Are Facebook bullying us by restricting our post reach?

You think Facebook are bullying us by restricting our post reach?

When presenting on the subject of Facebook for business, I am often asked about Facebook's strategy for throttling back the number of people that will see your post, the reach, its now down to a few % of your followers.

Many think this is Facebook bullying us into paying for adverts or to boost our posts.  While I agree that it does seem like facebook have moved the goal posts and are then monetizing their position - particularly when many have been investing a lot of time, effort and money in growing their followers. 

But, apologies to those that like too bash Facebook, this isn't what is going on here - Facebook are merely giving 'their' customers what they want, a good experience.  Which is a timeline of content they are interested in.  And they are right, Social Media is, and should be, all about focused, interesting, organic content and an engaged audience.

I admit to being disappointed that Facebook seem so ready to compromise this insightful strategy - in that you can pay for an advert or boost the reach of your Post...  

The thing is, this is how Social Media is going (tribe led) and all the platforms and tools are at it - so don't think you can swerve this and bungee off to carlos-fandango-NET or google+.

If you want to read more here's a good article on how, more importantly WHY, Facebook are managing what posts people see. The Guardian http://bit.ly/1uQOSIE

Are Christmas Cards - Ghosts of Christmas Past ?

I read a recent head line suggesting Christmas Cards, your proper paper/card ones, are 'Greetings Cards' Ghosts of Christmas Past, and the email / landing page / PDF / animations etc are taking us all digital...

Interesting hypothesis.  Begs some other questions, do people under 30 send cards, or have they outsourced this to Facebook or compressed Christmas greetings into 140 characters and a bunch of followers?

Having a technical bias I got to thinking where's this going?  Indeed, what would the 'Greetings Card' Ghosts of Christmas future look like?

Tooled up with me Galaxy tab, Google, mince pies and a neighbours home made 'Mulled Port', off I went.

As an aside - a quick word on this 'Mulled Port'. DON'T! I know, I know - it's not big and its not clever, and I should have know better, etc etc, but its Christmas my shields were down, and he was SO sure this batch wasn't toxic... what could I say.

Anyway - off I went.  Did you know 20% of all searches on Google are unique!  You think that's impressive... quite soon ALL of mine were unique, typo's, fat thumb syndrome and Mulled Port Chuckles really nail it to Google.

By the way, is Port a hallucinogen?  Because it wasn't long before I was seeing 'Greetings Card' Ghosts of  Christmas Future everywhere.  But, remember, I am a techy, and I tell you, I have seen the future!!

Its .... '3D' / Hollogram cards, that's where its at, trust Michael.

Don't believe me?  Well - check this bad boy out I brought this classic Santa comedy routine  back from the future, if you're reading this blog on old an '2D' medium, trust me this is HILARIOUS, and remember you saw it here first !

I got quite carried away with all this - I was going all in with this one, even had a brand name all ready to go.   iHollo.way    How cool is that !  Has a certain subliminal message an inevitably successful future acquisition perhaps?

Anyway - like many a good idea, turns out I wasn't first to pick this one up.  Aha - you thought this was rambling nonsense.  iHollo and Future communications with 3D / Hologram technology, well - seems I have been beaten to it I am afraid.

Don't believe me? Well I wonder who else had the idea.... go on, Google 'iHollo.way' or Click HERE

Ho hum, back to the day job ... want help with these Twitter Christmas Greetings ?  :D


Here's wishing you a merry Christmas and I hope you have a fabulous time and if you like Port, maybe get to drink some of what I have been drinking ;)

Mick

What's LinkedIn's Connection Strategy ?

Back in July 2014 I posted a blog on how I reviewed and modified my LinkedIn Connection strategy.  There's a link to that blog HERE

Basically when I started out on LinkedIn I was looking to grow my network and I was very relaxed and not at all selective, 'promiscuous' as I put it in my blog.  And like all strategies, that strategy was regularly reviewed and once I had a large enough network I changed and currently my connection strategy is far more selective.

Well, I am not alone in reviewing my connection strategy, as LinkedIn have done the same ... Imagine my delight, where I lead, LinkedIn follows.  I know, in my dreams I should be so influential, but hey - its my blog, the sky can be any colour I like  ;)

So what have LinkedIn done?  As far as I can tell, as at the time of writing I can't find any announcements, LinkedIn have radically changed their policy on who you can send invitations to connect too.  Before, when you wanted to invite someone else on LinkedIn to connect with you a pop up box would appear and you had to give LinkedIn evidence for how you may know the target... choose from ...
     We worked together
     We studied together
     We share a group
     Were friends in the real world and here is their email address..... etc

Well, that barrier / gate keeper to sending invitation to connect has gone away.  Now you can connect with anyone... You do not need any prior association at all.  That's people that you are 2nd or 3rd degree connections with, and people entirely outside you network.

Now when you visit a profile there's a blue button "Connect" - hit that button and a default invitation has been sent.  You can customise these invitations, its not obvious how - next to the connect button there's a 'Send Mick Inmail' button and next to that a drop down menu with an option to send a customised invitation.

So - LinkedIn gets all promiscuous and is letting us all connect, at least for now :D

What's your LinkedIn Connection strategy ?

It's a lovely sunny Monday morning, I love my job and have an exciting week ahead.  I have my coffee and my diary tells me its time for tending to my social media .... for me that's fun not ever a chore...

All in all i'm in a good place for early on a Monday morning, you just know some some rotter is going to come along and ruin it all for me ... so did they ?  No, that would be to cliche' for me.

But I did get inspired to create this blog.  I was in LinkedIn mode, 11 invitations to connect came in over the weekend, which was nice.  But then, not one had included an introduction of any sort, and not one had visited my profile before sending the invite.  <sigh>

But I am a player, in the networking / LinkedIn sense !!  I understand were all on LinkedIn to network, so I persist and check out all the profiles and where there was some synergy, interest or value I quietly accepted.  Which is in keeping with my 'current' connection strategy, in the early days I was extremely promiscuous, in the networking / LinkedIn sense (stop making up your own punch lines!!) and I would connect with anyone and everyone.  I was keen to grow my network, fair enough.

But strategies need to be reviewed and 18 months ago I decided my network was vast enough so I became selective over who I connect with and always check out profiles of invites I receive.  Also, I always visit someone's profile to decide if I wish to invite them to connect with me.  And always, ALWAYS send a custom invitation - if they are worthy of connecting with they are worthy of my time and attention and ... its professional and ooh getting radical... its polite!

One of the reasons for the change in strategy from 'connecting to anything with a pulse' to being selective was to help LinkedIn understand more about ... 'me' so LinkedIn can profile me better.  Which will help them more accurately filter 'Pulse' news, blogs (now linkedIn is a publishing platform), suggest companies to follow, groups to join and suggest people I may wish to connect with.  LinkedIn have invested millions in search and selection software that 'profiles' you so they can connect you with other LinkedIn members, groups, posts, news and now blogs.  I will be blogging on the whole 'Big Data' scene shortly.  Remembering LinkedIn started as a recruitment platform, so they have been good at vacancy / candidate matching for some time, and no doubt are continuing to apply this software to match vacancies with candidates ($'s)

And its working.  I get presented with excellent, relevant content, and some well aimed introductions to other members too.

So what's your Connection Strategy, is it working for you, and when was the last time you reviewed it?

Me - a 'Fearless' Keynote Speaker ! How did that happen ?

"Unaccustomed as I am ..."

This time last week I was looking forward to giving my first presentation as a Keynote speaker.  I was nice and early, all set up … even the projector linked to the PC (phew) and I was catching up on some emails and Social Media while I waited for the audience to gather …

An Oasis of calm.

That I was ‘looking forward’ to the presentation, ‘genuinely’ looking forward to addressing a room full of people, all strangers of unknown mixed abilities, some who would be cynical – hostile even – regarding my message, that I was looking forward to this is a staggering indicator of the journey I have been on over the last couple of years.

I have always been a techy, and my presentation - on how to make the most out of that LinkedIn account you opened but have done nothing much with – is a subject I know well, and my technical knowledge allows me to talk on Technical, Social Media, WEB, Cloud or IT matters very wide of the core subject being discussed.   And in the Engineering and Technical sales/marketing phases of my career I was at ease presenting complex technical matters to both technical and non technical audiences.

What was so different here then? I guess you can see it coming … it was the public speaking, not so long ago I was FIRMLY in the “Fear Public Speaking more than Death” camp.

Driving to the venue I confess to wondering why I was so calm and whether I would be OK when the time came.  But those thoughts didn’t take hold, I didn’t allow them too – some simple NLP stuff I picked up on this journey.

It dawned on me that personal development comes in many guises, reading, mentoring, coaching and training for sure, but also in my case it was the ‘doing’ that has helped.  While this was my first key note speech, over recent years I had presented many tutorials and training courses on Social Media and Business Development – and I guess all that practice gave me confidence.

So – my blog message – to all those I have trained, mentored or coached – the most important thing and the new closing message for all my training… “Now go do it”.

Well – Whatever next ?  As I find myself saying more and more…

Showing your geographic contact details.... ?

I manage a number of Social Media Groups and Communities.  They are pretty dynamic groups with some excellent contributors and proactive members .... so you would think they take some managing?  Not at all, we have very few rules (no spam or blatant sales, keep it legal) and I rarely have to remove any content.  Of course I am regularly engaging with the groups - but then I would do wouldn't I?  So I don't see that as managerial overhead.

One thing I do do, I get to know every one that applies to join.  Doesn't take long, by definition they usually have various Social Media Profiles, so its a few clicks, a few minutes and I am up to speed.  And... BONUS - I grow my Network.

TIMEOUT to cartwheel for an observation, of course the points made above should encourage you to do more with groups, and consider administering your own group ?

Back on piste... Reviewing a recent applicant, and I found myself trying to find where they were from, geographically.  I easily found an email and mobile number, and could connect socially with a click... So they weren't 'Networking by Stealth' - which if you have been to any of my training courses or meetings you will know ... Doesn't work ;)

However there was no mention 'anywhere' of where they were geographically based.  And I found myself looking hard, checking Profiles, Blog posts, Group discussions, Tweets, I even checked their web site - I would have looked in the Yellow Pages if I had a copy ;)  And it was quite clearly a conscious and well managed decision not to reveal where they were based.

It was an entirely understandable position to take as this was an online 'virtual services' business, however I still found myself disappointed and a little curios [I flirted with saying 'suspicious' there] as to where they are based and why not let us know...

So, am I alone... what do you think ?  Is it preferable to clearly state where you are geographically based, or doesn't it matter?

I feel a Poll coming on ;)

Mick

Does Social Media take too long? - A Guest Blog from Jon Baker

Does Social Media take too long?

Jon Baker of venture-Now (see below) has written this guest blog for 24/7.

I've always been told, but now I’ve actually discovered that I get most benefit from Social Media when I engage in discussions, in a structured manner.

Underlying this is a need to have clear objectives, linked to your strategy. This article is about my daily one hour routine - my “socmed hour” (it’s normally more like 40 minutes by the way).

What’s your routine – or when are you going to create one?

My LinkedIn morning routine

• Groups: I’m a member of many groups which I break into 5 categories. I scan one of those categories daily. It takes 10 minutes, the objective: Contribute to interesting discussions, share information etc.
• My profile: Check to see who’s visited my profile. Often I’ll drop them a quick LinkedIn mail to say Hi. It takes 2 minutes, the objective is to engage with potential contacts
• Group discussions: I review responses to any comments I’ve made in discussions. LinkedIn only emails me when somebody responds to one of my comments, I focus on those threads. Those emails go to a specific folder in my email, not my inbox. It takes 10 minutes, the objective is to engage with potential contacts and prospects.

My Twitter morning routine

• Scan through the followers I’m most interested in. Respond to interesting comments. If you think there are too many tweets and not enough time, try using lists differently. It takes 10 minutes, the objective is to engage with potential contacts.
• Produce 10 RTs: Scan through source material looking for interesting tweets and schedule RTs throughout the day (one of my favourite tools, bufferapp is great for this). It takes 10 minutes, the objective is to become known for providing useful material, attracting new followers and engage with existing followers.
• Review best responses to RTs: Look at the retweets from the previous day, look for the one that created the most interest and consider using it as a LinkedIn discussion group topic. Total time 2 minutes and the objective is to source good material for LinkedIn
• New Followers: Review the tweets from my new followers, respond to some and decide to follow them, or not. I take no more than 5 minutes, and engage with new followers

Twitter spare time.

A couple of times through the day I spend 10 minutes (and no more – use an alarm clock), look at tweets mentioning me and respond where appropriate.  Read tweets made by people I’m most interested in, respond where appropriate (A-listers). Time: 2-3 minutes. Favourite any tweets I see that I might later RT

LinkedIn spare time.

Look at my home page, like or comment on entries as appropriate, for no more than a minute.

LinkedIn weekly activities

• Group discussions: Start an interesting, useful discussion in each of the groups I’m in every 2-3 weeks. These are based on useful material I can share, seeking views on issues. Using LinkedIn groups for growing business makes lots of sense. Time: 10 minutes. Objective: Engage with potential contacts and prospects.
• Connections: Seek target connections and either connect, get alongside or develop the relationship off line. Time: 10 minutes (excl speaking offline). Objective: Increase business.

Summary

That’s about 4 hours a week (equivalent to one networking meeting) during which I get to influence and “meet” a lot more people than one face to face networking meeting.

Fundamental to this philosophy is that:

• providing useful and interesting material is important. This may be mine (blogging) or based on other peoples (sharing good content)
• Social media success requires one to engage in conversation and getting to know people – not pumping out your message and waiting for clients to arrive at your doorstep.
• Doing the right things gets the right results, being unfocussed doesn’t. The default diary and time blocks help with this.
• Some people are far more interesting than others – even if they’re not prospects! Knowing not all networking contacts are equal is important.
• There are some great tools to save time, my 6 favourite social media things in 2011 show some of those tools. But you can’t just automate social media

That's the thinking behind the way I use my time; what's yours?

Jon Baker is a 24-7 Group Director in Milton Keynes. He is a Business Coach, Sales trainer and experienced public speaker. He works with the owners of businesses that have 5 to 50 staff and helps them to create focus, clarity and more profit in their organisation.