How to Make Buyers Feel Good About Doing Business with You
August 30th, 2010 — Marketing
How Facebook Changes Will Affect Marketers
August 18th, 2010 — Facebook, Marketing, Public Relations
Marketing and Public Relations Podcast
On Aug. 23rd Facebook will be changing the way marketers work with Facebook. This is a reminder that when you use Facebook, you do not own your content. So when Facebook changes, you have to change with them.
The biggest change is the removal of boxes that once appeared in the sidebar. This is where marketers used to be able to add ”Opt-In” boxes for their Constant Contact lists, or badges from Twitter and Skype. Boxes are what allowed people to tie in many components of their social media campaign into their Facebook landing page. They were very powerful. On August 23rd, they’ll be gone. So any content in a Facebook “box” will need to be recreated.
Boxes were also used to appease lawyers. They were where you put “community guidelines” and “rules” to keep everyone out of trouble. Now, this content will have to be moved to the “About” tab or “Info” tab. Neither tab supports FBML, but URLs do turn into hyperlinks, which is nice.
Over time, I think marketers will need to make more use of Facebook Markup Language to get the utility of boxes. FBML is HTML used specifically for Facebook. FBML allows you to create landing pages in Facebook that look and feel just like regular Web pages on the Internet.
If you’ve ever wondered, “how do I make a Facebook page engaging,” this is how. Examples of FBML are Gain detergent, Coca-Cola and Chick-Fil-A.
Facebook pages will also appear more narrow. If you’ve developed banners or images for Facebook, you may need to resize them. (Did a whole lot of graphic designers just make money?)
If you haven’t figured it out yet, all these changes are to make more room (and provide more value) to Facebook advertisers. Facebook is taking real-estate away from “free sites” and giving it to those willing to pay.
To see an example of the new Facebook page layout, look at a Facebook Event, like the one taking place at Big Island Seafood Farmer’s Market.
How West Hawaii Businesses Use Social Media
June 17th, 2010 — Corporate Strategy, Facebook, Marketing, Twitter, Web marketing
I wanted to find out how West Hawaii compares to the mainland U.S. when it comes to using social media for business marketing. More than 100 West Hawaii residents responded to my West Hawaii Social Media Survey in April. The results are presented below in a 19-page report with 10 charts and interpretive analysis.
This is the first look at how West Hawaii uses the Internet and social media tools for marketing businesses.
Previously, this data did not exist. In this report you’ll learn:
- The percentage of West Hawaii marketers using social media to promote their businesses
- How much time West Hawaii marketers spend on social media
- The benefits most associated with social media
- The relationship between time invested and results
- The most popular tools, and which tools are best for what purpose
If you’re a marketer in West Hawaii and sometimes wonder if your efforts will pay off, these results will guide you!
If you’re already investing in social media, this report will let you compare what you’re doing to those that have the most success.
Download the West Hawaii social media report here and feel free to share the report with others!
Remember, the nature of social media is to share, so if you find value in this report, please share it with your social network.
Most importantly, I need to know what questions YOU have. Tell me what the most useful information was for YOU in this survey, and what you would like to see in the next West Hawaii Social Media Survey. Use the comments section below!
West Hawaii Social Media Survey
April 10th, 2010 — Web marketing
The results are in!
103 respondents took the West Hawaii Social Media Survey to report how they are (or are not) using social media to promote their business.
The winner of the $50 Costco cash card drawing is from Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. If I get permission, I will let you know more about them.
I will now be preparing the results for release on Hawaii247.org.
Stay tuned!
2010 West Hawaii Social Media Survey
March 17th, 2010 — Twitter, Web marketing
I’m conducting the first West Hawaii Social Media Survey. People who take the survey will be entered to win a drawing for a $50 Costco Cash card. Please take the survey by clicking on the image below, or by going to: http://survey.laura-kinoshita.com.
The purpose of the survey is to find out–once and for all–who is using social media in West Hawaii! I will also be comparing local and national trends to see how much Hawaii lags behind mainland U.S. Every response counts, and I especially need folks from West Hawaii to participate. So please help me get the word out. You can help me promote this on Twitter with something like:
“West Hawaii: Enter to win a $50 Costco Cash card by taking this super-short survey: http://bit.ly/91snua [please retweet!]“
Or use the green ”ShareThis” button below. Please contact me for a copy of the results, which will be ready in about 3-4 weeks.
Thank you for your support!


