social media

We’re Speaking at Type-A Annual Conference

January 31, 2018

We can finally announce some big news!

We’re speaking at Type-A Annual Conference in Chicago later this year!!

Several months ago, I saw a call for speaker proposals and on a whim decided to apply. Angelina and I had not talked about it, and if I’m being completely honest, I didn’t think we would get selected. I am confident we know our industry, and we have a lot of experience with Facebook Live through our work with New Orleans Moms Blog, but still…I figured the competition was too stiff for a little company like ours to make it. I’m proud to admit I was wrong!! When I saw the email titled, “Your Session Was Chosen,” I nearly lost my composure! I am genuinely geeking out about speaking at a blog conference that I’ve watched from afar and attended in the past. We’ve also had the opportunity to see the lineup and are looking forward to meeting some amazing people and learning from others in the industry.

The Type-A Conference is in it’s 11th year, and is a conference we are proud to be a part of. This will be their first year under new ownership, and I am confident the new owners are taking the company in the right direction. The regular content published on their site is valuable to bloggers, brands, influencers social media professionals, or any combination of said roles. You can learn more about the conference and get tickets on the Type-A website. They also gave us a discount to pass along to you!! Use the code SPEAKERFRIEND and receive $20.00 off your ticket!!

If you’re curious about Facebook Live and how to utilize it fully for your blog, business or your clients, don’t miss our session, Making Facebook Live Great Again.

Let us know if we’ll see you in Chicago!

Be sure to check out these other great speakers as well:

Karen Shopoff Rooff

Paula Kiger and Laura Petrolino

Get to know all the Type-A speakers HERE.

It’s Time to Panic {A Little} about Facebook’s Explore Feed

October 22, 2017

“The only thing that remains constant is change.” ~Heraclitus

Facebook’s new Explore Feed is a brilliant example of this quote, though likely not what ancient philosopher Heraclitus had in mind. Over a year ago, at WordCamp NOLA, our company gave a presentation titled “Using Social Media to Grow Your Business” and we warned the bloggers and brands in attendance not to put all their eggs in the Facebook basket. In fact, here is the slide:

The Explore Feed update is a prime example of why we recommend utilizing multiple social media platforms.

Over the last few years, publishers have seen a dramatic decline in organic reach. The way brands have adapted by posting more content, boosting posts and running ads has worked, but this upcoming change is a curveball. The same way of running your Facebook page likely will not work.

What we know and what we don’t know about Facebook latest update:

We know…

The Explore Feed is being tested in select countries.

The update will move all content produced by Pages into a completely separate newsfeed.

Only paid updates from Pages will show up in the main newsfeed.

Explore Feed is rolling out globally.

The Explore Feed will contribute to a further decline in organic reach.

Consumers who utilize the feed will discover brands (including yours!) they haven’t interacted with or liked previously.

We don’t know…

If or how often Facebook users will utilize the explore feed.

How Facebook‘s algorithm will work in the explore feed.

How paid ads will be distributed in the main newsfeed.

The extent of the impact this will have on small businesses, but we presume it to be significant.

If you only have Facebook, now is certainly the time to look into your second favorite or second best platform and spend some time there.

Personal Observations:

We spent the morning exploring the Explore Feed.

One of the first things we noticed is pages we interact with most were at the top, to a fault. Users could easily get annoyed with seeing so many updates from the same brand. However, we saw a couple pages we hadn’t seen in years. Hopefully, this new newsfeed will strike more of a balance between pages you interact with and those you either forgot about or do not yet like.

Our questions:

How many people will click the Explore button?

Will the Explore Feed become more prevalent on the app? Currently, it is not easy to find.

Will consumers spend a significant amount of time on this feed?

How can brands and social media managers continue to get eyes on their content through Facebook?

Will updates/articles shared by friends be given a different place in the main newsfeed algorithm?

Is this going to happen to Instagram next? They have an explore feed, but I see pages as I’m scrolling. Will that change? Will Instagram “Business Profiles” be removed from the main feed?

As confusing and frustrating as this may seem, we can’t get mad.

Yes, it may be challenging for small businesses and for social media managers, but at the end of the day, Facebook is trying to serve its customers first. We cannot be angry at a company for trying to serve the customers. We want to serve our clients. The goal is still the same- provide valuable content to your target audience. How we achieve that goal may look different in the coming months, but we are prepared for that. We understand the frustration brands may feel if they’ve invested time and money into their Facebook pages only to be pushed into a different newsfeed altogether. Facebook, while becoming more user friendly, should be mindful that the brands who “pay to play” may take their ball and go home…or invest in YouTube/Pinterest or another social platform.

What small businesses and bloggers can do right now:

We’ll continue to give the advice we’ve given over the years: don’t put all your eggs in one social media basket. The Explore Feed is the kind of left turn that quality digital marketers have been expecting and preparing for. It is all the more reason you should consider social media coaching or social media manager. Your current Facebook marketing plan will no longer work once the rollout is fully implemented.

Spend your your time and energy where it belongs: on your craft. Social media managers all over, not just here at Papillon Social Media, have been buzzing about this for a few days and will be doing the research it takes to stay ahead of this and continue to provide their clients with a valuable service… just like Facebook is doing now.

Further Reading:

https://medium.com/@filip_struharik/biggest-drop-in-organic-reach-weve-ever-seen-b2239323413

https://techcrunch.com/2017/10/18/facebooks-discovery-focused-explore-feed-hits-the-desktop/

https://medium.com/refresh-magazine/facebook-news-feed-change-is-death-to-small-businesses-c1c9a777efc2

Dear Instagram, Please Give Users the One Thing We Really Want

August 23, 2017

Oh Instagram, how we love thee.

You help us pass the time without the commitment it takes to scroll Facebook.

You allow us to e-stalk our friends, celebrities and favorite brands.

We’ve seen it all while perusing your platform, from our ex’s honeymoon photos to Lil Bunny Sue Roux, the cutest two legged cat ever. You’ve been there for us through mandatory conference calls, long lines at the post office, carpool, sleepless nights and then some. You’ve become one of the fastest growing social platforms ever. And it’s easy to see why.

You hooked us early on with your perfect blend of voyeurism and narcissism. We can see exotic and charmed lifestyles, real, messy lives, and we can curate whatever kind of life we want people to see us having. Once we were all invested, you changed everything. And by everything, we mean the timeline.

Seriously, Instagram, what's wrong with a chronological newsfeed? Click To Tweet

Use an algorithm if you must, but show us things as they happen. When we hop on Instagram after a glass of wine on a Thursday night, we want to know what happened THURSDAY. Not three days ago, or even two weeks ago.

My research findings are clear. Every single person who took my informal survey, which mainly consisted of me lamenting the lack of a “most recent” option on Instagram in front of people, agreed. All the people I know would prefer the Instagram newsfeed to be chronological.

Today’s news cycle moves at lightning speed. If someone is following a political figure, for example, the updates posted from a mere 4 days ago are practically outdated, much less two weeks. Seriously, can anyone tell me (without googling) what the headlines were a couple weeks ago? If a local business wishes to get the word out about an event, you know, one their audience may want to attend, it can be frustrating to see the post after the event has already passed.

I’m sure the people who work for the largest social networks around know what they are doing, but this is one area where Instagram is seriously missing the mark. Even Facebook has the option to see the newsfeed in chronological order…which, by the way, should be the default. But that’s another post!

Tell us, do YOU think Instagram should offer the option for a chronological newsfeed?

Social Media Etiquette for Small Business Owners

May 30, 2017

Most small business owners (and people in general) have a basic understanding of etiquette and social norms. While we can’t all be Emily Post, generally, we do our best to treat each other with common courtesy out in the real world.

Online, however, many people and businesses are severely lacking. Yes, social media is fluid and always changing, but these basic premises are essentially timeless. Below is a list of some general social media etiquette guidelines for businesses- especially small/local businesses.

Do

Return follows/likes to those in your industry who follow you. For example, if you are a local wedding photographer and a local florist follows you on Twitter, follow them back. I know, I know, everyone wants to have more followers than people they are following, but I’m not saying you should follow back every fan or customer. It is a great way to connect with those in your industry, increase your networking opportunities and, you know, return the support that they have given you. Will it lead to cross promotion and a great working relationship? Perhaps. At the very least, it is the courteous thing to do.

If you are featured in an article, share it on your social media channels. If your bakery is highlighted on a food blog, share it with your fans! There is no reason not to do this, and I am shocked that more small business owners do not take advantage of this free and non self-promotional exposure. Of course, if the article is a scathing review, you may want to skip sharing it, but otherwise dooooooo eeeeeet.

Don’t

Publicly ask for shares. You should not do this even if you have a relationship with the person/business in question, but especially if you do not. If you own a dry cleaning business, do not tag “Small Business Laundry Soap” asking them to share your content. Why? Because it’s icky. I’m sure there is a better explanation for that, but anytime I see it, I just think, “EW.” However, if it is something applicable to their niche, there is nothing wrong with sending them a private message asking them to share, especially if you also offer to share some of their relevant content in return.

Spam! The crucial element that many marketers and business owners miss in Social Media Marketing is the social aspect of the equation. This means you are to engage and interact with your customers, not blow up everyone’s Facebook, Twitter and Instagram feed with self promotion. Every business is unique, as is every platform, so no one can tell you how much you should be posting. You are going to have to do your research, or hire us (or someone like us!) to research it for you. Posting your own material too much can and will affect your engagement and your online reputation.

Act rude toward other businesses on social media. I was shocked when I saw one local business owner create a passive aggressive tweet about another local business. I have no idea the history behind the rude statement, nor if the offended party had even had a right to be upset, but I can assure you, they were foolish to take it to social media in that manner; a customer may have to get online to move a company into action, but business to business, handle that stuff privately. Otherwise, it makes you look unprofessional, petty, and it may cost you sales, or even your reputation.

Steal content. I can’t believe I have to include this, but alas. Do not steal other people’s content. Some examples of content theft:

Posting an image you did not create and not giving proper credit
Putting your name on an article you did not write
Sharing any social media update without crediting the author
Rewording an article you find online (pretty sure they call that plagiarism)

While content theft does happen by people who are trying to be malicious, most often it is because well intentioned business owners simply do not understand the “rules” of social media. It’s new and uncharted. I understand. Again, this is why a social media manager is almost essential. Though sadly, I’ve seen so-called social media managers break these rules on a regular basis.

These guides are by no means an exhaustive list, rather a great place to start start. Implementing these rules will help improve your social media presence, and help establish your online credibility.

social media

Let us know if we’ll see you in Chicago!

The Explore Feed update is a prime example of why we recommend utilizing multiple social media platforms.

What we know and what we don’t know about Facebook latest update:

Do

Don’t

~Myndee