Engaging On Facebook Is About Relationships

You've probably heard that success using Facebook is about engaging with your audience, but what does that really mean? Engagement doesn't just mean getting likes and shares. You have to build a relationship with your fans to really engage them.

How can you build a relationship with your fans?

A relationship in real life is all about give and take, so how can we translate that to online relationships between your Facebook page and your fans? It all starts with building a dialogue. There aren't any good relationships that don't have meaningful conversations. You have to ask questions, and want to hear the answers, and then respond to those answers.

Keep in mind, not everyone is going to agree with everything you say. That's another thing about relationships. There are always going to be some points of disagreement. It's how you go about responding to and resolving those problems that will determine whether your relationship with those fans will continue to grow.

Give to your fans

Make sure you're giving your fans something in return for their liking you. Share information with them, and give them your time and attention. Far too many Facebook pages are run by folks who rarely do more than just make posts and then leave. That's just like asking your friend how their day was and then completely ignoring their answer. Most likely, you won't have that friend for very long. You need to engage your fans.

If you can offer a special deal or inside information to your Facebook fans, that's a great way to give something back to them. They will respond with gratitude, and they'll also look forward to seeing your next post or update.

Don't be too promotional

No one likes hanging around with someone who is constantly trying to sell them something. The same is true on social media. Being too promotional can drive people away. Everyone wants to feel they're valuable for more than what they can spend from their wallets. Show appreciation when folks engage with you, when they share your posts, and even when they offer constructive criticism.

Every good relationship is built on a foundation of trust, caring and communication. Be open and clear, and you'll gain trust. Show fans you care about them, and they'll care more about you in return. And always keep the lines of communication open, even when you aren't hearing quite what you want to hear, because that is what a good relationship is all about. There are some people who will hack Facebook likes but they aren’t getting true engagement when they do this.

What tips do you have for increased engagement on your Facebook?

Featured images:

•  Image credit Cheap photos

Karen Barkan is a social media manager and guest blogger on social media topics. Read more and learn how you can improve your Facebook pages. 

The Five Elements Every Medical Blog Needs

Blogging has become a vital part of the medical industry’s marketing strategy, so much so that it’s rare to see a hospital, pharmaceutical company, or even a private LASIK clinic without a blog of their own. But having a blog alone isn’t going to set you apart from the thousands of other medical bloggers you’re competing with to gain rank. To maximize your blog’s potential, you’ll need the following elements.

From author bylines to social-media-ready images, incorporate these elements to give your blog the extra boost. Your marketing will be more effective, your readers will be more responsive, and your business will thrive! 

Comments Section

Many medical practices stray from including a comments section on their blog because they fear bad publicity, not complying with HIPAA policies, or both. Furthermore, comments allow spammers and self-promoters of all kinds to write in their own messages, plague your blog with unwanted links, stir up controversy, and so on. Needless to say, a comments section will never be a 100% safe element of blogging. But you can’t do away with it and here’s why.

Comments is where you rally up support for your blogs and brand, it’s where you find new patients, where you engage your users, and build a name for yourself. Without it, you’re missing out on potentially major publicity. Just keep an eye on it, respond to positive and negative feedback, and keep your cool. Monitoring your comments will keep you active in discussions and establish you as a professional authority that patients can trust. 

Author Byline

Leaving the byline out of your blog can force your articles to lose credentials and confidence. People don’t just want to read quality blog posts with solid information, they want to know their information is coming from a reputable source. A byline sets you up as the expert they need to listen to.

While your website should already have a biography with your information, credentials, and accomplishments, a small author byline at the end of each blog post will give it an extra boost. There are even several WordPress plugins you can use to link all of the articles you’ve written together and attach them to your Google Authorrank, a great way to gain a little extra SEO juice. 

Social Media Links

Blogs are meant to be shared! You want your readers buzzing so much that they’re willing to share your post to their Facebook feeds. This means reaching a wider audience and potentially nabbing a few extra patients. But if those social media links are missing, sharing your blog suddenly became a pretty inconvenient task. 

Include links to all major social media platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn, and even Pinterest and Reddit. You want your readers to have as many options as possible because people are more likely to shop (or make an appointment with a doctor) after they see a recommendation from a friend. Social media sharing might as well count as personal recommendations; so let your users share! 

Search Feature

There are plenty of ways to incorporate a search feature with your medical blog, including a search bar and an archive of all the topics you’ve previously written about. Not matter how you do it, having a database for readers to browse through is a win-win for your business and your readers. Potential patients can find more articles like the ones they’ve just read or search for blogs by topics that are interesting to them, therefore staying engaged with your website for a longer period of time. And when your users are this engaged, they are much more likely to convert.

Images

Images are crucial to a blog’s success and you simply can’t run a blog with having at least one picture per blog post. First of all, images make complicated concepts much easier to grasp, especially to the general population that didn’t go to med school. Think about how motivating “before and after” photos are rather than just reading about a diet plan itself. Having a visual supplement really gets a user’s mind into gear.

Images are also great for social media sharing. From Facebook to Pinterest, social media is becoming more centered around visual content, meaning not only are the platforms now better designed to display high-quality graphics, but people are now much more likely to click on a post with an associated image. Since our eyes are naturally drawn to pictures, you should use more to generate buzz around the web. Just be sure you own the images and that they relate to your blog post. 

Blogging isn’t entirely about the blog posts. To truly have a blog post succeed these days, you need to have the elements that can support it and promote it. Let your readers comment, see whom they’re learning from, and have an easy time searching and sharing your content. Not only can your blog succeed, but so can your business.

Pete Wise is a copywriter with 20/20 Institute. We provide LASIK services in Colorado. See what I'm posting on Facebook

3 Simple Ways Your Dealership Can Monitor Online Reviews

The success of your business now lies in the hands of your customer. Today, aside from providing their thoughts on your business through word of mouth marketing, they’re also taking to popular social media sites and online review sites to share their opinions, and these opinions can have a major impact on your business.

It’s extremely important that your dealership start monitoring online review sites like Edmunds and DealerRater to ensure that your business is successful. By monitoring online review sites, you can learn exactly how your customers feel about your dealership, and you can also use the information to learn if there are areas that need improvement.

Most dealerships ignore monitoring review sites because they feel as if it’s too time consuming, but the following are three simple ways that your dealership can start to successfully monitor online review sites.

1. Claim your business.

Each and every online review site allows you to claim your business on its respective site. Claiming your business allows you to create your own business profile as well as respond to any reviews that are left for your business. But aside from simply being able to communicate with the reviewers, claiming your business page allows you to set up review notifications via email.

Every time a new review is generated (or when a comment is left on a past review) the respective review site will send you an email notification. You can determine if you want to receive these alerts on a daily, weekly or in real-time basis too. You will then know via email when a review was left (and what it said), which will allow you to take the necessary steps to thank the customer or learn more about their experience.

2. Use a monitoring tool.

There are monitoring tools out there that are made specifically to help you manage your review sites. Review Trackers is one of those tools that can help you monitor your sites without having to do much work. Instead, Review Trackers will scour the Internet in search for specific mentions of your business and will send you an email notification whenever they find something. Like the email notifications from the respective sites, Review Trackers will also allow you to determine how often you want to receive the notifications.

One of the many benefits of Review Trackers is that you don’t have to worry about claiming your business on all the review sites out there in order to receive notifications. Instead, Review Trackers will notify you whenever your company is mentioned on any review site, even those you have yet to claim.

3. Hire a community manager.

Because the use of online review sites is so popular, it’s a good idea to designate one specific employee to monitoring your company’s online review presence. This is why you may want to consider hiring a community manager. This individual will be in charge of not only watching the reviews that come in for your business and recording them appropriately, but they will also be in charge of responding to the reviews in a timely fashion. This can help make your customers feel as if you’re actually paying attention, and it can even help to alleviate a negative review from going viral.  Plus, by giving the responsibility to a designated individual, you will ensure a steady process and keep from piling the responsibility onto the plate of your other employees.

Garrett Payne is a professional reviews tracker who enjoys blogging.  He has recently been sharing information about car dealer review tracking.

Social Media: Revolutionizing Business

Over the last 20 years, with the invention and popularization of the Internet, the traditional mediums that companies used to advertise, inform, and simply connect with their consumer base have change drastically.  In fact, the traditional organization of a business has also been revolutionized.  Now there are thousands of businesses that are run out of individual homes, forgoing the typical brick-and-mortar companies that were abundant before the Internet.  For example, my friend's neice just started her own business online at a site called etsy.com.  This brilliant idea for a website allows users to have their own “shop” wherein they are able to sell vintage and/or handmade items.  Because of this, potentially millions of stay-at-home moms, craft makers, and people with hobbies making things can actually make a profit doing the things they love to do—without leaving the house.

Social Media-Leveling the Playing Field:

Normally a business would have a marketing manager in charge of all of the advertising campaigns, launching an expensive, extensive, and very broad-reaching commercial crusade using many different mediums, resulting in a fraction of the people reached who actually respond to the ad.  For the people with “etsy” shops, all they have—and need—is social media.  With the developing of sites like MySpace, Facebook, Google+, YouTube, Twitter, and many more, market outreach and advertising have been revolutionized.  Anybody can use these sites to any extent, to either benefit and/or hurt a business.  With the smaller, personal businesses, a seller relies completely on friends and contacts to spread the word about the shop.  For larger companies, it is much different.

Marketing Revolutionized:

To the companies that used to spend millions on marketing, social media could be considered a godsend.  Although they still have to maintain traditional marketing strategies to some degree, it isn't nearly as costly.  Using Facebook, for example, setting up an account is free, and everybody who “likes” the page will get the automatic updates the merchant sends.  This narrows the outreach to current customers and exposes the business to many potential new customers when their “friends” like that page as well.  This drastically decreases the seller’s Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) because it is completely free.  A seller can pay for additional ads that will specifically target people with similar likes and interests as the general customer base.

Marketing to Public Relations:

Aside from the marketing advantage, social media allows a company to connect more deeply with its customers.  This, unfortunately can be a double-edged sword.  Social media is just that: social.  If there is any type of scandal in a business, everyone with a Facebook or Twitter account can know about it within minutes.  The lightning speed of bad news can result in a PR nightmare—just ask Domino’s Pizza.  Because of this, you will need to be extra vigilant maintaining a good relationship with your customers, which can only help.

In addition to managing public relations, Facebook gives the seller a direct line to customers, getting fast, honest feedback about products or commercial campaigns, even including them through contests and giveaways.  Take Doritos for example. The biggest TV commercial event of the year happens on Super Bowl Sunday.  Companies plan very far in advance to make sure their commercials are funny and memorable.  Doritos was running out of ideas, so they did something ingenious: had their customers come up with ideas in a contest with not just prizes, but the ultimate prize: a spot in the Super Bowl commercial lineup.  This strategy has been extremely successful, probably more so that they had ever imagined.

Every business, from a cottage industry to a large corporation, must understand that social media is here to stay.  It can be one of the greatest vehicles for mass advertising the world has ever seen, and using it properly can be a great advantage to a business.

About the Author: Rick Delgado is a freelance writer who specializes in the latest social and technology trends. He is cur

How to increase business productivity on a tight budget

Practical tips to help make the most of your business even when faced with cutbacks or a tight budget. 

One of the biggest challenges facing small and medium businesses is how to manage growth when the market isn't working in your favour. 

At the end of the day, it's all about looking at your budget from a new angle and making smart decisions about the best way to use it - that way you can keep your business on track and stimulate growth even in a difficult economic climate. 

But how? Take a look at a few practical tips to maximise the potential of your business and stretch your budget as far as it can go… 

Trim the edges: 

When you're trying to stretch every last penny, looking for ways you can trim down on expenses can go a long way. You might be surprised at the money you could save by implementing a few simple changes. Areas to consider include:

Travel expenses - how much are your employees travelling, and is it absolutely necessary? For example, by implement a video chat or conference call policy for internal meetings you can save travel expenses and your employees can spend that time at home - helping achieve that important work-life balance. 

Office supplies - paper, toner and envelopes might seem innocuous but when every pound counts this is a good place to start as many companies find their supplies amount to excess expenses. Keep an inventory of everything you have and how often it's being used up. Encourage employees to donate any free promotional materials - pens, notepads, pencils - they might have received at a conference back into the supply cupboard. Finally, wait to purchase supplies in bulk or when there is a large sale on, that way you can pick up the essential items you need at a fraction of the cost you might have otherwise paid. 

Utility providers - The same way you want the best deal for your home, you should be looking for the best deals with your utility providers. It's unrealistic to think your office could run without electricity or the internet, but that doesn't mean you should give up on savings. Many providers offer bundle deals or will undercut competitors so it's worth spending some time to shop around and find reliable providers that will help you ease your monthly expense. 

Investing to save money :

This might seem counterintuitive but really it's all about increasing efficiencies across your business. Are you still using old systems that are doing more harm than good? Investing in new technology, a new training program, or HR tools can improve efficiency both by motivating employees and helping them get their work done - something that promises a far greater return on investment.  Areas to consider might be:

Health insurance - Right now, small business health insurance might not be on the top of your priority list, but maybe it should be. Keeping your employees fighting fit is a great way to cut down on those lost days due to illness, and can also help reduce the stress they might be feeling about medical bills.  With their health in check, they can focus on feeling their best and making the most of the days spent in the office. 

Technology - choosing the right technology can completely transform everything from the way you bill your clients to how you do business. Consider any areas of your business that might benefit from going digital - integrating technology will go a long way to aiding growth and providing accurate insights into exactly how and what your business is doing every step of the way.

How To Use SoLoMo To Improve Your Business

There’s a new phrase in town that encompasses all the popular platforms used by individuals to make buying decisions—SoLoMo. SoLoMo refers to the combination of social media, local commerce and mobile devices, all of which are highly used by consumers today when it comes to making purchases. So how can you use SoLoMo to improve your business?

Get on social media:

If you have yet to join a social media platform, it’s about time that you do. According to a 2012 Statistic Brain study, 56% of people in the world use at least one social network, which means that you’re missing out on a large audience if you don’t have a social presence yourself.
Consumers use social media for a variety of different reasons. They use it to learn more about companies and their products and services, and they also use it for customer service inquiries and to gain access to special promotions. Consumers also use social media to ask their virtual friends for advice or to leave their own experiences with certain companies for all to see.
If you really want to improve your business with SoLoMo, the first thing you need to do is get on social media and use it to engage your followers.

Worry about your local presence:

Customers are regularly using the Internet, social media and smartphone apps to locate local information. For example, consumers are likely to turn to Foursquare or Yelp to locate restaurants in their area when they’re hungry or turn to Google to find information on other local businesses. Because of this, you need to make sure that you are implementing a strong local commerce strategy.
Make sure that your company claims your business page on popular online review sites like Yelp, Foursquare and Google+ Local. Yelp and Foursquare have apps that make it easy for consumers to use on their smartphones, which can be beneficial to your SoLoMo efforts. You’ll also want to make sure that these pages, along with your website page, contains information on your location, such as your physical address or the areas you serve. This way, if a search is performed in your area, your business will be more likely to appear.

Invest in mobile opportunities:

The use of mobile as a marketing strategy is extremely popular. In order to get the most out of SoLoMo, you want to make sure that your mobile marketing efforts are strong. First and foremost, you want to make sure that your website is optimized for mobile. This way, customers using smartphones or tablets will be able to access your website while on the go. This way, if your site appears while they’re using these devices, they’ll be able to access information on your company. You’ll also want to make sure that you invest in a mobile marketing strategy, such as SMS marketing. Customers can opt-in to receive special texts from you that provide them with exclusive information or discounts for your company. You can also use geo-location tools to track nearby customers and send them promotions to get them to visit your business while in the area.
SoLoMo is a popular strategy for today’s businesses, and if you truly want to succeed and improve your business, this is how.


Jessica Brown is a reviews tracker and avid blogger.  She has recently been teaching others how to incorporate SoLoMo into a business' strategy.

The Best Skiing Destinations You Hadn't Considered

Fewer things are better than a skiing holiday for those who love the combination of fresh, outdoor air and a great adrenaline rush.
Of course, everyone knows the best places to head for a skiing holiday. The Alps of Switzerland and France, the Dolomites of Northern Italy, and sections of the Rocky Mountains in the United States are all excellent places to hit the piste and hurtle downhill at 70 miles per hour on skis or a snowboard.
What about the less-heralded destinations, that are just as good for skiing but don’t enjoy the publicity and press of the well-known resorts? We explored the best destinations for skiing that you didn’t already know about.

Australia:

Is this a joke? Are we suggesting that you take to the outback on skis? Does it snow over Ayers Rock?

Image Source

The answer to all of those questions is no. However, in the south east of the country you will find the Australian Alps, the only place on the Aussie mainland where it snows at all. To get an idea of just how much snowfall it enjoys, it is equivalent to that of Switzerland.

It figures then, that Australia is a great destination for a skiing break, despite its legendary status as a beach and city destination. The great thing about the Australian Alps is that they are easily accessible from most of the big cities, and particularly Sydney and Melbourne.Hire a relocation campervan and head into the Alps for a few days before checking out the things we traditionally associate with Australia.

Greece:

Another country that it is associated with sunshine and culture before skiing, but Greece is actually one of the better places to ski in Europe, especially if you want to avoid the busy centres in the middle of the continent.

We’d suggest heading to Mount Parnassos, which is not only a great ski resort but also home to a number of inspirational Greek ruins and monuments. In addition, there are many more resorts throughout Greece, some even close to the coast for those looking for an eclectic mix of snow and access to the beach.

Scotland:

Scotland doesn’t get anything like the love it should do from skiing enthusiasts, which is odd considering the natural beauty found throughout Scotland.

Whether it is a gentle cross-country ski across easy terrain or a trip down a steep peak, you can find them all in the Scottish Highlands.

Chile:

This South American nation is lacking attention as a holiday destination altogether, let along just for skiing. The best thing about skiing in Chile is that the major resorts are all within a short distance of the capital, Santiago. By day, hit the slopes and enjoy some of the best skiing ranges on the continent, while at night you have a vibrant, exciting city on your doorstep, a refreshing change from remote ski villages and towns, as nice as they can be sometimes.

Look further than the traditional popular ski sites should you be booking such a trip this year, and open your eyes to a more exciting and diverse holiday.

Rob is an online content writer with a specific interest in tourism. Rob writes about all aspects of tourism, including the growing use of relocation campervans for travel and unusual destinations for both summer and winter holidays.