JEM Marketing Blog

For the past several months, LinkedIn has been undergoing some changes.  There is a new look, and some new functionality.  But is LinkedIn simply playing “catch up?”  Do these changes remind you of features that Facebook has already been using with substantial success?

New LinkedIn Features

1. Blue Box To See New Updates

When you click on the blue box under your status update box on your profile, you get a listing that looks very similar to a Facebook newsfeed with updates from your connections.  Is this similarity to the Facebook newsfeed a coincidence?  I think not.  Many of the postings here even have the familiar “Like – Comment – Share” buttons.

2. Images are Larger

Images with LinkedIn status updates are now larger which will enhance engagement with yourFacebook statistics have long shown that images get the most engagement with other users.  Is LinkedIn becoming more visually functional to emulate Facebook posts?

3. Company Pages

Recently, LinkedIn has added the ability to upload an image to your companyThis is dramatically similar to the Facebook cover image for business pages.  In fact, I use the same image (recommended for consistent branding) on both my LinkedIn company page and my Facebook business page.

Where Does LinkedIn Excel Over Facebook?

In my opinion, there are a few places where LinkedIn has done a better job than Facebook, especially from a career or business opportunity standpoint.  Maybe this is to be expected, since by nature, providing career and business connections is LinkedIn’s model.

1. Endorsements

Similar to recommendations, LinkedIn now allows your connections to endorse skills that you’ve described on your profile with the mere click of a button. This is a huge plus for networking, and people are much more apt to endorse you for a particular skill or set of skills than they are to write a recommendation.

2. Products and Services on Company Pages

With the ability to now add images and descriptive copy about your company’s products and services, LinkedIn has given business owners a great opportunity to showcase their offerings within the LinkedIn site where they have more opportunity of being seen than on your company’sIdeally, this feature should be used to entice the viewer to go to your website to gain more information about your company and its products and services.

3. Sharing to Groups

Using social media to get your message out is key, so having the ability to share a single post to multiple groups is a big plus for LinkedIn. Comparatively, on Facebook, the user must share the same post over and over again to each group individually.  This is definitely an area where Facebook should look to LinkedIn for improvement.

Today, almost everyone has some presence on at least one social media site. Currently, Facebook has over 1 billion users, LinkedIn has over 189 million and Twitter hit over 500 million in 2012. Even considering the fake accounts, duplicates and other scenarios, there are still a lot of people to interact with via social media.

These social media platforms each have their own guidelines, best practices, and nuances as to how to use them most effectively. Sadly, many people do not take the time to learn about these guidelines and best practices, and the result is that many people are using them not only ineffectively, but inappropriately.

Here are some common sense rules to follow, regardless of which social media platform you are using. Actually, if you really think about it, the only one you need is number one, as the rest will all follow naturally if you practice the first one.

#1 - Be Polite on Social Media

Do not say something on a social media site that you would not say if you were standing face to face with that person in a room.

#2 - Do Not Spam

It's ok to promote your products or services occasionally, but make sure that you are always offering something of value to your audience and that your offering is relevant to the forum on which you are posting.

#3 - Do Not Promote Yourself on Someone Else's Page

It is simply bad form to post something on someone else's Facebook page that promotes yourself, your company or your product or services.

#4 - Do Not Personalize Your Comments

It is fine to disagree with a comment on a page or in a forum, and to offer a different or opposing opinion, but make sure that you stay on subject and do not personalize your remarks.

#5 - Follow the Rules

Most groups on Facebook and LinkedIn have rules posted which explain what can and can't be posted or what the intent of the group is. Make sure that your post, comment or question is relevant to the group or forum where you're posting.

As a social media consultant, I have seen too many instances of people not using these simple rules in their approach to social media marketing. If you would like more information about social media, please become a fan of my Facebook page at www.facebook.com/JEMmarketing and/or follow me on Twitter @JEMmarketingLI.

In order to create a custom Facebook cover, there are a few guidelines you need to follow.

1. Size of the Image

The size of your custom Facebook image should be 850 pixels wide by 315 pixels deep. Depending upon you skill level, you can use any image editor to create your image. Adobe Illustrator or Photoshop are good choices, but there are several free photo editors that can be found online.

2. Don't Promote Anything in the Cover Image

Facebook guidelines prohibit you from offering any kind of sale information in the cover image. For example, you cannot say, "10% OFF OUR ENTIRE INVENTORY".

3. Do Not Use Contact Information

Unlike the header of a website, your Facebook cover cannot contain your phone number, address, email or website URL.

4. Do Not Request that Visitors "Like" or "Share" on Your Custom Facebook Cover

Facebook prohibits you from asking for a "Like" or a "Share" or any other Facebook user interface elements on your custom cover image.

5. Do Not Use a "Call to Action on Your Custom Facebook Cover

You cannot use any language that encourages a viewer to take an action on your cover image. An example would be, "Fill out our contact form to receive our newsletter".

6. Facebook Profile Image

Along with your custom Facebook cover image, you will probably want to create a custom profile image for your fan page. If you are a business, that may be your logo, your company name or a product. The image size should be 180 pixels wide x 180 pixels deep.

When designing your custom Facebook cover image, you should keep in mind that the profile image overlaps the cover image slightly on the lower left side of the cover image. Make sure that you do not cover up any text or an important design element with your profile image.

These are the things you need to know when creating a custom Facebook cover. For more tips on social media, you can follow JEM Marketing & Business Solutions on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/JEMmarketing.

If you would like more information about making money online, watch our video at www.JEMempowernetwork.com.

These days, it seems like everyone from 8 to 88 is engaged in some sort of social media.  I read the other day that in 2011 a trend developed showing a decrease in texting and a comparable increase in communicating via Facebook and Twitter.  Somewhere along the way, it has become “uncool” to pick up the phone to have a conversation with a friend, and instead we use tiny little keyboards to express ourselves.  Without even mentioning the amount of typos and the loss of most punctuation and grammar that this results in, we are losing the sense of a person’s personality, humor, sarcasm, etc. – the essence of that person which is much more evident in a phone conversation, or – dare I say it, a face to face conversation.