Tips for Creating Your Business' Facebook Page

If you're just getting started with your social media marketing campaign on Facebook, here are some tips for setting up your Facebook Page.

1. Customize Your Page URL

Customizing your Facebook Page URL is essential for SEO in both Google and Facebook. If your URL is a jumble of numbers, your brand won't surface when someone searches for it. Your brand also doesn't seem as legitimate without a customized URL — you take your company seriously, and your URL should always reflect that. Here are some quick steps to changing your Facebook Page URL, which can only be done once your Page has 25 or more fans.
1. Go into your "Page Settings," click on "Edit Page" and then select "Update Public Info."


2. Click on "Basic Information" in the left column, and below "Username," click on "Change Username."

3. Enter your desired vanity URL. Then click on "Check Availability" to make sure it hasn't already been taken.

4. If it is available, a box like this will appear — click on "Confirm" to finalize your URL change. Congrats!

2. Choose a Thumbnail and Cover Image That Reflects Your Brand

Consumers are constantly being inundated with stimuli, so it's crucial that your brand stands out from the masses. Choosing the thumbnail and cover images for your brand's Facebook Page is extremely important, as you want them both to quickly convey your product or service, with a bit of personality. If you create something homemade, whether it's soap or chocolate, show the product in your thumbnail image, and set your cover photo with an image that shows where you make the product — or even who makes it, which will put a face to the brand. Dimensions of the photo are 851 px by 315 px.
You want people to instantly recognize your brand and know what you offer — without having to search for it.

3. Ask People to "Like" Your Page in Marketing Materials

This is a really simple way to gain some traction for your Facebook Page. Using the Borsari Food Company as an example, they should include a business card or pamphlet that has its Facebook URL along with every product they send out. All of your marketing materials — whether they are fliers or business cards — should have links to your social media platforms, as well as the URL for your company website. This provides customers with an opportunity to learn more about your business and encourages them to engage with you and your community online.

Mashable composite, image via iStockphoto, Bluberries

The Good and Bad of the New Facebook Graph Search

Facebook is preparing to introduce its newest feature, the Graph Search. The social network already has several great tools available to help you analyze content, build apps and get closer to your target audience. The Graph Search is another offering that has the potential to improve your social media marketing strategy.
This tool will have the ability to scan through user posts, photos, videos, pages and check-ins in order to make connections between different users throughout the network.
Here are some of the good (and the bad) points of the new Graph Search on Facebook:

The Good

New Fan Research
You will be able to gather new information about your fans with Graph Search, including favorite athletes, music, books, movies and more. You can use filters to segment your fans based on interests. (This will only work for profiles that are public.)
New Competitor Research
You can also use the tool to find out more about your competition, if they have Facebook pages. It is always good to be able to see what others in your industry are doing, how they are interacting with fans, and what new products they are introducing.
More Emphasis on Location
Businesses that rely on location, like restaurants, hotels, movie theaters and retailers, can really benefit from the Graph Search feature. Each check-in by users will determine search result rank. This will help users find your business when they use the “Nearby” feature.
Opportunity for Advertising
Graph Search will allow businesses to pay for sponsored results, much like Google or Bing advertising. Facebook may also be planning to offer some new types of advertising units for businesses to take advantage of in the next few months.

The Bad

Search Rankings
Results on the Graph Search will be based on App or Page activity, factoring in these metrics:
* Number of check-ins
* Fan activity
* Size of fan base
* User location
* User relevancy
* Relevancy to user’ friends
The algorithm used will be a lot like EdgeRank, which determines where a post appears in a News Feed. That means you will have to keep up a high level of engagement with fans and maintain a broad fan base.
Accuracy of Information
It is important to make sure that your brand’s “About” information is correct. The “About” info will appear in the results. If it doesn’t contain the right data, then your page won’t show up in the right search results.
Before Facebook completely rolls out the new Graph Search feature, it will be a good idea to go through and freshen up your page to make sure that it is ready when the time comes.
That includes:
Updating Your Brand’s About Page
This is an important source of information, so make sure it is up-to-date and accurate. Is the address, phone number, and store hours correct?
Having a Great Profile Picture
This is the image that will show up in search results, so make sure that it is a good one. Have it at a 620×620-pixel resolution with your brand name or logo. You want it to be something uniquely yours and easy to recognize.
Adding More Photos
Include shots of your products, shops, employees. Anything that users can see as a direct link to your brand. These will show up in search results so you want them to represent your brand’s essence. Add and remove tags as needed.
Building Up Your Fan Base
Don’t stop working to increase the number of fans you have for your Facebook page. The more you have, the higher your page will rank in search results.
Getting More Check-Ins
Encourage your customers to check-in when they come into your location. You can ask them directly, add it to your receipts, or put it on the door so they can see it as they walk in. More check-ins will also help to increase your ranking.
Do you think Graph Search will be better for businesses? What new features would you like to see in the future?

---

Post by Dawn Pigoni in http://www.sitepronews.com
The Good and Bad of the New Facebook Graph Search

Facebook Tests Skype-Like Calling on Canadian iPhone Users

Canadian iPhone users are the guinea pigs for Facebook’s latest offering: open source VoIP calling — a service similar to Skype.

Canadians with devices running iOS can now use Facebook’s messenger app to call a contact by tapping the “i” button in the upper right corner and selecting “free call.”
Users must update the app to the latest version to use the new feature. There is no extra charge to make the calls — it uses the caller’s existing data plan.
The service, which is still in the testing phase, will be rolled out to Facebook users in other countries if deemed successful.

Facebook has also added a new service for all Facebook users on iOS and Android platforms: voice mail. The service enables users to record voicemail messages of 60 seconds or less to send to a friend.
To use the new feature, users must tap the “+” symbol next to the message box, press record and hold the button down while speaking. To send the message, the user simply releases the record button. To cancel the message, the user must slide his finger off the button. Once again, users must update to the latest version of the Facebook mobile application.
So far, there is no indication Facebook will add either the voice-messaging or calling service to the Web version of the social network.

The calling and voice mail services are two more offerings in a recent string of changes to attract users.
Last month, Facebook made its messenger app available to all, not just account holders.
Non-Facebook users are now able to sign up for its messenger app using just their name and phone number.

The move is a bid to broaden the social network’s appeal for those who are not Facebook users, Peter Deng, Facebook’s director of communications product management, told CNet.
“It could lead to other parts of the Facebook product — post a status message or share an album,” Deng said.

It also makes Messenger more competitive with SMS and other third-party messaging services such as WhatsApp, which only requires a phone number to sign up.
Facebook is also testing a system that allows its members to send messages to other users outside their social circle for a price: $1.
The “small experiment,” which began Dec. 20, will be evaluated to determine its “usefulness” to the social network’s American users.

The test will give a small number of Facebook users the option to pay to have a message routed to the Inbox rather than the Other folder of a recipient they are not connected with.
For the time being, the new messaging feature is only for personal messages between members in the U.S. and will be limited to a maximum of one per week.

Facebook most recently released Poke, a mobile app that enables its users to send photo or video messages that disappear seconds after being sent. The app enables its users to send messages that “self destruct” after one, three, five or 10 seconds.
Post from: SiteProNews
Facebook Tests Skype-Like Calling on Canadian iPhone Users

Sexting with Snapchat or Poke? Your Messages Not As Secure As You Think

Snapchat and Facebook’s Poke users beware.
The self-destructing video and photo message apps apparently each have a bug that allows recipients to save received messages.

According to BuzzFeed, saving the videos is pretty “straightforward” despite assurances by both app providers that sent messages are deleted from the recipient’s Smartphone or tablet within three to 10 seconds of the message being opened.

But what if the recipient saves the message before it is viewed?
This is not good news for users of either messaging service as such apps are often used for sexting — sending photos or videos with nude or sexual content.

A report by Buzzfeed reporter Katie Notopoulos has revealed when video messages are loaded but not opened, after a bit of work, iPhone users can copy these unopened messages to a hard drive which stops them from being deleted automatically.

The report has revealed both Snapchat and Poke locally store copies of videos sent to users — and these messages are easily accessible with a free iPhone file browser.

Poke users, however, have to work a little harder than Snapchat users to get their hands on the videos.
The recipient simply connects his or her iPhone into a computer, and opens a browser such as iFunBox. Next, the user must navigate to the device’s internal storage to find folders for Snapchat.

“Open up the folder called ‘tmp.’ For Facebook’s Poke, videos are stored a little deeper in the app’s files, in library/caches/fbstore/mediacard,” BuzzFeed said in its report. “Copy the videos to your computer. Critically, Snapchat’s videos remain in this folder even after they’re viewed; Poke videos appear to be deleted as soon as they’re viewed. Photos don’t show up, at least not in any place we checked.”

Notopoulos contacted both app providers to see if fixes are in the works. Both Facebook and Snapchat indicated that although the bug would be fixed, there is still no guarantee that video and photo messages would remain private.

Snapchat also recently patched an obvious loophole in Android that saved unwatched videos in the device’s gallery application.

Even though viewed video or photo messages are permanently deleted in a matter of seconds, there also is nothing to stop the recipient from taking a screenshot of the message — a much easier method than searching through file folders.

Although the both Facebook and Snapchat send out an alert once a screen shot is taken, they cannot prevent the recipients from sharing that screen shot with others.
Snapchat founder Evan Spiegel said those who “enjoy using Snapchat are those who embrace the spirit and intent of the service. There will always be ways to reverse engineer technology products — but that spoils the fun.”

Facebook also offered comments: “Poke is a fun and easy way to communicate with your friends and is not designed to be a secure messaging system. While Pokes disappear after they are read, there are still ways that people can potentially save them. For example, you could take a screenshot of a photo, in which case the sender is notified. People could also take a photo of a photo you sent them, or a video of a video, with another camera. Because of this, people should think about what they are sending and share responsibly.”

Facebook launched Poke just before Christmas. For the first few days it was available, the app was one of the most popular downloads on iTunes.
Shortly afterward, its popularity plummeted while Snapchat’s skyrocketed. As of Dec. 30 it was the fourth most popular iPhone app in iTunes. Poke, however, only just made it into the top 100.
Post from: SiteProNews
Sexting with Snapchat or Poke? Your Messages Not As Secure As You Think

Facebook Testing Paid Messaging With U.S. Users

Facebook is testing a system that allows its members to send messages to other users outside their social circle for a price: $1.
The “small experiment,” which began Dec. 20, will be evaluated to determine its “usefulness” to the social network’s American users.

The test will give a small number of Facebook users the option to pay to have a message routed to the inbox rather than the ‘other’ folder of a recipient they are not connected with.
“Several commentators and researchers have noted that imposing a financial cost on the sender may be the most effective way to discourage unwanted messages and facilitate delivery of messages that are relevant and useful,” reads Facebook’s blog.

“This test is designed to address situations where neither social nor algorithmic signals are sufficient. For example, if you want to send a message to someone you heard speak at an event but are not friends with, or if you want to message someone about a job opportunity, you can use this feature to reach their Inbox. For the receiver, this test allows them to hear from people who have an important message to send them.”

For now, the new messaging feature is only for personal messages between U.S. residents and will be limited to a maximum of one per week.
Facebook is also tweaking its filters in Messages. The newly named filters in the inbox — basic filtering and strict filtering — will determine if a message is sent to your inbox or into the ‘other’ folder, which is similar to a junk folder.

Those who select basic filtering, will see mostly messages from friends and some from friends of friends. Those who had their privacy at “friends of friends” or “everyone” will automatically be changed to basic filtering although it can be changed manually.
Those who choose strict filtering will mainly receive messages from friends in their inbox. People who had the previous setting set to “friends” will have strict filtering on.
With filters, the following types of messages may now reach your inbox:

• From someone using Messenger for Android, who is not on Facebook but has your contact info in their phone, wanted to send you a message
• From friend of a friend wanted to include you in a message about a party along with some of your mutual friends
• From a friend who wanted to send a message to your @facebook.com address

Users can still also block people they you don’t want to hear from on Facebook.

Post from: SiteProNews
Facebook Testing Paid Messaging With U.S. Users

Facebook Test Will Let You Message Strangers for $1

Facebook is testing a feature that will let select users pay $1 to send messages to people with whom they have no connection on the social network.
Facebook said the option will only be presented to a "small number" of users in the U.S. at this point, and people will be limited to one paid message per week to start. Those who opt to pay for message delivery will have their note dropped in a Facebook's user inbox rather than the often-ignored "Other" folder.

"Several commentators and researchers have noted that imposing a financial cost on the sender may be the most effective way to discourage unwanted messages and facilitate delivery of messages that are relevant and useful," Facebook said in a statement.
The $1 fee will open a thread with a non-Facebook friend. If that person replies to your note, you won't have to pay again to respond to them, a Facebook spokesman said. If the recipient moves your note to the Other or Spam folders, however, you won't be able to pay to contact them again.

Those selected to test out this product will see a "prompt" when they attempt to contact a non-Facebook friend, the spokesman said. It will inform users that their message is about to be delivered to the "Other" folder, and give them to option to pay $1 to have it directed to the Inbox.
Most Facebook users are probably not aware that they have an "Other" folder. It made headlines in July when a bug within the API for certain mobile devices accidentally synched a user's @facebook.com email address rather than their primary address. Emails sent to @facebook.com email addresses from Facebook friends or friends of friends went to the Facebook Inbox. Messages from anyone else were sent to the "Other" folder within the Inbox. Many people - myself included - did not realize this "Other" inbox existed, prompting us to think our messages had disappeared into the ether.

At this point, messages from people with whom you have no connection get delivered to this Other folder. But there is no notification about that message's arrival; in checking it out for this story, for example, I discovered a number of messages I'd never seen before from PCMag readers (and a few weirdos). As a result, there are few ways to get a Facebook message in front of someone with whom you are not friends.

Facebook said the option might be useful if you're trying to contact "someone you heard speak at an event but are not friends with, or if you want to message someone about a job opportunity."
"For the receiver, this test allows them to hear from people who have an important message to send them," Facebook said.

New Filtering Options
News of the paid-message option coincided with two new options for messaging filtering. Facebook recently updated its terms and did away with the "Who can send me Facebook Messages?" option in favor of Basic or Strict filtering.
With Basic filtering, you'll see messages from friends and people you may know in the inbox; this will apply to people who previously had their message settings on "friends of friends" or "everyone." With Strict filtering, your inbox will primarily include messages from friends. This applies to those who had their settings on "friends."

The messages test comes several months after Facebook started letting users pay to promote certain posts. The feature lets you pay Facebook $7 for a post you want to highlight, and your message will stay near the top of your friends' and subscribers' news feeds for a longer period of time so they're more likely to see it.

Facebook Test Will Let You Message Strangers for $1

Facebook to Debut App Similar to Snapchat

Facebook is in the testing phase for a new app with Snapchat-esque abilities, according to AllThingsD.
Sources told AllThingsD the app, which is being built in-house, will be unveiled by the end of the month.
With Facebook loosely modeling its new app on Snapchat, it too, in one form or another, will be used to send photo messages with a time limit.
With Snapchat, for instance, users can take photos, record videos, add text and drawings, and send them to fellow users. Users can set a time limit for how long recipients can view their photos, up to 10 seconds. The message then disappears.

The sources said when users open Facebook’s app, a list of current message threads between the user and his or her friends will be displayed.
“Hold your finger down on one of the threads, and a timer comes up to ask how long the message should be viewable. From there, you’re able to send the message — which, just like on Snapchat, will only be viewable for a fixed period of time,” the AllThingsD report says.

The new Facebook app will remain separate from the main Facebook app, much like its other standalone apps: Messenger and Camera. Including Instagram, this will bring the social network’s app total to five.

The new app is yet another move by Facebook to place its focus on mobile.
Facebook kicked-off its mobile campaign with is acquisition of Instagram in April. The purchase, which was finalized in September, cost the social network a whopping $750 million in cash and shares.
Instagram, a mobile-only photo-sharing app, had 30 million users at the time of purchase in April. In September Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that number had grown to 100 million.
Facebook has also recently made its Messenger app available to all, even non-Facebook members. People can now sign up for the app using just their name and phone number.

The roll out began on Android in select countries —India, Australia, Indonesia, Venezuela, and South Africa — Dec. 4 and will go international in the coming weeks. Messenger for iOS also is coming soon, Facebook announced.

The move is a bid to broaden the social network’s appeal for those who are not Facebook users.
It also makes Messenger more competitive with SMS, which just turned 20 this week, and other third-party messaging services such as WhatsApp, which only requires a phone number to sign up.
The social network’s focus on mobile is paying off. According to an October study by Sterne Agee, Facebook Mobile is gaining in popularity with 61 percent of users having the Facebook mobile app. Of these, 64 percent access it at least once a day.
Post from: SiteProNews

Facebook to Debut App Similar to Snapchat

Facebook Gifts Should Be A Cash Cow for Social Network

Facebook stands to make millions if not hundreds of millions of dollars now that Facebook Gifts has become available to all U.S. users.
The social media site, which announced the launch this week after two months in testing with tens of millions of people, has added more charities and a wine category.
Facebook is describing Gifts as a way to choose, purchase and ship real gifts in a matter of minutes right on the site. A message can be sent either to the recipient’s Timeline or as a private message, Facebook says.
Gift options include items such as gift cards, chocolate, bakery items, or a stuffed animal along with a digital greeting card. The recipient gets a notification within seconds of the purchase, along with the card and preview of the gift.
The recipient responds with the address where they want the gift delivered. It ships within a few days. They may also select the color, size and flavor of the present when fitting. There is also the option to exchange it for an item of lesser or equal value. So far, gift selection items range from $5 to $50.
Combine $50 gifts with the 170 million users in the U.S., and Facebook should soon be raking in the dough.
Even if only 20 million of the 170 million users make use of Gifts, Facebook still stands to make a hefty sum.
For instance if 20 million users order one $20 gift and Facebook earns a 10 percent profit, the social network would still pocket $40 million. If 20 million users ordered one $50 gift, Facebook, at 10 percent profit, would earn $100 million.
If Facebook, however, received a 15 percent profit, it would earn $60 million or $150 million, using the equations above.
Facebook has not yet said if it will roll out Gifts in other countries, but it could choose to do so in countries like Canada or the U.K., where spending habits are similar to those in the U.S.
Since the beta launch of Gifts earlier this fall, Facebook has added to the selection of gifts available.
Facebook has partnered with iTunes, Hulu Plus, Pandora and Rdio for music lovers. Some of the other retail partners are BabyGap, Fab, Brookstone, Dean & Deluca, L’Occitane, Lindt, ProFlowers, Random House, Inc. and NARS Cosmetics.

It now offers a fine selection of choices from the following wineries: Amuse Bouche, Blackbird, Bonterra, Capture Wines, Clark-Claudon, David Family, Domaine Chandon, Goose Cross, Mondavi, Mutt Lynch, Recuerdo, Tasting Room, Terra Valentine,Titus, Twisted Oak, and Wine Country Gift Baskets.

For those wishing to give the gift of giving, non-profit organizations include organizations such as The American Red Cross, Blue Star Families, Boys & Girls Clubs of America, DonorsChoose.org, Girls Inc., Kiva, LIVESTRONG , Oxfam America, RAINN, St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital and Water.org.

Facebook Debuts New Privacy Controls

Facebook launched a number of new privacy controls Dec. 12 in a bid to make the process easier for its members to understand.
The update comes a day after Facebook put into action its new privacy policies.
The social network has included privacy shortcuts, an easier-to-use activity log and a new request and removal tool for managing multiple photos members are tagged in.
The option to block searches of one’s profile within the social network is being phased out and will soon be removed from everyone’s profiles.

“Everyone used to have a setting called ‘Who can look up my timeline by name,’ which controlled if someone could be found when other people typed their name into the Facebook search bar. The setting was very limited in scope, and didn’t prevent people from finding others in many other ways across the site,” said Facebook director of product Sam Lessin in a blog post.
“Because of the limited nature of the setting, we removed it for people who weren’t using it, and have built new, contextual tools, along with education about how to use them. In the coming weeks, we’ll be retiring this setting for the small percentage of people who still have it.”

The social media site is describing the privacy controls update as a way to give users better ownership of their privacy because the process is less onerous.
Everything users need to change privacy settings can be obtained with shortcuts or by going to the tool bar, which now allows users to set “Who can see my stuff?” “Who can contact me?” and “How do I stop someone from bothering me?”
Users can also access Help Center content from these shortcuts.
App permissions have also been changed.

“The first time you log into a new app, it asks for permission to use your info to personalize your experience. Some apps also ask to post to Facebook,” Lessin wrote.
“Before today, these two requests were part of the same screen and happened at the same time. Soon you’ll start to see these requests happen separately, so you have more control over what you share. For example, a person can grant a music app the ability to read their public profile and friends list to personalize their experience in the app, but decline to allow it to post what they listen to to Facebook on their behalf.”

Facebook has also created a series of messages for privacy actions. For instance, when a user hides a post, a message will pop up to explain that although the post is hidden on the Timeline, it will still be visible in other places, like friends’ news feeds and in searches.
The changes, which will be rolled out this month, are all part of Facebook’s efforts to achieve “three main goals: bringing controls in context where you share, helping you understand what appears where as you use Facebook, and providing tools to help you act on content you don’t like,” Lessin said.

Post from: SiteProNews

Facebook Users Either Don’t Care or Were Unaware of Proposed Privacy Changes

Low voter turnout means Facebook will have its way on changes to its privacy policy.
The vote, which closed at midday Dec. 10, gave members their only chance to weigh in on how Facebook handles user data as well as on the social network’s plan to do away with its custom of allowing users to vote on policy changes. The site also has plans to restrict users’ ability to prevent unwanted messages and combine personal information from Facebook with Instagram.

But does the vote signify voter apathy or voter ignorance?
Of the 668,872 people to vote, 87.5 percent (589,141 users) opposed the proposed changes while 79,731 were in support.

According to Facebook’s voting laws, however, 30 percent or 300 million of Facebook’s billion users would have had to cast their ballots against the proposed changes in order to put a stop to them. The 668,872 members to weigh in amounted to just 0.0668 percent of potential voters.
For a site whose bread and butter is social engagement, Facebook did a poor job of promoting the vote. According to many critics, Facebook never expected to receive 300 million votes and did little to ensure it received them.

While Facebook users did receive an e-mail to inform them of the vote, the social network did little else to promote the importance of the poll. There was no mention of the vote on its main Facebook or Twitter accounts or on its sign-in page.

According to Facebook vice-president of public policy and marketing Elliot Schrage, because the turnout was less than 30 percent, the vote will only be advisory.

Critics say this means Facebook is likely to ignore the results of the vote and push ahead with its plans.
The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) and Center for Digital Democracy (CDD) have said the policy changes “will impact the privacy of users and their ability to participate in site governance.”
Facebook’s proposal of allowing users to comment on or like the proposed changes instead of voting is simply not good enough, the groups said.

“Because these proposed changes raise privacy risks for users, may be contrary to law, and violate your previous commitments to users about site governance, we urge you to withdraw the proposed changes,” the groups wrote in a letter to CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

EPIC and CDD said not only will the changes give people less control over their inboxes, it is also “likely to increase the amount of spam that users receive.”

Post from: SiteProNews

Facebook’s Social Jobs App May Get You a Job

Recruiting is all about employers finding the right candidate to work for them.
Facebook, which is regarded as one of the best social networking sites (SNS) is also looked upon as a potential platform to help employers find the right candidates. One of the reasons for this is a majority of users actively share their personal information on this networking site. Facebook went a step ahead in bridging the gap between employers and job seekers by launching its Social Jobs App.

Social Jobs App
At launch, Facebook has entered into a partnership with five recruitment organizations namely Work4Labs, Monster, U,S. Jobs, Branch Out, and Jobvite. With this new app, Facebook promises the recruitment process will never be the same. The social network has collaborated with the U.S. Department of Labor, Direct Employers Association (DE), the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) and the National Association of State Workforce Agencies (NASWA) to introduce this app. The goal is to help unemployed Americans find the right job.

How Social Jobs App Works
Once you fire up this app, you will land on its promotional page. In the top right-hand corner, you will see the live count of the total number of available job vacancies.

• There is a box titled ‘I’m looking for a job’ which has ‘Keywords,’ ‘Location,’ ‘Category’ and ‘Sub-category’ tabs.
• In the ‘Keywords’ tab, enter the type of job you are looking for. For instance, if you are a journalist looking for a job, enter the keyword ‘Journalist’ in this tab.
• Next, in the ‘Location’ tab, enter the location where you wish to find a job.
• Move on to the ‘Category’ tab. Select the appropriate category from the default list. Select ‘Editorial/Media/Journalism’ from the list.
• In the ‘Subcategory’ box, select the suitable subcategory. Every job category has default specified niche job areas. You can choose from the list the sub-category ‘Journalism.’
• You can select or de-select the ‘Show me veteran-friendly job’ and hit the ‘Search Jobs’ tab.
• You can search for a job from the five organizations. Just below the ‘I’m looking for a job’ box the five organizations’ tabs are listed.
• Once you select the tab you want, you can view job information such as job title, company that offers the job and job location.
• The list of available jobs will appear.

Before you use this app, use search engines to check what information is pulling up when you type in your name in the search tab. If you anything potentially damaging shows up, you need to work on ways to do the damage control. You can also access your Facebook profile and other social networking profiles and take off the content and images that could put off future employers.

The Final Word
Many employers have already been using the app. For job seekers, this app is yet another valuable source to find the right job.

---

Facebook Opens the Polls, Gives Users Chance to Vote on Policy Changes

Facebook is asking its one billion users this week to cast a vote on its proposed policy changes.
The vote gives members their only chance to weigh in on how Facebook handles user data as well as on the social network’s plan to do away with its custom of allowing users to vote on policy changes. The site also has plans to restrict users’ ability to prevent unwanted messages and combine personal information from Facebook with Instagram.
Users have until noon on Dec. 10 to voice their opinions.
“Since announcing proposed updates to both our data use policy and statement of rights and responsibilities, we’ve heard from many of you through our comment process,” wrote Facebook vice-president of public policy and marketing Elliot Schrage. “We are grateful that you took the time to share your thoughts. This feedback allows us to respond to your questions and make substantive changes to our proposals before they are implemented.”
Schrage said if more than 30 percent of all active registered users vote, the results will be binding. If turnout is less than 30 percent, the vote will only be advisory.
Click here to cast a ballot.
The proposed changes, which Facebook aired late last month, caused an outcry among users and privacy watchdogs alike.
The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) and Center for Digital Democracy (CDD) said the pending revisions, announced Nov. 21, “will impact the privacy of users and their ability to participate in site governance.”
Facebook’s proposal of allowing users to comment or like the proposed changes instead of voting is simply not good enough, the EPIC and CDD have said.
“Because these proposed changes raise privacy risks for users, may be contrary to law, and violate your previous commitments to users about site governance, we urge you to withdraw the proposed changes,” the groups wrote in a letter to CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
A combination of user feedback and consulting with regulators, has caused Facebook to change the language to sections of its policy proposals, particularly the parts about what the social media site plans to do with data collected from Instagram and what it shares with its affiliates.
Schrage highlighted the main points in a blog post:

• Site Governance Process. Many of you agreed that Facebook has outgrown the current system, which is no longer the most effective way to help people engage in our site governance process. Many supported our goal of facilitating direct discussions with you – such as through the “Ask Our Chief Privacy Officer” feature. 

Some of you were concerned that by ending the vote mechanism, you were losing your ability to shape the policies that govern Facebook. To be clear, our goal in modifying our site governance process is to make sure that we receive feedback from you in the best, most productive way possible so that we can be responsive to your input. Many of you provided us with ideas on how we could continue to meet that goal. You pointed out that our decision to update the process gives us an opportunity to innovate and search for new and better ways to enhance participation. We agree and will incorporate your suggestions into creating new tools that enhance communication on Facebook about privacy and governance. 

• Affiliates. Some of you asked us to clarify new language that we proposed, which explains that we share information with our family of companies. This provision is standard in the industry and promotes the efficient and effective use of the services Facebook and its affiliates provide – for example, permitting information to be shared with our affiliates allows our users in the United States (whose services are provided by Facebook Inc.) to interact with our users in Europe (whose services are provided by Facebook Ireland Ltd.). 

Additionally, as many people know, we recently acquired Instagram. This provision covers Instagram and allows us to store Instagram’s server logs and administrative records in a way that is more efficient than maintaining totally separate storage systems. We’ve added additional language to this proposal to clarify that the sharing of information among our affiliates is and will be done in compliance with all applicable laws, and where additional consent of our users is required, we will obtain it. 

• Ownership of your content. A number of the comments suggested that we were changing ownership of your content on Facebook. We’re not. This is not true and has never been the case. Anyone who uses Facebook owns and controls the content and information they post, as stated in our SRR. They control how that content and information is shared. That is our policy, and it always has been. We’re not proposing to change this key aspect of how Facebook works.

• Privacy controls.  In our latest set of updates, we proposed to add language reminding you of the difference between privacy settings (which let you decide who can see what you post anywhere on Facebook) and timeline visibility preferences (which impact how things show up on your timeline but don’t impact other parts of Facebook, like news feed, relationship pages, or search results). Some people asked if this means we’re removing controls you currently have over who can see the things you post. We are not. We simply added this language to further explain how these privacy settings and timeline preferences work. In response to your feedback, however, we’re adding additional language to remind you that you can delete things you post or change the audience at any time.

• Advertising policies. We’ve always been clear that we are able to provide free services by showing you ads that are relevant to your interests, and we use your posts – including pages you like– to help show these ads. We proposed new language to make it clearer that those likes and posts include topics like religion or political views. This language does not mean that we are changing our Advertising Guidelines, which prohibit advertisers from running ads that assert or imply sensitive personal characteristics, such as race, ethnicity, religion, and sexual orientation. We’ve added additional language, including a link to our guidelines, to this proposal to make that clearer.

The vote was no doubt spurred by the 20,103 people who commented in English on Schrage’s original blog.
Facebook received roughly 89,000 comments in total during the seven-day period that ended Nov. 28.
For more information on Facebook Privacy, see EPIC: Facebook.

Post from: SiteProNews

Facebook Makes Messenger Available to All

Non-Facebook users will now be able to sign up for its Messenger app using just their name and phone number.
The roll out began on Android in select countries —India, Australia, Indonesia, Venezuela, and South Africa — Dec. 4 and will go international in the coming weeks. Messenger for iOS also is coming soon, Facebook announced.
The move is a bid to broaden the social network’s appeal for those who are not Facebook users, Peter Deng, Facebook’s director of communications product management, told CNet.
“It could lead to other parts of the Facebook product — post a status message or share an album,” Deng said.
It also makes Messenger more competitive with SMS, which just turned 20 this week, and other third-party messaging services such as WhatsApp, which only requires a phone number to sign up.
Deng told CNet Facebook hopes young people, who favor texting over e-mail, will opt for a more elaborate service from Facebook rather than the ordinary SMS.
“The SMS protocol has been around for 20 years. It’s designed for old phones, and it doesn’t take advantage of location or rich features like picture taking,” Deng said. “We want to let people connect to each other.”
With a new focus on mobile, Facebook has numerous compatibility issues to deal with, Deng said.
“Every single day, Facebook is accessed by 7,000 different types of devices,” he said.
Facebook describes Messenger as a free stand-alone mobile app that enables users to text friends for free using their existing data plan and reach friends on their phones and the Web.
The app also allows users to start group conversations, share photos and include friends of friends in conversations. It also informs users who has received their message and who hasn’t.
Messenger enables users to access their messages and chats as seamless conversations, receive free push notifications on their phones and switch between multiple conversations with in-app notifications.
Messenger is available on iPhone, Android and BlackBerry devices and can be downloaded here.

Post from: SiteProNews

Facebook Ads Gender Analysis: Men are Clickers, Women are Investments

The way you target individuals on a site like Facebook matters tremendously.
Marketing to a general population, whether it’s an age demographic or a socioeconomic line, is really nothing more than a way to prolong the inevitable. The inevitable, in this case, being that your campaign will under-perform.
Why? It’s because of gender targeting. No matter how many people love to preach the “equal” line, the fact is that the genders are different in many ways, especially in how they act on Facebook.
This means that an effective marketing campaign should treat men and women, not as equals, but as different as Mars and Venus – with Venus pulling preferential treatment.
By 2014, more than $6 billion will be spent annually on Facebook ads. The misconception – and a very persistent one – is that men are easier targets and make up a higher percentage of impressions. But what this overlooks is the potential for female targeting, since women make up the majority of overall Facebook users. It overlooks the fact that women simply spend more.

What Makes Women the More Desirable Target
As a marketer, ask yourself a very serious question. Would you rather have 1,000 impressions or one customer? The answer is clear; customers count. While men are sure to click on ads and maybe follow your brand, could it be that women become real, paying customers at a higher rate?
By and large, marketing on Facebook seems to follow one of two lines. Men and women are either treated equally, or men are catered to directly with women being left out of the equation. Whether this is due to pigheadedness or sexism or just misleading numbers doesn’t really matter. What matters, is more people are realizing that targeting women is the more effective approach.
Take a look at the numbers, without the pseudo-intellectual spin (undoubtedly provided by male writers) to skew the information.

Women make up 58 percent of the Facebook population, and that number is expected to separate even more as Facebook becomes available in other parts of the world. Despite the number of women on Facebook, only 47 percent of advertising dollars are used to target women directly. Men being better targets is almost a self-fulfilling prophecy, since so much is invested to market directly to them. Men receive more ads, thus men click on more ads. It isn’t rocket science.
The reason for this is that men are cheaper to advertise to. They’re not nearly as selective as women are. Men are click-happy in comparison, costing $0.04 less CPM and almost $0.20 less CPC.
But behind these numbers is the cold, hard facts that any business needs to focus on.
If you only want your ads clicked on, select men. If you want to invest the capital and specifically design material for women, you stand to gain more than mere impressions.
Women are more trusting of brands and return more as repeat customers. Women spend exponentially more money shopping online. Women use Facebook more frequently and in higher numbers, which means advertising by proxy increases dramatically when compared to men. Women review and recommend products and services at a higher rate than men.
For the long-term success and viability of a brand, women are needed desperately. For a short-term infusion, men will do.

The Bottom Line
Not to sound trite, but the bottom line here is your bottom line. It will cost more to operate a campaign that specifically targets women, but what you’ll receive in return are more legitimate customers, more repeat customers, a better brand reputation, a larger market share due to increased exposure, and more ad efficiency due to eliminating a lot of useless impressions.
The rub is this: As more women are targeted directly, women will assume men’s current role, and thus women will click more and drive rates down.
The only question is why a male-dominated world hasn’t bothered to perform the simple math yet to reach the logical, irrefutable conclusion.

---

Stanna Johnson ,Post from: SiteProNews

Lottery Hoax Goes Viral on Facebook

Nolan Daniels may just be the most popular person on Facebook.
Daniels posted a picture of himself holding what he claimed to be a winning Powerball ticket from Nov. 28’s $588-million jackpot.
He shared the image late Nov. 29 on his Facebook timeline.
Under the photo, the caption reads: “Looks like I won’t be going to work EVER!!!! Share this photo and I will give a random person 1 million dollars!”

The supposedly winning ticket, however, is an obvious fake. Not only is it poorly Photoshopped, the numbers were not in numeric order, unlike genuine tickets.
Daniels’ efforts, however, have obviously been good enough to fool more than a few Facebook users.
His post has received more than 1.95 million shares, more than 17,500 comments and more than 35,000 ‘likes.’
There are a number of amusing and naïve posts from Facebook users asking Daniels to consider donating the $1 million to them. Some are quite long-winded in a bid to convince Daniels to choose them:
From Hope Verrill: “ATTENTION Nolan Daniels…. I thinks it’s great what you are doing here on fb.( forget about all the haters!) My name is Hope Verrill and the Oxford Hills area in Maine could really use that money. I just started a Coffee House here in town. We just want to help our community!! The homeless, the sick, the hungry and many other issues to deal with. I have only $600.00 in our account from donations and we need a building to make this happen. Please, please consider He-brew’s Coffee House in your decision. You can contact me with any questions. E-mail at hope.verrill@yahoo.com or right here on fb. You would be doing an awesome deed for this community. And you would always be welcomed here. Thank you for your time. God bless!! –Hope”
From Tara K Kwolek-Scheibel: “Well god blessed you this week! And will continue because you have the right idea! I know someone will be blessed again but by you! Can see that in your smile and eyes! Congratulations! Please bless my family and I will bless my favorite organization—CASA. Court appointed special advocate for child of abusive home!”
Other posters kept it short and sweet:
From Michael Tull: “Show me the million my wife just had my son 6 month ago.”
From Kelvin Davis: “Pick Me! Pick Me! Please.”
From Teri Hamlin: “OMG! What an amazing thing to do! May blessings guide your way! Are you married? Just wondering.”
There were also a large number of posts simply wishing Daniels luck while others took him to task for the hoax.
While there is still no word from Daniels on why he decided to play such a prank, it is widely believed he simply wanted his 15 minutes of fame.



Post from: SiteProNews

Facebook Launches Photo Syncing

Photo syncing is now available to all Facebook users.
The new feature — which has been in test mode for the past three months — enables users to automatically sync photos on their Smartphone to a private album on Facebook. Users can then pick their favorites and share with family and friends through Timeline.
“Today we’re excited to roll out photo sync, which makes it easier to share photos,” a Nov. 30 Facebook press release reads. “With this feature, photos from your phone sync automatically to a private album on the Web. When you want to share these photos, just pick and post your favorites.”
Only the owner of the synced photos can access them and can move the shots via the Internet on a mobile phone, tablet or computer.
To begin syncing your photos, ensure you have the latest version of the Facebook app installed on your Smartphone. If you have an iPhone, use iOS 6.
If using the app, go to your photos app in the left-side navigation.
Tap ‘photos’ and then tap ‘sync’ at the bottom of your photos section. Follow the step-by-step instructions.
If using a computer, go to your timeline and click photos. Click ‘synced from phone’ at the top of your photos section, then follow the step-by-step instructions.
“We generally try to sync your photos as soon as you take them,” Facebook says. “However, we also take into account a number of factors, such as your battery level and sync settings.”
New photos also will be privately synced as you take them. In your syncing settings, simply choose to sync over Wi-Fi and your cellular network, sync or over Wi-Fi only, or turn syncing off entirely. You can also choose to sync all photos in your camera roll over Wi-Fi and see how much storage space you have available.
Up to two gigabytes of photos can be synced.
If you do not wish to use the feature, you can turn photo syncing off from your phone.
If you have an Android-powered device, open the Facebook app and tap the top-left main menu. Scroll to the bottom and select Account > App Settings > Sync Photos.  Choose ‘don’t sync my photos.’
If you own an iPhone, open the Facebook app and go to your timeline. Tap photos and then, at the bottom, tap synced.
Tap the gear icon , choose ‘don’t sync my photos.’

Post from: SiteProNews

Privacy Groups Ask Facebook to Abandon Proposed Policy Changes

Privacy watchdogs are not amused by Facebook’s plans for its data use policy.
The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) and Center for Digital Democracy (CDD) say the pending revisions, announced Nov. 21, “will impact the privacy of users and their ability to participate in site governance.”

Facebook has announced an end to users ability to vote as part of the site governance process. The site also plans to restrict users’ ability to prevent unwanted messages and combine personal information from Facebook with Instagram.

EPIC and CDD say not only will the changes give people less control over their inboxes, it is also “likely to increase the amount of spam that users receive.”

Facebook vice-president for communications, public policy and marketing Elliot Schrage said the social networking site wants to end the “voting component of the process in favor of a system that leads to more meaningful feedback and engagement.”

“We deeply value the feedback we receive from you during our comment period,” he wrote in a blog. “In the past, your substantive feedback has led to changes to the proposals we made. However, we found that the voting mechanism, which is triggered by a specific number of comments, actually resulted in a system that incentivized the quantity of comments over their quality.”

Originally, Facebook allowed users to vote on proposed changes. If there were more than 7,000 comments and the proposed changes were voted on by at least 30 percent of Facebook’s active users, the change would go into effect. However, with about 1 billion users, getting 30 percent to vote would be virtually impossible.

Under the new system, Facebook is allowing users to comment or like the proposed changes.
The EPIC and CDD say that is simply not good enough.
“Because these proposed changes raise privacy risks for users, may be contrary to law, and violate your previous commitments to users about site governance, we urge you to withdraw the proposed changes,” the groups wrote in a letter to CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

If the proposed changes become reality, Facebook would also be able to construct integrated user profiles that include people’s personal data from its site and from Instagram.
The move would be comparable to that taken by Google when the search engine said it would unite users’ personal information from its Web services — search, e-mail, Google+ — to better tailor the experience to the user.

The EPIC and CDD say Facebook’s proposed changes will likely elicit the same response as that which Google received.
“Earlier this year, a similar data consolidation by Google prompted objections from privacy organizations, members of Congress, European data protection authorities, and IT managers in the government and private sectors,” the groups wrote in the letter to Zuckerberg.

“Thirty-six state attorneys general sent a letter to Google claiming that the data consolidation ‘invaded consumer privacy by automatically sharing personal information consumers input into one Google product with all Google products’ and that it made ‘more of [consumers’] personal information vulnerable to attack from hackers and identity thieves.”
Facebook is also subject to the terms of a recent settlement with the Federal Trade Commission, the groups reminded Zuckerberg in the letter.

“The settlement prohibits Facebook from misrepresenting the extent to which it maintains the privacy or security of covered information. Additionally, prior to any sharing of users’ personal information with a third party, Facebook must make a clear and prominent disclosure and obtain the affirmative express consent of its users.”
For more information on Facebook Privacy, see EPIC: Facebook.

Post from: SiteProNews

Facebook’s Proposed Policy Changes Could Spark Privacy Concerns

Facebook is proposing changes sure to make privacy advocates and regulators sit up and take notice.
The social media site hopes to combine user data with that of Instagram as well as relax restrictions on e-mails between its members.
The company has said it may share information with other businesses or Facebook affiliates in a bid to “help provide, understand, and improve our services and their own services,” according to its proposed data use policy.
Photo-sharing service Instagram falls under the affiliates category — Facebook purchased it in October for $715 million.
If the proposed changes become reality, Facebook would be able to construct integrated user profiles that include people’s personal data from its site and from Instagram, according to a Reuters report.
The move would be comparable to that taken by Google when the search engine said it would unite users’ personal information from its Web services — search, e-mail, Google+ — to better tailor the experience to the user.
Privacy activists and watchdogs called the move an invasion of privacy.
The changes don’t end there. Facebook also wants to junk its guidelines that enable its members to vote on changes it makes to its data use policy.
Facebook vice-president for communications, public policy and marketing Elliot Schrage said the social networking site wants to end the “voting component of the process in favor of a system that leads to more meaningful feedback and engagement.”
“We deeply value the feedback we receive from you during our comment period,” he wrote in a blog. “In the past, your substantive feedback has led to changes to the proposals we made. However, we found that the voting mechanism, which is triggered by a specific number of comments, actually resulted in a system that incentivized the quantity of comments over their quality.”
Originally, Facebook allowed users to vote on proposed changes. If there were more than 7,000 comments and the proposed changes were voted on by at least 30 percent of Facebook’s active users, the change would go into effect. However, with about 1 billion users, getting 30 percent to vote would be virtually impossible.
Under the new system, Facebook is allowing users to comment on or like the proposed changes.
“We will continue to post significant changes to our data use policy and SRR and provide a seven-day period for review and comment,” Schrage said. “As always, we will carefully consider your feedback before adopting any changes. We will also provide additional notification mechanisms, including e-mail, for informing you of those changes.”
Schrage’s blog post detailed some of the proposed changes in the updated data use policy. They include:
• New tools for managing Facebook messages – replacing the “Who can send you Facebook messages” setting with new filters for managing incoming messages.
• Changes to how Facebook refers to certain products, like instant personalization.
• Reminders about what’s visible to other people on Facebook. For instance, when you hide things from your timeline, those posts are visible elsewhere, like in news feed, on other people’s timelines, or in search results.
• Tips on managing your timeline. For example, you can use tools on your timeline or activity log to delete your own posts, or you can ask someone else to delete a post in which you’re tagged.
Facebook users have until 9 a.m. on Nov. 28 to comment on the proposed changes here. 
.
Post from: SiteProNewses

Mayer Inspires Rise in Yahoo Shares, Partnership with Facebook a Tall Tale

Yahoo shares rose 2.8 percent Nov. 19 to hit $18.36 — their highest level in 18 months.

Yahoo shares have not traded for more than $18.30 since last May.

The reason for investor optimism can be summed up in two words: Marissa Mayer.

Yahoo’s new CEO has charmed investors with her plans to bring the floundering search engine into the future. Despite her warnings that change won’t happen over night, Mayer, of Google fame, seems to have won Wall Street’s confidence.

Mayer is focusing on devising a comprehensive mobile strategy for the search engine.  Mayer, who revealed her plan in a conference call with analysts Oct. 22, said although Yahoo has under-invested in mobile in the past, it is “a huge wave for us to ride.”

She is also determined to work her magic on Yahoo by focusing on users’ “daily habits” such as e-mail, the home page and Internet search as well as mobile devices.

Mayer has also discussed forming a closer relationship with Microsoft, its software provider and Web search partner, while using technology to bolster its display ads business through such features as automated buying.

The 37-year-old, who took on the CEO position in July has already made her presence known with a thorough redesign of Yahoo.com.

Until the redesign, which was officially unveiled last month, the search engine website had sported the same look for years.

Investors and analysts, meanwhile, are rejecting rumors that Yahoo and Facebook will join forces to offer search solutions.

The Sunday Telegraph reported Mayer had met with Facebook chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg to discuss a partnership to offer search.

Facebook, however, issued a statement to the media Nov. 19 denying any such claims.

“People expect a better search experience on Facebook,” a company statement reads. “We are working on improvements to better meet those expectations but are not in talks to enter into a new search partnership.”

Post from: SiteProNews

Facebook Debuts Job-Hunting App

Facebook wants to help its out-of-work users find employment.

Its Social Jobs app, launched Nov. 15, is the outcome of the social media site’s partnership with the U.S. Department of Labor, the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), DirectEmployers Association and the National Association of State Workforce Agencies.

The app lists jobs from online job boards like BranchOut, DirectEmployers Association, Work4Labs, Jobvite and Monster.com.  Users can currently peruse more than 1.7 million openings, Facebook says.  A ticker at the top of the app shows the exact number of available jobs.

“Research conducted by our team found that social media is becoming an increasingly important resource for both job seekers and job recruiters,” says Marilyn Mackes, executive director of NACE. “We are excited about the launch of the app, which will give job seekers greater access to opportunities. This is a positive step forward for the Social Jobs Partnership, and NACE is pleased to be a part of the team.”

While LinkedIn, traditionally, has been the social network of choice for professionals and job seekers, members of the Social Jobs partnership call Facebook an ideal forum for job seekers and recruiters.

In fact, NACE researchers found Facebook to be an important part of the hiring process.

The survey found:

• Fifty percent of employers are using Facebook in the hiring process. Fifty-four percent of those already using the social network believe Facebook will become a more important part of procuring talent in the near future.

• Nearly 90 percent of companies said Facebook has decreased the amount of print advertising needed to recruiting workers, making Facebook a cost-effective way to find new talent.

• Of companies using Facebook to acquire new potential employees, more than half state the importance of networking and referrals. The No. 1 suggestion by 87 percent of recruiters is for candidates using Facebook to ‘Like’ a desired company’s Facebook page, followed by using Facebook as a networking tool.

Facebook will not begin listing jobs, rather the app will act as a search tool allowing users to find jobs. Once they find a job that interests them, they are directed to another app. The listings often link back to the hiring company’s Facebook page. If they wish to apply, they would be referred back to the company’s official website.

“Making jobs easily accessible to job seekers around the nation has always been a goal of DirectEmployers Association and the National Association of State Workforce Agencies,” says Bill Warren, executive director of DirectEmployers.

“By launching this application through the Social Jobs Partnership on Facebook, the National Labor Exchange employment opportunities will become more accessible while being placed on a platform that users are already familiar with. This initiative will also aid in getting Americans back to work.”

Post from: SiteProNews