Here's how the Facebook business page effort turned out (so far). Which do you want first? The good news or the bad? OK, I'll make the choice.

Good News

I now have 64 followers in less than a month. This is encouraging. Unfortunately, there's some bad news in the good news. Facebook has a feature that allows you to invite friends from your personal page to join your business page.  It didn't work for me and, after a little research, I've learned it hasn't worked for others either.

But luckily there is a workaround. (I've discovered that "workaround" is Facebook's middle name.) On your personal page, you put your friends into groups of 20 (the limit on the number of people you can message).  Then you message each group asking them to check out your business page. This worked.

The signups from these messages combined with the invite in the March issue of Web Words got me this far. But, truthfully, it was a lot of work.

If you haven't done so already, please like my page. The next goal is 100.

Last month we offered an incentive. The new business page fans from Web Words were entered into a drawing for an hour's free consult. The winner: Tom Sirois of Berkshire Hills Financial. Tom is a former client, and I'm looking forward to having a chat soon.

Now for the bad news.

Engagement

This cute little buzzword is the new coin of the realm. "Engagement" means people are involved, they like what you're saying, they make comments, there's a dialogue. I flunked. I even posted a meaty query that offered people the opportunity to promote their own business page.

Social media basics say you shouldn't directly self promote, at least not too often. The idea is to get people to like what you say. So I pointed out that my research for good sample Facebook business pages only produced pages from really big companies. Who cares? They've got money, staff, all the things the rest of us don't. So I queried my 64 loyal followers to provide examples of well-done entrepreneurial Facebook business pages. I encouraged them to promote their own pages.

I thought I'd get some comments for sure. Nothing. Help me figure out why? Join my fan page and share your thoughts. Engage. 

Here's my rant about tech support. Facebook (and Google, too) have left us up in the air without a safety net. These two youthful giants run our lives, yet they take no responsibility for our well being. Worse still, they throw curve balls, and we have to duck.

You read about one in the previous article. Here's another from Facebook. Have you noticed that your circle of Facebook friends all of a sudden seems smaller? It's just one of several little glitches in the "new" Facebook. Read more here.

Basically, there's no support--just a community that is willing to help. I'm all for the self-help principle, but it doesn't work very well when there are a plethora of little twisty paths and no map. In many cases, such as these two Facebook examples, you don't even know you have a problem until someone kindly offers a solution. I don't know about you, but I can't keep up with my email, much less all the posts on all the social networks.

True Support

I know what this looks like. I just installed an upgrade to my Android phone. For some reason, which I haven't figured out, unlike software upgrades to my computer, I was told in advance that this process would wipe out most data on my phone. I spent three days on the phone with htc support, figuring out how to back things up and then doing the upgrade.

While I'm a long way from done, at least I can use my phone again. These support professionals in Tennessee are knowledgeable and patient. The process was hell; but the support felt great.

Kudos also to Dell Gold support. Like AppleCare, you pay extra, but it's worth the price. And then there's Constant Contact. Even though I'm an award-winning user, I still need help for my own emails and those of clients. Constant Contact recently added eight additional hours of phone support--now extending to 11 PM Eastern time four days a week and 9 PM on Fri. They are based in Massachusetts and Colorado.

The Solution

Frankly, I don't have one for the Facebook sitaution. But I do have one for new technology purchases. Make support quality one of your buy criteria. Check out what's offered before you hand over your credit card. Paying for support isn't like buying an extended warranty that you may never use. Pay the money and then push those nice folks to the limit. Don't assume they can't help; assume they will.

As for Facebook and Google, I'd love to hear your solutions. Let's chat about it at the Shawenon Facebook page.

Constant Contact All Star winners are tapped for this award because they follow best practices in email marketing. They: 

• Communicate regularly
• Have high opens rates & low bounce rates
• Use Constant Contact tools effectively.

As a Constant Contact business partner, I received this award for the effectiveness of my clients' accounts as well.

If you want to get started with email marketing, be in touch. I'd love to help.




 

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