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Marketing on Facebook

by David Lee King on May 19, 2011

I just finished reading Best Practice Guide: Marketing on Facebook. You might find it interesting, too – the guide has some great ideas for using Facebook as a marketing campaign tool. In fact, many of the suggestions would also work for other online social tools (think Twitter, Foursquare, Flickr, etc).

Here’s what you’ll find in the guide:

  • For starters, they describe what they call The Facebook Ecosystem, which includes three parts: Build, Engage, and Amplify:
    • Build – duh. Building your presence in that tool. creating a Facebook Page. Creating a Twitter account. Etc. Gotta start here.
    • Engage – use touch points, like the Facebook like button to start connecting with your fans. Also use the status update box to directly connect through conversations
    • Amplify – on Facebook, you need to be in your fans news feed. You can use Facebook ads and sponsored stories to help you do that.

After that, the Guide discusses what they call Facebook by Objective -  basically seven ways to use Facebook for your business. Each objective includes some interesting ideas on how to connect to your customers and grow your organization. The Objectives include:

  • Foster product development and innovation
  • Generate awareness
  • Drive preference and differentiation
  • Increase traffic and sales
  • Build loyalty and deepen relationships
  • Amplify recommendation and word of mouth
  • Gain insights

And guess what? With just a bit of tweaking, each of these ideas can work for libraries! So go read it, download it, etc … and share any cool ideas or library campaigns you create!

The F image … found at the ReadWrite Web

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Oops, What Did I Just Do – and What to Do Next

by David Lee King on March 25, 2011

This afternoon, I checked in to a place on Foursquare that I’d never actually go visit in person. Nothing against interesting establishments … but the problem was, I wasn’t there – I was on a plane.

I had just landed at the Kansas City International Airport. The place I didn’t visit and the airport that I did visit share similar names on Foursquare (Kansas City International Airport, and Kansas City International Airport Glory Hole), and the full name of the second place doesn’t display on the iPhone Foursquare app (see the screenshot in this post). Not paying much attention, I checked into the wrong place (and quickly received multiple Twitter replies and DMs, kindly suggesting that I perhaps checked into the wrong place).

Anyone ever done that before? Signed up for an app on Facebook, only to spam your friends list? Suddenly found your Twitter account asking everyone to “click here” when all you did was try out a new service? Or, like me, click something, and then realize that’s not what you wanted to do … but too late to take it back? This has the potential to be pretty embarrassing (thinking about the time I clicked a link in an email from someone that I had been waiting for an email from, only to watch in horror as my email account started spamming everyone in my contact list … including all library staff email accounts).

Yep. Been there, done that. And it’s bound to happen to some of us with our organizational accounts, too. Many of you no doubt have found tools like Tweetdeck or Hootsuite extremely useful – you can log into multiple accounts, both personal and organizational, at the same time. It ends up saving a ton of time … until you accidentally forget to turn something off. Then, much embarrassment and backpedaling ensues.

When this inevitably happens… what should you do?

  • First – don’t panic. It was a mistake, and we all make them.
  • Second – simply publicly admit the mistake. Say something like “oops – wrong account.” Or “How did that happen? Sorry about that” or something similar.
  • Third – delete the mistake if you can (I couldn’t until hours later, and I decided to let the accidental check-in stand. I find it mildly humorous)
  • If you sent out something potentially malicious (like one of those rogue spammy Facebook apps), you should send out a message warning your followers/friends to not click the link, it’s spam, and add a quick “sorry about that.” They’ll understand – most likely, they have done it themselves, too.

And…

How can you avoid having this happen to you?

  • Look before you tweet – make sure you are sending what you think you are sending … before you send it!
  • Check for spelling oddities (auto-correct on the iPhone can do strange and amusing things to seemingly innocuous words).
  • If it’s an interesting-sounding app or tool, you might do a quick search in Google or Twitter first, to see what others thought about the app. This can quickly help weed out spammy apps.
  • Think about keeping your work accounts and your personal accounts separate. Meaning don’t put both on the same Tweetdeck install. Maybe use Hootsuite for work and Tweetdeck for personal, for example.

What else should I add here?

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Social Media Policies for Staff

by David Lee King on November 19, 2010

We don’t really have a social media policy for staff (and I hope we never have one). We generally encourage staff to experiment with social media on-the-job, use their personal accounts to share what the library is doing (when appropriate), and “be the library” when they’re out and about – be that physically or digitally.

Other libraries do create social media policies. I get that – every library has different needs. But sometimes, weird things pop up in them, usually because the policy was written without thinking through how the technology actually works.

For example, take Tulsa City-County Library’s Social media Technology policy for staff (seen via an email):

“Social media technology is another mechanism to transact business and provide information/services within the library. The use of social media technology and similar tools (such as, but not limited to, Facebook, Twitter, blogs, instant messaging and wikis) and the posting of electronic content on behalf of the library shall be professional and reflect the appropriate behavior as expected of a library employee.

All proposals for library service use of social media technology must be submitted through the library’s New Technology Committee and must be pre-approved by the requestor’s supervisor.

Employees must be authorized to create or post content on library social media accounts.

Employees may not use their personal social network accounts for library use. Institutional accounts must be created to provide information/services for the organization.

Employees may choose to express themselves by posting personal information on Web sites, blogs, other social networking sites or chat rooms on the employee’s own time. The library values creativity and honors personal expression. However, an employee should demonstrate care if personal postings include the library’s name or other identifying information that leads others to conclude that the poster is associated with the library. Employees should not represent their statements in an online social networking community as reflective of official library policy or position. Any posting that violates the library’s rights or the rights of other employees (inappropriate, offensive, harmful or threatening) may cause both disciplinary action in the workplace as well as legal action.”

Generally speaking, it’s a pretty normal policy. But check out the part I put in bold again. Then think about how Facebook works.

See the problem?

The library is telling employees that “Institutional accounts must be created to provide information/services for the organization.” OK. What’s the problem, David?

Guess what Facebook says about that? From their Statement of Rights and Responsibilities – “You will not create more than one personal profile.”

Basically (and I’m guessing the library really doesn’t know they’re asking this), the library is requiring their employees to break Facebook’s Terms of Service (assuming those library employees already have a personal Facebook account).

Oops.

I’m not really picking on Tulsa – I’ll bet they swiped that language from any number of other “social media policies” for employees. But if we really, truly want to look professional … at the least, I’m guessing we shouldn’t ask our employees to do something that will technically get their personal accounts deleted. Right?

What about your library? Do you have social media policies for staff? If so, how does it read? What are you asking your staff to do?

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Facebook Page Tips

by David Lee King on October 5, 2010

pic by laughing squid

Someone recently emailed and asked for some tips in setting up a Facebook Page. Here’s what I emailed back – feel free to add your own tips!

Facebook Page Tips:

To set up:

  • use pictures of friendly faces – not a building. People don’t want to friend buildings
  • add contact info, like phone numbers, URL, email address, IM account, twitter account, etc
  • If you have a twitter account, hook it into your facebook account
  • Put more than one person in charge of your Facebook Page. That way, you have a backup in case someone’s sick or on vacation.

Facebook Pages has “Insights” – analytics. Check those every month or so, and adapt your content accordingly. For example, 35 year old women are our Facebook Page’s main visitor type. How can we focus our content on that group? Most likely, there’s a way!

Finally, a Facebook Page isn’t something you can set up and then ignore. With the level of interaction and engagement going on, you’ll need to be actively engaged. That shouldn’t take a ton of time, though. It means doing things like sending 1-2 status updates a day, maybe doing some planning and setting some goals for the page, and replying to people’s comments, questions, and suggestions.

Hope this helps!

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Facebook vs Google?

by David Lee King on September 14, 2010

Just saw this post and a couple others that commented on it – Facebook Passes Google in “Time Spent” – What Does it Mean?

What does it mean? Honestly, it could mean any number of things. But let’s take a peek at the accompanying graphic first:

Here’s what I think it might mean:

  1. Well, duh. Facebook is a social place where you connect with people you like. Google’s a search engine. Apples and oranges. ‘Nuf said.
  2. Related to #1 – Google’s main thing – their search engine – has been #1 for a long time. But the web has been morphing from primarily a place you surf and search for content to a place where you connect with people. You can see that in the graphic above – look at the mix of search engines, social places, email, etc.
  3. #2 leads to my last point – not certain the percentages are an accurate reflection of reality. Why? Well – they’re comparing Facebook – where you can do lots of stuff, like chat, watch videos, see pics of people, leave status updates, do Facebook PM emails, etc – to only Google’s search engine. But if you add up all the Google properties in this top 20 list – Google, YouTube, Gmail, and Google Maps – Google still clearly comes out on top.

Just picky this morning!

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Meta Social: Online Interactions & how to make them ROCK

by David Lee King on July 29, 2010

Meta Social: Online Interactions & how to make them ROCK

View more presentations from David King.

Here’s my presentation from today’s Handheld Librarian III web conference. It was a fun talk, and a great conference – lots of good food for thought.

Enjoy!

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Facebook from a Patron’s Perspective

by David Lee King on July 15, 2010

A day or two ago, we invited a couple of our patrons in for a focus group session on our website. The goal was to gather insights about our current website that can be incorporated into our redesign … but in the process, one patron in particular shared some eye-opening insights into how she uses Facebook.

This patron shared that she sits in front of a computer for 8 hours a day at work, and starts her morning out by opening up Google Reader, email, and Facebook as separate tabs on her web browser, and keeps them open all day long (while she’s working).

What does she do in Facebook? A lot. She follows co-workers, friends, and family there. The keeps up with the news and other organizations she’s interested in … through her Facebook news feed.

And the library? She primarily keeps up-to-date with the library through Facebook, too. Yes – through status updates and links within those status updates to interesting things.

OK. She was just one person who works in front of a computer all day. But I’m guessing she’s not alone – in the last three months, my library’s Facebook Page has added almost 900 fans.

Implications?

  • We need to not treat our Facebook Page as an afterthought. Some of our more savvy, active patrons are using Facebook as a primary source for library news.
  • We need to develop strategy and goals around our Facebook Pages (and any other social media tool our library incorporates).
  • We need to be actively sharing and conversing. Not just broadcasting press releases, but actually holding conversations with our patrons (just like we do in our physical spaces)

Are you seeing a similar thing with your customers? Your friends? How are you talking with patrons using a Facebook Page?

Photo by Paul Walsh

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Updated Facebook Privacy Settings Screencast

by David Lee King on June 9, 2010

A few weeks ago, I posted a screencast on Facebook privacy settings. And doggonit! Facebook up and changed those settings soon after I posted.

So – here’s an updated video/screencast explaining the new privacy settings. And you get to see how I have my settings arranged, too.

Questions? Feel free to ask here, in the comments. If I can’t anser it, maybe someone else reading can!

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Facebook’s New Privacy Settings

by David Lee King on June 2, 2010

facebook's new privacy settings

I was just switched over to Facebook’s new streamlined privacy settings. To me, anyway, these are much simpler to use! I really like the visual table showing most of your privacy settings up-front.

And those dots really do move – for example, I noticed that I had set “My status, photos, and posts” to Everybody, but I had “Can comment on posts” set to Friends Only. So I clicked “Customize Settings,” changed the setting, and the dot moved – voila! Easy stuff.

I still need to look through the Applications and Websites privacy settings, but at first glance, they seem simpler, too.

Later on this week I plan to make another screencast overview of the new settings, so stay tuned (that is, if the week doesn’t get away from me).

Just curious – how do you have your privacy settings set up? Does it look like mine? Let me know!

ps – feel free to friend me on Facebook and Twitter!

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Facebook and Privacy – is this REALLY a big deal?

by David Lee King on May 17, 2010

being of two mindsI’ve seen lots of posts on Facebook privacy issues the last couple of days, some taking about sharing, some about privacy, some just confused about the whole thing. Me? I’m of two minds about Facebook and privacy.

So I ask – is the privacy you [think you] have on Facebook REALLY that big of a deal?

On the one hand, of course it is. They should at least TELL you they’re going to do something before doing it. And they should let you opt in, rather than forcing you to opt out.

We are, after all, their bread and butter – no people, no Facebook.

On the other hand …. what are you trying to keep private on Facebook, when it comes down to it? Let’s take a peek at what you can share [or not] in Facebook:

First, there’s the “update me with your stuff” things, like status updates, new photos, and new videos:

  • If you want those to be private, you shouldn’t post them. Period.
  • Hello! Nothing’s private on the web. Even on Facebook.
  • If you want to share a status update with just some people, you can do that. Which is more than Twitter gives you.

Basic info, like:

  • Name: um … don’t open a Facebook account if you don’t want to share your name.
  • Gender: That’s rather apparent, isn’t it? Is it bad that you know I’m a guy?
  • Birthday: Hmm. I don’t really care. Should I?
  • Relationship Status: OK – so I have a recently divorced friend, and it was rather painful to watch his relationship status go from married to single to it’s complicated … back to single, etc. Maybe a case of sharing too much info, rather than one of privacy. So if your life’s on a rolloercoaster ride … don’t fill that one out.
  • Current city: big whoop. Google already knows this.
  • Hometown: That’s sort of important when connecting with past schoolmates.
  • Religious and Political views: I have em. So does everyone else.

Work and education:

  • Seeing that I have my resume online and brag about what my library does all the time, this obviously doesn’t bother me.

Likes and interests: stuff like music, movies, etc.

  • Oh man. You’ll find out that I like U2, Fountains of Wayne, and a weird, old-school christian alternative group (Daniel Amos Band). Will my life be ruined if you find this out? Nope. Will yours? I’m guessing not.

Contact info: So … the whole POINT with Facebook is to connect with people …

  • email: already published in many places online, including my website.
  • Mobile phone number: Not had a problem yet.
  • AIM, GTalk, etc IM: Already out there
  • Website URL: I want that shared.

Your friends list:

  • Is it bad that you know who I’ve friended? I don’t really think so. Then again, I’ll probably friend you if you ask, just for kicks.

************

Ok. It really doesn’t bother me that you know some or all of this stuff. At the same time, I DO know how to hide certain things – for example, most of my contact info is only available to Friends (as in people who friend me).

But – isn’t all this sorta beside the point? My basic contact info is already scattered all over the web. In fact, it was BEFORE I even had a Facebook account. My resume’s online. These days, I tweet, flickr, and Youtube you guys like crazy. So if you really want to know more about me, you can – with or without Facebook.

Want to talk about privacy? How about that credit card all of us plunk down in front of lots of 20-year old strangers every day at the mall or Walmart or a restaurant? Besides the kiddo who now has access to your credit card (not that anything’s ever happened to my credit card yet), every time you swipe, that company finds out more about you. Or how about your cell phone – your phone company knows where you are. Or Google? All those searches you just did? Yep. Google knows you.

Facebook and my taste in bands or what I said in a little text box? Not really on my radar.

How about you?

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