Any social media experts out there?

[Maggie May]

Hey guys, so I'm starting a new endeavor at work - a social media campaign! Now, I've been on Facebook since it started in 2004 and am pretty experienced with it, but using FB for business is pretty different. Anyone have any experience with this? I've been reading lots of social media blogs, etc. for ideas, so I've got a general grip on what I'm doing, but not completely! ha! Also, looking for recommendations for a tab/design developer. Also... I have been avoiding Twitter like the plague because I tend to get obsessed with things (Like Instagram... I've been on it for 1.5 years and am nuts about it), but I feel I should probably get on Twitter at least for my job and I have no idea how to use it. Thoughts, ideas, and advice welcome!!

[oystergirl]

Frankly, I don't know her name, but google the food blog Chow and Chatter and then send her an email on her blog. She is the best i know as far as social media and business from a user friendly situation.

Twitter is easy and all based on trends instead of key words. Creating your own trends are easy, simply search for a trend in the search bar, say #nerdfitness and if it doesn't appear then you can create it and use it as your own. then keep posting things related to your # hashtag as they call it and you will start to trend. The more people retweet your tweets and use your hashtags the more traffic you are getting.

[So Late So Soon]

Part of my brothers job has to do with social media stuff, so I'll ask him gets home from work tonight.

[ScrabbleGirl]

It all kind of depends on what you are looking to promote.

The way business pages work on Facebook is kind of annoying. Either you create a page from your own account (or a new one if you don't want your personal account affiliated) and getbpeople to "like" it. Or you can make a new account in your business' name and hope Facebook name checker let's it slide.

There are pros and cons, but the main one I come up against as an events promoter is that if you have a page, you cannot invite people who like your page to an event. It seems like this is because the page isn't an account, so can't have friends. You can get around this by making an account rather than a page.

The cons of making an account rather than a page is that there are built in visitor analysis tools in the page function, but not in an account. Like I said, pros and cons of each, it just depends what kind of business it is.

[Maggie May]

Well, I've already created a page from my personal profile. I added my coworker as an admin and am going to link a work email to it. We're a nutritional supplements company. I was all set to start up the page a couple months ago, but then they launched Timeline, so all the landing pages and everything went out the door. I guess I'm just asking for help on the side of finding a designer/tab creator, and other advice for building an audience, etc.

[ScrabbleGirl]

Okay, cool. Do you have a mailing list already? Gaining FB followers will be easier if you are able to offer some kind of bribery/competition that is only going to be available to those who 'Like' your page. Cross promotion can help here too, if you have any other companies that you work with, or could potentially share customers with (fitness instructors? Gyms?).

The best tab/page designer I've found is http://www.pagemodo.com/ .

Here's a video that explains everything.

http://vimeo.com/11324783

Getting involved on Twitter is super easy because it recommends people for you to follow based on your interest and the other people you subscribe to. It's themed by content which is really helpful when you're trying to publicise something. I will say that the more interesting facts/info you post on Twitter (rather than promo stuff), the more followers you will get. You're looking for retweets here, not direct sales.

Hope this helps. I'm sorry if I'm just telling you stuff you know!

[Maggie May]

Thank you so much! I've seen Pagemodo but was looking for a rec. Awesome!