When a picture is clicked, like the one below, you have the opportunity to embed a live link to lead the reader where you want them to go.  In this the link www.jwrp.org is leading the reader back to the website to register for the trip they are promoting.

It looks like lots of fun and a trip where good friendships are being formed.  Since Facebook is just one of the tools you use for social media, the links mentioned above can be to your website, YouTube channel, blog, Flickr, slideshare account, etc. You can link to your site and other related resources to:

• Engage content
• Promote and offer updates on company events and seminars
• Release announcements in the industry
• Offer discount programs
• Present contests
• Inform your target market about your ‘company in the news’

The only challenge is that the pictures are uploaded in no specific order so it’s hard to create a banner, although, someone will figure out how to overcome that soon enough.  The other test is to get the right pictures posted to reflect the brand that your customers have come to rely on.  Any new uploaded pictures end up in the top 5 but if you click X it will disappear and the old one will reappear. However that new picture will remain on the Facebook page either in an album or in a post. Photos uploaded by fans or ones where you are tagged will not appear in the 5 above. Putting pictures up on your company Facebook page makes your brand human, relatable and accessible.  It shows your consumer the ‘personna’ of your company. It’s the picture of your voice, it’s all about your ability to talk to people in a genuine way and show them that you are part of their community. By all means analyze the stats once the pictures go live.  See if your audience is relating to it and be able to pinpoint what attribute moves your target most. In the very name Facebook is the essence of the brand.  We now have a ‘face’ behind the ‘name’ and we insist on that as a given.  Facebook is changing everyday so stay tuned for more and more sophisticated ways to deliver your message in this popular medium.

Immediacy and the lasting impact of what we say online could be positive or negative.  In this case it could have cost Israel the lives of its soldiers on a mission to apprehend suspected terrorists.

On March 4, ABC News reported that the IDF had to cancel an operation to arrest militants in the West Bank several weeks ago after a soldier posted details of the mission.

 Here is the message that the unnamed soldier posted his Facebook page:

 “On Wednesday we are cleaning out the village of Katana (nr Ramallah) – today an arrest operation, tomorrow an arrest operation and then please God, home by Thursday.”

Comrades in his elite unit saw the post and reported it to their commanding officer. The Commander aborted the mission for fears that operational security had been breached.

The result: The soldier was arrested and placed in custody for 10 days before being forced to leave his unit.

This is serious lack of judgment, but at the time the soldier was merely updating his friends using Facebook and making plans for his return home.  He didn’t consider how this information would impact his colleagues, the IDF, and Israel’s security. 

“Friendly fire” in this case came from the post and not the bullet but its impact could have been just as severe.

This phenomenon of “post now and think later” is rampant.  Whether it is inappropriate pictures that follow you for life, negative comments that could cost you a future business opportunity, or being overly critical in a comment section, these very acts can affect your personal brand.

Using social media has become the vehicle for sharing information in an effective, quick, and inexpensive way.  Everyday more and more people seem to be gravitating to it for good reason.

In the frenzied rush to be the first one to report news, we sometimes ignore the bigger picture: the consequences.  Perhaps we should slow down, be mindful, be considerate and put ourselves in the other person’s place when participating on social media. 

Social media is just that – building relationships to a positive end.

Today, we “talk” via the computer and text through the cell phones. Almost gone are those precious face to face meetings that create a relationship of trust. Communication has become impersonal…..until recently.

The new platform for customer communication is via social media where buyer and seller can interact. Through Social Networking, Blogging and Micro-blogging your company can continue the conversation with your customers.

An unprecedented change has taken place, putting tools for publication, discovery, and real time interaction, in the hands of everyone – from simple text to photos and video. Social media tools are changing businesses in terms of how they can connect with customers, partners, peers and even the competition.

Future customers may hear about your business as part of a Social Networking Web Site. The new consumer is as likely to find your business through a Social Network as a Search Engine.

Pete Hollier from SEOwizardry lists a few tips:

Social Networking

It is becoming imperative that businesses develop Social Media Marketing Programs. Your customers expect it and your competitors are adopting and using Social Media to connect and interact with current and future customers – possibly even your own. The number must have gone up by now but in 2008 Cone Business in Social Media Study, states 93% of Americans believe that a company should have a presence on social media sites and 85% believe that these companies should use these services to interact with consumers. Social Media today threatens to replace e-mail as the primary electronic communication.

Integrating Social Media

Developing an effective Social Media Marketing Program involves investigating and determining a number of factors such as:

What are the goals and objectives of your company’s Social Media Marketing Program?
Determine responsibilities for program implementation and monitoring.
Strategy for the development of required content.
Prepare company guidelines for communication and participation.
Who and how often will company staff be empowered to communicate the Social Media message
Define criteria to determine the effectiveness
Companies that are using Social Media are gaining entrance into the homes and minds of their consumers. When a prospective consumer becomes a “fan” of a product on Facebook, or they follow a company on Twitter, they are requiring the company to translate their abstract corporate persona into something more personal and relatable. With that “personal” connection the customer is asking for information and support not just as a consumer, but as a “friend.”

Through stories, helpful hints, photos, videos, testimonials, and blogs the customer is demanding a deeper relationship which fosters commitment on both sides.