What Facebook is really worried about

As you probably know, Facebook has filed for its IPO. With that filing, a lot of new information about the company was revealed. Among the noteworthy tidbits of information: 845 million monthly active users, 483 million daily active users, and over 425 million monthly active users using Facebook’s mobile products. Interestingly enough, Facebook appears to consider growth in mobile use among the key risks to the company. I’m not sure this is the biggest risk, but it’s quite interesting that Facebook considers it to be one.

What do you think the number one thing is that could lead to Facebook’s downfall? Can anything kill it? Tell us what you think.

In its filing, Facebook lists “some” of the risks that could significantly harm its business. It doesn’t say, “We could become the next MySpace,” but here are the things it does list:
If we fail to retain existing users or add new users, or if our users decrease their level of engagement with Facebook, our revenue, financial results, and business may be significantly harmed;

We generate a substantial majority of our revenue from advertising. The loss of advertisers, or reduction in spending by advertisers with facebook, could seriously harm our business;

Growth in use of facebook through our mobile products, where we do not currently display ads, as a substitute for use on personal computers may negatively affect our revenue and financial results;
Facebook user growth and engagement on mobile devices depend upon effective operation with mobile operating systems, networks, and standards that we do not control. ;

We may not be successful in our efforts to grow and further monetize the facebook Platform;
Our business is highly competitive, and competition presents an ongoing threat to the success of our business;

Improper access or disclosure of our users’ information could harm our reputation and adversely affect our business;

Our business is subject to complex and evolving U.S. and foreign laws and regulations regarding privacy, data protection, and other matters. May of these laws and regulation are subject to change and uncertain interpretation, and could harm our business;

Our CEO has control over key decision making as a result of his control of a majority of our voting stock;
The loss of Mark Zuckerberg, Sheryl K. Sandberg, or other key personnel could harm our business;

We anticipate that we will expand substantial funds in connection with tax withholding and remittance obligations related to the initial settlement of our restricted stock units (RSUs) approximately six months following our initial public offering;

The market price of our Class A common stock may be volatile or may decline, and you may not be able to resell your shares at or above the initial public offering price; and
Substantial blocks of our total outstanding shares may be sold into the market as “lock-up” periods end, as further described in “Shares Eligible for Future Sale.” If there are substantial sales of shares of our common stock, the price of our Class A common stock could decline.

You can view the filing in its entirety, as well as a letter from Mark Zuckerberg here.

I don’t think more people using Facebook’s mobile products will be the downfall of the company. People are increasingly using their phones (and tablets) to access the web. Increased mobile Facebook use should grow along with that. Facebook isn’t currently monetizing this use (with ads), but that is likely to change soon. Mobile ads are expected in the near future. That solves that problem.

Facebook’s mobile experience(s) are often criticized, and there’s no question that the desktop experience is better, but Facebook will continue to work on improving the mobile experience. The fact that they consider mobile such a risk factor only shows that this will be a significant emphasis. Expect more mobile-related acquisitions from the company, and better Facebook apps across mobile platforms.

I think the very first risk factor listed is really the one they should be most worried about. And essentially, this equates to “We could become the next MySpace.” The biggest challenge they have is to keep users interested, and other listed risk factors are an extension of this.

For one, don’t get shown up by competitors like Twitter and Google. Google, obviously a major force on the Internet should worry Facebook. It’s easy to brush off Google+ because maybe not many of your friends are using it. But how many of your friends use Google? That counts, because as Google has shown time and time again, everything they do is only going to become more integrated, and in the end, it’s really about where advertisers are spending their money.

Facebook has a healthy lead in display ads, but overall online advertising is another story, though Facebook is expected to surpass Microsoft and Yahoo this year. Google on the other hand doesn’t even have ads on Google+ yet. How long do you think that will last? Google is already showing a great deal of promise in the deals space as well (Google Offers), an area where Facebook hasn’t done incredibly well.

Beyond current competitors like Google and Twitter, however, there’s always the threat of the next big thing that comes out of nowhere. There is only so much time in the day. Every minute someone spends time on another site or another social network is a minute they’re not spending on Facebook.

About the Author:
Chris Crum has been a part of the WebProNews team and the iEntry Network of B2B Publications since 2003. Follow WebProNews on Facebook or Twitter.

Twitter: @CCrum237 | StumbleUpon: Crum |
Google: +Chris Crum

Are you concerned?

The new Facebook Timeline is not the most popular feature that Facebook has ever introduced. Granted, it’s well documented that Facebook users are often super-resistant to change, but for some the new Timeline goes beyond minor annoyances like crowded layouts and superfluous features. For many users, it’s a real issue of privacy.

For awhile now, users have been able to access the new profile look if they chose to do so. But since it was still voluntary, many users just ignored it and went about their normal, everyday Facebooking. Facebook has always said that the Timeline would eventually become a mandatory part of everyone’s Facebook experience, but it wasn’t until last week that Facebook announced the switch to Timeline was imminent.

Will the mandatory switch to the Timeline cause you to reevaluate your participation in the network? Are you upset that Facebook is putting it on users to clean up their Timeline data, or do you think users should be responsible for everything the post – even stuff from half a decade ago? Let us know what you think.

Over the next couple of weeks, the Timeline will be rolling out to everyone. Once your profile switches over, you’ll have a week-long “grace period.” During this week, your Timeline view will only be able to be seen by you – this gives you time to clean it up and make it presentable for mass consumption.

Personally, I kind of like the Timeline. I think that it’s a much-needed upgrade of a fairly stale profile page. But then again, I’m not that private of a person and I don’t really care about the skeletons from 2005 that the timeline allow people to dig up if they so choose.

Having said that, here’s some news for Facebook users that have yet to switch to Timeline: it is quite overwhelming at first. I joined Facebook on Halloween, 2004 – and since then have amassed a shocking number of wall posts, status updates, photos, and shared links. And while I wouldn’t call any of it embarrassing, there are some things that if they went away, it wouldn’t bother me. A drunken photo here, an over-zealous political status update there – eight years of living publicly through Facebook is bound to reveal minor indiscretions.

But I know that I’m abnormal in the fact that I don’t really care about all of that. For a large percentage of Facebook users, the company is crossing some lines with Timeline. The main concern is that Facebook seems to have adopted an “opt-out” strategy when it comes to information sharing. The Timeline puts everything out there by default, and it’s the user’s job to clean it up and make sure that they aren’t publicly sharing something that they want to remain private.

Of course, this discussion of “private information” doesn’t just include old, unearthed photos and statuses – but the series of “frictionless” apps that are going to be an integral part of the Timeline. These apps, like “social readers” and music apps like Spotify automatically share your activities with friends. Although Facebook has stressed that the Timeline doesn’t disclose any more private information than the old profile and that all of the apps are voluntary, online privacy groups have voiced concerns.

One, for example, is the Electronic Privacy Information Center. They have asked the FTC to look into whether or not the Timeline violates Facebook’s privacy promises, stemming from a previous agreement with the FTC.

“With Timeline, Facebook has once again taken control over the user’s data from the user and has now made information that was essentially archived and inaccessible widely available without the consent of the user,” they said in a letter, adding that Facebook “promotes oversharing” and wants users to “abandon restraint.”

So, how do Facebook users feel about the Timeline? Is it just a bunch of isolated bitching, or is there mass concern? According to a poll by IT security company Sophos, a majority of people are apprehensive about the changes.

Sophos admits that their poll might have involved people who are a little more concerned with privacy and security issues than the average Joe, but it’s still a striking figure. With this kind of widespread apprehension, it’s no wonder that scam apps have popped up all over Facebook offering to deactivate users’ Timeline.

Other than concerns about crazy stalkers and shocked family members having access to evidence of debauchery, users are worried about identity theft. Could a yet-to-be-vetted Timeline serve as a treasure trove for cyber criminals that use personal information in various unsavory ways?

Sure, but let’s also think about it like this: Facebook isn’t crafting stories out of thin air and using them to populate your Timeline. Anything that the Timeline shows from five years ago, you willfully posted (whether you remember it or not). Sure, Timeline kind of opens up old wounds in a way. Things that you thought buried by time are now prominently visible again. Old information is inarguably much more accessible with Timeline.

But if you shared it, shouldn’t you own it?

And as far as the concern over frictionless sharing with new apps, the answer is fairly simple. If you don’t want everyone to see what you’re listening to with Spotify, don’t connect Spotify to your Facebook account. If their recent actions haven’t made it clear, Facebook is going all-in with sharing. That’s what “frictionless” means – without impediments. The free flow of information has to be curbed by the user, if they want certain activities to remain private.

But the bottom line for some: Facebook is putting the onus of privacy control on the user by putting it all out there and asking everyone to do all the work in making sure their privacy concerns are met.

Will the forced Timeline cause users to jump ship? I doubt it. It seems like every Facebook change brings out the “i’m gonna ditch” threats. Despite this, Facebook continues to grow – because it has become such an important part of our culture. But there is quite a bit of hate out there for the Timeline, so we’ll have to wait and see the reaction when it has finally rolled out to everyone.

About the Author:
Josh Wolford is a Staff Writer for WebProNews. He likes beer, Sriracha and Cormac McCarthy.

Twitter: @joshgwolf | Google: Google+

Facebook provides businesses with another way to interact with their customers or clients in addition to adding value.

Unfortunately, notwithstanding the potential, I often hear from Facebook Page owners that in spite of their hard work on creating their pages, they are frustrated by the fact that they have few fans, and the ones they have aren’t engaged.

Something that contributes to this problem is inadequate planning and no clear purpose for their Facebook Page. Purpose and planning aren’t the most exciting words out there, but they payoff big time. Once business owners take the time to put a plan, known as an editorial guide, in place, everything else falls into place. As a result of this, their fan base grows, and engagement begins to happen to the point where it no longer feels like work, but fun.

Here are some tips for creating an editorial guide for your Facebook Page.

Define Your Purpose

Ask yourself the following three questions to help you define the purpose of your Facebook Page:

#1: Why Have a Fan Page?

Hint: “everybody else is doing it” is not a good reason! Instead, consider what you hope to accomplish through having a Facebook Page.

#2: What Will Differentiate Your Fan Page from Your Website?

You need to think about what you can provide on your Facebook Page that will be different from what is available on your website. Think of ways that your fans can interact with you on your fan page that they can’t on your website. The more interactive your page is, the more successful it will be. Fans will have no reason to visit a static Facebook Page.

#3: Define Your “it” Factor

What is different and special about you and your employees? What do you provide that is different from your competitors? Build your fan page strategy around what makes your business unique.

Now that you’ve considered the three points above, it’s time to work on your editorial guide. Here are the things you’ll want to be sure to include:

#1: How Often Will You Post on Your Facebook Page?

Although we engage with our fans throughout the day on Social Media Examiner, we also have specific chunks of time set aside for certain types of content. For instance, in the morning, we post the latest Social Media Examiner article. In the afternoon, we post a link to content from a third-party that we know will be beneficial to our fans. Then, a few times a week, we post a question late in the afternoon. Although most of the questions pertain to social media, some are on other topics.

#2: Decide What Type of Content You’ll Post.

Knowing this ahead of time makes it easy to find great content for your fan page. At Social Media Examiner, we consistently find valuable content on about 20 different websites. It’s fine to branch out occasionally, but having a list of great sites you go to regularly for content makes it easy to find valuable content to share with your fans.

#3: Determine the Post Format.

Define ahead of time how you want you and your team to put posts together. Some pages are informal and conversational and others are more factual and informative, like a news source.

Since we have three people posting on our fan page, we always end each post with our names, so people will know who posted. This adds a friendly and personal touch to our posts.

#4: Plan Out How You’ll Respond to Your Fans’ Comments.

On the Social Media Examiner page, we have a goal of reaching out to everybody who makes a comment on our page. We want our fans to know we are listening to them and interested in their thoughts.

#5: Determine What to do About Promotional or Negative Posts.

It’s not uncommon for fans to post promotional bits of information regarding their services and products on your Facebook wall. This can make things cluttered and can hinder legitimate conversations from taking place. It’s important to determine ahead of time which types of posts you’ll allow and which ones you’ll delete. Be sure your entire team is on the same page regarding this.

One thing to keep in mind is that your editorial guide is just a guide, not something that can’t be changed. The goal of the guide is to keep things running smoothly without hindering you from going with the flow.

Bonus Tip: If you feel overwhelmed by social media and if your social media efforts are taking too much time, clíck on the línk below right now to gain access to a free 3-part video series where you’ll learn:

* Why what you’re doing now may be costing you profíts and valuable relationships in your biz.
* The 3 reasons for your lackluster social media results
* How to identify the big-fat social media time wasters
* And so much more!

About The Author
Article by Amy Porterfield simplesocialmediaformula.com

Almost every time I ask a Facebook user who is not a marketer if they ever interact with Facebook ads, I get the same response – “Facebook has ads?” That is one of the beauties of Facebook advertising in that ads are so custom tailored to user preferences and demographics, that they do not appear to be ads at all but rather engaging content.

As a business that wants to target some of the 800 million plus Facebook users, what are some of the best ways to go about this? Here are 14 tips to help you get started.

1. To get started, you’ll first have to create a Facebook Page.

2. Once your business page is set up, it would be most beneficial to have a Facebook App Developer create an App for your page.

3. Set your App as the “Landing Tab” for your Page.

4. Your Facebook application should have a clear call to action such as a special offer, discount, or even a call to enter a sweepstakes of some kind. The general idea is to offer something that is of some benefit to the user.

5. As you collect the email addresses of those you interact with your App, save them to email marketing program such as Constant Contact so you can reach out to these folks in the future. Click through rates for Facebook apps that collect email addresses are extremely high, ranging in the 70% to 80% range.

6. Your Facebook App should prompt the user to share with at least 3 friends via a wall post.

7. The total number of clicks required to navigate through App and ultimately share should be kept to a minimum. Keep in mind that each time a person has to “click or do something” is an opportunity to lose that user.

8. Carefully monitor analytics in Facebook Ads Manager and Facebook Insights for Apps. Both are free analytics programs provided by Facebook.

9. Create multiple Facebook Ads and conduct A/B testing, selecting only the best performing ads. You should aim for a minimum 2%-4% click through rate. At a minimum, 25% of clicks should also like your Facebook Page.

10. Once you’ve amassed hundreds or even thousands of likes and email addresses, don’t stop there. As they say, “rinse and repeat” those marketing strategies that are successful.

11. Studies have shown that over 51% of those who like a brand are more likely to buy from it.

Here are just a few studies that add validity to this point:
How Much Is a Facebook Fan Really Worth?
Social Media Fact: 51% of Facebook Fans More Likely to Buy
Facebook Fans More Likely to Recommend a Brand, Buy Products

12. Make sure you send your fans emails or Page posts on a regular basis with discounts and clear incentives to buy from you.

13. Statistically, people who “like” your business are “warm” leads and will convert at a much higher rate than cold calling, cold emailing, or other direct sales channels.

14. If your campaign is a success, get PR for it by sharing results and statistics on your company blog.

For those of you who would like these and other tips in a handy data visualization, check out the infographic below from AES Connect, Facebook app development company.

About the Author:
David Wallace, co-founder and CEO of SearchRank, is a recognized expert in the industry of search and social media marketing. A blogger and widely published author, David has been featured in many online publications such as Search Engine Guide, Search Engine Watch, WebPro News, SEO Today, and Pandia to name a few. David also serves as a frequent speaker at the Search Marketing Expo, Search Engine Strategies and PubCon conferences.

Facebook has tremendous potential. Of the 800 million users globally, there must be millions of your target audience using the social platform too. Moreover Facebook offers great marketing tools for you to get new leads and customers. The platform allows you to ‘interact’ your way to new customers and also serves as a great way of promoting your new products.

You got all this and have now created a Facebook fan page for your business. But the number of fans is not increasing in the way you would like it to. How can you increase your fan base? Well, we have the ways listed right here.

20 Tips To Increase Your Facebook Fan Following:

We have divided these 20 tips into three neat sections, in sequence of their occurrence and relevance.

Driving Fans To Your Page:

1. Link to your Facebook Page from your website, blog (embed widgets)- There are plenty of snazzy Facebook Social Plugins for you to choose and place them on your website and blog. The ‘Like Box’ will entice your site visitors to see what you and your fans are up to on Facebook. Live Stream widget is also an interesting application to add, and Facebook users can comment on a live event.

2. Add your Facebook page URL in your email signature- Send and receive hundreds of mails everyday as a part of your daily routine? Then reach many people by placing your fan page URL in your email signature. Send across your Facebook Page URL to your friends, partners, clients, customers, and others. Since they know you they will surely explore your page.

3. Place your fan page URL in your personal profile- Have a 1000 friends on your personal profile? Then you must place the URL to your fan page on your profile. Anyone and obviously friends coming across your profile will also get to know about your page.

4. Ask your Linkedin account and Twitter followers to LIKE your page- Have thousands of Twitter followers? Then be really smart in Tweeting your Facebook Page link. Many of them will want to see what it is that you are promoting. Include a Facebook page link in your ‘About Me’ on Twitter to allow your followers to follow the link to the page.

5. Ask your present fans to spread the word- Your few hundred fans can be instrumental in getting more fans. If they share your Page on their walls, then all their friends, will be able to see the Page and many with similar interests may follow the link and LIKE you!

6. Advertise on Facebook increase your chances of being seen- Facebook ads are highly targeted and can get you instant exposure. Users view your ad and can also become a fan. Facebook has many promotional advert systems like ‘Sponsored Stories’ and ‘Ads’.

7. Ask users to like you in the ad.- You have to create ads exciting enough to give users a reason to LIKE the ads and land on your Facebook Page. Experiment with the copy, heading, images. But be simple, keep the language casual with a friendly tone. The good news is that Facebook may decrease your Cost per click if you have a high click-through rate! Do not send people to your website from the ad, as this way you will not be able to get a like from the ad. Send people to your Facebook Page.

Getting Fans To Like Your Page:

8. Create Vanity URL for your fan page- Once you have 25 LIKES, you create a nice URL. Include your business’ name in the same. Try to make it SEO friendly.

9.Create a smashing landing page- Your landing page comes in handy to create a positive, compelling, interesting first impression. The landing page must entice the visitors to LIKE it. It can be funny, daring, bold or mysterious. Whatever emotion you think can lead to a LIKE. Create a welcoming and compelling Welcome tab for your Facebook fan page. You can also include a video in this Welcome Tab.

For example see the interesting animation on the Coca Cola Fan Page-

10. Do not send fans to the wall- Always send them to your landing page. Never to the Wall as it may have comments from other fans which may not seem interesting to other users.

11. ‘Incentivize’ your landing Page- A smashing landing page design is a great step. But to ensure a LIKE you need more. You need to entice users to like you. Give a people of being ‘in the crowd’ when they will LIKE your Page. So things like ‘ Enter to interact with the kings’ will make a difference.

For instance see how HP Play has an exciting-’Win’ angle to their landing page.

Keeping The Fans Engaged:

12. Post interesting Content- Do not become beyond boring with just your news, blog posts, business information or sales specials. You have to focus on user engagement.

Ask questions to encourage response
Post links to a YouTube video
Post famous quotes and ask fans if they agree/disagree.
Post a photo and ask fans to caption them
For instance, see how this TV Show page has a photo of the lead pair and has asked fans to caption it.

13. Share Photos and Videos- If you have any new product or event photos or videos, then post them and tag your fans in them. This notifies them and their friends- instant attention!

For instance, this photo put up by a travel agency is topical to an event in history, and generates public interest too. See how they have tagged fans.

14. Tag relevant industry pages with huge fans in the videos and photos too- So you are an iPhone app developer, and have liked the iPhone page. This page has like several million fans. Tag the page and people will be interested in seeing what video has the iPhone been tagged in.

15. Run contests- This worked smoothly till recently. Still works but may be need written permission from Facebook among other things. But on the page, you can run a contest and ask Facebook users to LIKE you to participate in the same.

For instance see how the McDonalds Page is running a Quest to find the best Mac!

16. Reward those fans who get you more fans- Give out free coupons or virtual gifts like e-books for fans who refer other fans to your page.

17. Use Facebook Apps to integrate fans- There are plenty of apps you can use from NetworkedBlogs to live video streaming app called Vpype, Fan Of the Week, Booshaka, ContactMe and many many more.

18. Synchronize your fan page with your other social profiles- Link your Facebook Page to Twitter, Digg, Stumble and the like. There are many apps to do the same. So with them, your latest status updates, photos, links on Facebook page will be tweeted and displayed on all other social platforms.

19. Interact with your fans- On Facebook to keep your fans interested, you have to react, respond to their comments and Likes. Make your fans feel that they are interacting with a person who is genuinely interested in making a connection. Answer their queries, appreciate their feedback and praise their contest efforts.

The highly effective trick:

20. Give something for free to people to get them to LIKE your page- Everyone likes to get free things. So, on Facebook this works like magic. Offer free coupons, tickets, books anything you can think of to get more LIKES. The Kodak page ran a LIKE and get a free collage and Facebook photo printout offer. With this free offer, its LIKES increased really fast.

The highly effective trick:
20. Give something for free to people to get them to LIKE your page- Everyone likes to get free things. So, on Facebook this works like magic. Offer free coupons, tickets, books anything you can think of to get more LIKES. The Kodak page ran a LIKE and get a free collage and Facebook photo printout offer. With this free offer, its LIKES increased really fast.

About the Author:
Nav is the founder and CEO of Page Traffic, a premier search engine company known for its assured SEO service, web design and development, copywriting and full time SEO professionals.

Navneet has wide experience in natural search engine optimization, internet marketing and PPC campaigns. He is a prolific writer and his articles can be found in the “Best Articles” section of many websites and article banks. As a search engine analyst , he has over 9 years of experience and his knowledge is in application here.