Michelle Beckham's Blog

New!! Custom Tagging on Facebook

michellebeckham — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 16:39:50 +0000

Here’s a little gem that I picked up over the weekend. While it can be entertaining and useful, I also see implications for initial spammers. You can now Tag a Page or Application by naming it something else. For example, let’s say I post on my personal Facebook Profile or another Page the following statement:

Hanging out with the most progressive bunch of people on the planet.

I can substitute the hyper-linked phrase: “progressive bunch of people” for my actual C3 Facebook Page, so that when someone clicks on the hopefully enticing statement, they will be taken directly to my C3 Facebook Page.

The code for the status update would look like this:

@@[0:[91368159145:0:progressive bunch of people]]

The numbers refer to my Page ID and the terms that I want to stand in for the ID follow the colon and precede the closing brackets.

I can just see the “questionable” sites using the new .xxx domain using this as a redirect to their Facebook Pages with innocent sounding links. Makes me think that the capability won’t be around for a long time, so use judiously while you can and make your friends think that you are a social media rockstar! Ok, I could have said GURU, but I detest that moniker!

Now go Market your Page!

p.s. if you are still reading- here’s a site that will crank out the html code for you: C3 Tip of the Day.

~Michelle Beckham

Simplifying Social Media via C3

Update: as of 12/8/11 the capability to custom tag on Facebook seems to be disabled. Not sure at this point if it is a glitch or a permanent ban by Facebook.

Setting a Personalized URL For Your Facebook Page

michellebeckham — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 15:44:26 +0000

One thing that is consistent about social media is that it is constantly changing! It’s practically a full-time job just to keep up with these changes and process them into workable ways for a business to capitalize on reaching their intended target audience more effectively.

Today, I am sharing a quick tip that will make your Facebook Page more effective and boost your ability to be found online in search.

Here’s the tip:

Setting a personalized URL (PURL) for your Facebook Page

What does this mean?

Right click on your Facebook Page name and take a look at the URL or web address. Does it list your name and a series of numbers like this:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Grandmas-Pizza/107667633562

If it does, you need to set it to a proper address. It will be helpful from an SEO (search engine optimization) stand point, as well as be a more concise web address for you to promote on your print marketing materials.

It should read: www.facebook.com/GrandmasPizza

See this link to learn how to set your URL. Be aware that Facebook has recently reinstated the 25 Likes Rule for PURLS. This means that you MUST have 25 Likes (Fans) before the PURL can be set.

Additionally, your Page name does not have to match exactly with your PURL. Take a look at this Juvenile Diabetes example:

They opted for the smaller name for the PURL and in their profile banner (myJDRF), but chose the full name in the Page Title in order to take advantage of the key words: juvenile, foundation, research and diabetes as key search terms.

If you work for the biz or org of the Facebook Page, then make sure to add the link in the Info Tab of your Facebook Personal Profile. So many people don’t realize that they have inadvertently connected a hyper-link to the community page for the business or organization and not the REAL Facebook Page.

If you need help with setting your Facebook PURL and Name, please don’t hesitate to give us a call at 513-445-2180. We are always happy to assist you!

~Michelle Beckham

President & Founder of C3.Creating Connections Consulting

Check out our FREE 90 minute 1-on-1 Consulting Session & 2011 Holiday Lunch Contest HERE.

Cincinnati Area LinkedIn Training

michellebeckham — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 19:13:38 +0000

LinkedIn is a dynamic professional networking site and is used by over 120 million people around the world. Every professional and business or organization should have a profile on LinkedIn. It is much more than a repository for your resume; rather, it’s a living, breathing community that can make a difference in your business or career. The benefits of being a member of LinkedIn include making professional connections; knowledge sharing with others in your industry; discovering business-building opportunities, networking and professional training events, as well as job openings and so much more!

C3, in partnership with the Warren County Career Center in Lebanon, Ohio, will be offering two different levels of LinkedIn workshops in November. WCCC is a University System of Ohio Provider.

LinkedIn I Basics- Hands-on Lab Workshop

is for those who are new to LinkedIn or have a dormant profile and want to become active. The course covers everything you need to know to have a stellar profile plus:

Optimizing your Profile for Search Engines (SEO)
Personal branding and the critical Summary Statement
Key profile settings
The correct way to send Introductions
Maximizing the search function to find the information that you need
How to successfully obtain personal recommendations
LinkedIn Etiquette

This course will be held in our computer lab and access to a PC is included. Remember to bring your log-in information.

November 16^th: 1:30-3:30 p.m.
Cost: $99

LinkedIn II: Advanced Marketing Strategies

is an advanced class for those who have a completed LinkedIn profile and want to become proficient at leveraging all of the tools and applications that LinkedIn offers in order to build business and make strategic connections. Emphasis is on using Linkedin vs. creating a personal profile. The course also covers corporate use of LinkedIn from company profile creation to advanced search techniques for industry and business. We examine the paid membership options so you can make informed decisions about your level of membership and use of the platform.

Live demonstrations.

November 30^th: 10:00 a.m.-Noon
Cost: $69

Love to see you in one of the workshops!

Managing Online Communities

michellebeckham — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 19:54:03 +0000

Community- image credit: Michelle Beckham

Connecting with people is my passion and always has been (hence the name of my company) and it always amazes me when businesses are apprehensive about connecting with their online communities. I see this many times through the Facebook Page Marketing workshops that I teach in the Cincinnati area. Page administrators are a bit nervous to engage in conversations for fear that something may come up that they can’t handle.

A business owner in my most recent workshop asked if he should immediately delete negative comments posted to the wall of his retail company page. My immediate answer was NO! One needs to step back and think about how they would handle the situation if the patron was at their place of business. The disgruntled customer would not be ignored or dismissed; instead, store personnel would ignite customer service 101 principles and handle the situation appropriately. This is the same thing with Facebook. A negative comment is a chance to put customer service into effect and to handle the situation publicly so that others can see how you operate. Chances are the comment will have hit news feeds and the cloud before you can delete it anyway, and then you are left with a negative image that you will have to deal with later.

The exception to dealing with these types of comments in a professional and customer service oriented way is if the comments are clearly put out there by “trolls” . A troll is defined by Wikipedia as:

“..someone who posts inflammatory,^[2]extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community, such as an online discussion forum, chat room, or blog, with the primary intent of provoking readers into an emotional response^[3] or of otherwise disrupting normal on-topic discussion.”

Troll comments should be deleted and the Page admin can still make some statements to the community to explain why the action was taken. Might even be a great time to set up some community Page rules and post them in the Notes Tab in order to stay static or if your budget allows, create a custom Tab where your rules will be prominently seen under your Page Profile Pic or Banner. Coca Cola does a great job of posting their “House Rules” as a custom Tab. Take a look here. C3 makes custom tabs at reasonable prices. Check our website for more information.

The goal to having an online presence should be connecting with your customers and potential customers by creating signature experiences and opportunities for needed content that only you can provide. There certainly is a lot that goes into managing a Facebook Page and its corresponding online community, but once an administrator receives training on how to effectively market the Page and build a following, then a little advice from community managers who are rocking it out online would certainly be helpful.

I happened to stumble upon this great FREE eBook on Google+ (thanks Mike Alber for posting). It shares 60 tips from community managers across the globe that can help you to be effective with your online engagement. The eBook was created by Blaise Grimes-Viort and appeared in this blog post. Blaise states:

“If you enjoy it, please feel free to share it with someone else you think would benefit from the pearls of Community Management wisdom found within.”

So in the spirit of sharing great work, here it is (click on image or link below):

eBook created by Blaise Grimes-Viort- photo credit: Blaise Grimes-Viort

60 Insights From Experienced Community Managers

Enjoy!

Michelle Beckham-Corbin

Social Media Strategist

World of Mouth Begins With Personal Circles

michellebeckham — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 12:43:37 +0000

Small business owners do a worthy job in connecting with clients and potential customers through their marketing efforts, but where they can fall short is when their personal networks are neglected. Many people find it uncomfortable to keep their friends and family in the loop of what is occurring with their business. There is a sense that if you are already in my inner circle, you must certainly know what it is that my company does or what my role is. Unfortunately osmosis and transfer of information does not occur and very few people have clairvoyant capabilities.

Recently I have had several encounters with friends and professional colleagues, who while knowing what I do in general, really were rather clueless in terms of the full services that my company provides and the depth of my experience and background. I preach to clients constantly that we are living in a “World of Mouth” universe; it only makes sense that I practice what I preach by updating my personal network on my company capabilities. To do anything less, would be counter to what I believe and that is that peer recommendations from trusted sources are key influencers to purchase behavior.

In the spirit of sharing, please find the latest C3 Newsletter below. It contains an article that talks about the heart of C3 and our social media marketing services. I plan to have monthly Open House sessions on Google+ Hangouts for people to stop by and chat about burning social media and business questions. Stay tuned for more information!

C3 Services- Click on image for full newsletter.

Until we meet again, stay happy & healthy!

Michelle

Chief Social Media Strategist and Founder of C3: Creating Connections Consulting, LLC
Procter & Gamble Sales & Marketing Veteran (15 yrs)
Xavier University, MBA

Cincinnati Facebook Page Marketing Workshop

michellebeckham — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 13:47:49 +0000

CAN YOUR CUSTOMERS FIND YOU ON FACEBOOK?

Even if your business or organization has a Facebook Page, are you truly leveraging Facebook Marketing capabilities to create a dynamic Fan base that drives customers/clients to action? Are you on top of the many changes Facebook has made over the past few weeks that could affect your Page?

Announcing the Facebook Page Marketing for Businesses and Organizations Workshop, a hands-on computer lab class that will allow you to work with YOUR Facebook Page to learn how to fully optimize settings, create content and foster engagement as we discuss strategies that are unique for your business.

Facebook Marketing has exploded and is being used by corporate brands, small businesses and non-profits all over the world to connect with and engage their clients and customers. Gain the competitive edge by learning how to leverage this important social networking tool. Don’t just have a Page in name, have a Page that builds community and becomes a destination point for your fans!

The workshop covers the following topics:

Page Settings Optimization
Custom Landing Pages/Tabs
Building a Strategic Fan Base
Creating Winning Engagement Strategies
Content Creation & Management
Cross-Marketing via Tagging
Marketing the Page outside of Facebook
Using Facebook Ads
Understanding how to monitor & measure using analytics
October 2011 changes (Timeline, ‘People Are Talking About This’, News feed & algorithm changes)

C3 Facebook Page Customization Example

The workshop will be held on October 18th from 9:30 a.m.-Noon at the Warren County Career Center.

Laptops will be provided for the workshop and participants will receive a training manual. Group discussion surrounding strategy for each participant’s industry is also included and has been cited by previous participants as a very helpful component of the workshop.

This workshop sells out every time! Register here to grab your seat.

Hope to see you there!

Importance of Social Media Strategy for Small Business in Cincinnati

michellebeckham — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 16:31:52 +0000

Giving Keynote talk on Importance of Social Media Strategy at Berry Seminar ~photo via Berry

I recently gave a Keynote Address on the Importance of Social Media Strategy to 250 small businesses from the Cincinnati Region at Xavier University’s Cintas Center on behalf of The Berry Company. I wanted to share the gist of my talk here on the Blog. The presentation was taped, and once receive a copy from Berry, I will post that as well. It includes a Q & A session.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“We don’t have a choice on whether we DO social media, the question is how well we DO it“.

This quote from Socialnomics author and digital media expert Erik Qualman is even more telling today than when originally published in 2009. Today, Businesses realize that they need to have an online presence. Like it or not, we are living in an online world with current and future customers and clients who have grown up with this technology and for whom interacting with brands on Twitter and Facebook is just second nature.

With the advent of Social media, Small businesses are seeing a leveled playing field, where they have the ability to the same platforms as the big companies and brands. The R(e)volution has begun and the time is now for your organization to get on board with reaching your target audience where they reside: ONLINE

Social Media Platforms ~ photo via Mashable

For those of you who currently maintain a social media presence for your company, you can attest to the fact that it can seem overwhelming. There are many digital media and social networking choices for a company to use. The key is in understanding what the tools are, how they work, and how to maximize them for your business.

Stratgey This is all part of setting a distinct strategy for your online marketing efforts.

Having spent 15 years with consumer goods giant Procter & Gamble in sales and marketing roles, I can tell you that having a Branding Strategy is absolutely critical in your marketing efforts. I’d like to share an exercise that I use with my clients to ensure consistency and clarity around their brand or business’s online marketing efforts.

C3 Branding Strategy Exercise

After these questions are answered, the results are formulated into a summary statement that describes the brand. This statement becomes fodder for all Social/Digital platforms that are used ensuring a constant message and image is being shared across all channels no matter where a potential customer may find you online.

Having a social media presence goes well beyond just setting up the various platforms. Social Media is much, much more. It includes the following critical elements:

Key Tenets to Social Media Success by Michelle Beckham of C3

Creating Signature Experiences- providing an online experience that is memorable, fitting to your brand, and brings the customer back to you
Creating Needed Content- we are no longer living in a Broadcast state, nor one with static information- instead a successful brand will provide content that is Needed by consumers. Don’t know what that is? Just ask them!
Conversations- It’s all about the dialogue and sharing of information between the brand and the consumer. We are no longer living in a Word of Mouth society, but are permanent residents in the new World of Mouth universe.
Engagement- Consists of providing content that sparks some touch. Whether it’s a comment, a Like, a Re-Tweet, or a +1 on Google Plus. When the consumer takes action, that touch has a ripple affect seeping into their own social graph and spreading news of your brand throughout their network.
Relationships- This is what is achieved by implementing focused content and engagement strategies and being fully present on the platform. The worst thing any business can do is, set up the Open Sign and be permanently out to lunch.

When we take a look at how some national and local businesses are winning in the market place in these key areas, we find a variety of tools that you can implement as well. They include examples from (see video to hear about the specifics for each example):

Red Bull, Ford Mustang, Dunkin Donuts, Coco-Cola, Chick-Fil-A- Western Hills, It’s Working Out Suspension Training, Cincinnati, Ben & Jerry’s, P&G’s Old Spice Brand, Shane Gibson, owner of a Canadian Social Media Agency and author of Guerilla Social Media Marketing.

The key to an effective social media strategy is crafting a plan that integrates best practices with a mission and vision for each platform.

The first step on this journey is to become educated on Social Media, even if someone else in your organization will be ultimately responsible for managing your online real estate. Social Media is a constantly changing landscape and it pays off to stay informed.

Know your audience and where they reside, this will help you to determine the best platform(s) to reach your consumers. Knowing the correct number of platforms to be engaged in can seem overwhelming, having a strategist assist you in the process can be well worth the expense. I love social media marketing executive and author Brian Solis’s response to the perennial question: How many social media profiles should a brand have?”:

“The answer is as simple as it is revealing. Create the number of channels that meaningfully extend the focus of your business… and relevant stories to the dedicated audience they’re designed to serve. Additionally, only create the number of channels that strengthen the brand rather than dilute it and also possess the capacity to ensure its ongoing relevance.”

Here is a plan I have put together for the Small Business Sector:

Create a Plan that integrates with your off-line marketing and advertising programs
Determine In-house or Agency management based on skill base, time and/or budget
Set Goals & Objectives
Create Content Plan for each Platform- Be mindful of language and timing (day/part)
Create Engagement Strategies for each Platform
Connect all Platforms & Cross Market
Monitor the Platforms – Be an Active Listener & Be Responsive
Use Analytics to Measure & Make Changes

Lafley Quote Slide via Dave Knox- HardKnoxLife.com

~ A.G. Lafley, former CEO of Procter & Gamble

Letting go includes the art of listening. Brands need to create a reputation management program to stay on top of the conversations that are occurring about them; whether they happen on brand-sponsored sites or on someone’s personal blog. Addressing any unpleasant information directly and in a customer-service focused way will show that you are active and responsive to feedback. Remember the old adage: What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas? Well, what happens in Vegas now stays on Facebook and Twitter and LinkedIn and Blogs and….. you get the point. We are truly living in a ‘World of Mouth’ universe.

In Conclusion here are 6 Steps to Social Media For Business Success:

Be Consistent
Be Authentic- speak in a voice true to the brand
Be Consumer-focused
Be BOLD- this is an evolving playground- jump in and try some things!
Measure, Measure, Measure- if you don’t have an indication of where you have come from, how can you move forward?
Reputation Management: Be on top of your Brand.

We have certainly have come a long way from simply creating a social media presence. Winning in today’s market place involves real interaction with the consumer in a dynamic back and forth conversation that brings value to both parties. Metrics are key and measuring results vs. objectives should be an inherent part of the plan. We must remember however, that success is not in sheer numbers of Fans , Followers or Friends; success should be measured in terms of influence and the number of brand evangelists that have emerged in support of your efforts. Better to have 500 followers singing your praises then 5000 who don’t interact with your brand in any way.

I wish you all good luck. Enter the Digital Space Boldly!

Facebook Page Marketing w/ Google+ Bonus

michellebeckham — Sat, 13 Aug 2011 00:22:38 +0000

Can Your Customer’s Find YOU on Facebook?

C3: Creating Connections Consulting, LLC Facebook Page -Mobile

Even if you have a Facebook Page, are you truly leveraging Facebook marketing capabilities to create a dynamic Fan base that drives customers/clients to action?

Announcing the Facebook Page Marketing for Businesses and Organizations Workshop, a hands-on computer lab class that will allow you to work with your own Facebook Page as we discuss strategies that are unique for your industry at the state-of-the-art computer lab at The METS Center for Corporate Learning in Northern Kentucky.

The class will be held on Tuesday, August 30th from 8:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. with a FREE Bonus Introductory Session on the latest social networking craze: Google+ from 11:00-11:30 a.m.

This class will be limited in size to maximize the hands-on learning and discussion among the group. We will cover the following topics:

Page Settings Optimization
Administrator Capabilities
Custom Landing Pages/Tabs
Building a Strategic Fan Base
Creating Engagement Strategies
Creating Winning Content Strategy
Tagging for Cross-Marketing
Messaging Fans
Marketing the Page
Page Analytics

Click here for more information and to register for this class. Previous C3 workshops on Facebook Marketing have sold out. Don’t wait, register now and save $20 with the early bird discount while seats are available.

Hope to see you in the Facebook Marketing Class. Where else can you go to actively learn how to leverage your company or brand Facebook Page?

Can’t make this class, see the C3 Website for a list of Social Media for Business classes for the remainder of 2011. I will also be speaking to local businesses at The Secrets to Small and Medium Business Growth Seminar hosted by The Berry Company, publisher of the Cincinnati Bell Yellow Pages. This is a wonderful free event for businesses to come and learn more about how digital media can help you connect with customers and grow your business.

Details: 8/18 from 7:30-9:30 a.m. at the Cintas Center-Xavier University. Click here for more information.

Confession of a Newly Minted Google+ Addict

michellebeckham — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 14:42:41 +0000

My name is Michelle Beckham and I’m a Google+ Addict…..Seriously, I feel like an explanation is in order. Since I cleared the Google+ Invite-only list less than two weeks ago, I have submerged myself on a journey of discovery of this new social media application. I have been swimming in the beta test waters with other high end, social media savvy early adopters and I am loving every minute of it!

Google+ Welcome Screen

Google+ has now become the first thing I look at in the morning vs. Email followed by Facebook. Having the Android App on my Motorola Droid also helps to fuel my 24/7 ( ok, I do sleep occasionally…..) addiction. iPhone users just received the app this week, giving Android users a bit of a leg up initially.

These are the reasons why I am waxing poetic about Plus:

Gives me the ability to use Circles to group people for targeted content
Allows me to connect with ANYONE similar to the Follow concept on Twitter
Allows for in-depth discussion within the comments section similar to the wonderful dialogue that occurs in LinkedIn Groups like Authentic Leadership Cincinnati and Facebook Groups, like Cincinnati Social Media
Allows for video conferencing with anyone online and willing to chat with you. These spaces are known as Hangouts.
Allows me to control my photos/albums more closely
Gives me the ability to keep those “back yard bbq conversations” that occur on Facebook with close friends and family separate from business colleagues, clients or others that just don’t need to be connected in a “Friends of Friends” way to your family or kids.

The downside is that since I am such an information junkie, I think I could swim in this sea all day long, just soaking up the content and the conversations. I want to reign myself in, but the competitive side in me wants to master as much as I can before the dyke is opened and the world gains entry.

I have applied to be a business beta tester for C3: Creating Connections Consulting and think that Google + will have huge implications for how companies/brands interact via this platform. While Google is asking that businesses hold off on creating a Google Profile, some have jumped into the ocean already: Huffington Post, Mashable, CBS News, to name a few.

Some folks looking for an internet buck to be made, have set up businesses selling lists of Google+ users for $10 bucks a pop. I guess it beats the lemonade stand at the end of the driveway…….

I have a few invitations left, so if you are curious and want to join ahead of the fray, just post your email addy in the comments section below and I will get you started on a whole new way of sharing.

Oh, and I would LOVE to connect with you on Plus. Just follow the link to find my new hide-out!

Crossing the US Border in Search of Al Gore….

michellebeckham — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 14:09:07 +0000

Looks like I have been AWOL from this space. While this is true, I must confess that I took a much needed vacation to Canada and Seattle and completely unplugged for the most part. Now please don’t think that I was being altruistic in my departure from the online world; it was quite the opposite. I simply did not have the access during the day and my sightseeing, shopping, dining, etc rendered a return to the hotel late at night. Try battling 2 teenagers and a husband for laptop time and you see how my version of being unplugged really came about!

Totem Pole on Victoria Island, BC via Michelle Beckham

What this experience taught me, is that I have quickly absorbed the information era and was somewhat at a loss when I couldn’t get access to the knowledge that I needed from the veritable search engine Google (or Bing, Yahoo, etc. for that matter…). Trying to determine a trendy spot for dinner, I longed for my Yelp app with real life patron reviews. Lost in downtown Seattle, I wanted my android GPS app to get me back to the Space Needle. Observing the many homeless actively in our faces demanding money, I wanted to search “homeless in Seattle” to see what was going on with city regulations and how they were addressing the problem. But alas…..I could do none of these things.

Dim Sum in China Town on Victoria Island, BC via Michelle Beckham

The saving grace is that I am old enough to remember how to maneuver through all of these needs in the “old-fashioned” way from the time before Al Gore invented the “you know what”! The sad thing is that today’s teens and young adults probably have no clue……

Crossing the Border Back Into the Digital World via Michelle Beckham