Alberta Business Marketing

Last week our team from Ulistic met with the great folks at MSP University in Garden Grove, California.  Together, we started to carve out what will become an awesome relationship.  MSPU is one of the leading managed services firms globally and the clients they work with are market leaders and enjoy the fruits of the hard work. I have personally known Erick Simpson and Gary Beechum for a number of years, they are rock solid guys and the entire team at MSPU is built on the same core values Gary and Erick bring to the table.

During our chat last week we got looking at Facebook Marketing and how businesses can leverage Facebook to market their offerings.  It is no secret that Facebook is growing.  Their recent partnership with Microsoft BING has shot Facebook up to the 6th most popular search engine.  One in Four page views on the Internet is Facebook related and the average person spends anywhere from 10 minutes to an hour on Facebook each day.  Still many question Facebook’s effectiveness in the market place.

During our time with MSPU, a number of ideas were discussed, but it was this fact amongst all the others that kind of surprised me when I stumbled upon it.  There are almost as many Facebook users in California that what there is in the entire country of Canada.   This is no secret really, we have heard for years that there are just as many people in one state in the US than what we have in Canada.  15.4 million Facebook users in Canada and almost 15.5 in the entire state of California.  What does this mean for business?

Does marketing on Facebook now make sense to your business?

If you look at the numbers closely, the 15 million or so folks from either California or Canada represent about 50% of the population.  That represents a good portion of the Canadian or Californian landscape uses Facebook.  Pretty impressive.

Are you leveraging this to get your message out there?
How can you use Facebook to market your business?

There are many ways to do this from Pay-Per-Click or Pay-Per-Impression ads, Facebook Pages and regular interaction with people.  Engagement with folks on Facebook, talking with your community, the people in your network and simply serving the market.

Do you need to know more about how to create a Fan Page that sings?
Want to know how to engage with Facebook?

I invite you to reach out and let’s have a chat about how you can use Facebook right now.

There are a number of opportunities and Facebook can be another important channel for you to help with your marketing.  You know the old saying about LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION or what Wayne Gretzky has always said “skate to where the puck is going, not where it is”.

Need a hand to figure it out…visit my Execute On Facebook or Marketing On Facebook page and take the first step in creating a marketing strategy for Facebook today.

Tags: Blog software, Business Partnership, California, canada, Criticism of Facebook, Erick Simpson, Facebook, Facebook features, Facebook Inc, Garden Grove, Gary Beechum, Human Interest, LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION, Microsoft BING, MSP University, Online social networking, search engine, Social information processing, Technology/Internet, United States, wayne gretzky, web 2.0, World Wide Web
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After successfully clearing Homeland Security at YYC this morning, enroute to Dallas for a couple of days with the Heartland Tech Group (HTG) peer group meetings, I noticed a headline in this morning’s Globe and Mail.

Facebook users risk blackmail, privacy czar warns

It looks like Jennifer Stoddart is one the warpath with Facebook once again (Read the Globe and Mail article).  I am confused by her stand against Facebook and the privacy of Facebook users data.  Facebook, like many other social networking sites are not forcing people to sign up for accounts or even volunteer information.  Facebook membership in Canada is not mandatory, you have a choice not to sign up.  Besides your name, email address, birthdate (which is used to verify those 13 and over) and gender information, I can’t think of any other information that I don’t have an option to share, not to share and even hide from those I don’t want to share it with.

I am confused with Canada’s Privacy Commissioner on why she would be overly concerned.  Facebook is not a bank where personal information is required to confirm your identity and where your money is managed.  I believe there is more risk in all the non-protected computers running without anti-virus software and even those who fail to patch their Windows computers each month than risks with Facebook.  There is more risk to security from people who still send credit card numbers via email.

I am not saying you don’t need to be vigilant, you always need to be on guard with everything you do online (even on Facebook).  Hackers, virus writers and script kiddies are turning to Facebook, Twitter and other online social media sites as vehicles to spread their worms and other malicious code to unexpected users.  Just like email, always practice caution, even on Facebook.

Application programmers which link their third-party apps to link into Facebook are now (according to the Globe and Mail article story) able to store your data forever instead the 24 hour period once enforced.  What data, your bank accounts, letters to mom, your MP3 collection…what data are they talking about – the pictures you put on Facebook.  I am sure that there is some acknowledgement in the terms and conditions prior to installing or participating in these activities.  Who is at fault if you fail to understand the T & C’s. I don’t think it is Facebook’s issue.

Here is a simple tip for Facebook users who don’t want their photos and other information shared, don’t put them online.  Sounds simple.

Haven’t we been through this before?

Once again, Facebook is not a substitute for picking up the phone or other forms on social interaction.  You don’t have to sign up.  Facebook membership is not mandatory in Canada.

Here are some of the terms and conditions, relating to privacy on Facebook – notice the remove or do not add warnings throughout the text below.  Read more about Facebook privacy.

This section explains how your privacy settings work, and how your information is shared on Facebook.  You should always consider your privacy settings before sharing information on Facebook.

Name and Profile Picture. Facebook is designed to make it easy for you to find and connect with others.  For this reason, your name and profile picture do not have privacy settings.  If you are uncomfortable with sharing your profile picture, you should delete it (or not add one).  You can also control who can find you when searching on Facebook or on public search engines using your search settings.

Contact Information. Your contact information settings control who can contact you on Facebook, and who can see your contact information such as your email and phone number(s).  Remember that none of this information is required except for your email address, and you do not have to share your email address with anyone.

Personal Information. Your personal information settings control who can see your personal information, such as your religious and political views, if you choose to add them.  We recommend that you share this information using the friends of friends setting.

Posts by Me. You can select a privacy setting for every post you make using the publisher on our site.  Whether you are uploading a photo or posting a status update, you can control exactly who can see it at the time you create it.  Whenever you share something look for the lock icon.  Clicking on the lock will bring up a menu that lets you choose who will be able to see your post.  If you decide not to select your setting at the time you post the content, your content will be shared consistent with your Posts by Me privacy setting.

Connections. Facebook enables you to connect with virtually anyone or anything you want, from your friends and family to the city you live in to the restaurants you like to visit to the bands and movies you love.  Because it takes two to connect, your privacy settings only control who can see the connection on your profile page.  If you are uncomfortable with the connection being publicly available, you should consider removing (or not making) the connection.

Gender and Birth Date. In addition to name and email address, we require you to provide your gender and birth date during the registration process.  We ask for your date of birth to verify that you are 13 or older, and so that we can better limit your access to content and advertisements that are not age appropriate.  Because your date of birth and gender are required, you cannot delete them.  You can, however, edit your profile to hide all (or part) of such fields from other users.

Tags: anti-virus software, bank, bank accounts, canada, Commissioner, Criticism of Facebook, czar, dallas, E-mail, Facebook, Facebook features, Facebook Inc, Globe and Mail, guard, heartland tech group, Jennifer Stoddart, Microsoft Windows, MP3, online social media sites, Online social networking, privacy, public search engines, search settings, Social network service, social networking sites, Technology/Internet, the Globe and Mail, Twitter Inc, World Wide Web
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Many of our clients who are deeply engaged in our Ulistic Internet Mentoring Program, a program made up of 8 to 12 one-on-one mentoring sessions that is designed for small to large business.  Our program guides business owners or marketing teams through the entire process of their online marketing.  Our program enables teams or individuals to understand the inner tickings of their online marketing and provides strategies on how they can go to market in our online world.   We have a tremendous amount of interest on this program and if you would like to learn more, just give me a call at 403.775.2205 option 2.

Back to our topic of the day…

One of the questions that consisting percolates its way to the top of the FAQ pile is around looking professional on Facebook.  There is no doubt, Facebook’s popularity has shot through the roof with more and more people coming online to hook up long-lost friends from school, people who they have worked with and yes, even a small bit of business occurs on Facebook.

More and more companies, large and small are now setting up Facebook pages and groups to enables them to have another conduit to those who maybe interested in what they have to offer.  I still believe Facebook has a small bit of some merit with business.  I encourage everyone to look at their business goals and really have a crystal clear vision of who they want to do business with and once they know this, where do they hang out.  Is it Facebook?  Perfect, carry on…if not, let’s look at other places.

One tip I would like to share with you today is around your Facebook URL.  When you setup your personal account and your Facebook Page, you will given a URL with can look like this:

http://www.facebook.com/yourname/5848596854

Are you aware that Facebook provides you the ability to customize your URL?   This allows you to dump those nasty numbers that no one will ever remember which normally appears at the end of your facebook.com URL.  Here is an example using my own personal page and my own account on what you can do.

http://www.facebook.com/stuart.crawford.calgary – My personal Facebook account

http://www.facebook.com/stuartrcrawford – My Facebook Page

For your personal account or company page, it is easy for you to set up something like this.  To accomplish this goal, you simply need to navigate to http://www.facebook.com/username/ and set the vanity URL (web address) that suits you.  Caution, once you set the URL, it is not an easy task to change it and you may not be able to.  Choose wisely.

Tags: 403.775.2205, Blog software, Business/Finance, Criticism of Facebook, Facebook, Facebook features, Facebook Inc, Internet Mentoring Program, Online social networking, online world, Social information processing, social media, Technology/Internet, web 2.0, web address, World Wide Web
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“Facebook is not social media” my 14-year-old son told me the other day.

“Dad, we just call it Facebook, it is only you adults who label it with that stupid term” he went on to tell me.

You know something, that son of mine is a pretty smart kid!  An old guy like me can learn lots just by spending a day with my youngest son.  You know the kid, quiet but when he says something, it is full of knowledge and intellect.

Yes, Facebook is just like my backyard BBQ on a warm summer day.  As I look around I have friends from back home, friends from my military days and yes some business friends…and even the uncle that no one speaks about publicly. You know something, it is not a complete business tool, Facebook is a tool to socialize and learn the personal side of life.

Sure, I know some of you are saying that you have had success advertising on Facebook.  Facebook does have a place, if you have a product geared to the commercial market or you are doing some market research, perhaps Facebook is somewhere you need to be.

When I consult with clients as a Calgary Online Marketing Specialist,  I offer advice on having a Facebook Page as a tool to share there daily going ons, heck, even I have one.  Here is the trick…AUTOMATION.  I rarely update my Facebook Page manually it is completely automated.  This is what I share with my clients.  Set it and forget it.

I am working on several presentations over the next few months and they will be around a topic entitled “Life After Facebook”.  Where can someone serious about building a business turn?  Well, I have some thoughts and Facebook has nothing to do with it.  It is strategy, it is prospecting….more to come.

Tags: Blog software, business tool, Calgary Online Marketing Specialist, Criticism of Facebook, Facebook, Facebook features, Facebook Inc, Human Interest, Online social networking, Social information processing, social media, success advertising, Technology/Internet, web 2.0, World Wide Web
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