The Maine SEO Blog

Can you answer “Yes” to any one of these questions?

• Do you have a presence on Facebook already, but want more “likes” on your page?
• Do you have a presence on Facebook already, but want to drive more traffic to your website?
• Do you have a new fan page that needs to build up fans (or “likes”)?

Then Facebook ads are right for you. Facebook ads are inexpensive, intuitive, and, when done the right way, have the ability to drive a ton of traffic.

In the past week, I’ve gone step-by-step through creating Facebook ads. They’re all linked here…so get ‘em while they’re hot.

1. Create ad: Create and Target
2. Create ad: Bidding and Review
3. Measuring and Reporting
4. Measuring Conversions
5. Making sense of the data

Nicki Hicks
Like flyte on Facebook

In Facebook, the line blurs between fan pages and personal pages. Creating events is just another time that line blurs.

If you’re trying to create a personal event, you’ll find the quick setup at the right hand side of your homepage.

If you’re trying to create a fan page event, start by going to your fan page. Then follow these steps:

1. Click “edit page”.



2. Scroll down to the “Events” section. Click edit.
   



3. Create your event, edit the details, then invite any of your (personal) friends.
4. You can’t send fans an email like you can with group members, but you can send them an update. Go to your event page, and click “Update fans of [your fan page]“.
   



5. Craft a message to go along with your event invite and send!

That’s all there is to it. Now get out there and start creating some events!

Nicki Hicks
Invite your fans, not your friends

Some people just don’t want to be on Facebook – and that’s ok – because they still understand the importance of having a business presence there.

Not to worry, you can still create a fan page for your business without having a personal account. But, you need to understand that:

• Facebook will push you every step of the way to create a personal account.
• You will be limited in what you can do with only a Page (or business account), and no personal account.

Here’s all the information that Facebook provides on the matter:

What is the difference between a business account and a user profile?
Business accounts are designed for individuals who only want to use the site to administer Pages and their ad campaigns. For this reason, business accounts do not have the same functionality as personal accounts. Business accounts have limited access to information on the site. An individual with a business account can view all the Pages and Social Ads that they have created, however they will not be able to view the profiles of users on the site or other content on the site that does not live on the Pages they administer. In addition, business accounts cannot be found in search and cannot send or receive friend requests.

Your limitations, as (only) a Facebook business account

• You won’t be able to link to your Twitter account
• Your basic information will be limited to year founded, and not:
  • Address
  • Phone number
  • Hours of operation
• Your detailed information about your business will be limited to website, overview, mission, and products, and not:
  • Parking
  • Public transit
• You won’t have the ability to tag (your personal) friends in photos
• You won’t be able to invite your (personal) friends to become fans
• You won’t be able to add any admins. (You can only add friends as admins.)
• You won’t be able to get a vanity URL.

Note: This list may be a partial one, but it’s what I’ve noticed so far. (What limitations have you noticed?)

Unless you have an incredibly important reason for not tying your Facebook account to your personal account, I would suggest doing so. Look at all the cool things you can do!

Nicki Hicks
Being a person FTW

Do you know who they are?

Sadly, many business owners don’t know who their audience is. A local Mom-and-Pop variety store may be entirely unaware of who they should be targeting.

So step one: figure out who your customers are.

Just ask

Seems silly, but why do all sorts of research and do little more than guess when you can find out for sure? Simply say, “Oh by the way, I was just wondering where you spend your time online. Do you have a favorite social network?”

Maybe your audience isn’t online, and therefore you don’t need to spend time there. You’ll find out pretty quickly where most of them lie: whether it’s on MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, or maybe a niche social media site that you’ve never even heard of. Asking is the easiest way to find out – and it’s far easier than guessing.

Be where your people are

After you find out where people are…go there. They may be on multiple channels, and that doesn’t mean you have to devote your time to all of them. Pick one if that’s all the time your resources allow; but sign up for all of them.

MySpace

For the right kind of business (and audience), MySpace could be lethal (in a good way). For musicians and new bands, MySpace has been a huge key to success.

With the ability, unlike most social networks, to customize backgrounds and profiles, MySpace is truly a brandable network.

Facebook

Create your personal profile first, then a business fan page. Starting suggesting that friends fan your business, and then start reaching out beyond your friends. You can search for specific keywords within your network; or simply keywords within profiles – depending on privacy settings.

Facebook ads are another way to gain fans. Right now, they’re ultra-targeted and relatively cheap per click.

Twitter

If your customer base is on Twitter, sign up and build out your profile (including a custom background). Search for people you already know and start following them. Then go to Twitter Search and find some gurus in your industry by searching for keywords in your line of business. Check out Nearby Tweets for tweeps in your area and start following them.

Download an app like TweetDeck and track keywords in either your industry or your physical location. By doing this, you’ll no longer need to search constantly on Nearby Tweets or a similar geo-locating tool. Also, make sure you track your business name. That way, if someone talks about you (positive or negative), you’ll be right there, ready to respond accordingly.

LinkedIn

If your audience is on LinkedIn, you should be too! Create a personal profile page, along with a business profile page. Then make sure everyone in your organization is on LinkedIn and become connected with them. Then, look for your audience. Start with people you know.

Begin joining groups – even creating some around your line of work. Be sure to check the Answers section in order to become the expert in your industry. Both Groups and Answers are great places to find people to become connected with.

You’re not done yet

Now that you’ve found your audience, make sure you continue to search for new fans, friends, connections, and followers constantly. Consistently engage with these people – no matter what network you’re on.

Nicki Hicks
Go where the people are

In May, Google announced they’d be adding more to the “Suggest” function. Up until now, I hadn’t noticed; but perhaps that’s because I rarely search from google.com.

Yesterday, I found it helpful:

However, if, as Search Engine Land suggests, there will be AdWords included Suggest, I can only imagine this space will be overcrowded in no time.

That begs the question…

Isn’t less more?

Time and time again, seemingly simplistic interfaces seem to become complicated. Look at Facebook and Twitter…

Facebook added a news feed, which has more recently become a real time news feed. Certainly, there are reasons for such changes; but at a certain point is evolving for just evolution’s sake?

Twitter recently added a retweet function from its website. Seemingly helpful, it’s done nothing other than muddle up the simplistic interface they had going. This function, in particular, received nothing but bad reviews.

Certainly Google couldn’t be the next monopoly to be pressured to overcrowd in an effort to be cutting edge. Dearest Google, simple is good. Simple is why you are king.

Fortunately, more often than not, Google will test ideas relentlessly before they leave Labs. But it’s something to think about.

Nicki Hicks
Website minimalist