FB has no Ears - That's Why They Don't LISTEN

A Day Late and Completely Insane

FB Timeline... pretty for sharing pics of your family, your furry pets (or non-furry like the fish-kind) and casual social interaction.  HORRID for conducting business - especially for e-commerce if you intend for people to get to your website to purchase something.

The top 1/2 of any webpage is the most valuable real estate on that website. Why?  Because people don't have to scroll to see it.  So whatever is placed there will be the most viewed and most clicked links.

See the problem with timeline?

One big, fat picture doesn't allow people to click through to your website.  They have to search to find a link to your online store.  They have to search to even find more of your photos with your products.  That's why the BIGGEST online marketers had not, nor wanted to switch to timeline.

Consumers don't like to have to work to find what they want online.  Making it easier for them to shop means better and more customers!

But overnight FB decided to completely ignore the online marketing experts, ignore the e-mails that were sent in explaining why that structure was bad for businesses and flipped the switch on all business pages.

I had hoped they would have a change of heart and allow people the choice about how to market their business.  But they didn't...

Time will tell whether or not business owners will continue to use FB as one of their main marketing platforms, or if pages will become like ghost towns, with random posts once in a while and minimal interaction. 

In forcing everybody to timeline, FB put the axe down on many other significant apps.  No longer does your Etsy shop show up as a tab... again being horrible for e-commerce and marketing your products.  I'm no longer an artfire user, but I'm guessing those users will be in a similar boat in the FB timeline.

I have and do use other platforms.  I will be doing more on Google+ and I've had much enjoyment and success on Twitter.  Connect with me if you wish!  I will continue to share great blog posts and creations I see from other bloggers and creative artisans.

Like I said, timeline is completely different for personal profiles.  Personal profiles and business pages serve two completely different purposes on FB.  I think I'm going to need a giganto cup of java today while I do all the updates I have to do.  Lovely....

Have a terrific freakin' day!
~Dawn

Here's the fine print:  The opinions expressed in this blog post are just that - opinions of the author and blog owner.  She is not affiliated or employed by Facebook.  Thus, her opinions and those of other experienced internet marketers have been completely ignored by FB and it's subsidiaries. 

Facebook Friday - All those changes!

It's Friday and I felt a good time to do a Facebook Friday again.  This is the part of the post where I'm supposed to say something WOW and amazing about Facebook or teach you something fun and exciting.  However, with all the freakin' changes... I've pulled nearly all my hair out and the only 3 strands I have left are grey!  Seriously!

Okay, so what are those changes (or as many of us are saying, what hasn't changed) in the last 2 weeks.  And you're right... darn tootin' everything has changed.

Newsfeed - Facebook is now telling us what they think we want to see and read.  REALLY?  I've always been about honesty.... just lay it out there like it is and I'll pick what I want to read.  We can no longer sort by type of updates (like I used to sort by status updates, then check out the uploaded photos and if I had a boatload of time, then I'd look at links people posted.)  Yep, no more... you're being spoonfed whether you like it or not.  I'm still on the NOT wagon personally.

Pages - So much!  Really... and there's more changes coming.  Tagging, you can only "tag" someone in a status update (typing the @ symbol then their name) if they are a fan of your page.  Also, you can "tag" someone in comments on both pages and your personal profile.  People are still setting up personal pages for their businesses (doh!).  At the end of this month, FB is taking away the REVIEWS tab from all business pages.  As of yesterday, FB also added "Number of People Talking about This" just below your Liker count.  Which is nice, but really there's no way at this point of seeing who's talking about this... or be able to comment on posts about your business.  Too many programming geeks, not enough teachers. 

Photos - FB is only showing a snippet of the photo in the newsfeed if you upload more than one photo at a time.  You have to click on the photo to see the whole picture.  It's also a different layout on your wall.  It'll also take getting used to. 

Subscriber Feed - people can now subscribe to your feed to be alerted to everything you post without you having to accept their friend request.  So if you're in the witness protection program, this totally spoils your whole FB experience.  Really though, If I wanted somebody to read my everything about me, they'd be my friend. 

Who's sharing?  When people share something that you posted on your wall, it now will show how many "shares" this item has had.  You can also see WHO shared it and be able to comment or thank them.  Great for relationship building!  This is a great addition!

Many settings can be adjusted by editing your privacy options in your Account.  It's too much to list here, but you can check it out. 

On a side note, tomorrow Lorelei Eurto and Shannon (I only wish I could pronounce your last name because in my mind it's sounding like chocolate - seriously) Chomanczuk will be hosting a blog hop revealing great works from jewelry designers all over Blogland.  They put a great kit together with LimaBeads.com and the challenge was to design something (or multiple somethings) with the kit.  SO, mark you calendar so you can stop back here!!!  I can't wait to show you what I created!

TGIF all!  If you have comments on the recent FB changes, please feel free to share them.  We're all learning as we go and helpful tips are appreciate by all those still scratching their heads.  

Want to really shout it from the rooftops, share this blog post on your FB profile!

Facebook Friday - That Darn Chat Bar

Warning:  I do not chat on Facebook.  Have not and won't because that's really way over taxing my one track mind most of the time.

Did Facebook mix you up this week with their sudden "pop up" chat bar on the right hand side?  I logged in one morning and viola.... there it was.  And there was no 'x' to close it so I left it for a day before it irritated me into action.  Side note:  the friends that are showing are those that are most "relevant" in your interactions - according to FB.  I'm not so sure that's accurate, but that's what they say. :o)

I'm not a chatter... I used to chat when Yahoo Messenger first came out, I chatted my brains out.  I also got very little of anything else accomplished.  So then I discovered how to be invisible.... but people still sent me messages even when I "appeared" offline to them.  Don't get me wrong, I love interacting with other people.  However, when I'm working on my computer - blogging, marketing, listing I really need to focus.  There's just not enough hours in the day otherwise.   So the random chatting via messenger had to go.

Honestly, people who know me know to send me an e-mail or private FB message or pick up the phone and call me.  I prefer the more personal conversations and interactions.  (which is also why 140 characters on Twitter is also sooo very difficult.  But that's a story for another day!)

So how the heck do you make that darn chat bar go away if you really don't want to use it (or look at it)?

• On the lower right side of your screen, click on the starburst looking icon.  
• If Available to Chat is Selected, un-check it.  
• From this same area, you can also click "Hide Sidebar" to have it disappear complete.
• You can go back online to chat anytime but clicking that starburst icon again.

Another Side Note:  This morning when I went to publish this post, my chat worked different than it did just yesterday.  UGH... so if the above instructions don't look right based on your screen, today's version goes like this.

• Click that Starburst Icon on the lower right.
• Select Options, then click "Go Offline".
• That should disable chat and minimize that sidebar for you.

Hope this little Facebook Friday info helped.  It just shows how dynamic and radically changing the game of social media marketing has become.  I'm happy to share the tidbits I know and learn that may be helpful to you!

Hope your weekend is Fabulous!
{Hugs!}
Dawn

Facebook Friday - Connecting your Personal Profile to your Business Profile

Welcome to Facebook Friday!  First let me ask... if you have an online business, do you have a Facebook business page or are you just using your personal profile?

If you don't have a business page, you really should.  For a number of reasons, there are many more applications that work with business pages that just aren't available to personal profiles.  (i.e. Etsy app and the Artfire Kiosk to name a few.)

So if you don't yet have a business page, set one up.... I'll wait, so hurry back. :o) Trust me, people are much more likely to follow what's going on with your business if they just have to click "Like," rather than sending you a friend request and waiting for you to accept.

Once you've gotten your business page set up, you'll want to link your personal page to your business.  Otherwise, how will people know where to find your business page (or that you even have one.)  One of the biggest mistakes I see people make is when they list their employment on their personal page, they'll write XYZ company or self employed, etc.  BUT by doing that, nobody knows you have a business you run.  They have no way of seeing that information.  This really came into play when Facebook made their major changes back in May for both the personal and business pages.

How can we fix this?

Regardless of your day job, or full-time employment, the reality is you still work for yourself and need to promote YOUR business with passion in order for it to grow.  Simple solution to get you started.  In the Employment Section of your personal profile, set the employer as your facebook fan page!  Here's how:

1. Click Edit Profile > then go to the Education and Work section.
2. Begin typing the name of your fan page in the Employer field.
3. If you see your fan page in the dropdown menu, select it.
4. Then fill out the remaining fields (Position, City/Town, Description and Time Period). If you also add in any business partners/colleagues, this will show on their profile too under the Employer section.
5. Click Add Job.

Ta Daaaaa!  It's that simple!  Now when people are your friends on your personal profile, they can click the link at the top of your profile to go directly to your business page!

Want more great Facebook and Social Media Marketing tips?  "Like" my FB Page and I'll be sharing more secrets and tips frequently in the weeks to come!  Hope you have a FANTASTIC Facebook Friday!
{Hugs!}

Facebook Friday - To Tag or Not to Tag - That is the Question

Zoinks - It sure can be Confusing!

Facebook Friday is here, yeah!  It's been a bit of a crazy week, and with Memorial Day weekend upon us, the weather looks beautiful, so I can finally get in the garden and get my veggies planted.

But before I head out to play in the dirt, I wanted to share with you a few helpful tips and suggestions for using Facebook, especially now since both business and personal pages have completed the changeover to the new design.

To Tag or Not to Tag.... that is the question!

Here's the background:  Over the last week-ish I've been helping a friend get her business page and blog feed set up on Facebook.  See, when Facebook did a changey.something.or.other for those of us using blogger as a blog platform, it caused the app to go kittywompus (honestly, it's a word) and no longer feed to the desired Facebook page or wall.

I noticed it on mine, and it was a really quick fix, so when my dear friend asked for help, I said no problem!  It'll take 5 minutes... she said okay, I'll e-mail you my log in stuff with a temporary password and you'll be set.

Ha, ha, ha... little did we know then what we know now... when I tried to log in as her, Facebook locked her account saying "we don't recognize this location, you need to confirm your identity."  The fiasco that ensued was nothing short of... well nothing short of anything round.rabbit.ridiculous that I've ever embarked upon.

In order to indentify yourself in facebook, you have to identify you friends.  How Facebook does this is:  they show you a series of 3 pictures, all are supposed to be of the same person.  Below that there are 4 options as to whom this might be... you have to pick the right one.  You have to do this for 5 total people.

Now keep in mind, some of your "friends" are really acquaintences that you really don't know that well... would you recognize a photo of their new puppy?

Also, sometimes we make custom orders of our craft (jewelry or beads or bags) and we tag the person that ordered it... would you be able to identify a "friend" by the picture of a bag that someone now owns?

How about when there's a photo of a great summer gathering and there's 20 people in the photo... so people randomly tag the sky... the only thing that shows up in the "Identify.Yourself.Game.From.Hell" is what it actually tagged in the little square box. YIKES!

So even when my friend logged back in as herself and told Facebook that the activity from WI was totally fine and to allow it, would you believe that we tried again and Facebook again locked her account.  She again had to play the "I.Y.G.F.H." and it literally took a day and a half... YES, you read that right 36 HOURS to get 5 people identified correctly.  Because if you guess wrong, you have to start all over at the beginning and you don't know until you've tried all 5 to submit your answers.

In facebook, we're all about posting photos - pictures of family, of jewelry designs, of beads, of dogs, of new "toys" or kids toys or tattoos... you know who you are! ;)  And so many of us have "friends" that are actually acquaintances.  Would you actually recognize a photo of that person if you didn't see it on their wall with their name?

Which bring me to the lesson of the day.  Helpful Facebook Tips for Yourself and Others!

1.  When you are tagging photos of people, please remember that someone else just might have to identify themselves by that photo.  So tag a face of a person that actually is that person.  Also, for photos of finished objects or custom orders, if you want it to be seen on their wall, then post the photo on their wall.  Don't tag them in it on your album.  That will become an official picture of them that nobody will be able to identify.

2.  Choose to accept "friends" carefully.  The more friends/acquaintances you have, the more of a lottery you are playing if you ever get locked out of your account for any reason.  So are they really a friend... someone you would share your personal updates with, or are they a business associate that would be more suited to reciprocal fanning of each other's business pages?

3.  Use a Facebook page for your business - Period.  In this day and age, with how far Facebook has come for setting up business pages and keeping personal pages simple, if you want to market yourself, you need a business page.  Personal Pages no longer allow apps like Etsy or Artfire or Reviews or Contact or Twitter Feeds.  ONLY business pages do.  So take the weekend and get yourself set up with your business page.  It's a little time now, but in the long run you will look more professional and will have more fans because they don't have to send you a "Friend Request" they can just "Like" you!

Had I not been helping my dear friend, I would have had no idea that this was how people have to identify themselves.  It's not just a "please reset my password."  Oh no... this is a crazy game of juggling flaming bowling pins and I for one never want to have to play again!

Think about it... if I'm traveling on vacation with my laptop and I visit St. Thomas... when I try to log in, FB will automatically lock my account because it's not my "usual" activity.  Then when I try to log in even once I'm home, my account is already locked.  I'm stuck and I'd have to play the Identify.Yourself.Game.From.H... well you know the rest of the story!

Hope you find this helpful... save yourself some time and help others too by simply tagging photos correctly.

I want to take a moment to thank all of those men & women who are and have served our country.  What a sacrifice you and your family has made.  And to those that have lost someone as a result of serving... our hearts go out to you!  

Have a wonderful Memorial Day weekend!  Sending love, prayers and gratitude to the men & women who are innocently serving our country!

{Hugs!}