5 Tips to Help You "Win the News Feed"

Social Media Examiner's Facebook Success Summit was money well-spent. Information overload to be sure, but there were a few glaring takeaways. The biggest: in order to be truly effective as a business, organization, or personality on Facebook, you must "win the news feed."

Everyone familiar with Facebook knows that there are two views for the wall: "top news" and "most recent." According to Jay Baer, and others, the majority of people access their Facebook pages through the news feed. Good news and bad news for Facebook page admins.

In an earlier post, I mentioned that Facebook has an algorithm based on an "edge rank" that assigns a value to a particular post based on three elements: recency, how many comments and likes an item gets (weight), and an affinity score determined by what you and your friends have liked in the past. the higher the rank based on those three scores, the more likely you will show up in the news feed. So basically, posting once a day probably won't cut it, unless your fan only has ten friends. In order to "win the news feed," there are a few tricks I picked up at the Summit.

1. As an admin, like your posts on your fan page. Remember, when you press "like" you will like as an admin, not as the fan page name. Also, ask your friends to like your posts. You don't need to be pushy, but ask.

2. Maintain an editorial content policy that promotes engagement. Social Media Examiner does a great job of this. Amy Porterfield from Social Media Examiner outlined the editorial strategy that helped them grow their page to thousands in less than ten months.She suggests being very specific--how many times a week to post, what the content will be (poll, hot tips, pictures, video, event, special announcements, or 3rd party links, etc.), what times of day to post, and using multiple admins, if possible.

3. If you do a poll or a question, be the first to put an answer as a way to get the ball rolling. Again, liking or commenting as an admin helps the edge rank. There is a cautionary note here to avoid looking annoying or cheesy. If you are the only one liking and commenting on your page, your content is not engaging. Look at some pages that are doing a good job of this on Facebook to get some tips.

4. Spread the "like" button across the web. The code to embed the Facebook like button is easily retrieved from the developer section of Facebook. http://developers.facebook.com/docs/reference/plugins/like . It's a quick process--just be sure you know the right width of the hole you need (in pixels). You may have to play with this a little. I suggest you don't incorporate your feed in your like button--it takes up a lot of real estate on your website. I've used it on my business blog, however, as a teaser to get people over there.

5. Be present on your Facebook page. If you are using your Facebook page to push out news items, you won't show up on too many news feeds. That is a Twitter function. Answer comments, pose questions, "like" what your fans post. Add value to your fans and they will add value to you. Give them content that is worth something. Rule of thumb: for the first 30 days of a new page, only post content that adds value to the fans. Don't sell anything and don't promote anything. Just give.

Have you got any other tips?

Just Listen an Absolute Must Read

I don't review books very often on my blogs--maybe I should, though. I read an awful lot and some of it is okay, but some of it is life-changing. I've read a few such books in the last few months. Trust Agents by Brogan and Smith, Engage by Brian Solis, Networked Nonprofit by Kanter and Fine, to name a few. But this one is up there--Just Listen by Dr. Mark Goulston.
What attracted me to this book initially? Title. I don't listen well--I admit. My top strengths are activator and strategic--I don't listen well. Anyway--the book is fantastic. First off, Goulston trains hostage negotiators. Does that tell you something? The subtitle of this book is, "discover the secret to getting through to absolutely anyone." Anyone? Oh, come on now. But after reading the book, I can see how he can make that claim legitimately.

I knew I was in for a challenge when he said early on:

"Most people upshift when they want to get through to other people. They persuade. They encourage. They argue. They push. And in the process, they create resistance. When you use the techniques I offer, you'll do exactly the opposite--you'll listen, ask, mirror, and reflect back to people what you've heard...and the unexpected downshift will draw them to you."

I waded through the initial explanation of the three brains, the scientific stuff--and then I hit the chapter called, Move Yourself From "Oh F#@& to OK" where the scientific stuff started to make practical sense. I had an epiphany in that chapter. I realized what was tripping me up often in stressful communications was my inability to be able to move through that cycle quickly. Now, I am practicing.

The book is loaded with practical info based on scientific research and his umpteen years of training CEOs, police, lawyers, you name it... It really hit home with me. Learning to move people from "no" to "yes" is a skill we all need.

When you pick up the book, you'll want to read "the power of hmmmm" at least twice. Powerful stuff. Pick up a copy today. Good reading, and may we all become good listeners.

Altimeter Group Report on Successful Facebook Criteria

The following Slideshare presentation came from the Altimeter Group on "8 Success Criteria for Facebook Page Marketing." The Altimeter Group is led by Charlene Li, author of Groundswell and Open Leadership, two books I highly recommend. In this presentation, Jeremiah Owyang and others reiterate the eight criteria that showed up in their study and talk about who is doing it right. Worth a look. Let me know what you think. For me, #3 and #5 are areas I need to pick up--be up to date and participate in dialog. I have a tendency to "post and forget about it," but I know that's not as effective as participating and encouraging dialog on the page.

The 8 Success Criteria For Facebook Page Marketing

View more documents from Jeremiah Owyang.

I've Got Algortihm...Who Could Ask for Anything More?

Because I was forced to take math in both high school and college, I know what an algorithm is. But being able to solve a problem with one, that's another thing. So when SEO people throw around the term "algorithm," all I remember is, "I hate math." What I'm really saying is, "I don't get it."

This morning I was catching up on sessions from Social Media Examiner's Facebook Success Summit and I listened to Jay Baer talk about metrics for Facebook. When Jay explained, in basic terms even I could understand, why the "Like" button is a crucial social plug-in for a website, a light bulb went off. If I install the "like" button on stories, blogs, and items above the fold on my home page, chances are my fans will "like" my web content more often. And then, guess what? Those likes show up on their Facebook page. And the "like cycle" is more like-ly to get traction and land us on that all-important news feed.

For a long time, I had been looking at Facebook through my own feed and not through the feeds of our fans. I look at my wall, profile and news feed day in and day out. But, is our message making it on to our fans' news feeds? Baer's session made me start thinking of ways to make that happen.

Facebook uses an "edge rank" to determine what gets on your news feed and it operates basicall on three factors: recency, how many comments and likes an item gets (weight), and an affinity score determined by what you and your friends have liked in the past. According to Baer, the way to "win the newsfeed" is to pay attention to frequency and content. Baer says if you are only posting once a day, you won't win the newsfeed. The other thing he said that really hit me was, "without the 'like' button, you're nothing." Everytime anybody hits a like button on the internet, from your fan page, to your website, to a blog, whatever, that goes into your fan's timeline. Visualize what that looks like.

Like buttons can be easily installed on your website or blog. You can start by going to the bottom of your Facebook page and looking for the link for developers. Click on that site and search "like button." You may have enough coding knowledge to do this one yourself. Start with this article.

Also, the newsfeed is constantly changing as factors change. So Baer says, pay attention to when people are online. If you only post during business hours Monday-Friday, you are missing a possible 65% of the audience that is on at night and on the weekends.

So, even though my SEO wiz-buddy at Future Farm, Sean Golliher, would  tell me I have a lot to learn (and I would agree), I am now more confident that I am starting to get it--even just a little. How 'bout you? Do you get it?

photo from Flickr by tkamenick

I Need a Breather

It's that time of the year--Homecoming, beginning of basketball season looming, volleyball gearing up, cross country heading to post season, and on and on. My visions of summer have faded and winter sports season is staring me in the face.

The subject of how to deal with the elevated activity came up at this week's SID Chat, and I sort of checked out when the discussion started. Jay Stancil, moderator of the chat, has a way of always bringing us back to the idea of balance. It is a core principle of his. Granted, Jay has a young family, something I don't have. But still, why does the idea of balance just creep up on me like a monster in the closet and then lower the boom all at once?

I haven't been on my RSS reader all week. Why does that fact cause anxiety? Well, it's Homecoming week here, and everything that goes along with that. We're also trying to work ahead and get ready for basketball season. We are getting a new scoreboard this year which will change the way we broadcast and web stream the games (something I'm in charge of). I'm finding myself with a headache at the end of the day. I need a breather.

Remember Stephen Covey's four quadrants from Seven Habits book? Somewhere I've lost this habit and need to pick it up again. I am spending way too much time in quadrant 2--urgent but not important. Time to start shuffling things to the quadrant they belong in and take care of #1 first. Let the rest go for now. When urgency turns into over-stress, I need to make sure I visit my core principles. How about you? How do you deal with the tyranny of the urgent?

No Love for Twitter?

This morning I came across a piece by David Warschawski on PR News Online questioning the hype over social media as a marketing tool. He made a lot of good points, but there are a couple holes in his argument.

First, the good points. He is right in joining the growing group of PR professionals continuing to sound the alarm about mindless social media participation. Implementation without strategy is a path to failure. I also liked his illustration of social media being just a tool and not the tool belt. More businesses and organizations, especially small ones using in-house people, need to hear this. He says,

First, let's address if it is right for you and your organization. You'll be surprised to hear a marketing expert say this, but for many organizations social media shouldn't be one of your top marketing initiatives.

I agree totally. I have a client that I have advised to stay away from social media for the time being. They are chomping at the bit to get on Facebook, but they don't have the time, resources or people to do it right. Besides, their website is antiquated and user-unfriendly. First things first.

Next, the holes. He quotes some statistics from a 2009 survey done by the First Amendment Center about where people get their primary news and proceeds to indicate that only a tiny percentage (1%) of the surveyed people get their news from Twitter and that 49% of people do not trust Twitter as a news source. This is true, I'm sure. I don't get my news from Twitter either. As a matter of fact, I don't know anybody that uses Twitter as a primary news source. I don't think Twitter has ever been touted as a primary news source. That is not its strength. Faulty connection of data to conclusion. The article isn't about news, it's about using social media for marketing.

More statistics followed about how CMOs don't allocate very much budget to social media, etc. I get the point, but I think it's incomplete. How about some accompanying stats about what CMOs are now allocating to traditional media as well, to get a good perspective on how total marketing budgets have changed in the last five years. My guess is that traditional media spending, especially in the area of print, has changed--probably in relation to the amount of budget allocated to social media.  But, I agree with the main point, social media is not the pie, it's just a piece.

Social media is evolving. It blew on the scene with huge fanfare and now those of us that use it are refining, honing, tweaking, finding appropriate metrics, strategizing, adjusting...that's what happens when something is new. To dismiss it as a fad, I think, is a huge mistake. There are too many examples of people out there doing it well with huge successes. Yes, it's only a part of a media strategy--I think we all get that. But the reason there is failure out there is not because of the medium, it's because it isn't being used effectively.

Warchawski winds up the post with what I think is his main point, and it's a good one.

Yes, social media is an important new weapon in our marketing arsenal, but it must be kept in proper perspective and used accordingly. So do me a favor—retweet this article and post it wherever you like, but don't do it so you can say you checked off your social media to-do box for the day.

What say you?