We had 12 attendees, 4 new visitors, and a very useful and interesting masterclass with the delightful Alicia Cowan, who made marketing your business with Facebook sound like a cinch!

It was obvious that quite a few people had made a special effort to come to this meeting because they are struggling with Facebook, or even with the idea of setting up a business Facebook page. Alicia deconstructed the mystery that is Facebook, and succintly described the exact set up process, also giving some tips on what to call your page: ‘Your Name – Your Business Description’ is a good combination.

For instance, Alicia’s Facebook page is called Alicia Cowan – Social Media Tips so that those who are searching for her can find her easily, and those who are looking for help with social media also have a good chance of finding her. Herbalist Katharine Locke decided that a good name for her Facebook page would therefore be ‘Katharine Locke – The Herbal Human’. This ties in with the name of her website www.theherbalhuman.co.uk and adds the personal touch as well.

Alicia explained that in online marketing terms, your website is at the centre of your marketing campaign, and Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn etc are the outposts or satellites that draw people to your website and that can be updated very easily. Facebook is indexed by the search engines so put lots of keywords into the Info section, and update your page often – the seo spiders love that. Attract ‘Likes’ with interesting info, special offers, competitions.

Visit Alicia’s Facebook page for your own social media help. When you ‘Like’ her page you can watch 3 exclusive video tips, and sign up to receive a further 5 – all for free. Plus, you can post your Facebook (or any other social media) questions on her Facebook Wall.  Alicia’s website can be found at www.aliciacowan.com. Alicia will be back at SBN in February 2012 when she will be turning her attention to LinkedIn.

And as for the rest of the meeting: it was great to see some members who haven’t been for a while such as copywriter Eileen MacCallum and book editor Loulou Brown. Shiatsu therapist and movement teacher Geoff Hogan made the tip over from Muswell Hill, hypnotherapist and stop smoking specialist Cathy Simmons from Belsize Park and Marcia MacLeod (Your Allotment magazine) made the far shorter trip from the other side of West End Lane. Also present were Claire Presswell who makes films and has written a novel, Olga Hoffman who specialises in portrait photography for SMES, Gillian Risso-Gill, an HR consultant who also works for Camden Council and has set up a new forum for West Hampstead businesses, and Miguel Martinez a coach and hypnotherapist from Crouch End.

Our next meeting is on 21 November in Muswell Hill. Click here for more info.

Our next West Hampstead meeting is on 6 December. Click here for more info.

Hope to see you there!