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Get More Facebook Likes with Tagging
Do you know how to use tags to increase your page visibility in Facebook?
Tagging is a powerful way to gain more ‘likes’ (subscribers) for your page. You can tag friends from your personal profile too but this post mainly focuses on using tagging to promote your business. It’s super easy to implement and a highly effective strategy for generating more visibility for your page, here’s why…
A tag is a direct link to another Facebook page that is included within a message or comment. This is good for brand awareness because not only is the message seen on your page and in the news feed of your likers, it is also posted on the wall of the page you have tagged and seen by their subscribers too, thereby increasing your reach massively!
3 Top Tagging Strategies
The Hat Tip
Tagging another page in a status update is an ideal way to share knowledge and increase influence. The post below will be seen on Mark Shaw’s and Wordtracker’s walls as well as my own page, and all of our susbcribers. It’s also a way of ‘tipping your hat’ – showing appreciation of another page and positioning yourself with influencers in your industry. 
From Your Personal Profile
Including a tag to your page in a status update when posting as your personal profile can draw attention from Facebook friends – a useful way to generate interest for a specific promotion or when you launch your page. Especially useful as you can’t comment to personal profiles as a page unless their privacy settings allow this (most don’t).
The Comment
You can tag within a comment thread on another page to draw attention from a new audience. You can do this if you’re commenting as your page or profile. It will be visible on your profile (if you’re commenting as you), your page (if you’re commenting as your page), and whichever page or profile you post your comment. Plus, those who have also made comments in the thread will receive a notification by email. That’s potentially loads of new eyeballs!
OK, So How Do You Tag?
Firstly, to create a tag you have to like the page you want to tag.
Next, refer to the page in the status or comment box by preceding the page name with the @ sign. The page options will be listed from a drop down menu within the comment box, like this:
Select your chosen page to create a direct link within your comment.
This creates a direct clickable link back to the page in question and is displayed on your wall. It is also displayed on the wall of the page you have tagged:
A Word of Warning!
This is a great feature but please, please, please be respectful of that person’s profile/page as by tagging you are effectively posting an update on their wall. Make your tagged comments relevant and always add value. Don’t use this feature simply for promotional purposes. When used well tagging can really boost your page’s presence but it’s not a feature you want to over-use. Be selective with the kind of posts you tag and don’t target the same pages all the time. If you do, you are in danger of being viewed as a spammer by the other page owner, a nuisance to them and their subscribers, and may even get you blocked by that page.
*New Feature*
Facebook have just this week updated the tagging option for profiles where you can shorten the name of the person you are tagging (no need to display the full name), and if you type the first 5 letters of your friend’s name with a capital letter it will automatically initiate the tag feature. This feature isn’t available for pages yet ONLY on profiles, but maybe Facebook will look to include this for pages in the future.
Have you Liked my Facebook Page? If not, the next step is to do just that…Here’s the link: Facebook Page
Virtual Events: 7 Reasons To Use Them
I am pleased to announce that I have successfully completed the Virtual Event Specialist Certification Program, a 4-week training course that equips online professionals with the key skills and tools necessary to offer clients important and in-demand virtual event management services.
Small businesses are increasingly choosing to hold webinars and tele-seminars to present training programmes, conferences and even week long education summits. Thanks to improved technology, social media and the real time web, they provide a real alternative to off line events. Here are seven reasons why event providers and small businesses are choosing virtual events:
- They are less expensive compared to offline events
- They offer more flexibility and convenience to presenters and attendees – everyone gets a front row seat!
- Allow people to attend from all over the world without having to step out of their door
- For the presenter, it extends their reach beyond the immediate locality potentially increasing the number of attendees
- They save time with no travelling involved for any party, which also means they’re good for the environment
- By recording the event it enables attendees to listen in at a time convenient to them
- The recording enables the presenter to re-use the material again and again increasing their passive income
In the current economic downturn it’s no surprise to learn that 67% of professionals responsible for physical events report that overall attendance has dropped, and 70% of corporate event organisers predict significant growth in virtual conferences and webinars.
I offers a range of niche services to support small business owners with their marketing and events, particularly in the online and social media arena. That is why I’m excited to be adding important virtual event specialist services and tools that will further improve my clients’ visibility and presence. These include setting up and delivering tele-events featuring one or many speakers, webinars and webcasts, online radio shows, live podcasts and live streaming TV shows.
In VAClassroom’s Virtual Event Specialist Certification Program, I learned strategies, best practices, tips and techniques for efficiently and effectively creating great events for my clients using the leading technologies including:
- GoToWebinar webinar hosting software
- Camtasia online video editing and recording software
- Ustream for presenting live events online
This certification also entitles me to ongoing training, so as technology develops I will always continue to offer quality up-to-date virtual event specialist skills for my clients!
Book Review: Twitter Your Business, Mark Shaw
Twitter Your Business, Mark Shaw
If you’re a regular here you will know I’m a big fan of Twitter as a marketing tool, and when I heard that UK Twitter expert, Mark Shaw, was writing a book on the subject I was immediately interested. It was in the very early stages of the book’s inception that he got in touch and asked if I would be a case study. I didn’t hesitate – it was an honour to be asked and a great opportunity to tell my story about my Twitter successes!
That was late 2010 and Twitter Your Business has now been successfully launched. Having given it a thorough read, I wanted to review it here on my blog.
Review
First of all, it’s not like many of the how-to social networking guides available. Twitter Your Business is an e-book (you read it from your computer) which is completely appropriate considering the topic. With social media being a fluid, ever-evolving landscape, Twitter Your Business has already got the advantage over its printed competitors. Any time Twitter make changes to the platform or brings in new functionality the guide can be updated to reflect those changes, keeping the content fresh and always up-to-the-minute. 10/10.
The content of the book is written in an uncomplicated, easy to read way. Mark explains every function of Twitter that a new user needs to know. From the step-by-step process of opening an account, understanding the different types of tweets, the all important Twitter terminology, and trends like #FollowFriday. The book doesn’t only explain the how and what of using Twitter to market your business, Mark explains the why’s too, providing valuable insight for a new user. The unwritten rules are clearly explained so you no longer need to wonder ‘Shall I, shan’t I?‘ as your mouse hovers over the tweet button.
Twitter Your Business answers those questions that most new users always ask – What shall I tweet about? How long should I spend on Twitter? How do I find people to follow and attract followers? It also provides recommendations on third party tools and mobile applications to help you manage your Twitter strategy, and how to measure your success. There are real life case studies weaved in to the content demonstrating the experiences of small businesses using the social networking platform (Absolute PA is featured on page 49 
). There’s even a quick quiz to check that your new found knowledge is sinking in!
This is a great book for the small business user thinking about adding Twitter to their marketing, or for anyone who has signed up but hasn’t achieved the success they expected, nor got the time to figure it all out. This book will save you hours of research and get you tweeting like a pro – an easy read packed with valuable content.
Publisher: Harriman House
Price: £10.00
Length: 75 pages
Buy the Book here (affiliate link)
Product Description
Making an impact, 140 characters at a time.
Twitter is not ‘a get rich quickly tool’. You will achieve very little by just having an account. It takes time, effort and commitment to stand a chance of success on Twitter. However, if you are prepared to spend some time on Twitter each day finding people and conversations where you can add value, then things may well happen for you.
The real value of Twitter is in the ability to search for real people talking about real stuff, right now and in real time. This offers individuals, businesses, brands the real opportunity to stop talking at customers and start talking with customers. A subtle but huge difference.
Table of Contents
Introduction
My story
Twitter etiquette
Signing up with Twitter
Tweeting
- the 5 different types of tweets
- How to use an @reply or @mention
- Deleting and editing a tweet
- Favourites
- Adding a URL to your message
- Adding a photo to your tweet
A quick quiz
What to tweet about
How much time to spend on Twitter
How to find people to follow
- Should I follow everyone who follows me?
- Is it rude not to follow someone back?
- Creating a list
- Blocking users on Twitter
- How to stop following someone
Attracting followers
The #hashtag and trends
The search facility: Twitter’s greatest asset
How businesses should use Twitter
Should other people tweet on your behalf
Top dos, don’ts and best practises
Twitter tools
Answers to the quiz
Measuring the results
Final word
More about the author