Friday, August 31, 2012

Are You Effectively Using the "Admin Roles" on Your Business's Facebook Page?


Today, we wanted to address why and how you should use Administrator access on Facebook. This is an important topic for those of you who are new to social media for business, and a great reminder for those of you out there who are already fairly social media savvy!

What is an Administrator?
Administrators, found within the Admin Panel, are essentially those who you have chosen to grant access to your Facebook Page for your business. They only have access to your Facebook business page, they do not have access to your personal Facebook account. The administrators you choose can, depending on the access you grant them, add/delete posts, respond to/delete comments, send message, create ads, view insights, and edit the page. Administrators and the Admin Panel are functions only available to users who have set up a Facebook business pages.

Why is it Important to use the Admin Capability on Facebook?
1.     Administrators you add can help with the day to day maintenance of your page
a.     Note: Those you add as administrators must be people you trust and that work for your business since you are essentially giving them access to promote your brand and provide customer service.
2.     The admin panel now gives you options to decide the level of access each administrator has to your page (we’ll elaborate on this in a minute).

How do you Add Administrators?
As the creator of a Facebook Page you automatically have admin access. However, if you have others that you know and trust to contribute to your Facebook Page you can add them as administrators so they can contribute without having to log into your personal Facebook account.
Just follow these easy steps to add administrators:
1.     Go to your Facebook business page and click “Edit Page” in the top right corner
2.     Choose “Admin Roles” from the drop-down
3.     At the bottom of this page find the box that looks like this:
4.     Type in the persons name – use this if they are already on Facebook, their name should appear in a drop-down, select them. If they are not already on Facebook, type in their email.
5.     Choose what kind of permissions/access you’d like them to have by clicking manager and choosing the appropriate role – we will elaborate on the roles momentarily.
6.     If prompted to enter a password, enter your personal Facebook password.

What are the Differences Between the Admin Roles?
Facebook now offers 5 different roles to choose from – unlike before timeline, you can actually choose how much access you want each administrator to have. It’s important to remember that everyone is put in the Manager role by default.
The 5 roles you have to choose from are as follows:
1.     Manager
2.     Content Creator
3.     Moderator
4.     Advertiser
5.     Insights Analyst

Facebook has published this handy graph to display the different permissions each role is given:

 
When adding administrators to your page we recommend choosing the role you think the person would most fit into. If, as time goes by, you find they need more access, you can change their role by going to “Edit Page” à “Admin Roles” and choosing the new role in the drop-down under their name. You will be prompted to enter a password and, like when adding administrators, enter your own personal Facebook password.

In Conclusion…
At Constant Raving, we see people frequently under-utilizing the Admin Panel, or going to the opposite extreme and granting access to everyone in their business as a Manager. While this is a great function Facebook offers, and we encourage you to take advantage of it, we can not reiterate enough how extraordinarily important it is to only give access to those you know and trust within your business, and to make sure they only have the access they need to do their jobs!

We hope this post has been helpful! Please let us know what you think of this post, or what you would like to see addressed in future posts in the comments. And, as always, please contact us at Constant Raving with any questions.

Friday, August 17, 2012

Are Sound Waves the Next "Big Thing" in Mobile Marketing?


At Constant Raving, we provide social media management services and work with businesses to create a robust marketing strategy or, if one is already in place, to ensure that their social media is aligned with their current strategy.

As time goes on, we are finding that smartphone apps are becoming an integral part of a successful marketing strategy for many businesses. Why? Almost everyone we know today has a smartphone loaded with their favorite apps. Many of these are apps of their favorite brands like Starbucks, Pizza Hut, or Target.  If you don’t have one, your business could be missing a valuable marketing opportunity.

Whether you are thinking about developing a smartphone app, are on the fence, or already have one, you want to take a look at a new technology that is taking off in the mobile marketing world. What could have everyone when new technologies are being developed every day? The answer: Sound Waves.

Sonic Notify has developed technology that allows the use of sound waves to trigger the app on your Smartphone and notify users of deals, give them quick tips or facts about your brand, or even just say “thank you” for visiting.

How can sound waves on a mobile app benefit your business? Let’s say you are a clothing store and someone who has your app, but is not planning to go in your store that day, walks by it at the mall. An inaudible sound wave triggers the app to bring up a message on their smartphone letting them know they can get 20% off today. Instead of walking past, you now have someone who is walked into your store interested in potentially making a purchase.

Sonic Notify has designed this audio-to-mobile technology to be integrated into in-store radio broadcasts, discreetly placed audio devices within the business, TV shows, movies, sporting events, and even live concerts. Their EVP Ross Weinstein says: “Anywhere audio is being broadcast, there’s an opportunity for content to be delivered.”

At Constant Raving, we think this technology has the capability, when used correctly, to be a very valuable asset to many businesses marketing strategies. Why? It allows you to push out mobile content to consumers not only when they are in your store or on your website or social media, but even when they are watching TV or seeing a movie.

Ok, by now you may be interested but wondering how does this work? There are several important, but simple steps:
1.     You must have a mobile app already in place
a.      If you are unsure if a mobile app would be a valuable asset to your businesses marketing strategy, please feel free to contact us!
2.     Install Sonic’s SDK (Sonic Notify’s software kit) into your app
a.      This is as easy as adding an extra line of code
3.     Choose what content you would like delivered to your customers and when
4.     Incorporate an inaudible sonic sound into your sound system, television show, advertisement, or live concert at the time you would like your content to appear
a.      Sonic Notify provides the audio file for you to incorporate into your media

One additional great thing about this technology is that you rarely need a wifi connection or GPS enabled on your phone for the content to be delivered successfully.

Are you interested in using sound wave technology? Let us know in the comments!

As always, if you have any questions about today’s post, smartphone apps, or need help launching or managing your businesses social media, please contact us at ConstantRaving@mvoc.com!

Monday, July 23, 2012

Facebook and Pinterest: Key Points for Businesses


After a brief hiatus, we are back to blogging at Constant Raving!

To dive right in, last week we taught a class on Facebook and Pinterest to a great group from the Home Builders Association of Charlotte.

We wanted to share with you some key points that we addressed during our course that we think are important for everyone who is using social media for their business to know.

Facebook:

The Law:
·      The FTC monitors social platforms for FTC violations
·      You must disclose all endorsements
·      Federal Guidelines carry a $11,000 penalty per infraction
·      You can read more about this at http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2009/10/endortest.shtm

Facebook Guidelines and Promotional Guidelines:
·      You must run a contest through third party applications
·      You cannot use status updates as a promotion or sweepstakes
·      You can read more about this at http://www.facebook.com/promotions_guidelines.php

It’s a Conversation:
·      Social media is the new phone call
o   Would you hang up on a lead?
o   Would you hang up on negative feedback?

Social Media Habits:
·      Understand your target audience
o   When are they online?
o   What type of content do they like?
·      The biggest spike on Facebook occurs at 3pm ET on weekdays, particularly Wednesday
·      Fans are the least active on Sunday

Timeline Optimization:
·      Creativity is key – words get boring!
·      Facebook’s “Ranking” algorithms determine which posts get shown
o   Videos trump Photos, which trumps Links and Text is last
·      Having the popular kids as fans (600+ friends) will not help your page

Pinterest:

What is Pinterest?
·      Online virtual Pinboard
·      The #3 social network, following Facebook and Twitter

Why should I use Pinterest for my business?
·      Brand Reinforcement
·      Interest -> sale is quick and easy
·      Drives traffic to your website, improves your SEO
·      Provides an informal focus group

How can I use Pinterest effectively?
·      Repin, like and comment on others Pins
o   It’s all about reciprocity!
·      Keep Pins and Pinboards brand relevant
·      Run Competitions
·      Integrate your website and social media
·      Dedicate time

                               Melissa and Caitlin after presenting on Facebook and Pinterest

If you are interested in learning more about Facebook and/or Pinterest and how you can use these social media networks effectively for your business, contact us! Also, if you are interested in having us teach a class to your group on Facebook, Pinterest, or any other social media sites, please contact us. We love teaching about our favorite subjects!

Email Melissa and Caitlin at: ConstantRaving@mvoc.com
Call Melissa at: (919) 244.7503

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Presenters at the HBA Charlotte!

Part of the Constant Raving team, Melissa and Caitlin, after presenting on Pinterest and Facebook at the SMC of HBA Charlotte! We had a great time and really enjoyed talking about two of our favorite topics!