I’d like to start off this bit on Jen Cohen’s “800 lb. Gorilla” by saying that she won my Best Dressed at SoMeBizLife award. Congrats!

Now, as for her presentation, it was great! She started off by explaining that Facebook was originally founded as a social network for college students, where they would post updates and photos about what they’ve been up to. Then, once it expanded beyond college students, everyone had to start taking down their posts and photos so they wouldn’t get into trouble! Hearing this, the plot from The Social Network ran through my head, and I felt like I finally understood it all!

I learned so much about B2C Facebook interactions from Jen that I never would have considered before. First, this statistic: Only 16% of users who “like” your business page actually see a given post. This really made me (and everyone else in the room, I’m sure) think about what to put out there and how to get more attention. Two quick suggestions Jen gave in the moment were: 1) Post only quality content to your page, and 2) Use visuals, like photos, to appeal to fans.

Facebook is great for two-way communication, but if customer feedback isn’t handled properly, it can destroy a business. A Facebook page with no customer interaction is not social media, so to be successful, Jen suggests being human in your responses and trying to maintain a professional presence. Something that really struck me was her comment about Hootsuite posts having a negative effect on your impact on Facebook. People want to know there is a person behind the page, so having too many automated scheduled posts can be a turnoff. In my social media internships in the past, we’ve only ever used automated updates. After this session, I am inclined to suggest a mixture of scheduled posts and manual posts instead to see if we can get a little more user interaction on Facebook. 

Finally, Jen included the “Anatomy of a Facebook page.” This was so helpful because it outlined all of the places on your page where you have an opportunity to make a statement for your business. She said the cover photo should show the “essence” of your business, like a photo of people if you work with people, and the profile photo should include a logo or an image of your product. Then, she said to take advantage of what the timeline has to offer in terms of custom pages, tabs, and milestones. All of these items can only improve your Facebook presence and, since the timeline is very visually based, we are already on the right track to grabbing attention from fans!

Thanks again for the presentation, Jen. I will definitely be taking some of your suggestions in the future!