Facebook and Twitter share  synergy as “must have” business tools for today’s marketing and sales efforts. Facebook is often used as a CRM for businesses and Twitter a prospecting funnel to move people to a Facebook page. With this in mind, how do you cross market and provide exposure for a company Facebook page using Twitter? Answer: hashtag events.

Hashtag Events On Twitter

#FollowFriday and niche hashtag events have provided participants with exposure, viral marketing power, new followers, and recognition. The next step in hashtags should be the creation of an event called #FacebookFri. Inner Architect has announced #FacebookFri with the intention of creating a new event with the same viral power of #FollowFri.

How Does #FacebookFri Work?

#FacebookFri provides Twitter users an opportunity to recommend their favorite Facebook business pages to their Twitter following and other Twitter users:

• Friday: although competing with #FF, the idea is to feed off of #FF traffic much the same way TV networks use strong shows to provide “lead in” audience to their new shows
• Hashtag: each tweet must include the hashtag #FacebookFri to join the event
• Link: capture the url address of the Facebook page you wish to recommend and include it in your tweet

What Are The Benefits of #FacebookFri?

• Exposure: by naming your favorite Facebook pages you are providing exposure for that page
• Friendsourcing: friendsourcing, known by many other names, works like this: by naming your favorite Facebook pages you are providing your stamp of approval. Friends have a greater tendency to adopt other friend’s recommendations
• Viral Marketing: when you recommend a Facebook page you are moving the link for that page into the Twitter stream of your followers and possible new followers
• Networking: #FacebookFri would help other Facebook page owners meet their peers, connect, network, and form possible alliances
• Lead Generation: #FacebookFri would be a prime activity to generate more traffic to your Facebook page enhancing the possibility of new leads for a business owner

A former colleague shared something with me the other day that I believe is true for most marketing professionals today. He told me that he didn’t understand how to best use social media for marketing purposes. The understanding comes when you recognize that social media tools are products of a second generation web that has impacted how the internet is used to communicate. This generation is about two-way connecting and engaging. It’s about building relationships. If you are not looking at Facebook as a vehicle for building and maintaining customer relationships, think again.

Consider that Facebook is a place where your customers and potential customers commune with their friends and family. They let into their Facebook world those they trust and you have the opportunity to gain entrance.

Here’s how to approach your customers via Facebook:

1. Create a Facebook Page (not Group or Profile) for your business.
2. Stream your blog, which should present content aligned with the mission of your business, into the Notes application on your Page to keep content flowing.
3. Determine what other value you can deliver from your Page and develop a schedule for providing it.
4. Make your customers aware of your Page and give them reasons why they should visit and become a fan.
5. Acknowledge and engage with your fans on an ongoing basis.
6. Keep adding to and updating your content strategy and stay disciplined with your schedule.

Photo credit: Jacob Cotter

Lately I’ve been thinking about what I learned over the course of 20 years in the direct marketing industry, with a mind towards understanding how those lessons can be applied to engage with customers and prospects in today’s Web 2.0 world…without the hard sell, non-permission approach. In the late 1980’s, I got an intensive education in the psychology of response while circulation manager on the launch team of what is now Health magazine, with Direct Marketing Association Hall of Famer, John Klingel, at the helm. We dropped over 12 million pieces of mail a year to reach our paid circulation goal of 250,000 in two years. The techniques we experimented with left me with some key understandings that are also inherent to social media. After all, human nature hasn’t changed; it’s just the playground that’s different.

Lesson 1: Involvement aids in the building of relationships

This is a lesson learned by those horrific “yes, no, maybe” stickers that we came to call involvement devices.  The mere act of engaging the customer to remove his or her sticker of choice from the outer envelope to apply to the order form produced greater response than a package without stickers.

Lesson 2:  People respond best to authenticity

We started to test a real stamp against what had long been used on the outer envelope, a postal indicia. The live stamp increased response pretty significantly. Our theory was that people associated the indicia with junk mail and the stamped envelope as  an authentic message directed at them personally.

Lesson 3:  People like to be acknowledged for their contribution

That vital first year at Health we addressed every subscriber as a “charter subscriber”. We sent them charter membership cards that gave them special privileges and our renewal efforts, which recognized their charter status, produced greater conversion than groups that followed.

Why are these lessons meaningful for direct marketers in today’s Web 2.0 world? Because they remind us that we understand the concepts that are vital to successfully engage with customers in Web 2.0 platforms. We just need to approach social media as tools for applying what we have learned about human behavior in a way that is acceptable to the tone of the Web 2.0 world.

Photo credit: holsro

My business partner Susan Hanshaw, Founder and CEO of Inner Architect, enjoyed a successful Direct marketing career which culminated with her position as Vice President and second in command of her firm. She performed and consulted on marketing campaigns that included Bank of America, Health Magazine, and Victoria Secret.

Together we are studying the possibilities of converging direct marketing methodology and social media. Two questions must be answered before we can move. We are asking for your help:

1. In today’s world has Direct marketing finally met it’s match within the social media space?

2. If Direct marketing and social media are compatible, what would be the best methods to utilize and the best social media networks for your Direct marketing campaign?

Entry Points

The idea in today’s world for any entrepreneur, job seeker, or company is to find an entry point in which they may engage with their audience. Once these entry points are identified, then the value message can be strategically delivered to targeted consumers, hiring managers, or specific audiences.

Peter Kim is a social media expert, strategist, and someone who intimately understands the importance of these entry points for companies. In Peter’s article for Mashable.com “22 Step Social Media Marketing Plan”  ,Peter outlines the major tools (and entry points) for companies and entrepreneurs to consider in their social media efforts.

How could you utilize these tools in a direct marketing plan?

Peter Kim’s Framework of 22 Major Tools for Social Media Marketing

1. Blogs (Johnson & Johnson, Delta Air Lines)
2. Bookmarking/Tagging (Adobe, Kodak)
3. Brand monitoring (Dell, MINI)
4. Content aggregation (Alltop, EMC)
5. Crowdsourcing/Voting (Oracle, Starbucks)
6. Discussion boards and forums (IBM, Mountain Dew)
7. Events and meetups (Molson, Pampers)
8. Mashups (Fidelity Investments, Nike)
9. Microblogging (method, Whole Foods)
10. Online video (Eukanuba, Home Depot)
11. Organization and staffing (Ford, Pepsi)
12. Outreach programs (Nokia, Yum Brands)
13. Photosharing (Rubbermaid, UK Government)
14. Podcasting (Ericsson, McDonalds)
15. Presentation sharing (CapGemini, Daimler AG)
16. Public Relations – social media releases (Avon, Intel)
17. Ratings and reviews (Loblaws, TurboTax)
18. Social networks: applications, fan pages, groups, and personalities (British Airways, Saturn)
19. Sponsorships (Coca-Cola, Whirlpool)
20. Virtual worlds (National Geographic, Toyota)
21. Widgets (Southwest Airlines, Target)
22. Wikis (Second Life, T-Mobile Sidekick)

What is influence and how does it pertain to your job search? If you are looking for ways to stand apart from the over crowded human capital pool, consider your abilities to influence others. In today’s job market, winning that coveted interview leading to a job requires the job seeker to become a target marketer.

But even with the best research, including desired companies and hiring managers, job seekers must be able to influence people in order to capture the interview leading to that desired position.

What is Influence?

In his interview for Guy Kawasaki’s fantastic must read “Reality Check”, Dr. Robert Cialdini PhD, Professor of Psychology at Arizona State University, and one of the world’s leading experts on persuasion, compliance, and negotiation defines influence:

“Influence means creating change in some way. Change can be in an attitude, it can be in a perception, or a behavior. But in all instances, we can’t lay claim to influence until we can demonstrate we have changed someone.”

Influence a “Science” for All

According to Dr. Cialdini the good news about influence is that it is no longer just for certain “gifted” individuals. Instead Cialdini insists:

“For centuries, the ability to be influential and persuasive has been thought of as an art, but there’s also a science to it. And if it’s scientific, it can be taught. It can be learned. So we all have the potential to become more influential.”

Influence Your Job Search

With the trend for job search turning to proactive target marketing and social media tools within an employment campaign, the natural progression for a job seeker is influence. How to influence hiring managers and persuade companies to give you a interview is the ultimate goal.

If you want to understand the importance of being influential in your job search, come back for my next installment in the series: “Job Seekers: Utilize 6 Ingredients of Influence.”