Drive Traffic to Your Website With a Facebook Page

44% of merchants surveyed say they use Facebook instead of microsites and landing pages to launch new promotions.

Read the article here:

http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/facebook-marketing-studies/

Results – Your Business Needs a Facebook Page

Facebook Pages Increase Your SEO (Search Engine Optimization)

First, let’s clarify – a Facebook page is entirely different from a Facebook user profile or Facebook business account:

• A user profile is an individual account for a person (not a business, group, or organization) that allows you to make friend requests, play games, send messages, post on walls and all the social things that have come to help define “social media”.  A user profile is NOT public (unless you have removed all security settings to ensure the privacy of you, your friends and your family).

• A Facebook  Page is for businesses, organizations, etc.. and is public – meaning the posts are indexed by Google and other major search engines.  A Page cannot make friend requests.  A Page can not send individual messages to Facebook users.  Whenever the Page administrator is posting and/or replying on the Page, they will be represented by the Page name and NOT their own individual picture and identity.  For example, I manage Safeguard Forms Facebook Page.  When I post information about promotional products on this page, the post doesn’t come from “Kimberly Kitchen” it comes from “Safeguard Forms”.

• A business account is useless. I would highly recommend not taking this route.  The Facebook Business Account is for someone who does not want an individual profile, but wants to administer a Facebook Page and/or participate in Facebook Ads Campaigns.  However, they are not able to view the profile  of any other users, add any applications to your account, add friends, send messages, interact with other Pages and the account will not be visible in any search.

If you own or operate a small business and want to use social media to be found by perspective clients, the only Facebook tool that will show up in Google searches is a Facebook Page.

Now to the results:

Greg Anderson of Safeguard Forms is an independent distributor of customized checks, business cards, promotional items, tax forms, invoices, full color brochures – basically anything your business could possibly ne

ed with your logo on it.  Envelopes, awards, folders, pens, post-cards…..

I’ve been messaging for Safeguard Forms for over 8 months now.  Greg also has a website, which I link to in a lot of my posts, but the website itself doesn’t get a lot of traffic unless it’s coming from the social media efforts.  I set his Facebook Page to automatically send its posts to Twitter which is also integrated with his LinkedIn status update.

So with these few accounts and settings, one Facebook update with a picture of a promotional item, will go out to Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn simultaneously.

Greg’s business has been phenomenal over the past 6 months.  I wish I could prove it was all coming from Your Digital Footprint’s social media efforts, but a lot of it can be attributed to Greg’s personal networks and his extensive activity in the Berea, Ohio soccer coaching programs.  However, about 3 weeks ago Greg received a call from an accountant in Florida who found his website through the Facebook posts I’ve been making.  She did a Google search on “customized bu

Business checks make for boring images, but they help you market your business.

siness checks”, and the Safeguard Forms Facebook Page was the first result that represented an independent distributor – which is what she was specifically looking for.

This accountant has over 13 small businesses for clients, and they all need customized checks, envelopes, forms (like invoices, estimate sheets, etc) and other supplies that Greg Anderson of Safeguard Forms can provide.  This is the exact client Greg is looking for and SHE found HIM because of his Facebook Page!

If you want to outsource the setup and messaging of your social media accounts, Your Digital Footprints will be happy to help.  If you want to learn how to set these up and manage your own social media campaign, Your Digital Footprints specializes in individual training class leaving you with your own Facebook Page, Twitter profile, Google Maps presence, and even a blog for the more advanced digital footprint.

Results – Google Places / Google Maps

At Your Digital Footprints we see results of social media marketing on a regular basis. However, the first question every small business owner asks when considering the use of social media to market their product or service continues to be “what results can I expect?”

So I’ve decided to start a category dedicated to results.  Our first post on this topic will be the most recent success story for one of our clients, Ken-Mar Tax in North Olmsted, Ohio.

Ken Weinberg, an enrolled agent and tax reduction specialist for the self-employed, received a call from a new client this week because they found him on a Google search when entering the phrase “enrolled agent” near North Ridgeville, Ohio.

Before Ken had a session with me, he had no Facebook page, no Twitter account, and no representation on Google Places.  By the end of our session we had set him up with all three and it was the free Google Places account that got him noticed!.

See Ken-Mar Tax’s Google Places Location

See Ken-Mar Tax’s Facebook Page

Follow Ken-Mar Tax on Twitter

The above three links show you what $175 and a 2 hour, 30 minute investment of time bought Ken-Mar Tax.  When I left his office, we had set up his Facebook page and he was comfortable using it.  We also set up his Twitter account and integrated it with his LinkedIn account and Facebook Page in order to allow one Facebook post to go out to Twitter and LinkedIn without any additional effort.  And lastly, we set up his Google Places identity – with pictures, keywords and started him off with a review.

If you are looking for an individual training session to do the same, contact Your Digital Footprints to set up your session.

Making Blog Posts On The Beach From Your Cell Phone

One of the best ways for a small business or start-up to expand their online presence is by starting a blog. 

After setting up, designing and making posts for 3 different blogs, I can attest to the ease of managing a blog. 

Imagine laying on the beach and making a post from your cell phone. It’s a reality and I can teach you how.

Contact Your Digital Footprints to either outsource your company’s social media efforts or learn how to manage your own social media campaigns.  Training topics can include Facebook Pages for your business, Twitter, WordPress Blog and LinkedIn.

If You’re a Small Business Owner On The Fence About Social Media….

… maybe these statistics will help you to decide.  You know from watching television and listening to the radio that everyone from The Morning Show to NPR is promoting “Find Us On Facebook / Follow Us On Twitter”, but have you still been hesitant to jump on the social media bandwagon?

This article covers cold hard statistics of how the average consumer is logging on to their computer, and many of them are choosing to go straight to their social media sites instead of an internet browser:

How People Are Signing In Across the Web [STATS]

Christina Warren 21

http://mashable.com/2010/08/16/facebook-login-sharing-data/