Facebook, Resources

Facebook Facial Recognition

Facebook Privacy is in the news again – this time with a new “feature” called Facial Recognition.

A couple of months ago I wrote a blog post on Facebook Privacy Settings as I felt strongly about the fact that many people still did not understand the settings, or know how to fully protect their privacy, or even why they should.

I regularly meet with small business owners who are willing to explore the benefits of social media for business and embrace this new way of marketing online.  I absolutely admire them them for stepping outside their normal means of interacting with their customers, however the biggest concern I regularly hear expressed, is about privacy, ie. the need to protect personal privacy and keep it separate from business.

So the first thing I do is ensure their Facebook Personal Profile privacy settings (and those of their family, particularly their children) are set appropriately.

Meanwhile, Facebook is ever-changing and there’s been some recent talk in the online space over the rolling out of the Tag Suggestions which effectively means that faces are being scanned with facial recognition software…. Read More

Resources, Social Media for Business

Social Media Revolution 2011

Erik Qualman is the man behind the SocialNomics and the Social Revolution videos.  The previous version with its great choice of music was one of 2010’s most videos on YouTube (it has over 2.8million views) and was shared by many as the defining source of statistics in the social media industry.

Qualman is the author of Socialnomics: how social media transforms the way we live and do business.

Today he released his new video – 2011 version.  There are so many great statistics in this short 2 minute video and beyound.  Here are my Top 10 that I consider very powerful and relevant.

  1. Social Media is about People
  2. Over 50% of the world’s population is under 30 years old
  3. 93% of marketers use social media for business
  4. Kindergartens are learning on iPads, not chalkboards
  5. A new member joins LinkedIn every second… Read More

B2C (Business to Consumer), Business Blogging, Facebook

Facebook Marketing – Give your Customers More

I notice that many companies use Facebook regularly and are saying all the right things – “engaging” their customers with personable comments, providing them with information about what’s happening (“Come on in We’re Open”) – but this sort of marketing message doesn’t quite “cut it” anymore in today’s information overload/cluttered marketplace.

Here’s where they are missing out – they are treating Facebook as a standalone marketing communication channel.   They are treating this social media channel as marketing only and missing the bigger picture…

Sound familiar? then consider this:

Integrate and Link

You have the opportunity to integrate your social media channels into your business by providing a link back to your website (or better still, your Blog) to entice the reader to click through, visit your website and maybe even “share” that content with their friends.

Provide additional helpful information

Once your reader arrives at your website, you provide them with more… interesting and helpful content.

Engage your Customer and Sell

The result of this is extra traffic to your website, but even more than that, an interactive visit, thereby engaging your customer and adding value.  Ultimately this leads to trust and that potential customer is on track to become a true customer

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MARKETING MESSAGES and lost opportunities

Outlined below are some common Facebook posts, the consumer behaviour that can incur, leading to a lost opportunity to drive traffic to your OWN website, remembering that you do not “own” or control the Facebook platform (case in point AirNZ’s recent hiccups with a Facebook-only promotion) :… Read More

B2C (Business to Consumer), Social Media for Business, Things We Like (or Not)

Daily Discount Deal Fatigue

The school holidays are over, the house is quiet, the wind is howling outside and I take a moment to enjoy my breakfast and coffee while catching up on the recent papers – I’ve been meaning to read the Business Herald from Friday – an article about the plethora of daily deal web offers.

I admit that, although I am subscribed to a few of these sites, I have actually become annoyed by their constant appearance in my in-box; I always look at one of them (the attractive GrabOne email), I don’t ever look at another one (because the images do not even load in my inbox – have they considered mac users?!), but the interesting thing is I have Never bought anything. Why is that? I ponder.

It’s a little bit like the constant barrage of Sales from big retailers such as Farmers and Briscoes, Rebel Sport etc and holiday sales like Boxing Day, Easter. I am immune to it.

It’s like the Entertainment Voucher books – great if you don’t mind going to different places, but what about your local favourite restaurant – I like to go where I know its going to be great.

It’s like wine on special in the supermarket – why would you buy it full price when you know next week it will be on special again?

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Perhaps I am just odd, perhaps I like to rebel against the norm, but overall there are a few factors at play here for me:

1. Convenience – I am a busy person and I don’t like to have to buy on a certain day because there is a sale.   I don’t like to fight with the crowds or be given a purchasing deadline… Read More

B2C (Business to Consumer), Facebook

Understanding Facebook’s Privacy Settings

There is a lot of talk around in the news and among groups of people about the privacy of your information online and in particular, concerns over Facebook Privacy.

The interesting thing is that very few people seem to know how to adjust the settings to ensure that your facebook profile and information you share on facebook is protected from the public eye.

What concerns me is that many of us, including teenagers, are on Facebook with profiles that are partially or fully open to public search.

It is a big topic, and over the time it has taken me to write this blog post, there has been even more in the News about Facebook Privacy, Facebook itself has put out some new help (see their Family Safety Centre) and other advice-articles have been written.

So here in this article I give you step-by-step instructions on adjusting yours and your family’s Facebook Settings to give maximum privacy.

Why is this important – many reasons, and probably different priorities for different people, but the 3 biggies are:… Read More