social media silo

Custom Landing Pages on Facebook

Good morning, Guerilleros! It’s about two in the morning local time, and I’m getting pretty tired. I’ve been up half the night playing Halo:Reach, and I think it’s about bed time. However, I have a ritual I follow before bed, and I wanted to cut you in on it.

I like to check out the blogs and sites I follow, as well as Facebook. You know, like Copyblogger, Mashable, and Techcrunch. They’re all kind of industry related. However, sparked by a Monster-fueled Halothon, I decided to pop in on the Xbox community over on Facebook.

I had never been to their FB page, and it was nice. They have 3  custom FBML pages. One for everyone, one for the hardcore gamers (like me!), and one for the new Kinect. Of course, even though it has a separate tab, the “All” page had the Kinect, as well. And that was also the landing page.

Just recently, I had to ask the Guerilla Chefe how to set my custom FBML page as the landing page for everyone. It’s so simple, I felt dumb for not knowing. So just to keep you from feeling dumb, here it is really quick.

Go to a page you admin. On a page you admin, click “Edit Page”

See? I even highlited what to click.

See? I even highlited what to click.

Click “Edit” under “Wall Settings”

Select which landing page you want from the drop-down.

That’s it in it’s entirety. I told you it was pretty easy, and for some reason I even included pictures. So hopefully you guys learned something, and now, I have a few more Covenant to kill before bed.

How to Build a Blog Community in 6 Easy Steps!

You should already be familiar with these sites!

You should already be familiar with these sites!

That’s right, Guerilleros! As I promised, today we are going to look at how YOU can build a loyal fan base around your blog! I discussed the importance of a blog in the last post, and today I am going to give you 6 steps to follow for building a blog community that can attract real attention. Everything in it is easy, and with a little maintenance, you can have a killer blog following! Read More…

Is Your Company Stuck With A Social Media Silo?

If your social media marketing is a silo, you're doomed to implode.

If your social media marketing is a silo, you're doomed to implode.

When I read this post over at Label:Indescript about social media silos, I immediately connected the subject to at least 4 business owners I’ve been in contact with.

Justin Boone, the author (and a darn good guerillero), talks about how companies start their social media strategies with a department (read blogger guy) that becomes completely alienated from the rest of the staff and from other departments.

I’d say that’s a better start than having NO SOCIAL MEDIA WHATSOEVER, but there are points to be taken from this when it comes to a powerful social guerilla.

The majority of businesses that decide to implement a blog or create dedicated social network accounts do so with only one objective: create more revenue.

Now that my guerilla is expanding into the fascinating world of “real” business (read offline companies), I’ve found that all these companies really know about social media marketing is that it’s “cheap” and can go “viral”.

Why They End Up With A Social Media Silo

The real benefits of creating an active community start when there’s a commitment throughout the entire company to share, engage, and participate in a public dialog.  A good guerilla is never won by one lonely guerillero, but by a tactiful team.

And I’ve experienced lots of lost battles when:

  • Companies fail to communicate with the social media deparment

The poor “blogger guy” is left hunting for material to post, and is left out with the task of tracking customer feedback and analysing google and twitter alerts.

Or, what is worse:

  • All of the social media material comes from the marketing department (the billboard approach)

That happens more often than necessary, but it seems to be that corporate mentality impregnated on offline people; old ads, product releases, listing of properties… The entire community is now a giant billboard!

Stimulate The Social Spirit

Turn projects in development over to the SM department, let them post updates. Collect feedback, and apply their comments into the design.

Integrate multiple areas of your company by asking them to report daily activities to the SM team. Motivate the staff to post their comments on the company blog and to interact with each other within the corporate Facebook page.

And one more thing:

QUIT THE RETURN ON INVESTMENT CRAP!

There are tons of ways to measure social media buzz, to ignite content syndication, and those are valid strategies to evaluate strategies. Hiring a web analytics expert is also a good idea.

But enough with the constant cry about time and effort wasted: if these companies havent noticed yet, online content doesnt “die”, and even though it may not be immediate, a solid online participation will pay huge dividends as online usage wont stop growing anytime soon.

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