Effective Use of Facebook

I promised definitions for Social Media, so here is the first one.

Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com

Facebook came out in 2004 and started as a college networking website, but quickly expanded to include everyone. After signing up, Facebook users create a profile page that shows their friends and networks information about themselves. Later on in the game, Facebook Pages started, allowing businesses to join the social network to promote their products and services.

Since then, Facebook has been a huge asset to businesses, who have utilized the system to gain new fans and spread the word about what’s going on with their company. While businesses primarily use the social network for self-promotion, doing so too much can be a turn-off for fans. Because of this, businesses offer helpful tips, share funny anecdotes and photos or discuss current events to show they’re not all about the bottom dollar. Facebook is a wonderful tool, that when used correctly, can help increase your ROI and awareness for your product or brand.

I’ve seen some parents start a Facebook page for their baby pre-birth. They share photos of pregnancy progress and newborn photos when their bundle of joy arrives. It’s a great way to share those ‘first’ moments for family and friends living far away.

Whether you use the network for business or pleasure, I hope you’ll join us on our Facebook page where we try to provide the best resources in our nation’s Capitol. Here is the link.

http://www.facebook.com/FAMILYMagazine


How can Facebook be used effectively for business?

The more I learn about Facebook, the more I'm fascinated by how it all works!

I want to share a great story with you about how we used Facebook to create awareness for one of our favorite concert venues.

Last month, we ran a contest for tickets to Wolf Trap's Theatre-in-the-Woods. It was a simple question we asked on Facebook. Here is how it was described by one of the moms who entered and won.

"A few weeks ago, I was reading through my newsfeed of friends and “liked” public pages on Facebook and happened to see a post by FAMILY Magazine of Washington, D.C. They were running a simple contest that invited readers to answer a question: “Tell us why you love Wolf Trap!” to try to win tickets to see a family show at Wolf Trap Children’s Theatre-in-the-Woods program.

I immediately submitted my best reply to FAMILY Magazine and was so surprised to find out that I had won! I scored a family 4-pack of tickets to see a show at Wolf Trap for July 5th. It was to go see Elizabeth Mitchell. “

We typically invite winners of a contest to share a photo of their fun time to our Facebook wall because we love seeing families having a great time using the tickets they've won.

This winner did something extra special. She wrote a blog post about her trip to the performance and it was the neatest review! (You can read it here: http://socciwriter.blogspot.com/2012/07/the-applelele-strikes-again.html) The blog post has 3 great pictures. Dad even got into the action. It is a really fun story.

Facebook is such a great community for sharing experiences and stories. What's your favorite story or experience that someone has shared with you via Facebook? I'd love to hear about it! Send me an email if you don't want to post your comments here, however I love comments!

Social Media for Building Business

Many of the companies we hear from want to know more about social media. It seems that they have heard about it but really don't understand it. It is the "shiny new toy" that everyone wants.

FAMILY Magazine has been using social media for several years. We can connect with our readers more easily to talk about what is important in their lives. Although it is a great tool for connecting, it is also a big time commitment.

For the next few days, I will try to define social media and provide a few links to some resources we have found helpful.

The first thing you need to do is define what it is so you can decide if there are benefits to your business. It is a big investment of time and resources, so this is important.

What is social media?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_media

Wikipedia has a very detailed definition of social media which also includes a great deal of information about how social media has been used in the past to build business. They state that social networking now accounts for 22% of all time spent online in the US. However, the Wikipedia definition is very long and sometimes goes a big too far. It might be confusing if you are just now trying to understand the basics of social networking.

This is a list of some of the social networking sites on the web today.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_social_networking_websites

Have you ever considered or wanted to use social media to promote your business?

If you are considering the use of social media to promote your business, one resource you may want to explore is Michael Stelzner's Social Media Examiner. His newsletter always includes very helpful and informative information.

http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/

We were blasted!

FAMILY Deals finally blasted off and is rolling right along. Have you checked it out yet?
http://www.washingtonfamily.com/familydeals/

Now that the site is launched, I have finally come up for air. This morning I was catching up with my emails and I came across a great article on the value of "fans" on Facebook. They placed the value of a "fan" from $3.60 to $136 annually. The article is very interesting.

Be sure to let me know what you think of our new deal site and have a great fall!

New Member of our FAMILY

The newest member of our FAMILY – our FAMILY Deals website – is in the last phases of its launch sequence. We’re so excited. Just a few more days, and we’ll have the Deals you’re looking for on the best parenting products and services in the DC area! While we prepare for blast off, be sure to check out our Cutest Kid in Washington contest – just click this link!

If you want more info for the FAMILY Deals, here is a link for that.

Welcoming a new member of the FAMILY is such hard, rewarding work. We did it all for you bargain hunters out there.

Steve Job's Passing

I got up this morning and turned on my Mac computer to find out that the man who invented it, Steve Jobs had died. I took out my iPhone and texted my daughter. Steve Jobs changed my life.

Without the Mac computer I probably would not have started FAMILY Magazine. It was only because I could figure out how to create a magazine on my computer without a programming degree that I was able to create the magazine without any special training. I learned everything I know about computers by figuring them out by myself. Mac made that possible. I love Mac computers.

I share Job’s view of how you should view your life purpose. He said in his 2005 Stanford Commencement Address, “The only way to do great work is to do what you love.” He was right. He did love his work and he did great work. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1R-jKKp3NA

I love what I do. I am not sure if what I do is considered “great work” but I really do love doing it.

So it is with sadness I view Job’s passing. He was truly a great visionary. I have heard his address to Stanford several times. If you have not seen or heard it, you really should watch it. He closes with a story about the Whole Earth Catalog. I remember the Whole Earth Catalog and when I started FAMILY Magazine I had the thought that if they could publish Whole Earth Catalog, I could publish a magazine as well.

Steve Jobs ended his speech at Stanford with the final quote from Whole Earth Catalog, “Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish.” This is great advice for a young person just starting out. I would add, find your passion.

Steve, we will miss you and your innovation.

Brenda

Family Magazine Trivia #4

FAMILY Magazine 20th Anniversary Trivia

The very first printed issue of FAMILY Magazine was the April 1992 issue. It was printed the end of March at a printing company in Silver Spring, Maryland. We had 26 advertisers. Over the next 20 years we have printed 18,704,000 copies of FAMILY Magazine, and have had over 48,000 advertisers. We have printed over 800 guides and resource lists. There have been 18 Best for Families surveys. We have sales people who have moved to locations all over the United States and now work for other parenting publications. This is a great job if you are a mom!

Over the years there have been 24 babies born to our employees (our family), many of these while working for FAMILY Magazine. Our most recent addition was a beautiful baby girl born to Annette Cooper who now lives in New York City.

When we first started FAMILY, we only sold print advertising. It was simple, buy an advertisement and be in front of the moms who read our printed magazine. Now, in addition to print advertising, we sell a completely integrated marketing plan that contains many different tools to help companies communicate with moms who are interested in getting the best for their family. We sell online advertisements, Web Tags with landing pages, blog sponsorships, coupons, eBlasts, contest sponsorships and a whole range of tools for social networking. The advertising world has changed and we have been leading the way with every change in technology.

We were the very first publication in this region to have Microsoft Web Tags that made our print magazine interactive. In fact, USA Today did not launch their Web Tag features until February of this year. We have been utilizing them since July of last year. Look for these fun tools throughout the magazine.

Time has flown since that first year, and a great deal has happened. FAMILY Magazine continues to work to be there as a great resource for parents in the Washington region. We sincerely appreciate all our readers and all our advertisers. They are the reason we are here, and it has been a whole lot of fun!

The Big $Party Cash Giveaway

I know you have heard it before but we are celebrating our 20th Anniversary all year long April is the actual month we first published so we are trying to make it a bit more exciting!

Want to go on a scavenger hunt for cash? Looking to have some fun – and are you willing to tell you friends so they have a chance to win the BIG BUCKS?

We are trying to give away $2000 . . .but you have to Fan us and have your friends Fan us on Facebook. Nothing is ever totally free :-(

Our Big $Party Treasure Chest is starting out with an awesome $1000. For every new FAN we have on Facebook from now through April 22, we will add $2 to the Big $Party Treasure Chest (up to $2000).

Help us fill the Big $Party Treasure Chest by telling all your friends to FAN us on Facebook.

WHERE IS THE PARTY?

Clues for location of the party will be in our eNewsletter. Be sure to sign up for the eNewsletter so you will know where the party is and how to win the CASH.

Here is our web site. www.WashingtonFAMILY.com

On the homepage you can click on Fun Things To Do, To Your Inbox. That's where you can sign up for our eNewsletter. And, then fan us on Facebook. http://www.facebook.com/FAMILYMagazine

You can send the link to all your friends and get them to fan us as well. For every new fan, we add MONEY to the prize.

So, where is the party? You will just have to stay tuned and find out.

Brenda

Family Magazine Trivia #3

FAMILY Magazine 20th Anniversary Trivia

Our first magazine was produced in the basement of my home. I had a little Mac computer my husband bought and a printer donated by my father. Our first employee was a part time secretary who was a college student. Maureen went on to work for AOL (when they were big) after she graduated from college. Our first home based sales person lived down the street and had 2 little girls. Jeanne found out she was pregnant with her 3rd child not long after coming to work for us.

Our entire creative department was a mom who worked out of her family room surrounded by toys and her two young sons. For several years, I would drop off work on her front porch and go back to pick it up later.

Now we have four people in our production department and work in a beautiful office with new computers that were just installed a few weeks ago. I don’t do much of the creative work any longer, but it is still one of the most enjoyable parts of putting together our magazine. We have a great time planning, brainstorming and just trying ideas out.

My picture this month was taken looking in our production area of the office. We have an open floor plan so that we can all work together and be the most creative team we can be. Our staff is great and it is truly a pleasure to work with them.

Family Magazine Trivia #2

FAMILY Magazine 20th Anniversary Trivia

When the first magazine was publishing, we delivered it door-to-door in neighborhoods with lots of children. Our phones were constantly ringing and it be became apparent that we needed a better way of getting FAMILY Magazine into the hands of moms and dads who wanted to read it.

We started developing a network of places that moms go—where they sit, where they wait, and where they go to do things with their kids. At first this was a big task, but before long, our phones were constantly ringing again with places that wanted to have the magazine.

In 2011, we will deliver FAMILY Magazine to over 2,900 locations throughout the metro DC area every month and in the course of the year over 2,400,000 parents will read our magazine. My picture this month was taken in one of our 4 warehouse locations where our route managers pick up the magazine each month.

We are confident parents enjoy and benefit from the magazine, and we are confident that we can place it in the Metro DC market where they can find it. If you have a location you would like to add to our list, please let us know. You can also find a list of locations where we restock racks throughout the month by visiting our web site, washingtonfamily.com.

Awards Season – We’re a Stand Out Publication!

It is always great to hear from your professional peers that you are doing a stand out job. It is also beneficial to give feedback to those on our staff who might not get as many obvious pats on the back – our production staff.

With sales, you can easily see progress just by looking at the numbers. Which month was up, who had the most sales in January, and so on. However, production’s outcomes are less easily quantified. While we all can see the fabulous finished product each month, sometimes it seems they only hear complaints. So I am always looking for ways to let them know what an amazing job they do.

FAMILY Magazine belongs to some national and regional trade organizations whose membership is made up of publications like ours. Sharing ideas and providing feedback on industry issues is a big part of being a member of these groups. Another part is competing against each other to see who can create the best publication. For the first time this year FAMILY Magazine entered the competition.

In the past, we simply did not have time to put together the entries. This year I decided to let our production staff put in the time to enter so they could see how they are doing compared to other publications. It ended up being sort of fun (in a weird – hard work – crisis - work as fast as you can way).

We entered one national and one regional competition. The Association of Free Community Publications (AFCP) is a North American organization of free publications which includes publications in Canada, and has a combined circulation of more than 17 million. The Mid-Atlantic Community Publications Association (MACPA) is an association of community publications delivered free to readers. This association represents the states of Pennsylvania, Ohio, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia and Washington, D.C.

Just a few days ago we received a letter notifying us that we had won at least one award in the 2011 AFCP Awards Contest. Then on Friday we received an email indicating we had also won an award in the MACPA competition. We are so excited.

The annual meeting for MACPA will be this week. So by Friday of this week we should know what entries are the award-winning ones for MACPA. The annual conference for AFCP, when the awards will be announced, will be held during the first week of May. It is very exciting. I will keep you posted!

Congratulations to our production department. No matter what the award, we already knew they were winners!

Brenda