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Alicia Travels: Farm & More Event, Edinburgh
I’m going on the road!
I’m flying to Edinburgh to present a talk on social media at Farm & More – The Farm Diversification Event – an annual get together for the farm retail and diversified farming sector.
This includes producers of fantastic local and artisan foods, owners of farm shops and the ever popular farmer’s markets, parks and ‘pick your own‘ farms who offer great family days out.
This is all as a result of my talk at The Speciality Fine Food Trade Fair at Olympia in London last year.
Farm & More is organised by FARMA – the only UK-national organisation representing farm diversification.
Farm retail plays a huge part in the UK small business sector developing into wider areas including agri-tourism, entertainment and educational aspects. It’s worth over £2 billion a year adding valuable skills and jobs to rural communities.
It’s a real privilege to be speaking at the event. I’m a big supporter of local business and often choose independent shops and cafes over supermarkets and larger high street chains.
What’s more, I’m really excited to be sharing some creative and fun ideas on how social media can help promote the products and services of the local, small retailer. Plus, I’ve never been to Scotland!
What I’ll be speaking about on the day
- The one essential ingredient you need before you even start on social media
- Oops! The most common social media mistakes and how to avoid them
- Real life examples and success stories
- Turning the tables: audience social media clinic
Farm & More are on Twitter – you can follower them here: @FarmandMore
And you can find me on Twitter here: @AbsoluteAlicia
Are You Making These 5 Social Media Mistakes?
You know social media. You’ve set up your accounts and visit them often. You’ve got e-v-e-r-y-thing running like clockwork.
But have you?
If you’re not getting leads as a result of your efforts you might be making mistakes without even realising it. But that’s okay! We all make mistakes.
I’ve written an article over at E.Junkie outlining 5 common mistakes people make when using social media and how to solve them.
You can read the article in full here: ‘5 Social Media Mistakes You Don’t Know You’re Making‘.
If you like what you read please share it! 
How To Save Time On Your Twitter Marketing
Do you want to save bags of time on Twitter?
Do you wonder how so many people seem to be on Twitter ALL day and STILL get loads of work done?
Enter Buffer – a handy tool for sending and scheduling tweets in one click and a MASSIVE time saver.
Why scheduling tweets is a good idea
You can’t realistically be on Twitter all day. But if you don’t use a scheduling tool your only option is to bombard your Twitter followers with updates in real time when you happen to be online.
That’s really annoying for your followers.
At least, the ones that happen to be on Twitter at the same time as you.
The others will miss your updates. People log in to Twitter at different times so the chances of them missing your bunched up tweets are high.
This will significantly stunt your reach and makes Twitter an ineffective and poor use of your time.
Scheduling some messages to post automatically throughout the day will mean you’re visible to more people, seen consistently and become a familiar sight in your followers’ stream.
It keeps you seen while you’re off doing something else.
Why Buffer is the answer
With Buffer you can browse your favourite websites finding articles that will interest your followers, add them to Buffer and it will do the rest – send them out at a pre-determined time specified by you. Nice!
This is what Leo Widrich of Buffer has to say:
People that start to Buffer their Tweets increased clicks on links they posted by 200% within 2 weeks of using. The amount of retweets doubles on average. Finally Buffer users increase their follower count by 104 followers within 3 weeks on average.
Pretty impressive, right? And I believe him.
I’ve been using Buffer since July 2011 and seen great results myself. But before Buffer came along I used Hootsuite to schedule my tweets. I understood that scheduling was a brilliant way to make the best use of my time while reaching as many people as possible.
If I was starting from scratch I can see how Buffer would have an even bigger impact.
Why I switched from Hootsuite to Buffer for scheduling
- Because it’s soooo easy
- I can upload a number of messages with one click because I’ve already determined the send times
- I can Buffer from my desktop, laptop, email, Google Reader, Android, iPhone or iPad
- I can Buffer from within Twitter.com
- and in Twitter, it enables the old style RT (trust me, that’s a v good thing). This feature alone is worth signing up for!
- It has it’s own shortcut key so I can hit ‘Alt + b’ in any browser and add the page I’m on to my Buffer
- It does one thing very well: schedules tweets (oh, and Facebook updates). That’s it. I still use Hootsuite every day but I’ve switched to Buffer to share a regular stream of interesting stuff I find around the web
The types of Tweets to Buffer
Despite all its greatness Buffer does not help you with the social aspect of Twitter.
When scheduling your tweets you have to remember the importance of balancing them with interaction: the conversations, replies and mentions.
I’m on Twitter every day, but with the help of Buffer that real time use has been cut to as little as a few minutes on really busy days.
The types of tweets Buffer is perfect for are blog posts, articles, videos – yours and other people’s.
Avoid buffering anything time sensitive or that is part of the conversational side of Twitter. If you’ve already got your Buffer full of messages, it could be days before your time sensitive message is seen, and no longer relevant. Oops!
What else you should know
Buffer has 3 fee options – the entry level one if free. Give it a go and see if it works for you: Take me to Buffer
6 Winning Social Media Strategies You Should Know
Picture: Ezquerra in the mountains By Nationaal Archief, Flickr
Sometimes, using social media can feel like an uphill struggle.
When people all around you are achieving success but you’re not, it can be deflating.
Trying to understand all the different tools at once can leave you overwhelmed.
After a holiday or when you’ve let things slip because you’ve been busy, it’s like starting from scratch.
Getting the momentum going again can feel like way too much effort.
This is often why people give up.
But wait – hold up a second!
Consistency is key to running a successful business.
If you fall away from view the relationships you’ve developed will falter.
If you stop talking to your customers they will no longer remember you when they need your product or service.
So when you feel like ditching your online marketing efforts, use these success strategies to keep you on track.
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Don’t worry about what other people are doing, concentrate on your own journey
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Focus on one thing at a time. Whether that’s Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, blogging or a newsletter – don’t take it all on at once. (That’s enough to make anyone give up!)
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Keep a content bank to store blog headlines, newsletter ideas, tweetable tips, quotes and images for Facebook to call on. Google Docs or an Excel spreadsheet is ideal
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Make a commitment to deliver consistently. Whatever your chosen form of communication make it a non negotiable part of your business
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Set tangible targets to focus your motivation: triple your newsletter readers, blog once a week, double your web traffic from Twitter
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Keep your end goal in mind, remember why you are doing it
Just get back on that bike and keep going.
Alicia Cowan’s Best of the Blogs 2011
2011 was a busy year for me:
As I approached my third year in business I changed direction, practically starting from scratch and re-branded. So, with the holiday season nearly here, I’ve decided to take a break until January. Wohoo!
I’m really excited to be spending time relaxing with friends and family (especially the latest addition to the family – my 5 week old niece) and recharging the batteries ahead of 2012.
Before I head off, I wanted to reflect on the year with a walk down memory lane with you, and share the most popular posts of 2011.
I’ve checked my Google Analytics to see which brought the most traffic to my site and included the top 10 below in reverse order.
I’m rubbish at maths so I didn’t do any fancy calculations, nor did I take into consideration that some posts are older than others – it’s a straight run down.
I hope you find some interesting content among this lot, and it helps you with your social media marketing in the year ahead.
Top 10 Blog Posts
10. 7 Steps to setting up Your Twitter account (November 2011)
Posted in November but already one of the most popular posts of the year. Taking your through the very first steps to perfecting your Twitter profile.
9. Perfectionist? 5 Ways to Beat Your Control Freak Tendencies (October 2010)
This is a guest post written by my business associate and friend, Tamsin Fox-Davies and featured back in December 2010, proving that a solid blog post can bring visitors to your site time and again. Thanks Tam!
8. How to Deal With Twitter Overwhelm (November 2011)
Another Twitter post from November. This time on getting organised. Many of the questions I receive ask how to keep on top of the massive flow of tweets in the news feed. This post tells you how…
7. How I Set Up My Business: Woman & Home Magazine Feature (March 2011)
Earlier this year I was featured in Women & Home magazine – a really proud moment for me! Even better, I received loads of messages from other women inspired by the article. It continues to be one of my most popular posts.
6. Facebook Page, Group or Profile – What’s Better for Business? (October 2011)
So many businesses are turning to Facebook to promote their products and services, and create a fun community there. Makes perfect sense as there are 800 million active users on Facebook! But what presence is best? This post goes through the options.
5. Get More Facebook Likes with Tagging (May 2011)
Another Facebook how-to. A frustrating problem for Facebook page users is getting more visibility for their page. This post explains one of the best ways to achieve more likes and raise your page profile.
4. Change Your Twitter Name Without Losing Followers [VIDEO] (May 2011)
My first how-to video! I created this when I changed my own Twitter name. I didn’t want to lose touch with all the people I’d connected with on Twitter over the years so I needed a plan! This explains the steps to go through…
The Top 3 (…cue drum roll…)
3. Social Media Giants – Why They Use Blue As Their Primary Branding Colour (July 2011)
My third most popular blog is another guest post, this time from colour expert, Karen Haller. I asked her why Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn all use blue in their branding. Seems that I’m not the only one interested in the answer!
2. Twitter Tip: What is a hashtag (#) on Twitter? (July 2011)
I get asked this a lot so it made perfect sense to turn it in to a blog post!
1. Simple Twitter Tips: What Does #FF Mean? (January 2011)
My most popular post! I was originally asked this question by a client in January 2011. The post goes through what #FF means and how best to use it.
Thanks for reading, and thanks for all your comments on the blog, kind messages on Twitter and Facebook, and for sharing my posts around the internet. It really means a lot knowing that my stuff is useful to you!
Wishing you a fabulous Christmas and best wishes for the new year – Let’s make it a great one
How do you stand out from the crowd?
See this picture? Funny isn’t it.
The A board belongs to a coffee shop called The Haberdashery but I didn’t know that when I first saw the photo.
Aaron Lee (@AskAaronLee), a social media consultant based in Singapore, tweeted it. He’s passionate about humanising business using social media. He’s also got 230,000 Twitter followers.
The tweet Aaron posted contained an image, just like this one, of this exact A board. Location unknown (at the time).
The picture really tickled me. I visualised a bunch of kids racing between the tables, buzzing on espresso, squeezing kittens. Parents oblivious to the mayhem. NOT the kind of place I’d want to go for a flat white! But that’s precisely the point.
Seeing this sign actually made me want to go there. I imagined the cafe would be chilled, fun, quirky, relaxed, friendly. Which usually means quality food and coffee too.
Anyway, on with the story. After I saw Aaron tweet this photo, I decided to share it on Facebook. It wasn’t long before a friend commented
I know this place. It’s in Crouch End – I walked past it last week.
Crouch End is about 6km from where I live in London – I’ve been going there regularly to meet friends and go shopping for years. It’s also got loads of great coffee shops so it’s difficult for them to stand out. I couldn’t believe that the cafe in the photo was a local one! The tweet had originated in Singapore so I assumed the location was somewhere far, far away…
Being a coffee addict that works from home means I’m always on the look out for new places to drink coffee, work or hold business meetings.
My friend and I arranged to meet there. Funnily enough that meeting led to business for both of us. Not only that, the cafe was as I expected it to be.
The staff at The Haberdashery are friendly, food home made and delicious, and they make a mean flat white (rare around these parts!). A really nice neighbourhood cafe and far removed from the coffee shop chains along most high streets. It turns out that they pride themselves on being a hub of the local community running events, activities and charity fundraisers. It also has a thriving Facebook group (this makes me v happy).
So now I’ve got a new place to visit when I’m in the area. I’m also telling all my friends plus blogging about it here!
This probably wouldn’t have happened if it wasn’t for social media, and it certainly wouldn’t have happened if the coffee shop owners hadn’t chosen to stand out and be different.
So what’s the point of this story? Twitter, Facebook, blogging – they’re not strategies, they are ways to communicate. If you stand out, dare to be different and do things that get people talking, social media can help people spread your message. Make it easy for them. What are you doing differently?
Alicia on Dream Corner, London’s OnFM 101.4
Last month I was a guest at Dream Corner, a weekly radio show inspiring women of all ages to follow their dream and passion. The show, hosted by Viv Oyolu, airs on London’s independent radio station OnFM 101.4.
Viv and I had a lot of fun talking about social media and how Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and blogging can help small and local businesses promote their goods and services to a wider audience, creating a stronger community network.
I was pretty nervous about being on the radio let alone being interview for an hour! Viv made me feel really comfortable. That combined with being asked about a subject I’m passionate about meant the time flew by – it felt like we were on air for only a few minutes!
You can visit Dream Corner and listen to my interview with Viv here: Alicia’s Dream Corner interview
Oh, and look out for the short video of me and Viv taken literally minutes before we went live!
How to deal with Twitter overwhelm
Are you drowning in tweets?
In the beginning, when you’re following 50+ people (which isn’t a lot), it’s tempting to read every single tweet that comes in to your stream. You feel obliged to, just as you would read every email in your inbox. There’s so much good stuff being shared you don’t want to miss it!
And this good stuff is jumbled in with the not so important tweets – things that you have no real interest in. But you want to keep following because:
(a) that person is your friend
(b) they send other useful tweets
(c) you want to keep up with them for a valid reason only known to you
(d) they’re following you
By the way, (d) is not a valid reason to following someone on Twitter, especially if you have no interest in them and they tweet nonsense. Go on, unfollow.
The good news is with regular use the overwhelm subsides. You realise you can’t read everything, it’s unrealistic and stressful. You let it go, follow more people, get in to skim reading your stream, but inevitably miss important updates. So what’s the answer?
Activate the Twitter filter feature!
The best way to filter your Twitter stream is with Twitter lists. You can add profiles into categorised lists created and organised by you. These can be public (everyone can see and follow the list), or private (only you know the list exists). Important: You don’t even have to be following someone to add them to your lists so you could keep tabs on someone without them knowing or choking up your stream. Handy. And, yes I admit a bit sneaky too. 
Lists also make pinpointing users or information on a particular topic really quick and easy saving valuable time and helping you keep your use productive and focussed.
Here are some creative ideas for lists
I’ve got resource lists, friend lists, client lists, VIP lists, event lists with attendees of conferences, mastermind lists, even seasonal lists which become my focus at certain times of the year but serve no interest the rest of the time. (For example, each July I turn in to a crazed Tour de France fan. My TDF list feeds my habit for one month without clogging up my stream the rest of the year).
So now you’ve got some ideas to chew on, how about putting some lists of your own into action? Remember, if you want to be keep your eye on the Twitter gold and build a great community you’ll want to get your stream organised. You can find your list options on your profile and home page.
How we used social media to promote the MyDish competition
I love food and I love talking about it. Good, bad, hot, cold, sweet, spicy, I’ll try anything once (with the exception of jellied eels). People’s eating habits are fascinating. It’s a bit like that reliable British conversation staple: the weather. We have so much of it here!
So, when I was approached by MyDish to help them with a social media campaign I jumped at it. Talk about food all day? You bet!
Who are My Dish?
A unique social networking recipe website dedicated to saving British family recipes for future generations.
When Carol’s mother-in-law, Maureen, passed away, Carol discovered scraps of paper with Maureen’s handwritten recipes on them. The recipes brought back memories for Carol’s husband, reminding him of his childhood whenever he tasted them.
It dawned on Carol that many family recipes that have been treasured over generations are lost because they’re not stored properly – and so she came up with the idea of MyDish.
Carol made headlines when she became the first person on Dragon’s Den to be offered double the amount of money she was pitching for. MyDish received investment from Deborah Meaden on Dragon’s Den, and she remains a board advisor to the company. (Dragon’s Den is the popular BBC2 programme where entrepreneurs pitch their business ideas to millionaires willing to invest their own cash).
The request
MyDish were looking for help raising their profile and increasing visits to their website.
Being an online portal, leveraging social media was an obvious choice. It’s accessible, low cost, campaigns are easy to implement quickly, it achieves results fast, and there’s a community already there who are familiar with online networks.
The idea
We decided to run a two week online competition around the topic of nostalgic food.
MyDish has previously run a smaller nostalgic food campaign on their Facebook page. As it had been successful we agreed to take this idea out to a wider audience.
Everyone has a favourite dish that reminds them of childhood whether it’s school dinners, or something more homely and hearty, so it was an natural topic choice. It’s an easy question to answer, it inspires conversation, and makes you feel warm and fuzzy! It also fits nicely with MyDish’s values and purpose.
The plan
The basis of the competition was to encourage people to tell MyDish what foods make them nostalgic and be entered into a prize draw to win £100 Marks & Spencers vouchers in time for Christmas.
I created a short video with people talking about their nostalgic food memories to get others thinking about their own and to demonstrate it’s simplicity and feel good factor. The video was uploaded to YouTube and used on the competition landing page. You can watch it here:
We then create a simple landing page where people could include their entry to the competition:
The landing page included a big tweet button to encourage people to share the details with their friends on Twitter and help the competition spread:
During the competition period we engaged the MyDish fan base on Twitter and Facebook to promote the competition and generate more interest through nostalgic food themed conversation.
The bloggers
I enlisted a number of targeted bloggers to write about the competition and generate interest by talking about it on Twitter and Facebook. They produced fantastic reads that really captured the essence of the competition! Here they are:
What Food Makes You Nostalgic – Yummy Choo Eats
My Dish Nostalgic Recipe Competition – Come Dine With Rach
I’m Lost In Lovely Memories! – Jenny Eatwell’s Rhubarb Ginger
Bringing Back The Nostalgia – Lite Bite
A Nostalgic Nut Roast with Pine Nuts – Becoming A Vegetarian
Nostalgic Food – Just Annie QPR
The Result
With still a few days to go there have been 2000 entries to the competition, a big increase in visits to the MyDish website and raised brand awareness. I’m waiting for final figures – will report back soon!
In the meantime, there’s still time to enter the competition – you can do so here: My Dish Competition but be quick – it closes November 20th.
Good luck!
7 Steps To Setting Up Your Twitter Account
I got asked the following question this week:
I’ve never used Twitter before – any tips for setting it up or point me in the right direction so I can do it right? I’ve heard there are lots of ways to do it wrong.
Of course! Here are 7 steps to getting your Twitter account set up the right way.
1. Choose a profile name
This is the name you’ll be known as on Twitter (also know as your @name). I’d recommend using your real name if it’s available. If not, try and include your name or initials. For instance, I’m @AbsoluteAlicia. Not my first choice but everything else was taken.
You’ll want to make the account user your full name as well. Oh, and keep your @name short and memorable so it doesn’t take up too much of Twitter’s 140 character limit and people can remember it.
2. Add a photo of you, not your logo
It’s really important to add a photo of you so people can connect with you on a personal level. Don’t use your logo or a cartoon picture, and definitely not the default egg image.
Your profile picture is displayed every time you post a tweet so you want to differentiate your tweets from everybody else’s. Your profile picture will help.
3. Complete your bio
You’ve got 160 characters to tell everyone what you do, why you do it, and what interests you so use them all – make it interesting and sociable.
Use this so people can make a connection with you. Many times I’ve read a bio and decided to follow that person on the basis of what they’ve written in their bio. I’ve discovered some amazing people that way, seriously!
4. Add your website address
There’s a space to add your website on your profile. Use this even if you don’t have a website. Instead, you could link it to your blog, LinkedIn profile, Facebook page, or anywhere online so people can find out more about you. And they do click on it so you’ll want to add something there.
5. Follow some people
And I don’t mean celebs either. Of course you can follow whoever you want, but more importantly you want to follow profiles that can help your business – that’s why you’re there! Don’t follow too many profiles to start with because you’ll get overwhelmed.
Tip: A good place to start is looking at who is following profiles with the same kind of customers as you.
6. Get tweeting
The best way to learn is to get involved. Watch the experienced users, ask questions and join in some conversations. Don’t get hung up about saying really profound stuff, just relax with it and have some fun.
7. Check your mentions regularly
This is really important. You want to keep an eye on who is talking to you and about you. Many people forget (or don’t know) to do that. Conversation is key on Twitter – if you’re not talking to people, replying and responding you may as well not use it because you won’t get results. Fact.
Do you want to learn more about using Twitter for your business?
The truth about using Twitter to generate business and how to go about it is just one of the topics I’ll be covering in an up-coming workshop co-presented by Keren Lerner (Top Left Design) called Social Media for Professional Services on December 8th. Find out more about the event and book your ticket here: Social Media for Professional Services Workshop
Image credit: Alex Roman
6.5 blogging essentials for your tool kit
A blog (the word is a combo of ‘web’ and ‘log’. Web log = blog) is really the cornerstone of an online marketing strategy. Look what Chris Brogan says:
I started my blog in early 2009 and have been posting regularly (with the odd hiatus in the past) ever since.
Along with my website it’s the most valuable marketing tool I’ve created, helping me raise my profile, consistently bringing people to my website who have then gone on to share my articles with their friends and connections, which has led to a string of business. Yay!
As well as a platform to write your articles (I use WordPress), there are some handy tools I recommend that make it easier for me to create regular articles while enhancing the experience for me and my readers. Here are 6.5 of them…
1. Blog ideas bank
A great tip I learnt from Julie Hall of Women Unlimited when I started blogging (this tip has become invaluable to me) was to create an ideas bank. Somewhere to store topics worth remembering. Never kick yourself for forgetting that brilliant blog idea again! Mine is in Google Docs where I can always access it. I’ve got a big list of ideas (as well as a handful of half written blogs) to call on when I’m not feeling hugely inspired.
Tip: Take the pressure off by creating your own, and slotting your topics in to an editorial calendar so you have a clear plan of what you’re writing and when.
2. Swipe file
A swipe file is used by copywriters to stash juicy headlines, interesting phrases and descriptive words – usually to encourage sales or the reader to take an action. Start collating your own swipe file as you read blog articles, sales letters and magazines to use for inspiration and ideas when you’re writing your own.
Tip: The best ones are usually those that have encouraged you take action.
3. Dictionary and thesaurus
You’ll want your article to be typo free, and to find that perfect descriptive word that is lodged somewhere in your head. I use Dictionary.com and Thesaurus.com for starters.
4. Image sharing sites
When used well, images add interest and help with the overall look and feel, drawing the reader in. They’re an important aspect of your blog. How boring does a magazine article look when there are no images? The image is also pulled in when you post your article on some social networks – this will make them more visible when they’re stacked elbow to elbow among the LOL cat videos.
Use free photo sharing sites like Flickr or images libraries like iStockphoto and Dreamstime. I often spend as much time searching for the right image as I do on writing the article which…yep, can be frustrating but it’s worth it. Never think that you don’t have the time for this! Your blog represents you and your business – make it the best it can be.
4.5 Image editor
You might want to edit the size of the image, crop it or add a frame to your image. My favourite online tool for this is Picnik. It’s free and super easy to use.
5. Social network profiles
Think of your business blog on your website as your online home – your mother ship. You want to be bringing people to your site to find out about you and your products or service. Writing regular articles is the most effective way to do that.
It’s also good for SEO (search engine optimisation) – the more pages on your website and the more fresh content you produce, the more the search engines (Google and the gang) like it – each blog post is a new page on your website.
Your social networks are your satellites. It’s here that you build relationships with the people you want to do business with and are interested in your stuff. Posting your blogs on social network sites like Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn (where people are hanging out), is the most effective way of bringing attention to your blog.
Unless your blog is already an internet sensation, people won’t come – you have to let them know it exists and give them a reason to visit. In my first year of business Twitter alone accounted for 56% of my web traffic because I was regularly posting blog articles there.
6. RSS Reader
Reading other people’s blogs will give you ideas of your own and keep you up to date with news and trends in your industry so you remain informed and on top of your game. An RSS reader (RSS stands for Real Simple Syndication. I don’t know why you’d need to know that but I bet you’re wondering ) is the quickest and most effective way to do this.
A reader stores blogs that you subscribe to in one place and every time a new article is posted on that blog, it’s automatically dropped in to your reader for you to read whenever you want. Subscribing to blogs in this way is much more time effective than visiting each of your favourite sites and frog hopping around the web, and it’s less intrusive than subscribing to blogs by email where they clog up your inbox.
Before I signed up for a reader I would rely on bookmarks and too often I’d find a really great website only to forget what is was the next day. Have you ever done that? It’s very annoying.
I use Google Reader but there are hundreds of different ones available (mostly free). The way you subscribe to a blog is usually by clicking on the orange icon displayed on the blog. Mine is in the top right of my website header along with all my social icons. Why not use it to keep up to date with my latest articles I post here on my blog?
Do you want to learn more about blogging?
The benefits of business blogging and where it sits in your marketing strategy is just one of the topics we’ll be covering in an up-coming workshop co-presented by Keren Lerner (Top Left Design) called Social Media for Professional Services on December 8th. Find out more about the event and book your ticket here: Social Media for Professional Services Workshop
Do you want to learn secrets for a buzzing Facebook page?
For the past week I’ve been playing the Pre-Holiday Season Facebook Game of Like. If you’re a fan of my Facebook page or follow me on Twitter this is probably old news to you! It’s a brilliant idea thought up by Dorien Morin-van Dam from More In Media and Keri Francek Jaehnig from Idea Girl Media – two talented and generous social media specialists, and experts at revving up a fun community online.
The name of the game is to carry out social media challenges for points, and the business with the most points will win an overall prize but that’s not the real value of taking part…
In the Game of Like, Dorien and Keri have devised a creative way for small businesses with a Facebook page to not just gain more subscribers (‘Likes’) and connections, but also teach them how to nurture a vibrant community, and learn the best tactics to boost page visibility through a number of clever challenges or ‘Like Achievements’.
The experience has been great fun and educational (while appealing to my competitive side!) – I’ve met numerous talented and supportive business owners from all corners of the world and every profession. My page ‘likes’ have rocketed as has the activity on my page, and my own knowledge of Facebook has been tested with each challenge. This in itself is massively valuable for anyone wanting to understand how to use Facebook marketing, whether a Facebook newbie or working in social media, as I do. It’s not as simple as building a page and hoping they will come!
The challenges themselves have included other social media channels too as it includes leveraging Twitter, blogging, email marketing, and video, which has encouraged some ‘players’ to dust off their Twitter profiles and blogs in order to earn valuable game points.
The game isn’t over yet – it ends on Friday 28th October at 5pm EST, so if you want to be stretched and challenged while having fun, making new connections and learning online marketing techniques, come join us – there’s still time!
You can join the Game of Like on Facebook here: Game of Like
Come see the game in action and pick up some social media tips here: Alicia on Facebook
Connect with More in Media on Facebook here: More in Media on Facebook
Connect with Idea Girl Media on Facebook here: Idea Girl Media on Facebook