In-depth Look at Facebook• Cover Images• Art of the Post• Managing Your Page• Cross-posting• Facilitating the Conversation • Facebook Ads• Contests

Five Facebook Cover Image Tips• Your cover image is front and center on your Facebook

page, so make it count! It’s the first thing when people come to your page so leverage its position accordingly

TIP #1Do: Size Your Image Correctly

• Your cover image must be at least 720 pixels wide and can be sized exactly at 851 pixels wide by 315 pixels tall for a precise fit. The image file should be less than 100kb.

TIP #2Don’t: Use your image as an ad

• Do not include: calls to action (i.e., “Buy here”, “Like our page”), pricing or discount information or department contact information like your website URL. It’s against Facebook policy.

TIP #3Do: Showcase Your Brand

• Choose a photo that illustrates what your department is all about or contextualizes your services. Also, consider having a graphic designed to incorporate your logo or tagline.

TIP #4Don’t: Forget about Your Profile Image

• Profile images will be cropped to 160 pixels wide by 160 pixels tall but must be uploaded at a minimum of 180 pixels wide by 180 pixels tall.

TIP #5Try: Adding Social Network Icons

• Though you cannot explicitly include URLs in your cover image, add Twitter, YouTube, Google+ or other social platform icons to give more context to your online presence. Then, in the description or caption of your cover image, include links to your profiles on other platforms.

The Art of the Post

What makes a post effective?

• Capture attention through an image or video

• Use links, but cut the clutter• Keep it short and sweet• Use tools such as tagging• Pin important posts• Consider promoted posts

Capture Attention• Post with an image is 82% more

likely to be clicked than text-only post

• Use a variety of strategies to keep content interesting (photos, videos, questions, solicits for likes)

• Morning posts have the ability to go viral on the Newsfeed throughout the day

Use Links; Cut the Clutter• Facebook will generate a blurb and thumbnail once

you post a link; delete the URL to cut the clutter in your status update

Keep it Short and Sweet• Updates between 100 and 250 characters — one or

two lines of text — get 60% more Likes, comments, and shares than ones that are more than 250 characters

Use Tools Such as Tagging• Use the @ in your status update to tag

fans or other pages

Pin or Feature Important Posts• Pinned posts remain in the upper portion of your

timeline for up to 7 days• Featured posts span across the entire width of your

timeline

Consider Promoted Posts• Pay to have your posts appear directly in

Newsfeed for three days

Managing Your Page

• Who Manages Our Pages?

• New Roles & Levels for Page Administrators

Cross-posting on Facebook

• What is cross-posting?

• How do I cross-post?

• What pages should I utilize in my cross-posts?

• Examples

• Results

Managing the Conversation• Social media is a two-way street:

– You want to reach your people and (hopefully) your people want to be reached by you

– People want to interact, ask questions

– Other people see you are responsive

– Not answering or not responding is ignoring (even if you didn’t mean it)

– People use SM to find out more about you, so help them find that information

Dealing with the Negative

• Tough questions are bound to be asked

• Bad experiences leads to venting

• See if you can make it right, if possible

• Let them know you are sorry they felt they had a bad experience, if you are indeed sorry

• Answer the questions

• Allow your followers to defend you

What Helps?

• Try to defuse a negative conversation:

• Providing accurate information

• Addressing issues in a timely manner

• Kill ‘em with kindness/Take the high road

• Provide additional resources (links to other web pages, videos, etc. that verify your message)

• Don’t get into an argument for the world to see

When to Punt (Delete, Ignore, Untag)

• Blatantly abusive posts, bad language

• Slanderous posts (don’t let slander trespass)

• Overwhelming response to uncontrollable event, such as:

Snow Days: We can get 100s of posts on days it snows and CSU doesn’t

close

We can’t control the weather (Sorry it snowed, but you knew that it snows in Colorado!)

We DO respond to emails/calls about weather (non)closures.

Facebook AdsAd Options• Facebook Ad• Sponsored Stories• Promote Page Posts

Targeting• Options galore! Know your audience• Design matters

Pricing• Cost Per Click vs. Cost Per Impression vs. Promoted Posts

Facebook AdsReporting• Four report types:

• Advertising Performance ● Responder Demographics• Actions by Impressions Time ● Inline Interactions

Guidelines and Best Practices• Beware of the “like”• Help Center > Ads and Business Solutions > Learn the Rules• 7 day rule• Change it up, experiment

ContestsThings to consider…

What are your marketing objectives?Generate leads, Likes, engage existing audience, reach new?

Budget?Costs include third-party vendors and prizes

Type of contestLike sweepstakes, text submissions, photo and video contests

Tip: Running a Promotion Requires an App

•Promotions: Anything where a fan enters a chance to win a prize

•Considering using vendors such as Wildfire, North Social or Strutta

Tip: Collect Entries via Email

•Promote your contest as a status update on Facebook but in order to enter/win, fans email entry

•Follow-up by announcing winner(s) on Facebook and/or post all of the entries

Thank you!