A client recently asked me how to add their blog’s RSS Feed to their Facebook Page. There are 2 main ways of doing this via applications – Notes or Networked Blogs. Instructions for both methods are below, complete with screen shots.

There are several advantages to using Networked Blog’s application over Notes including the ability to add multiple blogs, more reliable on automatic postings and pulling in pictures on your blog as the thumbnail. It may look more detailed here, but it’s not that hard – just follow the steps!

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Adding a blog via the Networked Blog application:

• Click on this link to go to the application page.
• You may need to follow someone else’s blog before you can register your own (browse the topics & find one to follow).
• Click the button at the top “Register a Blog”.
  
  • Enter info about your blog (or the blog you want your friends/fans to see). The “Blog Name” is what your friends/fans will see prior to each post. It should be descriptive but not too long.
    
  • Click Next and then click yes to verify that you are the owner of the blog. The quickest way to verify this is to copy the code they will give you (click on “Use widget to verify ownership”) and place it in a sidebar widget of your blog. You can use any html widget to do this and can remove it from your blog once ownership is verified. Once the code is on your site, click the “Verify Widget” button on the Networked Blogs page.
    

  

• Once this process is complete and your blog is added, you will need to set up automatic importing of your posts.
  • In the upper right corner of the application, you’ll see a link for “Syndication”. Click this and then choose your blog in the drop down box.
    
  • Check the box “Personal Facebook Profile” if you want blog posts to be seen on your personal wall & news feed.
    
  • If you are the administrator of any pages, you will see these listed. Click “Configure” for any page(s) you want the feed to appear on. You may need to click the “Install” button to add the application to that page. Then check the box “Auto-Publish blog posts to Page Wall” and you’ll be good to go!
    
    

Adding a blog via the Notes Application

• There are 3 ways to get to the application:
  • Look for it on your tabs in your profile
    
  • Look for it on the left sidebar in the applications area. You may need to click “See More” to see it listed.
    
  • In the search box, type “Notes” and it should come up – click on that link.
    
• Once open, on the left sidebar, look for the text link that says “Edit Import Settings”
  
• Enter your blog’s feed address in the box, check the agreement box and hit the “Start Importing” button. This may import *all* of your past blog posts, so just be aware. If you have a bunch then it could clog up the news feed on your Facebook wall.
  

I’m excited to finally launch my new webinars on Social Media for small business!

The first in the series is a free webinar on Social Media 101. Join me on Thursday, Sept. 23 to learn what Social Media is (and isn’t), why you need it for your business, and how to get started. There’s a special bonus download for everyone who signs up (you get the recording too, so sign up even if you can’t attend live). Click here to see all the details and get registered!

The classes which will follow include detailed trainings on using the various Social Media sites (Facebook, Twitter, LinkeIn, etc.). These will be hands on training (hand holding if you like) designed to get you up and running without getting too overwhelmed. Look for announcements on these in the coming weeks!

I’m very excited to help get you on the right track in Social Media! I hope to see you on the call next Thursday!

Chances are, you have a Facebook account. It’s a great place to keep up with family and friends, or maybe a way to see the more personal side of clients or colleagues. As a business owner (especially if your customers are consumers), you may be realizing the value of having your company on Facebook too and building a following there. So you should probably create a separate Facebook account for your business, right?

Hold on! Before you create a second Facebook account or start using Facebook for business, there are a few very important things to know:

You can only have 1 Facebook Profile

Each individual may have 1 Facebook Profile (i.e. login). You cannot have a Facebook Profile for a business. Check out Facebook’s Terms of Service or FAQ on this subject if you want more information.

So what is a Facebook Profile? This is your main Facebook account, the one where you can accept people as “Friends”, post your vacation pictures, play games, and talk with your friends about… anything that you like. You can set your privacy settings so that only your Friends can view what you write on your wall, the comments you make to friends, the pictures you post, your personal contact information, etc. While many people do indeed post work related items on their profiles (I do frequently), your profile is really a place for you to be personal.

How do you use Facebook for business?

The way to get your business on Facebook is to create a Facebook Page. Although you have to create the page from your personal Profile, those who “Like” your Facebook Page won’t see anything from your personal Profile unless they’re already your Friends.

A Facebook Page is the place for you to talk about business. Anyone can connect with your page without seeing all your personal information and posts. Your connections can grow to unlimited numbers (the limit on your Profile is 5000 friends). Some things you can do on or with your Page:

• Talk about what you do and the services you provide.
• Give readers tips and tricks on your area of expertise.
• Encourage contacts to sign up for your newsletter.
• Run contests.
• Conduct polls.
• Start discussions and interact with those who Like your Page.
• Create a custom landing tab where you educate new visitors about what you do or direct them to a special.
• Update contacts quickly and easily (you can only message 20 people at a time via your personal Profile).
• Create a Specials tab that only those who have “Liked” your Page can see.

A Page is like a website – anyone can visit and get information about your business. Your personal information and posts are protected unless you decide to Friend someone from the Page.

What about Facebook Groups?

Facebook Groups are designed more for groups of people with a common interest.  Things like a church group, participants in a class,  alumni of a college, etc. Groups can be private (only members see group activity) or public and you can choose to restrict/moderate membership. Groups can email up to 5000 members at a time but have limited functionality when it comes to customization and applications.

Here’s a great breakdown from Mari Smith on Pages vs. Groups.

Continuing education is important in any business. I’m always learning on my own via webinars, reading articles and books, hands-on learning of new programs, etc. But there’s something to be said for more formalized training sessions like conferences and courses. A few things I love about conferences:

• Networking with peers & experts.
• Learning about hot industry topics.
• One price for tons of learning!
• I get to pick and choose what I want to hear (especially when there are multiple sessions at once).
• For virtual conferences, I get to listen to recordings later!

The IVAA Online Summit is one of my favorite (and one of the least expensive) Virtual Conferences to attend each year. Granted, I am a bit biased since I was one of those who helped get it started and off the ground! This is actually the first year I’ll be paying to attend (instead of being a volunteer, in charge, etc.) and I’m excited to experience it without fighting all the fires that come with running an event.

Check out the preliminary speaker and topic lineup at http://online.vasummit.org. Early bird pricing is in place now and there are some great prizes you can win if you sign up early!

If you’re new to Twitter, you may be a bit perplexed about how it works and why you should bother using it for business. You aren’t alone if you have that deer-in-the-headlights look!

The good news is that you can learn it and get up to speed pretty quickly. A lot of this will come by way of following and watching what others are doing.

Here are some tips to get you started on Twitter:

1. Sign up with a user name that represents your brand or uses a keyword. It should be memorable, but not too long as length matters in the Twitter world!
2. Next, fill out your profile completely. In your bio, let people know about you & your personality. Mix business with pleasure a bit – we want to know that you’re human. Include your city so others nearby can find you.
3. Post a few updates before you start following a bunch of people. It doesn’t have to be earth-shattering, but the early tweets are a good time to let others know what you’ll be posting in the future, what your interests are, etc. Resist the urge to self-promote or sell your products in the beginning (and when you do later, do so sparingly!).
4. Start following people you know, businesses you like, colleagues, etc. Look for the Twitter icon on webpages you visit or search sites like http://twitterholic.com or http://mrtweet.net.
5. Once you’re up and running, work on making connections and building relationships with others daily. Just a few minutes a day can catapult you to Twitter success.

Here are 2 great free ebooks that will help you get started on Twitter:

www.twitterhandbook.com
www.geekpreneur.com/twitter-ebook

And here’s what you need to know about Twitter Etiquette:

http://twitter.pbwiki.com/Twitter+Etiquette

For more direction and resources on Twitter, download my Essential Twitter Guide. I’ve sorted through all the online noise to bring you the top tools and resources for Twitter that you need to know about! And of course, don’t forget to follow me on Twitter – you’ll find me @copong.