Christian Karasiewicz, Author at Christiankonline.com

3 Facebook Recommendations Box alternatives

Have you consider Facebook recommendations box alternatives?

While the Facebook recommendations box can be a valuable tool for businesses, it’s not perfect. It’s also not always available.

In fact, it was down for a little over a few weeks in late June. This meant that businesses who were using it on their Facebook Page had to find an alternative.

What was odd was that while it didn’t work on laptops, businesses could access the Facebook recommendations box on mobile devices and direct customers to leave a recommendation there. While this was a work-around, it meant complicating the experience for fans and customers and making it more difficult to collect feedback from them.

To me, this is an unsatisfactory solution and when a tool that businesses rely on daily to collect feedback from customers doesn’t work, it’s not something that I recommend keeping around.

Fortunately, the Facebook recommendations box did come back, but what happens when Facebook removes this feature or takes more than a few weeks to fix this valuable business tool?

As I have mentioned on numerous occasions, don’t put all of your marketing eggs in the Facebook basket and trust that they will be around forever. Just look at MySpace. Nothing lasts forever.

Based on the spottiness of Facebook, there are a number of alternatives that you can use to collect feedback from customers and fans. We’ve highlighted a few of our favorites Facebook recommendations box alternatives that you can implement to collect feedback from fans and customers.

3 Facebook Recommendations Box alternatives

Continue reading 3 Facebook Recommendations Box alternatives

Why don’t they like me on Facebook [Infographic]

Why don’t they like me on Facebook? That’s the age old question that gets asked when businesses first join Facebook and it’s an area that all businesses struggle with when trying to use Facebook for business.

The truth of the matter is Facebook marketing doesn’t work for every businesses.

You could have the greatest products in the world, but if someone isn’t interested in what you have to offer, you’re not going to build a relationship with that person and get them to like you on Facebook.

While the products that you offer could be a reason why customer don’t like us on Facebook, there are much more pressing issues, which we’ve highlighted below.

Why don’t they like me on Facebook?

Continue reading Why don’t they like me on Facebook [Infographic]

How to create a survey using Google Forms [video]

When collecting feedback from customers, have you tried using Google Forms?

As a business owner, it is important to collect feedback from customers and fans when you can. This way you can learn what you’re doing right with your business and which areas your customers are interested in seeing you improve upon.

For most business owners, determining which tools to use to create a survey can be frustrating. There are a lot of choices for surveys – and most of them cost money.

As someone who has spent a number of years conducting market research, I wanted to share how you can create a survey using Google Forms – for free.

What can you use a Google Forms survey for?

Google Forms isn’t just a tool for creating just one survey. You can use Google Forms for multiple aspects of your business.

Here are a few types of surveys business owners should consider creating in Google Forms so that you can collect feedback from customers about their purchases, buying habits, or general feedback about the products that they offer.

Examples of surveys to create using Google Forms

Customer feedback survey
Testimonials for your Facebook Page, blog, or website
Customer returns information
Demographic information about your customers

Google Forms + Analytics

Unlike most survey tools, which charge you to use their product and then ask for more money to analyze the results, surveys created using Google Forms will do the analysis for you on multiple choice and radio-button questions (and for free).

Here’s an example of the analytics you get with Google Forms. It’s pretty good.

If you want to view the individual results, you can look at each response as well.

Where are the results stored when using Google forms?

The great thing about Google Forms is that when users take your survey, the information is stored within your Google account. If you have a Gmail account, you can easily access this information from anywhere with just an Internet connection.

Also, if you ever want to save your survey data, you can use Google Takeout to create a backup copy to keep on your hard drive.

Creating a survey using Google Forms Continue reading How to create a survey using Google Forms

How to embed Instagram photos and videos in 4 steps

Instagram recently rolled out the ability to embed Instagram photos and videos on your blog or website.

This is great news if you’re a heavy Instagram user because now your photos can be free of the Instagram news feed and shared where they really matter most – on your blog or website.

By using the embed feature of Instagram, this allows you the opportunity to post your photos and videos on Instagram and leverage the 130 million Instagram users and then take that content and share it on your blog or website for users who aren’t on Instagram.

What can you do with photos and videos you embed on your blog or website?

While you can embed Instagram photos and videos on your blog or website, not all of the features from Instagram carryover. Here’s a rundown on what features you have when you embed Instagram content.

Link to the Instagram profile who posted the content
See how many likes and comments content received on Instagram
Can only embed one Instagram photo or video at a time. If you want to embed three items, this requires three separate codes
No ability to comment on Instagram photos or videos – you must go to Instagram to do this
No ability to add hashtags on content you embed from Instagram – you must go to Instagram for this

Is there a difference embedding Instagram photos or videos?

Kudos to Instagram for making this process extremely easy. The process for embedding Instagram photos and videos is exactly the same – and it’s something you can do in 4 easy steps.

Keep reading for instructions and a video on how to embed Instagram photos and videos on your site.

Embed Instagram photos and videos in 4 easy steps!

Continue reading How to embed Instagram photos and videos in 4 steps

10 Facts about the Facebook hashtag

What’s so great about the Facebook hashtag? Is it the fact that you can now sort your Facebook newsfeed content a little better? Maybe it’s the discovery mode where you can learn about new businesses to like (or avoid) just by clicking a hashtag in your Facebook news feed.

With so many positive things to like about hashtags on Facebook, we’ve compiled a list of 10 facts about the Facebook hashtag.

10 Facts about the Facebook hashtag

Continue reading 10 Facts about the Facebook hashtag

7 ways to increase Facebook likes [infographic]

If you’re looking to increase Facebook likes on your Facebook Page and on your content, there are a lot of different ways you can go about doing this. Some are free, some are paid, some require more work than others. The good thing is that you have options – lots of them!

Myths about increasing Facebook likes

While there are lots of ways you can get more Facebook likes, a lot of people think that in order to build a successful Facebook Page, you have to have a lot of likes. This is not the case.

What you want to do is get people to who are interested in what it is that you have to offer them to like your Facebook Page.

This is important because while you can get a lot of people to like your page, if those fans are not interested in what it is that you sell, you’re only just inflating your numbers and not doing much else.

Inflated numbers do not lead to sales or likes on your content. In most cases, you’re getting people who really don’t care about your brand or your business to increase your Facebook likes, but not really do much else for you.

The truth about increasing Facebook likes

As I mentioned, it’s not about having a large number of likes. What you want to be concerned with is posting items that fans will get interested in and engage with.

Engagement can come in many different formats. The most common ways are to likes, comments, and shares on your content.

Alternatively, you can increase the number of Facebook likes and still be engaging at the same time.

To do that, check out these 7 ways to increase Facebook likes.

1. Run a contest

Contests can be a great way to increase Facebook likes on your page. When running a contest, you can like-gate your contest. This is where you require someone to like your Facebook Page and become your fan in order to enter the contest.

Here, the engagement factor is tied into the contest. If you have a stellar contest, people will want to like your Facebook Page in order to enter.

2. Like-gated coupons

Do you run a business such as a restaurant? You can create a like-gated coupon to increase Facebook likes.

Like-gated coupons work similar to running a contest. In order for someone to get the coupon, they have to like your page.

If you choose to go this route, make sure you test your coupon first before announcing it to make sure everything is working properly. Also, make sure you create a coupon that someone would want to get.

When creating your coupon, don’t use the same one your offer on your blog or website. Make it exclusive for your Facebook Page. Otherwise, why should someone like your Facebook Page to get the same coupon you’re offering on your website?

3. Like-gated ebooks

Just like like-gated coupons, you can create a like-gated ebook.

This is where you encourage people to like your Facebook Page in order to download your ebook.

Personally, I like this way to increase Facebook likes because it’s like getting paid for your hard work (through likes).

In most cases, there’s also the mystique of what kind of ebook you are downloading.

4. Facebook Ads

If your Facebook Page suffers from a low number of likes and you’ve tapped your friends and family, your next best alternative is to use Facebook Ads.

While they’re not free, they’re a great way to get the word out to other Facebook users.

An example of a Facebook Ad is one such as “Like” us for exclusive coupons to your favorite stores.”

5. Adding a Facebook social plugin to your blog or website

Anyone with their own blog or website should definitely be sure to add a Facebook social plugin to their site. This is one of the easiest ways for Facebook Pages to increase Facebook likes.

This is because the Facebook like box let’s blog readers easily like your Facebook Page without leaving your website!

6. Add a “Like” button to your websites header

By now, you probably have a Facebook social plugin such as a “Like box” on your website. If you don’t have one (and you don’t have the space for one), the next best alternative is the Facebook like button.

Just like the “Like box,” the button let’s readers on your website like your Facebook Page without leaving your site.

7. Like-gated videos

The last way to increase Facebook likes is to like-gate a video.

Similar to a like-gated coupon, essentially, you are encouraging customers to like your Facebook Page to see your video.

With this tactic, you’ll want to make sure that your video isn’t one that they can watch on your YouTube channel without taking any action.

If you go this route, be sure you set your videos to unlisted. This way only the people who have the link to the video can see it. In this case, they would only be able to see it if they liked your Facebook Page.

There you have it – 7 ways to increase Facebook likes. Use some of these or all of them to increase your Facebook likes.

Remember, it’s not just about having a lot of likes on your Facebook Page. You want fans that want what it is that you have to offer. Create something compelling!

7 ways to increase Facebook likes Continue reading 7 ways to increase Facebook likes [infographic]

12 Do’s & Don’ts of Facebook for business [ebook]

Everyone knows about using Facebook to stay connected with friend and family. But what about using Facebook for business?

When you compare the two – Facebook for personal use and Facebook for business, you’ll notice that the former is very basic. You add someone as a friend, share your precious memories with them, and get people to like, comment, and share your posts.

So how does this differ from Facebook for business?

Facebook for business vs Facebook for personal use

While people using Facebook for personal use care about engaging with their friends and family, it’s not earth-shattering if a post someone makes doesn’t get a lot of engagement. It’s about the fact that you shared something and the people in your network were able to experience it too – even thought they were not necessarily there.

When you move into using Facebook for business, the game changes and you’re not concerned about just sharing content. You’re concerned with the following:

Sharing quality, business-related content
Reach
Engagement (likes, comments, shares)
Effectiveness

So what is so important about each of these items when using Facebook for business?

Sharing quality content

As I mentioned, when you share content on your personal account, you don’t necessarily care if people liked it or not. As a business using Facebook, you cannot have this same mentality.

When using Facebook for business, you have to be more selective about what you choose to share because you’re sharing it with people who are customers and who have the power to influence the buying decisions of their friends by recommending your business to them.

For instance, while you can share all of the Internet memes and unrelated content that doesn’t relate to your business on your Facebook Page, sharing this type of content can have drastic effects on your business.

Here are a few things that can happen when sharing inferior content on your Facebook Page

Lose sight of business goals, which should be:
- Raise product awareness
- Sell products
- Drive fans to your blog or website
Confuse customers who support your business
Negative word of mouth from customers

Reach

Reach is an important metric for businesses on Facebook, but it is not the primary metric.

The purpose of reach is to show you that your content is being seen. It does not mean that you’re successful with using Facebook for business though.

With reach, this just means that people are seeing your content. This is a good indicator that you’re putting out the right kind of content for your business on Facebook if you have a high reach.

Once you have reach, the next thing your business should focus on is engagement.

Engagement

Engagement means that people interacting with your content – through likes, shares, and comments. The more engagement, the more your content gets passed around, the higher your reach.

Effectiveness

One of the challenges that most businesses have with using Facebook for business is determining the effectiveness of their social media efforts.

A lot of businesses focus on the wrong indicators such as reach and posting unrelated content.

For example, anyone can post a quote or funny photo on their Facebook Page and get a high level of engagement, which will also boost their overall reach in the process.

While this seems like it is effective, it is not. It is creating a false sense of effectiveness when using Facebook for business.

What steps can you take to be effective at using Facebook for business?

Instead of focusing on posting items that will boost reach and engagement because it’s fun content (quotes, memes, etc) – this is often considered cheap content and something you want to avoid. Instead, what you want to do is post quality content – that’s related to your business that in-turn is engaging for fans and customers.

There are lots of ways to come up with content. For example, ShortStack created a cover photo that was also a game. The game was engaging and the answers were related to their business.

To help you learn the ropes of using Facebook for business, we’ve compiled a free ebook filled with helpful tips for your business.

Remember, using Facebook for business isn’t that challenging. When we focus on the end goals and stay on-course, it’s actually really easy.

Download it, read it, and send me a tweet to tell me what you liked about it.

12 Do’s & Don’ts of Facebook for business

How to delete Facebook search history [video]

A question I often get asked is “how to delete Facebook search history?”

As a Facebook user, one would expect this option to be right next to the Facebook Graph Search box (the logical place) or at least included in the account settings menu.

So why does Facebook make it so difficult to delete Facebook search history?

While we’ll never know the logic behind why Facebook makes the decisions that it does, what we can do is walk you through the necessary steps to delete your search history.

But before we do that, let’s talk about the impact of deleting Facebook search history.

Should you delete Facebook search history?

While you can delete your search history on Facebook, should you? That’s a tough one to answer. It really depends on what your reasoning is.

If your parents have access to your Facebook account, deleting your searches might be a good idea – especially if there’s something you’ve searched for that you don’t want them to find.

The same can be said if you’re someone who is in a committed relationship and you’re looking to meet someone else.

Outside of these two cases, there’s really not a need to delete Facebook search history. Deleting your search history means that if you frequently search for something, you may not get the results as quickly as you would like them.

Also, it’s not like if you delete your search history, Facebook cannot use your data. Chances are they collect your data and analyze it before you can even hit the delete Facebook search history button.

How to delete Facebook search history

Continue reading How to delete Facebook search history

5 Google Reader alternatives

Earlier this week, Google announced that they were shutting down Google Reader. While this means the end of Google Reader, there are a number of Google Reader alternatives available to help you continue to consume your favorite web content.

While I’m a little sad to see Google Reader shut down, I’ve been using a number of Google Reader alternatives for the past few months and I have to say, there’s a lot to like with them.

What’s to like about these Google Reader alternatives?

While Google Reader was a very convenient product, allowing you the opportunity to consume content from your favorite websites in one place, there’s a lot to like about the many Google Reader alternatives available. Here are just a few of the highlights.

Desktop, mobile and laptop friendly
Good integration with social media accounts
Free

5 Google Reader alternatives

Feedly

Feedly is by far the most popular one of these Google Reader alternatives. They offer a clean user interface, sync with Reeder and gReader, and will even recommend different content to you based on what you read.

Flipboard

If you’re a visual person, then Flipboard is for you. The thing I love most about Flipboard is that they let you create your own magazines. Think of it like having different magazines based on different interests.

In addition, they integrate nicely with your social media channels. This way you can read your content and see it – before you click through and if you want to, you can engage right there with it! To me, this is a huge timesaver for consuming your favorite news content on the web and on your social media channels.

Don’t forget, Flipboard also offers a quality free app for your mobile device or tablet and a great web experience too! Definitely one of my favorite Google Reader alternatives.

Newsblur

If you’re looking for an alternative to Google Reader that’s got a minimal look and feel to it, Newsblur is a good alternatives.

Just like other aggregators, Newsblur features a clean and simple interface along with apps designed for your mobile device and tablet.

If you’re deciding whether to go with Newsblur or any of these other Google Reader alternatives, I recommend trying it out. If you’re someone who prefers a more visual experience, there are other more suitable ones that I’ve listed (Feedly, Flipboard, Swaay).

Overall, Newsblur gets the job done though and you will be happy using the tool.

Pulse

One of the alternatives to Google Reader that I’ve been testing out for a good while is Pulse. What attracted me to this tool is one, LinkedIn owns it.

This means that hopefully they’ll integrate it with LinkedIn to make it easier to consume and share your favorite web content with you LinkedIn network.

Like Flipboard, Pulse is also extremely visual. In addition to allowing you to view headlines from your favorite sites, their mobile app is top-notch.

Overall, Pulse is near the top of my list of Google Reader alternatives, mainly because they’re backed by a large, successful company. But hey, look what happened to Google Reader.

Swayy

Swayy is a newcomer to Google Reader alternatives – and it’s still invitation only.

While that’s one small detractor, they make up for it. For instance, you can integrate with your favorite social networks and add your favorite web content.

Additionally, they give you analytics baed on what topics are trending. Also, they do a nice job breaking down the content that is recommended for you as seen in the above screenshot.

As I mentioned, it’s invite only, but I do have a few invitations so if you want to try this one out, send me a message.

Which of these Google Reader alternatives is right for me?

While there’s no guarantee that these Google Reader alternatives will be around forever, it’s great to know that there are lots of great options.

Once you decide on an alternative, don’t forget to add our blog to your favorite Google Reader alternative.

If I had to crown a king, I would rank them in the following order:

Feedly – feature-packed, works with lots of other services.
Flipboard – magazine-style news reader. Integrates nicely with social media accounts.
Pulse – owned by LinkedIn, visual interface, what’s not to love?
Swayy – invitation only, great trending tools to help identify content to share.
Newsblur – nice interface, lacks visuals like other readers.

Question: Which of these Google Reader alternatives do you plan to use? Let me know by leaving a comment here.

29 ways to help you stay creative [Infographic]

One of the challenges for anyone who has their own blog is creating quality content day in, day out. In most cases, we simply run out of ideas because we’re tired. What can you do to stay creative (besides taking a vacation to recharge your batteries)?

While the obvious answer is to take a vacation and recharge our batteries, not everyone can have this luxury. We either rely on our blog content as a source of revenue or we just don’t have that much vacation time available.

Fortunately, there are a number of things you can do to help you stay creative when the energy just isn’t flowing.

These include:

Making lists
Drinking coffee (or your favorite caffeinated beverage)
Going somewhere new – so your brain can find new things to focus on to stimulate it
Listening to new music – studies show new music is good for your brain
Meeting new people

In addition to the ways to stay creative that we listed above, there are plenty more. In fact, there’s an entire infographic filled with additional ways you can stay creative to help you continue to churn out new content.

Remember, new content can include blog posts, images, videos, designs, even marketing ideas for your products.

29 ways to stay creative

Continue reading 29 ways to help you stay creative [Infographic]