Did you know you can set up your own secret group on Facebook? Your customers may appreciate and value more from being part of a private group. Is it completely private? My experience is yes!
Secret groups can be beneficial in lots of different ways for example:
If you have staff to manage, you can share internal information such as scheduling staff meetings, upcoming internal events, important announcements, project management, last minute changes, gaining feedback etc. In fact, anything that you would normally email or text your staff about you can use your Facebook secret group to do just that.
You also have the option of using a chat feature, allowing you to bounce ideas or simply post to other Group members. Your discussions are completely private.
If you don’t know how to set up your secret group, here’s a quick guide:
Setting up your Group:
In order to create your secret group, you must have a personal Facebook account already set-up, then simply do the following:
3.Give the Group a name and choose an icon with the dropdown arrow
4.Add any members who are your Facebook Friends by typing their names
tip: if you are including members who are not your personal friends create a Closed Group first before changing it to a secret one once all members have joined.
5.Finally, select the Privacy setting and click the create button
When you have set up your group (as a Closed Group first), send the URL for the group to your select Secret Group Members. The URL will take them to the page where they can ask to join the page.
The Group founder will approve the ‘Join the Group’ requests; once you have your members change the Group setting to secret.
Once the group members are all in the loop change, and the setting has been changed to ‘secret’ the group becomes untraceable! The Groups URL will then even be hidden from Google!
If you follow this strategy, you and your staff will benefit from having a conversation on Facebook, but keeping some things PRIVATE. You may also want to consider setting up secret groups for VIP or other client groups!
It’s been sometime since my last blog post, as I’ve been busy getting up to speed with the all new Facebook Timelines.
I hope you are seeing its benefits and beginning to get to grips with the features.
I must admit however that while there are lots of new features that work in the favour for our business (such as FB giving us more control elements and engagement outlets); it will take a little longer before we are all up to full speed.
Hang in there, you’re not alone!
I believe that once you have really got to grips with your Timelines you will have more control and benefit greatly from its ability to allow more engagement with customers and marketing avenues.
If you’re struggling to put the jigsaw pieces of the Timelines puzzle together, I’m here to offer a helping hand.I will be sharing some great tips I’ve picked up along the way in my upcoming blogs, so stay tuned!
Your Activity Log stores information on every interaction that you have with your fans on your page. It keeps a record of the updates you make, which is fantastic for tracking and monitoring your posts and ensuring you don’t become repetitive.
By utilising the Activity log, it will help you assess how you are getting on with your Facebook marketing efforts.
It is important to mention however that while such new Timeline features are here to give us a great user friendly Facebook experience, the real important factor to having a successful Facebook Timeline is YOU!
You are your brand and you will quickly see your Timeline grow if your page portrays a human personality. So, if you can confidently tick off the list below, you’re on the right track.
¨keep up to date with current affairs
¨share relevant content of value to your followers
¨answer your customer’s queries
¨interact with quality status updates
If you follow this strategy, you will be rewarded with a Facebook community that enjoys being a part of your page.
Essentially this takes time, and I am aware that time costs money! So, build the time and the cost into your overall business and marketing strategy. If you can’t spare the time and conscious about your ROI, consider hiring a social media expert who is dedicated to helping you grow your social media presence and offers you a no quibble guarantee.
A few weeks ago I shared some hints and tips to get you going with your new Facebook Timeline layout. I hope you are all adjusting to the changes and getting organised. There is not long to go now before this rolls out for us all!
Just to remind you…. there are some areas you will need to take care of as a priority.
Here is an example of the new Timeline layout changes and some important factors that you should take care of straight away:
Cover Picture
There is a nice big area (851 x 315 pixels in size) at the top of the page allocated to a cover picture.
This picture should give a good feel for what your business is, although it must NOT include the following:
Price or purchase information for your products, such as ”20% off” or ”download it at our website”.
Contact information, website address or email addresses.
References to Facebook features or actions such as ”Like” or ”Share” or an arrow pointing from your cover photo to any of these features.
Calls-to-action such as ”Get it now” or ”tell your friends”.
Profile Picture
You will still have a profile picture, with measurements of 180 x 180 pixels (ensure your image looks good when scaled to 32 x 32). We highly recommend using your profile picture to show your company logo or an image that strongly represents your brand. The profile picture has been moved from the upper left corner of your Facebook page to a location nested in the bottom of the “Cover” picture.
Links & Custom Tabs
The links to your Custom Tabs have been removed from the left side of your Facebook page, and they are being replace by large “Custom Tab” images which will displayed below the “Cover” picture. If you do not have any Custom Tab images, then Facebook will display generic icons in those spaces. The default landing tab is being eliminated so all visitors to your Facebook page will arrive at your Timeline page. The “Custom Tab” images will be your way to guide visitors to your custom pages.
If you would like to know more, we have created a fantastic guide to the Timeline changes, and how to go about ensuring your business keeps ahead of the game with these changes.
BONUS!
Download Our FREETimeline Facebook Guide You’ll be Able to Adapt Swiftly To These ChangesTODAY!
I hope that you have found this helpful, and you are well on your way to having a great Timeline Business Page.
If you are having any problems at all please don’t hesitate to contact us or take up our special offer of a Timeline conversion package for £37.00 (offer ends 3rd April).
I’m looking forward to seeing all your new business pages : )
No doubt you have noticed the Facebook message on your Facebook page affecting us all.
As of 30th March our business pages will be updated to a new Timeline layout.
Here are some very important things we think you should spend some time getting up to speed with before these changes are officially implemented.
Here are some new rules and regulations to be aware of:
1. There is a nice big area at the top of the page allocated to a cover picture. This picture should give a good feel for what your business is, although it must NOT include the following:
Price or purchase information for your products, such as ”20% off” or ”download it at our website”
Contact information, website address or email addresses
References to Facebook features or actions such as ”Like” or ”Share” or an arrow pointing from your cover photo to any of these features.
Calls-to-action such as ”Get it now” or ”tell your friends”
2. Your cover photo should be 851 x 315 pixels in size.
You will still have a profile picture, with measurements of 180 x 180 pixels (ensure your image looks good when scaled to 32 x 32). We highly recommend using your profile picture to show your company logo or an image that strongly represents your brand.
3. The new design incorporates photo’s, likes and apps at the top of your page below your cover photo. The photo app will always be first, but the rest can be moved around to change the order. This is where we will advise you to create custom apps allowing you to still use Facebook for Lead Generation.
4. One of the biggest changes is that you will no longer be able to select a default landing page for new visitors to your page. Everyone will come straight to your timeline. Ensuring you have a custom welcome tab is an alternative to this and our team at PCM are coming up with some creative ideas to make sure your new visitors won’t hesitate to click it. : )
5. Remember with the changes Facebook will look more visual. We encourage you to use this to your advantage, so use images in your posts to generate 2x more engagement than other post types!
6. Other new features include being able to direct message your connections and being able to pin your favourite update to the top of your Timeline for up to 7 days.
It might take a bit of getting used to, but most importantly we have time to prepare.
