Page. Pay. Promote. Puzzled?

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You've probably noticed it by now if you're a Facebook page owner or admin/manager: 
The word promote at the bottom right of your Facebook posts. What the heck is that? Something new: You can pay Facebook to promote an individual post. 


Here’s what it looks like when you click on the word "promote", using my Groovy Reflections page:

The post I took this from, without any promotion, reached 885 people. Thanks Facebook for now including those statistics with the posts: It IS important to know what resounds with the fan base. However, Mr. Zuckerberg, why would I want to pay $5 to reach 1,000 when the posts has nearly achieved that with no promotion? 


For the Groovy Reflections page the fees range from $5 to $30. The pricing presented appears to be dependent on the number of fans you have.  My MODern Marketing 4 U page only offers $5 and $10 promotions since I have far fewer fans there. 


And furthermore, why would if I pay $30 to reach 5,300 people? There were 4,698 fans when I snipped this example from Facebook so that's more than the number of fans for the page. Ah, of course, this stems from fans liking and commenting on your post; then their friends see it too, thus casting a wider net. Okay. Makes sense.


And if you do use the promote feature, what happens? The post you chose to promote will be labeled as sponsored in the news feed. This is different from ads that show up on the right side of the page.  


Facebook, in their help section on this subject, state that any given posts won’t reach all of your fans. Must be that killer algorhythm doing its thing again. Someday, perhaps we’ll understand why Facebook decides who sees what and how many see it. Yes, it’s frustrating to say the least.  


So, in essence, Facebook restrains the audience for your posts and then charges you to reach more of your own audience? 

Wow. I could say this is a bright idea because there will be page owners eager to pay up for instant results.


Now, why would anyone use this service? Perhaps if you wanted to increase sales of your products and run a quick fire sale, here's a way where you could extend that reach instantly. Could be worthwhile if there’s a high volume of product that needs to be moved quickly.  


It could be used for market research perhaps, a quick poll or short survey where there’s a timely topic and you need data NOW so you can be the first to write about it. The respondents would be luck of the draw unless you put a filter in the survey so you can weed it down to just the folks you really want to pose questions to. However, now we’re talking about a longer survey, which means more folks may bail out, and you’re working against the theory of “quick”.


Sigh.


Facebook continues to be an enigma. Will be interesting to learn if this new feature is a success. Will it bring in fresh revenue and be hailed as innovative by the new stockholders? They're likely waiting for something to make the numbers jump up; that is, if they haven't bailed already and licked their wounds. 


Stop by, say Hi! There's the website, Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ ...and thanks for stopping by here.


Shirley Ellis of Name Game fame sang about puzzles too: 

What's Up With Timeline, Facebook?

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When Robert Plant sang about being Dazed and Confused, he wasn't talking about Facebook. However, Timeline is causing just that.

First things first. I embrace change. Let’s make that clear.

Switched over to Timeline for my personal profile not too long after the announcement; why not? It seemed okay; it’s cool if you post a lot of photos like I do, except that it does crop them so your friends need to open them up to enjoy the complete picture. The left, right, left, right style works, but since everything is larger, you need to scroll more. Can live with that.

More recently I switched my MODern Marketing 4 U page on Facebook to Timeline. Since Facebook really isn’t central to my overall business and I only post three to four times a day there, it’s just fine and dandy with me.

Then, my other page, Groovy Reflections, made the giant leap. That’s when all heck broke loose. A drop-off in fans like there’s never been before; not a lot mind you, but for this page, it was more than usual. But that’s not the issue. Neither is the fact that the page takes forever to load up; we’ll let that slide for now.

Seems something is causing Facebook to selectively choose which posts show up in fan’s new feeds. And interestingly enough, it happens mainly when I include a link to the Groovy Reflections website.

You’re thinking…how do I know this? The page usually gets 5 to 50+ likes on any given post, so when you’re getting ZERO likes on a post, one can safely assume something is wrong.

Threw a question out twice about a half hour after no likes on a post to the 4400+ fans and asked them what was the last post they saw. Their responses clinched it; some were not seeing the last post, while others weren’t seeing the last TWO posts.

Businesses, beware. Facebook’s Timeline just made more challenging to have a successful Facebook page.

After a Google search and exploring Facebook’s help for a solution, I come up empty handed.  Then I reported a bug to Facebook. This auto reply installed showed up in my mailbox:

Thank you for submitting this bug report and taking time to help us improve the site. Unfortunately, we are unable to respond to every bug report individually, but we are reading them.

Great. Sounds like I won't be hearing from them. So, Facebook, tell me, as a business, how do I continue to create awareness for my brand? I have no control over the algorithm that picks and chooses what my fans can see. Is that fair to my business? Google+ doesn’t do this. Each post should bear the same weight and same opportunity to be seen.

Should I not post at certain times of the day? Should I not use certain words that you may deem as spammy? Would appreciate some clues here so that I can continue to connect with and engage my fans.  Sounds reasonable, no?

In turn, you, Facebook, will be privileged with my on-going presence on your social network. Oh, and if someone knows the solution, please DO share it.

I dedicate this tune to all the fans on my Facebook pages that are Dazed and Confused. Click here.

Great Expectations, Social Media, and You.

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Do you “want it now”? Do you believe in instant results? Do you have above average expectations? Nothing wrong with any of that unless you’re thinking about social media in conjunction with the answer “Yes”.


Don’t be disappointed; just remember that social media is a long term commitment. If you’re jumping in don’t give up after two weeks or a month because it’s “not working”. 


Time and time again I see people starting pages or Twitter accounts with the thought that they will suddenly have a big jump in sales growth for their products and services. 


They get frustrated with it, declare it’s a waste of time, and abandon it. That’s not realistic!


Usually, they’re posting discounts or specials of the day. That’s it.


Hello, social media is not a sales tool. 


It's not the first time I’ve pointed this out. And I’ll probably say it over and over again in future blogs.


Why? Because it’s important to understand that social media creates awareness for your product or service and offers an opportunity to ENGAGE with consumers. It makes your brand real; it shows you care.


Those of you who post nothing but specials of the day (if you’re a restaurant, for example) are in for a BIG disappointment. That’s not social media. Facebook and Google+ pages are not on-line shops. 


Here’s another hint: People don’t go on social networks to buy things.


Dickens once said "This is a world of action, and not for moping and droning in." So think about the "action"; how is your customer seeing YOU?


Now, back to our story. It can take months to build an audience that is willing to engage with you. And I stress the word engage. Sure, you can sign up for a service like “10,000 followers” and have all the followers or fans you want. But if none of those people are responding to you, what’s the point?


I recently read an article that said less than 4% of Facebook pages have fans that are engaged. That’s truly sad. Currently, my MODern Marketing 4 U page is at 14% and my Groovy Reflections page is at 26%. I’d rather have fewer fans that are quality fans than “just numbers”.


That’s my preference.


Now, once you have some quality followers, why not talk to them rather than sell to them? You’ve heard the expression about bringing the horse to the water? Once they’re there and letting you know they’re out there by responding to you, they are one step closer to “drinking”. 


Was talking with a friend on the phone yesterday. She said she keeps telling people to listen to music because it helps relieve stress and forget about pain; but they "don't listen". I said to her: Rather than tell people to listen, suggest a site or page with music that they may enjoy instead. They’ll figure out the benefit on their own. 


You can translate this example to how you post for your business. So, instead of saying “10% off our special today: Lasagna Diablo”, post a photo and ask people how HOT they think the Lasagna Diablo is.


Results from social media are not immediate. The key is not to sell to people, but to engage them. Think of it more like public relations and NOT as a platform for sales. You have a website for that already.


Create a conversational, positive image so that you are top-of-mind when they need a product or service like yours. 


Of course, you can also call a professional and let them create the strategy for success for you!


Those of you that are spinning your wheels and want to give up: Don’t. But do be realistic with your expectations.


Some Great Expectations from the composer Patrick Doyle can be found here.