Robert Beadle's Social Media Marketing Blog

2010 is upon us and now is the time to assess your PR and marketing goals from the past year.  Did you reach them?  Is your marketing getting results?

If you’re looking to get a jump start in the new year with some fresh PR and social media marketing ideas, here are my top five business book recommendations:

1) Inbound Marketing: Get Found Using Google, Social Media, and Blogs by Brian Halligan and Dharmesh Shah

This one was just released in the late autumn of 2009.  I believe theory is important, but this book cuts right to the chase.  It tells you, step by step, how to optimize your Web site for Google searchability and which social media sites you should be using to maximize your reach.

2) Putting the Public Back in Public Relations: How Social Media is Reinventing the Aging Business of PR by Brian Solis and Deirdre Breakenridge

A bit more intellectual and written for strategists, this book discusses the evolution of PR from the good old days of pitching stories to journalists to how to begin engaging with online communities.  Here the authors talk about the new “Social Media Release” and its applications.

3) The New Rules of Marketing and PR: How to Use News Releases, Blogs, Podcasting, Viral Marketing & Online Media to Reach Buyers Directly by David Meerman Scott

This is the book that helped change my thinking back in 2007 when “social media” was starting to becoming part of the marketing discussion.   I saw Mr. Scott speak at the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce Expo and began integrating his ideas into my business and my clients’ businesses almost immediately.  He is an advocate of companies learning to create rich, sharable content which people will want to spread over the Internet, thus creating an inbound marketing effect. Mr. Scott is releasing a newly revised and updated version in January 2010.

4) Groundswell: Winning in a world transformed by social technologies by Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff

Another one of the “classics” that every CEO or CMO should read (technology moves so quickly your book becomes a classic on my list once it’s two years old )  This book is chock full of real world case studies of how companies are using new social technologies to drive their success.  Whereas many authors place an emphasis on getting out there and experimenting with social media tools, these authors define specific objectives for social media use: listening, talking, energizing, supporting, embracing.

5) The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding: How to Build a Product of Service into a World-Class Brand by Al Ries and Laura Ries

If Groundswell is a classic, then this one is an ancient text.  So why is it on the list?  Because even though the technologies and many marketing strategies have changed, there are still many fundamental elements of branding which will always remain the same.  This book demystifies the laws of branding; how to choose a name, design, message and how to avoid catastrophic mistakes which will hurt you in the long run.

Extra Credit: Yes! 50 Scientifically Proven Ways to Be Persuasive by Noah J. Goldstein, Steve J. Martin, and Robert B. Cialdini

For those of you who are a sponge of business knowledge like me, then be sure to pick up this little book.  It’s organized into 50 short chapters which show you how little tweaks in your marketing can make a significant difference in your results.  For example, did you know putting a handwritten sticky note on a mailed survey increases the return rate by up to 75 percent?  This book is full of these little tips.

If you can recommend other books, please put them into the comment section.  I would love to read them and I’m sure that other people reading this blog would like to hear about them too.

This evening I went up to the Wachusett Mountain Ski Resort Web site to purchase a ski pass.  As I was browsing their site, I saw that they have links to Twitter, Facebook and YouTube, as well as a blog.  Cool!  They get high marks for social media integration.  But when I clicked on the Facebook link, it took me to a “personal” profile for the ski resort… Ooops Wachusett.  Wrong!

I get this question all the time during my Facebook for Business seminars:

“When do I create a Facebook ‘fan’ page, ‘group’ page or personal profile?”

I’m glad you asked.  Let’s go through the three types of pages.

1) Personal Profile

This is used for a human being, NOT a company, organization, non-profit, etc.  When Facebook began, it was designed for college students to create profiles.  So for companies, the only alternative was to create a personal profile for their organization.  However in the past few years, Facebook has grown and now provides two options for non-human entities to exist on the network and make connections.  Those are “fan” pages and “group” pages.

So why can’t you just ignore this rule and keep your company’s personal profile? Facebook has been cracking down on misuse, deleting profiles which are set up for entities instead of people.  So if you’re going to put the time into Facebook, to build an audience and interact with them, you want to make sure your page isn’t going to be deleted one day for not following Facebook’s rules.  Also, profiles are not ideal for companies for a few more reasons: you have to manually approve of everyone who wants to connect with you and you don’t get the benefit of Facebook’s business applications and “Insights” analytics software.

2) Group Page

Group pages have been around for a while and pre-date the implementation of “fan” pages, which we will discuss in a moment.  Groups are ideal for some non-profit organizations, social groups, clubs, churches, etc.  The people who connect with a group are called “members” (in contrast to a personal profile which has “friends” and a fan page which has “fans”).     An example of a group page is our local chapter of the Public Relations Society of America.  Here we have authorized “officers” (as seen in the left column) to have administrative privileges over the content of the page.  Groups allow for more control over who participates and group administrators may restrict access to a group so new members must be approved.  Think of Groups like a private club.  Do you want to let everyone in?  Or do you want to keep the group a little smaller and more personal?

3) Fan Page

A Fan page is the newest of the three types of pages and is designed with companies or brands in mind.  An example of a fan page is the one I have created for my company, Northeast Public Relations.  Fan pages offer some powerful tools and capabilities not available in the other two categories.  For one, Fan pages are visible and accessible to everyone on the Internet whether they are a Facebook member or not and are indexed by Google.  In contrast, groups and personal profiles are not fully visible.  In Fan pages you get visitor statistics via a dashboard called “Insights.”  You also get to install applications which may help you add further capabilities to your fan page.

What if you’re in the middle?

There are some organizations that could fit into either a group page or fan page because they straddle the line between what these pages represent.  If you’ve anticipated your needs, researched your audience and still could go either way, I would suggest opting for the fan page because of the added Google visibility and “insights” tool.

So what should Wachusett do?

I did a little more digging and found out that Wachusett does have a Fan page, which is the appropriate category for a ski resort.  As of this writing, the personal profile version of Wachusett is attached to the homepage Facebook link, when it should be the Fan page instead.  I would recommend Wachusett begin the process of migrating friends into the Fan page and then shut down the personal profile version in a few months.  The link from the Wachusett homepage should be corrected immediately.  Time is money.  Why double your work by maintaining two Facebook addresses?

If you’d like to learn more…

In first quarter of 2010, I will be offering both beginner and advanced seminars on how to use Facebook for business.  If you would like to be notified of seminar dates, become a fan of my company, Northeast Public Relations, Inc.  Or if you can’t wait and want a personal consultation, send an e-mail to appointments@northeastpr.com.

UPDATE 12/23/09:

After this post was initially published, Wachusett Mountain has since updated the links on their homepage to direct visitors to their “fan” page.

So you have a great product or service that you’re just dying to get into the hands of new customers.  But on a last check of your Google Analytics (you have this installed on your site, right?) traffic is way down.  So how do you get people to visit your site to see how great you are?

1. Have a website worth visiting
If your site is unprofessional (for example, has display errors, hasn’t been updated since the 1990s, or fails to answer customer questions, etc.) visitors aren’t going to stay very long or share it with their friends. However, a site that is engaging, speaks directly to your target customers’ problems and gives them something to share, will help you earn more business.

2. Write an e-book or “free report”
Most businesses fail to realize one simple principle of sales – it’s not about you… it’s about your customers! Your customers have problems and loads of questions, some which may not even have occurred to them yet. An expert marketer will develop a PDF, report, or handout that demonstrates the expertise of the business while solving common customer problems.

3. Start a blog
A blog is an excellent way to build a lasting relationship with your customers by fulfilling your promise to help them with their problems. And blogs don’t have to be boring! Keep it lively with personal stories, but also keep it informative by updating your customers with developments in the field. Once again, it is not about you, it’s about your customers.

For tip numbers 4-10, download my free report “10 Tips for Driving Traffic to Your Website.” There is no e-mail or registration requirement to download this free report.

You can download more free reports and slide shows from my product page at http://www.northeastpr.com/products.