Create a Facebook Fan Page URL in 2 Minutes or Less

If you’ve created a Facebook Fan Page, but cannot (or did not) figure out how to create a vanity URL to go with it, I’m happy to tell you that you can make that change really quickly.

To change your Facebook Fan Page URL, go to http://www.facebook.com/username/

Using the drop down box, select the Fan Page you’d like to (re)name. You’ll need to check the availability of the name. After you’ve checked and created your name, click the save button and voila: your new, simplified Facebook Fan Page URL.

One last thing — Don’t forget to share your new name with your fans as well as in other correspondence you send out!

How to Track Your Social Media ROI in Google Analytics

E-Commerce retailers using Google Analytics to track their metrics can now also track their social media ROI as well. I’m going to explain how in five easy steps.

Step 1. Locate and select Advanced Segments from the lower left sidebar in your Google Analytics Dashboard.

Step 2. Once in the Advanced Segment screen, select Create a new custom segment

Step 3. Move Source into the Dimension or Metric Window

Step 4. Select “Matches Regular Expression” from the Conditions Box. In the Value Box, plug in the social networking sites your website is on using this string:

digg|aim|friendfeed|blinklist|fark|furl|wikipedia|stumbleupon|netvibes|bloglines|linkedin|facebook|del\.icio\.us|
feedburner|twitter|technorati|faves\.com|newsgator|PRweb|msplinks|myspace|bit\.ly|tr\.im|cli\.gs|zi\.ma|poprl|tinyurl

Do not include websites or networks you are not a part of. You’ll also want to be sure you do not leave any spaces between the social network and the Pipe stroke  <|> (the symbol above the backslash on most keyboards). In instances where there is typically a period or dot in the URL, you’ll need to insert a backslash the first and second elements of the URL.

Step 5. Name your Custom Report and test it. You will now be able to see where you are receiving the most social media traffic from as well as your bounce rate, keywords used and any other metrics you decide to track.

Facebook App Allows Fan Page Admins to Create User E-newsletters

File this one under cool things to try in 2010: Facebook Fan Page administrators can now let their fans create personalized e-newsletters including content from the fan page.

Fb-funded NutshellMail, which operates a web based service that culls social media applications,  recently introduced the new feature to its web service.

The NutshellMail Facebook application allows you, as your e-commerce site’s Fan Page admin, to add an “Email Newsletter” tab to your page. By adding a newsletter, fans can opt-in to receive e-mailed content — highlighting your most recent posts — along with their Facebook updates.

Installing the application is fairly easy.

Step 1. On the Nutshell Facebook Application Page, select your page and click “Add Nutshell Mail”

Step 2. Select EMail Newsletter from the Drop Down Tab.

Step 3. Follow the App’s instructions for how to receive updates. In order for this to work, you’ll need to allow the Application access to your Facebook profile. Don’t worry, your person status updates will not go out to your Fan Page Fans.

Step 4. Be sure to promote your new e-newsletter function to your fans as well as in your next email send to customers.

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Once your email is approved (Step 3), you can adjust your account settings to receive e-mail updates as often (or as little) as you want.  You can customize what you receive  Using the Account Settings > Pages tab on Nutshellmail.com.

As for why an e-commerce site would want to add this function to its Fan Page, studies show that consumers are more likely to purchase based on their own opt-in preferences to e-mail. What better way to get your brand in front of your consumers or fans than to be in an email they opted to have you in.

Free Tools To Enhance Your ECommerce Website and Social Media Campaigns

75 Words to Consider During Your Next Electronic Campaign

Social media and e-mail, for all of their popularity, can only offer so much reach to potential customers. You can have the perfect sale at the perfect time using the most pristine analytics possible but lose conversion because your message got lost along the way.

How can you be sure your message will get in front of as many eyes as possible?

1. Consider using some of the most popular retweetable and repeatable words on Twitter and Facebook.
2. Avoid words that will land your message in a customer’s spam filter

The 20 Most ReTweetable Words & Phrases (according to DanZarrella.com) are:

you	twitter	please
retweet	post	blog
social	free	media
help	please retweet	great
social media	10	follow
how to	top	blog post
check out	new blog post

 

According to spam filter experts, there are at least* 55 words or phrases you want to avoid in your e-mails include:

#1	Accept credit cards	Affordable
All natural	Apply online	Bargain
Best price	Billing address	Buy direct
Call	Cards Accepted	Check
Click /Click Here / Click Below	Click to remove	Congratulations
Cost / No cost	Do it today	Extra income
For free	Form	Free and FREE
Free leads	Free membership	Free offer
Free preview	Full refund	Get it now
Giving away	Guarantee	Hidden
Marketing	Marketing solutions	Money
Name brand	Never	No Hidden Costs
No-obligation	Now	Offer
One time / one-time	Opportunity	Order / Order Now
Order today/ Order status	Orders shipped by priority mail	Performance
Please read	Price	Risk free
Sales	Satisfaction guaranteed	Save $
Save up to	Special promotion	Urgent
US dollars

 

You may obviously need to use some of the words above in your next e-mail, however, be sure to use the word(s) sparingly and never put a word like Free or Now in all capital letters. Increased frequency or repeated use of these words can highly increase your chances of an email landing in the spam folder.

Many third party email systems like Constant Contact, iContact, and AWeber automatically pre-check your email for you against a spam database and then give it a “spam rating”. The rating is supposed to help you gauge how your email stacks up against other spam and thus provide an idea of whether it will be caught in spam filters or not. I highly recommend one of these types of services if you are not already utilizing a third party system.

*This list was adapted from http://www.marketingforsuccess.com/wordstoavoid.html. For a list of 250 words and phrases to avoid, take a look at Words and Phrases that Trigger Some Spam Filters at http://www.wilsonweb.com/wmt8/spamfilter_phrases.htm

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