The Sprout Shout

Making Facebook Pretty! Step One…

Kelli Camp — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 18:34:55 +0000

Despite being absent from this blog for a while, ok, maybe a LONG while, we here at CDK are getting this up and running again.

Today’s blog focuses on the big leader in Social Media Marketing: Facebook. We’re starting a new 7 Step Series to help you make your Facebook page more appealing to fans!

Did you know that Facebook has pretty strict rules for what you can show on your timeline cover image? Here’s the run down:

Facebook says you CAN showcase:

Imagery of your products if you sell things.
Your staff, if you focus on customer service
Your testimonials, if you have loyal customers.
Your brick & mortar storefront. This makes it easier to identify your shop when someone visits.

I often see logos in cover photos, but realize this may not be the best place for it logo since you don’t want to duplicate what you have appearing in the small profile image (which appears next to each post, so it SHOULD be your logo).

Facebook says you CANNOT showcase:

Price Details – if you sell a widget, your cover photo can’t say you can “Get 2 for $19.95!”
Sales Info – no January BOGO or any other promotional details
Contact Info – no web address, phone number, email or snail mail addresses. This info is to be listed in your “About” portion of your page
Begging for Likes – this isn’t good form anyway, but Facebook takes it one step further and says NO! NO!
Calls to Action – While this is a definitely a feature you need on your website, Facebook says you can’t put them in your cover photo. So, no “Call Today!” or “Click Here!”

For more details, visit Facebook’s help page page here: http://www.facebook.com/help/276329115767498 .

Using Negative Customer Reviews to Your Advantage

Kim Kiker — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 22:13:40 +0000

Remember that old saying, “If it’s too good to be true, it probably is,”? Using Negative Customer Reviews can help validate your company or product by validating your positive reviews. They also give you room and space to brag on your company without seeming too commercialish–(yes that’s my word, probably not one you would find in the dictionary). In this way you can bring up new products and improvements without sounding like a salesman.

Check out http://www.openforum.com/idea-hub/topics/innovation/video/on-bad-reviews-there-is-gold-in-there-inside-the-entrepreneurial-mind-series by Seth Godin, who is interviewing Top Chef’s Tom Colicchio and Food Network’s Sarah Moulton about how they use bad reviews – and bad reviewers – to make their businesses better.

What do you do to manage negative customer reviews?

Seasonal Growth through Holiday Incentives

Kim Kiker — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 22:55:18 +0000

Every year, the holidays come in–and not quietly. They come in with shouts and skips of joy, and most probably some groans from reluctant wallets. Not all companies are compatible with making holiday sales, but with some inspired marketing, you could still get some jingle in your pocket instead of some jangle.

By tying your service or product into Christmas, Thanksgiving, Halloween-what ever the occasion, you may have a better chance of getting attention. However, if you are hosting a contest or drawing pay particular attention to deadlines. Offices close early, people go on vacation and you don’t want your prize left hanging in the wind or null and void because no one collected it.

Don’t forget about employees either. This is one of the best times of the year for incentive contests and the boosting of morale. According to the Chicago Tribune, around lunchtime on Halloween at Tinsley Advertising in Miami, employees scrambled into their costumes and competed for prizes. This year, the Halloween party theme was advertising icons, and employees puzzled over their costumes for weeks, contemplating everything from Tony the Tiger to the Keebler Elf. Obviously, happy employees are productive employees.

Also around this time of year, sales and incentive deals will draw in clients as well as offers to contribute a percentage of a sale to your client’s favorite charity. For instance, a law firm might encourage lawyers to offer struggling clients some leniency. “We might be more considerate with discounts than at other times,” said Jeffrey Shapiro, managing partner for a Florida law firm.

So what are some ways your company uses marketing and incentives to survive the holidays?