Consumers are turning more and more frequently to peer recommendations when making purchasing decisions. Recent surveys have found that 90% of consumers trust peer recommendations when buying a product, compared to 14% who buy based on advertising. So what does that have to do with social media? Facebook is now the world’s largest online platform for making and sharing peer recommendations, followed by Twitter, LinkedIn and Pinterest. A presence on these platforms will help boost your business. To become an effective social media marketer, you need to brand yourself as a thought leader for your audience. Avoid direct marketing that encourages people to buy (except on a limited basis), and focus instead on providing fun and interesting content that relates to your business. No more than 40% of your content should be self-promotional. Absolutely. The power of social media comes when you become an information source for all things related to your business. Don’t be afraid to venture outside your products and provide customers a more personal look at your business. Frequently asked questions about the BRICKS 4 KIDZ social media service. There are two ways to access your new business page. The first is to search for your business page in Facebook’s search bar. Once it appears in the drop-down menu, simply click on it. The second way is to click on the gear icon in the upper right-hand corner. Your business page will appear as the first item down. Facebook requires that every business page be anchored to a personal page. Your personal page will not be visible to readers who LIKE your business page. It will simply be attached to your personal page for administrative reasons. Yes. Even though you are subscribed to BRICKS 4 KIDZ’s Facebook Service, you still have administrative rights to your page. You can post content, change photos and add applications as you see fit. Simple. You would post the same way that you post on your personal page. Go to you business page, click on the status update field beneath your profile picture and start typing. You will have the option to upload photos and videos as well. No. You would need to share them yourself. You can do this by pressing the ‘Share’ button at the bottom of each post on your business page. Three. We will post every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. If you are receiving LinkedIn, you will receive the same posting rhythm. Twitter is slightly different with five tweets deployed each week to your page. Hover your cursor over the profile picture. An option will appear that allows you to click a link for ‘Edit profile picture.’ You would then select the link ‘upload photo,’ which will allow you to pick a photo from your computer to use for the profile pic. Hover your cursor over the cover photo. An option will appear that allows you to click a link for ‘Change Cover Photo.’ You will then have the option to upload a new photo, or select one that is already in the system. No. The Facebook Service will not delete any existing content or graphics on your Facebook page. Simply click on the word ‘About’ beneath your profile picture. This will allow you to change all of the personal information on your page. Yes. You can change the name of your business until you have 200 LIKEs. To do this, click on the ‘Settings’ button at the top of your screen. Now click ‘Page Info.’ You will see the name of your business about half-way down the page. Simply change that name to make it appear on your page. Within 24 hours, Facebook will make your page searchable by that name. Simply go to the ‘Build Audience’ button at the top of your page. Click on ‘Invite friends.’ Before you start clicking on friends to invite, press the button that says ‘Recent Interactions.’ This will allow you to select all friends, instead of just those with whom you have had a recent interaction. Once that step is complete, start clicking on friends to invite and hit submit. An invitation will be sent to their Facebook page. Yes! The ‘Build Audience’ button also allows you to Share a post on your personal page or invite email contacts from an existing mail service or from an excel or .csv file. Because you need to be using Facebook as your personal page. Go back to your personal page and search for your business page using the Facebook search bar. This time when you pull up your business page, you will see your name in the upper right-hand corner. Now try clicking on the ‘Build Audience’ tab. You should see all of the options. The first step is to invite your friends using one of the tools — invite friends, share your page, upload email contacts — listed above. The next step is to share content periodically on your personal Facebook page. This will increase the reach of your content. Other strategies include putting your Facebook url on your business cards, creating a social media icon on your website and sending out an email to your friends, family and associates inviting them to LIKE your page. It may be because you are using a mobile phone or tablet. Facebook does not support tabs on mobile devices. If you are using a desktop computer, you may need to scroll down a bit farther. You should see them in the left-hand column. (You can also access them through the menu bar below your cover image by clicking ‘More.’ This will show all the apps on your page.) Profile Pic – 180x180 pixels; Cover Photo – 851x315 pixels; Posts – 470x470 pixels Frequently asked questions about the BRICKS 4 KIDZ social media service. BRICKS 4 KIDZ Mobile is a miniature website that will adapt to any mobile platform, whether it is a SmartPhone or iPad. It contains five major elements: 1) A live blog feed consisting of text and pictures, 2) An email capture tool that can be used to create a robust monthly email campaign, 3) A contact page with your name, email address and phone number, 4) Social icons to connect with other channels such as Facebook, and 5) An advertising slot in the right-hand column. BRICKS 4 KIDZ has enlisted a professional writing team to produce blog content on topics ranging from LEGOS to parenting to STEM education. You will receive two blogs each month. Not at this time. Sorry. Absolutely. Our professional writing team is continually looking for topics that would engage readers. Please send any recommendations to support@social5.com. Presto! Within 15-30 seconds, the BRICKS 4 KIDZ mobile site will deploy a bounce-back email. This email will contain a welcome message, an introductory video and links to your social media channels. The email address will then be added to your contact list for a monthly email campaign. Once a month! BRICKS 4 KIDZ will send out a short email consisting of a conversational message, an interesting blog and links to your social channels. Nothing. Your job is to build up your contact list. BRICKS 4 KIDZ will take care of the rest. Its team of professional writers will put together an email and deploy it on your behalf. There are two ways to add email contacts to the system. 1) You can add them directly to the email capture tool on the BRICKS 4 KIDZ mobile site. Each time your enter an address, it will deploy an automatic email, or 2) you can send them to support@social5.com. Please send them in an Excel or .csv file. These addresses will be added to your contact list. There will be no bounceback email, but they will receive the next monthly email. Simply send us an email at support@social5.com. In that email, please provide your name, the name of your business and a simple explanation of what you’re looking for: Email contacts. Yes! When you visit your mobile site for the first time, click the menu icon at the bottom of your screen (marked with arrow leading out of a box). You will be given the option to add the page to your home screen. This will allow you single-touch access to your Mobile site. Tell your friends! The secret to social media is being social. The more you can grow your online network, the more you can grow your business.