Do you know what Facebook Edgerank is all about? Most people I speak to don’t and are really suprised to find out how much it affects your visibility on Facebook.

Basically, it’s an algorthim designed to determine whether your status updates appear in your friends’ News Feeds or in your ‘fans’ (I know they’re not called that any more but I’ll use the term to differentiate from friends) News Feeds in the case of business pages.

What is Facebook Edgerank?

And why is it called ‘Edgerank’? Every interaction you have with Facebook is called an ‘Edge’ – a status update, uploading a video, liking something etc.

So Edgerank is a way to organise all that content creation and interaction to deliver what Facebook sees as the most important content for you in your News Feed.

When you are in your Facebook account you can be forgiven for imagining that everything that you post is visible to all those friends and fans.

In isolation why would you think any different. But if you start to think about your own friends and the pages that you have liked. Are there some who you never seem to hear from?

I bet there are. And sometimes you will come across them and then realise that you haven’t heard from them for ages, yet when you check their wall, they have been posting stuff.

Well, it’s all down to this think called Facebook Edgerank.

How Does Facebook Edgerank Work?

There are three elements to Facebook Edgerank that affect whether what you are saying appears in people’s News Feeds. The Facebook Edgerank calculation is a bit like the Google search algorithms; we don’t know exactly how it works but we can broadly explain what affects it.

First there is ‘affinity‘ and that is all about how much interaction that person has with you. So, you will appear in the News Feed of the people who interact with you more and that then gives them an opportunity to interact with you even more, which is a bit of a virtuous circle, isn’t it!

And remember, this is a one way relationship. You looking at and interacting with their profile or business page doesn’t increase the chances of you appearing in their News Feed, only in them appearing in yours, unless of course they respond to your interaction and interact back!

Second there is ‘weight‘ and that is related to the different ways that people can interact with you and the relative ‘value’ of those interactions.

A comment is thought to be ‘worth’ more than a ‘like’, a ‘like’ is worth more than the person just reading what you wrote and taking no action, of course! The holy grail is probably a ‘share’!

In the same way with content it’s likely that a video is of more ‘weight’ than an image, and that’s thought to be more valuable then a status update alone.

And weight can accumulate. An interaction (‘edge’) that prompts lots of likes and comments will likely increase the ‘weight’ of the original ‘edge’.

And the third element is about ‘time decay‘ – how long that interaction has been around. More recent updates have more impact, and are more likely to be seen than older updates.

This means that getting your timing right for updates (‘edges’) can mean the difference between your updates appearing in News Feeds and gaining Facebook Edgerank or not. Another virtuous circle (or vicious circle, if you don’t get it right!).

Summed up, what we should be trying to do is to promote interaction with us on Facebook to ensure that our updates appear on as many News Feeds as we can (otherwise, what’s the point?!) and that means: using higher ‘value’ edges – that encourage interation – posted at the right time.

Check out your Facebook Edgerank Score here

Image(s): FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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In the next in our series of guest blogs, Jo Shaer warns us about unscrupulous people taking advantage of small business owners.

Further to my recent post about the trials and tribulations of setting up a small business website, I have come across a couple of other problems that business owners – both online and off – need to be aware of.

The problem with having two such big players as Facebook and Google calling the shots on the internet is that a lot of unscrupulous people try to get in on the act by taking their name in vain.

I have come across these telephone calls and emails from people who say they are from Google or from Facebook several times in the last couple of months.

Fake Telephone Calls From Google or Facebook

A client recently agreed to let two such companies handle both his Google Adwords and Facebook Ads at a cost of around £100/month each. In both cases, this expenditure has resulted in very little actual traffic, and requests for statistics so that he can measure his return on investment have met with the supply of very paltry amounts of information.

What is most irritating is that these would have been easy to monitor had he handled his own campaigns or if the agency had set them up through his own Google Adwords/Facebook Ads accounts. But, of course, that type of access equates to accountability and these charlatans don’t want you to have the evidence to be able to ask difficult questions about a campaign which has not produced much value.

In any event, the stock reply to a less than successful campaign is always that the landing page provided by the customer was ineffective so it’s not their fault. You have been warned!

The problem is that people can ring up claiming to be from Facebook or from Google and you have no way of knowing the truth if you don’t know the right questions to ask.

If they are selling ads, the truth is that they may have done some form of Facebook or Google Adwords course.

However, that does not give them the right to misrepresent themselves by saying that they are from, or even affiliated to, the big two – as I told ‘John from Facebook’. who tried to sell me ‘exclusive’ ads on the platform recently.

A few days later, I got a call from a well known local directory who wanted me to take out a paid listing with them. He actually said that, because they worked with Google, they got preferential treatment in the rankings.

When I took issue with him, he backtracked sharply and said that I had misunderstood – but you can bet your life that there will be an awful lot of business owners out there who didn’t ask for clarification and are now under the impression that they can guarantee an entry on the front page of Google if they have a paid listing in that directory, which is totally untrue.

It’s all in the way they word their sales patter and, if you don’t know any better, it is very easy to be misled and part with an awful lot of cash for very little return. I’m not saying that all the salesmen do this but these are the ones that have come to my attention so you need to take care out there.

Fake Emails From Google

But the lengths to which some of these unscrupulous characters will go was highlighted again last week, when another client messaged me asking about an email he had received from Google. It actually had ‘google-update’ in the ‘From’ part of the email and, clicking the link, took you to a page that had the familiar multi-coloured logo at the top of the page.

They were purporting to be offering a service that could help avoid any loss of rank due to the recent algorithm change… for a monthly subscription.

It was only when I found a way to go through to the US version of the site that I found a very small disclaimer at the bottom of the page stating that this company was not linked with Google in any way but they were just showing an example of a search engine to which they would submit your site.

Misleading doesn’t even begin to cover it and it just makes me incredibly angry that these people can get away with this scam, because you can bet there will be some UK and US business owners who will sign up… because they think it’s Google.

Real Telephone Calls From Google

Having said that, you do sometimes get calls from Google Places to verify changes that have been made to your local listings. One word of warning is the change that has been made to the section about whether customers can come to your location. Previously, we were all advised not to check this box as it could severely impinge on your ranking.

Google have now changed their ruling and if you are showing that customers can come to the physical address that you have listed but they can’t actually do that, you will be penalised. In the US, Google Places have been telephoning business owners to check and one unfortunate individual found that his entire listing disappeared because he had transgressed.

So, if Google call and ask whether customers can come to your business, the expert from over there advises that you say yes. You can then go in and alter your listing to reflect the true position!

Have you received a telephone call or email from Google? Do let me know if I’ve missed any examples of rogues or if you have had a bona fide communication by leaving a comment.

Jo Shaer directs traffic every day as a real life lollipop lady and through Local Business Marketing with Lollipop Local. Discover how your business can get found online by customers in your area who are ready to buy.

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In the next in our series of guest blogs, Sam gives us 3 creative ways to improve your content. Content really is king and needs to be central to your online marketing

Even if you have a successful blog, there is always room for improvement. Further, if your posts start feeling stale or boring, you could actually lose some of the readership you have worked so hard to get. With this in mind, it is important to ensure that your blog content is interesting and will keep readers returning along with bringing in new visitors.

People usually only subscribe to a few blogs, so you want to be sure to set yourself apart from other writers that deal with your same subject matter. Making sure that you consistently provide well written, factual and easy to read articles is key to keeping your blog growing. To do that, here are three great ways to kick your content into high gear.

1. Research

There are two reasons that research is critical to quality blog content. The first is that you need to be sure that your information is accurate so that people rely on your posts and opinions. No matter how well written your content is, it is irrelevant if it is factually incorrect. It is very important to the success of your blog that you be taken as a reliable source for information and that people respect your opinions. The other reason that research is necessary is because it is a treasure trove of blog ideas and topics. Even if you are incredibly well versed in your blog topic, there are always new ideas and innovations that people are coming up with. Research will keep you abreast of changes and give you material for original and insightful blog content.

2. Use Guest Authors

Another great way to improve the content of your blog is to have guest writers create posts. This will bring a fresh voice and perspective to your site. Other authors can add a different point of view and style of writing, which will be an interesting change of pace for your readers. Additionally, you can be a guest author on other blogs. This will give you the opportunity to expand your readership and share traffic with other blog sites. These guest authors can be from the same field that your blog is written about or they can be from fields related to yours. As long as the guest writer is informative and their topic relates to your blog, your readers will welcome a new point of view. Further, if you find yourself stuck for content ideas, having a guest author come in can take the pressure off of you, and often their blog post can give you ideas for subject matter in the future.

3. Use Humor and other Styles in Your Writing

No matter what your topic, even if it is technical or academic, or perhaps especially in those occasions, humor is nearly always welcomed. While not every post needs to have a lighthearted or humorous tone, it is important to change up the style of your writing from time to time. You clearly do not want your content to suffer from adapting your writing style to make your content more interesting, but there are many times that you can throw in the occasional article that is not written in dry text. This will keep readers on their toes, and keep them coming back for entertaining and informative content.
Sam is a blogger who writes about a variety of marketing topics from ‘how to create the perfect landing page’ to tips for using social media effectively.

Sam is a blogger who writes about a variety of marketing topics from ‘how to create the perfect ‘landing page‘ to tips for using social media effectively.

Image: photostock / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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I found this great Slideshare presentation showing Facebook Timeline Covers and I thought I’d share it with you. Some of them are so clever.

I particularly like Slide 4 with the girl in the washing machine! And no 7 is very funny.

If you like Slide 8 – the pinboard – you can download an image that is similar to use for your own from Fan Page Covers.

Slide 24 is very clever and I wish I’d thought of it first!

My favourite is probably Slide 46.

Which is your favourite? What about your own Timeline Cover – is it cool? Post a link in the comments so we can have a look

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I haven’t really got into the whole infographic thing. There is a trend to use them to explain statistics and concepts and share this information on platforms like Flickr and Pinterest.

They are nice and visual and can often simplify complicated concepts. I just don’t like having to scroll around to read them properly!

Pinterest Infographic

And then I came across this one on the Intuit website and thought it was very nifty. It’s an infographic that takes you through a decision flow chart to determine if your business would benefit from being on Pinterest.

I like the decision bit of it; it’s not just an image explaining a concept or showing some stats – you can use it as a tool to help you to make a decision about Pinterest.

Here you go…should you be on it?

via: Should Your Business Be on Pinterest? Find Out [INFOGRAPHIC]

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I guess you will have heard about the new Facebook Timeline for Business Pages that is hitting Facebook at the end of this month. That may be presumptuous of me given that I follow all things social media and you may not, but it seems that everywhere I turn there is another blog post on the subject, so I thought I’d join the throng!

I have decided against trying to reinvent the wheel though. I have found some excellent resources for you to refer to when considering your own Business Page and deciding what you are going to do when moving over to the Facebook Timeline for Business format.

You can change over straight away if you’d like, as soon as you’re ready, but in any event on 30 March you will wake up to the new format, so it’s good to think ahead and test out a few options!

Facebook Timeline for Business Pages – what’s happening?

This first blog post explains in clear English what the main changes are. To begin with there was a fair amount of panic about not being able to use a landing page. Vicki explains that this is not as bad as it might seem!

Facebook Timeline for Business Pages – What’s New | Business 2 …

If you haven’t already heard – all Facebook business pages will be upgraded to the Timeline layout on March 30th.

Facebook Timeline for Business Pages – What You Need to Know

This is one of the most comprehensive, and clear, posts I’ve come across taking you through 28 points in relation to the new Facebook Timeline for Business. I particularly like the new option to see the people and pages who have liked your page. That will be a great opportunity to connect with those people and nurture those connections going forwards.

They also give some great examples about the type of cover photo you can use to best effect.

28 Things You Need to Know About the New Facebook Business Pages

The New Facebook Pages with Timeline are here. Here are 28 things you need to know about previewing the new design, timeline cover photo, updates, the admin panel, Insights, and custom content.

Facebook Timeline for Business Page Help from Mari Smith

The guru of Facebook is Mari Smith and she is being her usual generous self and is offering her own, very comprehensive guide to the new Timeline, including a marked up screenshot. Here is her tweet about it.

MariSmith

Facebook Timeline for Business Pages – Mega Guide – http://t.co/VrjmIHfe [Includes marked up screenshot!]
Thursday, March 15, 2012 3:17:11 AM

Facebook Timeline for Business Pages – Main Observations

Do bear in mind that it will be much more obvious moving forwards if you haven’t updated your page in a while. Engagement on Facebook is a little ‘chicken and egg’ – if people don’t seem to be visiting the page by not leaving comments and joining in the conversation it can be a little disheartening and that can result in less activity from the page owner. Of course that then discourages engagement from any new visitors as the tumbleweed blows across the profile and so it goes on.

So, even more than before you really need to get a plan in place to enable regular updates on your Facebook Timeline for Business Pages. And by regular I don’t mean multiple times a day or even every day, just that there is a rhythm to the updates. And please also make sure that you are responding to anyone who does take the time to stop and comment. So many businesses start a page and then ignore comments and questions on it, which really defeats the object!

The Timeline is very visual. Images will become much more important so you need to give some thought to how you can best represent your businesses via imagery. Clearly, that will be much easier for some businesses than others!

What’s happening with Landing Pages?

As described above one of the main issues many people had with the changes was the removal of the ‘Welcome Page’ option so that visitors to your page will be sent straight to your Timeline now when you may have previously sent them to a Welcome Page, your ‘landing page’.

As Mari Smith says in her post, referenced above, each app you use still has a unique URL so you can still send people directly to those app pages from Facebook ads, status updates, tweets, signature links etc. They just won’t go there if they happen to come across your page more organically. So, there isn’t as much change with that as would initially appear.

Mari recommends looking at the ‘Social Starts’ Facebook Timeline for Business Page to see a great example of using graphics on the page. They are offering a FREE Photoshop Template and Action Script that you can download to create your own version using this link to their ‘landing page’ (see they do still work!)! Social Stars Photoshop Template & Action Script

Finally, to give you some inspiration when putting your own new Facebook Timeline for Business together, here are some great examples courtesy of Hubspot.

9 Excellent Examples of Brands Using Facebook’s New Page Design