Fundamentals On Using & Mastering Social Media
Since we store and share quite a bit of sensitive and personal information over the net (especially if you use social media platforms) it makes sense that we do this in as secured a manner as is possible.
If you pay attention you will notice that sometimes at your address bar it will say http while other times it will say https.
What that means is that some connections are more secured than the http (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) connection is.
Let me clarify that this is not an article on internet security – that is an entire topic on its own! So we are not going to talk about digital signature and authentication or discuss what Secure Socket Layer (SSL) is and how that adds security to an http connection or how it authenticates the transfer of data between your computer and the web servers you are accessing.
OK, if that sounds like Greek to you, don’t worry. Let’s just get with understanding why we need to use https instead of http.
To minimise the chances of someone else eavesdropping or accessing and interfering with your data as it travels between your computer and the web server (e.g. Gmail or Facebook or any sites that you are accessing) you want to make sure that you use a secured channel over an insecure network (especially when you are using public wifi).
The secured connection will encrypt your data and create a secured channel when you are transferring data. This ensures at least treasonable protection from eavesdroppers in cyber space and others who want to intercept and access your data during data transfer.
How do you tell if your connections are secured?
Look out for the padlock and the green word “https” at the browser address bar as is shown in the diagram below. You should be able to see this at most sites you visit.
It is not always possible to use https connection so if you are not comfortable just don’t access those sites and especially not while you are using public wifi system.
However when you are doing any sort of on-line payment or mCommerce, you will want to make sure that you are use https and secured connection!
Again when in doubt do not use sites that are not secured. This is especially true when you are using third party applications on Facebook because you have a lot of sensitive and personal information on Facebook. Use the internet but just use it wisely and do not expose yourself to more danger than you need to.
In the next post we will talk about how to enable https on Facebook and Gmail – the two most common applications you will use for daily internet access.
If you find it helpful, do leave us a comment or click the “Like” and the “+1” button at the top of this post so others too can enjoy this post.
How To Use Facebook Marketing – Some Guidelines
Have you signed up for Facebook yet?
Are you using Facebook marketing for your business? Statistics tells us there are now 660 millions users on Facebook and counting.
However, when I ask the above questions to people I know, I normally get the following response:
A. “Yes, I have a Facebook Profile account and I use it to chill and hang out with friends. I sometimes play Facebook games, connect with family and hook up with old friends.”
B. “No, I deactivated or deleted my account because it is sucking up my time. And everyone seems to know everything about yon on Facebook and I don’t like that.”
C. “Yes, I have at least 20 Facebook accounts, and this is the new platforms where I can really crush it and get 2000 fans in 48 hours.”
D. “And then there are those who see the power and influence of Facebook but are not quite sure how to best use it for their business.”
I have been using Facebook since 2008 and although initially was reluctant to give it too much attention (hey I understand your concerns, I once had those fears too), I have since taken a much closer look at using Facebook as a marketing tool through social networking and now I see the potential power of Facebook Marketing.
Using Facebook marketing for your business
If you are reading this post, I am assuming you are not about using it to pass time or de-stress.
In this article, I will concentrate on talking about using Facebook for advancing your business purpose i.e. to promote a cause that you are passionate about whether it is for financial gain or a charitable cause.
May I suggest we start with reading the terms and conditions here or refer to this video on Facebook Page versus Facebook Profile Account for guidelines.
Guidelines are laid out clearly but not many are aware of them and many more are not following Facebook’s guidelines.
Facebook is strict in monitoring and enforcing their rules so do not be surprise if you account is closed down when you misuse it. They sometimes do give you warnings but don’t be surprised when they do not.
Since there are still people using their Facebook profile account for business purposes, I feel I need to address the following before I move onto talk about Facebook Fan Pages.
Here’s a list of “should not do” if you are using Facebook Personal Account (You can probably add more to the list):
- Not use your Facebook profile account to promote your products and services. Facebook can close down your account when you do this. All your effort will be gone.
- Not sign up for multiple Facebook accounts because you are only allowed one account per person.
- Definitely not add 50 friends a day just to boost your friend count – especially of people you do not know. If you have too many pending friend requests, Facebook will issue you a warning not allow you to add more friends.
- Not promote your own affiliate links on others’ walls. That’s their space, their home and we need to respect it.
- Not tag a whole group of people in irrelevant photos especially when these people do not know each other.
- Not send private messages asking others to buy your products or join you a new opportunity when you have not taken an interest in or “talked to “ and “connected with” your readers.
- Not send out friend request without a message and without letting others see your info tab. This is really just common sense but I am still seeing this. How can one decide if he/she wants to befriend you if you do not let them know anything about you?
- Also show your face, be real, be authentic. Your profile picture needs to show who you are very much like when you are making real friends at an event or group function. Nobody wears a mask at meet ups with hidden agenda unless it is a masqurade?
That is quite a long list here. If you have any to add to this, please feel free to do so in the comment box below.
In the next post, I will talk more about using Facebook Fan Pages for Facebook Marketing. Stay tuned.
What are your thoughts? Do you have more that you want to add to the list?
