“All great changes are preceded by chaos.” -Deepak Chopra

Sounds really deep, right? Relax, this is not a philosophical post – but there is definitely some chaos in trying to navigate all of the changes Facebook is implementing for business pages.

Last Wednesday, Facebook announced that Timeline, which has been available for personal profiles for several months, is indeed coming to business pages. This occurred after many months of speculation of what these new Business Page Timelines could look like. So from now until March 30, you have a chance to create, edit, and perfect your new Business Page and “Publish” when you are ready. But March 30 will come quickly. What are some of these new changes? Well, I’m glad you asked…

Key Changes

No more default landing pages – Currently in the web-o-sphere, this is one of the most unfavorable changes. Facebook iframes or custom tabs do still exist, but you lose the option to set them as the default tab. Previously, page tabs were 520px wide, but with the new layout you have 810px of content area to use. The Wall will be the default for all. You now get room for up to 12 apps, and only four can be showcased at the top of your page.

No more fan-gating – With no default landing tabs, the option to “hide” content until someone has Liked your page is no more.

New admin panel – I have to admit, the nerd in me got really excited about this one. Each admin gets to see a quick snapshot of how the page has been performing recently, a brief look at the Insights, new Likes, and…


Messages from your fans! – Fans can now message the brand page! This is a fantastic feature for customer service. This feature technically rolled out before Timeline, but it was not nearly as prominent.

Add key dates to your history –Tiffany & Co., Manchester United and Coca Cola (click on the dates to the right of each of these) have done a great job telling the story of their brand on their Timelines. ‘Nuf said.

Cover photo – This is one of the biggest changes to the profile. You now have the ability to add a large photo to the top of your profile. Facebook has stated that cover photos must not use the word “Like”, “Share” or other Call to Actions. There are some other restrictions you should check out too, as well as the correct dimensions for your cover photo.

An even more personalized experience – Old business pages would tell you how many of your friends also liked that page (that feature is still there) but now you can also see if one of your friends has mentioned that brand in a post.

Yes, this is a lot of change, but it’s also a great opportunity to evaluate your strategy for Facebook and really enhance your presence. The Newsfeed is where the majority of your fans will see your content – so yes, while these Timeline changes are big and important, your content still needs to be relevant, useful and engaging to your audience. While the channels of social media may change and evolve, the general content principles never will. 

If you want to see some of these changes in action, head on over to our Facebook page and check it out. And if you need a little help making some of these changes, give me a call or shoot me a quick email.

Sources:

• Facebook
• Techcrunch.com
• Likeable.com
• Mashable

We are proud to announce that our very own Social Media Manager, Carla Weis Hale, has been named one of the “25 Women to Watch in 2012” by the Women in Business Networking (WiBN). Hale, just 25-years-old, has already become among one of the region’s top social media thought leaders. WiBN’s Watchable Women are nominated for making a difference in the community, being noted for their leadership, community service and professional achievements.

A graduate of Wright State University, Carla joined the C-3 Group in 2010 and has been a large part of the company’s success. In an ever changing social media field, Carla invests a significant amount of her time to stay atop the latest trends in both macro and micro markets. By helping firms develop authentic advocacy from their customers, they become a part of the sales force. Carla employs this and other marketing strategies to make brands more accessible to customers through the places they spend the most time today.
In addition to her responsibilities developing and executing social media strategies for the C-3 Group’s clientele, Carla also Co-Founded CultureMASH, an organization of young leaders, in all facets of marketing, including new media, that uses their talents and skill sets to give something back to the community.
A well known speaker in the social media field in Southwest Ohio, Carla has spoken and taught groups from the University of Dayton, Wright State University, The School of Advertising Art, Cincinnati State, and Sinclair Workforce Development.

Congratulations Carla!

Does your company’s culture fit with what your company does?
From the suits, white shirts and wingtips of Big Blue (IBM) to the Google campus of today, corporate culture helps define a company.

IBM (suits, white shirts and black wingtips)

Google Campus

For most of my career, I have been charged with the development and maintenance of the workplace environment. In the advertising agency space, creativity and strategy drive our business. People hire us for our ability to come up with creative and strategic solutions to their marketing challenges. So it only makes sense to structure an environment that fosters open, creative communication, group thinking and teamwork. But at the end of the day, the people make all the difference. Can they contribute and thrive in this environment? Are their personal lives (“resident culture”– customs, values, beliefs, etc….) outside of the workplace in any way a conflict with the company’s core values and culture?

From Understanding Corporate Culture by Tim Bryce

The goal is to assemble a staff that can work together and support each other in this culture. Competitiveness is a good thing, but more so when it is channeled externally rather than internally amongst co-workers.

So how do you foster the right workplace environment for your business? Well I can’t speak to all types of businesses, but I can tell you what works in our world with the hope that some may also work for you.

1. Start by leading by example. If you want fun, open, ongoing communication, make yourself available, be engaged with your team and show them it is ok to laugh and joke in the workplace.
2. If you want to forward the concept of idea sharing and brainstorming, set up times and objectives for this to happen. If the team can see the advantage and enjoy the process, they will naturally begin this process amongst themselves.
3. Teamwork is critical in most companies. I have found that occasional group activities, lunches (formally set and informally occurring), holiday parties, a drink after work, and personal and company information sharing all helps bring a team together.  People talk about their business associates being like family, but is it really?

That is difficult to achieve, but getting people to care about one another and enjoy working together, can be a byproduct of the right work environment. One example I will share is to begin or carry on a tradition with your team. We have a small company and we have made it a tradition to hold our Christmas party in my home. I find it warmer and more conducive to enjoying one another’s company and having fun. In addition, we have produced an annual Christmas video that people seem to look forward to watching. It spoofs everyone, including me, through skits and looks back at funny things that have happened during the past year. It is a lot of work, but a labor of love.

Maybe a video is not for you, but work to develop your own tradition and establish a culture in your company that makes it a place people want to work and one that can hopefully bring out the company’s best work. In our case, the right people, fun, open communication, idea sharing and teamwork are key.

One of the most overlooked components of a small business budget for a given year is often the marketing spend – especially in a time of recession. A common school of thought is that marketing should be the first thing to go, but in reality you must adhere to the old adage “you must spend money to make money.”

Your marketing budget should be looked at as an investment in your company, not an expense. Creating a marketing budget is important as it serves as a guide to ensure that you are staying on target with estimated costs vs. the actual costs, preventing the risk of overspending.

Clients often ask how much they should allot for marketing while finalizing their budget for the coming fiscal year. A common guideline to follow is allocating 2-10% of your annual sales, though this amount will vary based on factors such as the type of industry your company is in and whether your business is new or established.

A more few tips to help you get started are:

• Develop a marketing plan. One of the best ways to determine your budget is to draft a marketing plan for the next year based on the needs of your business. Are you positioned correctly in your industry? Are there areas of your business you would like to grow? Answering questions such as these will help ensure your marketing dollars align with your company goals.
• Don’t commit your budget to just one or two activities. Test different strategies to see how you can best reach your target audience. In addition, utilizing multiple techniques can help you reach a wider audience. Determine what works best for YOU.
• If something is working, stick to it. Many companies make the mistake of ditching a technique that is working for them as they get bored with it. You can always test new messages or a fresh creative without altogether abandoning a proven tactic.  If it’s not broken, why fix it?
• Remember the 6:1 rule—it takes six times as many dollars to bring in a new customer as it takes to retain a current customer. Don’t forget to invest in campaigns or initiatives for current customers. Allocate your budget accordingly.

With a little creativity and planning, you can turn a few dollars into a lot of exposure for your company. If you would like more information about preparing an efficient SMB marketing budget, contact us with your questions: apollock@c-3group.com