Archive for the ‘Facebook’ Category

Facebook has a new feature that allows you to repost other users’ shared items, much like the ‘retweet’ function everyone uses on Twitter. To try it, just go to a friend’s posted item in your news feed, click “share,” and you’ll see a “via [your friend’s name]” (with an option to remove it). Once shared, the item will appear on your profile, with a ‘v’ia link that points to your friend’s profile. Your friends will also see the item in their News Feeds, creating a viral loop, much like ‘re-tweeting:’

This function has many good uses: for example, if you are a fan of a page that keeps you abreast of changing estate planning laws, you could ‘share’ a relevant post of that page with all of the friends and fans of your own page, thereby educating your audience on a matter important to them.  Or, you could just repost a review of a good book or blog post someone else shared, giving your client base a chance to get to know you on a more personal level and strengthening your relationship.  Test it out and see for yourself the response you receive!

It is now easier than ever to engage in meaningful conversations in Facebook.  The newly updated Facebook Search Feature allows you to search for topics being discussed in status updates. You can use this feature to find people who are looking for estate planning services.  See example below:

By searching for the words “estate plan” I instantly found someone looking for a “good estate attorney”  (Oh, and I was sure to recommend one to her!).
You can search through posts of your friends, or choose the more global “Posts by Everyone” feature to find people outside of your current network.
It’s quick, easy, and a really great way to increase your social networking contacts.

Facebook has expanded their ‘tagging’ feature beyond photos.  Now there is a powerful new way to create live links between pages, profiles and groups.  What this means is that you can update your personal profile status and point your friends to your fan page with an actual live link.   This allows you to direct even more people to your fan page and from there you can continue to educate your community about estate planning.

Using the tagging feature is very similar to the Twitter @replies, so using it is pretty easy if you know or remember the person or group’s username.  Simply type the @symbol and the first few letters and Facebook will generate an auto-suggest dropdown menu:

Once you see the group or person that you would like to tag, click on it and it will appear as an active link.  Then click “Share.”   Then your status will appear on your friends News Feed:

This is a great way for you to highlight upcoming workshops, special offers, or news about your firm.  But as with everything in social media, use this feature sparingly.  Don’t spam your Facebook friends with your marketing messages!

The Facebook ‘Info’ tab is an often overlooked and underused section of your Facebook page.  But people really do click on that tab to learn more about you!   The info tab is the perfect spot to place geographical information about you and your practice, so anyone visiting your page will instantly know if they are a good candidate for your practice.

Plus, Facebook pages are SUPER searchable. Google loves them!  So be sure to put your city and state on your Facebook profile and fan page so you have a better chance of being found when people are searching for you.

Sometimes it can be difficult to get a discussion going on your Facebook fan page or group. I think this is because people are super busy, and do not have time to become involved in a discussion every day. One way to get people to participate is by putting something “controversial” there.

For example, you could post something like “You should never leave your estate to charities!” Then you could completely turn this around and say something like, “you should never leave your estate to charities without working with a professional who can guide you…”

People are more likely to respond to a topic about which they have a strong opinion. There’s nothing like a good debate to get a good discussion going! Try it!