The recent change to their “Pages” format, to reflect the “timeline” format now present in individual profiles, have many organizations scrambling to both understand the changes and figure out how to best exploit them. (remember the term “pages” refers to what we often refer to as “Fan pages” or “Business pages” and not individual profiles). As of March 30th 2012, the ‘forced’ changes will be complete and the manner in which business’ can display their wares will be changed forever. Whether the new format is an improvement or not remains to be seen but regardless, it is the concept of having to take a step back on the learning curve that has many people frustrated.

I’ve always touted that we need to embrace these changes and keep in mind that Facebook offers a free marketing tool and complaining about how they provide us with that tool is akin to looking a gift horse square in the chops. But with a change like this you have to take into account the many dollars that organizations may have spent on programmers and designers to get their pages to look their best – that is to say that the “use” use of Facebook is free to even the largest and best-resoursed companies, but the “set up” of their pages, at least if they want to be competitive, can be quite costly. Facebook provides a free canvas but companies still need to pay for the paint and the artist.

Here’s what I mean. Look at this great page that Kraft foods set up by clicking here. I can’t imagine what the expense was to produce this page was and I can imagine, based on the traffic, that it has been quite popular and likely effective for Kraft. Under the old format, Kraft could have this display as the first thing a new visitor would see… not anymore. Kraft could still have that fantastic page but it would need to be buried and would not be the first thing that a user sees.

So what does a user now see and how can an organization take full advantage of Facebook for marketing their products? I will use one of my FaceTracks Artists, Tom Taylor to best illustrate the changes.

The first peek of a new page now features a large dramatic image similar to what we have on the timeline of our personal profiles only bigger (click on any of the thumbnails of Tom’s image to see the actual page). Automatically embedded in the lower left of the image is the page’s profile picture – again, similar to what we are now doing on our own timelines. Below the new big picture and to the right we see a row of “tabs” which used to be listed vertically on the left side of the page and you can see that for Tom we have added “Music”, “Videos”, and “Events”. The photos and Likes are there by default and the order of the tabs can be moved around (except for the photos which stay pinned to the left). Important to note that with the big photo, Facebook has now placed some rules on what can be included. They are listed as:

Image cannot include

• Price or purchase information, such as “40% off” or “Download it at our website”
• Contact information, such as web address, email, mailing address or other information intended for your Page’s About section
• References to user interface elements, such as Like or Share, or any other Facebook site features
• Calls to action, such as “Get it now” or “Tell your friends”

If you click on the “music” tab (click on the thumbnail if you do not already have the page open) you will see that this is where Facebook lets you take over and do pretty such whatever you want (much like what Kraft did above). For Tom we have a CD graphic where you can sample music as well as a music e-store below. What we are doing here is pretty much pasting in a web page and, as such, you can do pretty much anything that you want to do on a web page with just a few exceptions. This is actually a big jump from the old format because the page is much bigger (810 pixels wide compared to the old 520) and can go as long (deep) as the creator wants.

The new pages have a few clever tricks that happen below all of the new dramatic stuff at the top. In the pages timeline you can choose to “highlight” an item and have them display the full width (look down the page a bit to where I have done this with one of Tom’s videos). You can also “pin” an item so that it remains at the top of the news feed which is handy if you want to display a new product and have it stay in a prominent position.

So are all of these changes good or bad? I’m not sure how companies like Kraft will feel about it based on some of the backtracking they will have to do but I think most will feel that this gives a a better platform to display an organizations products or services – Once you figure it out!

Photograph by: Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images,

Unfortunately Bieber’s popularity, or alleged lack-there-of, can be about as accurately gauged in this manner as the results of a Tracy Morgan spread in Pride weekly. The Author does get some redemption by mentioning that “13-yearold girls can’t afford the $12.95″. Again you have to pretend that ‘yearold’ is a word but, more importantly, it’s not so much that the tween set “can’t” buy the magazine but more along the lines of “why would they?” You can read the whole bit right here (have they caught the typo’s by now?)

The point I am making is that Bieber’s demographic is on the cutting edge of modern communication. Anything of value that might be contained in that article has already been tweeted, Facebooked, YouTubed, or Google+’ed around the globe three times by the time it hit the newsstands. I would imagine that about the same amount of Bieber fans would have picked it up if it were free. Don’t question the power of the Bieb just because you don’t understand his language. Especially when his manner of communication is actually relevant and your print newspaper is poised to become the next Latin. Did I mention I read the on-line version of the paper as opposed to flying 5000 km to pick one up?

Just for fun I looked up who has had the most successful Vanity Fair Cover and that information was harder to find (funny how that works). The best indication I could find pointed to a 2008 cover featuring Madonna. Because Madonna has has made a career of staying relevant over an extended period of time, she is actually a pretty good example of how measuring popularity has shifted since the innovation of social media.

I was surprised to find that Madonna does not have a twitter account (a verified one anyway). JB on the other hand has just short of 10.9 Million followers (that is #2 overall to Lady GaGa). About 5.5 Million people “like” Madonna on Facebook compared to 32 Million for Justin. To be fair to Madonna, these medium were not available during the peak of her popularity but she remains extremely popular so it is pretty safe to stay that the gap in their social media metrics is due more to the habits of their respective demographics than their real popularity.

All of this brings us back to ask why so many news outlets making such a huge deal out of Bieber’s struggles to sell copies of Vanity Fair? A fact which is about as close to irrelevant as you can get in terms of measuring popularity in his era. Slow news day? Easy target? I wonder if it would be as big a story if he lost half a million twitter followers? in reality that would represent a much bigger blow to the Bieb but how much of the mainstream media would recognize that, let alone report it.

The fact that this latest incarnation of the next big thing comes from the monolithic Google is a bit of a double edged sword. On the up side, it’s Google, so pay attention as they have earned the right to be taken seriously. On the other side of the coin, It’s Google, they’ve tried this before and failed. More than once.

I think many people were prepared for Google+ to be another attempt to take a bite out of Facebook that would likely fall short – I was one of those people. But as the buzz over the new release spreads around we are seeing some truly innovative aspects to Google+. My own personal litmus test for these types of products is if I find myself thinking “Wow, how come nobody had thought of this?”. I think the key is to try and create something that imitates people’s present behaviors as opposed to asking them to adopt to new ones. That “attitude” alone is one of the keys behind the success of Facebook.

I should disclaim that I have not actually used Google+. In fact, very few people have and the internet is abuzz this week with people trying to get “invited” into the party. I have read posts and blogs and seen video from people who have been fortunate enough to be included in the first round of testing but what I am sharing is admittedly second and third hand. I have also read some in-depth reviews that go much deeper into the thoughts, psychology and technology behind Google+ and attempt to guru portal them into some plain language.

Google+ is built on four main pillars and they vary, in my opinion, from kinda neat to downright brilliant with a loud “Why didn’t anybody think of that before!”. Here is a brief synopsis of each and if you’re like me, you can’t wait to play with them.

Circles – This is just so simple and touches on the “imitating peoples behaviors” I spoke about above. We may have hundreds of Facebook friends but they are not always compatible. A picture of me playing beer pong last friday with a stupid look on my face and a taco stain on my shirt is fine for some people to see and I am OK with some of the more colourfull comments it would evoke. But my kids are my Facebook friends, so is my uncle, many of my clients, and my sister-in-law who doesn’t drink, so I may think twice about posting that picture. It’s not like I fear an Anthony Wiener scenario but I simply don’t talk to all of my Facebook friends in the same manner. Do you? Circles simply allows you to group your friends together by how you interact with them. Friends, family, co-workers, extended family. People can be members of one or more, or all of your circles and you can communicate to them more appropriately. Even though this is something of a mirror of Twitter lists I still think it is a big step forward.

Hangouts – Some people are saying this is a no big deal as it really just brings something similar to ichat into your broader social media. I agree it is hardly breaking ground but I think most people have considerably more Facebook friends than they do chat buddies spread out over a myriad of popular chat software. If it works as I understand you will log on and see a group of friends chatting and have the option of joining in. The beauty of it being that if Google+ takes off then you will see all of your regular “chatters” in one place.

Huddles – Exactly what it sounds like where groups of people can get together in a “chat room” to discuss something. This struck home for me because I go through something every week that something like Huddles will instantly solve. I play golf with the same group of guys every Friday and Thursday is usually this web of  text messages and phone calls where we discuss where we are playing, when, and who can make it. It never runs smoothly so one of the first things I will do once I get onto Google+ is get these meatheads on board and save a lot of aggravation.

Sparks – Is something that I am curious to learn more about. If I understand correctly it is an element of a search engine (it’s Google, D’uh!) that ranks items based on how they are viewed by other people in your circles. Search results will be impacted by how your friends feel about whatever it is you are searching for. One of the keys to sparks will be the “+1″ button which is basically a “like” button in this new network but “+1″‘s will have even greater value because the will ultimately impact the SEO of a web page. With that said, please head down and hit my “+1″ button.

I am, at the same time, a horrible skeptic and an over-excitable fool when it comes to stuff like this. In the matter of the last 24 hours I have done the full shift. I really think this is going to be something!

Nice mouth on that gift horse

I’m not here to discuss whether or not something like Facebook is overvalued as I don’t pretend to understand the inner workings of IPO’s and how these types of valuations are made but I have a hard time seeing how something as revolutionary as Facebook could not be worth such an obscene figure. With ad revenues alone of $2B and projected to come close to doubling during the worst economic times of almost three generations doesn’t that almost justify the figure? Then there is the magic to Facebook that anyone who uses it understands and the question about what that is worth. How do you put a price on the type of impact that Facebook has? How do you say that it’s NOT worth $70 billion? That’s just how I view it. One admittedly ignorant opinion.

What I do want to comment on, what I am fascinated by, is yet another round of whining, complaining, bitching and nagging on, and about, Facebook. This time over what OTHER PEOPLE have valued it at. Facebook whining is not new but it seems to get stronger and stronger the further removed we get from a time when it would have seemed like magic to have old friends be able to contact you out of the blue (while still holding the power as whether to engage them or not). It was eons ago when we asked “so I can store all of my pictures and video on there? What does it cost?” or “Imagine if there was a place where I could promote my event, business, or just my opinion in front of the whole world for absolutely free? Wow, would that ever be cool!”. How innocent, blissful and naive we were back in that long forgotten era of what… 2007?

But not today. Today we take our free pony ride and complain about the worn saddle. Today we are the homeless man sending back the steak at the shelter because it is overcooked. Today it seems we have lost all accountability to be appreciative of something that we take so much from without having to cough up a penny. We smile graciously at the host as he invites us into his home, then stab him in the back when he turns to get back to the business of finding more ways to entertain ourselves upon our next visit. So what if he happens to be a Bazillionaire ? He got that money by creating something that hundreds of millions of people  are compelled to look at every day. He monetizes it not by charging us for our obsession, but by charging the people who wish to get their products in front of us. I can’t walk down the street, turn on the TV, surf 90% of the internett, or even go to a sporting event without other mediums doing the exact same thing so how is this different? Why the wrath? Why the whining and moaning?

We complain every time Facebook changes it’s format a bit and we have to spend an extra 10 seconds finding the millions of photographs that we, and our friends, have stored on their servers… for free.

It's a fake but you get the idea

We start petitions saying that we will leave Facebook if it ever becomes “not Free” even though Facebook has never even hinted at a user pay system and  has taken on a “will always be free”  slogan to defend against something it never had any intention of doing in the first place. Did I mention that these petitions are all in the form of Facebook groups and pages? I really Irony

**WARNING ALERT** Change your settings because now Facebook can use your pictures to invade Iraq if your permissions are not set properly! Click here to join our group to keep Facebook out of Iraq!

Facebook spammed me! There was a weird little update on my feed about some viagra. I’m so mad about this! Why can’t this free website that I am on for hours a day, that hosts all of my pictures and video, and allows me to connect and chat with my friends…. why can’t they get their damn act together so that this doesn’t happen!

Facial recognition is scary! OK, this is a touchy one with many people  so I will try to dial back the sarcasm but what does this really mean? Facebook wants to use technology that allows them to identify you in a picture and then allow your friends to tag you. That sounds kind of scary but why? Your friends can already tag you in any picture where they see you. Who is it on your friends list that you are so scared of having see your new pictures? What other of your friends do you not want to see you in that picture after the first friend has tagged you? If this is a big deal to you then you really need to cull your friend list or better filter the pictures you are putting up. I think many people saw “facial recognition” and freaked out in Orwellian paranoia.

“I hate how I always have to opt-out, why does Facebook always have to shove the new stuff down my throat and I have to opt-out if I don’t want it? Why don’t they let me just opt-in?” Again Pal, you’re missing the point. It’s their playground and your playing in it for free. If they want to add something that is valuable to them then that is their right. Isn’t it nice of them to give you the choice to opt-out of something that they feel serves them on their website that you use for free? If I want to change the settings on my home sound system I will do so and I certainly don’t feel the need to post a notice advising you of that before you next come over. If you decide you want to opt-out of that scenario then just opt your way back out the door. Why is Zuckerberg subjected to a round of abuse every time he makes a few changes in his play room? Besides, you made the ultimate opt-in when you signed up and continue to visit the site.

The next thing is coming so get ready for a new round of mumblings as Facebook has reportedly started testing yet another version. I have not seen it but apparently the change has something to do with the ad bar staying static as the page scrolls. No big whoop if you ask me but I have seen many people bitching about it with some proclaiming that they will be “walking away” from Facebook. I can’t help but wonder if they will be so vociferous upon their return?

Who left this here?

Yes, yes I know the other side of the story. I just don’t agree with it. There was some kerfuffle a while back about who “owns” the images that we all put up onto Facebook. Much like the financial questions in the opening paragraph, I don’t claim to be an expert on issues like intellectual property, but a lot of this seems like common sense. If you ask me if you can store your shovel in my garage and I agree. Guess what? I’m going to feel really comfortable using it during the next snow storm to dig out my car if I can’t find my own shovel. In fact, I’m not even going to call you to ask permission because I’m just going to assume that was the deal. If we can’t operate under that type of baseline understanding then keep your damn shovel out of my garage.

Does a picture of my wife and I having a drink at sunset really have any value to anyone other than ourselves or our friends and family? If so, I posted it below so feel free to grab it and sell it to the highest bidder. Consider it my gift to you for having read this far. If Facebook says they “own” it does that mean they reach through my wireless and pull it off of my hard drive so that I can never see it again? What evil and unscrupulous behaviors could ever emanate from Facebook “owning” that picture? What could I possibly be concerned about by the fact that people might find out we had our honeymoon in Kauai (as if anyone would care) and I wore a blue shirt one night? Will they reach into my brain and scrape out that memory of a great evening? I seem to remember a lot of people with camera’s there that evening, should I have been doing a Sean Penn style camera smash on every one remotely pointed in my direction? I just don’t get it. Are there people out there posting pictures of their jewels and tagging their address and vacation schedules? What the heck are people putting up on Facebook that they are so afraid will be stolen by the Facebook terms of service? I get to conveniently share my pictures, videos and updates with friends and family. If the trade-off for that is that Facebook now “owns” those images without having taken them from me or restricting my future use of them then I guess that is a price I pay for the convenience of the service. If Mark can somehow turn around and monetize that image and blow the value up to 70B and 10 dollars then good for him.

“Thanks for setting this all up Bro, enjoy the $10, you earned it. I just played a round of golf with an old buddy I lost touch with 20 years ago. It was the highlight of my week and it probably never would have happened if you weren’t the visionary that you are”

This image is now being exploited on Facebook

I said above that I would not link to the feed of whining (as if you could not have found it yourself) but I have changed my mind and decided to share a similar thread full of similar attitudes. It’s not so much the article itself , which seems to have a balanced view on something as earth-shattering as a tweak to Facebook, but rather the comments below that get my ire . You can find it here but I’m just going to sit a while and enjoy the rest of this sunset and hope that some people can figure out something that is really worth getting so mad about.

Source: Anonymous - Just found it on the internet

Could this be why many Realtors are resistant to technology? When I say “resistant” am I really saying “scared”? You decide.

I’m not sure how many people know that zillow.com (intended to be the ultimate real estate site) was founded by the same guy who came up with Expedia.com which essentially crippled the travel agent industry forcing many to scramble for a new line of work. So the question is: “Should Realtors be scared that technology could do the same to them?”

First of all, Zillow has not turned out to be the revolutionary product that Expedia has. That is not to say that a “better Zillow” could not be developed but if you ask the guy behind both products, Rich Barton, there is a huge difference between the two that should put the minds of Realtors at ease. Way back in 2006 Barton said:

“The flashing-in-neon-lights difference between travel and real estate is that lots of travel agents are/were just order takers. Human advice-giving is absolutely fundamental in real estate”

Phew! Thanks Rich! We’re all safe for a while!

Rich is 100% correct (people who come up with ideas like Expedia often are) and with all due respect to the Heidi Fleiss’ and the Sally Stanfords of history, sales is the world’s oldest profession and even the internet will not change that. Order takers beware but the sales people are safe.

What segments of the overall real estate industry should be concerned about the encroachment of technology? I’m not sure I would want to be in the business of selling flyers to realtors that end up shoved under doors. How about the bus stop bench marketing guy? Print media as a whole (not just in the real estate sector) may be in for some tough times. Perhaps not complete extinction but certainly changes in terms of what they can charge for the exposure they provide. To write this piece I called up a quote from 2006. Do you think that would have happened if I had to rifle through five years of back editions of various trade publications? Assuming I could even find where they were all stored?

So this is a post on my blog. As much as I hope to inform and entertain you I have to admit that if you are reading this then you might be in the target market for my services. This whole thing is really just an ad. I’m hoping you might come to the conclusion that I have some insight and that I can help you with your business. I’m hoping that you might click thorough the links at the top of this page, learn a bit more, and maybe I can expect to hear from you. This is an ad. Gotchya!

Source: http://technology-studies2010.blogspot.com/

If I got this “ad” in front of you, how do we get your “ad” in front of your target market, and what does it cost?

As far as costs go I have this cool web site which does have a few minor carrying costs but I built it myself so it really just cost me some time. The content of the blog is stuff I already know so except for that tidbit from 2006 (and the 2 minutes it took to find it) there was very little research. Once my infrastructure (site and blog) are in place there is little or no cost to my “ads”.

So that leaves distribution. I’m not going to pay some kid to tuck this under your windshield wiper or pay to have it slipped into the pizza menu in your Sunday paper. I got this to you through some branch of my network. Maybe you have actually subscribed to my blog (thank you) or maybe a friend or colleague does and they have shared it with you. There is a really good chance that it came to you, either directly or indirectly, through some form of social media. Yes I have dabbled with Google ad words, and have contributed to Zuckerberg’s fortune through buying the occasional Facebook ad, but my bread and butter marketing is free.

Thanks for reading my “ad”. I would love to help you to create your own “ad” for you to share with your customers but, if you take nothing else from reading this, please remember that you are not selling out your values of personalized customer service by using technology. At the end of the day those are the skills that will make you the dollars. Things like a great website, an interesting blog, and an effective social media strategy (highlighted by a killer FB landing page!)are simply tools to make sure you spend your time and energy using those skills as opposed to hunting for places to apply them.

These days Facebook is playing a larger and larger role for Realtors and Real Estate Companies who want to maximize their digital marketing and online presence in general. The paradox about Facebook is that its best feature is also its worst: It’s free.

Obviously “free” is everybody’s favorite price, especially when talking about something as powerful as Facebook. Unfortunately “free” also means that everybody is on there (if you look up the definition of “non-exclusive” you will see a picture of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg swimming around in a pile of $100 bills) so it is pretty crowded and hard to stand out. Here at YHOP we can change that so keep reading.

The goal behind any type of Facebook business page is to get the “like” from as many people as possible. The “like” is an opt-in. The “like” is permission marketing. The “like” is king in Zuckerberg’s world so the goal is to pile them up like cord wood. Preferably from other sources than family, friends, and people who just want to help you out.* The “likes” that count come from your customers and people who you hope will also become your customers.

Many people seem to think that a Facebook business page is a static entity but with a little bit of tweaking, you can make your facebook page something spectacular that will stand out in the crowd and attract the “like”. We can integrate your MHOP page, or your own website, with your Facebook page to create a dynamic, visually impressive, landing page with links to your website or anywhere else you would like people to go. Take a look at the sample on the left (you can click on it to visit the real thing AFTER reading the rest of this article) The first thing people will notice is how different it looks from most business pages which will help to set you up to prove how different you are from the rest of the Realtor community.

Have a look at the samples below to get an idea of the different ways we can make your Facebook landing page the dynamic tool it needs to be to attract more attention to your business..

Basic Landing Page This is a basic landing page where we have used iframes to bring in a bigger image with some catchy graphics. Notice how the links within the image are “live” and can direct the user to other locations. This is simply a way to add some important wow factor when people first land on your page.

Roll-over effect In this example we have also brought in a larger image with graphics but note how there is a roll-over effect when hovering over the bottom portion of the image. The second image (when rolling over) can be a call to action or additional content. It can also be linked to another location if the desire is to bring the viewer to the main site.

Dynamic Content Notice how in this example there is some flash content on the page to give it a little bit of life. This can also be video or a slideshow or whatever best captures the viewer’s attention.

Secret Content In this example there are actually two landing pages. The first one solicits the “like” and then the second page is only visible to people who have “liked” the page. This is an excellent way to increase your “likes” and build a larger base of people who have opted-in to your product or service. You will also notice that this version is embedded with some audio content.

* We don’t mean to discount the value of having “likes” from your friends, family, etc.. Don’t forget that while they may not represent your customer, each one of them likely have hundreds of Facebook friends who you are reaching indirectly.

The final, and possibly most important, thing you should know about these great landing pages is that they are designed for a one-time impact in order to get the viewers engagement (the “like”). Once someone has liked you, when they return to your page they will see your wall (you can put a note in your profile picture with an arrow to the tab that holds the page to get people to click on it) but Facebook is quite strict about having the wall as the dominant landing area. That being said there are some creative and effective things you can do with your wall (actually the “photo Strip” you see at the top of your wall) that will allow you to inform, engage, and stand out in the crowd. You can read more about getting a cool custom picture strip here.

We have all seen the picture strip that Facebook pages now have – It is the five images lined up across the top where the tabs once were. So what can we do with those? Well, quite a lot actually but before I get into what you can do with it for your business Facebook page I want to take a minute to show you how to do something really cool and fun with it for your personal Facebook page.

Here, have a look at mine and you will see that I am actually using a large picture of my wife and I on the beach in Cabo. If you click on the image it will take you to my page so you can see the real thing. The large left side shows most of the picture and then the strip (the 5 images) show snippets of the image all lined up perfectly as if you were looking through the Facebook page at the picture. Pretty cool eh? While I would like to take some credit for being pretty clever on this one, there is actually a free app available that makes it easy as pie. You can find it here. By the way, whenever I stumble upon a “free app” like this that works so well and has such a dramatic impact, I often make a small donation to the Developer. This one certainly qualified so if you feel the same please contribute (not a plug, I have no idea who this guy even is)

So now that we have your personal Facebook page looking really cool, how about we do that with your business page as well? Can you imagine a product shot or logo with that “looking through the Facebook page” effect? That would really be something. But alas, Facebook has thrown us yet another curve and it isn’t quite as easy as what we did above with the simple free app. The difference with a business page is that those five images do not stay in the same place and get rearranged randomly every time the page is refreshed. What a bummer but I guess Zuckerberg really likes to keep us on our toes.

What I did here for my business Facebook page is use those five individual windows to each display one of the services I offer. You can use a little imagination and think of five things you would like to promote, or sell or whatever. You can use more than five but they will appear randomly with each new visitor and obviously not all appear at once. If you look at my example (again, click it to see the real thing – If you don’t already “like” us you will have to go through the landing page steps described in Facebook Landing Pages and then click on the “wall”) you will see that each of the five images is really a thumbnail of a larger image which says more when it is clicked on. Unfortunately this is a little more involved than what we did on the personal page and the images need to be sized to an exact template and a little bit of graphics help will make it look pretty sharp. The point being is that you will likely have to pay somebody a few bucks – Pick Me!!! Pick Me!! – to get this done for you.

Please Click on the image below to view the unique YHOP Page created for this property

To view the unique YHOP page created for this property, please click on the image below.

Click on image below to visit the sample YHOP page for this listing