GUEST BLOG: How A Mom Added Likes & 2256 Views to Her Facebook Page Using a Refer a Friend Contest

Greetings everyone! Today I'm featuring a guest post from Nathan Latka, CEO at Heyo.com. He's going to share with us a great product that will help you achieve sustainable social media success on Facebook. Let me know in the comments if you think this is useful information!

Kelly DiNisco is a Heyo customer and the Digital Marketing Manager at Rachel Ashwell Shabby Chic Couture.

Kelly was looking for a way to generate additional engagement on the brand's Facebook page without spending money on advertising. She used Heyo’s Refer a Friend campaign to launch a  “Win Luella Bedding” contest.

To win, participants would have to enter in order to get a link. This link is unique to each entrant. Entrants use the link to market the campaign to their networks which drives clicks and engagement back to Shabby Chic.

This is How Kelly Generated 2256 Views With No Ad Spend

Using the Refer a Friend campaign, Kelly began by customizing the campaign to match the Shabby Chic brand.

When participants enter, they are automatically given a custom link and added to the leaderboard. This leaderboard is a critical piece to driving additional views and engagement.

Because humans are naturally competitive, showcasing the leaders in a leaderboard encourages everyone else to continue getting their friends to enter the campaign in an effort to win.

Additionally, the countdown Kelly included encourages participants to enter the campaign immediately as opposed to waiting. If you want to generate action and engagement, you must create urgency with a countdown widget – we’ve seen this prove out across thousands of campaigns. Urgency drives higher conversion rates.

How You Can Copy Kelly’s Genius Campaign

Click here and put in your name, email, and create a new password to use the Refer a Friend campaign just like Kelly did.

Your friends will thank you for sharing a high converting case study with them. Don’t forget to like, share, and tweet this article.

Author Bio

Nathan is CEO and Co-Founder of Heyo. Nathan has worked with over 100,000 business owners looking to start businesses that grow into industry leaders. He's most passionate about empowering business owners with easy to use marketing tools.

    

Greener Business Cards

I wrote this article in 2010 for the now-defunct Furnicology.com, one of the first sustainable furnishings websites created by and for interior designers with the intent to educate the general public as well.  I talked a lot about sustainability as one of their guest bloggers, and this article is a pretty good companion piece (it was originally published in the Resources section of the website).  The pricing might be outdated, but the rest of the information is still sound.  I think that's a sign of good methodology, don't you?  I can think of one alternative technique not mentioned here; I wonder if anyone will identify it in the comments below?

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Greener Business Cards

by Jennifer Davidson

Networking is a necessary activity in many fields of life, not only business.  It can be helpful in educational environments, creative endeavors and finding friends with similar tastes.  Even in this digital age of PDAs and mobile phones, the most important thing to have when actively networking is a business card.  But what if you’re a sustainable designer or an environmentally conscious consumer?  Here are some tips to help you “green” your business cards.

Local is best.  If you already have a relationship or experience with a local print shop, contact them and ask about more sustainable printing options.  The shorter the distance your business cards travel, the more eco-friendly they are.  You might even pick them up on your way to another errand!

Ask questions about paper content.  Request post-consumer recycled content paper: utilizing recycled materials creates a market for more such materials.  Is any pre-consumer portion from FSC-certified forests or comparable certification programs?  Is the paper coated or matte?  (Many types of coated paper are non-recyclable and non-biodegradable.)  Is the paper chlorine-free?  What weight is the cardstock?  A lighter weight might be fine for your purposes or a heavier weight might avoid the need for coating.

What about ink? Are they vegetable-based or petroleum-based inks?  Does the process require alcohol?  How are the water and sludge treated afterward?  What about the rags used in the process: how are they disposed of?

Consider the final product.  Are the cards recyclable when you’ve changed personal details or job titles?  What is the fewest/most cards you can print in a single run?  What is the optimum amount for your use?  Think about using mini-cards sized at 1.125” x 2.75” or namecards at 1.75” x 3.5” instead of the traditional business card at 2” x 3.5”.  An unusual-sized card might garner more attention in a stack while conserving paper – a win all around!

But the cost!  Sustainable printing makes sense but those dollars add up!  Prices at my local printers in San Francisco start at $159 for 500 standard size “green” business cards, as compared to $109 for the traditional, unsustainable version.  Some printers might be willing to negotiate a sponsored card; one side is your information and the other side is theirs, with a statement about the eco-friendly qualities of the cards, of course.  Moo.com gives 10 full color sample cards for free (including the shipping) if you are willing to have their logo and web address printed across the bottom of the graphic side.

Can I DIY?  Of course!  There are many computer programs out there that will help you print a single page of cardstock and show you where to cut them if you only need 10 cards or want to play around with your design before committing to several hundred.  Having your own paper cutter is helpful but your local print shop or FedEx Kinko’s can probably provide a self-service hand trimmer if you don’t want to invest in one.  They can also help you print on cardstock if your home printer doesn’t support that.

No local printer?  The top three returns of a Google search for ‘green business cards’ reveal:

Greenerprinter.com - eco-friendly green printing on recycled paper

MOO.com:  Announcing a super eco-friendly new Moo Business Card

Eco-Office Gals helps you choose earth friendly options for your business cards

so there are plenty of options, as long as you’re alert and know what to look for.

If you go for the most sustainable product possible, consider the transport distance and optimize the amount of cards you order, you can concentrate on growing your sustainable business instead of what you’re doing to the environment.  What could be more eco-chic?

Sustainable Networking from an Extroverted Introvert

I was chatting with a highly introverted friend the other day about networking, and it occurred to me that I have a fair amount of experience with this, since recreating myself as a sustainable interior design consultant in 2008.  Here are highlights from our conversation:

It's a good idea to come armed with some recent news topics or general conversation starters that are tailored to the event you are attending.  Don't ask people what they do for work, that's boring, especially if you're at an industry networking event and chances are you all do something similar.  Instead, ask them what they are passionate about, and watch their eyes light up as they tell you about it.  Pretty soon you can't stop the conversation from pouring out.

Another good one is to ask if they collect anything. Or, what their favorite childhood memory is. You just gotta tap into the juice that makes people who they are, and they will happily prattle on about it for hours, with little further prompting from you, mostly. However, you should be prepared to share a bit in return. Back and forth is what keeps the conversation flowing. Also, I find the best conversations are often between 3 people rather than 2, so bring a socializing friend or business partner and mingle as a pair to break the ice, then find a nice rhythm and break off into separate small pairings or groups that check in with each other regularly.  This can also help keep you from getting stuck in one conversation or group for too long and not making another connection.

Think of networking as writing your name in the yearbook of a few great friends, rather than spraying a crowd widely with your generic contact details. I spoke to a gentleman who proudly crowed about giving away over 100 business cards at a 2-day conference. I asked him which person was the most memorable, and in what order he intended to contact his favorite new people, and his smile faded a bit. I could tell he could barely remember the last person he spoke to, let alone the first.

Consider this: If you met someone in a hallway and they said, "Hi I'm Joe Escrow and I have a very special offer for you, it's just $19.95 if you buy now", would you want to continue your conversation with this person? Probably not. But if you met someone who said, "Hi, I'm Jerry, I'm passionate about FSC-certified wood being used in San Francisco renovations", you're more likely to not only remember this person, but want to continue the conversation later, when you find you have a question about this topic. Networking is not about gathering as many business cards as possible, but strategically discovering how you can help other people in your network, while helping yourself.

Another great hint: I write the name and date of the event, the reason I attended if it isn't obvious from the event title, and the conversation I had with the person on the back of their business card before I go on to the next person. Then, on the next business day, I drop them a note saying how much I enjoyed meeting them, and continue the conversation with another probing question, or an opportunity for them to display their expertise. I then ask how ~I~ can help them. 90% of the time, I get an answer back, and have cemented a good start to a business relationship. If you have one of those fancy electronic address books in your cell phone or tablet that allows you to enter the person's details and a note, by all means use that, but the key is to actually follow up with a conversation after the event, and I find a physical card with a note on the back prompts me to take action in a way an electronic entry in a database does not. Your mileage may vary.

Also, a note on business cards; next month I will be posting an 'oldie but good-y' blog I wrote about greener business card printing, so check back to learn more about making sustainable printing decisions.

Finally, don't feel like you have to be the first one in the door and the last one to leave. Attend the event, make a few solid contacts, and leave satisfied. But don't forget to stop by the main desk and thank your host, and pick up a business card to send an email thank you if the host is not available in person. Guests with good manners will be invited back, and that's sustainable networking at its best.