Facebook - Friend or Foe?

Firstly, just want to say a huge thank you to everyone for the really positive feedback about my first blog post 'Twitter - whats the fuss all about?' really appreciate all the lovely comments I received on here & through Twitter!

So following on from that, I thought for this post I would look at why I have fallen out of love with Facebook and why I don't really use it for 'networking' for my business! Said whilst listening for a sharp intake of breath from all the Social Media experts out there though ;)

Ok, my main problem is its functionality and the whole thing of pages, profiles, groups, events and all those other little icons down the side that the general user probably doesn't have a clue what to do with.

The whole issue of 'liking' pages is too long winded. Unless you know what you are looking for or have a link, I find it really difficult to search anything and if I want to check out my friends 'likes' it looks like this:

Hardly easy reading is it? Especially that last bit on the end 'and xxx more' who is really or has the time to go through that? I know I don't! Why they ever got rid of the panel down the left hand side of peoples profile's with their likes (and the company logos) I will never know.

I think that is another really important point, as a business you need brand awareness & that list hardly promotes you does it?! You are just in a list with everyone else!

Then my other major gripe is, that if you want to like a page to your own page, you have to go right to the bottom left hand side and then smuggled in there somewhere is 'add to my pages favourites' why not have a' like to my page' button next to the normal like button?!

Then there is the whole issue of sharing posts - I know from looking how my friends use Facebook they very rarely post about products or services, its normally funny You Tubes clips or music videos. When I set my page up for my business only 2 of my friends went on 'share' my posts to their walls. Now, I seriously don't think its because my friends don't like me (I hope, lol!) but I genuinely think it is because either people don't know how to or its just too long winded! Especially when confronted with this & all the options of where & who to share with!

So, from my business point of view, I just don't think it works. I could post as many lovely things as I want & have a brilliant page, but what is the point if no one sees it or shares it with others?

I am sure there will be Social Media experts who can tell me all the tricks I am missing with Facebook (and I would love to hear them, lol!) but from a users perspective it is not the easiest format to navigate & explore.

I think what I am trying to say is I think Facebook has become its own foe - it is trying to tick so many boxes to keep up with all the other social media, I think it has just lost it's way and over complicated things. I think I read somewhere the other day, or was told by one of my twitter pals that there are over 40 different social media platforms - and Facebook cant be all things to all people!

Twitter - whats all the fuss about?!

After being a dedicated Facebook addict for the past 5 years I really couldn't see what Twitter had to offer me until I started my business as a Freelance Virtual Assistant. I had seen one of the companies I was working for use it and had a few friends on there but still wasn't convinced. Then by a twist of Twitter fate, one of the other companies I was working for, asked me if I would look at Tweeting for them as I had a vague idea of what it was about - the rest, as they say is history! I am now a total Twitter convert and currently manage 2 accounts. I am in no way saying I am a Social Media expert, but in the few short months of using Twitter have already seen huge benefits.

So what is all the fuss about?

For me it is about building relationships and networking with other people and businesses you would never normally get the chance to meet in 'real life'.

It just makes good business sense to network with a wide variety of people - especially for me in the work that I do, but I have always lived by the saying 'its not what you know, its who you know' and that is why Twitter is brilliant!

Since joining I have made so many lovely Twitter friends who always retweet my business tweets or updates. Just last week, one of my tweets reached nearly 20,000 followers in just 3 retweets  - where else can you get marketing like that?! Ok, I didn't get 20,000 followers from it, but to have your name and business 'out there' to that many people can never be a bad thing!

Things I have found Useful

1. Use Social Media Dashboards like HooteSuite or Tweetdeck to maximise your Tweet power! I personally prefer HooteSuite as I can have my LinkedIn page and Facebook pages all one place, but its all down to personal preference and what you want to gain from Twitter.

2. Use the lists and favourite functions - great for getting organised and so you can see specific Tweets at a glance. Also look at other peoples list for ideas who to follow - especially if you want a specific area.

3. Be yourself! But remember you are on the internet so if you don't think your Gran would approve, don't Tweet it ;) and don't be a robot - great to use the automated Tweets to have a presence when you cant be on there, but put some of 'you' into it too!

4. Last but not least get involved! The more you tweet the more you will be seen. Re-tweet the things that are important to you or you think your followers will be interested in. Reply to tweets that you can offer advice on, agree with, disagree with (playing nicely obviously!) - its all part of the craziness that is Twitter! Oh, and don't forget to use # tags to increase awareness in specific areas - one of my favourites at the moment is #supportlocalbusiness !

I think the most important thing I have learnt so far is that if you are setting up in business or already running one, there is so much support out there for you. In this current economic climate we all need to do our bit to get this economy going! I have also seen first hand real sales from good networking on Twitter, so if you invest some time it could be well worth it!

Obviously, cant sign off without a little bit of self publicity ;) If you don't have time to manage your Twitter account, please don't hesitate to get in touch - I can tailor packages to suit your exact requirements.