Read Full Article: http://www.marketingprofs.com/articles/2011/6926/follow-amexs-example-of-a-successful-facebook-campaign?adref=nlt012512&utm_source=mpt&utm_medium=howto&utm_campaign=basic&utm_term=socmedia&utm_content=article

Good tips on how to measure your efforts on social platforms.

http://www.imediaconnection.com/content/30100.asp

http://www.imediaconnection.com/content/30132.asp 

http://www.mobilemarketer.com/cms/news/advertising/10775.html

From Mashable.com:

Advertisers wishing to target Facebookmembers in specific zip codes can now do so. The social network has made the new targeting option available to advertisers via Facebook’s Power Editor and Ads Manager self-service tools.

Facebook has confirmed that zip code targeting, which was spotted by Politico, is now available in the U.S.

“The zip code targeting launched yesterday and this change was made due to requests for such a change,” a Facebook spokesperson tells Mashable.

Advertisers, previously able to target members by country, state or province, can now direct ads and sponsored stories to users in more localized areas.

“Over the past few months Facebook has been showing sidebar modules asking users to confirm which of several zip codes they are closest to or live within,” Inside Facebook reports.

Now that advertisers have the potential to reach hyper-local audiences, what types of ads should Facebook users expect? Local merchants and small businesses are the most likely candidates to promote products and services by zip codes. Politico also theorizes that the addition of zip code targeting will factor into upcoming elections.

“In an election cycle when social networking is expected to play such a big role, Facebook’s new program signals its intention to be a major player in the sprawling, and lucrative, market of local campaigns,” the site contends.

Read More at Mashable.com

1. Understand what your community cares about
The first step to community management and generating content with which your community can interact is to listen and determine what your community is already talking about.  Targeting UCF students?  Jump on some of those pages and just read through the wall posts.  Moms?  Do the same with similar brands or even your own friends.

2. Keep it fresh
Don’t repeat the same content over again. If you have similar messages to push, come up with different and creative ways to rephrase and captivate your audience each time.

3. Develop a friendly tone
Social media allows for the opportunity to be a little more fun, friendly, and engaging. If you embrace the opportunity to be a little more social, more users will interact with you.

4. Be consistent
If you plan ahead and develop a content calendar, you’re always prepared with content for your fans.

5. Be data driven
Try new things, test, and analyze. Community management is an iterative process. Use data to gain insight into drivers of success.  Facebook has some great tools in their Insights section – use it.

There are many ways a brand can provide content to their fans. These updates are categorized into types of posts: stream applications, fan recognition, promotional, personal, engaging, open-ended questions, and cross-platform integration. Having a good mix of all these types is essential in keeping your fans engaged and interacting with your brand.

Read More: 5 DON’Ts for Facebook Posts

There is no magic formula when it comes to managing your unique brand on social media platforms.  It’s up to you to roll your sleeves up and get started.  Once you have your strategy in place, the best way to see what’s working and what isn’t is to engage, moderate, and analyze all interactions.  Facebook has some great tools to help you manage this in their insights section.

• Don’t spam your audience. Posting updates back to back, multiple times per day, is the best way to get hidden in the news feed.  Monitor what works and slowly develop your strategy from there.  If you are unsure, it’s better to start slow so you don’t risk alienating all of your fans.
• Don’t neglect issues or problems on your page. Social media is a two-way conversation you can have with your customers. When you ignore concerns or questions, it appears as if you don’t care.
• Don’t use formulaic responses. In the same vein as ignoring comments, it’s just as bad to post a canned response to all issues or concerns.
• Social is about THEM, not you.  This can be tricky depending on the TYPE of business.   It really goes back to monitoring what works for your fan base. This is not the place to repost all of your tv commercials, etc.  That is just advertising and you will quickly find yourself with no fans.
• Don’t turn off the wall. While neglecting issues or problems is a bad practice, turning off the wall completely sends the message that you just want to broadcast, not engage.

With Facebook implementing new features every day, it’s becoming increasingly easy for users to hide status updates from appearing in their news feed. While this might be a plus in the personal sphere, it’s a little scary for brands that also appear in the same news feed. In fact, it’s now possible to “unlike” a brand page directly in the news feed without needing to visit the page at all. By adhering to the following best practices (as evidenced by brands that did the exact opposite), your brand’s chance of getting hidden or “unliked” is reduced significantly.

Read More: 5 DOs for Facebook Posts

http://adage.com/article/digitalnext/brands-turn-likes-loyalty/227609/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+adage/complete+%28Advertising+Age+-+Complete+Feed%29

http://www.buddymedia.com/newsroom/2011/04/introducing-our-latest-research-%E2%80%9Cstrategies-for-effective-facebook-wall-posts-a-statistical-review%E2%80%9D/