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Facebook for Business 101 by Designated Editor: Branding to Engagement to Ads to ROI

 

 

Suzanne McDonald, Designated Editor’s Social & Content Strategist, gave the sold-out room a bevy of strategic tools and ready-to-implement tactics at a 2-hour Newport County Chamber of Commerce seminar on Facebook.

As always with her talks, questions are encouraged and brought up numerous additional points such as:

Q.  What to do if you’re a nonprofit
A.  Utilize Facebook Causes

Q.  How to share on Facebook if you have sensitive or personal or medical information
A.  Remove identifiable specifics but keep the compelling parts

Q.  How to circumvent sharing your personal information and still have a brand page
A.  Follow the lead of teens & set up an alternate personal profile before launching your brand. This may also play a role of you intend to sell your business and its assets

Q.  How to utilize time-saving tools like Hootsuite
A.  Get alerts when people are interacting with your page, also available on smartphones

Q.  Being aware that hashtags are not appropriate for Facebook
A.  It’s easy to post across all platforms at once; be aware of differing norms and etiquette

Q.  The difference between your wall and your newsfeed
A.  Your wall is your visible billboard; your newsfeed is private & custom to you, based on who you Like

Suzanne demonstrated best practices like posting with images and asking your fans questions to boost Likes and engagement. She showcased local brands like Newport Storm beer, the International Yacht Restoration School, Alex and Ani, Ocean State Fresh, and local wedding stylists, who are all engaging and attracting fans on Facebook.

Please see the Facebook slides, above, for more information on

  • Facebook Insights
  • Facebook advertising
  • ROI on Facebook

Thanks to Tom Schuyler of Match Light Marketing for sharing insights and some slides.

Social Media resources from Designated Editor

Prior presentations, Powerpoint slides & posts by Suzanne McDonald of Designated Editor

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Magazines digital IQ, L2 Digital IQ Index findings

Gone are the days where a magazine is simply a glossy collection of articles, photos, and advertisements bound together and sold on newsstands… Magazines have gone digital, off paper and onto a computer near you.

In order to survive, magazines must be online and interacting with their audience.

The L2 Digital IQ Index measured the digital IQ of 87 magazine brands to see the correlation between digital aptitude and magazine ranking.  The criteria the Index looked at were:  Sites, digital marketing, social media, and mobile.

L2 Digital IQ Index video

Download the study

How did your favorite magazine’s digital IQ measure up?

Magazines were put into classes: Genius, gifted, average, challenged, and feeble

  • 37 magazines were “gifted.” People and Self made the cut
  • Time magazine was “genius”

Key takeaways

  • Digital IQ matters
    • There is a difference between class and per-page ad revenue
  • Readers do not equate to fans or followers
  • Magazines must use social media to engage/communicate with audience
    • Be digitally present
    • Provide incentives
    • Ask for feedback
    • Reply to audience
    • Promote articles and events

What’s the future hold for magazines?

  • Targeted social media program
  • Fully interactive cover
  • HTML5 platform

As the world becomes increasingly digital and more people go to the Internet for information, magazines face challenges but are also granted opportunities for their brands.  Magazines must go digital, engage with their audience, and be aware of changing trends.

More L2 findings:  How brands measure up on Facebook according to the L2 Prestige 100 Index