So what are some of these “unwritten rules” that you can guide your Facebook Page posts? Here are some good general rules that you may find you need to adjust for your audience:

• Post every day. That may seem excessive to you but as people make more friends and Like more pages, your posts may be missed. If you are only posting once or twice a week then it could be a long time between posts if your community misses one or two of them. There are studies that show posting between 3-5 times a day can be good amount for Pages (make sure you are varying your posts and also watch your statistics to see what works best for your community). You can decide that you might take the weekend off but also realize that the weekend is when many people are on Facebook.
• Focus on engagement. You are trying to connect and get response from your community. Ask questions, post helpful tips, links to articles that your audience will Like and Share. When you make the posts about your audience and what they need rather than selling, you will develop a richer and deeper relationship with your community. You will sell more as a byproduct of that deeper relationship. Set aside time to follow up on posts and respond to questions on your Wall.
• Have a call to action. Tell people to click the Like or comment on the post. Or have them watch your video or go to your website.
• Don’t oversell or undersell. No one likes a never-ending sales pitch. By the same token, make sure you do highlight your wares from time-to-time! Use the 80-20 rule for sales messages vs. content/connection posts. So if you decide to post five times a week, one of the posts should be a sales message and four posts will be other helpful or fun content for your community.
• Make it fun. Facebook is a social community. People are there to have fun. This is a place where you can let your corporate hair down a little. Stay true to your brand but think of ways to entertain your audience.

Click here to read the free HubSpot White Paper yourself!

Introducing RAINMAKER SOCIAL, the one-of-a-kind collection of tools to enhance your RAINMAKER MEGA SITE and bring it into the Social Age. Social Media and “social search” have arrived. And, the future is now. Here’s why:

• “Inbound links are a good measure of authority, but they are slow. In a social media world, a relevant piece of content on a subject could become outdated in minutes.” – RAINMAKER SOCIAL users love the easy-to-use share tools in the new system compared to the out-dated (and slower) inbound links. With the share tools, you can constantly share content and stay relevant without the wait!
• “Google, Facebook, Microsoft, and Twitter are battling over the future of search. It is clear to all of these internet giants that social search is the future.” – These companies basically decide what user’s search. As they enhance Social Search, we all will be taken along for the ride too. That’s why it’s important for RAINMAKER SOCIAL users to hop on the bandwagon now so you get an early start on the future ahead of your competition.
• “Google+ is the fastest growing social network ever.” Google+ is not important – not yet — in the inherent contact database sense like Facebook. However, going forward Google will be using Google+ as its main source of social search data. Because Google is the #1 search engine in the world (no surprise there!) that makes Google+ an important tool in Google’s Social Search Rankings. Bottom line: Social search is coming on fast. Ride the wave…don’t get drowned by it.
• “Facebook’s current share of the search engine market is miniscule… why does Facebook not have at least a negligible portion of the search market? Simple: Private data. … The limitations of private data make Facebook a weak search engine and subsequently resulted in very little usage.” – This however has changed recently with the inclusion of the ability to select your own privacy settings with each individual post. RAINMAKER SOCIAL users are now sharing via the PUBLIC option that is now included. Use this public option as much as possible and you will build a pool of data and results that optimize your chances of being found through Facebook search.
• “Social search is really about more personalized search engine results.” – Search in the future will be personalized. That’s why RAINMAKER SOCIAL users are building their personal search network today.

Don’t miss out on the future. Check out www.RainmakerSocial.com for more information and order today to get a jump on your competition!

For more about integrating search and social marketing read this excellent, free whitepaper: www.hubspot.com/internet-marketing-whitepapers/

Jesse Hickman

Time and money are important to your clients and prospects, too, so pass the favor on by making it easy for your clients to navigate your website. Everyone appreciates an uncluttered and easily navigated site with answers at every turn.  Make it a point to employ the two-click rule: One click on subject, one click on topic.  No distractions. No distress. Often, simple web design is best.

The Internet is a complicated world, when a lot of the time, we just need simple, direct, and informative.

Tip #9:  Bookmark or save your favorite and most helpful home pages to retrieve quickly and easily.

Whether it be your browser’s bookmark toolbar or an online system like Delicious.com, your frequently referenced materials can be a simple click away. 

Let us know how you organize your online life so you can be more efficient!

Tip #8:  Look at what your online searches and surfing are gaining you and compare it to what you’re missing out in real life.

Take a moment to step back after you’ve completed a task online which may have diverted your attention away from something more important — a friend, family member, pet, hobby or something important in your life.  You need to find a way to balance your online needs with what is important to you in the real world.

Let us know how you achieve a balance in your life.

However, you probably should spend a (limited) amount of time Googling your competition.

Tip #7:  Find out what your competition is doing. 

Use a search engine to bring up your or your company’s website.  Right under your listing you will find an option to check out similar sites, such as competitors.  This tactic works well, too, for finding vendors and comparing their products and prices. 

Staying informed is good, but remember to limit your research!  A timer works best to keep you on track and focused. 

Let us know how you check out others, business, products online to get the best information quickly.

Tip #6:  Go right to the source. 

If you want to locate a specific business or person quickly, Switchboard.com http://www.switchboard.com or AnyWho.com http://www.anywho.com or Yahoo People Search  http://people.yahoo.com (among others) will search U.S. white and yellow pages to give you an instantaneous listing of requested names, addresses, phone numbers, Internet addresses, maps and turn-by-turn driving instructions (free and paid report options). 

When you need information quickly, go straight the the site that can locate it for you quickly and efficiently.  Save time!

Let us know what sites you use to find contact info fast.

Tip #5:  Refine your search by using a method called Boolean logic.

Boolean logic which uses “and,” “or,” and “not” to zero in on the information you’re seeking will help you narrow down your search results to find exactly what you need.  Search examples would be using the terms to include more or less in search results.  Examples are, “Portland AND Maine,” “condos NOT apartments,” “home buyers OR home sellers.”

Advanced search options on websites do this a bit more elegantly and “behind the scenes,” but you can use the same tools in your searches quickly and easily, especially if you are searching while using your smart phone while out and about. 

This site http://computer.howstuffworks.com/boolean.htm explains, among other things, how Boolean logic works.  Again, beware!  Here, the temptation is to find out how a lot more things work if you go to this site. 

Let us know how you narrow down your searches to be more productive.  We’d love to hear your tips!

Tip #4:  Use advanced search options on major search engines.

For example Google’s Advanced Search will allow you to search for specific phrasing, exclude words, search within a specific domain or site, limit the number of pages returned.  This is extremely helpful if you know exactly what you are looking for, but don’t know where to look.  Most search engines have similar options, so use the search engine you like best.

Remember, if you’re looking for an image alone, you can also narrow down the search with Google Images.  Don’t go there unless acquisition of an image is your stated purpose.  You can get stuck there “browsing” and remember, stay focused!

Let us know how you make your online searches effective and efficient.  We’d love to hear your tools and tricks!

Tip #3:  Stay focused.

Discipline yourself to produce results from time spent online. It’s so tempting to go down this rabbit hole or that one, leaving your purpose – your need for specific information – in the dust.  Use the “back” button to keep your place and stay on purpose.  (Remember the timer idea?  Stay on track with a time limit.)

Let us know how you keep from being distracted when working online.