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Facebook Groups – Best Practices but FIRST
Do you have a Facebook Group that you use as part of your business?
Are you getting the engagement and results from that group that you’re looking for?
The next few posts on this page will be a series of tips and tricks on using Facebook Groups in your business
BUT FIRST – I want to tell you a bit about me, and who I am, and why I’m doing this, and why you should be reading this.
I have been in and around and involved in Facebook groups for a while. A friend that manages another group was invited to the first-ever Facebook Communities Summit and invited me along. And my life has not been the same.
Since that summit I’ve been hanging out with the most interesting people – people who have built engaged active communities – and people that know ALL THE THINGS about running Facebook communities. We are always learning from each other, and we are always teaching each other.
I’ve gotten a ride on a rocket ship, I’ve learned things, and for the next few posts I’ll invite you to come and find out what I’ve learned, and how it’s useful to you.
WATCH THIS SPACE
It’s that time of year
For me, it’s the “beginning” of a new semester (I know the semester started a while back — but the first class I’m teaching is on October 14).
I teach the same subjects – but they change ALL THE TIME
But — they don’t change at all.
The technology changes, the “how-tos,” which buttons you push change. The size of images changes frequently, but there are some basics that stay the same.
So — what are the basics? I’ll list 5 things you should be considering when you’re planning your social media activities.
- Begin with the end in mind. Whether you’re thinking about a long term strategy or thinking about a 3-minute video, know what action you want your readers/viewers to take after your post. You do not need to do this for every post everywhere – but you should have an idea where you’re leading your readers. (pssst stay tuned I’ll show a great example later.)
- Know WHO you are talking to. Figure out who your ideal client is and make sure you are directing your information to that person. Knowing your ideal client not only helps with your messaging, but it also helps you determine where your message needs to be (for instance, if you’re product is an anti-aging cream you’re not needing to spend time and effort on Tik Tok)
- Be YOU. There are “experts” out there that want to train people to do social media the “one right way.” But the great thing about people is that we’re a mixed-up bag of different personalities and styles and ideas. Let YOU shine through — people do business with people they know, like, and trust. Be yourself and your people will find you. (Okay – they won’t find you if you’re locked in a house and not posting or commenting or networking — but you get the idea).
- Stay focussed. Getting clients and referral partners on social media is a marathon, not a sprint. If you’ve done a Facebook Live once a week for a month — don’t give up if you don’t have thousands of followers. Be persistent (but if you need to, you can always check with someone you trust to see if you need to make adjustments).
- Know your limits. Make sure you are actively engaged with others on your chosen platform. If you are a business owner and you actually have, like work to do, you can’t be on every platform. So make sure you follow #2 above – find your platform – and engage with the people you want to attract.
Oh – and remember what I said above about knowing the actions you want people to take. WELL!!!!!!!!!! I will be teaching classes in October and November so if you need to know more about social media, LinkedIn, Facebook groups, Mailchimp, or Instagram, check out the following link. I’m doing 5 classes and each is $39
CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT ENTREPRENEUR TRAINING AT JOLIET JUNIOR COLLEGE
My classroom will not look like this — but the information will still be great.
LinkedIn Above the Fold
I love LinkedIn
That’s not a secret – while I do education on all of the social media platforms, LinkedIn is the one that I favor for myself and my business.
When a group asks me to do a short presentation on LinkedIn I’ll often opt for a presentation about the part of LinkedIn that appears “above the fold.”
For those of you that are old enough to remember newspapers – “back in the day” newspapers would sell themselves based on what was on the top half of the first page of the paper. Interest had to be grabbed by someone walking past a newsstand or a newspaper vending machine based on what someone could see in a few seconds glance.
There are 4 major sections of LinkedIn that can be seen “above the fold” and is someone is just glancing at your LinkedIn profile, whether it’s a potential client or employer, you want to grab their interest in this section of LinkedIn.
The four most visible sections of your LinkedIn profile are the
- Images (both the profile and the background)
- Headline (120 or 220 characters of pure gold — read on to find out how to get an extra 100 characters here)
- Summary
- Media
We’ll take these items one at a time.
IMAGES
There are two “images” at the top of your LinkedIn page. Your profile photo and your banner photo.
For your profile image — use a CURRENT professional looking image. You want something with solid colors and a solid background. This is worth hiring a professional photographer – or looking around for someone offering headshots. If you are planning to meet a client or potential employer you want them to be able to recognize you from this photograph.
For your banner photo, you can have a little more fun. This is an area where you can show something specific to your business — but be warned – views are subject to change at any time, so you may either want to play to keep an eye on this and update when necessary, or you may want to keep things simple, general, and without important points along the top, bottom, or sides of the banner.
HEADLINE
After your name, there is a section you can edit for your headline. This is important because it shows up EVERYWHERE — when you make a post on LinkedIn it shows up – if you comment on someone’s post or article it shows up – and it even shows up in search engine results.
Here’s the deal — you have 120 characters
OR — you have 220 characters.
At last check – if you edited this on a desktop or laptop you were awarded 120 characters, but if you edited this on a PHONE you got 220 characters.
Typically when I’m editing anything I’ll use a desktop (insert “ok boomer” here). I like the keyboard, BUT — editing my headline — that’s the one time I’ll go out of my way to use my phone.
It’s not many characters — so try to make good use of it.
SUMMARY
The summary has a lot more characters than the headline. You might be tempted to use all the words and say many things but I’d caution you to remember that sometimes people are busy — so make sure you hit the top points that you’d like to make early on in the summary. You can then go on to be more detailed – but make sure you grab their interest right away. Also – MAKE SURE TO PUT YOUR CONTACT INFORMATION IN YOUR SUMMARY. If someone really wants to find you – give them many ways they can do that.
You’ll want to use this section to tell people
- What you are
- Who you help
- How you make their life better
- Proof that you are credible (feel free to add some of that proof to the “media” section)
MEDIA
You can add just about anything to the media section. Some examples:
- Speaker sheet
- Video from a presentation
- Link to your podcast or book or website or Facebook group or
- Slideshow from a presentation
As of this writing (January 2020) you can use the following formats in the media section:
Adobe PDF (.pdf)
Microsoft PowerPoint (.ppt/.pps/.pptx/.ppsx/.pot/.potx)
Microsoft Word (.doc/.docx/.rtf)
.jpg/.jpeg
.png
.gif – this doesn’t support animation, however the first frame will be extracted
Important:
The file size may not exceed 100 MB.
The page limit is 300 with a 1 million word count limit
The maximum resolution for images in 120 megapixels.
If you’re looking at these instructions and it’s not making sense, GO TO THIS LINK to find out what LinkedIn says about media files.
You can not currently upload video – but as of this writing, LinkedIn seems to allow you to link to a YouTube video.
SUMMARY
(whoops I already used that)
IN CONCLUSION
LinkedIn is a powerful platform for getting connected (and staying connected) to your contacts.
If you’re interested in learning more about LinkedIn – ask me about upcoming classes or workshops. I hold classes at local colleges, local libraries, and through my own online platform.
Favorite Resources — November 2020
To quote Stuart Smalley (a fictional character from Saturday Night Live), “I’m good enough, I’m smart enough, and doggone it people like me.”
Albert Einstein (one of the greatest minds of the 20 century) said “Never memorize something you can look up.”
While I’m good, and I’m smart — I do not even attempt to memorize things “I can look up.” Especially in the realm of the works of social media.
Things change ALL THE TIME!!!!
And I’m a nerd — really I am — and I will spend quite some time diving into the annual reports and summaries and knowledge but I will not attempt to memorize everything, because I KNOW that things will change.
In my private program, (you can find out more about that here) I have a running resource of what’s new. Here are some of those useful resources:
- In November 2020 AgoraPulse published their opinion of the 45 best social media analytics tools. (NOTE — since this was published be AgoraPulse – there may be a slight bias). Find the AgoraPulse Report here.
- The folks at Sprout Social maintain an “Always Up-to-Date Guide to Social Media Image Sizes.” This is updated every few months. As we all know that the “best” size can change for any platform I always advise my clients to review their platforms regularly (from both phone and laptop), and ALWAYS leave a bit of a border on any image you create (so … if it does change … there’s a chance you might not get information cut off). You can find the Sprout Social guide here.
- As of this writing (November 2020) I’m expecting to see all the “year-end” and “new year” data coming out within the next 30-60 days, As a geek, I’ll enjoy pouring through all the information, and as a consultant, I’ll be reading with a thought to what my clients need to know (because for the average business person, some of it is kind of dry and boring). If you would love to see the information I pull out and highlight – ask me about my private program.
And as a side note — I know many start-ups that “bootstrap” their social media. If you are looking to learn from free YouTube channels or webinars — my best piece of advice that I want to have folks understand is
PLEASE LOOK AT THE DATES on any “free” resources. If it’s over 6 months old just walk away. There was an article published listing 15 social media training courses, this was published in 2020. It listed a course on YouTube, that was published in 2016, so please, always check the dates. (I was going to list it as a resource — but not with a course that is over 4 years old).
If you’d like to always keep up with the latest changes happening in the social media world, I can share the 4 podcasts, 5 Facebook groups, 2 newsletters, and 1 videocast that I watch or you can save time and discover the summaries that I post in my private consulting program. (Psssst — you might want to send me a private message and ask about the year-end special I have going on).
4 Simple Steps to LinkedIn Success
4 Simple Steps to LinkedIn Success
(Actually — 16)
DAILY
Take these steps every day to stay top of mind with your colleagues.
- Review your notifications. Did anyone comment on your posts? Does someone have a birthday coming up that you’d like to acknowledge? Does a connection have a new job you want to congratulate them on?
- Check timeline
- comment on posts or articles
- Share an update
- Check your messaging
- Check invitations (connection requests)
WEEKLY
Take these steps each week to showcase your expertise and solidify your brand.
- Post (an article, an update, an interactive question)
- Visit your groups
- Reach out to a current or former client, colleague, customer, or classmate
- Promote a product, service, or event
MONTHLY
Take these steps each month to deepen your connections.
- Save your connections to a spreadsheet
- Write one recommendation and request one recommendation
- Plan next month’s articles
- Review your new acquaintances and decide if there are new people to connect with (remember to send a message with a connection request)
YEARLY
Take these steps at least once per year to make sure your overall profile is up-to-date.
- Review your profile
- Your photo
- Your headline
- Your summary
(do these items still reflect what you’d like to profile on LinkedIn)
- Review connections (do you need to add some or remove some)
- Review groups
- Review the media in your summary
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