This was first published in the August issue of Franchise Times.

As a consumer, I am a big fan of Einstein Bagels (give me a honey-whole-wheat with honey almond any day), so it makes sense that I would “like” them on Facebook.

Even though I am a fan and although I see them in my stream, I didn’t really pay attention (not even for the free bagel days) until I saw they were having trouble with their giveaways. And then I paid attention because, as a communication professional, I watch pretty closely on how companies handle crisis. Continue Reading »

Guest post by Karen Altes, manager of outreach programs for the Institute of Real Estate Management.

A few years ago, as manager of the student outreach program for a trade association, I suggested that if we really wanted to reach college students we needed to be on Facebook. I now run the association’s Facebook fan page, Twitter feed, YouTube channel, and LinkedIn group, and I have learned the reality of the adage “be careful what you wish for.”

The Ascent

Getting the go-ahead on a new initiative is exciting! You start out with lots of energy and great ideas, and it will shine through to your colleagues and customers. I harness my enthusiasm to ensure I provide our members, clients, and industry with frequent and relevant updates via our social media outposts. I also get to teach our members how they can use social media tools for themselves and their businesses. Earning a reputation as the resident expert makes you the go-to person when your coworkers need training or advice. Continue Reading »

Guest post by Martin Waxman, co-founder and managing partner of energi PR, Communications, Digital in Toronto.

My name is Martin W., and I am…addicted to social media.

It started innocently enough with my first BlackBerry. I think I would call that my gateway connection.

Or maybe it happened earlier. With webmail and the email inbox I had to check at all hours of the day and night – and respond, of course. We’re talking ‘90s instantaneous here. Continue Reading »

After reading an interesting article about another social website that popped up, I had this yearning feeling to share and discuss it, but with whom?

I didn’t want to share it on my personal Facebook page, as most of my friends and family couldn’t care less.  I thought about Twitter, but I only check that once a day so the conversation would mostly stop after one or two tweets.  Then I thought about posting the link on the Arment Dietrich Facebook community, and I stopped myself and thought, I should find a community where all members are interested in the same types of news that I am outside of my company. Continue Reading »

The third podcast of Inside PR is in the can and this week we discuss Facebook privacy (listen to it here - we’re getting better at it!), which has become a pretty big topic of late as the giant continues to change its security options. At least once a day, there is something circulating that tells you which buttons to change to keep your information more secure.

But I think the issue here  is less about Facebook letting Google search our walls and more about what it is we put on the web for the entire world to see.

We don’t think about the entire world seeing what we’re posting because we think it’s behind a “locked” door and no one can see it. Continue Reading »

Guest blogged by Molli Megasko Last month I gave you five tips to create a Facebook page.  Now that you’ve had a chance to master the basics, it’s time to take it to the next level. Following are three Facebook apps no company should be without.

Networked Blogs – If you or your company has a blog, this application is a great way to include your posts on your page, but it also distributes on the Facebook blog network. With this app your friends, and your friends’ friends, can follow and subscribe through Facebook. Continue Reading »

This post is guest blogged by Molli Megasko, an account executive with Arment Dietrich. Molli started her career with us and has been integral in how we’ve moved our business model in the past 18 months. She is our Facebook guru and is here to talk to you about creating a fan page, engaging with your fans, and developing creative ideas for posts and photos.

Yesterday every person wanted to be on Facebook and today every company wants a fan page.  When working with clients I begin with the same five tips and we work from there.  If you can master these five, the fun strategic stuff (contests, crowdsourcing, and word-of-mouth) comes easy.  And don’t forget, I get paid to do this, so I would pay attention!

1.  First and foremost, get a unique URL.  Instead of having the URL be www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/pages/crazylongcompanyname/119081977941, make it www.facebook.com/CompanyName (or something similar).  It’s really easy to do this.

If you are the administrator, go to the Facebook user name Web site and follow the directions.  If you have a unique URL, you can share it with  your customers, employees, stakeholders, and prospects. You can include it in your email signature and in any marketing, communication, and sales  materials.

2.  Now that Facebook pages are a part of Google’s real time search results (as of this week), I suggest using keywords liberally and constantly update your company information.  This helps with search engine optimization and also turns your fan page into a second Web site for potential customers to learn more about you and your company.

3. Add photos of employees and capture fun stuff around the office.  Take a look at the Arment Dietrich fan page (and fan us while you’re there!).   One reason our fan page is a hit is because we’ve turned it into a personality.  By letting your fans see the faces behind the brand, it creates loyalty and customer engagement and connection. Remember, people want to see inside companies; no, they don’t want it, they expect it. Give them the personality of your culture and your team.

4.     Now you can focus on your posts.  Most fan pages post a lot of company info, which is GREAT, but it’s not giving your fans a reason to engage or come back.  This is not another avenue for your news releases, nor is it a sales tool. Asking questions and posting articles that are not self-serving are the easiest ways to get your fans talkin.  Gini says time and time again…LISTEN!  Having a fan page is a great way to listen because you can ask questions and your fans will tell you what they think.  Listen to what they are saying and start communicating WITH them.

5.     Now for my favorite part.  Once you get more comfortable on Facebook, take a look at the insights and download the interaction data (both in the administrator’s dashboard) to help you track and set benchmarks to ensure each post is getting more clicks than the last.  I love tracking our company’s Google analytics and seeing how many people come to either here or to the Web site through Facebook.

What are some of the things you recommend people do when starting a Facebook fan page?

Last January I had to make a really tough decision – keep people employed for a few more months and close the business or lay them off right then and save the business. Then (last year sucked), when we realized the business model was completely changing, I had to make another hard decision: Keep people who I really liked having around or let them go so we could hire experts in digital communication. Continue Reading »

Last week we launched a Facebook fan page contest to create a new tagline for our newly designed Web site, set to launch late this week. We’ve had some great entries, but want to also open it to our blog readers.

Following are a couple of our favorites. But they are totally unprofessional, which is why we need your help.

* Arment Dietrich. Better Than Sex.

* Arment Dietrich. The Only Thing We Spin Is Our Bike.

The winner not only gains fame, but will have the tagline (with credit) on our home page. Heck, we might even have a t-shirt or mug to give the winner.

Before we changed the business model our tagline was “Service. Results. Spirit.” Boring, right?

But with the new Web site and our new business model (don’t know about the new business model? Read more here), we figure it’s a good time to get rid of the boring and introduce something really good.

So…I leave it in your hands. What tagline do you think best represents Arment Dietrich?

Yesterday I was friended on Facebook by someone I don’t know. We have a lot of mutual friends, so the friend request makes sense, but I don’t like to let people on my personal Facebook page who I don’t know in real life.

This happens often, especially because of all of the speaking that I do, and I always thank the person for the invite and suggest, instead, they become fans of Arment Dietrich, where I spend a lot of time engaging with clients, prospects, potential candidates, and our employees. I know some people are put off by this because it sounds like I’m promoting the company. And, I guess I am. But it’s less to promote the company and more to engage with people I don’t know in a place that feels safe to me.

But for some reason, yesterday’s request is bothering me. I think it’s because his  response was, “thanks anyway”, which makes me believe I left a bad taste in his mouth.

If you know me well, you know I want to be liked by everyone. And you also know I have trouble saying no. So when I perceive I’ve hurt someone’s feelings or left a bad taste in their mouth, I wonder how I could have handled the situation differently. At the same time, I am (in my wise old age) finally learning I need to have some boundaries.

Right now, my boundaries are as follows:

* On my personal Facebook page, I have to know you in real life (which is why, Dave Van de Walle, I don’t have very many friends there).

* On the Arment Dietrich Facebook fan page, I will talk to anyone there, even if it’s negative. This is where we’re building our culture and building relationships with people we might like to work with in the future (as well as people we work with now).

* On Twitter, as long as you don’t look like a spammer, I will follow you back and I will get to know you. My friend Nancy Lyons always teases me because I will talk to anyone on Twitter. It’s true. I will. I love Twitter and the relationships I’m able to develop using that tool.

* On LinkedIn, I will accept your connection IF you tell me how we know one another. The “I’d like to add you to my personal network” invite doesn’t work for me, unless I truly do know you. I never click “I don’t know this user,” but I do often just hit “archive” instead of “accept.”

What are your boundaries? How would you have handled the friend request I mention above?

*Photo courtesy of GeekSugar