Web 2.0 and Social MediaBusiness in a Connected World

Chapter 7a

© McHaney and Sachs 2016

Facebook and LinkedIn

Two high impact social media Web sites for business are Facebook and LinkedIn. Coupled with Twitter, these three represent a high impact minimum that all organizations need to incorporate into their planning.

Facebook and LinkedIn

Big Social Media

Social networking is the ‘what’ and social media is the ‘how’. In other words, social media are tools that facilitate social networking

For instance, LinkedIn is social media. Social networking takes place in LinkedIn each time people form connections, exchange information, share, or discuss. Twitter is social media and each Tweet represents the act of social networking. Social media makes social networking easier.

Social Networking Versus Social Media

Goddard (2012) states that “[s]ocial networks are made up of peers seeking and giving advice to make better decisions. Advanced social networking science can even tell us which people give out the most advice in the network and have the most influence. These people are called opinion leaders.”

Social Media Impact

Opinion Leaders

Social media, a recent arrival on the scene, has provided a new set of tools to make social networks easier to create, join, manage and use. Social media includes blogs, online videos, social news, social bookmarking and much more.

Social Media

June, 2016, Facebook had more than 1.65 billion active monthly users.

Over 100 billion social networking connections exist within Facebook.

Businesses cannot overlook this global communication channel.

Facebook is the Social Media giant

Facebook Overview

Be Careful Because it is a Social Site

Business on Facebook

Businesses on FacebookDeveloping a business presence on Facebook is a must.

Family and FriendsMany people view Facebook as a primary method for communicating with family and close friends. Business connections, advertisements, and intrusive messages may not be welcome.

Work Within Facebook NormsBusinesses need to carefully plan their interactions in ways that respect typical Facebook use.

Support ToolsNot all people prefer to avoid commercial contact on Facebook. On any given day, millions of Likes are given to business pages and business content is viewed, downloaded, and commented upon.

Profiles are the basic structure in Facebook and are intended for individual use. Some businesses have created profiles, but this practice violates the terms of service agreement with Facebook. Profiles are intended to represent a person’s identity.

Not for Businesses!

Facebook Profiles

For Individuals

Facebook Profile Elements

Facebook is structured into profiles, pages and groups. These structures give different levels of interaction and have been used to varying degrees by businesses and individuals.

Pages are not the same as profiles

Facebook Page for Ram Trucks

For Organizations and Businesses

Facebook Page Elements

Facebook recommends that businesses use pages to develop rapport with customers. Regular posts help foster relationships and stimulate an active online community. A consistent voice and authentic, original information can encourage people to interact with the business.

Page Recommendations

Page Items Needed to Build a Facebook Community

New Content StreamPhotos, videos, menus, sneak peeks, new product information and event announcements.

Stimulating QuestionsStimulate customers to provide feedback and opinions about products and services.

EventsInformation about new product launches, anniversaries, promotions, in-store events and sales.

StoriesPosts that provide stories about products, successes, or other customers

Provides ability to manage a page from an administrative panel. Business owner can track activity, respond to comments, and view page statistics.

Facebook locates page statistics or metrics on its Page Insight Dashboard.

Business can learn the identity of its visitors, the day of the week most visitors come to the page, the frequency of comments and which posts generate the most interest.

Broad portfolio of tools

Facebook Business Support

More Features of Pages

No FriendsPages do not accumulate friends. Instead, people become fans.

Pages are Searchable Outside of FacebookPeople don’t have to be logged into Facebook to view a business page. Each page is indexed by Google and other search engines and will be listed when searches are conducted. Pages: No LimitsProfiles are limited to 5,000 friends but business pages can have an unlimited number of fans (for instance, the late pop star David Bowie’s Facebook page has almost 7 million likes).

PromotionsPages can be promoted with sidebar ads on Facebook, customized tabs with coupons and other items (e.g. maps, videos, et cetera), or discussions with fans.

Facebook Page for Bookboon

Facebook Keeps a Directory of Pages

Facebook’s directory of pages is a great starting point for business page ideas.

Facebook Business Information Page

Facebook Page as Part of Business Strategy

Facebook Group Page

Groups are intended to allow a subset of people to interact and share information.

Groups are a private space that can be configured in various ways.

Groups can be secret and visible only to members.

A secret group could be used for company employees or a set of business associates.

Closed groups can be seen by everyone and everyone will be able to see the membership list. However, the content is only open to members.

Open groups can be seen by anyone; membership is open and all content can be seen by the public.

Groups are intended for use with profiles but can be used in some business settings

Used by Businesses to Create Communities

Facebook Groups

Allows businesses to securely access, share, and control Facebook pages, ad accounts, and other items.

Eliminates prior limitations on how pages had to be administered---page owners had to be linked by their personal profile pages. This created a conflict.

Anyone can be given permission to see all of a business’s pages and ad accounts without sharing login information or needing to be connected to coworkers on Facebook.

Business Manager provides the ability to assign permissions to employees, partners, ad agencies, or others.

Prior to Business Manager, business page administrators had to be cautious to avoid mixing posts from their personal identities on Facebook with business interests.

Fake pages were a previous workaround that were often deleted and this cut off access to the business’s page.

Business Manager makes more sense for companies larger than sole proprietorships

Facebook’s Business Manager System

Eliminates mix-ups between personal accounts and page administrators Allows businesses to manage page roles and ad account access from one

convenient place Allows a business to see which pages and ad accounts have been assigned to a

particular individual Allows a business to see a list of people working on a particular page or ad

account Allows partners and affiliated ad agencies to request access to pages and ad

accounts

Advantages of Using This System

Facebook’s Business Manager System

1) Determine the page objective (e.g. brand awareness, developing a contact list, driving traffic to a corporate Web site, developing a sense of community, or gathering ideas for new products).

2) Devise design strategy (decisions regarding the type of media, posts, and other material).

3) Content strategy determined (deciding whether photos, videos, posts, updates, events, and links should be used and in what mix).

4) Promote page both inside of Facebook, across the Web and in the real world (variety of methods can be used including widgets, Facebook ads, linked blog entries, Twitter, and printer media).

5) Engagement and retention actions. Resources required to enable monitoring and moderation.

6) Convert fans into long-term, loyal customers. Wait until fan base is approximately 500-1,000 strong. Generally involves coupons, discounts, special events, or other incentives to give fans a call to action.

Mara Smith’s Steps to Building a Business Facebook Page

Lists define what people can and cannot see by adjusting privacy settings. It is possible to create custom lists for common groups of friends. For example, a teacher might have family, personal, student, and colleague lists. By assigning friends to a specific list, privacy settings can be manipulated to allow only certain material to be accessible by individuals on a particular list.

Facebook Lists

A business can make many lists relevant to various needs and strategies

Creating Friends Lists

Screening content from all but family list in Facebook

Example

Example of Making Content Visible to a List (Family) and Specific Friend (Patricia Walker)

Adding Custom Visibility Settings to a Post

Link to instructions about using lists:

More List Information

Using Facebook for business requires functional organization and a consistent approach. It is important to assign the responsibility for Facebook or any social media updates to the correct entity within a company. This means social media used to communicate with those outside an organization is best served by a media specialist or someone from a marketing or customer service background. Internal use of social media may come from human resources or various departmental managers.

Part of an Overall Business Strategy for Social Media

Developing a Facebook Policy

Contact: Roger McHaney, Kansas State University, mchaney@ksu.edu