Workplace by Facebook is taking your company interactions to a new level

Workplace by Facebook is taking your company interactions to a new level

We have been testing workplace by Facebook since its release in late 2016 with a few of our Crowstead clients and if you have been debating on starting this process for your company, here are some reasons to just...well... JUST DO IT. 

Lets face it. 99% of your staff more than likely have a smart phone on their desk right now and whether they admit it or not (we all are guilty from time to time), more than likely use it to check social media at least once in the work day. Why not train them to use social media to benefit the company while they are at it? 

Never heard of Workplace by Facebook?

Workplace by Facebook is a great collaboration tool that any organization or company can utilize to share one common message, create sub-groups for different topics, share vital information in real time with the rest of the team, and even join video conferences with staff members and share screens. The best part is that most people are familiar with the Facebook layout and all of these features collect all of your communications on a private site. 

Our favorite/most used feature so far:

One of our clients: Boys & Girls Club of the Muskegon Lakeshore has adopted the use of Workplace by Facebook to its full potential...and they are loving it! Club staff members share real time updates on events with the entire staff. Sometimes we can't share every picture or poll we need to take on public Facebook page or via email..this is the perfect solution. If one site is running a unique program that day, the staff are able to snap photos and videos and share that instantly with special interest groups of the staff or with everyone! We have been able to use this for ads and marketing pieces on numerous occasions and keep everyone on the same page instantaneously via our very own social media newsfeed.

In short...we say, check it out! 

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Here are the benefits that Workplace by Facebook has released on their site:

More than just a quick chat-Workplace doesn't just get people talking. It's a rich space for everyone to work together, share ideas and swap expertise.

• Work across organizations with multi-company groups

• Hold team and 1:1 meetings with group calls and screen-sharing

• Strengthen teamwork with real-name profiles, org charts and automatic language translation

• Scan important updates quickly with a News Feed tailored to you

More than just another tool-Make Workplace the heart of your organization, with direct access to files and information in the business tools you already use. 

• Extend Workplace with free integrations for Dropbox, G-Suite, OneDrive and many more

• Deploy custom bots to automate everyday tasks

• Use our open API to build the right tools for your business

More room to grow-Workplace gets better as more people use it. It's structured collaboration and a better way to join global teams together to make even the largest conversations easy to follow. 

• Get notified of conversations from across your organization

• Choose which coworkers to follow and build your network

• Secure your system with support for single sign-on from your identity provider

More successful launches-Adoption is one of the biggest challenges for any business-wide deployment. Our familiar features are instantly recognizable, making onboarding simple. Our Service Partners can guide you through the whole process, getting you up-and-running quickly. Partners help you: 

• Understand business value and build use cases for your organization

• Deploy workplace and integrate it with your everyday tools

3 Beginners Tips to Rule Social Media as a Company or Organization

3 Beginners Tips to Rule Social Media as a Company or Organization

With billions of users, and hundreds of platforms to choose from, entering the world of social media as a company or organization can be a bit intimidating. The good news is, you CAN do it with the help of a bit of tried and trusted insight! 

We have compiled 3 tips that will help any beginner to Social Media when looking to promote their products or brand. 

1) Understanding Unique Audiences

Let's first begin with a short description of some of the top social spaces and their unique uses. 

• Pinterest is a social network that allows users to visually create and share categorized boards based on their interests to their own pages or others. Users can find widespread inspiration in everything from Crafts to Work Out Routines, and Recipes. 
• Instagram is a social platform that users can find photo's, videos, and people that they might be interested in as well as places or unique hashtags and keywords trending on Instagram.
• Twitter is an information network compiled of 140 character messages or Tweets. Twitter has continued to deliver users with blurbs about news, events, people, or places made searchable by hashtag or keywords. Think of it as a condensed version of someones Facebook Status, or a Newspaper filled with headlines of topics that interest you. 
• Facebook is the world's largest social network, with more than 1 billion users worldwide. Facebook allows a multiple layer connection with you, businesses, friends and family, and events. 
• LinkedIn gained recognition for creating a social network that was business oriented, mainly used for professional networking. Employers can use LinkedIn to engage professionals with industry specific topics, and post job listings. Users can think of their LinkedIn account as a virtual resume and to expect some of the more savvy employers to search for their profile on LinkedIn before interviews. 

While these are some of the biggest platforms out there, learn by exploring each social space before embarking on an account and find what fits best for your needs. Your understanding of what users are looking for when they visit these sites is crucial for you message or product to be heard. 

2) Timing, Timing, Timing

Did we mention timing? Social Media Platforms have built in metrics that allow you to break down traffic on your posts and sites. Use this information to your advantage..don't let it just sit there looking fancy. This gives you insight into when users are visiting your site, when they click on posts or tend to like posts. It shows you what browsers and devices they are visiting your page from. 

Look into your metrics for specific platforms and you will gain a better understanding of when your audiences are using the platforms, and schedule your blogs, posts, emails, tweets, and status updates to ensure all of your hard work is seen. We guarantee that other businesses are doing this, why wouldn't you give yourself that same chance?

3) Network

So you have gained a better understanding of social media platforms, and you have set up accounts. You understand timing and how it dramatically plays a role in your social media marketing efforts. You have begun to post on these accounts appropriately. 

But please don't stop here! 

Well, you could, but it is not recommended. Just like you rely on users to like, follow, and share your page, take your game up a notch by engaging in other community businesses or organizations. Share some of their posts that relate to your mission, or your products and quickly see how your own page benefits. It goes back to the age old saying, 'treat others how you want to be treated'. It is true and it works. When you show your support of others, they will be more apt to support you in return. 

But networking goes deeper than this.

Sharing posts from other businesses or organizations to your own account will deepen your followers experience when visiting your account. Content is much richer and may even connect you with new users because of the shared post. Networking adds on endless arms to your available reach. 

In Short

It is not enough to simply create an account to be on social spaces. You must use the platforms to engage your specific audiences with intriguing messages and meaningful content. Thats right, each social space holds unique audiences of millions of users that are searching for a different experience. Take the metrics within these platforms handed to you and use them to your advantage. And if you forget everything else, please use social spaces for their most basic function: Networking. 

Get Rid of the Box...

Get Rid Of the Box...

The rational behind 'thinking outside the box' is, simply put, outdated. Our rational? GET RID OF THE STINKING BOX!

It is time for a new wave of thinking patterns. We cannot solve today's task list of issues by using the same route that got us there in the first place. 'Thinking outside the box' was a great step in the creative process, but the stigma behind the box being there in the first place that we must so masterfully jump out of to succeed, is a feat in itself. See, we are taught from an early age that social norms are expected to be followed and if you break them then you are doing it wrong. Then, at some point in our lives we encountered someone who wanted to push the limits a bit and truly succeeded because of it. They probably had great hair, and snappy clothing that we were secretly jealous of too. They were thinking outside the box. Win for individuality!

  But we are here to ask, why must there be a box in the first place to jump out of? Boxes are basically this:  A lot of trusted and useful tools, a false sense of normalcy, and a perception of perfection all crammed in between four perfectly measured and angled lines, and sealed tight, very tight. We spend so much time trying to fit ourselves and our ideas into that box but honestly, there just isn't any room left. Then, when we realize that isn't working for us, we try to jump out of the box and think outside of it like a beautiful salmon trying to swim upstream with water pressure resisting and attempting to push us back.

  Sure, boxes create guidelines which are essential to anything succeeding..we aren't suggesting that we all run amok and without the process in mind. But, boxes were made to be opened.

Consider the following:

  Mary buys a box of various tools from the local hardware store. What a wonderful deal that they are all packaged together so that she could purchase them without thinking about if or when she would ever use an extra large taping knife. But, the option of using that tool was there waiting for the day that she could take it out in all its glory, and use it. Boxes were made to hold essential items and information, but the second we have those items in hand and in mind, we open the box. It is not enough for Mary to simply buy a fancy tool set. She must open the box, analyze each piece, find a system of organizing the pieces together that works for her, and then put them to use when they fit. Then, throw away the box. The tools we acquire from it are wonderfully useful. The box, not so much. It only limits our thinking and organization into set parameters. With the tools in specific boxes labeled for predetermined uses, she might have not thought about taking the unused, extra large, 12" taping knife that is stuck at the bottom of a box labeled,  Walls, and used it for smoothing icing on her son's birthday cake. (It really works well in case you are wondering-thanks Pinterest).

  Our advice? Make the tools given to you in that box over the years useful again. consider each piece of the puzzle you are given, reorganize them so that if and when you need them the are there for you to use them in your own way. And...give yourself a chance and get rid of the box.