Have A Social Summer: Tips For Facebook

Okay - the summer may be coming to a close in most European countries but I'm still going to write-up my "SAP Social Summer Series".  Every week throughout July and August I hosted webinars for employees wishing to learn more about social media and networking techniques.  Here I'll summarise the Facebook session.  Most people know Facebook pretty well so I won't dwell on this tips for Facebook post for too long.

I've noticed that many countries in Europe still consider Facebook a tool for personal networking with families and friends.  In the US it seems much more acceptable to use Facebook for B2B marketing.  I suspect in the next couple of years Europe will follow suit.

The Impact Of Google+

Everyone has their own thoughts and opinions on Google+.  I found a couple of good resources online outlining the key differences.  Correct me if I'm wrong but I understand the following:

• On Google+ it's possible to receive someones updates without sharing your own.  Facebook is mutual connectivity
• Custom publishing is made easier using the Google Circles approach so you can publish certain posts to certain 'circles' of friends
• Google+ is open to Google search engine (not surprisingly) whereas Facebook is pretty closed to search engines.

Facebook Privacy:

Check your settings in Facebook regularly.  They have a nasty habit of changing things without telling you they've done so and it often catches people unprepared.  If you really want to lock it down set everything to "Friends Only" otherwise just make sure you check regularly

Customise Your Account:

This is where you do all your housework - update your ID, email, passwords, payments, link it to your mobile so you can SMS your posts and you can change your language.  Try English Pirate for fun - I challenge you to last it out for 24 hours.  I lasted 10 minutes.

Uploading Content:

It's worth noting that anything you publish to Facebook becomes the property of Facebook and therefore difficult to share outside of your network.  This includes photos and videos.  This is why many folks use tools like Flickr for photos and YouTube to host videos - then they share the links in Facebook

Facebook Places:

Facebook Places is a great little app if you're out and about.  Use Facebook on your mobile to locate places near to where you are and then you can "check-in".  Retail organisations such as Starbucks use this a lot to issue discount coupons or special offers.

Etiquette:

There aren't any written rules to Facebook but it's probably best that you consider some of the following points:

• Don't over publish - people don't like their Facebook stream to be spammed by several updates at a time
• Don't tag friends in "Un-glam" photos
• Be mindful of tonality - you may be angry when you're punching your post into the keyboard but take two seconds to think how this may impact your personal brand
• Invite people you know