Facebook – Stay N Alive

Category: Facebook

Facebook Quietly Launches Ads API for ALL Developers

Posted on by jessestay

Some amazing things have been announced at Facebook’s annual developer conference, F8, going on yesterday and today in San Francisco. From new apps for Facebook Messenger, to a platform for Internet of Things, to one of the most amazing explanations of the value of virtual reality I’ve ever seen, Facebook has by far made up for last year’s F8, which I suggested was a bit uninteresting. But one thing went unannounced that I think bears merit, and I discovered it within their “Developers Garage” here at the conference as I was talking to people working for Facebook at the various booths. That was the launch of Facebook’s advertising API to all developers, making the entire API public.

Up until “recently”, as Facebook reps weren’t able to give me a specific date that it went live, you used to have to apply to access Facebook’s ads API through a very hard-to-find form on the Facebook Developers website. Now, in a very prominent location, Facebook has released a “Marketing APIs” section of their developers website, allowing any developer that needs it to access Insights data, custom audience creation and access, access to a business’s pages and assets, along with the ability to create and access ads on behalf of a business. According to Facebook they released them recently but there is no blog post or official announcement about the release.

To get started with the Facebook Ads API, developers just need to create an app and under “Advanced” within the app settings, set an ad account ID to associate ads with. Then, developers have access to a slew of API calls they can use to retrieve an ad account’s ads, create and modify custom audiences, and even create and target new ads to new audiences in very custom ways. I often use this for my clients to integrate and custom target ads to very specific users that are visiting certain parts of their websites or mobile apps.

Typically, while a developer may be able to code an app like this, they likely won’t know how beneficial this feature can be to a business, which may be why Facebook did not make a big announcement about the feature. Knowing these things can be automated is something critical for marketing organizations to get to know and understand, and one reason I always suggest the more technical elements of marketing orgs visit conferences like F8. These tools Facebook just launched are extremely valuable and can be the key to, with a small update, allowing orgs to have that extra edge against their competitors.

So if you haven’t tried it out yet hop on over to Facebook’s Marketing APIs in their developer documentation and start learning what you can do. To me, this is one of the most valuable and most major announcements to come out of the Facebook F8 developer conference and it wasn’t even announced from the stage. I’m kind of okay with being one of the “few” that knows about it though!

No Known Solutions In Sight for Copyright Issues or Monetization for Facebook Video

Posted on by jessestay

At Facebook’s now annual F8 developers conference, 2 issues seemed to be on the mind of developers and content creators in the audience of their “What’s New With Facebook Video” session: copyright infringement and in-video monetization. But when asked about it, Facebook seemed mute.

Among the features launched at Facebook F8 this year was the ability, just like Youtube, to embed native video from Facebook on websites and other 3rd party products (see video below). This launch allows further distribution of video, and improves the capabilities of video shared on websites to be shared beyond previously available through solutions such as Youtube video.

While big news, Facebook still failed to address what was on the top of everyone’s minds: how to address the rampant stealing of video on Youtube subsequently being shared on Facebook by those who don’t own the video. When prompted by one questioner, Facebook responded saying they had not come up with a solution, and that such a solution would take a long time to come up with. “We’re learning”, Fidji Simo, Facebook’s Product Management Director over video said, suggesting these types of products take time to develop.

I pressed further, specifically citing Google’s Content Manager solution that allows copyright owners to upload their copyrighted content to Youtube in order to notify Youtube of the copyrighted material, so as others upload the same content it can be automatically flagged and removed. The response I got back was pretty much the same, citing the complexities and difficulties of such a solution. There seemed to be no plans, at least that they were willing to admit yet.

While I admit I don’t understand the complexities of such a system (in developer speak, you would just create a “hash” of the video, and for every video uploaded match the content of those videos against the hashes of other copyrighted material in the Facebook database), it was comforting to know Facebook is at least understanding of the problem. It was completely clear to me they had heard these issues before, and were actively trying to figure out a solution surrounding the problem.

As for monetization, Facebook seemed unclear on whether in-stream video ads were the future for Facebook video. They said they were trying to reach out to other content publishers to work on business solutions for the video, but nothing had materialized yet. Not quite the information I was looking for, but it’s comforting to know that they know the problems.

While I understand the complexities of video, copyright, and monetization, I am perplexed at the lack of communication on the problems surrounding these issues. It doesn’t seem to me like Facebook is doing their best to reach out to the influencers and friends of mine I’m aware of in the Youtube community (all with millions of subscribers) that could be providing feedback around the platform. At a minimum, Facebook could be calming the waters a bit.

In the meantime, we’ll continue to see videos like these produced, unless Facebook can either provide a solution or start better communications with Youtubers affected by these issues:

How to Protect Your Online Social Media Presence Using Facebook Business Manager

Posted on by jessestay

Facebook’s recently released Business Manager is a God-send for any social media manager or strategist or even security department desiring to manage multiple Facebook Page admins among dozens (to even hundreds or thousands) of Facebook Pages and Ad accounts. With just a few clicks you can know exactly who has access to your Facebook Pages and Ad accounts, and remove that access within just a click. As an agency, this is a dream come true! But there’s one element of security marketers and businesses need to be aware of, and it could compromise their entire Business Manager access if they’re not careful.

The problem I’m referring to is social engineering. The fact is it’s pretty easy to duplicate or copy another person’s Facebook account. I saw it happen just today – a fraudster finds the friend of someone influential, copies the account of that friend, and starts friending the same people the original person was friends with. If they can make it far enough, the account can look pretty authentic! And if you’re onto them they’ll just block you so you can’t report them (more on that later).

So what happens when a Facebook Page admin, or Business Manager admin is the target? The fraudster just needs to send a request from Facebook Business Manager to one of the owners of the Facebook Page as someone that looks like a legit admin of that account, and if that admin is not paying attention, before they know it, they’ve been removed from the Page, and the new owner is posting on their behalf with basically whatever they want. It could be a Social Media manager’s nightmare!

So how do you protect yourself? Here are a couple tips:

  • Email or call the person sending you a request. This is probably the easiest way to protect yourself. Don’t trust their Facebook account, as it could be hacked. However, sending them a separate email or even better a phone call or walking over to their desk, ensures that you’re messaging them at a guaranteed communication channel. If they respond and say it was them, you’re good to approve the request!

    Also, don’t trust an email from someone that says they sent you a request – it’s easy to spoof the “from” line of an email. Always make sure you directly email them (not in a reply), and ask them if you must use email.

  • Turn the management of your Facebook Page and Ad Account access over to your security team. Marketing teams may hate me for this one, but it truly is the safest means. Your security team is trained to watch for stuff like this (and if they aren’t, have them contact me and I can get them trained!). A good security team will both watch out for your security, ensure only those that need access to your accounts have access to them, and also empower you as a marketing team to get as much done as you need to get done. A good security team will never be a hinderance, but also protect your online presence as a company.
  • Only give the requesting party the access they truly need to your page or ad account. This is important. It’s so easy to just give “admin” access to just anyone, which means that individual can completely remove other admins making it a nightmare to recover your Facebook Page. Some times if it’s an agency, and you don’t have the experience to manage your page, admin access is appropriate. But make sure your agency (such as Fit Marketing, the company I work for – your security is something we have experience with, and are good at) understands how to keep your account safe, and make sure you email them to know it’s them sending the request. Beyond that, ONLY give access to people what they need! Hopefully your agency is following this as well (many agencies don’t, so be careful).
  • Develop a contingency plan. Most companies don’t have one of these. A contingency plan can help your organization prepare in the event someone does compromise your Business Manager access. It can also ensure employees are educated and following best practices to make your company as secure as possible. Companies such as Fit Marketing and myself can help you develop a solid contingency plan for your business.
Facebook Business Manager is an incredible tool – I’ll be posting more about it on the Fit Marketing blog shortly. It can actually make your organization safer if used right. However, if business owners and marketers aren’t careful, your social media presence could easily, and quickly be compromised. Hopefully these tips can help secure your social media presence using the tool.

How to Optimize Your Facebook Ads for Event Conversions on Eventbrite

Posted on by jessestay

In preparation for my upcoming webinar on Facebook ads, I felt I would be a hypocrite if I did not use some of the strategies I’m teaching in the webinar on my own event for the webinar. In searching Google, I couldn’t find any good solution listed, but I did figure out a way to optimize your Facebook ad campaigns for when people buy, or sign up for your events on Eventbrite. That means Facebook will do its best to only charge you for your Facebook ads when people purchase your event!

The secret is simple. At the end of the Eventbrite event registration process, there is a confirmation page each attendee is taken to. You can actually edit this page, and it takes HTML. So all you need to do is get your Facebook conversion pixel in there and you’re good to go. Here are the steps:

First, get your Facebook conversion pixel

To start off, go to your Facebook Ads Manager. I’m not going to go into fine detail on how to do that – you can go buy my book, I’m on Facebook–Now What??? (the 2nd Edition) to learn how to set up a Facebook ad. Or register for my webinar that takes place in 3 weeks and I’ll even show you some really valuable techniques, just like this one, that will take your ads to the next level! (if you’re reading this after the webinar, you can also purchase downloads at that link)

In Facebook Ads Manager, on the left side column, there is a link that says “Conversion Tracking”. Click on that.

This is the page where you set up your conversion pixel. In the upper-right, you’ll see a big green button that says “Create Conversion Pixel”. Click on that.
A popover will appear, asking you to name your conversion pixel, and select a type. I called my “Eventbrite Ticket Sales”. You can name this whatever you want though. I also choose the “Checkouts” option, since I’m tracking sales. This is just to allow you to categorize different types of conversion pixels you might use. Here’s what mine looks like:
On the following screen/popover you’ll now be given code you can copy and paste into your Eventbrite page. This is what mine looks like:
Do NOT follow the instructions on this page. Instead, all you want for Eventbrite is the piece between the and the tag. In the above example, I would just copy the text, (the image tag) and nothing else. The reason for this is Eventbrite strips out all JavaScript from the code you put on their page, but they do support image tags! The image tag will be all you need. Click “Close”, and your conversion pixel will be set up. You’ll note that right now it says “Unverified” – this means no one has hit a page with your conversion pixel on it. That’s okay. Now we need to add this code to Eventbrite.
Add your conversion pixel code to your Eventbrite Event

To add the code you just created (again, just the image tag!), go to the “Manage” section of your event. This will take you to the Event Dashboard. On the left side of the Event Dashboard, you’re going to want to click the “Order Confirmation” link. You’ll be taken to a page that looks like this:
On this page, scroll down to the text area at the bottom that says “Message to be displayed on confirmation webpage:” (below “Customize order confirmation webpage”). This is the area you want to add your code. Below any confirmation message you add, copy, and paste the conversion pixel image tag you copied above. It will look like this when you’re done:
Now, click “Save”, but there’s one more thing you need to do. You want your conversion pixel to be verified. Once saved, click on the link, “View your current order confirmation page” below the final text area where you entered your conversion pixel code. This will take you to what looks like the order confirmation page. Don’t worry – your conversion pixel is invisible, so you won’t actually see it on this page, but you did want this page to load at least once!
Now that you’ve loaded your page, go back to your Facebook Ads Manager, look at the “Conversion Tracking” page again, and next to your conversion tracking link you just set up, it will now have a big, green “active” next to it if all worked well! This means your conversion pixel now works, and will load every time someone buys one of your event options!
So now you just need to add the conversion pixel to your Facebook ad.
Set up your Facebook Ad with your conversion pixel

In the Facebook Ad you created, at the bottom, you can set optimization options. You should have the option to “optimize for conversion”. Select this, and a drop-down will appear with your new conversion pixel listed in it. Select that conversion pixel. Now, Facebook will do its best to make what you pay only occur when an actual conversion occurs! This means real sales, for a fraction of what you’re paying in Facebook ads. That should be how every one of your Facebook ad campaigns runs.
Want to focus more of your ad campaigns on conversions? I’ve got a webinar coming up where I’ll share how to build audiences on your Facebook Pages that you can optimize for conversions. My techniques aren’t well known in the industry, so you’ll be learning very unique strategies, just like this one, that can help take your Facebook ad campaigns to the next level! You don’t want to miss this – go sign up here!

Are YOU a Social Asset to Your Company? Are Your Employees?

Posted on by jessestay

One of the things I talk about in Google+ Marketing For Dummies is the importance of getting your employees and brand loyalists involved in social media. This is something I’m seeing has more and more importance with the emergence of Google Authorship and the affect a public profile on Facebook has for individuals. The truth is, our culture is evolving from a culture of brands to a culture of people. The focus is no longer on your brand.

For that reason, I think it’s more and more important that you get your employees, or if you’re an employee, yourself, involved more and more in social media. In the future (and to some extent, now!), your job is going to depend on this!

Let’s take Google Authorship as an example. For one organization I worked with, we implemented Google+ profiles for high ranking officials/executives of the organization, and tied those profiles, using Google Authorship, back to content they had written on the organization’s website. With no content whatsoever on the profile, and solely the link to that individual’s profile, the organization saw a 300% increase in traffic on the individual articles written by those individuals on the company’s website. Imagine what it would have been like with MORE followers and MORE content on those profiles! You can see why I talked about making your website more about people, with content written by actual people in your organization in my books.

Just yesterday, SEO experts started complaining that Google was no longer providing keyword data back to websites for identifying the keywords people are searching for when they visit your website. Google is making it clear that it’s not about keywords any more. It’s about people, and real, genuine content. Your employees and the people behind your brand are a critical part of your SEO strategy now. You see the same with Facebook as they try to penalize “memes” and other brand-focused spam in the News Feed.

Google Authorship is just one strategy though. If you follow me on Facebook, you know I don’t have a Facebook Page for just me. I have Facebook Pages for my books and other brands, but not myself. Instead, I use what’s called a “Public Profile”, and allow people to “follow” me there. I actually do this on purpose. There, of course, are disadvantages to not having a Facebook Page for myself – I can’t advertise as easily (I can do a Promoted URL or Promoted Post back to my personal profile, however). There are no Insights/Analytics for personal profiles.

However, the advantage using a Public Profile is it focuses on me as an individual. It allows me to show the person behind my brand. When people follow me they know they’re following a real individual. I can comment much easier on others’ posts. In addition, I show up in Facebook’s suggestion algorithms as a person, which in my opinion favors more highly than Facebook Pages do. All of this is just the tip of the iceberg.

Here’s one example of why all that’s valuable: Yesterday Mark Zuckerberg changed his profile cover image on Facebook to an old graphic of all the relationships that exist around the world on Facebook which their data team put together back in 2010. Within minutes, he saw tens of thousands of likes on the cover image and I was seeing half my friends share it. I was familiar with this graphic because it hangs on the wall in my office – awhile back I blew it up and printed it out so I could show it off (If Facebook provided a way to purchase these they would sell off-the-charts!).

I commented on Mark Zuckerberg’s cover image stating that I had this hanging on my wall. All of the sudden that evening I started seeing friend requests from people trying to friend me, and new followers coming in like crazy! Within 12 hours I gained more than 1,000 new followers on my profile. It turns out Mark Zuckerberg liked my comment along with a few other of my friends that worked at Facebook, and that alone was enough to highlight the comment as the top comment on his cover image. Organically, 1,000 new followers in 12 hours is pretty good, and now I have the chance to build a personal relationship with every single one of those followers! Seriously, if you want to get some quick followers go reply on my comment that’s already highlighted there (only one reply right now!).

So as you can see, it wasn’t my brand, but my personal profile that provided the value. I couldn’t have accomplished that with a brand page, or bland brand website. You (the person, not the brand), and your employees need to be doing the same.

Next time you think about your presence on social media, stop thinking about Facebook Pages and Google+ Pages, and start looking at ways you can engage your employees and yourself as people on social channels. Make them “social embassadors” for your brand, and you should see ten times the success you are seeing with just one marketer and one team in your company focused on just the brand.

In these days, EVERYONE is a marketer! You need to be training your employees to be social assets for your company. If you’re an employee, your social presence, and even more than that, value (number of followers, etc), will be a defining factor of whether you, or the guy being interviewed next to you gets the job. It’s time to start learning to build audiences through social media, and build your own value for the companies you work for.

For companies and business owners interested, I provide a “Social Embassador” training curriculum as part of my “Everyone a Marketer” program. You can learn more about it here. Talk to me (jesse@staynalive.com) if you’re interested in training your own employees as social assets! I am also doing a webinar in 3 weeks that you and your employees can learn how to grow your brand through Facebook ads. Go here to purchase your tickets and learn more!

The Future of Local News WILL Disrupt Facebook

Posted on by jessestay

I am often asked, “will Facebook ever go the way of MySpace?” The truth is Facebook has been very good, like it or not, at not looking at current users’ needs, but instead anticipating the needs of future users, therefore fixing the Innovator’s Dilemma and ensuring their survival. There is one thing Facebook is overlooking right now, and with what I have seen in the news industry, I think Facebook may be blind-sighted at what I think is going to happen. The answer lies in the local news orgs.

The truth is, the current state of local news is in trouble. Revenue of news orgs is at the same level it was back in the 50s. People are seeking their news online. People are replacing their TV watching habits with Youtube, and Hulu, Netflix, Xbox, and Apple TV. At one news org I worked with, the term, “side door traffic” was brought up over and over again, as something to strive for. The fact of the matter is, people have stopped having the news open all day, in favor of sites like Facebook and Twitter and Google+. Homepage traffic is at a meager low right now for all local news orgs.

Print Media is going the way of the dinosaur. Newspapers are dying. Magazines are dying. So as a result, news is going entirely online. Now we find both print and video orgs, especially at the local level, competing against each other in a market where they previously did not compete. The sad thing is many of these former print and former video news orgs don’t realize they are now in competition with each other (much due to the fact that Nielsen ratings still exist and ad revenue is still going towards different sources like TV, but that won’t last for long).

Here’s what I predict will happen (and is already happening, to an extent): the TV and the Print organizations will be forced to merge, or compete in the very near future. Local TV and local Print news orgs will no longer be Print and TV orgs, but just “Web orgs.” The same reporters that serve print will also serve TV, and video will, more and more, move towards the same online source that print is located. Ad dollars will all go towards the web. Youtube strategies will become more important as more people use Youtube to get entertainment and news. It will no longer be a TV or print strategy, but a “multi-media strategy.”

This is all just the beginning though. Once print and TV at the local level all merge, local news orgs will be unified again. Print won’t be competing with TV, and the same for vice-versa. Sales teams will all be selling for a common goal, and new ad technologies will be developed. Social technologies will be integrated, allowing ordinary citizens to provide news and video, and targeted ads will be built targeting the user and their friends at the local level, where they are (through mobile technologies). People will be able to follow their friends on these websites and mobile apps.

This is when Facebook should feel threatened. At this point, news orgs will begin to realize that Facebook has been doing this for years now. Facebook now becomes the competition for them. The competition will go from getting “side door traffic” to getting “front door traffic” as Facebook does. The fight will be to get the user to have YOUR website open all day, not rely on them to congregate at places like Facebook to get their news.

The difference between now and before though is that local news orgs have a monopoly on their local markets. It won’t be like Washington Post and their “social reader” that targets a global audience and their friends. It will be a much more localized, personal audience of people much more devoted because it represents their culture and information they are much more familiar with. This puts local news orgs at competition directly with Facebook.

At KSL.com, owned by a former employer of mine, they had the market on classifieds, perhaps the only market in the USA to overtake Craigslist in traffic and community. They did this through following the devotions and loyalties of a passionate local audience and culture. The same can, and will be done with social. I saw similar passionate cultures and niche communities in the many communities that Media General served when I worked there. This can be repeated.

The biggest disruption to Facebook is going to happen when these local news orgs are forced to reinvent themselves, and utilize their passionate, niche local audiences to take advantage of circles of friends that are very tightly woven in the areas they serve. It’s not ready yet, but desperation and disruption in the local news industry is going to force this as soon as they realize Facebook is actually their competition – mark my words. Facebook is local news’ biggest competitor – they just don’t realize it yet.

Announcing the 2nd Edition of I’m On Facebook–Now What??? (Plus a Free Webinar by Me!)

Posted on by jessestay

I’m proud to announce the launch of my newest book, the 2nd Edition of I’m on Facebook–Now What??? along with a big launch event on Thursday, June 27th that is completely free! Jason Alba, my original co-author of my first book, I’m on Facebook–Now What??? and I brought in a new co-author, Rachel Melia to help us with this edition, and we’re re-targeting it towards marketers this time! Completely up-to-date, this edition will show marketers everything I know, Rachel knows, and Jason knows to build the best Facebook marketing strategy to your business. And we’re kicking it off with a big launch webinar where we’re going to dump all our knowledge about Facebook into a full 1 and a half hours (and you’ll win free stuff in the process)!

This book has been a long work-in-progress. We wanted to get it in perfect shape for you, and I think in just the easy-to-read 160 pages you’ll get a jam-packed reading session with all sorts of tips on your Facebook marketing strategy you never thought of before. I need your help though.

We’re going to kick this off with a big, hour and a half webinar on Thursday, June 27th. I’m really excited for my topic, which I’ve never shared publicly before – I guarantee your ad strategy will improve 100-fold with the tips I’ll share in the 30 minutes I have! In addition, you’ll have 2 jam-packed sessions from Jason and Rachel on Facebook Marketing as well as managing professional relationships on Facebook. This is actually the first webinar I’ve played a part in organizing so if it goes well maybe I’ll do more! I want you to sign up for the webinar, in order to celebrate the event with us. Go do it now!

When you sign up you’ll be entered and automatically be in the running for 3 signed copies (that’s the autograph of all 3 of us!) of I’m on Facebook–Now What??? 2nd Edition. I’ll also throw in 3 signed copies (the description only says 1, but I’m throwing in 2 more) of my latest For Dummies Book, Google+ Marketing For Dummies. Who knows – maybe we’ll throw in a few other things if the turnout is good enough!

So with this post I ask 3 things from you and you’ll have the opportunity to win some pretty cool stuff!:

I’m really excited for this book launch. I hope this book provides you the value and knowledge I’ve gained in the years I’ve been working with Facebook as a platform, both as a developer, and as a marketer. Please participate in this launch celebration with me, and share it with all your friends, lists, and groups! I hope to see you in the webinar on Thursday!

The Fight for #Conversation – Will There be a Migration From Twitter?

Posted on by jessestay

There’s no doubt that Facebook launching hashtags is a big thing, especially for marketers, but I think for users too. Now you can add a simple keyword prefaced by a pound sign (#) to any post or comment and immediately let others click and see the entire conversation around that particular keyword. This is really what defined Twitter – it was the ability to have organized conversations through hashtags that made Twitter a breeding ground for conversation.

Now Facebook launches hashtags, bringing the same breeding ground for larger conversations to a massive, billion+ active user network and now you’ve got a serious conversation on your hands. To me, this makes Facebook 10 times more valuable than Twitter in terms of the larger conversation, and it really makes me wonder – will people have as much motivation to use Twitter as they get used to hashtags on Facebook?

On Twitter I know of many that use hashtags to start large conversations and bring attention to a particular topic. Occasionally these conversations trend and other users chime in. While Facebook doesn’t yet have trending terms, they are rumored to be launching those soon. What happens when these larger conversations move over to Facebook where a majority of the “local” conversations are happening? Will people have reason to use Twitter any more? If I were Twitter I’d be worried when both Facebook and Google (through Google+) are offering this feature. Twitter’s competition is just too big.

Add to hashtags the other features Facebook provides, namely:

  • Privacy controls
  • Rich, embedded images
  • The inclusion of your closest family and friends in the conversation (that may be a plus or minus)
  • Events
  • Threaded comments
  • No character limit
The list goes on… I think you’ll see more and more people using Facebook for these conversations and ending their use of Twitter. I always hesitate to declare “the death” of anything. I do think Twitter should be concerned though, and I hope they continue to define themselves and staying away from the areas Facebook clearly has the upper hand in. The conversation, through hashtags, especially now, is definitely one of those.
Are you a big Twitter user? Now that Facebook supports hashtags will you use Twitter as much as you used to? Feel free to discuss in the comments.

How to View the Stream of Any Facebook Hashtag

Posted on by jessestay

Yesterday Facebook announced that they were finally launching the support of hashtags, a format currently supported on Twitter and Google+. This means any time you include a pound sign (#) followed by a keyword of any sort (try #throughglass for a fun view), it will turn into a link in your Facebook status update or Page post and people can click on it to view all public statuses and statuses they have permission to see on Facebook with that hashtag. There’s a shortcut to view these streams of public conversation though. To see the stream of any hashtag, just put https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/ followed by the keyword you want to follow in the URL bar of your browser.

Try https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/throughglass or https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/fail for a few fun examples of this. Facebook has made access to the public streams for hashtags extraordinarily simple.

I’ve heard from quite a few that hashtag streams only appear in a popover on your Facebook stream. It is true that when you click on a hashtag in your stream it does this – that’s so you don’t have to leave your existing stream to see what any given individual is saying on a topic. However, Facebook has also allowed you to right-click on the link for a hashtag, copy the URL, and paste it into your browser’s URL window and view the stream in a full feed on Facebook.

This now makes me wonder – are we close to an API for developers on this feature? If Facebook is already providing a UI around a single page, supported by a single URL for each hashtag, it would seem it would be extremely simple for them to put all that in JSON format for developers to access and start to consume in their apps. I’ve tried seeing if Graph API might support this by turning https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/throughglass into https://graph.facebook.com/hashtag/throughglass but it returns an error. It would also make a lot of sense as part of their search API, however, trying https://graph.facebook.com/search?q=throughglass&type=hashtag also doesn’t work.

I imagine it’s just a matter of time for an API to come out as a result of this. In the meantime, try out the URL method I shared above and see what streams you can follow. Which streams are your favorites?

Image courtesy http://www.digitaltrends.com/social-media/what-hashtags-means-for-facebook/

Why do I Think Marketers That Don’t Embrace Google+ Will be Out of Business in a Year?

Posted on by jessestay

(Want to skip all this and get the courses right now? Go to http://www.pluralsight-training.net/microsoft/TwitterOffer and sign up now!)

As I mentioned earlier on Google+ (where you’ll always hear tech news first from me!), I recently just finished a course on Pluralsight all about how you or your friends can embrace Google+ better for your business or clients (you can see what this course covers at http://www.pluralsight-training.net/microsoft/Courses/TableOfContents?courseName=googleplus-business). In a new series for businesses provided by the video training site, Pluralsight, we’re doing a new deal that will expire this week where you can get 30 days to watch my videos for free. This is an excellent way to get your friends and family to understand the value of Google+!

In my new, 2 hour, Google+ course, I show why Google+ is about so much more than plus.google.com, and step-by-step demos on how you can link your website or blog to Google+ and instantly improve your site’s presence on the web. You’ll learn tips and tricks and techniques to get engagement flowing, and how to build your audience on the entire Google platform.

This new training course complements my already existing Facebook Applications course targeted at marketers and businesses to learn how they can do some very simple things to fully integrate Facebook into their existing apps and websites (see the overview for this course at http://www.pluralsight-training.net/microsoft/Courses/TableOfContents?courseName=intro-fb-dev). The 30 day free course is a super deal, and gets you 4 full hours of training from me on the subjects I know most about. I’ve put a ton of time into these!

To get the 30 days free, just go to http://www.pluralsight-training.net/microsoft/TwitterOffer, follow me on Twitter (@Jesse), then follow @Pluralsight, and they’ll DM you a trial code to get the free access. Go do it now, and get your friends to take advantage as well so they can learn why I think Google+ is such a powerful tool!


This was originally posted on Google+.