Setting Up Your Facebook: The Little Things Count

At this point in time we’ve established that having a Facebook page for your business is probably not a bad idea. The area that a lot of business owners are still struggling with is the creation and management of their page. Many have decided that a Facebook page is something that could, or should, be managed by themselves or their staff, and for most of those pages it shows. There is a big difference between a page built by someone who has experience and one that is built and managed by someone that doesn’t. Here are some “little” things that will improve the look and functionality of your page.

Deleting links from posts

Many people copy a link and paste it into the status box which generates the link preview. Then they type in their comments and hit "post". What this does is send out a post with your comments, the actual URL, and the link preview. When you are sharing a link from an obscure page on a large site (like Amazon for example), it generates a massive link for that page. I can’t think of a quicker way to get someone to look away from your post then to have a bunch of URL code in the post.
Luckily, this one is an easy fix. When you get ready to post your update with the link and comments in it, just highlight the link and push backspace. The link is gone from the text but still attached to the post. This way anyone that sees it will just see your words and the link preview - nice and simple.

Adding a cover photo

When Facebook added the cover photo last fall, the intent was to create a way to customize your page and add some visual impact. Now that it has had time to become one of the more popular features of the “new” Facebook, it is something that people look for when they visit a page. To a new visitor, the lack of a cover photo is a very obvious sign that you don’t place much value in your presence online.

Resize logo to fit “Profile Picture” box

This one in particular I never quite understood. Often I see business pages that have a wide or tall logo. Since the box where your profile picture is located is square, Facebook crops your logo to make it fit. What you end up with is a square portion, from the middle of your logo, that shows up every time you post - or comment, or share, or anything. That does you no good if you are trying to attain some brand recognition.

Take the time to resize your logo to fit in the space provided. You can do it easily in Paint or a similar program, and it will make your logo more recognizable and valuable to your brand. You could also hire someone to design a square version of your logo to use in similar applications. It will cost you, but you’d be surprised how many ways you could use it.

The Hammerhead Shark – A Role Model for your Business

The hammerhead shark is one of the most unique creatures in the ocean. One feature that sets it apart, aside from its unique shape, is the fact that it can never stop swimming. If a hammerhead shark stops swimming, it suffocates and dies. Now, I’m not sure why this happens, but the fact remains the same: If it is not constantly moving forward, a hammerhead shark will die.  Your business needs to be like the hammerhead shark.

This is a very important lesson to learn, and learn early. Every external force surrounding your business is in constant motion. Your market, your competitors, and your customers are always moving and changing. Your business should be constantly looking for new and unique ways to innovate to match these forces. Brainstorming should be a daily activity and there should be an emphasis on exploring the unknown. When you find yourself a successful project or endeavor you should try to improve upon it.

A classic example of this is Apple. Every year they release a new product and most of the time they are already working on improving the product before they release it. The iPhone 5 just came out and I guarantee they are thinking about the iPhone 5s or 6. Being in constant motion ensures maneuverability to adjust to changes in the marketplace and prevents your customers from leaving you for the newest and shiniest thing.

Be a Hammerhead Shark.