The Facebook Frenzy

Since Tuesday last week I've been up to my eyes in Facebook and learning what you can do to get people to convert from being casual readers of your content to fans of your page.  

I've been running a Facebook Ads programme (just for 7 days) to see what kind of traffic this investment can bring, and I've been looking at custom landing tabs aimed at getting you to click the infamous Like button.  It's an interesting game, since my goal for ZXZ Consulting is to get more awareness, and therefore more business, Facebook is the market to be visible in.  Fortunately there are a myriad of experts on-hand to assist, guide you through the steps (once you know the correct search terms), and ultimately raise your profile and business fan page.

Social Media Examiner are one group of experts that I've really tuned in to.  The site was recommended based on a course the were offering - the Facebook Success Summit 2010 - but I have to say that outside of their wonderful course content, the website has a wealth of information for anyone looking to improve their Facebook presence.

On the Ads front, it's been a very revealing experiment.  I built two ads, one pointing Facebook users to the ZXZ Consulting website, and the other pointing Facebook users to the ZXZ Consulting Facebook page.  The first ad targeted people within 80km of London who might need some for of IT support.  the second ad was more general in that it went across the UK to advertise the Facebook fan page.  My budget is £5 per ad per day for a maximum of seven days, so a total spend of £70.  I've been impressed by the exposure; in 5 days the ads have been shown a total of 274, 458 times, and I've had 78 views of my content.  55 clicks went to the Facebook fan page, and 23 went directly to the website.  4 of those 55 people have clicked Like based on the content of the Wall.

One of the things that the Facebook Success Summit drew my attention to was the customised landing tab for people who weren't already a fan.  The idea here is that you give people a reason to click the Like button before they do anything else on your Facebook Wall.  I've implemented this idea this evening, as I want to see if it has any positive effect on Like conversions with another 2 days remaining on my advertising budget.  You can see for yourself the results - if you're not already a fan, just head on over to Facebook and search for ZXZ Consulting.  If you are a fan, go the to page and click on the Welcome tab.

BlackBerry Torch 9800 - review

Size difference to iPhone 4 with Keyboard extended

RIMs latest device is the BlackBerry Torch 9800.  It's a hybrid device in that it has a large touch screen and a slide out keyboard for all those that complained about the on-screen keyboard of the BlackBerry Storm.

Size wise it's a little thicker than the iPhone 4, but much the same when the iPhone has a case on (to reduce signal loss when holding it, and protecting your investment as you bounce it round the train carriage when a call drops).  They feel the same weight in hand, and the Torch looks like a Bold 9700 with a massive screen when the keyboard is extended.  

I'm using this with a BlackBerry Enterprise Server connected to Microsoft Exchange, so had to go through the the following steps to get that sorted;

1. Install the new BlackBerry Desktop software which replaces BlackBerry Desktop Manager
2. Backup your old BlackBerry to the Desktop software
3. Boot up your new BlackBerry Torch - this took ages (2mins 49 seconds), and shows that either the processor is slow, or the new BlackBerry 6 OS is massive
4. Connect to BlackBerry Desktop and choose Switch Device from the menu.  The data will transfer from the old phone (essentially it does another backup) to the new phone.  I had problems loading the Facebook app from the 9700 to the 9800, but this is probably due to BlackBerry 6OS compatibility
5. Get your BlackBerry Enterprise Server Administrator to set the Activation Password for your BES account
6. Add an email account on the Torch and add in the details from your Administrator.

Enterprise Activation took about 45 minutes, which is about the same as the other BlackBerry activations, but is very dependent on 3G and GPRS traffic.

As soon as I picked it up I started griping about the keyboard.  The 9700 has a a great physical keyboard; the 9800 has exactly the same size keys and key layout, but the edges are raised so that the keyboard is hidden when the slider is closed.  Now I don't have big thumbs, but the keyboard just feels a little cramped on the edge keys.  You might get used to it, but you also have the option of an on-screen keyboard too.  Using this delivers predictive text in BlackBerry Messenger and composing emails, but I didn't trust it and it took longer to write the email on the device than it would have on the 9700 or the iPhone.

The camera is ok, 5 megapixel with flash.  Video recording is in there too at 640x480 and MMS size of 176x144.  I'm not a big photographer on smartphones.  The resolutions are too low to do anything decent with (like print a photo or add to a printed album through iPhoto), and the video I recorded was grainy, probably due to loor lighting levels and a 10pm October night record time.  That said, not having a camera in a smartphone these days is like not being able to make phone calls.  It's an expected component.

The browser is an improvement.  The touch screen delivers pinch and zoom on pages, and the pages automatically adjust through portrait or landspace orientation.  You do need to zoom on those pages as the default view is the whole page, but is does work.

The final point I'm going to discuss here is the Facebook app for BlackBerry.  It's a much used app and is getting a refresh (see http://mashable.com/2010/10/25/facebook-blackberry-1/) although the current release isn't bad.  Navigation around the app uses the Trackpad, and it feels responsive.  Text is clear and easy to read.  It is lacking a few features over the iPhone app, such as Places (if you're in a country where it's activated) and Chat, but it's still Facebook on the move, and it works.  

In summary, a business user who's addicted to the BlackBerry keyboard might have difficulty using the new Torch 9800 keyboard as it feels cramped.  Boot time with BlackBerry 6 OS is close to 3 minutes, so you should hope to never turn it off.  Camera is ok, browser is better, touch screen is ok, Facebook app runs a little faster over 9700.

It's an ok device, at an ok price.  If you're not into the Apple bling, then the Torch 9800 is a reasonable alternative.  If you just want to look cool with a slider phone, head over to eBay and pick up a Nokia 7110 Matrix phone.