On March 30, 2012, all Facebook Pages will get a new design. Here is a helpful video from the Social Networking Academy, and a list of what changes are coming your way.

1). Cover Photo – Some interesting restrictions have been placed on what you can and can’t have on your cover photo;
Cover images must be at least 399 pixels wide and may not contain:

• Price or purchase information, such as “40% off” or “Download it at our website”
  
• Contact information, such as web address, email, mailing address or other information intended for your Page’s About section. 
  
• References to user interface elements, such as Like or Share, or any other Facebook site features. 
  
• Calls to action, such as “Get it now” or “Tell your friends”.

2). Your Profile Picture which will initially be the top part of your avatar, must be square and at least 180px wide

3). You Can No Longer LAND on a Custom Tab!!! Welcome pages and tabs still exist, but you can no longer default to land on any tabs. As with the timeline on your profile your photos and apps show in the central section in boxes, which means we can add a nice looking graphic to our Welcome pages and tabs to encourage people to click on them. Here’s what FB say about the central boxes;

Photos, likes and apps are now at the top of your Page. Photos show in the first spot, but you can change the order of everything else so people see what matters most. You can show a maximum number of 12 apps, so make sure to put your most important ones first.

I have to say I’m really disappointed that you can’t land on your custom landing tabs anymore, but somewhat relieved that we still have them!

4). You Can Pin Posts to the Top of Your Wall!The main design is the same as your profile page so as with that you can now add posts at different dates in the past, you can feature your post by clicking the star so it covers the width of your page, or you can hide it from your page altogether, but the really cool feature is being able to pin specific posts to the top, kind of like a ‘sticky’ post in forums.

5). There’s a brand new admin panel from which you can see your notifications, new likes, insights and the new private messages that people can now send you from your page! From your admin panel you will also see the Manage button which gives you access to the main editing section of your page (Basic Info, Manage Permissions, Apps and so on). Not much has changed in there apart from the Manage Permissions section which no longer has the default landing tab section! – Boo!

Also from the admin panel, you can access Facebook ads, a function to share your page and to invite friends, plus access to Facebooks help section.

6). New Message Feature! I mentioned above messages, well now your fans can message you directly! The messages will show within your admin panel and you can respond from there.

7). Tab Pages are now BIGGER! I believe the official size is 760px, I’ll keep you posted!

8). You will AUTOMATICALLY get the new design on March 30th. So jump in there and make the most of it, because it’s coming whether you like it or not!

What Does #FF Mean?
Simple Answer: Follow Friday... It’s one of a handful of abbreviations used in Twitter that confuses new users, and then they avoid using it. 

I remember the very first time I saw #FF messages. My Twitter feed was littered with them but I couldn’t figure out what it all meant. I felt left out – what is #FF? what am I missing?! So, for those of you who are asking yourself those questions right now, here’s a short guide to Follow Friday…

#FF is short for #FollowFriday. It’s a Twitter trend created back in 2009 by Twitter users that has since become a customary Friday activity.

An #FF is a shout out, a show of appreciation, a nice thing to do. Each Friday you can recommend Twitter profiles that you appreciate and enjoy to all of your followers. The idea being that your #FF recommendation will encourage others to check out that profile, generating more followers for them. 

Sooo...... long story - short, this Tuesday's Twitter Tip is to show appreciation for a profile that you appreciate, and #FF them this Friday ;)

We always appreciate the kind words, and the referrals!


Our philosophy:

• Do the job right and 'as promised'.
  
• Honesty ALWAYS.
  
• Give it your all.
  

We've built a business on that philosophy... and look forward to meeting many more individuals and businesses who are looking for an online presence with a company they can trust.

You may have heard that if you promote other businesses on social media sites that it can boost your own business. For a newbie, it doesn’t make sense. Promoting others will be good for your own business?  It’s not a surprise for most small business owners just getting into social media marketing to feel stumped about what to share on social media.

Here’s what marketing gurus and experts are referring to when they stress about the importance of promoting others aside from promoting your own blog posts, content, promotions and company information. Remember, promoting others is all about attracting attention, becoming valuable to your followers and remaining consistent.

Here are some general ways promoting others will lead business back to you.

• Trusted sources will take notice that you are sharing their content. Like brick and mortar businesses, they will likely share your content with their followers. This will then increase your visibility and attract more attention to your company. 
  
• Becoming a resource for your followers is key in social media marketing. More people will buy something or take on a service if it is recommended by a friend or a second party. By building value with your clients through sharing quality information, even if it is from  another source, you will create a trusting relationship with the public.
  
• Once you are in the “game” of social media marketing, you need to be consistent. Things like updating your profiles on a regular basis can be a challenge if you are using only your own content. Sharing the content and resources of others gives you more to work with.
  

Sharing and promoting other businesses and industry is almost like a partnership. If they scratch your back, you can scratch theirs.  If you are not sure where to start, think about products or services that your business could partner up with. For example, a restaurant and a delivery service, or a makeup boutique and a clothing store. The key is to share content that is relevant to your followers that is not in direct competition with what you already do.

Social media marketing can be a win-win situation if you do it properly. Everyone wants traffic to their site. Everyone wants new and more business. Why not join forces with others to drive business for both businesses? Everyone wins in this game.

In the not-so-distant past, Twitter seemed to be the stepchild compared to other social media marketing methods. It was available, but as a small business, you were a little intimidated and not quite sure how to use it to your advantage. You have heard other small businesses take advantage of Twitter as a social media marketing tool and become successful using it. Why not join the crowd and start microblogging?  Here are a few tips and strategies on how to do it right.

Who is your audience?
This is marketing 101 – finding your audience or the people who you want to reach. Take some time to research the leaders in your niche on Twitter as well as the key followers too. If your business is already active on social media sites and blogs, this should help you build your online presence. Make sure you follow these key people too.

How important is Twitter in your overall marketing plan?
Twitter is capable of connecting with all kinds of professionals and customers but do you have any idea how it fits within your overall marketing plan. Will you focus on new customer acquisitions or connect with journalists?  Figure this out before jumping into microblogging.

By figuring out your goals, you will get a better understanding of scoring.
Whoa, don’t get too excited if you attract a huge following on Twitter one day.  It does not mean you are guaranteed a huge impact. Again, you need your key followers who will re-tweet -- spreading your links and spreading your message. 

Zoom-in on your tactics and methods.
Make sure you add high quality and interesting contributions online and every day. Also, don’t forget to link your Twitter account to other social media such as Facebook or LinkedIn. Lastly, reach out and get your followers involved by hosting Twitter events such as a webinar, and again, do it frequently.

As a small business, you can take advantage of this social media marketing tool. It’s easy to use and proven to be a successful method for other small businesses.

Social media marketing for small business – any business – has changed dramatically in the last several years. One way it has changed has been the introduction of smartphones. No matter where you are --New York City or Adams/York County, knowing how to use your smartphone to help you in your social media marketing efforts will ultimately save you time and money.

Today, an increasing number of people are receiving all their information on their phone. Emails, social networking, voicemails, banking, news, business and entertainment are all conducted on phones. Remember the day when you felt “naked” when not wearing a watch? Today, most people would agree that without their smartphones in tote, their lives literally come to a screeching halt. 

With Apple recently launching the iPhone 4S, an even more powerful tool, smartphones will continue to drive email, social media and mobile marketing. If you had doubts about using any of these methods to promote your business, think again.  By integrating your smartphone capabilities into a “smart” marketing campaign, you will dramatically impact your marketing efforts.

By using mobile marketing, small business owners get ahead or at least “on time” for the game of business. Smartphones allow you to respond quicker to emails. Social media marketing is instant with responses to Twitter, Facebook and others being at your fingertips. In fact, research has found that people who own smartphones are most likely to be “hyper” users. They constantly check email and Facebook. 

Just got your smartphone? Consider creating a mobile version of your website. Also, find out which type of social media presence work best for your business -- Facebook, Twitter, YouTube etc. Don’t forget to track your results.

Talk to a small business owner who just received a smartphone and ask him if he is better off with one. He will say a definite, “Yes.” As much as digital media consumes our lives, it also opens doors to new opportunities.

Are you an Adams and York county small business owner? Want to make money using YouTube? It can be a great social media marketing tool.

The days when YouTube was just a way to share silly videos is long gone. Today, YouTube is more than just a place to get free video hosting. Few small business owners realize that YouTube can be a fantastic tool for lead generation, search engine optimization and social media marketing.

For most small business owners, the idea of posting a video on YouTube is over the top. The good news is that you don’t have to produce your own videos to have an active social media marketing experience on YouTube. At some point, a video would be ideal, but there isn’t a requirement to get started. In fact, just interacting with and aggregating the public’s content can get bring traffic to your own site.

Setting up your own channel will help you start getting optimized, allowing you to build a reputation and create a foundation for attracting potential customers or prospects. Other things you can do include:

• Creating playlists of your favorite videos
• Rating videos (1-5 stars)
• Listing favorite videos (another playlist)

Just like blogging and other social media networking sites, YouTube has various sharing options as well.  YouTube users can share a video using popular social networking sites including Twitter. Plus, YouTube allows you to understand how your market responds to your content – a big plus for any small business. Who doesn’t want to know about market statistics and data?

So go ahead, try YouTube. Before you know it, you’ll be an expert at publishing videos and using it as a small business marketing strategy . . . and you’ll most likely have fun doing it.

These are changeable times for Facebook! Lot's of updates and new features currently happening, but adding 'subscriptions' is a biggie!

You can now subscribe to people who previously may have not accepted you as a friend or have reached the 5000 friend limit and you can get their updates in your newsfeed! This is very exciting for people who want to use Facebook primarily for business, but not as exciting for those who really want to keep their personal profile personal.

The good news, for some, is that you have the option whether to turn it on, or leave it off!

I've attached a video below. Jo Barnes at The Social Networking Academy, explains this new option brilliantly. Or, you can click here to learn more info, directly from Facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/about/subscribe

All Facebook has an interesting article about marketing on Facebook. They share 5 ways to fail at the largest social network ever. Here's what they say:

1. Fail to understand who your audience is and what their needs are
2. Don't be imaginative
3. Don't bother tracking your efforts
4. Keep the relationship-building to a minimum
5. Don't hire social media experts

If we were to flip these points around, then you could say the way to succeed at marketing on Facebook is to understand your audience, be creative, track your efforts, build relationships, and hire the experts. That isn't so hard if you think about it.

You should attempt to understand your audience as a first step to marketing, period. Whether you intend to market your products online, through social media, or in traditional ways, understanding your audience is a key component.

And, of course, marketing is all about imagination. All successful marketers are creative. And they also track their results. These are two essential ingredients to any marketing plan.

Social media marketing is building relationships. If you don't focus on the most basic fundamentals, then why bother?

Finally, hiring an expert in social media means that you get to tap into the wealth of knowledge their experience has gained. Don't try to reinvent the wheel. Do what has been proven, hire the best, and put your nose to the grindstone.