Facebook Promotions: Know the Rules

To help promoters facing the Facebook challenge, Social Media Today's Genevieve Lachance has given us a list of things you MUST do, CAN do, and CAN'T do when conducting a fun diversion at the site.

Running contests on Facebook is a major source of confusion amongst Facebook Page owners. Facebook terms are a little unclear and many Businesses have no clue at all about the rules they need to follow.

By breaking Facebook Terms, you run the risk of having Facebook shut down your Business Page. Make sure you’re familiar with all the rules.

Done right, running promotions and contests on Facebook can be a great way to gain fans and increase visibility for your business.

Nearly 40% of Facebook users who become fans do so to receive discounts and promotions (http://www.exacttarget.com).

Here’s what you need to know about Facebook Promotions and Contests:

YOU MUST

·         You MUST administer ALL contests, promotions, and sweepstakes on Facebook using a third-party application and never use the Facebook platform such as your Page wall, the Events app, Groups or any other Facebook functionality to run your promotion. Note that a third-party application also includes any applications you create yourself.

·         You MUST include a complete release of Facebook and acknowledgment that the promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook.

·         You MUST have clear contest rules that are visible directly on your application Page.

YOU CAN’T

·         You CAN’T use Facebook’s like, share, comment button, use the photos/videos tab as a voting mechanism/registration for a promotion.

·         You CAN’T contact winners inside Facebook (via direct messaging, chat, posting on the winner’s wall or posting on your own Page wall).

·         You CAN’T choose a fan for a random draw since this means that you would use Facebook to collect entries unless you do it somehow through a third-party application.

YOU CAN

·         You CAN upload photos or videos for a contest but it has to be done via a third-party application and not through the default Facebook photo/video tab on your Page.

·         You CAN have users like your Page, check into a Place, or connect to your app before entering your promotion as long as the promotion is administered through a third-party application and is not used as a voting mechanism or a registration for your promotion.

·         You CAN collect names and emails from the contestants. This is actually recommended especially for the purpose of contacting the winner(s). This doesn’t give you the right to add email addresses to your mailing list unless you specifically include it in your terms and allow for opting out.

·         According to Social media Examiner: You CAN promote a contest on your Facebook page…”as long as there’s no requirement to do anything on Facebook; e.g., like your page, comment, upload content, etc. You can simply post a link on your page to the contest. And, to be fully safe, I would also include this disclosure, This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook.”

·         Mari Smith said the same to me, “…provided you comply with the rule to use an app to run the contest, you CAN use all the Facebook features to promote the contest, whether ads, wall posts, adding milestones, pinning to the top etc”.

In addition to Facebook’s own terms, your promotion also needs to follow local laws. Read: Social Media Promotions and the Law: What You Need to Know.

 

Here are some interesting apps to help you run Facebook Promotions and Contests:

·         Wildfire. Starting Price :$5 per promotion plus $0.99 per day

·         NorthSocial. Starting Price: $19.99/mth

·         Votigo. Starting Price: $30/week

·         Strutta. Starting Price: $99/mth for their Social Suite

·         Appbistro. Starting Price: Free

·         Faceitpages. Starting Price: Free

·         FanPageEngine. Contest App Coming soon.

·         Tabsite. Starting Price: Free

·         Woobox. Starting Price: $29/mth for promotions

·         Shortstack. Starting Price: Free for Pages under 2000 Likes

Note that these are my own interpretations of Facebook promotional terms. You should make yourself familiar with the Facebook official guidelines before running any promotions or contests on Facebook.

 

Sources:

Genevieve Lachance: socialmediatoday

https://www.facebook.com/page_guidelines.php#promotionsguidelines

https://developers.facebook.com/docs/guides/policy/policy_checklist/english/

http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/

Four Tips for Turning a Website Design Into a Brand Experience

Small businesses can learn lots from design firm Method's socially appealing philosophy.  Method's Interaction Design Director Ben Fullerton recently wrote an article for Fast Company about turning website design pixels into a brand experience for users.

Here are four solid bits of advice from the article:

·         Embody what you want people to feel. Brands "stand for something; they have both value and a set of values," Fullerton notes. What associations do users make when they hear your brand name (versus Nike, Facebook, Oxfam)?

·         Learn the difference between consistency and coherency. Consistency is ensuring your design shares common elements and behaviors across all modes of interaction, online and off. Coherency marries consistency "with a system of meaning that people can believe in and choose to be a part of: the brand," says Fullerton. "Tying the two together—interaction and brand—in a coherent system will facilitate experiences that are richer and lasting."

·         Design for interaction. Brands are no longer broadcasters; they're part of conversations on multiple channels. "Designers must become comfortable with designing for a world in which these interactions spread across time and modality," says Fullerton. "It is how all of these are perceived together that creates the voice, tone, and personality of a brand, and that helps to create meaning."

·         Design around your voice. A brand team's job is about shaping the brand's voice, building narrative around your product by identifying traits to which people will respond. And a designer's job is to subtly express that voice in the site design.

So remember, you only get one shot at a good, first user impression.  Website design isn't just about choosing site colors; it's about constructing the identity you'll portray to the world.

Source: MarketingProfs

Will Mobile Commerce Overtake E-Commerce?

How vital is mobile commerce becoming? Worldwide, mobile commerce is set to hit $119 billion by 2015. The projected amount of retail purchases made online by 2014 is 54%.

To better grasp mobile's incredible growth and its implications, Big Commerce, an e-commerce software company, recently studied analyst and trend-watching data from various sources, then created the infographic below. 

Source: MarketingProfs

Make a Picture Worth a Thousand Conversions

Websites are great ways to relay lots of information—and that's a blessing and a curse, as business sites pack in as much about themselves, their products, their customers, their services, as they possibly can.

Against that daily data barrage, the use of imagery can pay off big, KISSmetrics tells us in a recent post at its site.

Here are some of its tips for using images to meet website conversion goals.

• Remember That Emotions Rule. Making a user feel a certain way compels action. Make customers feel happy, proud, or wanted by depicting gestures as simple as a smile or a knowing glance. Human Touch, a massage and wellness vendor, uses images on its site to give users a sense of the feelings they'll have upon receiving their products: joy, relaxation.

• Try a Mascot. Mascots are memorable and emotional marketing tools. Email marketing service MailChimp personifies itself with a perky chimp in a mailman’s hat, adding personality and relatability to its services; Nestlé appeals to mothers and kids by using its blue bear Bo to market baby food.

• Add a Human Touch. Few things are more relatable than a human face. Medalia Art discovered in A/B testing that photos of artists converted better than simply showing the art: Conversions increased 95%!

• Think Outside the Box. Leverage our diversity of technology. Due Maternity used images that spin 360° for certain products on its site. Conversions for these products rose 27% versus those marketed with two-dimensional shots. They are currently adding video to their fashion spreads.

• Validate With Validation. People like getting a sense of how others feel about a product or service; it reassures them. Infusionsoft puts customers' testimonials and photos front-and-center.

• Cut Your Reliance on Bad Stock Imagery. Stock photograpy can be cheesy—and easy for users to identify—which makes them feel less valued. Choose photos that are emotionally and aesthetically right for your brand persona. McAfee showcases one well-chosen image to relay its message of security.

• Test Your Changes! Never stop learning about what works and what doesn't; often, what works evolves. Effective testing software includes KISSmetrics and Google Website Optimizer.
  Source: MarketingProfs

10 Reasons Why You Need a Mobile Site

With smartphone's taking the majority share in mobile phone usage in America this year, it's easy to see that the future of Web is mobile. No one can afford to ignore it.

Astute advertisers, developers, and brands are creating experiences that connect, convert, and engage their audiences before the mobile revolution consumes them.

Still on the fence regarding whether to make the move to mobile? MarketingProf has provided this list which should obliterate any reasons against putting mobile at the top of your digital must-haves.

Mobile App vs. Mobile Optimization -- Do you know the difference?

We often hear our clients say, “I want a mobile app for my website.”  When we hear this, we immediately start asking questions.  Why do we ask questions?  More often than not what our client really wants is a mobile optimized website.  So, what’s the difference?

 

Mobile App is a term used for a mobile application that is a downloaded program to your mobile device.  Each application is custom written for a specific type of mobile device; iPhone, Android, Windows, Blackberry, and/or iPad.  Once the App is completed, the user would go to the appropriate “store” for their mobile device and download the App to their mobile device.  Apps may be free or there may be a charge for the App.  Things to consider when determining whether or not you want to develop a Mobile App:

·         What is the purpose of your app?

·         What features will the app provide?

·         How many pages will be in the app program?

·         Will the app be free or will there be a charge for its download?

·         How often do you foresee the app being updated?

·         Do you want updates to be automatically pushed out to the user?

·         What different mobile devices do you want your app available on?

Once you have answered these questions and more, an application is submitted to the appropriate mobile device’s governing body, such as Apple for an iPhone.  The governing body reviews the concept for the Mobile App and either approves it or rejects it.  This process may take up to four (4) weeks.  Upon approval, the Mobile App may be developed, tested, and deployed.  As one may gather from this very brief synopsis, the development of a Mobile App is a rather complex process and costs for a Mobile App can range from $15,000 to $100,000+ depending on the complexity of the app and the number of devices it will be presented on.

Mobile Optimization is a term used when your website is optimized for its presentation on a mobile device.  This is also referred to a Mobile Website.  There are two primary ways in which a website may be optimized for a mobile device.  The first is to take an existing website page and reformat it to display on a smaller screen.  This may be done by eliminating graphics and images or reducing the content displayed on the mobile device.  The second way is to custom create mobile pages for critical information that you want easily displayed to the mobile website user.  Things to consider when developing your mobile optimized pages are:

·         Who is your target audience for the mobile access?

·         What is the critical information that your target audience will be looking for on their mobile device?

·         How many pages do you need to mobile optimize?

For the vast majority Mobile Optimization is answer to what is truly needed.  It takes less time to develop and deploy mobile optimized pages and the cost of Mobile Optimization is significantly less than a Mobile App; typically costing in the $3,000 to $7,000 range depending on the complexity and number of pages to be optimized.

For more information, please contact TCG at 304-755-1324 or tcginfo@tcgwedoweb.com or visit us at http://www.terradoncommunications.com/home/Our-Services/Mobile-Apps-Templates.aspx.

5 Ways to Make Your Website Tablet-Friendly

You're seeing tablets more and more: on subways, in planes and in waiting rooms. To ensure you don't miss out during this cultural switch in reading habits, a number of publications have covered ways to ensure your site is tablet-friendly.

We've decided to highlight the tips provided by CIK Marketing, as they're practical and immediately useful. Here are five:

1. Avoid Flash. Adobe's Flash technology doesn't work on Apple mobile devices— and Flash tends to weigh sites down in any case. Substitute flash with HTML5 or JavaScript, which provide the same cool effects.
   
2. Ditch the drop-down menus. Instead, consider a showcase page for different sections of the site, better enabling tablet users to find all available subpages. If you want to keep your drop-down menus, create visual cues (like arrows) that show users the menu can be opened and expanded.
3. Design for touch interaction. Tablet users aren't clicking or scrolling with a mouse, so design buttons the size of a fingertip instead of a cursor. Links placed too closely together will also frustrate users; remember that touching and swiping are the gestures to design for these days.
4. Choose colors, textures and typography wisely. Bright background colors and patterns reduce the appearance of glare or smudges on an iPad or Blackberry Playbook. Avoid solid blacks that look like un-textured voids. Ensure your font isn't too large or too small for tablet navigation. When in doubt, test on a tablet or two.
5. Design forms to fit. Many company sites require users to fill out a form. Look yours over and ensure all fields are clear and easily accessible to tablet users. Avoid including too many fields, as longer forms on tablets are frustrating.

The Point: Think flat and touchy. The reading-and-browsing world is moving further in the direction of tablets, making it crucial that your site experience be as seamless there as it is anywhere else. A few tweaks could be all you need to ensure compatibility.

Source: MarketingProfs