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The Secret Sauce to Making Your Facebook Page Mmmm Mmmm Good

October 25, 2011 54 Comments

Today’s post is brought to us by the Hall of Famer, Bruce Sallan. Contact me for your Guest Post Invitation.

Why do some Facebook Pages sing and others sound like American Idol rejects?

The only thing that will give you an edge is your distinct voice, your showmanship, and that elusive ‘It’ thing. Finding your ‘It” means being creative, taking risks, understanding your voice, brand, and own niche.

In real estate, they say there are three necessary ingredients: Location, Location, and Location. In Social Media there are also three ingredients: the 3 P’s: Passion, Persistence, and Personality. We’ll come back to those later.

The Sauce of it All

So you have a Facebook Page and wanna know how to come up with useful stuff to post day in and day out? Just do what TV execs have been doing for years, create a framework, and run the same weekly shows in their designated slots complete with reruns and all! Everything is a show.

Today, YOU are competing with millions who also think they’re a star, millions who tweet, Facebook, podcast, blog, and otherwise want their 15 minutes of fame.

Back in my day…

I come from showbiz where I spent nearly a quarter-century selling ideas for television.

The people I pitched to had seen and heard it all. Their attention span is shorter than Danny Devito.

Once I brought a baby black leopard to a pitch. Another time I brought two wrestlers, dressed in full regalia, to the pitch and left the Senior VP of programming at ABC in a headlock with the parting words, “If you buy it, they’ll let you go.” Trust me, I got noticed.

My Devilishly Good Looks

So, when I started my A Dad’s Point-of-View Facebook Page, I knew I couldn’t rely on my devilishly good looks, incredible humor, and biting sarcasm alone! I decided to do theme days!

TV Execs call certain hit TV shows, “appointment television” and my aim was to make A Dad’s Point-of-View Page appointment viewing for my audience.

Music Monday

What are theme days? Well, let’s start with the first theme I used for A Dad’s Point-of-View Facebook Page, #MusicMonday.

I love music. I know a lot about music…heck, I taught a college course Music and Films of the 50’s and 60’s back in the day! So what if music wasn’t spot on as it relates to dads and parenting. Everyone loves music so I post twice every Monday, once in the a.m. and once in the p.m., some cool YouTube with a favorite artist of mine who has a birthday or significant event happening around that day.

The above is a recent example. Eclectic? You bet. Unexpected? Naturally!

Wednesday Words

Twitter has Wordless Wednesdays so I turned it on it’s head and made Wednesdays, #WednesdayWords.

It allows me to post great parenting quotes from great people and the material is endless. Again, once in the a.m. and once in the p.m.

Friday Funnies

If you don’t SSP (Shamelessly Self-Promote) you’re just not getting it. So, Friday’s became #FridayFunnies and one of the two posts – yes, one in the a.m. and one in the p.m. – is my own Because I Said So comic strip!

But enough about me. Let’s help someone out, okay?

BTW, what do you think of me?

If I Was Triberr

It’s easy doing this for myself. How do you actually do it for someone else?

Let’s take Triberr as our practice Facebook page and give it a facelift…get it? Face- lift, like Face-Book? Oh, nevermind…

Editor’s note: I’ve asked Bruce to do use Triberr Facebook page as a working model; for both selfish and practical reasons. We (Triberr) don’t do any of this and Bruce can show us how he would revamp it. This is what he came up with. -Dino

Manaba Monday

Because Monday is the return to the workweek, the posts each Monday would reflect getting back in the groove.

Tips to use Triberr best. How to start off the week. Getting ramped up. Coffee drinks. Etc.

Posts will be once in the a.m. and once in the p.m.

Note: Manaba means, “Return to war” in Navajo. 

Tuesday Tribes

Each Tuesday, Triberr would feature a new tribe and give it’s name, Chief, and other information. Two each Tuesday.

War Council Wednesday

Using war terminology, the two Wednesday posts for WCW will be about building your brand, fighting the competition, winning!

Tiva Thursday

I don’t care that this doesn’t relate at all, the two posts on Tiva Thursday would be great dance music and videos. Just to get you over the hump.

Tiva means, “Dance” in Hopi.

Funny IS Friday

Stealing from myself, Friday’s two posts would be humor, cartoons, jokes, funny videos.

Again, who cares that it isn’t right on brand/topic, it’s fun and they’ll come back for the fun.

Saturday Squaws

Since Triberr is an equal opportunity offender, I mean supporter, each Saturday Triberr would feature a powerful, incredible woman in some form or another (from the Triberr tribes).

Sunday Peace Pipe

Sunday is about making the world a better place and the post on Sunday will focus on that.

All Together Now

Post once in the a.m. and once in the p.m. If the audience isn’t making the Page appointment viewing, at least they will always know what will be there when they want it.

You Forgot the 3 Ps?

Oh, you want to know about the 3 P’s? It’s simple.

  • It’s the Passion that drives your work, gives you a voice, and keep you going through the hard times.
  • Persistence is dealing with those hard times, not giving up, and working hard.
  • Personality is what allows you and your Page to shine.

Don’t be afraid to express yourself, be outrageous, have fun, and otherwise engage with all your heart and soul.

So, what will you do to make YOUR Page mmmm mmmm good?

Related Badassery:

Social Media Optimization
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  • http://DempseyMarketing.com/ RobertDempsey

    This is by far the best advice I’ve seen on using Facebook for business Bruce and I thank you. Now let me qualify that.

    Scott Scanlon told me before that in order for people to share anything in Facebook it has to help them look good to their friends and family. I agree with that because guess who people are connected to on FB – friends and family. It was a “duh” moment for me but ultimately changed the way I use my business FB page. However that didn’t go far enough. It also has to be fun.

    The advice here makes it fun and unique to you. For those not afraid to inject (some or a lot) of personality into their business Facebook page this is a fantastic recommendation. If you are afraid to add personality, you’re probably screwed anyhow.

    • http://diyblogger.net/ dino_dogan

      @scottscanlon is 100% correct. People share things on Facebook wanting to look like the idealized versions of themselves. Brands would be wise to take that into account when creating FB content. @RobertDempsey

  • BruceSallan

    Thx Robert. I’ve learned by my own trial and error. I made and make plenty of mistakes. BUT, isn’t that how we all learn?

  • wonderoftech

    I agree with Robert, great advice that can be transferred to your blog as well as Triberr and Facebook. I like the idea of “appointment tv” as it relates to social media. If people are excited about the next episode on your blog or Facebook page, they will make a point to tune in. I find this with my favorite blogs, knowing when they post and heading over there even before I see a notice about it.

    Thanks for sharing wisdom from the entertainment world, Bruce. Very applicable to social media!

  • wonderoftech

    I agree with Robert, great advice that can be transferred to your blog as well as Triberr and Facebook. I like the idea of “appointment tv” as it relates to social media. If people are excited about the next episode on your blog or Facebook page, they will make a point to tune in. I find this with my favorite blogs, knowing when they post and heading over there even before I see a notice about it.

    Thanks for sharing wisdom from the entertainment world, Bruce. Very applicable to social media!

    • BruceSallan

      @wonderoftech Thank Ms. Wonder! It’s all about creativity, fun, and dedication. And yes, all these ideas can work with other forms of SM!

      • wonderoftech

        @BruceSallan Bruce, how closely related do you think social media is to the entertainment industry in general, or is that a topic for another article? I’m thinking it’s all entertainment really, isn’t it? — Carolyn

        • BruceSallan

          @wonderoftech – Yes, I also think it’s all entertainment, but I also believe we can do such good works with Social Media…EVERYONE can now whereas you had to have the platform before. Anyone can truly make a (positive) difference. That is what I love about it so very much!

        • http://diyblogger.net/ dino_dogan

          I think the entertainment industry and social media are VERY closely related. We are but actors on the social media stage, are we not? @wonderoftech @BruceSallan

        • BruceSallan

          @dino_dogan@wonderoftech Indeed…but I like to “Direct”

  • http://www.skypulsemedia.com/ HowieSPM

    This is a great post even if I can’t wait to dance on Facebook;s grave when they eventually go Myspace (they will just we don’t know when)

    That said I run a Brand page for a client. And I study them all the time. There are two things of importance. The first is why your page might suck. The second why technically you don’t need to be on Facebook.

    1] It is really hard for you to get a post seen. In fact my estimate that once people have over 200 connections they will see between 3-5% of their stream just due to volume and time constraints. They also prefer talking with friends and family over brands and business pages.

    2] How do you fix this? Read this blog post. Take it’s advice. If you have great content people will come directly to your page just like you might of come directly to this blog. When I was still a Facebook user I always went to the Chobani page because I loved the fan engagement there even though I never saw their posts. In fact they have 1000% more engagement than most brands do as a % of Fans. But this is a dilemma. If your content is so good wouldn’t the same people come to your website especially if you make it a social type website like this one?

    • BruceSallan

      @HowieSPM Thx Howie – the check is in the mail! I wouldn’t be so fast to declare FB dead…we’ll see.

    • http://diyblogger.net/ dino_dogan

      Hi Howie, That is a great comment if Ive ever seen one and Ive seen many :-) @HowieSPM

      • BruceSallan

        @dino_dogan@HowieSPM He’s my 34th cousin’s on my mom’s side, removed 4 times, but very important to the family.

        • http://www.skypulsemedia.com/ HowieSPM

          @BruceSallan@dino_dogan Dino I need to come here more. I promise I will! And Bruce no long way from dead. But will see how their IPO goes. I see the greatest pump and dump stock scandal in history. Dino sell this story: Bratty Smug Kid invents social network. Business model is exploitation of it’s users. BSK sees his efforts explode. Lots of press. Under the hood it is all voodoo. 700mil people who log in once a month. But they give so little data on visits, time spent and activity everyone is clueless what this means (in the US only 22m-30m of the 67m log ins today will take action ie update, like share based on the available data). BSK takes Russian and Chinese Mafia Money. BSM takes Wall Street Mafia Money (Goldman Sachs)

          Now IPO pressures. News says Facebook is worth $100bil three times the value of the Ford Motor Company……see where I am heading….

          Kind of like LinkedIn. it costs today $1268 to buy $1 of profits vs $14 to buy $1 of Apple profits. Who do you buy?

          This story should have an exciting ending 8)

  • corecorina

    Don’t forget the importance of a captivating default landing tab :)

    • BruceSallan

      @corecorina Whatever that is…is way above my pay-grade!

      • corecorina

        @BruceSallan haha it’s easy; pick the landing page for non “fans” … Set it to a custom tab using fbml. Or just contact me :)

        • BruceSallan

          @corecorina Got it, so I need to go to the airport to do this?

        • BruceSallan

          @corecorina and fbml…that’s Facebook Multi-Layers, right? What is that?

        • corecorina

          @BruceSallan I do fbml and page set up/management remotely… Just shoot me a message or email corecorina at hotmail :) it’s a bit technical but well worth the results!

  • http://www.janetcallaway.com/ janetcallaway

    Bruce, aloha. Loved it. The key is to get people in the habit of going to your page and you’re giving them the reasons to develop the habit. The more they do that, the more likely they are to talk about it and share it with others. Triberr definitely has the Personality to make its page come alive and, of course, Dino and Dan possess Passion and Persistence in Abundance.

    Bruce, mahalo nui loa for your great tips. Wishing you both a day as amazing as you are. Until next time, aloha. Janet

    P.S. Bruce, did the Sr VP of Programming get out of the headlock?

    • BruceSallan

      @janetcallaway – He bought the show!

      • BruceSallan

        @janetcallaway – but, THAT is another story altogether!

  • BarnLoftCandles

    @AskAaronLee @dino_dogan Awesome advice…going to implement on my own page!

    • dino_dogan

      @BarnLoftCandles @AskAaronLee sweet…glad you found it useful :-)

  • tracetime

    This is the best advice I’ve heard for a Facebook page @BruceSallan for two reasons… I’ll name three of them.

    1. Just like those days of the week underwear I had in high school, this gives me a precise structure to follow that reflects who I am and what I do. (Well.. except maybe those “Saturday” ones, which were black. Didn’t quite know what that was all about.)

    2. Justifies the page and takes it from another boring page full of info no one really wants or needs. I mean why should your friends “like” your page (out of courtesy) and then you repay the favor with the least interesting things you’re thinking? They may as well stay on your personal page.

    3. Is in line with my #1 rule. Never seek to be more boring than you really are. Or more interesting for that matter.

    Now… to find my themes and apply them and stay with them. Much more motivating than what I do now.

    Thanks @dino_dogan for bringing in the guest star.

    • http://diyblogger.net/ dino_dogan

      Bruce and I were skyping one day and he explained this stuff to me. So I said DUDE!!! Thats pretty smart, you should write a post abut it. And here we are :-) @tracetime @BruceSallan

    • BruceSallan

      @tracetime@dino_dogan I am eager to see the results, Trace!!!!

  • http://newenglandmultimedia.com/ NEMultimedia

    I’ve been wanting to change things up lately on our Facebook Page, and on the Pages we run for a few multimedia clients, and THIS is just the creative juice I needed. Way to go, @BruceSallan , and thanks to askkim for sharing it on Twitter! I’m amped now!The case you’ve made for posting just twice a day is a good one, too. I never thought of a Facebook Page as an appointment to keep, but if I knew of a great Page that only posted twice a day — with interesting content — I’d show up for at least one of those time slots, and of course, I’d check out the other update while I was there. This is going to be fun! ~Michelle for New England Multimedia

    • BruceSallan

      @NEMultimediaaskkim Please share the results with us, Michelle! Maybe I can come up with some ideas for you as well!

  • dino_dogan

    @mmangen @askaaronlee hehe…thnx guys :-)

    • mmangen

      @dino_dogan You are welcome

  • StressFreeKids

    Hi @brucesallan Know any Dads That Could Use a Few #Halloween Tips?
    http://t.co/3IthZooI ⁰₀⁰

  • mmangen

    @formulists you rock…thanks

    • formulists

      @mmangen Me pleasure Michelle :)

      • I_Am_Whaley

        #nf @formulists

  • http://facebook-advertising-marketing.com/ krisolin

    Great article, Bruce! Oh man, I wish I could be as organized as your excellent tips suggest here!

    The most I can do are some random bursts of action when inspiration hits me. To answer your question, at least, I have developed a product I call “Facebook Website”, which incorporates a mini website inside your FB page. But this is mainly used to advertising and promos. You can check it out here if you like: http://bit.ly/facebook-krisolin I still have a lot to do regarding the Wall contents and other stuff, mate!

    As a prime example of my random scheduling I will post your article there now…

    Cheers,

    Kris

    • BruceSallan

      @krisolin Kris, just start with ONE a week. Get comfortable with that and then increase it. You’ll find it to be a good habit and fun. If you get used to it, then ramp it up some!

  • http://hypertransitory.com/ John Garrett

    Wow Bruce, these are some amazing tips. especially since they’re not all smoke and mirrors from some guy who doesn’t want to reveal his own FB page.

    If I could just get off my lazy ass and actually do these my page would be a lot more exciting :)

    When you say “once in AM and once in PM” do you have any specific times you swear by? Do you think that’s a general thing or would it be specific to each audience?

    Either way this is pretty exciting because this is stuff I can actually *do* lol. Thanks!

    • BruceSallan

      @John Garrett My pleasure John! Love when something connects with people and is genuine help. Nothing feels better (to me). No, I’m not locked into exact AM and PM times – I just like a good 4-6 spread between the posts. When you start doing this, hit me up and let me take a shine to your Page!

  • ruhanirabin

    @K_Olivia_Ann tell me. ;)

    • K_Olivia_Ann

      Fantastic article @ruhanirabin!! Persistence and Personality are definitely important, but I find Passion to be my main driving source!

  • dino_dogan

    @valkittell @jkcallas thnx for the RT :-) Im comin to your lovely town in 2 weeks, cant wait to get some icecream at the Hub again :-)

  • _hymt_

    thanks for the post bruce!

    now when you say two posts a day, do you mean you’d do a fresh post in the morning and then a re-run of the same post in the afternoon/evening or are both posts original ones? I am considering re-runs as people deal with so much on their timeline, it is very likely they’ve not picked up on your post. or would you advise to de re-runs in between?

    second question :) do you copy this same structure to twitter? I’d love to hear your thoughts on that!

    • BruceSallan

      @_hymt_ Great question Ellen, especially in light of the TV analogy and re-runs. NO, original programming for EVERY post!

  • SmartBoyDesigns

    @nelsonwee @dino_dogan I enjoyed that one a whole lot too

  • http://www.thejackb.com/ TheJackB

    Passion is something that is missing in far too many posts and pages. They are just flat.

    • b.nijhoff

      @TheJackB That’s completely true! I like posts when they got enough passion in it.

    • http://3dmodelsart.com/ 3dmodelsart

      @TheJackB Passion is that gives to the things that extra thing, without it they are just plain boring stuff. And if you have passion then you do it with love and that way you can make much more because you don’t look it as a job, you look it as fun.

  • lorimcneeartist

    The Secret Sauce to Making Your Facebook Page Mmmm Mmmm Good http://t.co/XRtAJuB4 via @dino_dogan @mqtodd

  • sitatthetable

    @garthobrien @dino_dogan First coffee via @Live4Agreements and now you’re making me hungry! Thanks, will check it out. Have a gr8 #thursday

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  • ruhanirabin

    @BruceSallan Excellent points. Many people actually forget these simple yet effective points. I also agree what @TheJackB said about the boring Post’s now a days.