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What details do you collect?

September 28, 2011 By Leave a Comment

What contact details do you collect?

Recently, I have seen a number of business mums posting on Facebook asking for people to contact them regarding their orders. To me, it looks like they haven’t collected any contact details from their customers.

Regardless of how you sell, you should collect some basic details from your customers, especially if you sell online.

Obviously at a busy market, you may not be able to collect all the details of your customers, however if they are taking the products right away, you may not need any contact details for follow up.

With online orders, here are details you should consider collecting:

  • Customer Name – this may seem obvious, however some online retailers don’t! Instead they send the package using their customers user name.
  • Postal Address – again, this may seem obvious, however, I have seen a number of call outs asking for people to send through their postal addresses.
  • Email Address and Phone Number – these are useful if there are any problems or delays with the order, or in the case where the package is returned to you for some reason, it pays to have these additional contact details for your customers, so you can follow up quickly and your customer can enjoy their package.

Most online shopping carts will collect these details, however more and more people seem to be selling via Facebook only. If this is you, make sure you collect these basic details.

If your customers are worried about spam, reassure them that you will only use these details for their orders and they won’t be added to your newsletter list unless they request it.

Collecting these details will help things run smoother and will help your customers get their packages in a timely manner.

 

Filed Under: Competitions, Customer Service, Facebook, Growing your business

Friday Five – Top 10 Lists

September 23, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Friday FiveTop 10 lists are an easy way to create free reprint articles, blog posts, content for your newsletter and present information to customers, both present and potential. There were more ideas in last weeks posts.

While these lists are great, sometimes it can be hard to work out what to write about. Here are five ideas for things you can use to write your Top 10 Lists.

  1. Top gift ideas – with Christmas, Mother’s Day, birthdays and any other occasion, lists of your top gift ideas can be created. This can either be from your products, or products that some of your alliance partners provide. Don’t forget to link to affiliate programs where available.
  2. Top reasons people should buy from you – customers often won’t read long lists of text, however they may read a short list of 10 points. Compile a list of things that set your business apart from your competition and list them as a Top 10 List, and don’t just limit yourself to customers, include wholesale accounts too, if that is what you are wanting. Bibska Bibs recently did this on their Facebook page – Top 10 reasons to stock the Bibska brand.
  3. Top archived blog posts – if you have a blog, create a post or page listing your Top 10 Blog Posts. You could pick 10 random posts, or have a theme, such as your Top 10 posts with school holiday ideas.
  4. Top tips for customers – compile a list of 10 tips for your customers. It could be tips how to use your products, general tips related to your business, such as parenting tips if you sell baby products, or any other points that may be useful to your customers. A general list such as this could be a great free reprint article.
  5. Top recommendations – one easy way to create a list as well as promote some of your favourite businesses, is to create a list with your top recommendations. Decide on a theme, such as your favourite blogs, and turn them in to a list. You never know, those on your list may return the favour and recommend you to their database.

This is only five ideas for Top 10 Lists. Do you have any ideas to add to this list? If so, add a comment and see if we can expand on this.

Filed Under: Blogging, Facebook, Friday Five, Seasonal

Why do people like your page?

September 7, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Why do people like your page?

I’ve recently been doing a spring clean of my Facebook wall. Between trying out marches and silent tagging and supporting pages of people I “met” online or following recommendations from friends, my wall was getting clogged up with status updates from pages I’m no longer interested in.

While going through this process, it got me thinking – why do people like your page?

Understanding this, will help you understand why people unlike your page.

With programs such as silent tagging and marches (which still happen in spite of the “spam police“), people may like your page simply to be part of the program. These are not genuine likers, though may be over time. I have recently unliked a number of these pages simply because they are not relevant to me. There are other pages I have discovered through these programs that I have stuck with because their updates are interesting.

There are many pages I liked because I want to keep up to date with the business or blog. These pages I follow links to their site and links to other pages they have tagged. It is their recommendations I am likely to follow, and also their pages I am likely to recommend to my followers. These are also the pages I am more likely to buy from and subscribe to their newsletters.

Some pages I have liked because I met the owner either online or at networking events. Liking their pages is one way to find out more about their business. Some of these pages, I will have joined to find out more and support them, however over time, their information is no longer relevant.

The other main reason I like pages is to help a page out. I’m sure you’ve all seen the posts from friends or pages you follow – “Please help this great page reach 1000 likes, they are nearly there!” Over time, the page will show if it’s worth sticking around or not.

There are still some pages that I can’t remember why I liked them in the first place! It could have been any of the above reasons, or something else entirely. If the page is relevant to my stage in life and their updates are interesting, I’m likely to hang around, if not, I’ll unlike them.

These are some of the main reasons I have liked pages, and after speaking with some of my friends, these are the same reasons they have liked pages. The kinds of likes you want to work to keep are the genuine likes, those who really want to keep up to date with your business. Likes who have joined your page for other reasons can also turn in to genuine likes, however there are many who will hang around just to make up numbers or will unlike your page.

So, why do people like your page? Understanding this will help you know why people are leaving, and why they are or are not turning into customers of your business.

Filed Under: Facebook

Beware of Spamming on Facebook

August 20, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Be careful on Facebook

In the last week, it appears Facebook have either changed their rules, or started enforcing existing rules, about what they see is spam.

I’ve blogged the last couple of weeks about marches and silent tagging. These were two things I saw happening on Facebook and tried them out. I tried them both at least a week before the posts were published! It now looks like I was very lucky as I wasn’t banned or had my page shut down!

This is one of the reasons I did the Friday Five post on Friday as I saw posts from people who had pages disappear.

To get the low down on what’s happening, I’ll refer you to a couple of posts on other blogs that go in to this in details. The first is from build a little biz all about the Facebook rules and them blocking spam & shutting down pages. They also touch on promotions and auctions.

The second site I’ll refer you to is Support a WAHP. They have a number of posts about this topic including Beware the Facebook Spam Police and a great post on Liking Etiquette.

I’m a big believer on not re-inventing the wheel, so I won’t repeat what they have already said.

I know I’m a bit slow in posting about this, the way I usually do things is sit down on the weekend & schedule posts for the next week (or even more!) as I work full time during the week.

I hope this post & the posts I’ve referred to are useful and help keep your Facebook page alive.

Filed Under: Facebook

Friday Five – Do more than Like a page

August 19, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Friday FiveMost business mums I know have a Facebook page, and like many, many other pages. Especially with the various marches and silent tagging that go on.

Facebook are also constantly changing their rules and enforcing them, resulting in many pages being removed without notice.

So, this week I have five ways to do more than simply like a Facebook page to support your favourite business mum businesses. As word gets around, some of the business mums who like your page will do the same, helping you all grow your businesses.

  1. Subscribe to their newsletter – even if you receive regular updates by looking at your wall and their page, keep up to date by subscribing to their newsletter. This will also give them a way to contact you should anything happen to their page.
  2. Buy something – this may seem obvious, but the best way to keep a business going is to support them financially. So, buy something from your favourite business, and do so through their website rather than through their Facebook page.
  3. Link to them – there are many different ways you can link to your favourite business mums businesses, and not to their Facebook page (though you can do this too). This could be a links page, referring to them in a blog post, recommending them in your newsletter. By spreading the word about them, it will help keep them open, and you never know, they may link back to you.
  4. Add a comment – if the business has a blog, or their business IS their blog, add comments as you read a post. Bloggers love comments and this is a great way to show them that you are reading and value their posts.
  5. Encourage them – being a business mum can be lonely, and it can be easy to wonder if we are doing the right thing. Encouragement could be as easy as sending them an email or a card in the mail to say that you love what they are doing and to keep up the great work, as well as the above ideas.

It is important to support fellow small businesses. You can also encourage your Facebook likers to do the same to you.

Filed Under: Facebook, Friday Five, Growing your business, Promoting your business

Marketing Monday – Silent Tagging

August 15, 2011 By 2 Comments

Marketing MondayA couple of weeks ago, I talked about growing your Facebook fans with marches. Well, there is a new trend called Silent Tagging.

This works in a similar way to marches, however in this instance, a page will start a silent tagging update, and invite their likers to tag their page, then go and join the pages of the others in the thread, and return to the original thread and like the reply of the person whose page you have liked (I hope all this makes sense).

In many ways, they are the same as silent tagging. I have participated in a few, and hosted one on the Business Mums Blog page, and I have had the same issues with this as with the marches in that I will like, say, 20 pages, and only get 5 or so likes in response. I have also experimented with different pages to see if they get a better response, and it has been the same.

Silent tagging is fun, and I have discovered some fantastic pages, and I hope there are quite a few people who have discovered this blog, but in general, I have found them disappointing.

There is also the issue of quantity vs quality. I imagine that for both marches and silent tagging, having an information page, such as a blog, rather than a shop, you are more likely to get a better response. I know that I have joined pages where I have no intention of buying (eg I have 2 school age boys, so I won’t be buying cloth nappies or tutus!), however I have discovered some great blogs that I enjoy reading, and would now consider myself a regular reader.

With silent tagging, there is no doubt you will get more likes, whether or not these like turn in to paying customers is doubtful, however if you have a blog, there is a good chance you will get more readers.

Also, if you have one, make your welcome page inviting, and have a newsletter sign up – this may increase your likers as well as increase your newsletter subscriptions, and may also get you more genuine likers from silent tagging.

Oh, and when I do silent tagging, I still visit the page, apparently not everyone does it this way, instead just hovering over the link & using the like button there. I still like to know a page before I like it!

Edited to add: Since posting this, Facebook has ruled Silent Tagging to be spam. You will need to find other ways to grow your like base than Silent Tagging.

Filed Under: Blogging, Facebook, Growing your business

Friday Five – When someone tags your page

August 12, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Friday FiveThere are many different reasons people will tag your business page on Facebook, most likely it’s because they like your business & your page.

If people tag your page, either from their personal profile or business page, there is a chance you will get new people liking your page as a result of this recommendation.

In general, these tags are a good thing. There is the odd occasion when a page you don’t like tags you, however this doesn’t happen often.

So, what do you do when someone tags your page? Here are five suggestions to be a great tag-ee, and hopefully, encourage more people to tag your page.

  1. Like the page – if you don’t already, visit the page that tagged you and return the like.
  2. Comment on the post – find the post that tagged you and thank them for the tag. If you are liking the page as you rather than from your page, tag your page so people will know where you are from.
  3. Add the page to your favourites – if you like the page and think it will be useful to your likers, add the page to your list of favourites. This will also automatically like the page as your page.
  4. Return the tag – if you regularly tag other pages, and you think your likers will find this page useful, return the tag.
  5. Visit their Website – as well as liking the page, visit the website of the business. You never know, you may find a new favourite blog or online shop.

If you have any tips you would like to add to this list, please add a comment. It doesn’t take much to let people know you appreciate them promoting your business, and word gets around.

Filed Under: Facebook, Friday Five

Where are you?

August 9, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Where are you located?

It’s not always obvious from a URL where you are. I know of a lot of websites and blogs that want to support and promote fellow business mums, however they want them to be local. Will your readers be able to easily find out where you are located?

Including your location is easy – simply add an About Me or Contact Me page that has your location. If you don’t want to give away too much, you could simply include your state and/or country. For most people, that is enough.

The same goes for Facebook. Include your location on the information tab so people know where you are.

Your location is also important if people are considering buying products from you as they will need to take postage in to account as well as delivery times.

So, do you have a place on your website, blog or Facebook page where people can find your location?

 

Filed Under: Blogging, Facebook

Friday Five – Making the most of a march

August 5, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Friday FiveOn Monday, I talked about growing your Facebook fan base through Marches. Today I have a few tips to make the most of the marches.

  1. Participate Fully – one of the comments I made on Monday was they only work if everyone participates fully. Well, make sure you are one of those people. If for some reason you can’t sit for the whole time and like pages, let the organisers know and be sure to come back later to finish the march.
  2. Welcome people who post on your wall – A lot of people just like the posts on the wall. I’ve found that it’s a lot friendlier and you get a better response if your reply to each person to welcome them to your page. Some people may post a comment as well, be sure to reply to their comment, even if it’s simply to thank them for their comment.
  3. Make your posts different – it may be tempting to post the same thing on each persons wall. This is likely to be seen as spam by Facebook and your posts will be hidden. Change your posts slightly each time and this can reduce the chance of your post being hidden.
  4. Make a comment – when you are posting on walls of new pages, take some time to comment on the business. It could simply be that you like their products or photos. It doesn’t have to be long or detailed, just something to show you are taking an interest in their business & not just posting because it’s part of the march.
  5. Post something on your page – With marches, there is the danger that your wall will be taken up with lots of posts by others, and your own posts will be pushed down. Take a couple of minutes to add some posts of your own. One of the easiest ways is to re-post a relevant blog post via Networked Blogs. For example, last Friday I was in a hug with Mums Who Make and re-posted the blog post about finding your hidden fans, especially as it was relevant to others on the hug.

I hope these tips will help you to make the most of any marches, hugs, tours, or any other similar program to help you grow your fans on Facebook.

Filed Under: Facebook, Friday Five, Growing your business, Promoting your business

Marketing Monday – Growing Fanbase with Marches

August 1, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Marketing MondayThey have a number of different names – marches, share the love, hugs, cruise, bus tour, to name a few – but they all take the same form. Basically owners of pages sign up and then work through a list, liking pages and introducing themselves, tagging both the page that organised the march and their own page, and then going on to the next one, with the aim of growing their fan/liker base.

These seem to be gaining in popularity, so I tried a few to see how they worked. Over the last few weeks, I have participated in a few, and here are some of the things I have noticed:

  • Chose your march location – there are many different marches that exist. Some are for Australian’s only and others are International. If you want a primarily Australian fan base, then it is better to participate in Australian-based marches.
  • Liking a lot of pages – for the marches to work, you need to like all the pages who are participating. This will mean that you will like a lot of pages that you may not necessarily be interested in. Never fear, you can unlike them at a later date.
  • New likers – you will get new likers. To see how it goes, know how many likes you had at the start of the march and how many at the end. You will get people who like your page just because they are on the march, and may unlike your page within days or a week or two.
  • Hidden Posts – during the march, be sure to check your hidden posts as many wall posts may end up being hidden. Make sure to unhide those posts and continue on the march.
  • Welcome new Likes – not all marchers will post on your wall, but many will. Take some time to welcome your new likes to your page by replying to their posts.
  • Be active – if for some reason you need to leave the march, be sure to catch up the next day or as soon as you can.

Some of the marches I’ve been on have been quite disappointing, mostly because I will like 30 pages but only get 10 likes in return. In order for a march to work properly, everyone must stick to the rules and participate.

There is also the issue of quantity vs quality, but with anything if you keep your posts interesting and inviting, people will stick around. Don’t take it personally if/when people un-like your page.

I would love to hear your thoughts on marches, and if you’ve been part of a particularly good march, give them a plug and let others know about it.

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Filed Under: Facebook, Growing your business
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