Pin to Top – When you hover over the upper right corner of a post on your Facebook page and click the edit icon, there is a “Pin to Top” option. When you select this, it moves that post to the top of your page and keeps it there until you unpin it. Any subsequent posts that you add to your page will appear below your pinned post.

This can be really handy if you want to promote something that is time-sensitive such as a current promotion that you’re holding or an upcoming event.

Highlight – When you hover over the upper right corner of a post on your Facebook page, you’ll see a star icon called “Highlight.” Selecting this option will expand your post from a small box to a feature that spans across both columns. This is a nice way to draw attention to a specific post on your page. You can also highlight multiple posts and they will remain that way until you click the icon again to remove highlight. The highlight feature is also available for use on your personal Facebook profile.

Here’s how:

1. From your personal profile, click on the box below your photo that lists where you work.

2. In the Work and Education section, click on Edit.

3. Start typing in the name of your business page. Facebook should reveal a drop down menu where you can click to select your page.

4. You can also fill in your title, location, and description. Be sure to click Save Changes.

That’s it—you’re done! If only all social media updates were this easy!

Need some help with social media management? Check out our new social media marketing services at Authority Publishing!

For more business-focused groups, look to LinkedIn. Here you will find groups for human resources professionals (led by an HR trade association), chief information officers (led by CIO magazine), and nonfiction authors (led by yours truly). There are also alumni groups, groups based in specific locations, and all kinds of specialty niches.

Joining a group is just the first step. If you really want to build business connections, you must engage in the group. Participate in the community forum by answering questions asked by members. Also ask questions, share news and articles, and get involved. Each group on LinkedIn features a sidebar with “Top Influencers This Week,” showing the photo and name for each person who contributed the most content. Showing up here gives you visibility with active members and demonstrates your authority in the subject matter.

I recently responded to a question in the nonfiction authors network that I lead on LinkedIn. I simply gave some advice, which I do frequently. Another member followed my post with this:

Stephanie didn’t mention this herself, but you should know that her book Booked Up: How to Write, Publish, and Promote a Book to Grow Your Business is wonderful and has a lot of additional promotion ideas.

You can’t pay for that kind of marketing, and when you get involved in a community where the members are familiar with you and your work, this kind of thing happens all the time.

Also, if there’s more than one group focused on your topic, find out where you can make the most impact. It may be harder to make an impact on a group with 10,000+ members. A smaller group may actually have more advantages since it will be easier to stand out.

This post is an excerpt from Own Your Niche: Hype-Free Internet Marketing Tactics to Establish Authority in Your Field and Promote Your Service-Based Business by Stephanie Chandler.

Here’s how it works:

1. Dig in to your blog archives and re-post them. That’s right; I’m suggesting that you re-post old blog content. People don’t care how old it is as long as it is still relevant. And when you share a compelling blog title and link back to your site, you generate traffic to your site, comments on your blog, new Twitter followers, and you begin to spin social media gold.

2. Repeat your tweets. Keep in mind that not everyone looks at Twitter at the same time so a large percentage of your audience never sees your latest tweet. To remedy this, schedule each new tweet to re-post several times. I use http://hootsuite.com to schedule posts and keep track of them with this free Twitter schedule. For new content, I schedule a tweet to go out immediately, schedule it again the next day, the next week, the week after that, and then every other week for up to three months. Yes, really!

3. Increase tweet frequency. When I began using Twitter I tweeted a few times each day and got mediocre results. But eventually I started retweeting posts, sharing old content, and increasing my frequency. Today I schedule posts to go out once an hour during peak business hours and on weekends. I also have tweets going out around the clock. This change in strategy has made a huge difference in the amount of retweets I get and traffic to my site.

4. WordPress users can automate some tweets. One of my favorite WordPress plug-ins is Tweet Old Post. This fantastic freebie allows you to set parameters and automatically tweet your old content, dating back several years if you like. You can also exclude specific categories or posts and can decide at what interval you want to tweet out your old content. If you’re using WordPress and have a lot of blog content, this plug-in is a must-have.

Give this strategy a try and start increasing the amount of content you share on Twitter. You can and should still engage with your audience directly, but by sharing more information on a consistent basis, you can actually build audience loyalty and become a resource for your followers.

Last year I launched a Nonfiction Authors Network on LinkedIn. While there were some writing and publishing groups already operating, nobody was focused on nonfiction authors. I saw an opportunity and took it! The group grew quickly and today we have over 1,300 members and an active discussion board. Not bad for something that requires less than an hour per week of my time.

Here’s how you can start your own LinkedIn group:

1. Choose a Niche Topic – Before you start a group, search through existing groups to make sure you have a unique idea. If similar groups already exist, see what they are lacking. If the groups are small, then your opportunity is probably greater than if they are large. You’ll have an easier chance of success if your focus is on a largely untapped niche and meet a need for your target audience.

2. Create Your Group – Login to LinkedIn and under Groups, select Create Group. Give your group a clear and compelling title. Have a logo created. Write policies for how you want members to engage in your group. Take it seriously and set it up for success.

3. Send Invitations – LinkedIn makes it easy to invite your contacts to participate in the group and you should do so immediately. Give your friends a nudge and ask them to help you get the activity moving.

4. Ask Members to Introduce Themselves – Your first post should be an invitation for introductions. This is an ideal ice breaker to get the conversations started.

5. Ask Additional Questions – You might ask members to share their social media links, comment on an industry trend or news, or share their experiences. Log in daily to post questions until you start getting activity from members. It shouldn’t take long to increase activity if your membership is growing.

6. Share Relevant Information – If you come across an interesting news story or article, share it with the group.

7. Lead By Example – Ask compelling questions, answer member questions, and engage with humor and style. When you show others how it’s done, it will be easier for them to participate.

8. Cross Promote – Make sure to let all of your networks know about your group. Share a link to the group via your other social media outlets, on your website, in your newsletter, email signature, etc. Promotion should be an ongoing effort.

9. Ask Members to Invite Friends – Sometimes all you have to do is ask!

10. Keep the Momentum Going – If things slow down or are slow to start, ask friends and peers to help by sharing their questions and resources. Sometimes just two or three people can make a big difference.

11. Check in Daily – Managing your group doesn’t need to be a major time-consuming undertaking, though you should have a daily presence there as much as possible. Deal with spammer issues immediately (some members will share nothing but promotional posts—warn them and delete them). Some members will require moderation and others will need to be reminded of the rules. Occasionally post a reminder about guidelines. Members will appreciate that you care enough to moderate the group and ensure it’s a productive place for all.

12. Appoint Co-Moderators – If managing the group is too much for you or you simply don’t want to go it alone, ask members or peers if they would like to be co-moderators. This can lighten your workload and breed goodwill.

Don’t forget to have fun! Your attitude about your group will come across so make sure it’s something you enjoy doing. Your members will notice and membership will grow as a result.

2. Attract your target audience. Find them, exchange tweets with them, share information with them. Twitter is an active community covering a wide range of demographics, making it a powerful place to share content and build your audience.

3. Monitor breaking news. I personally learned about the deaths of Ted Kennedy and Michael Jackson via the almost instantaneous tweets on Twitter, not to mention other important news alerts that come through in a blink.

4. It’s fun! Really! Twitter gives you a great platform for connecting with potential customers, peers, and alliance partners, not to mention an active community of content where you can learn at every turn. Each day is a new adventure full of opportunities.

5. Find discounts and special offers. Retailers share coupons, sale announcements, and other offers for their Twitter followers.

6. Conduct industry research. You can use Twitter as a platform for asking questions and getting important answers from your audience.

7. Drive traffic to your website or blog. Share new blog posts and articles on Twitter along with a link back to your site and you will discover how powerful this platform can be.

8. To use it well, you’ve got to love it. I don’t know anyone who has built a large audience yet finds Twitter frustrating, annoying, or time consuming. The real secret to success on Twitter is to enjoy using it because that will come through and will make everything you do there stand out even more.

1. Login to LinkedIn, then from the menu bar go to Companies > Search Companies.

2. On the right find the link to Add a Company.

3. Enter company name and email address, click the disclaimer approval box and click Continue.

4. Under Company Page Admins, choose Designated Users Only and enter yourself as an admin. (Yes, I know this is odd, but you need to set yourself up as the admin!) Add additional users as needed.

5. Fill out the company history information and import company logos. For the Company Description, include as much detail as possible. Consider what keywords LinkedIn users would use to find your company and include them in the description.

6. Under Company Specialties, again be as descriptive as possible. Treat these like keywords and add as many as you can up to the maximum allowed (256 characters). Also add the RSS feed link to your blog so that it is automatically imported into your page.

7. Once you have filled out all fields, scroll back up to the top of the page and click on Publish.

8. If you have job listings, you can share them under the Careers tab.

9. Go to the Products and Services tab and click Add a Product and Service.

10. Fill out all required information, including a keyword-rich description and product/service features. Note that on the right side of the screen you can add a URL directly to a product or service page on your website, a link to a YouTube video, and even a special promotion offer. When finished, scroll back up to the top of the page and click on Publish.

11. Once your product/services page is published, you can request recommendations. Click on the link to send endorsement requests to select members of your network. Note that recommendations can have a lot of influence with prospects so this is an important step in building your company reputation on LinkedIn.

12. You will see a Share button on the upper right. Click on this button to announce your products and services in your LinkedIn status update, to Twitter, to a LinkedIn group that you belong to, or to individual LinkedIn users that you select.

13. If you would like to add additional products or services, click on Admin Tools (in the upper right corner), and then Add New Product.

14. Lastly, from the Services page click on Admin Tools > Edit. Here you can add banner images of your products with links back to your site, along with another overview of your products and services.

Final Tips: Keep your page current and update content as often as possible. Remember to incorporate key words and phrases and showcase many products and services. LinkedIn adds enhancements and new features often so check back and see what is new. Also, take advantage of the status update field to share announcements on a regular basis. These will help you build an audience by showing that your page is active.

Here are some reasons why you should consider following those who follow you on Twitter.

1. Let Them Know You’re Paying Attention

When someone chooses to follow you, they are interested in what you have to say. The hope is that many of your followers will become customers. With that in mind, following them back shows you’re paying attention. It shifts your business from broadcast mode on Twitter to a company that values its followers enough to pay attention.

For a great example, see @Comcastcares. As a cable provider, Comcast has improved its overall customer service ratings by following its customers back and responding to their questions and concerns directly on Twitter. This effort has shifted the perception about the company’s service and helped them to build a more loyal customer base.

2. Provide Social Currency

A follower on Twitter is a form of social currency. When someone follows you, you can repay the favor by following back. Everyone wants more followers on Twitter so the simple gesture of following back is a great way to show your thanks to those who follow you.

3. Learn About Your Followers

By following back, you receive a window into the conversations of your potential customers. You can learn what they are concerned about and what interests them. This can become valuable market research.

4. Support Your Followers

Start retweeting and acknowledging posts by your followers and you can build loyalty and personal connections with them.

5. Gain More Followers

Twitter places limits on how many people you can follow if you aren’t building your own following. That means that someone with 100 followers cannot follow 5000 companies. If you follow back you increase your chances of a follower choosing to follow you.

6. Simplify Monitoring

I’ve heard the argument that if you follow everyone back you can end up with thousands of people to follow, which can make your Twitter news feed look like it’s on overdrive. Yes thousands of followers can be a lot to manage, but you can simplify the process by using a tool like Tweetdeck to create a list of favorite people to follow. This makes it easy to monitor the news from followers who you want to stay close to, and still allows you to pop over look at your full news feed when time permits.

7. Save Time by Automating

Though it would be nice to view the profiles of every follower, it’s not realistic when your Twitter following climbs into the thousands. The good news is that you don’t have to manually follow each new follower; you can automate the follow back process with the free service from Social Oomph.

8. Manage Spammers (it’s not as bad as you think)

If you follow everyone back, you will inevitably encounter spammers. That’s a small price to pay when growing your network and all you need to do is delete them! If you use Tweetdeck to manage your Twitter activity, you can easily click a button to block and report spam. You can also locate spammers when reading your full news feed and simply remove them. This doesn’t have to be an overwhelming or time consuming problem.

What do you think? Share your comments or questions below!

It’s also quite easy to start your own group on LinkedIn, which can be a great way to gain visibility in your industry. I run the Nonfiction Authors Network on LinkedIn, which grew to nearly 1,000 members in a matter of months. This has been a fabulous way to attract my target audience for publishing services, while allowing me to demonstrate my authority in the related subject matter.

When you join groups on LinkedIn, check the setting to receive a daily digest of message board discussions via email. This will save you time and allow you to quickly scan conversations to see if there is anything interesting that you want to comment on.

When you post a comment on a group message board, all members can view your comment and may also choose to view your profile. As you continue to contribute to online conversations, you can gain added exposure by being featured on the right sidebar under “Top Influencers This Week.”

The key to success with networking in these groups is to avoid self-promotion. Simply posting ads or links to your blog aren’t the way to engage an audience. Instead, ask compelling questions and provide helpful answers. I have absolutely found clients as a result of participating in groups and you can too. A little effort goes a long way.

Twitter news feeds move quickly when you’re following a lot of people. That means that when you share a new post, it is only likely being seen by a fraction of your following—or those who happen to be viewing Twitter around the same time. Because of this, I recommend repeating tweets. For example, if you share a link to a new blog post, schedule it to post again the next day, again a week later, and so on. For my own articles and content, I often schedule them to post on Twitter up to ten times over the next three months. Remember, Twitter is a platform for content so repeating interesting posts actually benefits you and your audience.

Get in the habit of scheduling posts on Twitter. I keep a spreadsheet handy to check off times of the day when I have posts scheduled. You can download a free copy here: http://businessinfoguide.com/wp-content/uploads/twitter-schedule.pdf. Note that though I’m an advocate of scheduling some of your posts, do not automate all of your activity on Twitter! You still need to have a human presence there.

Share new content on Twitter as often as possible. Ideally, I’d recommend a minimum of six times per day—though more is better. Again, not everyone is on Twitter at the same time. The more often you post, the better your chances of being seen by your audience.

Leave room for others to retweet your posts. As much as possible, keep your posts to 120 characters or less, otherwise it’s harder to forward along.

Follow those who follow you. This is a topic of some debate in social media land. I personally choose to follow back anyone who follows me. Following someone on Twitter is a form of social currency. By following back, I repay that currency for each of my followers and let them know they matter to me.

Respond to those who reach out to you or share your content. Get involved.

Retweet often. Forwarding someone else’s content along benefits your audience and the person you’ve just featured.

Fall in love with Twitter. I personally love it because I learn a lot from following people and companies on Twitter that share content I’m interested in. It’s a pleasure to log on many times each day to see what’s new. Once you really start to enjoy it, you will begin to find your groove and your following will grow as a result.

Use Tweetdeck and Hootsuite (or another social media tool) to manage your Twitter activity. I use Tweetdeck for day-to-day activity and monitoring those I follow and I use Hootsuite for scheduling posts.