We all understand that Facebook is one of the most popular social media platforms in Australia. However, recently some of our clients have expressed their frustration with their ‘Facebook business pages’. The key frustration is that their business page just doesn’t seem to be driving traffic and generating leads and there is little engagement. Lots of time and energy going in but not too many results.Why are small business owners getting these results?Let’s take a closer look at why there might be a lack of engagement on Facebook business pages. Let’s also explore how you might be able to work smarter and use Facebook more effectively and discuss some of the common pitfalls to avoid when it comes to using Facebook for Small Business Marketing.Understanding how Facebook worksFacebook determines what people see in their “news feed” based on an algorithm. It’s a mathematical formula used by Facebook to determine what to show people who are Facebook users. Facebook focuses on the posts that people ‘like and engage with’ most. Therefore, if people like, share or comment on a post from a particular Facebook page, Facebook believes that this information is more relevant to the person because they are spending more time ‘engaging’ with that content. As a result, more content from that page is placed into the person’s news feed.Facebook Small Business MarketingFacebook is a “social” media tool and therefore will always favour content posted by friends, family and social connections over business content. Business content usually doesn’t get the same traction as personal content and often requires a ‘boost’ so that the content can get in front of people. In general, business content gets seen by very few of the people who have liked your business page, these days you need to use paid Facebook advertising to get in front of your audience.Business content on FacebookUltimately, like any other business, Facebook is a commercial entity and needs to make money and profits to satisfy stakeholders and investors. As many of you may have already realised, Facebook knows it’s worth and understands that it can be an effective digital marketing tool, that gives business owners access to a large world-wide audience and prospective customers! Facebook also understands that business owners are willing to pay to access new customers and reach new audiences and therefore has tapped into this market.Boosting Posts & Paid promotionsOne way to get more people to see your posts or news items is to pay so that you can ‘boost’ your post. Remember ‘organic reach’ which is not paid for, is very limited on Facebook nowadays particularly for business pages. Therefore, to get in front of your target audience you really need to consider boosting your posts or running paid advertising campaigns or promotions to increase reach and engagement.How can I get some traction without paying?There are a few ways, at the time of writing this article, but they take more effort.Facebook LIVEFacebook “Live” which is a newer feature that Facebook has introduced, allows users to run live video streaming events. This is a fun and engaging way to reach your audience but you need to be comfortable in front of a camera and ready to answer questions and comments as there is also live interaction features that lets you know what’s on your customers’ minds. It’s not for the faint hearted but gets better cut through and larger reach.Facebook GroupsFacebook groups are different to Business pages and seem to be able to achieve more organic reach. Facebook groups are online forums that allow for small groups to communicate they generally focus on a topic of interest and are there to allow people that share common interest to interact and share knowledge, opinions and ideas. People can join groups that are often administered or moderated by one of more Facebook users. It could be a group that centres around a common cause or an activity such as mountain bike riding or photography, or it could even be centred around supporting others who are in a similar life stage or have similar circumstances such as a single parents group or an Autism Parents network or a group specific to small business owners.With so many different options on Facebook it’s sometimes difficult to determine what is the best option to go with or sometimes even where to start.Keep in mind…Don’t create a personal profile for your small business.Some new business owners and entrepreneurs create personal profiles for their businesses and brands, instead of creating a relevant Facebook Business Page or group. This is not ideal as it puts your business at a disadvantage. This is because Facebook business pages offer you a host of content creation tools, paid promotional opportunities, and analytics that are linked to a Facebook Business Page and will not be available to you if you set up a personal page.Use Calls to ActionOnce you’ve set up your business page, use a Call to action to get visitors to engage further with your business or brand. Is Facebook a referral source but you ultimately want to get visitors over to your e-commerce store or website? What do you want them to do when they get to your Facebook page? Call to actions are buttons with text on them like “Watch Video,” “Sign Up,” or “Book Now” these buttons can be customized or can include a (URL) web link to a ticketing page or e-commerce site.Use your resourcesGet help or use online resources, if you are unsure of where to start with Facebook, jump online and check out Facebook’s help centre. There is plenty of information for advertisers as well as tips and helpful videos you can watch. If you run a small business, are time poor and just want to find out how to improve your marketing reach or how to use Facebook more effectively, consider getting in touch with an agency that offers small business marketing services. Best of luck with your marketing.
Teaching With Technology
Teaching with technology helps to expand student learning by assistant instructional objectives. However, it can be thought-provoking to select the best technology tools while not losing sight of the goal for student learning. An expert can find creative and constructive ways to integrate technology into our class.What do we mean by technology?The term technology refers to the development of the techniques and tools we use to solve problems or achieve goals. Technology can encompass all kinds of tools from low-tech pencils, paper, a chalkboard to the use of presentation software, or high-tech tablets, online collaboration and conference tools and more. the newest technologies allow us to try things in physical and virtual classrooms that were not possible before.How can technology help students?Technology can help a student through the following ways:1. Online collaboration tools: Technology has helped the students & instructors to share document online, editing of the document in real time and project them on a screen. This gives the students a collaborative platform in which to brainstorm ideas and document their work using text and pictures.2. Presentation software: This enables the instructor to embed high-resolution photographs, diagrams, videos and sound files to augment the text and verbal lecture content.3. Tablet: Here, tablets can be linked to computers, projectors, and cloud so that students and instructors can communicate through text, drawings, and diagrams.4. Course management tools: This allows instructors to organize all the resources students’ needs for the class. the syllabus, assignments, readings, online quizzes.5. Smartphone: These are a quick and easy way to survey students during class. It is a great instant polling which can quickly access students understanding and help instructors to adjust pace and content6. Lecture capture tools: The lecture capture tools allow instructors to record lectures directly from their computer without elaborate or additional classroom equipment. The record lectures at their own pace.Advantages of technology integration in the education sphere?The teaching strategies based on educational technology can be described as ethical that facilitates the students learning and boost their capacity, productivity, and performance. technology integration inspires positive changes in teaching methods on an international level. The following list of benefit will help in resolving a final conclusion:1. Technology makes teaching easy: technology has power. It helps in the use of projectors and computer presentations to deliver any type of lesson or instruction and improve the level of comprehension within the class rather than giving theoretical explanations that students cannot understand.2. It facilitates student progress: technology has made teachers rely on platforms and tools that enable you to keep track of individual achievements.3. Education technology is good for the environment: if all schools have dedicated to being using digital textbooks, can you imagine the amount of paper and number of trees that will be saved. students can be instructed to take an online test and submit their papers and homework through email. They can be also encouraged to use readers to read through the literature assigned.4. It has made students enjoy learning: students enjoy learning through their addiction to Facebook, Instagram, dig, and other websites from a very early age. the internet can distract them from the learning process. making learning enjoyable through setting up a private Facebook group for the class and inspire constructive conversations.5. It makes distance learning more accessible: without the internet, people won’t be able to access any vital information. today distance learning is one of the most trending learning methods. Students can organize their time in a way that works for them and they can easily gain the knowledge they are interested in.
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Good SEO Vs Bad SEO
Over the years the definition of SEO has surely changed. Years ago everyone approached it like it was a giant science project and today it is approached for the most part like a marketing effort. Unfortunately we still see individuals and companies really butchering the craft of SEO and giving it a bad name by using shotty business practices and spammy efforts to try and “market” their websites.Here are my ideas of the drastic differences among taking a less than stellar approach to growing any business and taking a high-quality marketing approach to your overall search engine optimization movement.Everyone seems to have a special approach on how to get from point A to point B; some are worth mentioning and some are just downright disrespectful to the industry. The SEO industry is very important to keep clean and some out there really give SEO people a bad image.Here are some differences between good SEO and bad SEO.Keyword ResearchGood SEOPutting together a combination of soaring search volume keywords along with long tail keyword phrases and also some low search volume keywords elegantly and strategically through your website.Bad SEOSimply going after one word keyword for each page of your website eager you will be at the top of the search results for only high search volume keywords.Writing a Meta TagGood SEOCrafting a friendly user focused meta title tag in good taste using a targeted keyword phrase that is 60 web characters or less.Bad SEOTaking your meta title tag and over stuffing it with your industry keywords thinking it will work to your advantage when it comes time to rank in the search results.Writing a Meta Tag DescriptionGood SEOKeeping your website traffic in mind so your message can be heard when a website visitor reads your meta tag description in the search results. All this while utilizing your targeted keywords for that specific page.Bad SEOTaking a spammy approach and over stuffing your meta tag descriptions with the intentions of just trying to achieve rankings and forgetting about the overall user experience.Content OptimizationGood SEOAttractively utilizing keywords and long tail phrases into your existing content so a person can actually understand it and can still make a connection with what your business is trying to say or communicate.Bad SEOHaving so many keywords jammed into your content that it is difficult to even read.Press Release Writing & DistributionGood SEOWriting something worthy of an announcement to get your surrounding community chattering about it on their websites and in their blogs and distributing the PR through a small handful of industry standard press release distribution services.Bad SEOObviously constructing a PR piece that is solely meant for search engines and not a human being.Article Writing & DistributionGood SEOPlacing yourself as an authority in your niche or area of study and writing an article that your industry can actually benefit from is the way to go.Bad SEOWriting a massive amount of articles that most likely make no sense but are SEO’d to death is not a targeted approach.Directory SubmissionGood SEOChoosing highly trafficked and respected website directories to list your business in.Bad SEOTaking a software program that promises to distribute your information into thousands of directories that are virtually useless for you to be listed in.Video MarketingGood SEOMaking an instructive or promotional viral video that offers something unique to your industry while allowing for some SEO efforts when constructing titles and descriptions so they are search engine friendly.Bad SEORecording a horribly produced video just for the sake of making a video and not really having any substance to it with the only intention being to take up a parking space in the search results.Facebook MarketingGood SEOBuilding a Facebook fan page that is inviting to your audience and your community where you can spread the message to your followers about your business in any way you feel necessary.Bad SEOAttempting to send thousands of friend requests from a personal profile that has been structured to come from a business because it is easier to send out a request that way. This will get your Facebook account shut off.Twitter MarketingGood SEOBy posting useful information for your audience and your industry into your Twitter stream that doesn’t consist of just self promotional items.Bad SEOSending out self promotional messages or affiliate links all day long without adding any substance to the conversation is not going to help anyone.Blog CommentingGood SEOGood blog commenting always ads to the overall conversation that is occurring within that blog post. Leaving behind a few good sentences that actually add value is the way to go.Bad SEOShort little messages letting someone know they have a great post is not going to add any value and it is an approach that adds absolutely no value to anything.These are some of the areas that I think need to be looked at when you are starting to market your business online. Take the right approach when you first get going because you will be happy you did. Taking a tasteful approach allows you to build your brand and also impacts the way others in your industry will view you as a business.
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