Wikimotive
Why Facebook Likes and Comments DO Matter
There’s been some chatter on the internet lately and in articles I have seen appear in my Facebook news feed and in my Twitter stream, suggesting that Facebook “likes” and “comments” don’t matter and only the “shares” of content from your page or profile by another user does. Since I use social media on a daily basis for work and for personal use, the mere thought of this has brought me to a place of disagreement. Although I agree Facebook “shares” are important and should be a goal that everyone strives for, they do not lessen the importance of a “like” or “comment” received on this popular social site.
The reason why most businesses have a Facebook page is to gather those who already like the products and services they offer into one community, but the purpose of the page does not stop there. It is true, most people don’t go on Facebook to randomly “like” a page of a company they have never used, plan on using, or heard of before, but that is fine, since most companies are not targeting this specific group of people, instead they are focused on the Facebook friends, and the friends of friends of those who already “like” them.
When a Facebook user “likes” a page, a status update, or comments on a page, they ALL appear in the Facebook news feed similar to that of a “share,” but instead of the interaction becoming your status update, which is what a Facebook “share” does, a story is posted to your timeline, on your page or profile, and in the ticker on Facebook. The post will show that you “liked” your friend’s content, which can be seen by friends, and friends of friends, depending on your page or profile’s privacy settings. The same goes for when you comment on a page or share a status update and this also applies to those who do not have a Business page, but a Facebook profile page instead.
Basically, when you do an action on Facebook, those who you are connected to and their friends can see the actions in which you have done to create possible interactions, which is what most of us are looking to achieve. It is a form of word-of-mouth marketing and provides recommendations for businesses and others to discover new and interesting content that they too may perform a Facebook action on.
Thus, Facebook “comments” and “likes” DO matter and are important. Just like Facebook “shares,” they can be powerful in trying to reach a larger audience, to build a more focused community, gain more interactions and to create lasting relationships.
Wikimotive
Why Facebook Likes and Comments DO Matter
There’s been some chatter on the internet lately and in articles I have seen appear in my Facebook news feed and in my Twitter stream, suggesting that Facebook “likes” and “comments” don’t matter and only the “shares” of content from your page or profile by another user does. Since I use social media on a daily basis for work and for personal use, the mere thought of this has brought me to a place of disagreement. Although I agree Facebook “shares” are important and should be a goal that everyone strives for, they do not lessen the importance of a “like” or “comment” received on this popular social site.
The reason why most businesses have a Facebook page is to gather those who already like the products and services they offer into one community, but the purpose of the page does not stop there. It is true, most people don’t go on Facebook to randomly “like” a page of a company they have never used, plan on using, or heard of before, but that is fine, since most companies are not targeting this specific group of people, instead they are focused on the Facebook friends, and the friends of friends of those who already “like” them.
When a Facebook user “likes” a page, a status update, or comments on a page, they ALL appear in the Facebook news feed similar to that of a “share,” but instead of the interaction becoming your status update, which is what a Facebook “share” does, a story is posted to your timeline, on your page or profile, and in the ticker on Facebook. The post will show that you “liked” your friend’s content, which can be seen by friends, and friends of friends, depending on your page or profile’s privacy settings. The same goes for when you comment on a page or share a status update and this also applies to those who do not have a Business page, but a Facebook profile page instead.
Basically, when you do an action on Facebook, those who you are connected to and their friends can see the actions in which you have done to create possible interactions, which is what most of us are looking to achieve. It is a form of word-of-mouth marketing and provides recommendations for businesses and others to discover new and interesting content that they too may perform a Facebook action on.
Thus, Facebook “comments” and “likes” DO matter and are important. Just like Facebook “shares,” they can be powerful in trying to reach a larger audience, to build a more focused community, gain more interactions and to create lasting relationships.
No Comments
Kpa / Hasai
Posting only links on Twitter means posting nothing at all
Anyone who has been on Twitter as long as I have (6 years I believe) knows that the site has gone through major transformations in the past. Lately, Vine might be the only major change in a while but there was a time when it seemed like proper Twitter etiquette changed week by week. When I first started, links were magical and very few people posted them. Today, many accounts post nothing but links. This is a big mistake.
If you post only links, you’re really not posting anything at all. Why? Because people aren’t really following you if that’s the case. Run some tests. Use bitly or goo.gl or other click tracking link shorteners and you’ll see what I mean. If you aren’t getting clicks it’s because people have tuned you out. If they’ve tuned you out, it’s probably because you’re posting too many links.
Alyssa Milano is a celebrity that has been on Twitter for a very long time. She has always remained active throughout. She isn’t anywhere near the size of a Justin Bieber or Lady Gaga in sheer numbers but for someone who hasn’t been in the public spotlight for a while other than a couple of short-lived TV series and a bit role in New Year’s Eve, the actress and full-time mom is able to drive tremendous traffic to the links she shares. It’s because she mixes it up. She’s real on social media. This is a trait that is growing harder and harder to find.
The best way to use Twitter to drive traffic is to use Twitter for things other than driving traffic. You’ll get more people to pay attention to you by having conversations, posting thoughts and real statuses, and posting interesting pictures and videos. Work in links at a much lower frequency and you’ll actually be able to drive more traffic to them than if you set your Twitter account up with RSS feeds and Facebook posts.
1 Comment
Southtowne Volkswagen
Engagement vs. Broadcasting. Seems like a given yet so few actually understand that SM platforms are by definition Social. Standing on a chair in the corner of the party singing "me me me " will not start a conversation (other than being asked to leave) so why would anyone think that same behavior would have a different result in a virtual forum? Great post!
Kpa / Hasai
Posting only links on Twitter means posting nothing at all
Anyone who has been on Twitter as long as I have (6 years I believe) knows that the site has gone through major transformations in the past. Lately, Vine might be the only major change in a while but there was a time when it seemed like proper Twitter etiquette changed week by week. When I first started, links were magical and very few people posted them. Today, many accounts post nothing but links. This is a big mistake.
If you post only links, you’re really not posting anything at all. Why? Because people aren’t really following you if that’s the case. Run some tests. Use bitly or goo.gl or other click tracking link shorteners and you’ll see what I mean. If you aren’t getting clicks it’s because people have tuned you out. If they’ve tuned you out, it’s probably because you’re posting too many links.
Alyssa Milano is a celebrity that has been on Twitter for a very long time. She has always remained active throughout. She isn’t anywhere near the size of a Justin Bieber or Lady Gaga in sheer numbers but for someone who hasn’t been in the public spotlight for a while other than a couple of short-lived TV series and a bit role in New Year’s Eve, the actress and full-time mom is able to drive tremendous traffic to the links she shares. It’s because she mixes it up. She’s real on social media. This is a trait that is growing harder and harder to find.
The best way to use Twitter to drive traffic is to use Twitter for things other than driving traffic. You’ll get more people to pay attention to you by having conversations, posting thoughts and real statuses, and posting interesting pictures and videos. Work in links at a much lower frequency and you’ll actually be able to drive more traffic to them than if you set your Twitter account up with RSS feeds and Facebook posts.
1 Comment
Southtowne Volkswagen
Engagement vs. Broadcasting. Seems like a given yet so few actually understand that SM platforms are by definition Social. Standing on a chair in the corner of the party singing "me me me " will not start a conversation (other than being asked to leave) so why would anyone think that same behavior would have a different result in a virtual forum? Great post!
Wikimotive LLC
How to Keep Informed of Facebook Changes
Facebook makes changes to its social platform so often it can make our heads spin so many of us just wait to see the obvious ones and most of the time are unaware of the smaller, more quiet changes that still affect you.
Keeping up with all the changes Facebook makes seems hard and reading a bunch of articles takes up too much of your time so you need a simpler solution to remain informed about the social networking site that you not only enjoy but spend so much of your time on.
There are two ways to keep informed (besides Facebook Help) that you can check periodically to see if any changes have happened that you may have missed. More often than not, any changes made to Facebook that will impact your privacy or the way you communicate using this particular platform is what seems to be the most concerning.
Although you still need to keep in mind that Privacy is starting to fade further as you leave more of a digital imprint. Not to mention that the word “privacy” is not going to uphold to what we would consider it to mean offline. Now with that in mind, knowing your capabilities and remaining informed is what truly matters so you can make a decision of how you want to use Facebook.
The two places you need to check on Facebook to remain informed of any crucial Facebook changes are:
Accounts Settings – Here you will be able to evoke or enable access to outside apps, change or add to your general information, increase or decrease your security, address your privacy concerns, ads, payments and gifts.
Everything you would like to do on Facebook can be seen from this setting which is located at the top right corner of Facebook. Many of us are already aware of this setting, but not as many use this to help keep you updated with seeing the changes as they will be more obvious the more you check.
Facebook Edit Page Button – A drop down will appear on your Facebook Page once clicking on the Edit Page button and here is where you can go through your info, manage permissions, manage notifications, see scheduled posts and history of posts under activity log, banned users and yet another spot for you to be able to switch from your profile as your page when interacting on Facebook.
These two areas are easily provided to users on Facebook but are not used as often as they should be. Checking these two areas frequently is a sure fire way to keep constantly in the loop, help you notice changes that may have occurred and for you to remain as much in control as you can over your Facebook settings so you can easily see if any changes have occurred on Facebook.
[Facebook Knowledge image via samsunggalaxyclub]
No Comments
Wikimotive LLC
How to Keep Informed of Facebook Changes
Facebook makes changes to its social platform so often it can make our heads spin so many of us just wait to see the obvious ones and most of the time are unaware of the smaller, more quiet changes that still affect you.
Keeping up with all the changes Facebook makes seems hard and reading a bunch of articles takes up too much of your time so you need a simpler solution to remain informed about the social networking site that you not only enjoy but spend so much of your time on.
There are two ways to keep informed (besides Facebook Help) that you can check periodically to see if any changes have happened that you may have missed. More often than not, any changes made to Facebook that will impact your privacy or the way you communicate using this particular platform is what seems to be the most concerning.
Although you still need to keep in mind that Privacy is starting to fade further as you leave more of a digital imprint. Not to mention that the word “privacy” is not going to uphold to what we would consider it to mean offline. Now with that in mind, knowing your capabilities and remaining informed is what truly matters so you can make a decision of how you want to use Facebook.
The two places you need to check on Facebook to remain informed of any crucial Facebook changes are:
Accounts Settings – Here you will be able to evoke or enable access to outside apps, change or add to your general information, increase or decrease your security, address your privacy concerns, ads, payments and gifts.
Everything you would like to do on Facebook can be seen from this setting which is located at the top right corner of Facebook. Many of us are already aware of this setting, but not as many use this to help keep you updated with seeing the changes as they will be more obvious the more you check.
Facebook Edit Page Button – A drop down will appear on your Facebook Page once clicking on the Edit Page button and here is where you can go through your info, manage permissions, manage notifications, see scheduled posts and history of posts under activity log, banned users and yet another spot for you to be able to switch from your profile as your page when interacting on Facebook.
These two areas are easily provided to users on Facebook but are not used as often as they should be. Checking these two areas frequently is a sure fire way to keep constantly in the loop, help you notice changes that may have occurred and for you to remain as much in control as you can over your Facebook settings so you can easily see if any changes have occurred on Facebook.
[Facebook Knowledge image via samsunggalaxyclub]
No Comments
Wikimotive LLC
Why are Hastags so Important on Instagram?
The Facebook acquired photo-sharing site, Instagram, which launched in October 2010 allows users to take and upload photos to apply filters to a 4:3 ratio image and share their smartphone photography with the world through other social networks like Twitter and Facebook.
As of January 2013 Instagram has 100 million registered users and 90 million monthly active users; to say the very least, its popularity has been rapid. This not only had to do with Facebook purchasing the app based service in early 2012 but with its expansions beyond Apple products onto Android phones and the web.
Though there are now more ways and access to Instagram, many users are still having trouble gaining the exposure they want for their photos and uploading many, although will help with gaining followers, will not necessarily bring you the tapped hearted likes you hope for, so what should an instagrammer like you do? Add hashtags.
What is a Hashtag?
A hashtag is not new to the web although it’s most definitely more well-known now than when it was originally used in IRC networks (Internet Relay Chat) to label a group or topics. It is known as one of the very first forms of interactive chat messaging which has been a leader to other forms of chat such as MSN Messenger, AOL chat, Yahoo chat and more recently Skype and Facebook chat. The hash symbol became an inspiration to the micro-blogging site, Twitter, which catapulted the hash symbol (#) into what we now know today as a hashtag.
The hashtag is using the # (hash symbol) prior to a string of words or a word which will then become an active link for users to find in search or to follow. Other sites have used the hashtag, such as Google Plus and of course Instagram.
This Brings Us to Why It Is So Important That Instagram Users Use Hashtags
In order for their photos to be seen and liked by other like-minded people through search is by using the same keywords that you inputted as a hashtag. If you have ever uploaded or taken a photo and added it to Instagram without hashtags you may or may not receive any likes for your photo. It doesn’t mean it wasn’t a great shot nor does it mean you should stop using the site since not receiving likes can most certainly be discouraging. Instead add hashtags to your comment section that are relevant words to your photo and sit back and watch as you receive more likes.
Whether you have a strong following or not will not always yield the likes that your photo deserves but as you add hastags that help bring the story of the image to life, your image will be seen by more people and therefore will aid in people double tapping their screens from across the globe.
Which Hashatags Should I Use on Instagram?
The best hashtags are followed by words that best describe your photo. Here is an example of an image of my dog Caeden
Once I added his photo to TheErinRyan on Instagram, I received 3 likes, but he is so cute right? LOL… by adding the hashtags #caeden #dogstagram #dogs #dogsofinstagram #petsofinstagram #pets #petsagram #eavig #ilovemydog #bordercollie #instadog #instacute #instahub #instagramers #instagood #igers #instagramhub #instagrampics #instaaddict
Suddenly my 3 likes instantly changed to 12 likes, and then to 16 likes…you catch my drift.
It wasn’t whether the image of my dog Caeden was cute or if I took a great photo, it was due to the hashtags which allowed people to find the image when searching for any of the words within the hashtags. The more hashtags, the more likes you are going to receive.
We all would love to be popular on every site we take part in, but only a few will get the tons of likes just from being who they are or from their photo-taking abilities. For the rest of us, we can be our own superstars on Instagram with a little help from our friend the Hashtag.
Top-hashtags is a great site to find the most popular hashtags on Instagram.
[hashtag image via brandwatch]
2 Comments
McNatt Auto Group
Nice article Erin. At the Super Cross races this weekend they were requesting photos #sxonspeed. Now I understand why. Can you correct the spelling in the title?
Wikimotive LLC
Why are Hastags so Important on Instagram?
The Facebook acquired photo-sharing site, Instagram, which launched in October 2010 allows users to take and upload photos to apply filters to a 4:3 ratio image and share their smartphone photography with the world through other social networks like Twitter and Facebook.
As of January 2013 Instagram has 100 million registered users and 90 million monthly active users; to say the very least, its popularity has been rapid. This not only had to do with Facebook purchasing the app based service in early 2012 but with its expansions beyond Apple products onto Android phones and the web.
Though there are now more ways and access to Instagram, many users are still having trouble gaining the exposure they want for their photos and uploading many, although will help with gaining followers, will not necessarily bring you the tapped hearted likes you hope for, so what should an instagrammer like you do? Add hashtags.
What is a Hashtag?
A hashtag is not new to the web although it’s most definitely more well-known now than when it was originally used in IRC networks (Internet Relay Chat) to label a group or topics. It is known as one of the very first forms of interactive chat messaging which has been a leader to other forms of chat such as MSN Messenger, AOL chat, Yahoo chat and more recently Skype and Facebook chat. The hash symbol became an inspiration to the micro-blogging site, Twitter, which catapulted the hash symbol (#) into what we now know today as a hashtag.
The hashtag is using the # (hash symbol) prior to a string of words or a word which will then become an active link for users to find in search or to follow. Other sites have used the hashtag, such as Google Plus and of course Instagram.
This Brings Us to Why It Is So Important That Instagram Users Use Hashtags
In order for their photos to be seen and liked by other like-minded people through search is by using the same keywords that you inputted as a hashtag. If you have ever uploaded or taken a photo and added it to Instagram without hashtags you may or may not receive any likes for your photo. It doesn’t mean it wasn’t a great shot nor does it mean you should stop using the site since not receiving likes can most certainly be discouraging. Instead add hashtags to your comment section that are relevant words to your photo and sit back and watch as you receive more likes.
Whether you have a strong following or not will not always yield the likes that your photo deserves but as you add hastags that help bring the story of the image to life, your image will be seen by more people and therefore will aid in people double tapping their screens from across the globe.
Which Hashatags Should I Use on Instagram?
The best hashtags are followed by words that best describe your photo. Here is an example of an image of my dog Caeden
Once I added his photo to TheErinRyan on Instagram, I received 3 likes, but he is so cute right? LOL… by adding the hashtags #caeden #dogstagram #dogs #dogsofinstagram #petsofinstagram #pets #petsagram #eavig #ilovemydog #bordercollie #instadog #instacute #instahub #instagramers #instagood #igers #instagramhub #instagrampics #instaaddict
Suddenly my 3 likes instantly changed to 12 likes, and then to 16 likes…you catch my drift.
It wasn’t whether the image of my dog Caeden was cute or if I took a great photo, it was due to the hashtags which allowed people to find the image when searching for any of the words within the hashtags. The more hashtags, the more likes you are going to receive.
We all would love to be popular on every site we take part in, but only a few will get the tons of likes just from being who they are or from their photo-taking abilities. For the rest of us, we can be our own superstars on Instagram with a little help from our friend the Hashtag.
Top-hashtags is a great site to find the most popular hashtags on Instagram.
[hashtag image via brandwatch]
2 Comments
McNatt Auto Group
Nice article Erin. At the Super Cross races this weekend they were requesting photos #sxonspeed. Now I understand why. Can you correct the spelling in the title?
TK Carsites, Inc.
Taking Advantage of Facebook as a Mobile Marketing Tool
There’s one thing that permeates throughout the car industry (and most industries in general) in regards to Facebook that needs to change. We look at our dealership Facebook pages and judge much of our success based upon how we’re doing there. Normally, we check the results and monitor the pages from a desktop. This is strange since most of us who use Facebook do so primarily on mobile devices.
Why hasn’t the mobile trend of Facebook translated properly into marketing?
We see promoted posts, organic posts, and ads hitting our stream all the time and it seems that the majority of them are geared towards a desktop experience. This is a huge mistake. Facebook has been heading towards being a mobile company long before Mark Zuckerberg made his declaration late last year, “Today there is a no argument – Facebook is a mobile company.”
With that in mind, how can car dealers take advantage of the mobile aspects of Facebook and fit that into their marketing and advertising strategy?
The key is understanding that there are three goals which can be achieved through a single action. Kill three birds with one stone. Many in the industry are trying to bolster their SoLoMo presence; social, local, and mobile are unifying in scope and should be unified in strategy as well. Facebook is one of the keys to success.
Over the next two and a half months (and for the last several) we will be diving more deeply into enhancing the strategies that car dealers can use to accomplish the trifecta of SoLoMo goals that must be attained in 2013 to hit the highest level of success. In the meantime, here are some things to remember when working with your own strategies:
- Check how every post appears on mobile devices. It’s always a good idea to make sure that everything looks right on your websites regardless of device or operating system. The same holds true for Facebook. An image that looks great on a 17-inch monitor might be too small to be appealing on a 7-inch handheld. Make sure that your posts, images in particular, play well with the small screen.
- Target your advertising around a mobile experience. It’s easier to understand ads meant for mobile when viewing them on desktops than viewing ads meant for desktops when viewing them on mobile. For example, you may be running a campaign for an oil change special that goes to a landing page on your website, but if the landing page doesn’t work properly on a mobile device, most of your fans will never see it properly.
- Post from your mobile device itself. There is a separate Facebook Pages Manager app that works nicely for running your pages. This can be a lifesaver if you’re also active on a personal level on Facebook. Nobody wants to post something on their business page that was meant for their personal page. More importantly, this allows the user to start thinking in terms of real-time uploads. It’s an important frame of mind to have; your Facebook pages need as much interaction from the real world as possible. Great pictures of cars and the local area that you find on the internet are fine and work well as filler content, but the real juice can be found in pictures that you’ve taken at the dealership (and no, we’re not talking about pictures of happy customers)
- Interact with local organizations from your mobile device. There’s nothing worse than a missed opportunity. Your dealership is not just what happens on the lot itself. Chances are you’re doing something, whether it’s sponsoring a little league team or picking up Saturday lunch for the crew at the local barbeque joint. Take advantage of these opportunities to be “out and about” with your Facebook page.
In many ways, vendors (ourselves included) have done a disservice to the automotive industry by trying to fit a round peg in a square hole when it comes to Facebook. The majority of services out there are geared towards making the dealerships feel like they’re being effective on Facebook rather than actually accomplishing anything. If you’re not using mobile as the cornerstone of your through process when working with Facebook, you’re not paying attention to the primary venue through which people interact on Facebook. You can’t play the game if you’re not on the right field. Start thinking along the lines of a mobile experience and stay tuned to what we’re rolling out in the near future.
No Comments
TK Carsites, Inc.
Taking Advantage of Facebook as a Mobile Marketing Tool
There’s one thing that permeates throughout the car industry (and most industries in general) in regards to Facebook that needs to change. We look at our dealership Facebook pages and judge much of our success based upon how we’re doing there. Normally, we check the results and monitor the pages from a desktop. This is strange since most of us who use Facebook do so primarily on mobile devices.
Why hasn’t the mobile trend of Facebook translated properly into marketing?
We see promoted posts, organic posts, and ads hitting our stream all the time and it seems that the majority of them are geared towards a desktop experience. This is a huge mistake. Facebook has been heading towards being a mobile company long before Mark Zuckerberg made his declaration late last year, “Today there is a no argument – Facebook is a mobile company.”
With that in mind, how can car dealers take advantage of the mobile aspects of Facebook and fit that into their marketing and advertising strategy?
The key is understanding that there are three goals which can be achieved through a single action. Kill three birds with one stone. Many in the industry are trying to bolster their SoLoMo presence; social, local, and mobile are unifying in scope and should be unified in strategy as well. Facebook is one of the keys to success.
Over the next two and a half months (and for the last several) we will be diving more deeply into enhancing the strategies that car dealers can use to accomplish the trifecta of SoLoMo goals that must be attained in 2013 to hit the highest level of success. In the meantime, here are some things to remember when working with your own strategies:
- Check how every post appears on mobile devices. It’s always a good idea to make sure that everything looks right on your websites regardless of device or operating system. The same holds true for Facebook. An image that looks great on a 17-inch monitor might be too small to be appealing on a 7-inch handheld. Make sure that your posts, images in particular, play well with the small screen.
- Target your advertising around a mobile experience. It’s easier to understand ads meant for mobile when viewing them on desktops than viewing ads meant for desktops when viewing them on mobile. For example, you may be running a campaign for an oil change special that goes to a landing page on your website, but if the landing page doesn’t work properly on a mobile device, most of your fans will never see it properly.
- Post from your mobile device itself. There is a separate Facebook Pages Manager app that works nicely for running your pages. This can be a lifesaver if you’re also active on a personal level on Facebook. Nobody wants to post something on their business page that was meant for their personal page. More importantly, this allows the user to start thinking in terms of real-time uploads. It’s an important frame of mind to have; your Facebook pages need as much interaction from the real world as possible. Great pictures of cars and the local area that you find on the internet are fine and work well as filler content, but the real juice can be found in pictures that you’ve taken at the dealership (and no, we’re not talking about pictures of happy customers)
- Interact with local organizations from your mobile device. There’s nothing worse than a missed opportunity. Your dealership is not just what happens on the lot itself. Chances are you’re doing something, whether it’s sponsoring a little league team or picking up Saturday lunch for the crew at the local barbeque joint. Take advantage of these opportunities to be “out and about” with your Facebook page.
In many ways, vendors (ourselves included) have done a disservice to the automotive industry by trying to fit a round peg in a square hole when it comes to Facebook. The majority of services out there are geared towards making the dealerships feel like they’re being effective on Facebook rather than actually accomplishing anything. If you’re not using mobile as the cornerstone of your through process when working with Facebook, you’re not paying attention to the primary venue through which people interact on Facebook. You can’t play the game if you’re not on the right field. Start thinking along the lines of a mobile experience and stay tuned to what we’re rolling out in the near future.
No Comments
No Comments