Tweak Your Biz » Management » Facebook Business Profiles: Are They A Ticking Time Bomb?

Facebook Business Profiles: Are They A Ticking Time Bomb?

by Niall Devitt on March 9th, 2011
91 Comments



I’ve decided to write about this issue because it’s coming up, time and again and small businesses in particular are refusing to cop on.

Facebook’s terms of service are pretty clear!

“Profiles represent individuals and must be held under an individual name, while Pages allow an organisation, business, celebrity, or band to maintain a professional presence on Facebook.”

doodle.png.png on Aviary

There are a number of advantages to having a page including:

  • Analytics (called insights on FB)
  • Like Widgets
  • Unlimited Fans

So why then have some businesses set up and persevered with a profile?

# The what we don’t know won’t hurt us syndrome

Ignorance is bliss! Many remain unaware of the difference, or even that there is a difference.

# The we’ve got too many friends syndrome

Friending on profiles offers an easy way to build up large numbers. This can be done over a relatively short space of time by just sending out lots of invites.

Because people are oppressed with appearing popular on Facebook, these friend requests will more often be accepted – even though they may not know the business or the people behind the business.

# The starting over is just too painful syndrome

For some that are aware, they have now built up large numbers of friends, and the thoughts of starting from scratch are just too much!

This is confounded by the fact that these friend connections were made primarily because of the popularity rule (see above).

These friends never really cared about the business in the first instance,  resulting in the business now equated thousands of friends to a pretty lightweight marketing tool.

So the thoughts of putting more work in, and now where they can’t directly target people to friend the business – appears like a whole lot of work for not a lot of return. However, this is not the case and the fact that a Facebook page is especially designed as a marketing tool for business is lost in the translation.

# The I’m always right even when I’m wrong syndrome

Some people are aware of all of the above but if starting over means having to admit a mistake, well let’s just say we all know the sort, right?

This is no big deal, right?

Ok, you’re profile could get shut down, but do you really care, probably not! Ok, Let me give you something more interesting to chew on then.

A what if!

What if an employee who has access or gets access to the business profile you’ve set up, in violation of Facebook’s terms of service finds something out about an individual – and then does something bad with that information.

So who is responsible?

  • Facebook will say that you, the business shouldn’t have had a profile in the first place (see terms of service again)
  • The employee might say that they wouldn’t have come across the information if you, the business had stuck to rules (see terms of service again)
  • The individual could also say that the something bad wouldn’t have happened if you, the business followed the rules (see terms of service again)

You may think I am trying to scaremonger here, but in fact I’m not!

Because of the sheer numbers of people involved, this has probably already happened on Facebook.

Facebook pages are for businesses and Facebook profiles are for people.

There are very good reasons why this is so.

People need to stop accepting friend requests from businesses, so that businesses learn how to properly behave and market themselves on Facebook.

As for the rest, don’t say you haven’t been warned!

So what do you think? Am I being OTT here or could this become a more serious issue for businesses on Facebook?

Listen to hear what you can do about it!

Thanks for reading,

Niall



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The Author:

Niall Devitt is a doer, not a talker when it comes to social media. Niall advises organisations how to plan, design and implement social media strategies that generate real business returns.  Niall is Chief Digital Strategist & Founder at the Ahain Group, an independent, ideas-led social business consultancy with experience of working with all types of clients and sectors– from large blue-chip multinationals to the 1 SMEs. Download our industry specific and researched social business reports. In 2009, Niall co-founded TweakYourBiz.com (formally Bloggertone.com) an international, business community and online publication. http://www.ahaingroup.com/

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  • Anonymous

    Great post Niall and one very relevant to a discussion we’re both involved in at the moment. Are there any examples or case studies highlighting real life examples of where businesses or organisations have been seriously affected. It would be great to be able to share these stories with people who just don’t get it.

  • http://www.tweakyourbiz.com Niall Devitt

    There are and I’ve heard them! Unfortunately people and businesses refuse to share them because of the embarrassment involved. I would actively encourage them to, because they actually be performing a service to others?

  • http://twitter.com/ConSkinn Conor Skinnader

    Facebook obviously don’t police it very heavily or we’d hear more about businesses with profile’s having their profile removed. I imagine it will happen more in the future, but this is only the tip of the iceberg in terms of TOS violations as many businesses are running Facebook competitions on the walls of their business pages which also violates their TOS.

  • http://www.jabit.com John

    Nice post Niall. You are, I feel, missing one very important point and that is “how many people did NOT become friends with the business because it is set up as a personal profile as opposed to a business page?”. I for one NEVER accept friend requests from businesses using personal profiles because if I do the business, who would now be my facebook friend, could see my family pics, my conversations with my ‘real’ friends, tag me, etc. That’s WAY too much information I want to share with any business.

  • Anonymous

    there must be case studies out there, where the names have been changed or removed to protect identity.

  • http://www.tweakyourbiz.com Niall Devitt

    Great point John, You are right of course. In saying that, many people are still prepared to become friends with businesses and they shouldn’t because of the reasons you’ve outlined. I heard one story last week where a business refused to change because they didn’t want to give up being able to e-mail their friends directly with offers etc. In other words, they wanted to be able to SPAM.

  • http://www.tweakyourbiz.com Niall Devitt

    You are absolutely right! TOS violations are epidemic at the moment. It’s a pity because it a great tool for biz if used properly, rather than the lazy way that many people and businesses currently are. If you don’t want to built community on Facebook, well don’t be on there!

  • Tori Hawthorne

    Brilliant post Niall, its a very wide area with so many variables too.. I have never clicked that I have read terms of service without first reading the TOS, for anything… I look for the TOS or T&C’s for everything. Some people may think I am a stickler for rules but there is a right way and a wrong way to do things. the wrong way maybe easier but it usually causes more problems in the long run.nTori

  • http://www.tweakyourbiz.com Niall Devitt

    Thanks Tori, Right also happens to be far the smartest way here :)

  • Paul Brugger

    Hi Niall,nnI recently did a local survey on Cork Business on Facebook (http://on.fb.me/fqvOrv) out of 50 businesses I think there is 2 with a profile (and one of those has 4,500 friends so will soon have to create a page!). So hopefully the message is getting through. Some great points above.nnCheers,nnPaul

  • http://www.encouragingexcellence.ie/ Mairu00e9ad Kelly

    Brilliant post Niall, and with your permission I’d like to use it in my upcoming Social Media for Business course in Clane after Easter. nnI’ve often messaged profiles who sent friend request to let them know why I would NOT accept their request and included links to the T&Cs and the Help Centre so that they would then have the knowledge to do it themselves if they so wished.nnI’ve been accused of “causing” profiles to be shut down by some of them when they have lost over 1500 “friends” because FB has caught up with them.nnThe other thing in question here is: if they are bending the rules with this, where else in their business are they doing it?

  • http://www.fb.com/CalypsoIT Karen

    I feel really strongly about this Niall. I have a 14 y.o. daughter, she now knows about good facebook practice but many of her friends have added local businesses, shops, clubs etc. as friends and don’t know how to restrict their privacy. The people behind these profiles can then see all their status updates and maybe photos. I have pointed this out to certain businesses/organisations and they have reacted badly telling me to mind my own business and refuse to give their name.nI set up this page to help people to be aware of this problem: http://www.facebook.com/UnfriendFakeProfiles – but it has been laughed at by some :-(

  • http://technicallyeasy.net Paul Salmon

    There are always people/businesses that violate the TOS of pretty much any online venture. I for one only use Facebook for personal reasons – meaning I only accept friend requests from people I have met in the past. Even after accepting their friend request, I usually organize them into lists so I limit what specific friends can see on my profile.nnThe important thing is that people using Facebook need to understand the consequences of giving out too much information. People need to police themselves mainly because Facebook can’t do it for them; no matter how hard they try.nnPeople and businesses will always violate the TOS, but catching them and taking action is another story.

  • http://www.tweakyourbiz.com Niall Devitt

    Thanks Karen, This is ultimately and seriously the significant point in all of this and most businesses are missing it?

  • http://www.tweakyourbiz.com Niall Devitt

    Hi Paul, here’s how they can do without losing their friends: nhttp://www.facebook.com/pages/create.php?migrate

  • http://www.tweakyourbiz.com Niall Devitt

    Thanks Tori, appreciate the comment :)

  • http://www.seefincoaching.com/blog Elaine Rogers

    Niall,nThank you for putting this into the public domain, again. Yes, some people will not listen (there is a person behind EVERY business page) and there is little we can do after being blue in the face trying to share best practice with them, but this issue goes beyond best practice.nI agree with the sentiments below about children connecting to businesses, willy nilly, without thought. I have checked all the profiles of all children I am connected with and not one of them have any security on their pages.nSo much for education. Horrible things will happen before young people are protected and informed. And I mean as young as 6-7 yrs.nHonestly, we just have to keep trying, in our own capacity to educate young people, and educate others about best practice.nnWell done!

  • Derbhile

    That’s it, Niall, hit them where they live. As the new page layouts kick in on March 10th, this is a timely post about the importance of embracing pages and above all to use FB to build relationships, not just collect friends like accessories. n

  • Agove

    Great read, Niall.

  • http://www.teethingsos.com Ailish Gray

    The problem is that if you are new to Facebook, you don’t know this and plough on with just getting the job done. If you are not familiar with Facebook, it is a bit daunting and the information they give in their help sections is brief and unhelpful. New business could to with a step by step ‘how to’ guide to Facebook.

  • Matthew Goldsbrough

    Everything you said about Facebook, Niall, applies to LinkedIn too. Companies should be setting up a company page, but instead set up a profile or group for the company, neither of which makes sense.

  • Karen101

    a quick google search “facebook for business” brought up this: http://www.facebook.com/help/?page=721 The information is there, if people want to look for it…… if in doubt, google it.

  • Paul Brugger

    Excellent Niall – I thought you had to contact FB to do that (and that is wasn’t very sucessful).

  • http://www.tweakyourbiz.com Niall Devitt

    Thank you Elaine, you said what I was afraid to and I admire you for it!

  • http://www.tweakyourbiz.com Niall Devitt

    You are right of course, Matthew, however as Elaine points out, there are many children on FB which makes it a more serious error in my opinion. Thanks for your comments!

  • http://www.tweakyourbiz.com Niall Devitt

    I take your point Aisling and Facebook need to take a more active role in this, in saying that however, the info is there as Karen points out below.

  • http://www.tweakyourbiz.com Niall Devitt

    Thanks Karen and I completely agree!

  • http://www.tweakyourbiz.com Niall Devitt

    Hi Derbhile, I knew you would be on my side :)

  • http://www.tweakyourbiz.com Niall Devitt

    Hi Paul, you are right of course, privacy and online are difficult bed fellows, however I think it reasonable to expect businesses in particular to play by the rules?

  • http://www.tweakyourbiz.com Niall Devitt

    Thank you Mairead and keep fighting the good fight! Please feel free to use the post.

  • http://www.perfectplansforlife.com/ Breda Stackpool

    Brilliant Points Niall. This is a topic that I try to push home in a course I present, Social Media: The Starting Point.nI find “The what we donu2019t know wonu2019t hurt us syndrome” , to be the most frequent response. I believe that if you are going to use social media platforms for your buisness then you should take some time to educate yourself on the “terms and conditions”. At the end of the day its a business decision to put a page up so should be taken as seriously as any other decision.n

  • http://www.cgonlinemarketing.com/ Christina Giliberti

    Hi Niall,nnOn trend as usual ; 0 )nThis is a huge debate subject and has come up in conversations quite a bit of late.nnIts easy for businesses to set up a profile as opposed to a page. FB don’t check before accepting and they don’t patrol information as well as they should. So businesses are opting for a profile page and getting away with it.nnI’ve had discussions with clients and companies on the reasons why, as I’m a firm believer in understanding the reasons before coming up with a solution.n1) Businesses like the fact that friends can easily message them. This increases ROI for last minute sales.n2) They are more familiar with profiles as opposed to Business pages (you mentioned this above). Too many options on offer. Should be Are you a business? Set up a page.n3) Friends sounds better than fans (yep, thats a reason!)nnSo how can we persuade them to change? Can we first look at migrating pages and listing the benefiting of using a business page? Should we undertake a survey to gain wider feedback of qualitative data?n

  • http://www.tweakyourbiz.com Niall Devitt

    Hi Christina, nThanks for your comments, here’s my response to:n1) Some businesses also like the fact that they easily message friends, in other words, they like that they can spam people?n2) They are more familiar with profiles because they haven’t used pages, which is what they should be doing if they are a businessn3) Friends sounds better than fans, A business is not a person, it can’t have friends.nThere is lots of information as to the benefits, for instance every successful FB business case study out there is from a page, not a profile. You can find this info inside of a few seconds by simply searching for it? This is not a choice, let’s not fool ourselves into thinking that it is. Businesses shouldn’t need be persuaded to use a page, using a profile is not an alternative.

  • http://www.tweakyourbiz.com Niall Devitt

    “At the end of the day its a business decision to put a page up so should be taken as seriously as any other decision” nnThis is the point exactly!nnThank you Breda

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  • Sssmithhh1

    Karen, I’m interested in learning more about this as a non-business user. I tried to frind your : http://www.facebook.com/Unfrie… on facebook but there are a lot of “Unfriend” pages – and I couldn’t see yours. could you please post the full address?

  • Sssmithhh1

    Karen, I’m interested in learning more about this as a non-business user. I tried to frind your : http://www.facebook.com/Unfrie… on facebook but there are a lot of “Unfriend” pages – and I couldn’t see yours. could you please post the full address?

  • Davidfitzgerald

    Niallnnvery informative post and one to take to heart. nnAcknowledging that ignorance is “”not bliss” I would also suggest that many business do not really understand the social media culture and frequently aren’t aware of the full implications of adopting social media strategies.nnUntil enduring the humiliation /aggrevation of having a site banned the stakes may not be immediately visable to the unsuspecting business.(like catastrophic data loss)nnI think there is a very strong case for professional management of social media, or at least strategic planning for users who are naieve in these matters (me being a major example). nnIt seems there is alot of buzz /emperors clothes phemonena around the social media topic but self directed dabbling would appear to be a dangerous business.nnAs a fan of process diagrams I think it would be very helpful for those involved with local enterprise/ business consultancy to demonstrate these aspects ane for naieve users to see it laid out bare. nI also think it would be a great marketing tool for anyone who produced it (unsubtle hint!).BTWnnThanks for the tips NiallnnCheersnnDavid

  • http://www.tweakyourbiz.com Niall Devitt

    Thanks David, great comment! nnThere are a set of rules that all businesses must play by, examples: If business chooses to use Facebook, they must use a page. Use pull rather than traditional push strategies online etc. However, to really leverage the power of new media will ultimately mean that your strategy and process should ultimately be as unique as your business and products, It’s like an extension of your U.S.P. nnBusinesses who are naturally great at social media are already social businesses to begin with, it’s not something that you can really fake, consumers are too smart! nnI think getting someone who knows to guide you makes sense, they can act almost like a translator but the seeds for the ideas, strategies and processes should remain in the ownership of the business and it’s people. I usually find, it’s more a case taking what’s already there and extending it. Sometimes this starts by simply reminding a business of their reasons for starting the business. nnWhat was your vision? How can we share it? How can we make it resonate? And how can we use your online presence to identify and support people, internally and externally who might share that vision?

  • http://profiles.google.com/101.mccarthy Karen McCarthy

    Hi Sssmithh1 – if you click on the link, it will bring you there. Here it is again:nwww.facebook.com/UnfriendFakeProfile

  • Declan Gray

    NiallnnI hadn’t seen this particular post before but it’s refreshing to see somebody with a bit of passion that talks SENSE. Ireland is still in the dark ages when it comes to the benefits for businesses on Social Media platforms. As you said ‘Ignorance is Bliss’ or is it just a fear of the unknown . . . .

  • http://twitter.com/DIYMarketers Ivana Taylor

    I wish there were more stories just like this one.  I can’t tell you how many times companies I work with say that social media isn’t for them.  Of course it’s not for every business, but I applaud Oldfarm Pork for being open to the possibility and not letting the standard measurement of success drive their business success.

  • http://www.encouragingexcellence.ie/ Mairéad Kelly

    It is great to see a business doing well on Social Media without a huge following.  Even better to hear that at first Oldham Pork resisted both mediums to grow their business, but they now see the positive results of it.

    I’ve been talking to somebody on Linked In recently who said both Facebook and Twitter are a waste of time, he dislikes them.  My belief is he just still doesn’t “get” them yet.  That and the fact that for a lot of his business Facebook might well be a waste of time but Twitter certainly wouldn’t, if he’d give it a chance.

  • http://twitter.com/xcelbusiness Helen Cousins

    Niall, well
    done for getting Margaret to share her story. It’s easy to get 1000′s of
    followers on twitter if you work the system and you can buy Facebook
    “likes” through advertising. For some, these numbers are merely
    vanity, it’s not contributing to their business profitability at all, in fact I’d
    call it a social bubble. There’s a lot of nonsense talked by some social media
    and digital marketing “experts”, as there are only 2 business numbers
    that really matter, cash flow and profits. Big social media followings often
    bear no relationship to profit.

    Small can be
    profitable, bring it on Margaret. Thanks for sharing a great story!
    ~ Helen

  • http://www.garrendennylane.ie/blog Lorna

    Great post and case study Niall, there is so much I can empathise with here and it was lovely to see Margaret featured in the Farmers Journal this week too. From my own experiences it is from getting the word out there slowly and steadily that reaps the rewards and it is great to see them doing so well.

  • Margaret O’Farrell

    Thank you everyone for such kind comments!  It is so difficult at times to get the right balance on it all… what I consider mundane is of such interest to others looking in.  Sometimes I post a comment and think… that won’t generate any interest and next thing you have loads of comments!  It is always a balancing act.  Thanks again.

  • Anonymous

    Great stuff Niall.  My sister has a Bridal Shop and has been using Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/beautifuldaybrides) for business purposes for a long time (thankfully she switched from a Profile to a Page some time ago).  She doesn’t have a huge number of fans/likes, however I know she also gets a huge amount of benefit out of it.  I’ll see if I can get her to share some thoughts with me and I’ll submit it as a future blog post.

  • http://www.tweakyourbiz.com Niall Devitt

    Thank you, Ivana, If you are to consider customers to fans ratios, I reckon it’s one of the most effective Facebook pages that I have come across. 

  • http://www.tweakyourbiz.com Niall Devitt

    Helen, I loved your comment on Twitter:

     ”likes are for vanity, sales are for sanity!”

    I might borrow that one, if it’s OK with you? 

  • http://www.tweakyourbiz.com Niall Devitt

    Lorna, I know you are another who believes in really engaging with your community on Facebook.

  • http://www.tweakyourbiz.com Niall Devitt

    Hi Mairead, I’m not sure If I understand you correctly? A lot of people/businesses waste their time on Facebook, but I don’t agree that Facebook is a waste of time for a lot of businesses.  

  • http://www.tweakyourbiz.com Niall Devitt

    That would be super, Frank. The more examples we can share of small businesses getting real results, the better!

  • http://www.tweakyourbiz.com Niall Devitt

    Thanks for sharing your story with us, Margaret!

    I’ve already had a lot of positive feedback from people, saying that they learnt a lot from you so, well done and may I wish you and Oldfarm continued success. 

  • http://www.encouragingexcellence.ie/ Mairéad Kelly

    Facebook is not suitable for all businesses (my Linked In contact being one), his is more suited to Linked In as his clients don’t use Facebook.

    It also doesn’t help that he has a very negative and dismissive attitude to both Facebook and Twitter, so from the get-go he would not get the best from them.

    I also meant that a lot of people waste their time on Facebook by not using it properly, that and the fact that they don’t really know what they are doing on it, what outcomes they want.  They go on because “everyone” says its a great way to get business, but they don’t devise a proper strategy for it.

  • http://www.tweakyourbiz.com Niall Devitt

    49% of the Irish population over 15 yrs of age are on Facebook. Does he actually know that don’t include his clients or is that just an assumption on his behalf?

  • http://www.facebook.com/marky.burrows Marky Boy Burrows

    Hi

    I love your article as we too keep pigs but it is our Chicken business that has a similar story to you.

    Which came first the chicken or the egg, well for us it
    was definitely the chicken. We got our first chickens from a garden centre over
    20 years ago and have been keeping them ever since.

     

    9 years ago we took the huge decision to move from our
    nice little council house where we had lived for 14 years to a smallholding in
    rural Lincolnshire to follow our dream and have a go at living the good life.

     

    We took 6 chickens with us and quickly added to this number,
    now we had more room for them. It has been a great experience and I have no
    regrets about doing it.

     

    Our front paddock borders the main road so it has been
    easy to sell the surplus eggs which in turn pays for the chicken feed and with
    over 50 chickens that’s quite a lot of eggs.

     

    However events would happen that would literally change
    our lives. A couple of years ago a big national company took over the local
    rest home where my wife worked part time, she had worked there for over 4 years
    and as well as getting her out the house so to speak it gave her her own little
    bit of money. Within 2 months of the takeover nearly half the staff had been
    sacked for one reason or another and they made life so unbearable for the
    remainder that Sharon said enough is enough and reluctantly left.

     

    The problem was she missed her own bit of money but as
    the nearest town is 9 miles away it would be nigh on impossible to find another
    part time job.

     

    From time to time people would call because they had seen
    the chickens in the front field and would ask if we had any chickens for sale
    but of course we use to say that we only sell the eggs, however a while after
    Sharon had become a lady of leisure I suddenly had a thought why not start a
    small business selling a few chickens that would enable Sharon to have her own
    pocket money again and she would be doing something we both really loved.

     

    As there was no real competition locally we felt sure it
    would be a success so we decided to go for it. We bought some breeding stock of
    rare and pure breeds and set about setting things up.

     

    I made a huge sign and put it up by the road side and as
    the chickens became ready they sold as quick as we could breed them but it was
    a slow process, as word spread it became harder to keep up with demand, however
    it was only a hobby business so we just left it to tick over.

     

    Fast forward to about 9 months ago when because of the
    increasing demand we began to see the huge possibilities with the business and
    decided to expand it. I said it would be good if we supplied birds that wernt
    available locally and instead of doing the rare and pure breeds we wanted to do
    hybrid (cross breeds) chickens that were friendly, good egg layers, and lived a
    long life. After about 50-60 phone calls we found a reputable supplier who
    would deliver the chickens at 16 weeks old ready to sell, they were fully
    vaccinated and there were 12 different types to choose from so could cater for
    everyones taste.

     

    The chickens proved very popular and so with the help of
    my son in law we built a website showing all the chickens we sold and it became
    very popular and got us a lot of enquiries.

     

    However it was when we started using social media that
    the business really started to take off, in particular the use of Facebook. In
    January this year I did a Facebook Fanpage or Like Page as they are now called
    and called it I Really Love Keeping Chickens. Within only 4 weeks and a lot of
    hard work we had nearly 1000 fans on the page. As well as engaging with all our
    fans we have recently started using it as a marketing tool and we encourage
    everyone who buys chickens here to post pictures and testimonials of their new
    chickens, also we have added a Special Offers section with paypal buttons for a
    couple of products and are now making sales straight off the fanpage. Everyone
    loves the page and it now has a fan base of nearly 2300 and rising.

     

    What is interesting is that other people are now taking
    notice of the page and are saying if he can do that with chickens then surely
    we could do that with our business.

     

    Facebook is great for promoting your businesss and I am
    now known as “The Chicken Guy” but we are now looking at other forms
    of social media such as Twitter, Squidoo, stumbleupon and others.

     

    It has been a great journey for us and we are now
    generating nearly a full time income.We are currently working on a shopping
    cart for all things chicken

     

    We now really want to take the whole thing to the next
    level using the internet and social media.

     

    Our main site which sits happily on the first page of
    google out of 13.9 million competing pages is http://www.chickens-for-sale.com

     

    Our very popular Blog also on the first page of google is
    http://www.ilovekeepingchickens.com

     

    Our Facebook Fanpage http://www.facebook.com/ilovekeepingchickens

     

    Our shoppng cart is http://ilovekeepingchickens.com/shop-online/

     

    So hopefully a bright future for me Sharon and Chicken
    House Poultry

  • http://www.encouragingexcellence.ie/ Mairéad Kelly

    It’s the TYPE of business he is in that is not suitable for Facebook and his business is global, not national.  He’s done his research, he knows the stats.  Not all businesses are suitable for Facebook or Twitter and for that matter not all businesses are suitable for Linked In.  Some mediums that work really well for one type of business won’t with another.  He knows his market really really well and uses the mediums that work for him. 

  • http://www.tweakyourbiz.com Niall Devitt

    Hi Marky, I’m Niall, the community manager here at Bloggertone. Yours is a another great story that I would love to publish, if you are interested? Please e-mail at niall(at)bloggerttone.com or @nialldevitt:twitter on Twitter. 

  • http://twitter.com/xcelbusiness Helen Cousins

    Niall, I paraphrased The Bankers Mantra on twitter. The Bankers Mantra is:”Turnover is Vanity. Profit is Sanity. Cash is Reality.”
    I wrote a blog post about this last year, http://www.xbs.ie/insights/56-insights/175-business-numbers-that-matter as I am concerned at the number of businesses that lose the profit focus. They chase numbers that don’t contribute to profit at the expense of profit – social media provides a perfect example of this. I am planning a blog post on  “likes are for vanity, sales are for sanity”, probably for here.But fire ahead and use the phrase by all means – I probably use too many puns anyway!Well done on the case study - a post of a pig, not a pig of a post.~Helen

  • http://www.tweakyourbiz.com Niall Devitt

    lol, love it! :)

    Please write that post?

  • http://www.smartsolutions.ie/blog/ Elaine Rogers

    What a great Case Study Niall. One day I plan to travel to Old Farm and see the carry on with Clarence (or his successor) It is a fantastic story and Margaret and Alfie are perfect examples of how innovative people are getting with farming in Ireland, and of course extra ways to make income.

    A friend of mine does web site deign, only for the farming community, as it is indeed a special arena and heritage of countries like ours. But to take on social media whilst being skeptical was the best move ever! Well done to Margaret and Alfie.

    Margaret’s commented below ~ “what I consider mundane is of such interest to others looking in” can be a huge issue with people starting with social media. It can often feel like no-one is listening, and yet, the things we consider irrelevant, mundane or uninteresting, can often spark the best interaction.

    I think Social Media should be renamed “Social Interaction”

  • http://www.teamwoodcraft.com Aislinghurley

    It’s so great to read about another SME who is focused on doing business rather than playing the numbers game.  Well done Margaret and well done on spreading the good word Niall.  Great post.

  • http://www.tweakyourbiz.com Niall Devitt

    Thank you, Aisling. I’m glad you liked the post :)

  • http://www.tweakyourbiz.com Niall Devitt

    Great point about renaming it to ”Social Interaction”, which I think would give people a much more accurate description as to where they need to start.  Thanks for the great comment, Elaine.  

  • http://www.garrendennylane.ie/blog Lorna

    A great post Frank, I do have a copy of the book and still haven’t read it but I see now that I will get a lot out of it when I get around to it. As Marie says, she has definitely created a tribe with her JBBC site.

  • Facundo

    Thanks for the summary Frank. I actually passed from reading this book due to some bad reviews I’d seen and lately it popped up in my Amazon suggestions. I may give it a go :)

  • http://www.tweakyourbiz.com Niall Devitt

    Hi Lorna, 

    People (fans) don’t look at updates on the page, they engage via their newsfeed (consider: edgerank).

    A custom tab helps to get people to like the page initially, but as you point out, there after it’s all about content and engagement. 

    The brand that you describe sounds like they are doing a great job of damaging their brand via Facebook, pretty clueless stuff! 

  • http://www.garrendennylane.ie/blog Lorna

    Yes, I know what you mean but when deciding to like a page or not, I discovered that I was looking at the updates on a page as one of the criteria for deciding whether or not to become a fan of that page – something that I hadn’t really realised I was doing until I was partaking in one of these rather mad page liking schemes!  I’ll be doing a blog post on them once I have done some more research :)

  • http://www.tweakyourbiz.com Niall Devitt

    Were these were pages without custom tabs where the landing page was set to the wall? or did you click through to the wall before liking? 

  • http://www.tweakyourbiz.com Niall Devitt

    If it’s not delivering more customers and sales, it’s not worth doing. Facebook is an important (and integrated) piece of an overall sales and marketing strategy for MKT, In its simplest terms, sign ups, traffic and fans are leading to more opportunities and customers for the business. Thank you, Helen :)   

  • http://www.cgonlinemarketing.com/ Christina Giliberti

    I’m finding that companies are ummming and arhhhing about social media as a marketing option. Strong performance and lignment with goals has to be proven first though. This is without doubt a strong example of the power of social media. It also shows that strategic, creative decision can bring results. It isn’t a quick method or sale, but it’s fun and if you use your imagination and have a strategy in place, then it’s definately an option for small businesses to consider.

  • Margaret Oldfarm

    Hi Folks,

    Thank you all again for your kind comments on our story.

    Just thought I’d update you on how things are going especially now which is a really busy time for us.  Here are the breakdown figures for our last 3 delivery runs – makes interesting reading!

    a.  50% Twitter/50% Other (newspaper/personal contact)
    b.  50% Twitter, 20% Facebook, 50% Other
    c.  60% Twitter, 40% Other

    Twitter is winning out all the time!

    Happy Christmas all.

    Margaret

  • Maya Hanley

    Great post, Niall. I spend ages explaining to clients and other businesses why they should have a PAGE not a PROFILE. Some of them get it. I also do as the others mention and send a message to businesses who want to be my friend, to explain why what they’re doing is not a good idea. It’s a dark art to a lot of people out there.  I shared this on my business page too.

  • http://www.sianphillips.ie/ Sian Phillips

    Thanks for the comment Warren. It certainly is a good “good news” post

  • http://www.blackbrotherssecurity.com/ Security Companies Ireland

    Nowadays online security is essential for everyone who are
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  • http://twitter.com/denisefay Denise Fay

    Hi Aoife, great tips. I would add that if you’re planning on emailing for business, make sure you have people’s permission to email. I tend to get so many emails today and because I know I didn’t sign up, I immediately hit delete.

    So I particularly like your advice on point no. 1.

    Take care,
    Denise

  • Email Marketing

    fds

  • http://www.ntouchmarketing.com/ Houston SEO Company

    Email marketing is a great way to ensure that you are staying in contact with your customers while keeping prices low. Any small business that is looking to grow should think about starting a email campaign as soon as possible.

  • http://www.smartsolutions.ie/blog/ Elaine Rogers

    A great checklist Aoife!
    I agree relevant content and consistency are key. A schedule helps with the “I’ll do that later” syndrome :)
    Great post

  • http://www.wholesalepages.co.uk/ UK Wholesale

    Email marketing is an effective and economical way to approach your target market. You can easily and speedily convey your messages and offers to your customers. Your emails have to become creative and attractive to attain the attention of audience as in this spamming era it is difficult to get attention of your right audience. These tips are helpful to maintain your email campaign specially the content creation point.

  • Debi Harper

    Thank you Elaine, great read and I love the title:) Will check out some of those apps after I overcome my obsession with Siri and  dictation.

  • http://www.smartsolutions.ie/blog/ Elaine Rogers

    Hi Debi,
    Thanks so much and glad you found it useful, enjoy exploring!! I have yet to upgrade my 3GS and looking forward to meeting Siri lol – she is not great on the non US English apparently (perfect example here of Japanese accent - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RiU8GPlsZqE)

  • http://www.smartsolutions.ie/blog/ Elaine Rogers

    Most welcome Elli,
    If you explore just one useful app from the list – my job here is done :)

  • http://twitter.com/xcelbusiness Helen Cousins

    Hi Elaine
    I signed up for Evernote (2010 I think!) and never used it, but today I did, so thank you for the reminder. I also use CloudOn on my iPad to edit and add Microsoft Office docs. It’s integrated with Dropbox – and I can’t believe it’s free!
    Great list! I’ll have to add it to my “apps” notebook in Evernote :)
    ~ Helen

  • http://www.smartsolutions.ie/blog/ Elaine Rogers

    I am downloading that App as I type Helen thanks. I use the iWork Apple Apps but it’s useful to be able to DO Word, Excel etc also.
    Thanks for sharing that and glad you found something useful in the list :)

  • John Twohig

    Jasus, I have a lot to learn…..

  • http://www.smartsolutions.ie/blog/ Elaine Rogers

    ….and learn you will, John

  • http://tweakyourbiz.com/ Niall Devitt

    Great point, Elish. And nice to see how well you are handling the very unusal situation of a TYB list with you not appearing near the top….only joking of course! :)

  • http://www.facebook.com/elish.bulgodley Elish Bul-Godley

    You just couldn’t help yourself there could you ! ; ) you and me both huh?

  • http://tweakyourbiz.com/ Niall Devitt

    lol, Ouch! what a come back! ;-)

  • http://www.ahaingroup.com/ Niall Devitt

    Hi Mariciel, I noticed that and the traffic has kept coming in ever since. That said, it needed to be a good post in the first instance to get those thumbs up so congratulaions again.

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