• Top Stories/New Stories/Recent Stories - The most noticeable change is the update to the home page news feed.  Essentially, Facebook has updated how users get updates on their friends.  Now, at the top of your home page you will see

Top Stories

These are stories which Facebook believes you will find important.  They are highlighted with a blue tag in the upper left corner and prioritized at the top of the homescreen.

Recent Stories

These are the most recent updates from your friends.  They update over time and expand to reveal full content.

New Stories

These are real time posts that are numbered above top stories.  You have the option to click and expand this box to see recent posts.

Users can control which posts are top stories and what kind of stories they want to see from individuals and business by clicking in the upper right hand corner of posts.

• Lists

Facebook has created lists which automatically place friends in categories based on work, education, family categories, etc.  When users click on one of the lists it displays updates from those in these categories.  You can add people to this list merge categories or refine the category by clicking on manage list in the upper right hand corner of the screen.

• User Control Over Posts

Simply by clicking in the top right corner of posts, users now have more control over who they want to see in their newsfeed and what type of posts they like to see.

• Recent Posts Ticker

Recent activity now appears in real time above Facebook chat.

• Subscribe

Users can now subscribe to anyone’s public posts.  A subscribe button has been added to users profiles so that those who are interested can follow what they are saying without sending a friend request.

BUSINESS TAKEAWAY

Timing is even more important! These new changes favor recent posts as well as quality content when determining whether or not your updates will appear in your customers feed.  Be sure to consider peak timing when posting updates.

Users have more control; it is now even more likely that users will ignore or remove business pages whose posts do not interest them.   Keep quality content and avoid repetitive or dull information.

Subscriptions are great for individuals whose business involves their personal brand.  Instead of dealing with the awkwardness of rejecting a friend request or the stress that comes from maintaining strict professionalism when using personal profiles, the subscribe option allows for an easy divide between the personal and professional.

For more information on facebook, conversion optimization, and social media marketing “like” Diamond Website Conversion on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

If you operate a brick and mortar business, there is a good chance your company may already be listed on the site.

How It Works:
When Foursquare users visit a location, they are able to pull up the app and “check in”.  This sends an update to their Foursquare friends about their location.  Visitors are able to see in real-time who is at a location enabling them to find and meet up with their friends.  They can also post these check-ins to Twitter and Facebook.   Users are also able to see tips, reviews, photos, and other information left by previous visitors.

Promoting Your Business
A large incentive given to users to check-in, is discounts and specials offered by businesses.  Foursquare shows users all of the specials offered by businesses within 10 miles of their current location.   These specials are chosen and posted by businesses who have claimed their location on the site.  Here are a few examples of different types of specials one can offer foursquare users as described by Foursquare.com:

• Friends Special: “ You set the minimum threshold for a group of friends you’d like to reward for visiting your business together, and the Special is only redeemed if that many friends check in (based on a user’s foursquare friends)”
• Flash Special: “Just like a flash sale, this Special runs out. Set the number of Specials you want to unlock per day and it’s first-come, first-serve. After that, no more Specials for the day.”

Mayor Special: “The foursquare Mayor is the most frequent visitor to your venue over the past 60 days. This is a way to reward your best customer, while stoking competition for the prize.”

Monitoring Your Listing
Even if you don’t plan on taking advantage of Foursquare promotions, it is very important to make sure you’re listed on the site and listed accurately.  Claim your venue or add your location and check back to see what your customers have to say about your business.  The foursquare platform can reveal some great insights into what customers like and dislike about your company.

For more information on foursquare, conversion optimization, and social media marketing “like” Diamond Website Conversion on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.

1. Participate in the Blogging Community
A great way to get more readers is to participate in blogging communities.  Find blogs related to your industry and comment on posts; many bloggers will also allow you to leave a link back to your own blog.  Make sure you are adding value to the conversation and not just leaving spam links.

Image: © Mike Licht | Flickr Creative Commons

2. Use images!
The first thing people see when they look at your post is the image you’ve included.  Make sure your blog is visually compelling.  Flickr has a great advanced search which enables users to search for images with a creative commons license.  You can also purchase photos or include your own!

3. Write a catchy headline
The second thing people look at when deciding whether or not to read your post is the headline.  Make it catchy and interesting to draw readers in!  Any topic can be made to sound intriguing with a great headline.  For example, “7 Amazing Tactics To Kill Your Home’s Scariest Energy Suckers”  will probably draw in more clicks than “A Discussion of Energy Consumption Reduction”

4. Facebook connect
Facebook has created a great tool to easily engage with readers through Facebook.  Facebook Connect allows your followers to comment on the blog through their Facebook account.  This comment will appear on their wall and provide a link back to the post.  A great way to draw in traffic!  Check out Mashable.com’s walkthrough on how to add this feature to your website: here.

Image: © Mike Licht | Flickr Creative Commons

5. Use posts to respond to your readers
Blog posts can be used to answer questions or elaborate on discussions generated by readers.  This can be a great tactic to engage with your readers, create content, and build value with your clients.

Does your small business have a blog? How have you gotten traffic to it?  For more information on blogging, conversion optimization, and social media marketing “like” Diamond Website Conversion on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.

Does your facebook page make an impactful first impression?  Be aware that this initial impression is extremely important; Jeff Widman of BrandGlue found that 88 percent of Facebook members never return to a page after their initial visit.  The lesson here is, just like your website, you need to work on landing page optimization for your facebook page.  Use these tips to focus on conversion optimization and get the most out of facebook.

One of the best ways to draw in likes is to create a fan gate page.  This is a tab that reveals one kind of content to visitors who are not fans of the page and a different set of content to those who are already fans.  Users who like your page will have access to unique content, special promotions, engagement, etc. they otherwise would not.

Below is an example from Kodak.  Once users have liked the page, they are taken to a new tab to enter an exclusive contest for Facebook fans.

To get started on your own facebook landing page, begin with bright colors and make it clear what actions you want your customers to take.  First, you want users to like your page, so be sure to highlight this with a call to action button.  Here is an excellent example from Mashable:

Second, make sure it is clear what the users will get out of liking your page.  Will you offer special discounts or promotions?  Are you running a sweepstakes or contest?   The IBM Institute for Business Value found that the number one reason people engage with companies via social media is for discounts and coupons.  For this reason, many businesses choose to offer a discount or promotional code to those who like their page such as this example from Rocgelic T-Shirts.

Once visitors have liked your page, they should be taken to new content which provides a thank you and encourages users to take next steps.  You want to focus on conversion optimization whether that is directly linking fans to buy your product, sign up for your newsletter, or register for an event.  GNC takes new fans to a facebook tab to purchase their products and further engage with them on Twitter.

A custom landing page is crucial to your small business’ facebook success.  An engaging, well designed fan gate page will draw in more fans and potential customers for your business.  For more information on conversion optimization, landing page optimization and social media marketing “like” Diamond Website Conversion on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.

Small business owners approaching the social media marketing scene can easily get a little intimidated.

There’s so many feeds and channels of information—keeping track of it all could seem daunting.

The true cost of social media may just be just time, but that can be precious to a small business owner.

To make things a little easier for you, we’ve gathered some social media tools that you could use get a handle on your social media campaign.

Google Reader – Google’s website and blog content aggregator is one of the best social media tools out there. You can subscribe a number of your RSS feeds, blogs, and other sites, allowing you to check new content in just one location. Great for keeping track of your updates—as well as those of your competitors’—this tool can simplify your morning browse. It’s a great way to make your blog-and-coffee break more productive.

Mail Chimp – This handy little tool allows you to send email marketing blasts to your online contacts. Easily one of the most cost-efficient social media tools, Mail Chimp features a basic free account that lets you send up to 3,000 emails total to up to 500 unique subscribers a month. This is a great way to get into your customers’ inboxes without making an unnecessary investment, and if you decide you need a little more coverage, just break out the dough for one of Mail Chimp’s graduated paid accounts.

Twilert – Among the social media tools that relate to Twitter, this is quite possibly the most useful. Twilert will send you email alerts whenever you receive notifications from Twitter, so if you’re one of the unlucky smartphone users who have internet access but not a Twitter app, you can receive tweets in your regular inbox with no hassle.

TwitterFeed – Conversely, this tool will feed your blog, facebook, RSS, or other website content directly into Twitter, so your titles or headlines get tweeted automatically with a helpful link to your followers.

Technorati – And in case you’d also like to listen to the competition, check out this directory of industry-specific blogs, each of which is searchable by keyword. Also has great stats detailing relative popularity and views.

Trackur – In case you’d also like a robust tool to monitor all of your social media tools in one place, this program can track all feeds, comments, and updates from a variety of sites at once, allowing you to pull stats and feedback quickly and smoothly. One of the few tools that actually simplifies rather than complicates, Trackur also has a robust set of features, some of which you will find yourself wanting to pay for after you try the free version.

OpenID – In case you’re sick of remembering two dozen different passwords for your social media tools, you can also try OpenID, which is a single sign-on service that works for most major sites. Remember one password and one username, and you’ll have access to every website tied to your account. This tool also auto-fills registration forms and has a few other neat functions, as well.

Contact Carl to learn how to use Social Media Marketing for your small business.