Day 19 Assignment, Bootcamp #4 - Twitter & Facebook

[iCraft Admin]

I don't have exact stats in front of me, but as far as I know, those 2 social media sites, Facebook & Twitter,  are probably the 2 that matter the most.

Social media titan Facebook will have more than one billion users by year's end. Microblog Twitter will have more than half a billion accounts by that time.

Combined they probably cover the majority of people that are currently using social media sites, and can offer you some steady stream of relevant traffic. So if I had to choose where to spend my time in terms of social media engagement, I'd choose FB & Tw.

Things you need to know about Twitter & Facebook (for today)

• Companies use Tw & FB because nobody can afford to ignore that many people.
• Small companies and large brands join social media sites to increase their Brand Awareness and to spread their message (whatever it is) to their very social & super connected followers.
• The more followers you have, the more people you'll be able to reach with your message - and a link to your store!
  Kat, we need to fix that 0 Tw followers situation. Sending tweets to 0 people, will bring you 0 visitors!  
• To get more followers, you need to follow people too and follow them back.
• It's suggested to follow people that have similar interests to you.
• Regular and somewhat frequent Tw & FB updates correlate with higher number of followers.
• To keep things fresh and to save time, automate & schedule updates to your social media accounts, whenever possible.

So the Assignment for today is to learn about Twitter & Facebook as much as possible.
 

• Register accounts, if you haven't done so.
• Follow each other on Tw & FB, using links provided in the Assignment #18.
  Marta & Lisa, please provide yours today.
  Here is iCraft's Tw account - https://twitter.com/icraft and FB page - https://www.facebook.com/icraftca.
• Follow as many artists, crafters and anyone else, who says on their Twitter profile that they are interested in Handmade, Crafts, Jewelry or Soap Making (for Marta). Good place to start - our list of iCrafters on Tw https://twitter.com/iCraft/icraft-members.
• Connect your iCraft Profile to your Twitter account for automatic product updates.
• (re)Tweet and share on your FB profile as many articles that you guys have worked on in the past few days. Make sure to add article URL in your tweet too.
• Learn how to increase your Twitter & Facebook followers - read suggested articles, do your own rereplacement and share your findings below.
• Tell us how you've been using Tw & FB for promoting your business so far.
  Sorry, if this is a repetition from previous assignment, so maybe copy your previous answers here, so it's all in one post.
• Rereplacement best ways of using Tw & FB for Business promotions and share what you've learned below.
  Mashable has a few good articles on this topic, same as SEOmoz. Or replacement for "Social Media Marketing" on Google.
  List all good articles or quotes you've come across too.
• Ask questions and share your experiences. Remember - we can all learn from each other!  

[Jewelry by Kat]

I now am following people on twitter, but everything else is overwhelming, I don't know what to do............Kat

[iCraft Admin]

Hi Kat, I need you to be more specific.

I see that you've setup your account for automatic product updates already. So that's done.

You are following now 12 people. That's not enough. I think you have following limit of 1000 initially, so you have a long way to go.
The list I mentioned in the assignment has 230 members https://twitter.com/iCraft/icraft-members/members, so you can keep going and follow more people.

You can post messages to your Twitter and Facebook account.
I was asking to post links to the blog posts that you all have written, so we'll add links from social media to the mix of Backlinks to your stores.

Use blog title, blog URL and your brief comment, if space allows, (add hashtag #handmade" to some of your posts so they become more visible on Tw) to create your messages, like this.

"The Joy of Giving a Personal Handmade Greeting Card" - my blog post featuring Fairy Cardmaker https://icraftgifts.com/blog/the-joy-of-giving-a-personal-handmade-greeting-card-410.php #handmade"

Or you can retweet others, who already mentioned these posts in their Twitter accounts. Just click on "retweet" link on posts you like in Twitter or Share link on Facebook.

And just spend time today reading about Twitter and Facebook Marketing, using resources I've provided and then ask us questions. That will be good too. Hope this helps!

[Delightful Suds]

Ok here are my links:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Delightful-Suds/204119239695425?fref=ts
https://twitter.com/delightful-suds

[iCraft Admin]

Thanks Delightful Suds! 

[Delightful Suds]

I try to tweet 2-3 times a week, and sometimes I retweet. I'm not only automatically connected from iCraft to Twitter, but also from Twitter to Facebook. So everything I tweet goes to facebook as well. (3 birds with one stone  )
I once received a $50 credit for FB advertising, and so I used that. That was what got me most of my "likes" on there.

[JaJeJems]

Well I have Facebook and Twitter connected and I see how that works.  I have bumped my followers up to 84 and 7 people are following me on twitter now which is an improvement over 2!  I already had my updates from icraft automatically going to twitter.  I added a tweet about the blog that Delightfull did on seaglass.  It is slowly starting to sink in.  I am going to aim to tweet everyday if I can.  Now I am going to do some rereplacement and reading!  I found some of the group on twitter and on facebook.  Can't find Fairy Cardmaker anywhere!

[Silver Workshop]

I'm having some issues with facebook, whenever I log in, any "like" buttons for me to click on located on other people's pages disapear. Is it because of the type of page I have? I've noticed this in the last few months. I'm able to "add to my interest lists" and "add to my favourites page" but that's all.

[Jewelry by Kat]

I am following alot more on twitter and will add more tonight. I added my blog on facebook. I am following my fellow bootcampers.  I don't know what I am doing, but it is working!................Kat

[Red Rock Designs]

I'm following fellow bootcampers on both Facebook and Twitter.  It's easier to replacement for other crafters & handmade jewelry on Twitter than on FB....I think by FB you have to replacement exact names instead of by categories...so I'm following more on Tw than on FB.

Silver Workshop I have the same issue with FB, but I think it's because we have business Pages, and not personal profiles or groups...but I could be wrong...I can never keep up with their changes.

I think Fairy C said she's not on FB or Twitter because these users are more likely to send e-cards than paper cards....

[Fairy Cardmaker]

Your memory is good, Bibi!  Yes, that's why I'm quite happy to sit out on FB and Twitter.  I don't want to chase billions of users.  I want to chase a smaller number of buyers and do so as well as possible.

I would consider Twitter, but I don't have the time to keep up with others and I feel it would be unfair (and unsuccessful) to Tweet one-way all the time.

[JaJeJems]

I have to confess that I have done a bit of rereplacement this afternoon on Social media marketing for beginners.  I found a couple of good blogs by Cindy Ratzlaff.  She has several but I liked this one http://cindyratzlaff.com/blog/personal-branding/facebook/beginners-guide-to-social-media-marketing/.  It gave me a bit of insight into the process to use to get things organized.  Not sure I could commit to everything she suggests at first but it gives me something to work towards.  I also read her checklist for social media marketing.  Thought I would share!

[iCraft Admin]

Hi Fairy Cardmaker,

I would consider Twitter, but I don't have the time to keep up with others and I feel it would be unfair (and unsuccessful) to Tweet one-way all the time.

One-way automated tweets are not as successful, as manual tweets, where you also respond to people. However, many businesses do this, including us (with about 30 additional accounts with automatic tweets) and we see benefits of having those. About 10-15% of our traffic comes from those accounts. That's additional traffic that we wouldn't get otherwise, and there is very little work on our part to get it.

You can check on those accounts once in a while and maybe post and follow people, if you feel like it or not. Just give it a try!

[Fairy Cardmaker]

As mentioned in the other thread:
I shall, at the least, do some reading.  (But I am over committed at the moment.  I may not be back until Sunday.)

[iCraft Admin]

Hi JaJeJems,
That's a good post for beginner marketers. Thanks for sharing!

[iCraft Admin]

I'm having some issues with facebook, whenever I log in, any "like" buttons for me to click on located on other people's pages disapear.

Hi Silver Workshop,

Yes. it's possible because you are using FB as a page and not as a person, if that even makes sense, ha ha...   Try switching your FB identities by clicking on a small arrow pointing down in the top right corner on FB. And then click on "Use Facebook as:" options. See if that will enable "Like" button on other pages. Not sure what else to recommend other than replacementing through FB's Help pages.

[iCraft Admin]

I've also Followed & Liked everyone today on both FB & Twitter.
I have a few tips for you guys.

• On FB when you post a link to an article or a product page, wait until FB retrieves all data, so you could see article preview - photo and a bit of copy, otherwise article images show as blank or broken...
• You can change article preview image on FB by clicking through tiny arrows below the image. What happens is, FB retrieves a few images associated with the page you want to share, and chooses a wrong image as a main thumbnail. So before clicking Share button, make sure you have right thumbnail displayed there. Bibi, I see those 2 issues on your FB page https://www.facebook.com/pages/Red-Rock-Designs/213914158654539
• Kat, I didn't see you mention blog posts from Bootcampers on your FB page. Do you know how to share links on FB? I want to hear more questions from you. So don't be shy!
• Retweeting and Liking others will increase the number of your own retweets and likes.
• When you are mentioning someone on Twitter (Kat), it's a good idea to mention their Twitter handle as well, like this "@iCraft", this will allow people to go and check out that user's profile on Twitter and hopefully follow them too.
• When you are mentioning article or product, don't forget to add article or product URL, otherwise you lose an opportunity for people to act on your message - follow your link and maybe buy your product.

• I'm not only automatically connected from iCraft to Twitter, but also from Twitter to Facebook. So everything I tweet goes to facebook as well. (3 birds with one stone)

  
  Marta, that's a great idea! A win-win-win situation.  
  Can you please tell others how you've connected your Twitter and your Facebook accounts?
  The only thing I am missing on those posts is a photo, but I am not sure if there is any way to fix that.
  
• When people comment on your blog posts, share your links on FB and retweet your tweets, it's a good idea to respond back and engage with your fans.
  
  It will encourage others to comment and have a conversation with you online. All social engagement positively reflects on your rankings.
  
  For example, Google looks at how often people visit your pages and how long they stay on them. If they leave your pages immidiately, that's not a good signal. If they stay and leave comments and then come back to read your response, that's a good sign of a quality content and will give you a boost in rankings.
• Make sure you mention your iCraft store and your iCraft Blog on all your social media accounts. I see that not everyone is doing that.
• Also, don't forget to promote your social media accounts on your iCraft Blog Profile page.
• I've noticed that everyone has a pretty low number of followers on Twitter. If you want, email us your Twitter login through our contact page and we'll try to build up your Twitter followers for you. If you decide to stop, just change your Tw login.

[Silver Workshop]

Thanks Bibi. If you have a business page on facebook, how to do you follow people?

Admin, I'm not interested in having a personal facebook page so I haven't done that. I'm hoping to find a way around it.

Oh, and I've followed everyone on twitter, tweeted articles and followed who I could find on Pinterest.

[iCraft Admin]

Andree, you are one step ahead of me. I am just writing instructions for Pinterest.

[Jewelry by Kat]

I had 2 facebook business pages and I just delete the one my son made,  Admin that one did not have my blogs.......Kat

[iCraft Admin]

OK, so which one is the good page?
Kat, can you please provide us with your FB URL again, so we follow the right profile?
Thanks!

[Jewelry by Kat]

www.facebook.com/jewelryandmorebykat.php   This doen't work......if you replacement its Jewelry and More by kat    small k

[iCraft Admin]

Yes, that URL doesn't work.

So is this your page? https://www.facebook.com/pages/Jewelry-and-More-by-Kat/303193426376296?fref=ts
I liked it and that's the page I was commenting on that it doesn't have links to your iCraft store or your iCraft Blog.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Jewelry-and-More-by-Kat/303193426376296?sk=info

[Fairy Cardmaker]

My rereplacement on Twitter is pretty much saying that a dead or spammy account or one that only talks about yourself is worse for your small business than an engaged account.  It all comes down to:

To get more followers, you need to follow people too and follow them back.
It's suggested to follow people that have similar interests to you.
Regular and somewhat frequent Tw & FB updates correlate with higher number of followers.
To keep things fresh and to save time, automate & schedule updates to your social media accounts, whenever possible.

However, one article (third one below) made a good point:
"There’s both a social/play and a social/communicate aspect to Twitter that makes it productive as a promotional tool for pointing to interesting things you’ve found on the web as well as a tool for building credibility and influence. On their own, such updates can be blase and uninteresting. However, followed over time, you can gain insight into people you may end up hiring, getting hired by, working for, partnering with or simply socializing with."

Several articles reference that Twitter is strongest when time is of the essence for a play-by-play scenario.  Well, I don't have any of that.  Celebrities and celebrity gossip have that.  Political debates/elections have that.  Natural disasters/weather events have that.  Not me.

After reading the article that referenced longer term trending, then I thought about all the stuff I do offline for my business that online people don't see.  I do run workshops and I post about them on my blog BUT it's not very timely.  It takes me a lot of time to post something on my blog.  Perhaps microblogging will be more timely, even though I will not have a link where someone can "read more" to put in my "tweet" at the time.  I can always tweet again when I do have it posted to the blog or vimeo.  (or... retweet, depending on what that means.  I don't know yet.)

This part hit home too: a tool for building credibility and influence.  That is exactly what my blog is for.  I chose a blog as my online presence because I like to write.  However, I suppose a microblog can also serve to build credibility and influence and establish artisan expertise.  I hang out on crafting forums to help people and get help.  I suppose I can follow similar types on Twitter.  (I was struggling with who the heck would I follow for interest and not for the sake of a popularity contest: "follow me, I'll follow you!" nonense.)  I am very anti-social.  I do not have time nor desire to follow and connect with people.  I am the type that, when I do make friends, I make strong bonds but they are few and far between.

But, I am big on learning and teaching.  I can surely use Twitter to offer a helpful hint to other crafters, get hints from other crafters, find craft shows, or rave about shows and booths I've been too.  Maybe casually hanging out in the general art community would not be as inane as I picture the personal side of Twitter to be.  (I apologise if those of you who anounce they have to go to the bathroom and will be right back are insulted.)

Here's a few articles I read (may be helpful for Twitter account holders):
http://www.ehow.com/how_4646690_use-twitter-promote-blog.html
http://www.ehow.com/how_4646690_use-twitter-promote-blog.html
http://www.toprankblog.com/2007/11/twitter-guide/

[Fairy Cardmaker]

I think this is my Twitter Account.
https://twitter.com/FairyCardmaker

[iCraft Admin]

If you have a business page on facebook, how to do you follow people?

Hi Silver Workshop,
On Facebook, you follow people by "Liking" them.
I just checked -  when you use FB as a Business User (a page) you can only "Like" other pages and not individuals.
However, both Business and individual users can "Like" your page.

Admin, I'm not interested in having a personal facebook page so I haven't done that. I'm hoping to find a way around it.

I didn't know that you can create a Business page only, without having a personal FB account.

[iCraft Admin]

My rereplacement on Twitter is pretty much saying that a dead or spammy account or one that only talks about yourself is worse for your small business than an engaged account.

Hi Fairy Cardmaker,

I am not advocating for dead or spammy accounts. Everybody finds their own way of using Twitter. I was only concerned with using it for generating traffic to your store.

Placing links to your store and to your product pages generates additional backlinks, even if those links were generated automatically. And that's what matters to replacement engines. (btw, you can also include link to your store in your Twitter Profile Description!)

Twitter from SEO & traffic generating perspective only:

• The more backlinks to your store means you have more votes for your pages.
• Twitter is a high authority site with the highest 10 out of 10 ranking. Normally, getting backlinks from high authority sites is pretty hard. Here you can do it for free and as often as you want. (even automate some of your updates - get backlinks without doing any work!).
• More followers gives you more clicks to your pages, which in Google's eyes means more views of your pages.
• If those people who clicked on your Twitter links buy something from you, it's a bonus. If they didn't, you are still getting long-term benefits by diversifying your Backlinks Profile.

Btw, thanks for doing your rereplacement and sharing your knowledge and links with us!  

[iCraft Admin]

(or... retweet, depending on what that means.  I don't know yet.)

Retweeting means re-publishing something another Twitter user has written (similar to Re-pinning on Pinterest or Sharing on FB) to spread the word among your own Twitter followers. Usually you retweet something you personally like or something you think your readers would like, or to support someone by spreading their message. Retweeting causes a ripple effect, helping more people hear about an interesting Tweet.

You can retweet any message by clicking on "Retweet" icon or link below any tweet.

[Fairy Cardmaker]

When you do that, does it give credit to the original tweeter?  Or it just uses the exact same published contents and puts it from you?

[iCraft Admin]

When you do that, does it give credit to the original tweeter?  Or it just uses the exact same published contents and puts it from you?

Yes, it does. I retweeted one of your tweets about "Christmas card workshop".
See how it shows in @iCraft stream of messages https://twitter.com/iCraft. It actually shows as your message with your avatar and a link to your Twitter profile. On your side it will show how many people retweeted or responded to your tweet https://twitter.com/FairyCardmaker. (Click "Expand" or "View Conversation" under each tweet)

So it's good to retweet and even better to be retweeted, especially by people that have a lot of followers on Tweeter.

[Fairy Cardmaker]

Aha!  Thanks.  I got an email that you had retweeted but I didn't see how it looked on your site.  I was wondering how some people I'm not following is showing up in  my "home" view.  It's retweets from people I *am* following.

[Fairy Cardmaker]

I need to learn the short url thing.  Tiny URL or EPURL EEPURL?

[iCraft Admin]

Any URL shortener is fine. Though Twitter shortens all URLs for you, so you don't really need to worry about them.