Bridget Willard | SaaS Marketing Agency

Author: Bridget Willard

  • Facebook for Business – I don’t want to be your friend. By @TheFabulousOne

     

    When I saw this post on Amy’s profile, I had to ask permission to cross-post it here.  Often we just need to hear the fundamentals of social media to reinforce what is true.

    I’m not an expert. I’m an enthusiast when it comes to Social Media and Facebook. For my personal brand, I prefer Twitter, but that’s another post altogether.

    Nothing frustrates me more than getting a friend request from a business, group, band, restaurant…whatever. Why?

    Because it is wrong.

    I realize nobody reads Terms of Service when they sign up for ANYTHING. I only do about 50% of the time I sign up for something. But, if you are any of the above mentioned, you are violating those terms by making a regular account (where you have to add friends) and, basically, doing it wrong. Not only that, but you’re limiting yourself.

    1. A regular account can only have 5000 friends. If you have a business (or band, etc.), do you want to have LESS THAN 5000 customers/fans??? What business wants to put a limit on that?
    2. A fanpage (the RIGHT way) allows people to “like” you and they don’t need a friend request or to add you as a friend. Don’t you want people to see what you do right away? Aren’t you trying to make it in this world? If people have to wait for a friend request to be granted, they’re going to lose interest and go ELSEWHERE. Straight to your COMPETITION.
    3. You can have multiple people as admins, meaning more than one person (a trusted person, mind you), can update the profile and respond to posts. You can add/remove them SUPER easily.
    4. Fanpages don’t annoy me. That’s safe for everyone on the planet.

    I’m not the best at what I do. I can’t even claim to be an expert, or a guru, or even a goddess. What I can say is my life is social media. It’s my paycheck, my personal brand, and what the majority of my day is spent on.  I know what’s wrong and I know what’s right.

    Do what I say. Oh, and don’t send me a friend request from a business. Or a band. or a bar. Or a restaurant.

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  • Manage Twitter in Less than Five Minutes A Day

    With time management, you can literally tweet and reply to mentions in five minutes a day. Pair this activity with checking your email in the morning. I promise you have time. Put it in your calendar. Do it every work day for a month. Then look at your stats. You’ll never regret it.

    You have time to tweet. I promise.

    One of the reasons given frequently for not using Twitter is the lack of time. I think you can maintain an account with under 2000 followers with a minimum of five minutes a day. Like any skill, frequency, not duration, is the key to learning.

    Try five minutes in the morning and when you feel comfortable add another five minutes after lunch or in the evening or after lunch.

    The more time you spend on Twitter replying to people, the more you will have staying power. Remember that Twitter is a conversation. Use lists. Resist the urge to press retweet.

    Mange Twitter in Five Minutes

    Though this screencast is dated by 2019 standards, it shows the time spent. It’s best viewed in full screen mode.

  • Customize Public Settings on LinkedIn

    guru logo

    Why am I on LinkedIN?  Well, it seems either someone wanted help with how to use it or someone else was looking for a job and wanted a recommendation or I felt that I was socially compelled to accept the invite.  For whatever reasons I’ve maintained my profile all of these years, I’ve never taken it that seriously until a couple of months ago.

    I used to describe, and for the record I think it is still accurate, LinkedIN as an organic resume.  That is, it is living and active, and I sought only to connect with people I actually know or worked with. During a conversation on Twitter with @PamAnnMarketing I was told that LinkedIn isn’t a resume, it’s a business card. I realized that I better get my custom URL.

    Well, that was a huge chore and for all of the benefits of LinkedIN, it’s user interface could use a bit more work.  (Maybe now that they’re on NYSE, they will fix this.)

    Kill Two Birds With One Stone.  Manage your public settings right in the same spot where you are given the option to customize your URL.  Now, if your intent is to use LinkedIN as a business card, then you should have a photo that is visible to the public.  I am in agreement with Sean Jackson at Copyblogger about the photo:

    Don’t get clever with your picture

    No one will recognize you if they can’t see your face. The best pictures have solid color backgrounds with your face taking up as much of the frame as possible. Sean Jackson | Copyblogger 

    You can click and unclick some of the other options and massage your public profile to your own delight, but let’s get down to the URL. (more…)