Social Media Tips

How to unlink Twitter from LinkedIn

Those who’ve attended my LinkedIn Masterclass - next one is 23 November in Cheltenham - will know that I advise NOT to link Twitter updates with LinkedIn. Last week I discovered this is much harder than it should be. If you’ve installed the Tweet app which as explained in this previous tip is a good idea, then there are 2 settings you need to change. Firstly, the go to Tweets under the More menu heading then select Settings and ensure that ‘Display only tweets that include #in‘ is selected rather than ‘Display all tweets’. Oddly, this isn’t sufficient. You also need to select your name on the top right then Settings then Manage your Twitter settings under the Settings heading in the bottom of the page then ensure that ‘Share only tweets that contain #in (#li also works) in your LinkedIn status’ is selected.

Quick access to Google+

A shorter address than the standard http://plus.google.com web address is http://google.com/+.

If you’re logged into any Google website you can quickly access using the +<your first name> link on the far left of the top menu bar.

How to tweet with more than 140 characters

Those who use Tweet Deck may have noticed that deck.ly which facilitated tweets of longer than 140 characters has been withdrawn from the app. Thanks to @bw58 for pointing this out.

Here are a couple of tips that remove the issue. If you RT from Tweet Deck or other apps you might struggle for space. The solution is to RT from twitter.com using the link that appears underneath a tweet when you select it. If you retweet using this method there is no character limit.

If you need lots of space then linking to a post on Google+ could be a good workaround. Just select the time of your post to obtain the permalink (another tip). With formatting, photos and video you can even blog on there (there’s another tip). The advantage of using Google+ is that you’ll attract visitors to content they won’t find on Twitter. There’s no problem if readers of your tweet aren’t on Google+ as your link will work for them and they’ll be able to read your post.

Using Foursquare as a city guide

Last week I was on holiday in Zagreb and found Foursquare really valuable. It helped identify places that looked interesting to visit, provided me with directions to them and then gave me advice on the venue and what to do there. To identify places to visit I used Lists that others - thanks @IvanKovacevic3 and @kinoeuropa - had created such as Hip Bars in Zagreb and Art-house cinemas in Zagreb. I also compiled a Places to visit in Zagreb list which was added to by @fertilityflower. A great feature of Foursquare lists is that they can be added to by anybody who has a venue they’d like to suggest. Once I’d decided on a venue to visit I used the directions feature to find my way there. As long as the Foursquare page or Google Maps for more details was loaded this worked with GPS only - no need for WiFi or expensive roaming charges. On arriving at the venue and hopefully finding WiFi I could check-in and use tips that others had added to decide what to eat and drink. Unfortunately, I missed the tip about the dodgy cappuccino at the airport before it was too late! From a venue’s point of view this is great free way to attract customers to your venue. I’m not the only tourist or visitor using Foursquare in this way. So if you’re a bricks and mortar business ensure your venue page is up to date and complete with links to your website and Twitter account. Find our more at Foursquare for Business.

Facebook email notifications not working?

If you’re a Page Admin you may have noticed that you’ve stopped receiving email notifications when someone posts on your Page Wall. Notifications are a really useful feature that reduce the risk of questions and comments on your Wall remaining unanswered or unreplied too. Even if you have notifications enabled on your Page Facebook have recently overridden the setting with a new ‘master notifications control’. By default this is set so that only important notifications are sent eg changes to privacy settings and tagging notifications. To change the setting go to Home then Account Settings on the top right, then Notifications on the left. On the right of the page you’ll see a blue Email Frequency check box. Uncheck the box to start receiving Page notifications again.

Keep it personal when Linking In

Attract more visitors to your Facebook Page

Several times a week I come across business people who aren’t aware that they can have their own address or ‘vanity URL’ for their Facebook Business Page. For example, my Facebook Page address is http://facebook.com/intranetfuture. Facebook refer to the part after facebook.com as ‘username’.

If you haven’t one already you should check to see if the address of your choice is available; the logical one would be facebook.com followed by your business name. When logged in to the account that administers your Page go to http://facebook.com/username see if the address you want is available.

You’ll need to have more than 25 ‘Likes’ to set one up but it’s a quick and straightforward process. I suggest you then publish your new address on your website, in your email autosignature and on all your marketing collateral such as business cards and brochures. Add your Facebook Page address alongside any mention of your phone number of website address. You can get quite creative with publicising your Facebook Page address. I had a meeting with a client this morning who’s getting bumper stickers for his business printed up to put on his fleet of company branded Minis.

Your own Facebook Page address can have great benefits as it’s easier to remember so can help increase visitors to you Facebook Page as well as raise awareness of your business and brand.

Be careful when creating your address! Set it for your Page and not your Profile and double check for typos. Once set it can’t be changed.

YouTube - great alternative to Google Search

Next time you need to look something up on Google Search try YouTube instead. There are good reasons why it’s the second most popular search engine. Whatever you need to find out or need help with there’s probably a relevant video on YouTube so give it go.

Check ‘Who’s Viewed Your Profile?’ on LinkedIn

It’s worth checking ‘Who’s Viewed Your Profile?’ on LinkedIn for two reasons. Firstly, it’s an indicator of how good you are at attracting interest in your profile. You should look to steadily grow the number of visitors who are checking you out. You can do this by optimising your profile. getting yourself noticed in Groups and Answers and regulaarly making status updates. Outside of LinkedIn you can publicise your profile link - make sure this is customised - on business cards, in your email signature and on your website.

Secondly, take note of who’s been looking at your profile. If they’ve shown an interest in you it’s an opportunity for you to connect and start a conversation with them.

Business Page? - you need a Welcome Page

At a recent social media workshop a delegate suggested that as a small company a Facebook Welcome Page was not appropriate for his business and would be expensive to have designed and produced.

Everybody likes to be welcomed and an introductory page providing reasons for Liking the Page in an on brand eye catching way can encourage new visitors to Like the Page and find out more about your business.

Whilst a Welcome Page such as Coca Cola’s can have video and lots of custom design, an attractive Welcome Page can consist of a single image which need not be expensive to have designed. The image should be 520 pixels wide. Whilst there is no maximum height most images are no deeper than around 800 pixels and typically are around 600 pixels. A designer should take no more than an hour or two to design and create such an image so it need not be hugely expensive. Ask Andy Thorne, a member of Intranet Future’s extended family for a quote. Here’s an example of his work on the bodyexpert Facebook Page although this one took considerably longer than an hour.