Facebook allows its business pages to receive reviews by users. Good reviews can be a boon for your business, so it’s a good idea to leave this feature on your page. Unfortunately, bad reviews will happen, so what is the proper way to handle them? What do you do if you’re overwhelmed by bad reviews? I’m talking Battlefield Earth bad reviews. Well, there are some ways to try to boost your good review numbers as well as deal with the negative ones.

Everybody wants good reviews, but before you can get those you need reviews in general. One way to do this is super complicated but it works. Just ask. I know, I know I’m making this really complex. Don’t ask for good reviews, just ask for people’s honest opinion. Once they start coming in, you can correct any complaints people have, and hopefully you’ll start getting some 5-star reviews. Another thing you can do is offer incentives for reviews. “5% off your next purchase if you review us on Facebook,” is a simple and effective way to bolster your numbers. Make sure the review process is as painless as possible as well.

Now that the reviews are pouring in, you notice a bad review. First thing you want to do is respond privately right away. It is best to respond off of Facebook to show that it is not a marketing ploy, and that you genuinely care about their experience. Hopefully you will be able to rectify the situation or at least reach a compromise. Understand though that there are situations where this is impossible. You can’t please everyone. Once you have privately contacted them, publicly respond on the review. It should be a compassionate and timely response that ends with closure.  If you are getting destroyed with poor review after poor review, it’s time to turn off the review function. Under Settings – Page Info – Select Address, un-check “Show Map , Check-ins, and Star Ratings” on the page. Figure out where you went wrong, and fix those mistakes because we want good reviews, and to have them we need that feature. Reviews are important because it directly affects that super secret Facebook algorithm. The more good reviews you have, the stronger your reach will be.

Keep an eye on your reviews and respond to both the positives and the negatives. Remember the more reviews the better, so learning how to provide excellent brand service is important. Do you have any super cool ways to get good reviews? Let me know by leaving a comment below. How do you think my blog post was today? Why not give me a review in the comments section as well? Don’t forget to hit the share button below because gaining knowledge is the first step to wisdom; sharing it is the first step to humanity.

Now that your business is flourishing on Facebook, you can expect to receive some questions, comments, and even some criticism. The more popular your page, the more of these you can expect to get. Finding out the proper way to handle all of these is of the utmost importance if you want people to view your page as a viable representative of your organization. But how soon do you need to respond? How can you keep up with a high volume of questions or complaints? What do you do if you simply do not know the answer? Do not fret young padawans, I’ll walk you through how the Jedi council handles their social media communications.

In our world of instant gratification, it comes as no surprise that people expect an almost instant response on social media, especially when it comes to customer service inquiries. If done correctly, you can boost your recommendations and sales across the board. A manageable target is to respond within the hour. For most online surfers this is an okay to pretty good response time. They at the very least expect a response that same day; anything longer is a customer service turn off. If you are gunning for excellent, be prepared for a 15 minute or less timer. Facebook even has a badge that your page can proudly wear if you are able to accomplish a 90% response rate under 15 minutes. That is not a lot of time, but there are ways you can help lessen the burden on yourself.

With available response time shrinking, there are some tips you can use to help yourself out. Having a list of already typed out answers for common questions will take away the headache of constantly retyping that the YMCA opens at 5:20 am or that your burgers contain 100% ground beef. If you are a part of a larger company, make sure you have a clearly defined time when you are expected to handle the social media account. This should help spread the load evenly, and allow you some time to sleep. If you do not know the answer, kindly tell the customer you are working on the problem and will let them know as soon as possible. Giving them some sort of time table is also a good idea. If it’s going to take a few days, make sure they are aware of this.

Social media responses are an emerging field of customer service. By responding quickly and effectively, you can help turn first-time customers into a profitable long term relationship. People appreciate being appreciated. So use some of my tips to help you help them. Are there any other tips you employ to help you manage your online inquiries? Let me and the rest of the internet know by leaving a comment below. (Yes the entire internet reads my blog, deal with it) Don’t forget to hit the share button below because gaining knowledge is the first step to wisdom; sharing it is the first step to humanity.

As a social media marketer, you will be using a lot of images. They are the quickest way to catch the eyes of online surfers, but with all the clutter online how can you be sure that your posts will stand out? With Facebook the competition is especially high be it from other businesses, their friends, or even themselves (thank you very much, Memories…). There are some rules you can follow to help ensure that your pics get the clicks.

One way to break through the clutter is to keep a simple, clean image. If an image is too busy, often times the viewer will barely give it a glance. People just are not that into Where’s Waldo any more. They want to know exactly what your image is about the second they see it. To do this make sure the object you want them to focus on clearly stands out. Also keep the number of colors to a minimum. Too many bright, flashy colors is just untidy. A few bright, contrasting colors combined with a simple picture should be your goal.

Keep the caption short. No one wants to read the fine print. They want instant understanding delivered with simple text. For example, I posted a picture of a single piece of cardio equipment on the Y’s Facebook page with the caption, “Brand New Equipment”. The treadmill stands out in the photo, and the caption lets the reader know instantly exactly why I’ve posted it. Compare this to a wide shot of all of our new cardio equipment with the caption, “We here at the YMCA just installed 38 pieces of cardio equipment ranging from the stair climber to the new and improved treadmills that now measure heart rate and will really help you…” . Ugh, even I got bored typing that, let alone expecting a Facebook browser to stop and take the time to read it. Once they are hooked, if they want more information they can leave you a comment. Precious comments. Do not use all capital letters either. No one likes to be yelled at, so keep away from the caps lock. 

Images that skew our sense of reality are a good way to catch someone’s eye. If I see a squirrel water skiing you can bet your bottom dollar I’m gonna give it a second look. You could also distort an image to make something seem oddly bigger or smaller. The bizarre will always catch you a second glance. Just make sure you remember who your target audience is. Here is a ridiculous image of a man doing a one armed, no leg push up that would help me catch the attention of some Y members. Before you post your image, see if it fits the rules I’ve laid out for you. Well sort of like the pirates’ code, they are more guidelines than rules. If it follows my guidelines, then go ahead and post away. If not, take some time and see if there is anything you can change about it. In what situations do you think it would be worthwhile to skirt the guidelines? What other tips do you have for your fellow marketers to help make our pictures stand out? Leave me a comment and tell me where I went wrong. Don’t forget to hit the share button below because gaining knowledge is the first step to wisdom; sharing it is the first step to humanity.

Above likes and comments, is the all mighty share. Shares generate the most reach for your Facebook posts, and are of great value to a social media marketer. But why do they cause your reach to expand so drastically, and what can you do to help boost your posts’ shares? To find this out we are going to have to look into the inner workings of Facebook, as well as delve into the psyche of our target audience.

As we discussed in my award winning blog about comments (well maybe not award winning, but my mom really liked it), Facebook uses a top secret algorithm to determine what ends up on someone’s news feed. Sharing is a way to kind of bypass that algorithm all together. If someone decides to share one of my posts from the Y, it will first be posted right onto their page. Then it will appear on their followers’ or friends’ news feeds as well. The best part about this is that by sharing it, they are putting their personal seal of approval on it and sending it out to all of their friends. Talk about a best case scenario for you as a marketer. Not only are you getting a free endorsement from someone, but they are also spreading your word. And if one of their friends decides to share it as well, your post could snowball into viral territory. Now that you understand how powerful sharing can be, we must discuss some ways to gather these precious shares. (As a side note, every time I use the word “precious” it should be read using Gollums’ voice)

Life can be complicated unless we learn to do the simple things, and there are a few simple things you can do to increase the odds your posts will be shared. These are tips directly from Facebook on how to garner some shares. Use an eye catching image, a grumpy cat for instance. The image should evoke some sort of immediate emotion out of your audience. Keep your posts short. I cannot stress enough that people do not like to read long, drawn out posts that go on and on and require way too much reading for a simple idea sort of like this sentence. Short, sweet, and to the point. This will always win out on Facebook. Keeping first person to a minimum makes your post more shareable. For example, if I post a funny picture of a gym fail on my Y’s Facebook page with the caption “Just another day at the gym,” anyone who shares it can honestly use that as their voice. Where as if I was to say “I can’t believe I saw this today at the gym,” the person sharing my post would be using my voice. Try using a call to action at the end of your posts. You could bluntly say “feel free to share.” This one seems obvious, but it can be surprisingly effective.

I want you to use these tips, and I promise you will get those precious shares. Also make sure you experiment with your posts as well. We can do our best to predict what our target audience wants, but it doesn’t hurt to try out something new every now and again. I know I just told you to keep it short and sweet, but try out a nice, long post and see if your audience appreciates it. Why do you think it is much more difficult to get shares over likes, when the only difference is that it requires two clicks over one? Are there any techniques you have discovered that you would like to share with everyone? Leave a comment below to help out our follow marketers. Don’t forget to hit the share button below because gaining knowledge is the first step to wisdom; sharing it is the first step to humanity.

Everybody has a voice on social media, so why is it so hard for some businesses to get comments on their Facebook posts. For that matter why do they even want comments? Well, as social media marketers, the thing we want most is interaction. When someone is interacting, they are at the peak of engagement, meaning your message has been heard. So how do we get this interaction, and is it even more important than it seems?

Post after post on my amazing YMCA blog continues to receive some likes here and there, but my comment levels are next to none. What have I been doing wrong? What can I do differently to get a little back and forth with my followers? After doing a little research I found a few tips that I am hoping will turn things around. Asking questions is one easy way to increase interactivity. I could ask what the Y members’ favorite group exercise class is, and my followers will be able to contribute to the conversation without having to put too much thought into it. There are many different types of questions you can ask ranging from the sensational “Do you think the Beatles are over-rated?”, to the fun “You get one movie to watch for the rest of your life, what is it?”. Think of your target audience and gear your questions towards them.

Contests are another way I plan on increasing my comments number. I am going to be posting a picture of a jar of candy asking my followers to like my post and guess how many there are, the winner being the closest to the correct amount. This I hope will be a double whammy, getting me both likes and comments. The only downside is that in interactivity will be a short number comment rather than a conversation, but I need to start somewhere. Contests when done right, can increase traffic to your page.

Everyone likes to put in their two cents, so I hope to try crowd sourcing for answers. “Does anyone have any tips to help me stay motivated to get to the gym?” might be something I could post. Now my followers will have a safe forum to say what motivates them, thus increasing my interactivity. I will be using this technique often, because not only will it generate comments, it will also give me more insight to my followers.

Getting comments is important to spreading my message. Facebook uses an algorithm to determine what ends up where on your news feed. Facebook themselves said, “The goal of News Feed is to show you the stories that matter most to you. To do this, we use ranking to order stories based on how interesting we believe they are to you: specifically, whom you tend to interact with, and what kinds of content you tend to like and comment on.” The majority of people believe the ranking starts with shares, then comments, and finally likes with the lowest ranking. This is why when people comment on your posts, you are more likely to appear on their news feed. Cool, right?

Use these tips to help generate some comments for your page. Always remember your target audience when applying them. Do you have any other ways to get a conversation going on social media? Do you think it is worth the effort with a contest? Do you think the Beatles are over-rated? Please leave *ahem* a comment below and let me know what you think. Don’t forget to hit the share button below because gaining knowledge is the first step to wisdom; sharing it is the first step to humanity.

“Don’t forget to like us on Facebook”, is a phrase heard from nearly every business out there. So it’s become obvious that you as a social media marketer want likes. But why do they crave them? What value do likes have to a company like McDonald’s, or in my case the YMCA of Indiana County. Are they even as important as Facebook wants us to think? The answer seems to be a resounding maybe.

In its basic form the like button was designed to merely acknowledge a post you have enjoyed. This in turn increases the odds you will see more from the person or company who posted in your news feed. This is all great news for you as a marketer then, right? Well for the most part yes, but it might not be as powerful as you would imagine. One downside is that the like is a simple one click acknowledgment. There is no real conversation taking place. For example, I posted a picture of one of the Y’s trainers on Facebook in the hopes of promoting him to future clients. A teenage girl from Arizona is browsing using the hashtag personal trainer, sees the trainer and thinks he is oh so cute. She of course likes the picture. Now the next time I post about the Y it may appear on her page, but so what? She has no interest beyond the photo that she liked. So I’ve gained a like that basically has zero value to me as a marketer.

Where the likes value is at its greatest is when it is a genuine understanding and appreciation for your post. This is information they enjoyed, and want more of. Now when you post in the future, you can expect it to appear in the right people’s news feed. It also provides you with more data on the “Insights” tab of Facebook. This new info will tell you more about your Facebook followers such as age, location, and gender, which in turn will help you gear your posts more towards your audience.

Now that you know the importance of likes, remember that no like is a bad like. They just might not be worth that million dollar promotion you’ve been pushing for. Budget wisely when it comes to mining for them, because an empty like has no value. What is your opinion on Facebook’s like button? Do you think there is such a thing as a bad like? Go ahead and leave a comment below and please… like my YMCA of Indiana County’s Facebook page. Don’t forget to hit the share button below because gaining knowledge is the first step to wisdom; sharing it is the first step to humanity.

So you took a wonderful photograph of one of your clients, and you are really excited to share it on Facebook. You did your work editing it on Photoshop, removing the red eye and framing it beautifully. You post it on your professional Facebook page at 9:30 pm Sunday night, a time where you receive the most site visits. A few days later you see the client on the street, and you ask him if he liked the post. Aghast, he did not see it! We can prevent this devastating situation from happening with tagging. To tag a post simply put the @ symbol followed by the name of the page you want to tag. Doing this supernaturally creates a hyperlink directly to their profile page.

When should I tag? Who should I tag? Why not just tag everyone all the time? How can I use tagging to boost my reach? These are all great questions I will attempt to answer for you.

I’ve decided to motivate my clients at the YMCA by posting a meme about losing weight. There is one client in particular that is really struggling, so I really want her to see this post. I tag her using the @ symbol, and I pat myself on the back. What I should of done is kicked myself in the back, because this is a great example of a terrible tag. Now the client may feel like I am singling out her weight struggles in front of everyone. As the voice of your business, you need to constantly be thinking about when tagging is appropriate. A post with a picture of a client I want to show off is an example of when tagging would be warranted.

You don’t want to throw tags around like some wild man; there has to be a reason you are tagging this person. The information you are posting about needs to be pertinent to the person you are tagging. For example, I made a video for our summer camp program at the Y. All of the camp counselors were in it singing the classic camp song “Baby Shark”. When I posted this video to our Facebook page, I tagged as many of the counselors as I could. Doing so, attached my post to their personal profile pages so they could watch the video they were in. This also expanded my post’s reach beyond my normal audience. Now all of the counselors friends have a chance of seeing my video even though they don’t follow the Y’s page. The post was relevant to everyone I tagged, and I could safely assume they wanted to watch the video. This is how tagging can and should be used as a beneficial tool to both parties.

One thing we need to avoid doing is mass tagging. This comes across as spamming to most people and is a big turn off. Even though you are really excited about a promotion your company is doing, tagging everyone who liked your page is probably a mistake. That brings me to another point that you can only tag people who have liked your page. So generating likes becomes of the utmost importance, but that is a subject for a different day.

Now that  you have some basic knowledge, let the tagging begin. Tagging is a great power for social media marketers, so lets not forget what Uncle Ben taught us. “With great power, comes great responsibility.” How do you feel when someone tags you? Please leave me a comment below. There are always exceptions to the rules, so use your best judgement every time you tag. Don’t forget to hit the share button below because gaining knowledge is the first step to wisdom; sharing it is the first step to humanity.

You’ve finally done it! You have created the most perfect post in the history of the internet. Now to schedule it for social media. But wait… when should you schedule your Mona Lisa of posts? This is a great question all social media marketers must ask themselves.

Now that you are putting some thought into your timing, a few hurdles come to mind. Sure, you can find out on average when most users are on social media, but how can you tell when your followers are? Are there better times for specific types of posts, such as sales? Are there times when not posting is the better choice?

On average the best time to post on Facebook is  on Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday at 9 am, 1 pm, and 3 pm. The assumption is that the less work is on the mind, the more time for Facebook. Luckily for you, Facebook provides a powerful analytical tool so you do not have to rely on an average. On the menu right underneath the search bar is the word “Insights”. Click on that to be taken to some awesome info. If you click on “Posts” on the left hand side you will see info on each day of the week. This is where you will be able to see when your followers are online. On top of that you can see what time of day they are most active. So for example, I check the YMCA of Indiana County’s Facebook page and find that Sunday nights at 9 pm is when my followers are online. I’m going to want to make sure I schedule my most important post of the day for that time be it sales, motivational, or informative. The “Insights” tool is a necessity for any Facebook marketer.

Remember to post wisely. You do not want to over saturate your page. Just because it’s 9 pm Sunday night, I’m not going to throw together a post if I do not have good reason to. Remember social media is about having a conversation, and what did our mothers always say? “If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.”

If you are a business just starting out on Facebook, stick to Thursday through Sunday for your most pertinent posts. Once you have established yourself, “Insights” will become one of your favorite tools. Make sure to use it wisely. How do you think the timing of a post can make or break its reach? If I missed anything you want to add, or you just really want to thank me feel free to comment below. Don’t forget to hit the share button below because gaining knowledge is the first step to wisdom; sharing it is the first step to humanity.

You are posting to social media to help promote your company, but you notice your views and likes aren’t measuring up.  You need to get your companies message out there so you decide to employ a powerful tool, the hashtag.  But what is the hashtag, and how can you use it to effectively increase your posts’ reach?  Well with a little research you’ll soon be grateful the pound key has transformed into the wonderful hashtag.

So what is a hashtag, and what is its history? When should you use it? How often should you use it? How does this tool work to increase site traffic?  These are all great questions I hope to answer for you.

The generally held belief for when hashtags first started being used for categorizing subjects, was in a tweet to Chris Messina. But it wasn’t until the San Diego fire in 2007, that they were used to a large degree using #sandiegofire.  In 2009 twitter officially implemented using them to group together subjects, making them easier to search for.

By using hashtags, studies have shown that engagement increases on average by 12%.  Almost every company that uses social media includes one with their posts.  Combining hashtags with links generates the greatest growth in post activity.  As someone who makes a living off of social media you will want to employ hashtags on every post.  Sometimes you can sneak it right in the middle of a post, but for the most part it’s best to wait until the end and list one or two.  The goal is to make it look clean and professional.  One to two hashtags is the optimal amount.  Any more creates an ugly post that actually lowers engagement numbers.

Social media savvy people will know that content can be filtered using hashtags.  Simply by clicking on one will take you to a page where you can see everyone who posted using that hashtag. You can even search for them in the Facebook search bar.  This is how using the right hashtags can generate post traffic.  For example, #wod is used for “workout of the day”.  Fitness enthusiasts will search using #wod to find out an exercise to try out that day.  I use this for my exercise demonstration videos that I post to the Y’s Facebook page.   People who are social media impaired will simply see them as odd symbols.  This is why its always best to limit their use to one or two.

The next time you post to social media, try using a hashtag using these tips. There is a certain art form to using them in your posts, and with all art forms there is room for interpretation. Some people love to list off ten or more hashtags, while others prefer the cleaner look. Which way do you prefer to hashtag? Please comment below on how you like to use them in your own posts, or talk about any thing I missed. Don’t forget to hit the share button below because gaining knowledge is the first step to wisdom; sharing it is the first step to humanity.

So you have been tasked with promoting a company on social media, but now what?  How are you supposed to be the voice of a company that may have just hired you a few hours ago?  You don’t want to be posting pictures of your fast food fix if you’re trying to promote a gym.  You need to do research on the company to know just what they are all about.   Once you know their core values, you will be better suited to represent them while using social media.

Now that you know that research needs to be done, where are you going to start?  What if you have to promote a dive bar with zero online presence?  What if the company is trying to change their image completely so all the information you do find online is outdated?  Do not fret; there are some simple things you can do to make sure you can post with confidence.

The easiest thing you can do to help you do some research is “google it”.  More often than not a company will have a website that will have the basic information on who they are and what they believe in.  Usually they will have a historical background as well, which will give you great insight as to where they have come from. Simply by browsing their webpage you will find yourself learning a lot.

Another simple thing you can do is talk to the employees.  Everyone has their own take on who they work for and what they are trying to accomplish.  By talking to people you can really get a good feel as to what the company is all about.  If its a smaller business, speak with the owner.  They will let you know point blank who they are and what they want.  If the company is overhauling its image, the PR department will most likely have a game plan in place, and you will need to know what their strategy is and how you fit into it.

Researching the competition may seem counterproductive, but it can help you better understand where your company fits into the marketplace.   For example the YMCA of Indiana County is a gym, so I decided to do research on Uptown Fitness.  I found out that younger, more aggressive weight lifters use Uptown, whereas the Y is far more diversified and laid back in its lifters.  I am now able to post about how the Y is a much more comfortable place to lift for your average person.

Know that the more information you gather, the more confidence you will have being the voice of the company.  So try out these simple tasks and you’ll find that there is a ton of information out there if you know where to look.

Is there anything I missed?  Did you like what I had to say?  Are there any topics you would like me to cover in the future? Do you think I’m a terrible writer?  Please leave your comments below, and help make this blog better.  Don’t forget to hit the share button below because gaining knowledge is the first step to wisdom; sharing it is the first step to humanity.