Who You Know or What You Know?

I am often asked about the difference between Twitter and Facebook.

Depending on the person doing the asking, there are a number of different answers that might make sense to them.

Facebook is for the people you already know and Twitter will help you reach the people you want to know.

Facebook is about who you know and Twitter is about what you know.

Facebook is all inclusive and Twitter is enhanced through third party apps.

Facebook is profitable and Twitter is still looking for a way to monetize.

Facebook is personal and Twitter is professional.

But I think the best way to differentiate...

Facebook is about sharing an emotional connection that encourages engagement (branding) and Twitter is about sharing information.

This study, by Social Media Today, illustrates the amount of time that users spend with a link whether they click through from Digg, Facebook or Twitter.

Both have a great benefit - how will you use them today?

Jaci Russo

Sr. Partner/Brand Strategist

The Russo Group

photo by - www.joyfm.org/index.shtm

Brand The Conversation: Facebook

Tune in every Monday at 5:20pm to KPEL 105.1 for "Branding The Conversation: Using social media tools to expand your brand".  Today's topic is Facebook.  

What is Facebook?

Facebook is a free-access social networking website, developed by Mark Zuckerberg, where users can join networks organized by city, workplace, school, and region to connect and interact with other people. Users can also add friends and send them messages, and update their personal profiles to notify friends about themselves. Facebook’s mission is to give people the power to share and make the world more open and connected.

Why use Facebook?

Facebook uses the tagline, “Facebook helps you connect and share with the people in your life” to address the user’s main benefit. Millions of people use Facebook everyday to keep up with friends, upload an unlimited number of photos, share links and videos, and learn more about the people they meet. As a business, Facebook can be used as a major branding tool to build your accessibility and articulate your image and values.

Listen If Twitter is like the water cooler, then FB is like the clubhouse.  Facebook gives the members of the tribe a place to hang out.  

Respond 

The ability to eavesdrop on Facebook is equivalent to superhero powers. When you read that someone is disappointed with your product or service, respond to them. People want to be heard, they want to know that you care.

Conversation 

Your consumers want to get to know you and they want you to know them. Facebook provides the opportunity to converse with thousands of people easily.

Share 

Facebook is a great way to promote your content. Have a new video, new post on your blog, new product launch...share it on Facebook and let the world know about it. FB currently has over 200 million users worldwide.

Branding 

Facebook will allow your fans, and potentially your consumers, to get to know you. Your brand is not your logo or your product, your brand is how people feel about you. It’s your reputation. With FB’s customizable pages and large capacity for content, your brand can be very well represented.

Feedback 

Want to know what color of your product that your customers like best? Want to know if there is interest in your new product? Ask your followers. This feedback is a great tool for R&D.

How do you start?

Click here to download a white paper (click on Facebook 101) with information on how Facebook works and tips to control your privacy as well as case studies of other companies that have had great success.

Jaci Russo

Sr. Partner

The Russo Group

9 types of Facebook Friends

I was very leery of Facebook at first.  Truly didn't see the point of it and openly mocked my friends who were early adopters.  Then I got sucked in.  Big time.  

I have reconnected with friends from college, friends from high school, even friends all the way back in grade school that I haven't seen in more years than I care to admit.  

My grandparents who live in San Antonio are now on FB and it is a great way for them to keep up with me and their great-grandchildren.

So, needless to say I am now a fan and have even gotten clients through this social media tool.

Through all of my time on Facebook, the following article from the San Francisco Chronicle is the best summary of the Facebook experience and the 'types of friends' that you will meet there:

The Facebook ghost

Extreme Makeover, Facebook edition

The Facebook snob

The TMI

The Friend addict

The "Hey, remember me?"

The Facebook superfan

The glory days

The exhibitionist

The 9 types of Facebook friends

by Peter Hartlaub

Like just about everyone who joins Facebook, I started an account two months ago hoping to reconnect with old friends, network within my chosen profession and find out which people from my high school are still hot.

IMAGES

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What I didn't expect was how much the online social networking community would be just like going back to 11th grade. There are fewer people wearing Depeche Mode T-shirts and more people sharing random things about themselves, and my locker combination has been replaced with a password. But the sting of rejection, the sanctimony of the popular kids, dressing up for picture day and even the random chatter in the hallways is pretty much exactly the same...

Branding Through Facebook

Social Media  is the perfect partner for branding initiatives.  Utilizing social media (blogging, facebook, twitter, etc) provides the portal for one of the biggest fundamental points of branding - having a conversation with the consumer.

The person interested in your business, service or product doesn't want to just observe it from the outside.  To become a true brand advocate and spread the word - to become a part of your tribe - they need to be a part of the conversation.

Social media provide the best platform for that conversation to take place.  You can tell your fans about what is going on and most importantly,  get their feedback.  You can find out what features they are looking for.  What benefits they need.  What color they want.  It's like the best focus group, and you don't even have to cater it.  All you need to do is be brave enough to start the conversation, be prepared for their feedback, and be honest with your faults.  Consumers aren't looking for perfection, they are looking for truth.  You must be transparent if you want to be believable.

This article "Facebook Do's and Don'ts" by Evan Garber provides great tips on how to best utilize Facebook.  

You have to participate in the conversation about your brand - otherwise they will just talk about you behind your back.