Tuesday’s Revelation: What makes your pub’s Facebook Page stand out?

Most of us small shop owners are creating Facebook pages to represent our work, show what products or services we provide and at the end of the day get customers.

That’s okay, there is no shame in that. But smart people have realized that besides good quality of product or service, there is also something more important. What is it? It’s your customer’s loyalty.

Why would this person be your customer and not the other pub’s or cafe or accessories shop around the corner? Well, you need to build a relationship with them.

And that is what a Facebook page is all about.

So, you, as a pub; instead of telling people, hey, we have drinks, come have a drink (you don’t want to promote alcoholism do you?)

Create a story, don’t just sell a product

Instead, create a story, and let them be the stars. Say a person can’t find someone to hang out with, tell them to come anyway, you’ll play a specific song for them, you’ll offer them a shot on the house. More persons ==> More stories.

A pub is not about drinks, it’s about the atmosphere, the music, the story.

Stay tuned for more.

Community, Facebook, Social Media

community management, Content, facebook, page, Social Media

February 12, 2013

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SEO Special post

Continuing my series of posts about SEO (Search Engine Optimization): “Make SEO happen” and “A couple of SEO tips for your blog“, here comes some more news on what you can customize for search engines.

SEO for Facebook

Well, don’t be surprised! Technically speaking, any HTML page on the internet that can be accessed publicly can be SEO friendly (SEO Friendly, as in make your webpage show up in the first page of search engines in a natural – without paying – way when people search for keywords related to your business ).

Logically speaking, most Facebook pages are related to a brand, a personal brand, a product or any form of “love us so we make money out of you”. And since many brands have been relying on Facebook recently to interact with users as a 1 on 1 conversation – FB pages are more reliable since they’re more dynamic and up-to-date (some even redirect their domain name to the FB page), instead of the “informative classic website”, a Facebook page has to be SEO friendly.

SEO Title: The first 18 characters of your update.

Here’s an article about the matter “Basic SEO for Facebook pages“. You have to know, it is quite similar to normal SEO for websites, but for example instead of editing Meta data directly in HTML tags, you can do that in the About of the Facebook Page. so on and so forth…

Google’s Search Plus and SEO

Since the recent integration of Google+ content in Google’s search engine (remember the days when we used to see real-time twitter results? well since that contract ended, Google now relies on Google+ for those social results). Whether it’s a step people approve or don’t, we all know Google has almost 80% of world wide traffic, and when you want to find something, you go there. Therefore, now that Google retrieves results – customized to a user influenced by his/her Google circles –  a brand has to be on Google+ as well.

The content on Google+ shows up in people’s search results as well.

SEO experts explain what they think of Search Plus and if it will affect SEO in this article. Question remains, if people will adopt it and everyone will be on it? In that case, be a pioneer and gain loyalty for important keywords to lead to your Google+ page, or everyone will just ignore it. We have to wait and see.

The more followers you have, the more influence you will have on their search results.

Conclusion

If you want to be on the “internet”, you have to understand that it is no longer outbound marketing per se. People now search for you and track you down. The easier you make it, the more highly they think of you and the easier they arrive to you instead of another brand. Any form of presence on the web is now searchable, so make sure your content / pages (be it: website, landing page, blog, youtube, facebook, G+, etc…) are SEO friendly.

Search Engine Marketing, SEO, Social Network

facebook, G+, Google, Optimization, Search, Search Engine, Search Plus, SEO

January 24, 2012

1 Comment

When magic & illusion become digital – Augmented Reality

These are 3 cool recent Augmented Reality executions. The first is from National Geographic where people got to hang out with Dinosaurs, Wild Animals and Astronauts….

This is a Movie Scenes application (that makes you live the movie right there right then). Pretty cool for dreamy people with a huge passion for movies.

And Heinz Ketchup Augmented Reality Recipe application, which I believe is a pretty cool idea. Although I wouldn’t imagine what kind of recipes coming from a Ketchup product, but they’re pioneers and they beat others to it. Moreover it’s pretty inspiring for what many brands can actually accomplish with Augmented Reality Apps.

But most importantly, if you only have time for one video and one video only, make sure you watch a very interesting TED talk about Augmented Reality by storytelling and illusionist Marco Tempest. Think of it, when Magic and Illusion become Digital. This is definitely something you have not seen before.

Hope you enjoyed today’s post.

Technology

AR, Augmented Reality, Cinema, Heinz, Marco Tempest, Nat Geo, National Geographic, TED

November 10, 2011

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Who should do Paid Search in Lebanon? And Why!

Why should you as a Lebanese retailer / brand engage in search engine marketing, and in Paid Search in specific.

Source: http://www.silverarcsearchmarketing.com

When I get asked “what do you do?”, at first I used to get excited and tell them. Ok so it would be something like:
– Random human being: So Liliane, what do you do?
– Me: I work in Search Engine Marketing *huge smile on my face*
– RHB: What’s that?
– Me (trying to put it in a simple way to understand): Well you know those ads that appear as sponsored links on search engines like google, on top or on the side while you’re searching for something?
– RHB (Some sort of disappointment starts being drawn on their face): Oh, okay…

Source: Google.com

Now the discussion can take various forms and that really depends on how people think, amount of knowledge in online marketing  they have etc… But the one answer I got a couple of times was:

RHB: Yeah… I never click on these!

But it’s what I reply to them that makes a difference. Here goes nothing:

Search Engine Marketing

Adwords, Bidding, Google, Google Adwords, Keywords, Lebanon, paid search, pay per click, ppc, Search, Search Engine, Search Engine Marketing, SEM

October 19, 2011

4 Comments

QR Code good! Don’t make it bad.

Continuing the last post about QR code, in which I extensively explained what QR code is and its best practices, check out this link on Mashable where they tell us the 5 big mistakes to AVOID in QR Code marketing campaign. In summary:

1. Not testing the QR Code, some look great, but they just don’t take you anywhere = useless
2. Getting too fancy with text… try to link people to a website instead!
3. QR Code is scanned on the mobile right? So when you take them somewhere, make sure it’s a MOBILE website.
4. To scan a QR Code, you need internet. So make sure you put it where there is… internet!
5. Give the person a good incentive to scan your QR Code! Simple, no?

Online Marketing, Social Media

Bar code, Marketing, online marketing, QR, QR Code, Scanning, Tips

August 3, 2011

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What time is it? It’s QR Code time!

Today’s post is going to cover, what a QR code is, what is it used for, QR obstacles, what are the best practices for QR Codes, and what are the worst practices for that matter, additionally I will be sharing some good examples of QR Code usage. Nevertheless I want to share that while preparing this post, I aggregated several links about another topic, and that is “Augmented Reality”. So if you’re as excited as I am about the AR fuss, then stay tuned. For now, it’s QR Code time!

What is a QR Code?

QR Code is abbreviated from Quick Response Code. It is a 2-dimensional code, and readable by QR barcode readers, and recently an application for that is available with the smart phone you acquire, if not, you can just download (android). So yeah. it’s like a barcode, but it’s not bars, it’s a matrix.

What is it used for?

Just like any other code, a QR code is unique. Which means, that you can set a QR Code for any link out there, and when scanning that code, it will take you to that online location. The possibilities are endless on what it can be used for. And you will see in the examples how that happens. Some people use it as contact information, and then use their QR Codes as their avatars for example, and then bam, you scan it, and you add them as a contact on your phone book.

For example: 

(This QR Code actually displays Nadine Issa – Point a la ligne – contact information, email, blog URL and mobile number)

Online Marketing

AR, Augmented Reality, QR, QR Code, QR Scanner, Quick Response

July 4, 2011

11 Comments

Putting RFID into use in Lebanon

I started writing this post on May 17, and never got the time to continue with the research and examples for it. A month later, I hope it’s no longer obsolete.

RFID is a kind of technology that started being implemented for several brands around the world in order for promotion purposes of course in a “social media” kind of way.

In Lebanon, we are almost always late when it comes to implementing new technologies (not that RFID is new), and sometimes even on the creative side we are behind. Even though we all know how much creativity can be drawn from us Lebanese, and we have seen it happen with many agencies, some sadly don’t fall in that category. And also sadly, it might be a cognitive thing (any sociologist in the house?), we tend to excel when we are abroad, but when we are in Lebanon, we always feel the need to see what they did abroad (of course there are many exceptions).

Online Marketing, Social Media, Social Network

Advertising, coca cola, hyundai, Marketing, Online, QR, radio frequency, renault, RFID

June 20, 2011

6 Comments

A tweet, can be a hero or a zero! Your pick

After a public vote concerning which post to write first, this is the one that was picked, and here it is.

Disclaimer, I know all tweeps mentioned in this post, and they are all very nice people, and some I know in person, so just telling you that this is not a critique of them, but of the style of tweets 🙂 and how they can be improved.

Should I put this hashtag? What title should I write?

Of course, this is a not a rule and not everyone should follow. But you have a post, or a campaign or a cause or whatever the case may be and you really need strong reaction to it for whatever reason that may be. You can always go classic and you can always pick the classical title. Therefore you shouldn’t forget about the right use of hashtags, too many? too little?

It’s a trial & error exercise

Believe it or not, a tweet can either generate a lot of visits to that link you’ve shared or zero (maybe one, which is yours, testing if the link is working because it received none). Been there done that, and I still don’t get it right all the time.

Personal Branding, Social Media

hashtag, how to write a tweet, tweet, Twitter, writing a tweet

June 14, 2011

9 Comments

Twitter Tips courtesy @_kaled

Last week @_kaled shared some very interesting tips about using Twitter, I don’t agree exactly with some of them, but I definitely think they’re worth being put under one post, and I have the pleasure that Khaled accepted to have them hosted on my blog. 

I was approached by FunkyOzzi (that would be me) to compile a twitter rant of mine from last week. And so without too much of an introduction, I humbly bring you: my rant.

Are you new to twitter? Not a problem. Let me give you some basic and free Twitter Tips to make the tweeting experience more enjoyable for you.

Things to keep in mind about me and these tips:

• I am by no means a Social Media “Expert” (in the manner that this term has been abused). I am merely a Social Media user like the rest of us.
• These tips are more about etiquette rather than the functional use of Twitter. So here goes:

1. Don’t count your tweets or your followers. It says nothing about you as a person. Not even if you’re Ashton Kutcher or Lady Gaga.
2. There is a plethora of Instant Messaging (IM)/Chat services that are free for download. For example: Gtalk, WLM, AIM, yahoo messenger. There’s no fun in chatting publicly. (I so agree with this)
   Personally, I ‘try’ to use the rule: 3 mentions –> DM; 3 DMs –> email etc… (for me the DM thing can go forever until the response itself needs more than 140 character, this is when I give up and ask for the person’s email address)
3. Don’t ask people to follow. Give them a chance to like your creativity, humor, cause, thoughts etc…Just be interesting!
4. I hate to break it to you, but the whole world follows @mashable. You add no value by RT’ing them incessantly, all day long. (IMO, it’s ok to RT very known users such as the latter, but make sure you post your opinion to give some added value, be selective)
5. Believe me, if it’s worth sharing, it will be RT’d…don’t beg for attention.
6. Be social. Interact by replying. Unless you think you are too good for your followers; in that case maybe social media is not your forte.
7. Are you creating original content via a blog? Great! Go ahead & schedule your links 4 more readership round the clock. Otherwise try not to schedule casual tweets. The power of Twitter is in its real time value.
8. Do you want to do a Follow Friday a.k.a #FF? No problem, here’s how it works (courtesy of the panda of awesomeness @UxSoup) http://j.mp/lb0wQl
9. “The internet is a pen, not a pencil” @benmezrich. You may delete a tweet, but it will always be on a server somewhere. Think before you tweet
10. Last but not least: it’s called ‘breakfast’ not ‘brekkie’. For the love of all which does not suck, please don’t tear down the English language.

Nb: you may search for the hashtag #TwitterTips to see what other users are recommending

About @_kaled:

an ex-AdMan with an MBA in Marketing from the American University of Beirut. With years of Advertising/Communications experience from Grey Beirut and JWT, he is currently a Client Services Manager for a leading North American e-Commerce firm.

Social Media

#twittertips, etiquette, Tips, Twitter, twitter tips

June 9, 2011

2 Comments

3 new posts coming up, help me decide which 1 first

1. A tweet can be a hero or a zero, your pick: How to write a tweet to give justice to the content you’re promoting
2. Putting RFID into use in Lebanon: Another technology that can be used in a creative with Facebook (of course to promote)
3. Lebanese websites, NOT SEO friendly: Need I elaborate?

Since my time is tight, what post you suggest I work on first?

Blogging

Blogging, Marketing, post, RFID, SEO, Topic, tweet, Twitter

May 24, 2011

13 Comments