Model Boat Mayhem

Mess Deck: General Section => Chit-Chat => Topic started by: dreadnought72 on February 21, 2017, 11:34:12 am

Title: Regarding Facebook
Post by: dreadnought72 on February 21, 2017, 11:34:12 am
There's been a thread recently which was in danger of becoming a bit defocused with regards to comments about Facebook.


Now, I have an account on Facebook, in part because it's a great way to see how my family and relatives are doing, from Missouri to Australia, and many points inbetween, and to keep up-to-date with friends and work colleagues past and present. It's a great way to keep in touch, share photos. You can lock an account down to just the people who you want to share stuff with.


About eight years ago I developed a website for a local small business, we let it grow organically over time, and it's done wonders for his company. Great position in Google, copious photos of the work they do, email links, all the bells and whistles. A year or so ago we discussed setting up a Facebook account to run alongside the website, to allow potential clients to get in touch via that medium if they wanted. I wasn't sure it was the right thing to do: I was pretty skeptical, to be honest, but I went ahead with it.


And it's gone ballistic. I co-moderate the corporate Facebook account and I've seen it rise from one or two messages a week to dozens per day: people enquiring about work, posting reviews of the work they've had done, posting photos of completed jobs. My client uses the Facebook Messaging service to arrange site visits and schedule jobs. It's proved to be a great revenue source for him. All this, incidentally, without using the advertising options that Facebook hope commercial clients will spend money on.


Today, Facebook is heading for two billion accounts. Some people might not like its increasingly pervasive takeover of the 'social media' corner of the internet, but - for those with commercial interests - the buyers are there in large numbers. They can search and find you, ask questions, get answers, place orders.


From what I've seen so far, Alba Mouldings are taking exactly the right approach: they can announce products in a Facebook setting that can be found by anyone, and they're also using targeted forums like this one to highlight their products to exactly the sort of audience that will make up most of the buyers. It's win-win. Good on 'em.


Now...where's an 'as built' hull of the WW1 QE class? ;)

Andy
Title: Re: Regarding Facebook
Post by: carlmt on February 21, 2017, 12:21:04 pm
Have to agree with Andy on this one.

I have a personal FB account plus we have a Linkspan Models FB account and it is that one that has driven folks from all over the world to take a look at our website (incidentally, developed by Andy!  :-)) :-)))  I would say that about 50% of our kit sales to date have come from folk who have seen the updates on our FB page - the other 50% from those that have stuck with us from the beginning on here and from shows that we have attended.

We have found that FB has been a massive driver of interest in our products and allows us to reach far, far more potential customers than ever we could just by website and forums alone.

We post updates on FB as regularly as we post to Mayhem (the only Forum we post to on a regular basis) - but there is more detail on the Mayhem pages.

FB can be trite and quite annoying at times - but for Linkspan, it has been very beneficial.  As a quick example, our last update with just photos reached nearly 2000 people.  The update that contained a video of the maiden sail of the Norland has reached close on 3000.

Just our perspective............
Title: Re: Regarding Facebook
Post by: Tug Fanatic on February 21, 2017, 12:24:10 pm

Is there any way that you can get a Facebook Account without making any of your details available for viewing, without being available for searches for friends etc etc etc and be sure that a change of policy at Facebook won't suddenly change all that?


I am aware of options but there are so many and they do seem to change over time. Experience suggests that you cannot actually turn everything of & effectively make it like viewing any other web site.


Title: Re: Regarding Facebook
Post by: tigertiger on February 21, 2017, 12:46:43 pm
Is there any way that you can get a Facebook Account without making any of your details available for viewing, without being available for searches for friends etc etc etc and be sure that a change of policy at Facebook won't suddenly change all that?



Yes. But only if you don't want to be an active user.


Step 1. Go to a mail service (hotmail, Gmail, Yahoo mail, etc.) and create a new email account using an alias.


Step 2. Go to Facebook and register an account using that alias/sacrificial email address.


Notes on sacrificial accounts.
I have a sacrificial account for registering with sites that have info I want, but I don't want them to have my personal details.
Title: Re: Regarding Facebook
Post by: Tug Fanatic on February 21, 2017, 01:27:10 pm

That should work.  :-))


I even have a mobile phone number that just sits in the car and is used once every 6 months..
Title: Re: Regarding Facebook
Post by: cos918 on February 21, 2017, 10:04:00 pm
I have to agree with the above .
One thing I would say I have seen change on Facebook over the last 10+ years is. It use to be all about going out to the pub chit chat and mindless talk  etc etc . Now you see so many groups on there and the info is bang up to date . Company's make announcements on new products on FB and have live presentations etc . I have  a build log on there, and there is one big big thing I can do on Face book I can do here . That is do some work in the work shop on my boat take a photo or vid on my phone and post it straight on FB with no resizing  etc .


john
some interesting stats about Face book
https://zephoria.com/top-15-valuable-facebook-statistics/
Title: Re: Regarding Facebook
Post by: gingyer on February 21, 2017, 11:43:58 pm

From what I've seen so far, Alba Mouldings are taking exactly the right approach: they can announce products in a Facebook setting that can be found by anyone, and they're also using targeted forums like this one to highlight their products to exactly the sort of audience that will make up most of the buyers. It's win-win. Good on 'em.


Now...where's an 'as built' hull of the WW1 QE class? ;)

Andy


thanks Andy,
hopefully people understand the reasons why we took the decision to make a Facebook page, but ultimately you cannot please everyone
we need to start slow and steady there is no point in running up debts when we may end up loosing money the whole point of this was to allow us to generate money to spend on our hobby.


A 1:96 QE class would be good, in fact VERY good  ok2  but again we need to use our heads, especially me I would end up trying to build hulls for 1:72 scale carriers and assault ships  :embarrassed: :embarrassed:
 
Title: Re: Regarding Facebook
Post by: Stavros on February 22, 2017, 12:10:34 am
Defo well said Andy....When i had my own unit i would have said 85% of my business came from selking cars and parts on fb...and 75% of rrbuilds/ mechanical and bodywork came from fb...the rest came locally....The sheer fb audience is mindblowing.
What a lot of people dont seem to realise is what fb can do in a comercial srnse for any busines as it is free.
Yes we all know it can take your personal info....but only if you let it


Dave
Title: Re: Regarding Facebook
Post by: gingyer on February 22, 2017, 12:20:46 am
From another point of view I run a cadet unit and we have had 2 Facebook pages.
The first is a private closed page where cadets and their parents can see what is coming up,
Interact with staff and ask questions. This has been a great tool as it gets over the missing link namely
The cadets going home and telling their parents of up coming activities.


The 2nd is a public page where anyone can see what the cadets have done and are doing without sensitive
Information being released. We have found too that local community councils share our page when the cadets get awards like the Duke of Edinburgh award highlighting what the cadets do to their followers,
Which highlights to more people the cadets and their activities and how they can join.

Title: Re: Regarding Facebook
Post by: RAAArtyGunner on February 22, 2017, 01:30:56 am
But here is the rub.

My point is in a trader only having a facebook page.

All the above examples and positives confirm, that they, the above commentator's, also have web pages, unless I have read them wrong.

Facebook accounts have been hacked, whereas the web site with its HTTPS is secure, according to the experts. Hence the admonition to only purchase via HTTPS or more recently, HTTPSS sites.

So lets get it all into perspective, and not be too quick to jump on the badwagon defending facebook or whatever, it's a social media contact/tool etc and also works in conjunction with Mobile phones but is it really secure and suited for commerce as is???????.

Until I see something to the contrary I will continue to only buy from HTTPS sites.

Am not even going to get into the existing inherent dangers of using facebook as warned by law enforcement agencies and the like world wide.

As for statistics well we know you can "mould" them to suit your needs.

Actually counted the heads in my "group" less than half use facebook so????????????????????????????????
Title: Re: Regarding Facebook
Post by: Tug Fanatic on February 22, 2017, 07:44:30 am

I am not sure that there is one answer to the "less than half use Facebook" problem.


Less than half buy magazines, less than half attend shows etc. I don't think that one medium catches everybody & I am sure that different groups/ ages have different profiles. I do agree about https and payments.
Title: Re: Regarding Facebook
Post by: carlmt on February 22, 2017, 09:29:52 am
Just a quick one from us......

We look on FB as a means to publicise what we are doing in a quick, free and easy manner.  We do not sell through it per se.  If anyone contacts us through FB looking to buy one of our kits then we direct them to the website where they can purchase securely.

We were lucky when starting out that I had a small pot of scheckles to invest in the website and we want to take Linkspan into the realms of a full trading company (we are registered with Companies House and are a Limited Company).  Maybe Alba Mouldings do not want to go that far with the venture just yet and are happy to trade on a more informal basis where payment is made through personal contact with the proprietor.  If that is so, then that is their decision and prerogative and FB is a good platform for generating the interest.  It has certainly done that to date!!!

At the end of the day, it is a commercial decision as to whether to use FB for business purposes.  Personally? We have found it invaluable to driving interest in what we are doing.

It isn't for everybody, which is why we have to also invest in traditional methods of getting ourselves known - Forums, Shows and magazine adverts (which we have just invested in.........and it aint cheap!!!!!).
Title: Re: Regarding Facebook
Post by: Drydock2017 on February 22, 2017, 09:38:26 am
From a customers point of view I love the fact shops are on Facebook personally I don't get too much shows I don't buy magazines but I sit and look through model Facebook pages and comment on them etc
Title: Re: Regarding Facebook
Post by: C-3PO on February 22, 2017, 10:54:31 am
Facebook accounts have been hacked, whereas the web site with its HTTPS is secure, according to the experts. Hence the admonition to only purchase via HTTPS or more recently, HTTPSS sites.

Not to SQL injection and the like their not !!!!

https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/royal-navy-website-sunk-by-sql-injection-hacker/
Title: Re: Regarding Facebook
Post by: cos918 on February 22, 2017, 06:57:39 pm
yes Face book has been hacked . How many other web sites and banks ,government web sites have been hacked . If a hacker want it he can get it , thats just a fact of life . Doesn't stop people from trading using secure pay meant systems like pay pal . Which most probably  has also been hacked. HTTPS does mean you are safe it just means you are a bit safer .
Yes stats can be twisted but 1.82 billion and grow is still 1.82 billion no mater what why you cut it . Thats a hell of a lot of customers .


john