Where did all the Facebook Page Fans go?

84% of your Facebook Fans Won’t See Your Page Posts

Facebook made a major move to increase revenue recently with Promoted Posts (not the same as a Facebook ad).  If you have a Facebook Page for your business, you may have noticed that your Page stats (number of new fans, reach and frequency, etc) have been edging southward.  For example, a typical Page post might have garnered a couple of hundred views on a fan base of 800 with a moderately engaged audience and above-average content several months ago.  That same Page is seeing reach numbers in the double digits (i.e. 63 views).

I just completed a Facebook Page Promoted Posts test in which I updated the same post about an upcoming C3 LinkedIn Training class as a regular post and as a Promoted post. I found a major difference in organic and viral reach with the paid post (much higher!).  In fact, the Promoted Post (a mere $5 outlay) brought in 851% more total views than the non-promoted post with identical content.  I had zero viral reach for the non-promoted post, only organic (original) Page fans, while the Promoted post had several hundred viral viewers.  (Check this out for information on the difference between organic, viral and paid reach.)  Post analytics will also point out how many of the views were paid views.  It’s interesting that my organic views (original fans) were much higher than the non-promoted organic views for the post, emphasizing the point that Facebook adjusted the Edgerank algorithm to allow more of my current fan base to see the post in their news feed as when the post was not promoted.

It’s really too bad that Page owners won’t be able to use Edgerank to drive frequency and reach with engaging content as they could prior to FB’s current quest to drive monetization.

I think this will have a huge effect on small businesses. Every business, regardless of size, will need to set aside part of their marketing budget to allocate to Facebook advertising or risk having only 16% of their user base see posts shared by the Page.

If this sounds like Farsi to you, then perhaps a Facebook Page Marketing consult should be in your future.  We are happy to get your business/organization up to speed on the recent changes to Facebook Page Marketing.  Just contact us here.

Yours in social,

Michelle Beckham-Corbin

President of C3. Creating Connections Consulting, LLC

C3 Facebook Page

www.CreatingConnectionsConsulting.com

Instagram Eye Candy Becomes Addictive

Instgram collection of Michelle Beckham- Vanderbilt University outside of Admissions

Instagram:   I’m becoming addicted to this rapidly growing social media application.  The makers of this free iPhone and Android app describe their product as:

“It’s a fast, beautiful and fun way to share your photos with friends and family.

Snap a picture, choose a filter to transform its look and feel, then post to Instagram. Share to Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr too – it’s as easy as pie.  It’s photo sharing, reinvented.”

I love the ability to see patterns, design, color, meaning out in the world and to capture it and interpret it through my own lens of experience.  The ability to change hues, or emphasize certain areas of the photo puts the creative process in my hands.  Additionally, the ability to add my thoughts, feelings, descriptors in the form of text enhances the experience for those who happen upon my work.

The use of hash-tags widens the audience to the entire world.  I love this aspect the most, as while I’m flattered that people take the time to like my photo, comment or even follow me, I truly appreciate the ability to do the same for them.

If my world consists of living in a mid-sized city in the middle of the mid-west, then the images that I see on a daily basis reflect that world. To know that someone in China or Kuwait or India is capturing their daily lives as well for me to take in and enjoy, is the truly glorious gift. It makes the world so much smaller.  As human beings we all share the same basic needs, desires and love for beauty.  Who wouldn’t want to look at a captivating photo for daily inspiration? Imagine what kind of effect this would have on your day….

Want to know more about Instagram functionality and filters?

Cheat Sheet Info-graphic (everything you need to know to run with Instagram)

Beginners’ Guide by Mashable

Here are links to Instagram viewing clients:

Webstagram

Statigram

And finally, some of my images below.  Be sure to to follow me on Instagram at MichelleBeckham.  See you there!

www.CreatingConnectionsConsulting.com

 

Instagram collection of Michelle Beckham- Daily Walk 2012

Instagram collection of Michelle Beckham- Renaissance Festival 2012

Instagram collection of Michelle Beckham- Chicago Navy Pier 2012

TEDxXavierUniversity 2012

TEDxXavierUniversity

MC Intro for today’s TEDxXavier University Event:

I’m very excited to be here this afternoon for a number of reasons. First, I truly believe in today’s theme of touching the hearts and minds of others through innovation, service and leadership and passionately making a difference in the world. Secondly, it is my sincere privilege to be back on campus as a double Xavier alum and passionate supporter of the University. It was here as a pre-med and psychology undergrad that I first learned the Jesuit ideals of leadership, the pursuit of excellence and commitment to service that would later define my career at Procter & Gamble, my work with community organizations and my path to entrepreneurship with the founding of a local social media marketing consulting firm.

Take a moment to look around at the people sitting to your left and right. You all have the ability to inspire change. We organized this event because we know that YOU are the key to positive change and making a difference. This event is about all of you seated here. You have the ability to touch the hearts and minds of others. We are inspired by you and what WE can collectively accomplish as a result of this event.

 To help share the learning and exchange of ideas today, please use the hashtag #TEDxXavierU while tweeting and for tagging photos on Flickr or video uploads to YouTube. Part of the fun with TED is sharing your ideas in real time and we encourage you to tweet from your smart phones and iPads during the talks.

1 Day

9 Speakers

400 Seeds for Change Planted

LET’S GET THE PARTY STARTED!

*****************************************

Radio interview of me speaking with WNKU reporter Cheri Lawson about the event, which is the first TEDx Event ever to be 100% student-initiated and student-led. Listen to Interview.

I have been so impressed with the leadership team of Lyden Foust, Michael Farwell, Nick Turon and Sean Kallmeyer.  They have bright futures ahead!

Student Leadership Team for TEDxXavierUniversity- 2012. Photo via Nick Turon on TEDxXavierUniversity Facebook age

Cincinnati Social Media Marketing Training w/ C3

Upcoming opportunities for social media marketing education:

All courses taught by Michelle Beckham-Corbin.

Michelle Beckham-Corbin, President & Chief Digital Marketing Strategist of C3: Creating Connections Consulting, LLC has over 20 years experience in the Corporate, Non-profit and Small Business sectors.  Michelle is a former Sales & Marketing Manager for Procter & Gamble and holds an MBA from Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio.  Michelle specializes in Social Media Marketing Strategy and Brand Development.  She is a Board Trustee for the non-profit group Authentic Leadership Cincinnati and is the Social Media for Business Curriculum Creator and Instructor at the Warren County Career Center, a University System of Ohio Provider. She is a member of the Steering Committee for the digital networking group, New Media Cincinnati and is an active member of the Cincinnati Social Media (CincySM) Group. Michelle is a frequent speaker, lecturer and trainer.  Additionally, she is a published writer, co-author of Social Media book, Age of Conversation 3 (Channel V Books, New York, 2010), frequent commentator and Blogger. She brings great energy and passion as well as a keen ability to deeply connect with people in order to create business building social media opportunities for her clients.

April 16^th:  Surviving in an Online World: Reputation Management for Teens

Location: Forest Hills School District:  Anderson High School (closed to the public)

April 17^th:  Social Media Trends Rocking 2012

Noon-1:00 p.m.

Location:  Anderson Area Chamber of Commerce Marketing Roundtable

Register here: http://bit.ly/HC3B1e

April 18^th: LinkedIn Training

1:00-4:00 p.m.

Location:  Warren County Career Center

Register here:  http://www.mywccc.org/SocialMediaWorkshops.aspx

April 19^th:  Introduction to Social Media Marketing

9:00-11:00 a.m.

Location:  Deerfield Township Trustee Meeting Room, Mason

Register here: http://c3introsocialmedia.eventbrite.com/

April 23^rd:  LinkedIn 101 for Women

1:00-2:30 p.m.

Location:  C3 HQ, Anderson Township

Register here:  http://creatingconnectionsconsulting.com/social-media-training-classesmichelle-beckham/social-media-classes-linkedin-michellebeckham/

April 25^th:  Facebook Page Timeline Marketing

9:00-11:00 a.m.

Location:  Warren County Career Center

Register here:  http://www.mywccc.org/SocialMediaWorkshops.aspx

April 26^th:  TEDx- Xavier University

1:00 p.m.-6:00 p.m.

Location:  Cintas Center, Xavier University

Register here:  http://www.xavier.edu/williams/tedx/rsvp.cfm

Tony Robbins TED Talk: “Why We Do What We Do and How We Can Do It Better”

April 26^th: Living in an Online World: Internet Safety for Kids

7:00-8:30 p.m.

Callahan & Associates at Stir

Available to Callahan clients only

April 30^th:  Facebook Page Timeline Marketing

9:00-11:00 a.m.

Location:  Deerfield Township Trustee Meeting Room, Mason

Register here:  http://c3faceook4arts.eventbrite.com/

May 8^th:  Digital Branding & Job Search

12:30-2:00 p.m.

Location:  University of Cincinnati- Clermont

Open to UC students only

May 10th: Advanced LinkedIn Marketing Strategies

9:00 a.m.-noon

Location:  Warren County Career Center

Register here:  http://www.mywccc.org/SocialMediaWorkshops.aspx

May 16^th:  Google and Search Engine Optimization

9:00-11:00 a.m.

Location:  Warren County Career Center

Register here:  http://www.mywccc.org/SocialMediaWorkshops.aspx

May 16^th:  Marketing with Pinterest

1:30-3:30 p.m.

Location: Deerfield Township Trustee Meeting Room

Register here:  http://c3pinterest.eventbrite.com/

May 23rd: Advanced Facebook Page Marketing

9:00 a.m.-noon

Location:  Deerfield Township Trustee Meeting Room, Mason

Register here:  http://advfacebookmarketing.eventbrite.com/

Contact us with any questions:  info@CreatingConnectionsConsulting.com OR  513-445-2180

Cincinnati Social Media: LinkedIn LabTraining

Cincinnati Social Media Workshop Series with Michelle Beckham

Announcing: LinkedIn Basics Lab Class on Wednesday, 4/18/12  from 1:00-4:00 p.m. at the Warren County Career Center in Lebanon, Ohio. LinkedIn is a professional networking site with over 140 million members around the world.

This lab workshop is for those who are new to LinkedIn or who have not been active with the platform. During the workshop participants will learn:

`Overview of LinkedIn & Role in Social Networking
`How to Set Up an Account Correctly
`Personal Branding Exercise
`How to Create a Winning Summary Statement
`How to Optimize Your Profile for Search Engines
`How to Find Contacts
`The Correct way to Send Introduction
`The Importance of the Status Update
`How to Find Key Groups
`How to Actively Participate in Groups
`How to Get Recommendations and Why This is Important
`How to Search Key Company Info for Contacts, Corporate Data, Hiring Managers,  Jobs
`How to Promote yourself and your business
Understanding Premium Accounts and knowing when to use them

Each participant receives a Training Guide with Key Steps

To register, visit http://www.mywccc.org/SocialMediaWorkshops.aspx
or call the WCCC at  513-932-8145

The Warren County Career Center is located at:
3525 North State Route 48 Lebanon, Ohio 45036

About Program Facilitator Michelle Beckham-Corbin:

Michelle Beckham-Corbin, President & Chief Digital Marketing Strategist of C3: Creating Connections Consulting, LLC has over 20 years experience in the Corporate, Non-profit and Small Business sectors.  Michelle is a former Sales & Marketing Manager for Procter & Gamble and holds an MBA from Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio.  Michelle specializes in Social Media Marketing Strategy and Brand Development.  She is a Board Trustee for the non-profit group Authentic Leadership Cincinnati and is the Social Media for Business Curriculum Creator and Instructor at the Warren County Career Center, a University System of Ohio Provider. She is a member of the Steering Committee for the digital networking group, New Media Cincinnati and is an active member of the Cincinnati Social Media (CincySM) Group. Michelle is a frequent speaker, lecturer and trainer.  Additionally, she is a published writer, co-author of Social Media book, Age of Conversation 3 (Channel V Books, New York, 2010), frequent commentator and Blogger. She brings great energy and passion as well as a keen ability to deeply connect with people in order to create business building social media opportunities for her clients. (http://creatingconnectionsconsulting.com/)

Social Networking: What is Your Privacy Worth? One Cincinnati Facebook Father Finds Out

Slide from C3 Online Safety Seminar Cincinnati

I am appalled at the recent attacks on our privacy rights. From the Cincinnati divorced dad who spoke out against his wife’s actions on Facebook in “Friends” mode with the ex blocked from seeing any of his Facebook actions and was later court-ordered to publicly apologize for a month on his Wall or go to jail to the recent reports of companies who are requiring recruits to hand over their social network logins and passwords.  As many know, I am a huge proponent for reputation management and teaching social networking users that anything they put out there may become fodder for the world despite iron clad privacy settings. Despite having squeaky clean content, I believe that NO ONE has the right to demand or seize access to my content without my permission.

A company doesn’t have the right to look at the portions of my Facebook profile that are not accessible via public view.  They should not have access to photos of my children, family relationships, statements on my Wall made by  friends or family members or my “private” thoughts.  I listened to Mark Byron, who will probably go down in history as  “The Facebook Dad”, being interviewed on WLW radio yesterday as he shared the full story of what transpired in his case.  You can read his story here.  Mark concludes the interview by stating that in his estimation, the issue is that the magistrate handling the case lacked an understanding of just how Facebook works.

My company, C3. Creating Connections Consulting, LLC  provides social media training for area businesses and organizations, and I intimately know the inner workings of social networking sites like Facebook.  It is because of this professional knowledge, that I have created reputation management and social networking safety programs for area colleges, high schools and parenting groups.  What I have found over the years, is that many people do not have a full understanding of how these platforms work, how to adjust privacy settings or even that some of the applications that they integrate into their social networking site (i.e Farmville, Zynga games, contests, etc.) retain access to their private information regardless of their privacy settings.

Slide from C3 Online Safety/Reputation Management Seminar Cincinnati

Facebook changes constantly and at times seemingly on a whim.  This makes it very difficult for the passive user or even the non-user who has responsibility for those who do (parents, teachers, etc.) to keep up with potential changes that might open up personal profile information to the public.  We are not living in a world where once something has been downloaded, installed, or added to our devices we can sit back and assume that it will remain the same.  We need to check for changes on a regular basis (I suggest monthly) and read the TOS (Terms of Service) agreement like we are studying for our driver’s exam.

Both of these cases/stories have huge implications for privacy protection and freedom of speech in the United States.

What do you think?

 

Breaking Social Media News You Can Use

Created for the 3/10/12 New Media Cincinnati Second Saturday Google+ Discussion

This week in the world of digital:

Pinterest

Pinterest creates controversy with their TOS causing many creatives like photographers to leave the platform. Read more here.

Facebook

Facebook announced at FMC12 that Timeline will be automatically activated on 3/30/12 for  Pages.  This surprise timing move is causing companies to revamp their Pages and applications to fit the new specs.  Timeline will allow for new ways to market Pages and include a host of changes that admin need to be aware of.  Excellent article by Social Media Examiner discussing key things you need to know to market with Timeline here.

SXSW Interactive Conference:

South by Southwest (SXSW) is the annual music, film, and interactive conference and festival held in Austin, Texas. Historically, start-up companies have used SXSW to either launch their apps or services or gain exposure to a wider audience.  Notable start-ups coming out of SXSW include Twitter and Foursquare.  Follow mRank Leaderboard to see which companies are generating buzz at the conference.  Read full article here.

Explaining Pinterest to the Uninitiated: by Mackenzie Corbin, Guest Blogger

Guest Blog:

What is Pinterest?

Mackenzie's Pinterest

Pinterest is an online pinboard that allows people to organize collections of pictures by their respective categories. The three main concepts on Pinterest are repinning, liking, and commenting.  When you repin a picture from another user’s pictures, it goes onto your own boards. The point of Pinterest is to have many different boards in all different categories, for example one might have a board for all fashion and clothes pictures, or a board of beautifully photographed flowers. Then, when you click on a picture on the dashboard of Pinterest it allows you to repin it. Simply click on the board you would like the pin to go onto! You can also name each of your categorized boards, for example a wedding planner might have multiple boards all under the category of wedding, but one would be for dresses, one for food, and one for décor.

To actually obtain these pictures to repin you must follow other users of Pinterest. When you create an account (after being sent an invite by a previous user or being on the waiting list from the company) Pinterest automatically connects your account with your Facebook friends who use Pinterest or with other famous users who have boards that mirror your interests. This easy set up allows you to start pinning right away! Another way of posting pictures is by downloading the pinterest toolbar button which installs on your internet browser. It allows a user to click on the button when they see a picture of anything they like on any website and capture the image and upload it on their boards. Finally, to post original work users can simply upload their own pictures from their desktops.

Example of a Public Pinterest Board

Who uses it?

People from high school-aged to those in the work force use Pinterest in different ways. Teenagers can use the online bulletin boards to have collections of perhaps possible furniture to put in their college dorms to maximize space, or a board of inspirational quotes to start out their day, or a board of yummy recipes to try out. People in the business world can use Pinterest to actually sell their products! This is an efficient way to make their brand known because the more repins on their pictures, the more “SEO (search engine optimization) juice” they get on Pinterest which allows more people to see their product. Repins always link back to the original person who uploaded the picture. Interior designers can use Pinterest to see how different color schemes work in different rooms with furniture, or architectures can lay out all their floor plans.

Pinterest is a great way to visually promote businesses as well as being a fun and unique way of blogging for those interested in photography.

Feel free to check out my Pinterest here!

By Mackenzie Corbin

Mackenzie is a Sophomore Honors student at St. Ursula Academy in Cincinnati, Ohio. She enjoys writing, theater, volunteering for social justice causes and plays Field Hockey and Lacrosse for the St. Ursula Bulldogs.  She plans on majoring in Bio-Medical Engineering in college.

Mackenzie Corbin

New!! Custom Tagging on Facebook

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

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:  http://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.