RyanShell.com

Marketing, public relations, social media... and a little of this and that.

How to Create a Facebook Page Without Connecting it to a Profile

By

Unfortunately when I made the Facebook page for my employer I wasn’t aware that you could do so without also creating a profile. I’ve since learned that it is in fact possible and want to share the information with you. Here are the steps:

  1. Go to www.facebook.com
  2. Scroll to the bottom and look for “Advertising” in the footer – click it This has changed a bit. On the Facebook hompage you now need to click “Create a Page,” located directly under the green sign-up button.
  3. Follow the directions under the “Official Page” section.
  4. Enter a valid email address (make sure you’ve chosen the “I do not have a Facebook account” option) and required info, and then validate.
  5. That’s it, your page has been created without connecting it to a profile

In the past the process was a bit more confusing, which made people think a Page had to be connected to a profile. Facebook has cleaned up the process a bit and it’s quite painless at this point.

New TV Commercials

By

Here’s the latest round of TV commercials for the credit union I work for. It’s a fun/upbeat financial institution and we wanted to showcase that in the ads, and also stand out from crowd in terms of content and creativity.

The format of the spots typically prompt viewers to read along, and I think that will help create a very memorable experience – especially after they’re viewed multiple times.

I had a very limited budget to work with, but think we can up with something a bit outside the box in terms of commercials for a financial institution. Feel free to view the two spots by clicking below.

Thanks for watching.

How to Handle Negative Facebook Page Comments

By

No one likes to be blasted with negative comments in a public forum such as a Facebook page, but it happens, and how you deal with them is crucial. Do you delete them? Do you allow them to be seen? Let’s talk about that.

If someone is leaving harassing comments towards an organization, they probably fall into the delete category. And I’m talking about comments such as, “Your business sucks.”

On the other hand, if the comment has merit you shouldn’t simply click delete just because it doesn’t make you shine your brightest. Allow me to give you an example of a comment that I recently dealt with on my employers Facebook page.

I posted our new TV commercials on the page and they prompted a member to say the following,

“Yea right if you have 100% absolutely the best credit possible to get a loan with them.”

He’s basically saying it’s hard to get a loan with us and he’s obviously not very happy with the credit union. Before I could respond to his comment another fan said the following,

“That is 100% untrue. I can personally speak to that. No need for negativity.”

There were multiple other comments like that from members counterpointing the negative comment – it was great to see members taking up for the credit union.

I think it’s important for the brand/person in question to address the negative comment head on. Letting them linger tends to be a bad idea in most instances. Here’s how I responded,

“We have members with a variety of credit scores that get loans. Credit does play a part in the process though.

If a member needs help building credit, we try to help them do so. Here’s a great example: http://www.truliantfcu.org/blog/build-your-credit-as-you-save/.”

I addressed a few things in the response:

  • You don’t have to have the “best” credit to get a loan with us
  • Highlighted that credit scores play a part in the lending process
  • Provided an example of how we try to help those that may not qualify for a loan due to a low credit score

And no, it’s not always that easy. Sometimes negative comments are extremely valid and they call out mistakes or dumb decisions on others part. When that happens it’s helpful to have someone with a good PR background to help you navigate the waters.

Get Fit: I’m an Inline Speed Skater

By

This post is part of my ongoing “Get Fit” series, an effort to lose a little weight/tone up, and save money by reducing the number of meals I eat out.

If you’re a regular reader of “Get Fit” you probably know that I’ve started inline speed skating again. This is a sport I took part in when I was a bit younger, but I’m now 30 and haven’t competed in about nine years.

I think I’m in shape, but that is completely different than being in “skating shape.” Inline speed skating is one of the most grueling things I’ve ever done, and nothing, and I mean nothing, has ever allowed me to take my body to the limit like skating has.

I’ve skated about 10 practices thus far and took part in a competition last weekend. The low amount of practices is the first thing I had going against me at the meet, but to further the chaos I also got a brand new skate setup hours before the meet began. In skating it’s important to be comfortable on your equipment – if not; you could be completely off your game.

Oh, and I should also mention that I went from 84 mm wheels to 110 mm wheels. The change in wheel size is like going from a Mini Cooper to a monster truck, and the speed is a lot faster. Click the photo to the left so you can get an idea of my old skates versus the new ones.

I did pretty well at the meet, and after my first race it was nice to hear my coach say something to the effect of, “Well, you certainly didn’t embarrass yourself.” I didn’t place, but what I did do was hang with guys that have been training and skating for quite a while. That felt good.

Now, what didn’t feel good was the time I got taken out by another skater (it happens and is normally by accident) which resulted in a nasty floor burn. Click the photo to the left to get the full “ouch” effect.

So, I’ve decided inline speed skating is my thing this year. I still plan to cycle this summer as it’s a perfect cross training sport for skating, but I’m going to spend a decent amount of time on my skates, both indoor and outdoor. There’s a national competition in July, which is where the best of the best compete, and I’d like to put myself into position to possibly place overall. It’s a pretty big goal because my division is pretty tough, but it might just be doable.

If last nights practice (3rd time on my new skates) was any indication of things to come, I’m very excited. Not only did I have a blast, I was able to take myself past my pain threshold and gave the practice maximum effort. At one point during a relay event I rolled past the coach and said, “Tony, I’ve only got a few more laps in me.” He then quickly responded by saying, “This is where it starts Ryan.” He’s 100% correct, which is why I worked through the pain.

Thanks for reading about my adventure of trying to get in shape and save money by not eating out so much. I hope this series motivates you to continue getting fit or taking steps to do so.

From the CU Chat Up Blog

By

From the CU Chat Up Blog,

“Is your credit union on Facebook? Has your credit union thought about starting a Facebook page? Well, you should tune in to this week’s CU Chat Up at 2 pm CT. We will be discussing how credit unions can effectively use Facebook to reach their members.

Ryan Shell from Truliant FCU will be on the show to discuss how they have set up their Facebook page (Is it a fan page? a profile? a group? All so confusing, right?) and were able to  get over 4000 people to follow them on Facebook in less than a week. And, that’s not all, they also were getting member feedback! Good and….the dreaded bad. How did they handle this feedback?”