This is third in a series on how businesses can utilize facebook for marketing/advertising. We began by looking at facebook pages. Then we moved on to looking at groups. Finally today, we look at a comparision between pages and groups

The Similarities:

Both groups and pages offer the ability to create discussions as well the ability to post photos, videos. Both have walls on which to post. Both allow you to create events. Both require you to manually remove posts as an administrator if something does not meet your standards or purpose for the page. Messaging members is available on both.

The Differences:

Groups :
Can send messages to member’s inbox inviting them to events or alerting them to something of importance

Easier to send mass invitations to join.

Facebook Pages:

Visitor statistics (insights) – free, regular, detailed updates on the growth of the page are provided.

Fan pages are visible to unregistered people and are thus indexed, but to interact with the page, the user must be a Facebook member.

Allows the addition of extra applications – to view available applications, visit http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/apps/directory.php

Actions are documented – If a fan of your page takes action on it, such as writing on your wall or posting a video, their actions will be documented on the news feeds of their personal pages. Their friends will see the news feeds and if curious, check out your page – giving you more exposure

Offer vanity URLs

Facebook Page or Group?

So which is better to promote your business, group or page? Generally speaking, pages are better especially if you want to interact with your fans/customers without having them connected to your personal profile. But the common denominator for both groups and pages, is the need to update regularly, keep your audience engaged and offer something of value.

For more on how to utilize social media, click HERE.

Last week, we looked at using fan pages or just pages as they are now called, to establish a presence for your business, product or brand. But would a Facebook group be a better choice. Let’s take a look at Groups to see what they are all about.

Facebook groups can be created for just about anything. They typically are meant to foster group discussion around a particular topic area, cause, or event, or interest. Group pages are linked to your personal profile. Like pages, they are easy to set up.

Steps:

To begin, go to the Groups application and click “Create a Group” in the upper right corner of the page. On the following page, you will be able to add descriptive information about your group. All groups require a group name, description and group type. Click “Create Group” when you are finished. And that is it. Very simple

Next, add a picture – To be easily recognized as a business, you should choose a logo or storefront as your photo.

Select your group’s privacy settings. These settings can be changed at any time by clicking “Edit Group” on the group’s main page.

Why Groups make business sense:

Administration – As the group administrator, you can easily send messages to group members, making it easier to communicate with them about your business. However, there is a limitation of 5,000 members.

Facebook Groups are searchable by keywords. This makes them easier to find easier to find by Facebook users.

Allow you as the administrator to send out bulk invitations and any of the group members can invite friends which is an effective way to quickly market your business or product.

Allows you to post information about your business or product – Of course, engaging content and encouraging interaction among group members will make your group more attractive.

To create a group, sign into your facebook account and then go HERE

For more on how to utilize social media for your business, click HERE.

In the past two weeks we have discussed both Pages and Groups as a way to market your business on Facebook, next week we will compare the two to see which is thought of as the most effective marketing tool.

Lately, the most popular question is, “Are you on Facebook?” Mark Zuckerberg, Founder of Facebook, launched his networking site as a means to connect with friends at Harvard. Little did he know the incredibly popular Facebook would reach nearly 200 million users, with a million new members joining each week in the U.S. alone. So it should come as no surprise that the ability to use Facebook as a business tool wouldn’t be far behind its application to stay in touch with friends.

Are you ready to utilize Facebook as a way to establish a presence for your business, product, or brand? Start by establishing a Fan Page or Group . This week, let’s look at fan pages.

Getting Started:

Name your Page – be sure to choose a name your customers will recognize.

Upload photos – A logo or storefront works well. This helps your page to be easily recognizable as the business or product you are featuring. Make sure the image is still clear when reduced to thumbnail size.

Add basic information to the group or fan page such as links to company site, newsletter subscription information and newsletter archives. Then go back and add more detailed information such as brand or product information, photos of your products and helpful links.

Make the content engaging: Post upcoming events including webinars, conferences and other programs where you or someone from your company will be present. Add helpful information and answers to questions on a regular basis.

Once created, use the “suggest to friends” button to begin to build your fan base. More fans increase interactions and more interactions increase News Feed. Facebook will accelerate the rate at which unknown entities become popular, and it will also fortify the position of those who are already recognized highly among users. All businesses and brands have the potential for exponential distribution if they can engage users.

Other helpful tidbits taken from Facebook Help Center for Fan Pages:
“Facebook allows page administrators to build merchandising, ticketing, and download applications, or to use those provided by 3rd party developers. On the canvas pages of these applications, they may choose to run paid 3rd party advertising pursuant to the Platform Terms of Service. The off-network website of any artist, business, or brand may be linked prominently on any Page, so traffic can be directed to an external monetizing site”

“Powerful reporting and insight tools are provided free to Page Administrators. On a cumulative and week-over-week basis, these granular reports will measure reach (e.g., impressions, clicks), viral impact (e.g., fan adds), responder insights (e.g., gender and age), and engagement (e.g., video plays and wall posts) of visitors to the Page. One advantage of using the applications designed by Facebook is the ability to receive these free, regular, detailed updates on the growth of the page.”

“Your Pages will be publicly viewable, so people searching for a particular artist or company on the Internet will find the Page’s Facebook presence and be able to view that Page’s photo and basic information. In order to view a Page in its entirety, become a fan of a Page, and engage with a Page, the individual must join Facebook.”

Fan pages offer you the chance to be creative and show your personality. Best of all, they are an incredibly effective way to do viral marketing.

To create a fan page, go to http://www.facebook.com/pages/create.php

For more on how to utilize social media, click HERE.

Next week, we will look at Facebook Groups and how to use them for business purposes.

Who are they?

Friends of the U.S. Chamber is a respected, influential network of Americans who are committed to ensuring our economic strength and making a difference.

How did the U.S. Chamber of Commerce come into being?

Here is an excerpt taken from their home page.

“The idea of a national institution to represent the unified interests of U.S. business first took shape when President William Howard Taft, in a message to Congress on December 7, 1911, addressed the need for a “central organization in touch with associations and chambers of commerce throughout the country and able to keep purely American interests in a closer touch with different phases of commercial affairs.”

Four months later, on April 12, 1912, President Taft’s vision became a reality when a group of 700 delegates from various commercial and trade organizations came together to create a unified body of business interest that today is the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

In 1925, construction on the Chamber headquarters was completed on property that had belonged to Daniel Webster and the U.S. business community made it a rallying point for promoting and defending free enterprise and individual opportunity.

Nearly 100 years later, the Chamber has grown to represent more than 3 million businesses, nearly 3,000 state and local chambers, 830 associations, and over 90 American Chambers of Commerce abroad.”

Why are they important?

They tackle such issues as financial regulation, energy and the environment, health care, legal reform, economic, and labor.

Orange County business owners, are you involved in your local chamber? How about the California chamber? The U.S. Chamber? Get involved today!

Chris Brogan, President of New Marketing Labs, says “We really can’t deny the fact that businesses are testing out Twitter as part of their steps into the social media landscape. You can say it’s a stupid application, that no business gets done there, but there are too many of us (including me) that can disagree and point out business value”.

Here is a snippet from his blog post 50 Ideas on Using Twitter for Business

1. Twitter helps one organize great, instant meetups (tweetups).
2. Twitter works swell as an opinion poll.
3. Twitter can help direct people’s attention to good things.
4. Twitter at events helps people build an instant “backchannel.”
5. Twitter breaks news faster than other sources, often (especially if the news impacts online denizens).
6. Twitter gives businesses a glimpse at what status messaging can do for an organization. Remember presence in the 1990s?
7. Twitter brings great minds together, and gives you daily opportunities to learn (if you look for it, and/or if you follow the right folks).
8. Twitter gives your critics a forum, but that means you can study them.
9. Twitter helps with business development, if your prospects are online (mine are).
10. Twitter can augment customer service. (but see above)

We here at Orange County Advertiser want to hear how you are using Twitter for your business, what is working and what isn’t. Chime in!

Welcome Express welcomes Guest Blogger, Mitch Devine.
Mitch creates marketing messages for businesses of all shapes and sizes. Some of his main categories of experience include automotive, fast food, health care, insurance, real estate, technology and utilities.
Mitch writes words to fit innumerable commercial media formats including Web sites, email, print, collateral, radio (including voice-overs), TV, interactive multimedia, direct mail, outdoor, and point of purchase. Everything from gas pump videos to bar coasters.

If you’ve got something to sell, Mitch can help you say it well. (Rhyming optional.)

Your brand name is usually the first impression customers will have.

Names carry a lot of connotations for various reasons, mostly because of the actions of previous people who had those same names. Notice how not many people name their kids Judas, Ahab or Adolph anymore.

When you hear the name Medusa, what comes to mind first?

Chances are, if you’re familiar with the Medusa of Greek mythology, you don’t think of beautiful hair. More likely, you think of snakes for hair. That’s why it was odd to see a hair salon named Medusa while driving around the other day.

According to myth, Medusa was a monster, one of three sister-creatures called Gorgons, who lived on a remote island. Medusa had snakes for hair and was so hideous that anyone who looked directly at her would literally turn to stone. Ovid’s version of the tale says she was a beautiful maiden until she offended the goddess Athena, who transformed her into the monster. Either way, she’s known as the ugliest thing in all of mythology. (But now fugly is the new pretty, so maybe the name makes sense for a salon.)

Medusa was beheaded by the Greek hero Perseus, who looked at the Gorgon’s reflection in his shield to avoid being turned to stone. Perseus then used the head as a weapon before giving it to the goddess Athena, who affixed it to her shield.

So why name a hair salon after Medusa?

Granted, I’m not exactly the target audience for the hair extensions or coloring offered by Medusa, so I called the salon to find out. Unfortunately, the person who answered didn’t really know. She thought it had something to do with being near the sea. (I learned Greek mythology in fourth grade; evidently it’s no longer part of public school curriculum.)

This Medusa Salon in Huntington Beach isn’t part of a chain or franchise, but it’s not the only hair salon using the name. There are quite a few other Medusa hair salons scattered around the country. This is not meant to knock any of them. I’m sure they’re all quite capable stylists who do beautiful work.

How to get a head in business.

Just speculating here, but maybe the rationale is that you come in with unruly snake-like hair that gets tamed by the time you leave. (As long as you don’t leave without your head.)

I suppose it’s only an odd name for a beauty salon if you’re a big Greek mythology buff or Clash of the Titans nerd like me who knows the backstory.

Obviously, first impressions are important. But in the case of the Medusa Salon, playing against type by using a memorable name can also help you stand apart.

Ultimately, the name and image of your brand comes from more than just history or past associations. It’s built gradually over time through the cumulative results of your interactions with customers.

By the way, Nike was also a Greek goddess, the personification of victory, but that connotation is no longer as well-known as the footwear/apparel company.

What’s your take?

Take a look at Mitch’s other fascinating posts at http://lovehateadvertising.wordpress.com/

We recently saw an intriguing question on Google Answers

“How many advertising messages (from all media sources) is the average American exposed to on a daily basis?”

Here are some of the answers received:

“The average American is exposed to 247 commercial messages each day.”
Consumer Reports Website- http://bit.ly/bReYw4

“If you’re like most consumers, you have been the target of intrusive marketing and a constant barrage of irrelevant advertising messages. The average American sees over 3,000 advertising messages a day. If you fill out a warranty card, get divorced, buy a home, get listed in a school directory, enter a sweepstakes, purchase an item from a catalog, file an insurance claim, or perform a myriad of other everyday activities, some company somewhere makes a record of this fact and sells it to marketers for profit.”
Superprofile Website http://bit.ly/akfKeL

Wow! The average American sees over 3,000 advertising messages a day?? Maybe not…

“This statistic is only used for “hype” purposes, usually to portray advertising as some kind of social evil. When considering these silly numbers, it is best to stop and think: a person is usually only awake for about 1000 minutes per day. If they did nothing else but look at or listen to advertising, it would take every minute of the day to generate 3,000 exposures. A number around 500 might be a reasonable extreme, again counting as exposure all the out-of-home media passed, and small space ads in newspapers and magazines, even thought there may be no notice taken at all.”

The Guru tends to go along with one of the best accepted estimates, that there are about 245 ad exposures daily, 108 from TV, 34 radio and 112 print. The higher estimates probably include all marketing exposure including being in the vicinity of product labels or actual products with trademarks visible, such as your car, computer, fax, phone, shirt, pencil, paper towel in the bathroom, etc. Just think, if we were really exposed to 3000 advertising messages per day, at an average of just 10 seconds apiece (accounting for radio :60′s and brief exposure to billboards), these exposures would consume 8.33 hours out of our 16 waking hours per day.” The Advertising Media Inter-Center Website http://bit.ly/bjYbJP

But regardless of whether the number is 245 or 3,000, it is clear that today’s businesses are competing for consumer attention. Let Welcome Express help. We can ensure that your message reaches out to 32,000 newcomers and pre-move south Orange County families. Your ad will appear in 4 different and highly visible areas including the home page of the Orange County Resource Guide.com and Home at Last magazine, Newcomer Directory and Relocation Guide. If you are looking for reasonably priced dynamic online and in print advertising, then look to www.OrangeCountyResourceGuide.com/TMD.html

Orange County Advertiser welcomes a guest blogger today -
Greg Reed from Globalbizz – Australia

The Diamond Emporium is one of the largest jewelry chains in my area. They got to be that way in the very competitive jewelry business because of how they built their business.

While most retail outlets lead with ‘price style’ advertising (you know the type – Diamond ring was $1995 now just $995), the Diamond Emporium advertised FREE diamond grading classes at their outlets. Now instead of advertising specials for Valentine’s Day, they didn’t advertise at all.

People could attend a showroom and be taught how to select a diamond, grade it and when they needed to buy a diamond they could recognize value; no matter where they bought it. This ingenius ‘education’ program saved the company a fortune in advertising. While their competitiors spent hundreds of thousands of dollars marketing the latest price reduction,

Diamond Emporium were opening new outlets. Brilliant isn’t it. They became the hunted instead of hunting for customers.

A local car dealer also did something similar with their WOW (Women on Wheels) program. They showed women how to change a tire, check the oil and put water into the wipers all around a fashion parade and nibblies in their workshop. When it came time to buy a new car, guess where most of these women bought from. Yes you guessed it.

So how do you become the hunted in your business?

Plumbers – hold handyman hint nights on keeping your drains clean

Real Estate – how to get more money when you sell nights or property investment seminars

Pizza shop – how to make a pizza dough or the perfect tomato base

Hairdressers – how to change your style in 10 minutes

Beauticians – classes that create a younger looking you

Give it a go. Your competitors will hate you for it but your bank manager will love you.

By Greg Reed
Globalbizz Australia

Advertising companies in Orange County need to pay attention to current trends in mobile marketing in order to stay competitive.

The Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB) council has produced a list of the top 10 things it believes markets absolutely have to know about mobile advertising at the moment.

It follows research from the IAB and PriceWaterhouseCoopersthat mobile advertising is set to become part of the mainstream marketing mix over the next two years.

1. It’s an always on medium: Consumers love their mobile phones so much that researchers found when they took peoples phones away for a day they claimed to feel a phantom ‘tingle’ in their pocket that normally proceeds the excitement of a text/call. Stephen Upstone, managing director of European business development, AdInfuse.

2. Social media is driving growth: IAB research in 2009 found that updating social network sites via mobile handsets is increasing with 25% of all social networkers logging on to check or update their pages. 16 to 24 year olds are the biggest mobile social network fans with 44% saying they have updated via mobile, compared to 17% of over 55s. Amy Kean, senior PR and marketing manager, IAB.

3. It provides immediate interaction: Mobile phones allow the consumers to interact immediately with advertising. Upon seeing an advert the consumer can text, call or download content instantly. It can help maximise the effectiveness of other media, a short code is a great example of this. Rachel Wright, business development director, Phonevalley.

4. It’s got a lot to offer: Mobile Marketing is much more than banner adverts within internet content; a wide range of formats can be delivered as campaign components from text links in SMS messages through to full screen static or video display adverts within applications or mobile internet sites. Jeremy Copp, CEO, Rapid Mobile Media.

5. Application crazy: iPhone users have downloaded over 1 billion applications worldwide to their handset since launch. Applications are not restricted to iPhone however; advertisers can create useful applications for consumers for the majority of handsets. David Fieldhouse, mobile manager, MediaCom.

6. It’s popular: The number of mobile media users in the UK has reached the tipping point with over 30% of all UK adults accessing mobile media every month and a large proportion of those going online everyday according to ComScore. Stephen Upstone, managing director of European business development. AdInfuse

7. Smartening up: Over the last 18 months the number of UK Smartphone users (iPhone, Nokia N96, T-Mobile G1 etc) has grown from 3.6m subscribers to 6.3m, a 73% increase, and these users are over three times more likely to browse for News and Information on their phones than non Smartphone users (Comscore/MMetrics). Tim Hussain, head of mobile advertising, Sky.

8. It’s out of your hands: If you’re not sure if your brand should be on mobile, consumers have already made the choice for you. 0ver 4 million consumers are already using their mobiles to search for information on products and services and search volumes are growing 4 times faster than online. Jon Mew, head of mobile, IAB.

9. It can reach you: Target through to point of purchase – no other medium allows such precise targeting, from location based services like local search through to in-store Bluetooth marketing you can reach consumers wherever they are and provide relevant and engaging advertising. Paul Lyonette, head of mobile advertising, Microsoft.

10. Consumers like Mobile! The Orange Exposure study shows 70% of mobile media users find innovative ad formats appealing. In an ad funded games trial 89% said they liked or were neutral to advertisements appearing on the Orange World portal and 88% said they were happy to be exposed to advertising in exchange for free or discounted content. Alex Kozloff, media research manager, Orange.

WE (Welcome Express) can help you implement several of the basics of Social Media Business Marketing Packages and take advantage of the mobile marketing trend!

Have you noticed that the word “eco” is popping up as an adjective for a variety of products? Today’s environmentally conscious customers use “green” as a criteria in their internet shopping. And by the very nature of online shopping vs. brick and mortar stores, it is a more “eco” friendly shopping option. There is no gas being used, no carbon emissions are being produced.

Nine out of ten online shoppers are green to some extent, according to a recent poll by online ad network Burst Media. Breaking down that number further, the largest group of almost 44% has green aspirations; meaning they’ve started letting environmental considerations influence their purchasing, but recognize that they have a long way to go. The second largest group, 37% say they try to be as green as possible. Only 10% of shoppers report not being green at all, and the smallest group, 8.8% have reached their goal of being completely green.

“There’s an emerging consumer base that’s demanding green products, and they’re popping up all over the place,” says Justin Doak, founder of Ecoxera, an Austin, Texas, consulting firm that advises retailers on green practices. “It’s fine and dandy to want to capture that market, but consumers want to know what’s in a product, how is it shipped, how are you housing it, how will they get rid of it when they’re done with it? There are countless areas for greening.”

Today’s business owners should pay attention to this shopping trend. Most customers are willing to pay more for some types of products. This is especially true of earth friendly food and household products. For those who consider themselves deeply green, more than 80% are willing to pay a premium for almost any product category. Customers are “leaning into being green” wherever possible and the word “eco friendly” is attracting attention.

Is your business moving toward being environmentally conscious? Are you letting your customers know? List your business in “Going Green in OC” and display your commitment to “green retailing”.