Put More Faces in Your Book

I’m often asked “Sean, how can I increase my followers on Facebook?” After I remind them my name is “Shane,” I point out three surefire ways to get more people to follow their Facebook page.

Far and away the most effective way to increase followers is through Facebook ads. This is probably not what most people want to hear, but it is the case based on my experience. Your Facebook page might average 100 new followers per month through organic growth. A Facebook ad could increase that to 100 new followers per day.

Meanwhile, the ads are quite affordable as well as cost effective. You only pay up to an amount that you set prior to the ad running. Of course, like all ads, the design of the ad and the information advertised must be pertinent and intriguing to your audience in order to entice them to click through to your page.

The second most effective way to increase followers on Facebook is through cross marketing. This method will not grow your followers as fast as ads, but it is, for the most part, free. Cross marketing means getting earned media coverage, linking from your website, posting on Twitter, doing public presentations and using a myriad of other efforts to increase visibility of your page and the product it exists to promote.

Finally and most importantly, you have to have great content on your page. It doesn't matter how many followers you attract if you lose them because your content is lame or you don’t update your page frequently.

Provide content worth sharing. Photos, videos, links and information people can’t get anywhere else are all ways to encourage followers to share your posts on their personal or organizational Facebook pages. This sharing helps attract new followers to your page.

Facebook ads, cross marketing and intriguing content, all guaranteed to increase your Facebook followers.

If You're Going to Be Boring -- Be Brief

How many times have you sat through a dreadfully dull presentation where the speaker read the Power Point slides off the screen and made no effort to keep you engaged?  I'm guessing many, many times.

How many times have you sat through a dreadfully dull presentation where the speaker read the Power Point slides off the screen and made no effort to keep you engaged causing you to go charging out of the room fired up to act on what you just heard?  Never.

Not everyone is a great speaker.  Or writer.  Or communicator in general.  If you aren't strong in these areas, you need to realize it and keep it brief.  Audiences are rarely disappointed when a speaker finishes sooner than expected particularly when the speaker is boring.

If you're going to be boring -- be brief.  That goes for speeches, news releases and....blog posts.

The Law of Diminishing Snickers

Halloween gives me the opportunity to trot out an important theory I have developed based on years of research.  It is called “The Law of Diminishing Snickers.”  The law simply states that as Snickers candy bars get smaller they taste better. 

In my research, I have identified four different sizes of the famous candy bar.  There is the giant size, the regular size, the fun size (well known to Trick or Treaters) and the miniature size.  The giant size tastes good, but the miniature size is mind blowing.

Rumor has it that M&M Mars developed an even smaller sized Snickers.  It could not be released, however, because it was so good people’s heads were exploding when they tried it.  That’s probably not a very reliable rumor.

So, what does this tell us?  Not much.

I’m not above stretching some analogies, though, to make The Law of Diminishing Snickers somehow pertinent to something.  Here are some attempts:

·         If The Law of Diminishing Snickers has taught us anything it’s that the little things matter most.  Small details are the difference between success and failure.  A small gesture can make all the difference in someone’s life.  A minor event can be the tipping point that unleashes an avalanche of major events.

·         If The Law of Diminishing Snickers has taught us anything it’s that as we have less of something, we appreciate it more.  That one is pretty self-explanatory.

·         If The Law of Diminishing Snickers has taught us anything it’s that marketing works. By giving us different sizes, we are given different experiences.  Regular sized Snickers remind us of begging our moms’ for a candy bar in the checkout line. Fun-sized Snickers bring to mind childhood  memories of dumping out the Trick or Treat bag on the floor to see what treasures we had collected.  Miniature Snickers might recall the nice person at work who always has a candy dish full of treats.

Well, I tried.  The important thing is that Snickers taste good.  Happy Halloween!

Customer Always Right? It Doesn’t Matter.

“Many a person would rather you heard their story than granted their request." 

--Lord Chesterfield

Two recent studies indicate wide spread malpractice when it comes to responding to customers through social media. An article by David Strom details the studies (see the full article here). 

According to Strom, 71 percent of people who used Twitter to complain about a company did not receive a response from that company and less than five percent of customer questions on corporate Facebook pages get a response.  

When is worse to have a social media presence rather than no presence at all?  When you don’t respond to your customers.

Social media has ushered in a new era of customer engagement.  With that engagement, comes new expectations for customer service:

·         A quick response.  Social media users are accustomed to more immediacy in their interactions than other customers.

·         Customers expect a personal response through social media.  They want to be addressed directly, probably by name, and in an understandable way.

·         24/7.  Customers can post comments, complaints and questions at all hours of the day or night and on weekends.  They expect a response during those times, too.

The new era of customer engagement, however, also means new opportunities to delight customers.  The Twitter study said that 83.5 percent of the people who did get a response either “liked it” or “loved it.” 

New opportunities to please customers include:

·         Proactive customer service.  For the first time ever, customers don’t have to contact you directly in order to get a response.  You can see their gripes on sites like Twitter and reach out to them.

·         Relationships.  Social media presents better opportunities to build relationships with large numbers of customers.

·         Customer tailored responses.  You know more about your customer than ever before.  Your responses can be more personal than ever before as well.

So, is the customer always right?  It doesn’t matter, but they deserve a response and you will reap the rewards for it.

The Three Bs of Social Media, There are Five of Them

I believe in the rule of threes.  People remember things better in groups of threes.  Therefore, I have developed the three Bs of social media.  The three essential things you must know to effectively run your Facebook and Twitter sites.  There are five of them. 

Be personal.  It is called SOCIAL media for a reason.  Treat people nicely.  Be responsive.  Talk to them like real people because they are real people and so are you.  Try to incorporate some wit when appropriate.

Be visual.  Ideally every post on Facebook should have a photo, video or link attached.  This isn’t always possible, but most of the time it is.  This makes the page more engaging and helps break through onto people’s news feeds.  Same with tweets.  Tweets that contain links are more likely to be retweeted.

Be honest/accurate.  It is better to say you don’t know and make people wait for an answer than to put up something that is misleading or flat wrong.  People are patient for the most part.  If you let them know what is going on, they will wait for the info.

Be creative.  Don’t be afraid to try new things.  Take a few risks.  At worst, people will ignore it.  At best it will be the most popular thing you have posted.

Be positive.  You wouldn’t be doing this if you didn’t believe in your product.  If you don’t brag about it, nobody will.  People respond to positivity with positivity. Ultimately, this is why we do what we do -- to cast our product in the best possible light.

What "Bs" did I miss?  Remember, we have to keep it to three.

Welcome to The Shane Spiral

This is my first attempt at maintaining a blog.  Hopefully, it is more successful than my attempts at keeping a journal through the years.  All of those ended up in the bottom of a dresser drawer after a few days.

I will use this blog to comment and share information on the public relations industry with particular emphasis in transportation and social media.  I'll probably have a steady dose of analogies related to the other passions in my life -- boxing (watching not participating), eating (participating) and, most importantly, being a daddy to the most beautiful baby girl ever and a husband to the most wonderful wife ever.

Check in and keep me honest.  Here's hoping this blog doesn't end up in the bottom of the dresser drawer.