Want to Be Seen on Facebook? You’ve Got to Think Like a User, Not a Marketer!

What do you do when you find yourself leaving the same long (very long) comment over and over again about the same subject on Facebook? Write a blog post, of course. Duh!

I know that many business owners are frustrated with the decline of their organic reach on Facebook, but if you look at Facebook from the User’s perspective, you’ll understand why Facebook’s changing algorithm is a very necessary engine in they way it all works. I’ve read some great articles with excellent tips on increasing your organic reach, but also too many articles out there about how Facebook does not work and that you’ve got to “pay to play”. It’s true that paying for Facebook ads (make sure they are highly targeted) will boost your exposure in the newsfeeds of users, but what about someone who isn’t ready to spend money on ads? Should they throw in the towel? Absolutely Not! If your business is not on Facebook, you are missing out on a plethora of potential business! If you are just starting out, or your ads budget is very tight or non-existent at the moment, you CAN improve your page’s organic posts. You just have to stop thinking like a marketer, and start thinking like a user.

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One of the biggest challenges many business owners struggle with is overlooking the fact that Facebook is designed with the USER in mind, not the marketers. What they/you see in your newsfeed is based on your behavior and your settings, that’s all. You’ll never see everything from everyone in your newsfeed. It would be scrolling so fast you could never read it anyway.

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Why Do Apps Need Access to My Profile?

If you are like most people, you have probably seen a message like this when clicking on an app link on Facebook and wondered what it all means:

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All apps will require basic information and your public profile in order for you to use them.  The image pictured above is what is required for the 22 Social App that I use to host my webinars on my Facebook Page.

A common misconception is that by clicking OK you are allowing the app to see your Friends List and giving the app access to your Friends’ data. This is not true. By granting access, you are allowing the app to search your Friends List for any users also using the same app.  If no one on your Friends List is using the app, the app will get no results. You are only giving the app permission to access a list of your friends that also use that app to enhance the social experience for the app users. This is usually a feature that works well with game apps so you can interact with your friends in the game who are also playing. In order for a person to show up in that list, both people must have given permission to share their list of friends with the same app during the login process. You can adjust your settings in either your About Section (for all audiences) or under App Settings (for just apps’ access).

[UPDATE 5/1/15] 22 Social no longer requires access to your Friends List. It was not something the app needed in order to function properly (like gaming apps do), so it was removed from the app configuration. You can always select which pieces of information you share by clicking on “Edit the info you provide” (see image below).

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There’s a section in one of my previous blog posts that goes into detail about how to change your setting on your Profile’s About Section. And Facebook has a great resource for those wanting to tighten up their app settings: Facebook’s Data Use Policy Regarding Applications.

All apps require access to one’s public profile (the part of the users profile that’s already public anyway). These are basic API settings for all apps. This does not mean that apps have access to your personal account. Things like gender and birthdate are needed for personalization and/or security reasons.  For example, to make sure you are not a minor if the content is not appropriate for children, to accurately refer to you as he/she or him/her, or to deliver information to you in the appropriate time zone.

If the app wants to post on your behalf (22 Social does NOT), you can easily manage that by simply setting the audience to Only Me like I show in this example:

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If you have any questions about this topic that I have not answered here, please leave a comment below.

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Happy World Introvert Day

Today is World Introvert Day! Did you know that a common misconception is that introverts are shy? While many shy people may be introverts, the two are not the same. I do not consider myself shy, but I am definitely an introvert. It’s more about the way my brain responds to external stimuli and how much or how little it requires to be healthy, happy, and functioning at its best. Introverts have enough internal stimuli that they can be fully energized just being alone, while extroverts need that external “noise” to remain stimulated.

This is a short post. I just wanted to share some of my favorite articles on introversion and a funny image I came across…

Revenge of the Introvert

5 Signs You Are An Introvert

10 Ways Introverts Interact Differently With The World

This one I just came across this morning: Who Intorverts Are (And Who They’re Not)

Oh, and it turns out my job as a social media manger is a good fit for my introverted brain according to an article on Forbes’ website listing The 10 Best Jobs for Introverts.

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Image source: Jen Lewis / BuzzFeed

 

Happy World Introvert Day!

 

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