Writing for Facebook

Facebook no longer imposes a character limit on their status updates, at least not one that anyone is ever likely to hit, but that doesn’t mean you should start using your status updates as your new blog space. The most engaging Facebook posts are under 80 characters – that’s even shorter than uber-limited 140-characters that Twitter allows you! Does this mean you have to keep your posts to 80 characters or less? No, of course not. But it does serve as a reminder as to what people are looking for on Facebook.

First and foremost, people are looking for “you” on Facebook. They want to know that the pages they’re interacting with are run by real people with real personalities. Work hard to avoid being overly stuffy or formal. Facebook is a fun, informal, and conversational platform, and that’s how people expect you to act. That’s not to say you should be unprofessional, but it is possible to be professional and fun at the same time.

So what should you be writing on Facebook? A good start is asking questions to spark dialogue. Posts that contain questions generate twice as many comments as posts that do not.

Along the same lines as question posts are Fill in the Blanks. Both types of updates are asking your followers to provide information. The first is by directly asking for it. The second is more playful. You might post, “I can’t believe my dog ate my ______” and then sit back and see what your fans come up with.

When creating a standard status update it’s best to keep it to no more than 4 lines, and 1-2 is better. People will be seeing your updates in the news feed on their home pages more often than they’ll see them on your Timeline. It’s helpful to keep them short enough that people will be able to see the entire update without having to click the “more” link to reveal the whole thing.

Be sure to stay positive whenever possible as well. Phrase your updates in a way that will make them “like”-able. There is no dislike button yet, so even if people agree with what you’re saying, they will likely not intereact with the post if it is written in a more negative tone.

Finally, keep in mind that not all of your content needs to be unique. Include links to photos, articles, and videos that your fans might want to share with their friends. If you see a photo or video that you think is funny, or an article that you think is interesting, chances are your fans will feel the same way about it. Share it on your page and give them the chance to do the same.

Writing for Twitter

Twitter has become the place for sharing links to great content. But, what you share on Twitter is not just about the value of the content that you’re sharing, but whether or not your tweets are getting noticed in the first place. So what gets a tweet noticed? A really great headline.

There is an old rule about headlines called the 80/20 rule. This rule says that 8 out of 10 people will read a headline, but only 2 out of 10 will actually go on to read the content that the headline is describing. This rule applies to traditional headline environments like newspapers, magazines, and web pages. Once you move to email inboxes and Twitter feeds, the numbers get even worse due to the amount of competing headlines and the nature of the environment.

So how do you make sure your headlines are getting noticed and your content is getting clicked on? A good way to make sure your headlines offer a compelling reward to those who click them is by using the 4U approach which is taught in the American Writers & Artists accelerated copywriting  program.

1. Be USEFUL to the reader
2. Provide the reader with a sense of URGENCY
3. Convey the idea that the content is UNIQUE
4. Do the above in an ULTRA-SPECIFIC way

It’s also important to ensure that your headlines are as short as possible. This is not only because of Twitter’s 140-character limit, but also because you want to leave room for people to retweet your content with their own comments.

To learn more come to our webinar Social Media Content IS Different: What to Know.

One of the main ways that search engines create results for search queries is based on content relevance. Relevance relates to how close the content of any given web page matches the term being searched, which takes into consideration factors such as the page title tag, headings, paragraph text, and anchor/link text of links to the web page. The goal is to create more relevance to improve search engine ranking, as well as, of course, the ultimate goal of increased traffic and an influx of new clients/customers.

How are web pages made more relevant so that searchers will find your site? Search engines scan for the frequency and location of keywords (which are words that a searcher is typing into search engines — like Google — to find what they need) in the process of finding web pages that match any given search. Those web pages with a higher frequency of keywords in context are typically considered more relevant, therefore enabling a site to rank better in the search engines. For example, if a searcher wants to find boarding services for his or her dog, and lives in Springfield IL, that searcher might find your site/services online by typing terms in Google such as “pet boarding Springfield IL” …so if you have terms that correlate with the search query (service/product and location) integrated appropriately throughout your site, search engines will then consider your website a better match for that search query.

In optimizing your site for search engine relevance, keyword phrases should be included in each of your web page’s meta tags as well as link text, image tags, page headings, and, of course, any paragraph text. When adding or making changes to the page content on your site, consider the following tips:

1. Relevance: Use language that is geared toward what the average person uses to search for your services, as opposed to technical terms, or what may be commonly used in your industry. The terms and the text need to be “client-focused” and “search-friendly” so that the searchers and search engines will easily find your website and services.
2. Page headings: Include keywords in page headings/headlines of each page. It’s best if page headings are styled as “H1” in code of site.
3. Links: Integrate keywords into link text (anchor text), so instead of “Click here to read more info about preventive care and pet wellness,” instead use “Read more about preventive care on the pet wellness page….”
4. Keyword density: This is the percentage of the number of times a particular keyword or keyword phrase is used in comparison to the total amount of words in the article, page, or site. If your web page is devoted to selling a service, such as pet dental care, the SEO-savvy writer would insert the relevant keyword phrase “pet dental care” a certain number of times in the page/site. If the appropriate keywords are not included in the content, or if the keyword percentage rate is too low, the search engine may not pick up on the words that the searcher entered and the search will be useless. If the keywords have too high a density and the search engine detects keyword stuffing, the search engine can end up giving your site a poor showing in the rankings. Better to stay safely under 5% keyword density. If your keyword integration is an organic process that does not interfere with readability, you are on the right track.
5. Location keywords: Don’t overlook the importance of including the locations (towns, sections of city) where you want to be found and not just service keywords.
6. Formatting: Search engines reportedly pay more attention to bold/italic keywords. Use this for phrases that you really want to emphasize and, again, don’t sacrifice readability.
7. Structure for the web (scanning): Readers of web pages primarily scan text, so shorter paragraphs, use of subheadings, bulleted lists, conversational tone, and presenting key points first will make it easier for readers to integrate what they are reading as well as find what they need.
8. Number of words per page: We recommend at least 200 words of paragraph text per page (with keywords appropriately integrated, of course) and better if 250 to 500 words. Give search engines and readers of your website plenty of relevant copy to scan. Educational information, Q&A segments, and short case studies are easy to read, can fill out the page nicely, and provide ample opportunities to integrate keywords.
9. Blogs: Search engines love blogs for their dynamic content. Make sure your content is “linkable” and search-engine friendly by providing helpful informational copy with keywords included in post titles, links, post URLs, tags, and, of course, paragraph text.
10. Avoid unethical practices: Strategies like stuffing/hiding white keyword-laden text in white background of a website’s pages is considered unethical and against search engine guidelines. Don’t risk getting your site banned.

Needless to say, writing for search engines so that searchers can easily find your site is different than writing for print material. Web pages optimized for search engines and searchers take into account all of the above and enable more potential customers to easily find your website and services.

If you’d like to learn more or would like help optimizing your web site’s content, give us a call. We’d be happy to help!

1. Go to www.google.com/placesforbusiness to sign up. (Free!)
2. You will need to create a Google account first, if you don’t already have one. Best to not use a personal one and just create one for the clinic.  Google has pretty clear instructions that walk you through the process.
3. Many businesses that have been around awhile already have Google Places listings that can be pulled in from various sources such as online data aggregators. If you type in Your Clinic Name, City, State in Google Maps search [maps.google.com] and see a listing link to the left of Google Map search results with red map pinpoint next to business name, this should indicate if one exists or not. Also, Google can check for you—when you go to the “Google Places for Business” page, Google searches to see if you have a listing when you type in your business phone number, and then walks you through the process of claiming or editing your listing. However, it’s best to take advantage of any existing listing with good reviews and conduct a manual search as mentioned above, so you can be sure of which listing is being claimed. If you have a brand new business, needless to say, this won’t be an issue and new businesses can sign up directly at www.google.com/placesforbusiness.
4. If you DO have a listing that already exists, click on the business name link, which will take you to your listing. Once you are on the actual listing page, click on the link in the upper right that says “Business Owner?” You will be prompted to sign in to Google in order to edit info in your listing. (Once you have verified your listing, that same link will change to “Owner Verified Listing.”)
5. At the end of the process, Google will prompt you with a verification code that can be sent via mail or phone. The mail option can take a number of weeks and gets tossed inadvertently. Best to choose the phone option and have someone standing by at your main business number, because the verification process is automated and the call will be sent immediately. (New businesses that are creating a listing from scratch will only have the mail option.) Google is using your business number to verify you are indeed a real business and you’re not misrepresenting yourself and trying to rip off someone else’s listing. Once you have the verification PIN #, plug that number into the field where Google prompts you to, and you’re done. You now can edit away, consolidate any duplicate listings, and add information.
6. Best to add service keywords about your business to the “Category” section, as well as add specific services to the business description section, as done here: http://tiny.cc/kn5xx. Google has streamlined the listing display, so some information in the admin area of your listing may not show up in the public display.
7. Consider asking satisfied customers if they might be willing to share their thoughts online at Google (and other sites). It’s always best to “capture the moment” when a client offers positive feedback and ask if they would be willing to “digitize” their comments, which can then help other pets and pet owners just like themselves…  Plentiful positive reviews is one factor that can help your Google Places listing rise to the top of local search results. Some businesses put up a review page on their website with links to online listings to help precipitate action on this (e.g., www.animalmedical.net/review/); others also offer an incentive (raffle entry or similar offer) to encourage follow through, so you might consider these options to help gain good reviews. A raffle entry is considered a better incentive, as direct discounts for each review posted is considered less ethical (like buying reviews).
8. Keep your Google Places listing current to show how your practice stands out from the rest. You can post information about your business, monitor website traffic, post coupons, and so on. Check out the Google Places YouTube channel  and Google Places Support to find out more about how this can work for your business.

On its surface, Timeline is a new, more image-centered look. But one of the best features is that it allows you to backfill your Timeline with earlier events, so you can easily tell the story of your business online. It’s like a virtual online scrapbook for your business.

Five changes to look for:

1. Your page will look very different. Your cover image will be front and center, like a billboard for your business. It’s a great place for promotions, or to tie in your website. If you don’t add one, you’ll just have a blank space, so take advantage of this new opportunity.
2. Profile pictures dimensions will change to be smaller and perfectly square. Make sure yours looks great.
3. You can “pin” a post to the top of the timeline which allows you to highlight a special event, a coupon or a contest.
4. Custom landing pages will disappear and everyone will be directed to your wall. This may change the way you market your page.
5. Your fans can contact you directly. Now people can contact you privately using messages rather than having to post on your wall. Notifications about new messages will appear right in your admin panel.

Join Beyond Indigo’s Social Media Specialist, Melanie Burger, for our customer-only webinar on Friday, March 16, 2012. You will learn the ins and outs of the new Timeline layout including all of these new features and many more. The transition to Timeline doesn’t have to be painful. Let us help you through it.

No time for your Timeline?

Let us do the work for you! For only $299, we’ll make sure your Timeline looks great. We’ll adjust your logos, create a great cover photo and make sure all of your tabs and custom features are in place for the switch. Already a Beyond Indigo customer? Bonus! We’ll do yours for $199. Contact Melissa Neff at melissa@beyondindigo.com or 877-244-9322 x 100 for more information.

Most people think they own their own domain name but they do not. A quick and easy way to check is to go to www.GoDaddy.com  and type in your domain name in the box in the middle of the page.  

Another page will come up saying the domain name is already taken. In tiny letters next to the name it will tell you that you can view the domain’s WHOIS listing. Click this link. GoDaddy then will display the information about the domain name and who owns it. (If multiple requests are made at some point an intermediary page will come requesting that you enter the letters seen in the graphic box. This is a spam filter protection).

Look for the word REGISTRANT. Under or next to this word should be the name of the business or one of the owners name’s. If someone else’s name or business name is listed here then your company does not own its domain name. The company/individual that is listed there owns your domain name instead.

Don’t own your domain name? There are a few options open to you. First, you can ask nicely to have the domain name returned to your ownership. Some companies will say then they can’t manage your domain name without it being in their name. There isn’t anything to manage except to pay the Registrar (GoDaddy, Network Solutions, Etc.) when your domain name is about to expire. Another myth that is perpetuated by some website vendors is that they cannot manage your website without being in control of the domain name. This is false. Your domain name should always be in your own name.

If the vendor will not turn over the domain name to you then you need to see if your business name is trademarked. If it is then you have a high chance of getting it back. By law the vendor has to sell your domain name back to your company for cost if certain criteria are met (For more information go to http://www.icann.org/en/udrp/udrp-policy-24oct99.htm). If your business name is not trademarked then the only other recourse you have is through legal action or the selection of a new domain name.

1.  Don’t ignore your fans. If you’ve set up a Facebook page, Twitter, or Google+, be sure to check it daily so that you can respond to any fan questions or comments that may have been left there.
2.  Keep the negative. If someone says something negative, don’t delete it. Doing so will sometimes prompt the person to come back onto your page and complain about it, which never looks good to other fans. It is possible to “hide” posts rather than deleting them, which is preferable but should still be used sparingly.
3.  Don’t panic. Remember that the majority of the people who are on your page are fans because they like you. Most of them have already formed their own opinions of you based on their own personal interactions, and a stranger’s negative comment on your Facebook page will not likely be enough to sway them.
4. Use negative interactions as an opportunity. Keep in mind that if someone has something negative to say about you, they will say it. By having a Facebook page, you’re providing them with a way to say it directly to you, in an area where you can listen and respond, rather than somewhere else where you may never even know about it.
5.  Don’t feel like you need to be perfect. If you or a member of your staff messed up, apologize. People are human and they make mistakes. A sincere apology can diffuse a bad situation pretty quickly. If no one messed up but the customer is upset anyway, you can still apologize for the situation, but then offer your side of the story.
6.  Keep content focused on the business. With this being an election year, it is important to keep the content of your social media focused on the topics that relate to veterinary medicine—and not politics and religion. Discussing content that is not related to your Facebook page can confuse people and turn them away from reading future posts.
7. Seek professional help. When creating your social media marketing, if an overwhelming feeling descends, it is time to throw up the white flag and call in professional help. Seek out a company to either create your platforms or manage them—or both. If you just need a little help, check into online classes to teach you or your team the basics of social media.

Having your business on a social media platform used to be a fun thing to do for your practice. Today, it is a must have. How your business is found in search engines and where people are searching and engaging are now intertwined with social media. Make a commitment to yourself to get started. Give us a call, we can help!

First, let’s take a look at why some people may think that a Facebook-only approach is the way to go:

• Facebook does have more than 845 million active users as of this month. By putting your page within the realm of this monster of a network, it follows that you may be more likely to gain some traffic, which will then build on itself as people ‘like’ your page.
• It’s also very true that Facebook is a great place to start building your identity if you need to have something up and running while you’re website is in the works. Having an identity on Facebook as well as Twitter, Google+, and any of the other Social Media sites that are out there today does increase the SEO of your website and will help people to find your business. Though ‘OF YOUR WEBSITE’ is really the operative phrase there. If you don’t have a website, then your business could be on the cutting edge of all of the Social Media sites and still not see any SEO benefit.
• Facebook pages are also much easier to maintain than a website. Clicking the ‘edit page’ button on your page will allow you to change anything and everything that you could want to change. Everything is presented as WYSIWYG, or ‘What You See Is What You Get,’ so there is no confusing code to contend with. It’s simple.

So Facebook is good, right? Absolutely! Facebook is a wonderful tool to have in your online marketing toolbox. However, making it your only tool is a really bad idea. Why? Keep reading…

1. We’ve already mentioned SEO, but I want to expand on what was said a little bit. It is true that your Facebook page may turn up in some search results, but only if a user is searching for your business name. If you are the type of business that relies on keyword searches to find new clients, and as a veterinarian you are, then you will likely not be found without a website. Why? Because on your website you control what search terms and keywords will help people to find your page. Your website content can (and should!) be written with search engines in mind. Your Facebook page, on the other hand, can not be as easily optimized. Your search results are at the mercy of Facebook.
2. Functionality is another problem with Facebook. Sure, Facebook will allow you to add tabs, photos, and video to your page. You can post content to your wall, or use the Notes app to create a mini-blog within Facebook. The drawback is that Facebook decides how all of these things will be displayed once you’ve posted them. You have very little control over the look and feel of your page. Yes, you can design 3rd party tabs to install onto your page to help reflect your brand, but those tabs all need to meet Facebook’s requirements. And if, as it has recently with FBML Tabs, Facebook decides to no longer support a format that you’ve installed on your page, you will lose all of work that you put into it.
3. Now let’s talk about analytics. You can add Google Analytics to your website and get a wealth of information about the visitors to your site. How many visits have you gotten? What page has the most views? What links get clicked the most? Which pages tend to lead people into your online store to make purchases? Age, gender, location, what browser they’re using, what search term they used to find you, how long they stayed on each page… The list goes on and on. Facebook has a similar offering with its Insights tool, which has generally improved in recent months, however it is still nowhere near as robust as the options that you have to track site traffic and conversion rates on your own website.
4. On to paid advertising. Your website provides your customers and potential customers a place to learn all about you without being distracted by paid advertisements. And if you do choose to allow advertisements on your website, you also get to choose who will be allowed to place their name and logo on your site. That same choice is not available to you with Facebook. On your Facebook page your information will be sharing the screen with paid advertisements selected by Facebook. And because of the way Facebook ads can be targeted to people with certain interests in a certain geographic area, chances are good that your page may be sharing space with your competitors’ advertisements. This would never happen on your own website.
5. Last of all, remember that Facebook is still just Facebook. It is a Social Networking site that happens to be the largest in the world right now. But the same could have been said about Friendster and MySpace at one point in time. Oddly enough, we do not hear many clients asking whether or not it makes sense to replace their website with a MySpace profile. There are more and more social media sites being introduced all the time, and the chances of Facebook staying on top forever are pretty slim.

So should you steer clear of Facebook for your business? Absolutely not. Again, it’s a fantastic tool for your online marketing toolbox. It’s a great way to help find and engage with your customers and potential customers online. The point of Facebook, as is true with all social media sites, is to help share content that you’ve created and are hosting on your own website.

On your website you have total control of your content. You can decide when, where, and how it is being displayed. You can optimize it for whatever search terms you decide are best. And when you have great content, you can share it on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, YouTube, and on any other site where you have a presence to ensure that it reaches the maximum number of people possible, and steers them back to your website. Because your website is where the party is. Social Media just provides people with an invitation to come over and join in.

If you’d like help with your online presence, contact us for a free consultation.

We now use multiple “touchpoints” when making purchases. A touchpoint is a place where people go to research information. Many pet owners start with Google, online reviews, corporate websites, Facebook, Twitter, and blogs. When strung together, these touchpoints form a “marketing circle.” At Beyond Indigo, we strive to keep pet owners in your marketing circle. All aspects of your marketing circle should be consistent. This means that one person should be in charge of your brand and your content. Many people can implement your message, but one person should oversee it.

Google now focuses on local search for businesses, which offers a complete snapshot with online reviews, Google+, Facebook posts, Twitter feeds, and blog comments. Facebook and Twitter aid brand recognition and consumer engagement. A new study by aytm.com found that people prefer brand updates via Facebook and Twitter instead of email. It also found that 58% of Facebook users have liked a brand, 42% of people have mentioned a brand in a status update, and 41% have shared a brand link, story, or video.

Remember that your brand’s reputation is crucial to gaining and keeping clients. It’s an investment that takes time, effort, and money — but it pays off handsomely. The first step is taking an inventory of your online brand reputation. We’re here to help. For a free personalized consultation, visit beyondindigopets.com/contact.

Upcoming Free Webinars

Facebook Alone Is Not Enough

February 22, 2012: 12:00 to 12:30 p.m. CST

Even if you have an active Facebook page that engages regularly with fans, you still need an interactive website. This free 30-minute webinar will discuss what works for your business on Facebook, what should be on your website, and how to cope with changes in the social media landscape.

Online Reviews

February 29, 2012: 12:00 to 12:30 p.m. CST

Now more than ever, people rely on online reviews to make all sorts of purchasing decisions. Join this session to learn everything you need to know about creating, generating, and maximizing online reviews. We’ll also cover how and where people review your practice, how the “review cycle” works, and how to improve your overall review rating.

Visit www.beyondindigopets.com/webinars to sign up.

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Like us on Facebook at facebook.com/beyondindigopets, follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/beyondpets, and visit our blog at beyondindigopets.com/blog to stay current with veterinary marketing trends.