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Quantify your Pinterest marketing efforts with this new tool …

Posted on April 14, 2012 by Michelle

Pinterest is all the rage right now, and with good reason. It feeds the image-hungry beast in all of us.

Business owners have been encouraged to adopt this platform as an opportunity both to get their name/product out there and to create a personal connection with their clients (both present and potential).

Many business owners immediately pinned all of their past blog posts and individual website pages. Up ’til now, it was difficult to tell exactly how successful all of the pinning actually was.

Enter PinMe …

With the simple PinMe tool brought to you by MarketMe Suite, you can quickly identify how many times your website’s content has been pinned, by whom and have some insight as to why.

MarketMe Suite’s Tammy Kahn Fennell has a brief blog post on this topic over on WeAreSocialPeople.com. Check it out!

Pinterest & Small Business… Does it Stick?(swipelyworks.com)
Pinterest Marketing: How To Convert Pinterest Visitors To Customers(bloggingtips.com)
Four Reasons Marketers Should Pay Attention to Pinterest(mpdailyfix.com)

Six things to know about Facebook Timeline for Business Pages

Posted on March 26, 2012 by Michelle

The top 6 things you need to know about the new Facebook Timeline for Business Pages

1. Your cover photo should be 851px x 315px. Use minimal text and do not use any directives [calls to action] such as “Subscribe Now!” or “Visit our Website Today”. No links are permitted in the cover photo.

2. Your profile image should be 200px x 200px. However, Facebook removes the outer edge when your image appears in the newsfeed, so the main content of your image should be 180px x 180px. Include your logo and minimal text.

3. The about section accommodates more text than before, so maximize usage of this space. Your website link should appear here, along with any directives/calls to action.

4. The applications which you can add, including popular apps such as Fan of the Week, now appear more prominently but only three are visible at a time. The Photos app cannot be moved, but the other app windows can be rearranged. App graphics should be 111px x 74px and can contain a call to action. It is possible to embed website information and more in an app tab.

5. Highlighting posts is now an option. Click on the star to highlight the post, which causes it to cover both columns instead of one.

6. When you pin a post (by clicking on the pencil icon, then “Pin to Top”), it remains at the top of your page for seven days. This will give that particular post prominence for page visitors.

Publishing Insiders Wrap-Up: Special Guest Amy Porterfield – The New Facebook Page(amarketingexpert.com)
How to use the new Facebook Timeline to spring clean your page(jcsocialmarketing.com)

Pinterest & Shiny Objects

Posted on March 21, 2012 by Michelle

Photo credit: Wikipedia

Pinterest is the latest social networking craze and for good reason. It’s visually-oriented, which appeals to most folks. It also retains social tools such as a “Like” button and, similar to sharing, you can “Repin” something you like.

A number of business owners with whom I am acquainted are enjoying using Pinterest for business … perhaps a bit too much. They often find themselves lost in a happy world of lovely and inspiring imagery for hours on end.

Jeff Bullas recently wrote on using Pinterest to market your business. He has a very balanced approach. I most appreciate his statement …

… approach Pinterest with caution at this point. You should definitely begin leveraging its potential, but without making it the center of your marketing campaign.

His article is definitely worth the read, so please take a few moments to pop over there.

Pinterest isn’t without it’s troubles. Lawsuits have been threatened due to copyright infringement.

You should still use Pinterest if it appeals to you. Just be certain that the pins you share link back to original content so the image creator receives proper credit.

And set a timer for yourself, lest you get lost, too. ;)

Do you use Pinterest? Leave your link in the comments!

Should Your Business Be on Pinterest? [INFOGRAPHIC](forbes.com)
[Infographic]: Check Out This Flow Chart to See if Your Business Belongs on Pinterest(todaysnews4you.wordpress.com)

Establish your Business on Social Media

Posted on March 21, 2012 by Michelle

Todd Bailey of Webimax.com authored an excellent post on SearchEngineJournal entitled “Top 10 Helpful SEO Tips for Small Business Owners”.

I took particular notice of #5: Establish your Business on Social Media

“Social media work has become an increasingly popular way to generate long term website traffic. These days, many SEO agencies focus a lot of their attention on establishing a follower base for their clients. As the number of people following your company continues to increase, so too will the potential customers that may frequent your business’ site. No matter how big or small your organization may be, you can never have enough Facebook or Google+ followers.”

Not every platform will fit every business model, but Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ are keys to your business’ success on social media.

Which social media platforms does your small business utilize? Leave a comment!

The Social Search Revolution: 8 Social SEO Strategies To Start Using Right Now(searchengineland.com)
Inbound Marketing & SEO – Seize Opportunity or Resist Change(clixto7.com)

Business Blogging

Posted on March 19, 2012 by Michelle

WordPress Logo (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Infworm has a great Infographic to share on the topic of blogging for business.

Business Blogging is on the rise providing useful information about the products and let the customers to get to know the company itself. Business blogging is the best way for the bonding between the business and its customers and also increases the chances for conversion for the business.

Related articles

Business Blogging: Essential for Business Reach(socialmediatoday.com)
The five minute WordPress business blogging challenge(marketing.yell.com)

Justa Kidz Store …

Posted on December 22, 2011 by Michelle

Time for another sneak peek into what we do!

The Facebook page for Justa Kidz Store of Tomah, Wisconsin, has a new look.

They have a custom Facebook profile picture based off of the December theme for their website.

Here is the frame that is visible to non-fans:

And see what new fans see when they like the page!

Send us an email today to get your custom Facebook page design!

Ground Round of Tomah, WI …

Posted on December 15, 2011 by Michelle

Another Facebook page completed for our great clients Tyson and Julia!

Check out their profile image:

Here is their image for non-fans. The landing page is always the Welcome tab, so non-fans are sure to see this!

And now you see why the background is a dessert! They may extend this special, but marking it as “December Only” prompts quick participation.

Website coming soon!

Justa Pizza Place …

Posted on December 12, 2011 by Michelle

The Justa Pizza Facebook page for our clients Tyson and Julia is complete!

Take a peek at the images created for their page.

This is the image for visitors who are not yet fans of the page:

And here is what folks see on the Welcome tab once they have liked the page:

Finally, take a look at their profile image. It was created to share the maximum amount of information possible while retaining readability. And aren’t those girls adorable?!

Their website will be completed soon!

Watch out for your URL!

Posted on October 24, 2011 by Michelle

A friend chatted with me recently about moving her various sites to the same hosting plan. After a bit of conversation, she was ready to make the move. However, the service that hosted one of her sites threw a wrench in the plan. She received the following message from them in response to her request to begin the process:

“As one of the features we offer subscribers is we will purchase the domain for our subscribers to use while they are using ********.com. You are not actually buying the domain name when you subscribe to our service. As long as you subscribe to our service we pay the cost to maintain the domain name.”

Hostage Domain Names

They tout this as a “feature” when in reality they have taken her domain name hostage. She cannot wrest it from them without paying a $35 fee for its release. They say they are covering the cost for them to transfer the domain, but this is not a true reflection of any cost they incur. They further compounded the issue by listing a series of poorly delineated steps meant to confuse the average user and cause them to abandon all thought of changing hosts.

While working on this article, an advertisement on a social media site directed me to a different website hosting service. They included in their fee “a free domain for life”. That means they purchase your domain and it is included in the fee you pay to them. Should you choose to leave their service, you will lose your domain or be charged a fee to wrest it from them.

Now you know one red flag to avoid when choosing a hosting service. From time to time we’ll post more tips on the subject. You can send an email to us at any time if you have questions about the process!