The 8 Commandments of Facebook Content Creation

“Quit it with these long posts! I just ignore them!”

I recently posted a status on Facebook sharing my opinion of long posts (specifically on Facebook), backed up with a study of course. However, I believe content creation, in general, is such an important subject that I’d like to harp on about it a little more.

So in this article I’ll go into more depth regarding ‘post lengths’, but also provide you with 8 golden genius drops* of content creation advice.

*Golden Genius Drop: A piece of priceless advice that one’s mind may chew on.

Long posts SUCK (most of the time).

99% of those using social media are doing so for the reason described in the title – to be ‘social’. They’ll come on to check out what’s happening with their friends, maybe skim over a few news stories, watch a video or two, or check out a new restaurant. They don’t come on to read lengthy articles or to learn, in great detail, about any particular subject - We have blogs and news sites for that kind of stuff. At most, people will interact with links to articles that have a brief description before-hand to help them decide whether they want to spend time reading on.

According to Track Social, Facebook posts of more than 140 characters attract a significantly less amount of engagement (Figure 1.). However, this doesn’t mean you have to start cutting all of your posts down to Tweets. The beauty of Facebook is that there are no limitations here.

A long post can still gain a healthy amount of engagement IF it’s structured in the right way; but when I say long, I mean long within reason. My rule of thumb is that if a posts runs over 100 or so words write a blog article. Any more than 100 words and you enter into the boring/ignored category described at the start.

Figure 1

To find out about how to structure these longer posts that still provoke engagement, read on!

The 8 Commandments

Here are the 8 rules I follow when creating Facebook posts:

1.       Write an attention grabbing opening statement:

Think of your post like a newspaper article; the headline is the hook for readers.

2.       Good grammar and perfect spelling:

I shouldn’t need to explain this one. Poor grammar and misspelt words just looks careless, so be careful.

3.       Shorten links:

These save space and look far tidier (I have slight OCD…). Use Google URL Shortener to help you here.

4.       Use bespoke graphics:

Something I try to do as often as possible is use bespoke graphics or original photography. These present a professional image to followers, and will keep you out of copyright trouble!

Simply saving images from Google is lazy and risky. So if you can’t create bespoke graphics, or have no unique photography, then use websites such as Flickr to source images.

5.       Use Hashtags to label the subject, but that is all:

Unfortunately the introduction of hashtags into Facebook didn’t quite work out. According to EdgeRank Checker’s research, Facebook hashtags are actually less likely to make a post go viral. People also don’t tend to take part in public discussions on Facebook the same way they do on Twitter. So again, this makes the Facebook hashtag redundant.

However research aside, Facebook hashtags are a great way of labelling what your post is about. Think of them like labelling a blog article... These labels may attract your audience to read your post.

6.       Get to the fucking point:

As previously explained, people have short attention spans when spending time on social networks. Don’t bore your poor followers…

7.       Include a call to action:

Studies show that people are more likely to engage if asked to.

8.       Sign off with your website URL:

Not only does this make a post look professional, but it drives potential customers to the point of transaction.

If you’re purely using social media for PR purposes the same rule applies. The majority of your service/product information should reside on your website.

Let’s wrap it up

So there you have it, eight ways you can create more professional looking Facebook posts that will encourage engagement. All you need to do now is discuss an interesting or useful subject.

To give you an example of what a good post may look like, I thought I’d sign off by following my “8 Commandments”:

A Sweet-Ass Blog Article Sign Off:

I hope you enjoyed reading this article and, as always, would really appreciate any feedback. So who’s going to start the discussion? Comment below chums.

If you’d like to check out some of my Facebook posts then join me here: http://goo.gl/5nbmAV

#FacebookPosts #8Rules

www.dreamtheatremarketing.co.uk

Read More

Facebook is Doomed...Everyone under the age of 30 is leaving it… Bullshit

Facebook is doomed. Everyone under the age of 30 is leaving it…

This is a completely bullshit statement that some would have you believe. We’ve heard it all before; ‘Twitter is going to topple Facebook’, ‘Instagram is taking over’. Neither has happened yet, so I wish writers would calm down and refrain from these sensationalised statements until there is a major attack on the social media giant.

In the following article, social media expert (whom I greatly admire), Dave Kerpen explains that many younger Facebook users are dropping the social media platform to use other networks such as Snapchat & Vine. It seems that their parents and older family members are signing up and becoming very active on the platform… *Damn*

Dave's Article:

http://www.inc.com/Dave-Kerpen/teens-are-leaving-facebook-what-does-it-mean-for-your-business.html

The later part of this statement is true; an older demographic is beginning to take to the most powerful social media platform in the world. However, what has been missed out is that younger users are simply not engaging and sharing as much as they used to. The fact is that they are still, very much, present on Facebook. The statistics speak for themselves:

·         83% of 18-29 year old American internet users are on it.

·         73% of 30-49 year old American internet users are on it.

·         57% of 50-64 year old American internet users are on it.

The last time I checked, Facebook was more than just a platform to share pictures. A lot more.

It’s true that newer social media platforms such as Snapchat and Vine are on the ascendancy, but they have a long way to go before they will seriously affect Facebook. Right now they’re a pimple on the ass of Facebook, and Facebook have shown that they're pretty good at controlling these break outs.

Let’s take Vine for example:

Vine is the fastest growing social media app in the world. However, it currently only has 40 million registered users. They also haven’t announced the number of active users. All we know is that Vine activity dropped when, Facebook owned, Instagram announced its competing video service in June.

So, 40 million Vs 1 Billion… Facebook are hardly doomed. The truth of the matter is that by gaining 1 billion registered users, Facebook is well on its way to saturating the market.

There are 1.9 billion internet users in the world that have access to Facebook (China cannot access Facebook), so Facebook have captured 53% of the potential market. On top of that, Facebook saw a 2% growth between 2012 and 2013.

So, with the number people now on Facebook, of course growth has slowed down. It may even soon halt. But should this cause panic in the Facebook ranks? I’d say no.

Facebook, like Apple, have rocketed to the top and can almost touch the elusive glass ceiling. At this level any small attack at the foot of the market will have a small effect on usage and sales etc. There will always be others that will try to topple them from their throne. Unfortunately this is the life of a champion

.

I have every faith that Facebook will continue to stay agile and innovative for years to come, and will continue to cast there ever-seeing eye across the market.

  

To conclude:

As human beings, we are inquisitive and like to try new things. So we may drift between social media platforms, but for the time being that drift will always be between Facebook and another.

Read More

Writers - Adam's Current Favourites

So as I sat reading in my red, leather rocking chair, I had a thought: "maybe people would like to know my, current, favourite writers...".

Now, you maybe don't give a shit... but you're getting them thrown at you anyway.

Each of these four men have very unique writing styles that I believe makes great reading for young, or new writers; you'll learn a lot. The connection between each writer is the subjects of business, productivity and lifestyle.

So without further ado: 

#1: John Romaniello 
John’s Blog: http://goo.gl/cH5qJr

 John is, in his own words, "an angel investor, author and ranks between journeyman and expert in fields ranging from fitness to writing to marketing. He is the author of hundreds of articles, dozens of e-products, and one New York Times bestselling book.” Definitely a guy I’d like to chat with over a pumpkin spiced late (the best winter coffee available at the moment, and I aint a Starbucks guy).

 If you enjoy reading personality spilled on to a page, give some of John's stuff a shot (unless you’re not a fan of profanity). He writes mainly about health and fitness, but often includes articles on lifestyle and business. All subjects that he is an expert in.

#2: Seth Godin
Seth’s Blog: http://sethgodin.typepad.com/

Seth Godin is an extremely illustrious author, with 17 best sellers all around the world. Books such as Linchpin, Tribes and Purple Cow are some of his better known.

He writes passionately about the ‘post industrial revolution’, where he believes we must get back to the way of creating and innovating, as opposed to being financially supported by one company for life.

The beauty and USP (unique selling point) of his books is their length; they are noticeably short. Seth’s writing style gets his points across quickly and effectively. This is also true for Seth’s blog, which is one of the most popular in the world (type the word ‘Seth’ into Google and see).

Seth is a maverick; a true original of recent times.

 #3: Tim Ferriss 
Tim’s Blog: http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/

Do I even need to introduce this guy…?

No actually, I don’t.

If you don’t know who Tim Ferriss is, I assume you can’t read and aren't interested in business, productivity or lifestyle changes. If this is in fact the case, I think you’re reading the wrong blog. See ya pal.

#4: Duncan Bannatyne 
Duncan’s Blog: Doesn't have one… He’s old school.

 Duncan Bannatyne is the no nonsense, straight talking Glaswegian who makes Dragon’s Den worth watching. I know this may seem like a very strange choice compared to the previous trio, but I started reading Duncan’s books because I greatly admire his journey to the top and opinions on business (for the most part).

Duncan is a hard-working millionaire (I won’t use the phrase self-made ever, as every successful person is self-made. Success takes hours and hours of hard work), who’s expertise lie in the service industry. His career journey is an extremely interesting one, which makes his writing very believable. This short video might encourage you to try reading one of his 5 business advice books.

His writing style: no nonsense, straight talking and Glaswegian, i.e. no bullshit.

So...

If you’ve read and enjoyed, or not enjoyed, the works of these 4 men, leave your thoughts below in the comments section. Better yet join the conversation on our Facebook page: facebook.com/DreamtheatreLtd

Now get back to work!

www.dreamtheatremarketing.co.uk

facebook.com/DreamtheatreLtd
twitter.com/DreamtheatreUK

Read More

7 Social Media Time Savers

There’s no two ways about it, social media marketing is time consuming – if done properly. However, if you read and apply the seven tips I’ve provided in this article, you’ll feel like Dr. Who (apparently he’s the ‘Time Lord’).

The Excuses Reasons

Some excuses as to why people don’t have time to market their business through social media are entirely valid, but only some. The majority of excuses are, in fact, products of laziness and a lack of creativity. The good news is you’re about to get the answers to both sets of excuses.

I understand fully that some are trying to start/run a business along-side running a family or working a 9 till 5. Purely fitting in the time to service clients can be difficult, but it can be done. Pretty much all other excuses don’t merit a mention. Don’t be lazy is all I can say.

One health warning I’ll give straight off the bat is: rushed social media marketing can be detrimental to your business and reputation.

So to the 7 Tips

A few of these may seem like common sense to a lot of you, but guess what: common sense aint that common. Remember that.

1. Create a Post Planner

Your post planner should be linked to the decisions you made in your monthly strategy. This can be as simple as a spread sheet with the days of the week on it, and then under the days the types of posts you intend on creating that day. For example:

Monday: 1. Motivational video, 2. Post monthly offer.

Tuesday: 1. Engaging question, 2. Staff/location picture, 3. Upcoming events.

Wednesday: 1. Expert article – And so on…

You get the picture.

A good rule of thumb is 2 – 3 posts per day. You don’t want to flood your audience’s News Feed, and want to give each post time to be affective.

2. Use Scheduled Posts

Scheduled posts are awesome; purely and simply. It is a very simple tool that Facebook provides, and for other channels such as Twitter, I advise hootsuit.com.

Set your posts up for the day and they’ll be released at the times you have set. Bingo.

Facebook Scheduling

3. Use Pinterest or Evernote

Everyone should have somewhere to store inspiration at all times. As I carry my phone with me 90% of the day, I use Evernote – a great app that allows you to store notes, voice notes, web-links and images. Pinterest, if you don’t already know, is great for storing useful web-links etc.

This stored data can then be reviewed when it comes to creating content for your social media channels.

4. Time Block

Time blocking is simple, so I’ll keep this explanation short.

Block off a time period when you’ll work on a selected task, and turn off all distractions during this time (phones, internet etc.). You must only focus on this task and nothing can interfere with this time period.

Here is a useful link I posted on Facebook recently which explains time blocking perfectly:

http://www.wikihow.com/Time-Block

5. Link Facebook with Twitter with LinkedIn

By linking up your social media channels, anything you post on Facebook will be repeated on Twitter, and Twitter with LinkedIn etc.

I do warn you however, do not solely release content on one channel and neglect the others. This reeks of laziness. The types of content required for each channel varies. Treat Twitter like a bar, Facebook like your lounge and LinkedIn like a conference room.

6. Sleep Less

This can be nicely described using a famous quote by a hero of mine – Arnold Schwarzenegger:

“There’s 24 hours in a day. You sleep for 6 hours and you have 18 left. Some of you out there say ‘well, I sleep 8 hours or 9 hours’. Well then, just sleep faster!”

Due to my current business/life situation I have to get up at 6am every morning in order to get things done. And before a busy day it might be 5.30am; whatever it takes.

7. Stay Healthy & Exercise

A good diet coupled with regular exercise increases concentration and your ability to learn. With a poor diet and a lack of exercise, 1.You run the risk of feeling sluggish and 2. your brain will not work at its optimal performance.

For those who are interested this is why exercise helps your brain:

1. As you exercise, your muscles contract.

2. This releases chemicals, including a protein called IGF-1.

3. IGF-1 travels to the brain and stimulates the release of several chemicals, including brain derived neurotropic factor (BDNF).

4. Regular exercise increases levels of BDNF.

5. BDNF stimulates neurons (brain cells) to branch and connect in new ways.

6. New junctions between neurons are the basis of learning.

And that’s that.

To Wrap it Up

There is never really an excuse for why something can’t be done. Sometimes sacrifices have to be made in order to achieve a goal.

Hopefully this article has given you some actions to take away and add in to your daily routine. If there is anything you’d like to discuss further then leave a comment bellow, or on Facebook, Twitter, Google +… where ever suits you best. All of the links are below:

F: https://www.facebook.com/DreamtheatreLimited

T: https://twitter.com/DreamtheatreUK 

G: https://plus.google.com/u/0/103777485746000148812/posts

www.dreamtheatremarketing.com

Read More

Don’t be Afraid to Ask

You’ve heard of the saying “It pays to be nice” yeh? Well I’m going to change that for the sake of this article to: ‘It pays to engage’. I suppose engaging is kind of being nice anyway…

There will come a time when every business needs the help of those around it.

An example of this is one of our clients, Future Fitness – a gym in the south side of Glasgow. They are currently trying to fight against a juggernaut, soulless gym chain opening up right beside them, as it could completely cripple their business. So, what are we doing about it?

Well many things… One being: gather the support of their totally awesome social media community! We’ve spent a lot of time and effort communicating successfully with their community, and created an effective monthly engagement plan. The result of this has been a 400% increase in weekly engagement. So with all this action on their social media channels they can afford to ask for some help and reciprocation, because everyone feels like they’re part of the soul of the gym.

I think an example of this type of request may help some people. So, here’s what we posted:

“Are you aware that a 24 Hour unmanned Gym is planned for the Shawlands Arcade?

As I'm sure you'll understand this will have a load of negative consequences for our gym and fight club.

* The Future of our gym could be jeopardised.
* Increased noise levels at night.
* Anti-social behaviour and safety.
* Car parking issues - planned 7000 targeted members.

We don't often ask, but we need your help...
We have a fantastic community at Future Fitness and The Griphouse Southside. So please help us win our fight and grow our gym!

Please show your support, and have your say on this proposed application, by letting the Strathbungo & Shawlands Community Council know your views, as well as your local Councillors. 
See the links below:

Facebook Strathbungo & Shawlands Community Council: 
https://www.facebook.com/groups/25227713255/?fref=ts

david.meikle@councillors.glasgow.gov.uk
hanif.raja@councillors.glasgow.gov.uk
norman.mcleod@councillors.glasgow.gov.uk

Thanks guys!! Please share this post.”

So what was the reaction?

The Future Fitness social media community have stood together like bare chested, blood thirsty Spartan warriors to fight against this potential attack to their beloved gym. People have been emailing councilors, commenting on the community council page etc. It’s amazing to see a team spirit such as this; the members will be dearly thanked and repaid for their support.

I hope this story can inspire others, either in their time of need, or to create a similar community spirit and loyalty with their followers.

For tips on how to create a loyal, supportive and engaging social media community follow us in the usual places:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DreamtheatreLimited

Twitter: https://twitter.com/DreamtheatreUK

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=256415385&trk=nav_responsive_tab_profile_pic

www.dreamtheatremarketing.com

Read More