Q&A.

How Should I Maximize My Downtime During the COVID-19 Crisis to Brand My Business on Facebook?

During the self-isolation, restricted business operations, and a lack of sporting events, we likely find ourselves with newfound downtime. That downtime can be the catalyst necessary to lay the groundwork for your brand or business online. You can use this opportunity to create your Facebook page, engage with your existing community, and create content for it as well. Don’t let the temptation to just binge Netflix stop your dream and use this time to your advantage.

My Feed Is Filled With Draining News. How Can I Fix It?

First, take a break. Unplug and regroup. Take a walk. Read for fun. When you’re ready to fix things, follow and engage with people, pages, groups, and topics that aren’t bringing you down. The algorithms show you what they think you want to see, so you have to re-engineer what it’s showing you by changing how you use the platform. The good news is that you can change what you see by changing your behavior. The better news is that recent activity and changes have more influence than past activity, so get started now by focusing on what you want to see. You find what you seek, both online and in the world.

What Are the Benefits of Creating a Group in Support of my Facebook Page?

Your page is a communication tool for those outside your community. It’s your virtual storefront. It contains basic information about your business, like your hours, your location, or your special deals. It’s a great tool for people already looking for you. It’s social media’s version of your website with a touch of your personality.

Facebook Groups present you with a unique way to build deeper relationships with your community. It’s where you have in-depth discussions, interactions, and engagement. While your page is your opportunity to build many, shallow connections, your group gives you the chance to build ocean-deep connections with fewer people. Those are the people who are committed to your business. They are or become your raving fans.

How Can I Get More 5-Star Reviews on my Facebook Page?

Giving 5-star service is the best way to receive 5-star reviews. You can also offer on a receipt, signage in store, or a follow-up communication a small token of appreciation for all reviews. With these reviews, you should directly engage with your customers, while you have their attention, asking them for their feedback. Address any issues on the spot, and no matter what they share with you, ask them to share it online, and if your Facebook page is where you want to drive them, send them there. This also applies to Yelp or Google Reviews. 

Start Marketing Your Business Online With These Three Easy Steps

If you’re just getting started marketing your business online, Beyond Your Side Hustle offers a FREE Getting Started Guide.

Find out more about Beyond Your Side Hustle here:

Website
Hustleburg Listener Community
Facebook
Instagram
Brett’s LinkedIn

If you enjoyed what you heard in this episode, please take a moment to subscribe, rate, and review this podcast on your favorite player. Each episode is available on its own post, with the entire catalog here. It’s available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite podcast catcher. We listen to this show and our favorites on Castbox. It’s hosted by Podbean. We appreciate your attention, and we can’t wait to have you back for the next episode. 

Be a Guest on Hustleburg

If you have any questions you’d like to have answered on an upcoming Q&A episode, please take a moment to visit beyondyoursidehustle.com/podcastquestion and ask there. If you’re a St. Pete businessperson who’d like to sit down for an interview, please reach out to us here. 

The Single Most Important Platform

Question from Hustleburg’s Episode 4, Answering Listener Questions:  What is the single most important social platform to get your content out as a side hustler and beyond? Or does it vary from business to business?

I’m glad you hedged your question, because I look at this two ways.

Single Most Important Social Media Platform

The single most important platform is where everyone already is. Right now, in 2020, that’s Facebook. At the end of 2019, they reported 2.5 BILLION monthly active users. As such, it’s simply too large to ignore, and people expect that no matter what business you’re in, that you at least have a Facebook page with some basic information.

Your Customers Are Already There

The reason that people expect this is because that’s someplace where they already are and they can find out something about you. Even if you don’t have a website, people expect that you have a business page on Facebook. We aren’t talking about your Facebook profile, we’re talking about a Facebook business page. You don’t want to confuse the two. A profile is where you share the photos of your children with their grandparents, but a page is about your business activity. Separating them keeps your personal life personal and your business life business.

Great Tools to Advertise

Also, Facebook is going to be a great way to jump into advertising as a part of your digital strategy on social media. Facebook offers so much data on their users to advertisers, so that you can hyper-target your demographics and psychographics. This allows you to spend your advertising dollars only going after your ideal customer. Their tool allows you to really focus on specific zip codes, specific age groups, and specific interests. When you really know your customers and your potential customers, they provide an awesome opportunity to utilize. These tools within Facebook further their position as the single most important platform in 2020. Keep in mind that some advice in the digital marketing space doesn’t age well, because of how rapidly things change so I’ll likely revise this in the future.

Also, Consider This…

Current popularity does not always forever popularity, so the above is not to say that it’s going to be the most popular social platform going forward. Remember Myspace? Or Friendster before that? Neither of those stuck around, as they were surpassed by something that was more interesting or more social. We wanted something different, found it, and platforms either evolve with us or go away.

The other way to look at this question is to consider other platforms as well, because marketing is all about telling the stories. Most importantly, it’s about telling YOUR story, and how will you best tell that story. For example, if you do something that’s very visual, has a very compelling visual element, or is very complicated to share with words, you’re definitely going to want an almost exclusively visual platform.

Finally, you also need to make sure that you choose a platform that you’re comfortable with using. That does not mean, however, that you can just not use a platform because you’re not comfortable. You should learn how to use it. You do that by watching what successful users of that platform do, by interacting with them and your potential customers, and by using the greatest information resource in the history of mankind.

This listener question was a part of Hustleburg’s fourth episode. If you have a question you’d like to have answered, please join the community here.

You can subscribe to Hustleburg on your preferred player here.