Archives January 2014

Ever wonder how the heck you can respond as a business owner to comments people post on your Facebook business page?  I get it!  So many things to remember.  Let me help….

Allowing people to comment on your Business page creates a welcome feeling for fans.

As the page admin, Facebook allows you to reply as well as tag your fans to get their attention. This starts a thread of conversation and creates valuable engagement.

Watch this video quick video to know how to reply to posts on your Facebook page:

1. Go to Edit page – Edit Settings.

2. Go to Settings.

3. Scroll down the list till you see “Replies”. Click Edit.

4. Check to see if comment/replies are turned ON for your page.
If not, you’ll want to check the box and then, Click Save Changes.

As a bonus, I created a few tips on how to improve your conversation and interaction skills on your Page:

• Create a positive, FUN, and respectful environment by commenting yourself in a professional manner.
• Be helpful by offering additional info such as including a link to useful or relevant information.
• If your business actually made a mistake or one of your employees didn’t treat a customer respectfully, first, apologize.  You can do this first and then try to correct the situation by offering  a free service or product after the apology.
• Keep the thread topic focused on the content posted.
• Tag only the fans involved in the thread conversation, avoid unnecessary tagging of other people.
• Create basic rules on comments made by spammers or bashers. This will make it easier for you to keep them at bay.

Hope this helps.

Do you run a charity or have a goal to launch a charity soon?   Then you are going to love this new feature from Facebook that allows you to collect money through donations directly from your Facebook page!!  Wow, cool stuff, huh?!

Facebook introduces the Donate Button for non-profit pages. The company first tested this new feature in November through Red Cross after the Typhoon Haiyan disaster in the Philippines. Though Facebook’s representatives did not mention the actual amount raised from the campaign, the feature allowed users to donate through a notification found right on the top of their News Feeds.

Right now, 19 non-profit organizations have signed-up as launch partners, including DonorsChoose.org, Boys And Girls Club Of America, World Wildlife Fund, UNICEF, Red Cross, and Kiva. These groups have the Donate Button show up on the top of their Facebook Pages and at the bottom of their News Feed posts. After some tweaks more, Facebook will allow other non-profits to use the feature by simply signing up here. Upon clicking the button, users will be allowed to donate through credit card or Paypal.

Steps

1. If you don’t have a Facebook page yet, you’ll need to create one.  Refer to this previous blog post on how to create a Facebook Page. Make sure to select The “Cause or Community” or “Company, Organization or Institution” pages as a charity fan page.

* If you need to assign team members as page administrators, you can add them as you set up the page or do it later.

2. Find the Donate Button Application by First Giving. On the top menu, click “Create Button”

3. Type in the name of your charity or organization. Results will pop up below the text box. Click on your charity name when it appears on the list.

4. Install the app on your Facebook Page. Choose the page you have created to install the donation button “Install on Fan Page” button to the right of your page’s profile picture.

5. Click “Add Donation Button Creator” . A popup notification will appear and ask permission so the app can access your page. This will add the app to your page.

6. You should be able to find the Donate app next to“Photos”

7. To edit the button setting, click on the “Donate” button. As administrator, you should be directed to the page where you can “Edit Donate Settings”. You can now use the button to change the charity or other settings of the donation such as change the verbiage to “Support Our Cause” rather than “Donate”

With this new feature, users will no longer have to go outside of the Facebook platform to donate to your charity. A pop-out window will appear on Facebook and will make the donation process Easy as 1-2-3!

Here’s what it will look like when you’re all done…

Donors can choose how much to give and can enter payment details or just use the ones already saved on Facebook. The easy pop-out guarantees you’re charity will boost conversion rates and raise more funds for projects in need.

Now go raise some money for your cause and let me know in the comments below what charity YOU are passionate about – I’d love to hear

Are you a local business?  Do you have a brick and mortar store?  Then you’ll definitely want to keep reading!!

Check-ins is a Facebook mobile feature which allows users to discover and share their favorite locations to friends. This feature is great if you have a physical location and you want your shop to be talk of the town. It’s also a great way to get your store noticed by people who might have not otherwise known you had a retail location.

You can best utilize Facebook checkins by doing this:

First: To allow people to check in at your Business Page, you will need to select Local Business as page category. Then add a business address on the Page settings. If the page has already been created, you can still change the page category.

1. From the top of your Page, click Edit Page and Select Update Page Info
2. Edit Category
3. Select Local Businesses from the first dropdown menu, then select a more specific category (ex: Restaurant/Cafe) from the second dropdown menu.
4. Click Save Changes

Second: Edit your business address to your Page:

1. At the top of your Page, click Edit Page and select Update Page Info

2. Edit Address

3. Enter your business address then check the box next to Show this map on your Page

4. Click Save Changes

Third: People can also check in at Pages with locations they are into. Even if you’ve never made a Page for your business; people may still be able to check in by creating a new location. If you happen to see duplicate Pages regarding your business, it is because people has added your location so they can check in. To fix this, you as an administrator can claim and merge the duplicates, by making your page as an Official Page. Click here to learn how…

Checking in is just one of the cool Facebook features you can use if you have a local business. There are also Facebook Reviews, Facebook Offers, and Facebook Promotions that you can use to get your store noticed.