Facebook Timeline is currently making waves these days.   If you are used to the old profile, you might find the Timeline a bit daunting.  As one client proudly announced, ‘It makes me dizzy!’ Thank goodness there are different resources online which you can use to help make timeline an easier platform for you to use.  Here are a few Timeline tips you may want to consider:

1. Facebook apps – If you are fond of using applications in Facebook, such as Foursquare, you should also know how Timeline can be navigated to be in sync with this function
2. FTC issues – As you may be aware, Facebook is not issue-free. These days, Timeline seems to be in hot water because there are FTC settlement issues that are left in the dark.
3. SQL – You might be surprised to find out Timeline actually makes use of SQL as its database. This knowledge might come in handy, especially if you plan to use Facebook for business purposes.

And speaking of business purposes, hang on to your seats!  Josh Constine,  a technology journalist specializing in deep analysis of social products and writer for TechCrunch, shares his most recent article “Facebook Opens Timeline To All Biz Pages, Mandatory After 30 Days Of Curation.”  A few of the new major features include,  ”the option to pin posts to the top of the feed for one week, and receive and respond to private messages from users. Pages can also upload a big cover image and feature posts from amongst a feed of updates Facebook determines to be the most engaging.”

One thing we can count on these days…Facebook will continue to evolve, never keeping its current ‘face’ for long.  Yes, I agree with my client, “It makes me dizzy,’ in more ways than one!

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Social media initiatives in Tampa and across the the country have become an integral part of most businesses these days.  No matter what size the company, social media marketing is on the agenda. Social media is cost efficient and targets different types of people, and it has proven to be very helpful for businesses that are starting out, as well as those who have already established themselves and want to keep a firm grip on the industry.

Social media can be tedious. It can end up eating much of your precious time.  Presenting a company online is more than just slapping up a post on Facebook or sending tweets on Twitter.  There must be a cohesive marketing strategy to posting.  And one of the real keys to a successful social media marketing campaign is taking the time to analyze the tracking analytics available.  There are many tools available for tracking data, and it’s imperative that these tools are used consistently…you are the captain of your ship, and these tools are what ultimately will guide your ship for brand recognition. Whether you like it or not, there will be some investment of time and effort keeping all the social sites fresh and current, keeping a keen eye on your brand, engaging with suspects and prospects, developing back links and….drum roll…continually pushing out those keywords that a company ultimately wants to rank for on the search engines.

Realizing that most business owners do not have the time to tackle social  media, Personalized Marketing preaches that a business owner should do what they do best…and that’s run their business…and outsource social media to experts who will  keep the social sites crisp and current and continually work with the business owner  to blend offline business marketing plans into online social media marketing strategies to ultimately increase brand awareness.

Your bottom line can eventually become offset by the results that social media can bring. When you outsource, you also skip spending time trying to go through the learning curve of knowing the ins and outs of social media. The third party you will partner with is already an expert on such matters. As such, it would be easy for them to get the ball rolling for your business. They no longer have to learn it because they already know it!

In the process, you can also take the time to learn about social media from your partners. You can also save on manpower costs, because at least you can be sure that the outsourcing company you have hired would be mainly doing the job of scanning the market for you and offering new ways and solutions for you to build your base not only in Tampa, Florida, but anywhere int the country or across the big ponds! It makes everything seamless with just one partner.

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Getting started with the creation of a Facebook friends list is as simple as looking for people with similar likes and interests to your own. However, before you start building your Facebook friends list, you will first want to ensure that you created a personal profile or timeline of how you want to appear to your Facebook friends. You may want to project a professional personality on your profile. Or perhaps you simply prefer to be seen as a positive and friendly person. The choice is entirely yours, as long as you ensure that you show people on your profile or timeline how they would benefit from being friends with you. You might want to post a few images of yourself and write about your interests or what you have been up to recently. You will find that people will be able to quickly identify with you and want to know a little bit more. Be prepared to be consistent, responsive and proactive when you start to gain Facebook friends by commenting on their latest pictures and posts.

Find FaceBook Friends

Time now to find Facebook friends by starting to look for groups that are centered around a particular hobby that you enjoy. Or groups of people who have the same care or concerns that you have over a particular subject. You will also discover many pages that share the same excitement or enthusiasm as yourself for a pastime or pursuit. There will be no shortage of groups and people who share something in common with you. Leave a few posts on groups and pages walls. Make your comments interesting, but do not be tempted to self advertise. There will be people who are naturally curious after reading your comment and will check out your profile or timeline and, perhaps, add you as their Facebook friend.

Connecting To Build Your Facebook Friends List

Join as many groups as you can that share something in common with you. If you do not have a lot of interests, you can still find Facebook friends based upon geographical location, or gender. Be prepared to look through people profiles, and then add them as friends. You will soon discover that some will reciprocate and add you as a friend. Of course, if you would like to spend a little more time with the process, you can gain a lot more Facebook friends by leaving a personal message after adding them as a friend. This is as simple as saying ‘Hi,’  addressing them by their name and mentioning that you noticed they share a common interest with you [which you will have seen by reading their profile or timeline]. State that you enjoy connecting with people of similar interests and that you would like to be their Facebook friend. A personal note like this can really set you apart from the crowd. Don’t forget, of course, to send them a quick note and thank them when they accept your friendship! Creating a Facebook friends list can be fun and easy to do. Take your time to do it right and you will connect with a lot of great new friends.

If you are a business owner  interested in personalized marketing  -  outsourcing your company’s social media – we are here to help!  We not only build and brand your social media sites; i.e.  Facebook profiles and timelines, Facebook business and welcome pages, Twitter, YouTube, Blogs and Google Plus – we also MAINTAIN these sites so you can do what you do best…run your business and let us do the rest!  Contact us today for a FREE consultation!

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Gift certificates and gift cards are a great value for retailers. That statement seems counterintuitive, because it would seem that you get money now, only to have to perform the service later for nothing. Not so fast! There are great reasons to sell gift certificates and gift cards, the least of which is possibly getting new customers in your doors.

First, lots of people buy them, not as many actually remember to use them. Statistically, about 6% of gift cards end up not being used by the recipient. That means the retailer or service provider made money in exchange for nothing; not for a service or a product. Another great statistic: people using gift cards are two and a half times more likely to pay full price for products instead of waiting for a sale. To them, psychologically, it’s found money so why worry about saving any of it or trying to get more for it like they would earned money? Also, how many times have you used a gift card and it’s not enough for what you purchase? Happens a lot, and a majority of customers will spend about 20% more than the value of their card or certificate.

As I mentioned above, they are also a good way to bring in new customers. Say an existing customer purchases a gift card or certificate for a friend to introduce them to the favored business. That means the business has a great chance to turn a new customer using it into a great repeat customer as well.

All of the above reasons also help the post-holiday shopping slump. Between returns and less people shopping, those using gift cards can help keep sales up after the holidays. Between those who buy more than the value of the card and the repeat business, gift cards and certificates can be a boon for January retail sales numbers.

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As we all know, Facebook is the forerunner of Google+,  in terms of social-networking, which means Facebook is way ahead in users (at least as of this date)!  FaceBook has more than 800 million members; Google boasts that more than 40 million people already have Plus profiles! Hmmmm…..Google Plus is catching on at lightning speed! Go Google Plus!!!

Some of these great features supported by Google+, such as Circles, Sparks, and Hangouts, are not available on FaceBook, but FaceBook has changed the way we categorize our friends and acquaintances since Google+ started (I guess Facebook had to do something with Google Plus on its heels).

Google + has different circles that we can design ourselves – such as family in one circle, friends in another, people you follow in one, and even business people or clients in another one. We can also have people in more than one circle.  Whew…getting dizzy just thinking about the circles we can be in!!

Facebook and Google+ both have a photo upload process, but FaceBook is slower than the Google+. Sort of like the tortoise and the hare at this point!

Video chat is called “video calling” in FaceBook and does not support multiple users, whereas in Google+ we can “hangout” with a group of people! Facebook has a mobile chat provided in an option called “chat for mobiles,” which does not help to send a message to the group directly; whereas in Google+ it is provided in an option called “huddle” which allows  Google Plus users to send a group message to a circle.

Both Facebook and Google+ have a sharing information place, which in FaceBook is called “places”  and in Google+ it’s provided in “location.”  In Facebook – if you like something  - you can express as LIKE and in Google+ it’s+1.

Facebook has millions of regular gamers but games are not available in Google+….thank goodness ! Google Plus is not like the Facebook cocktail party!

At the end of the day, when it comes to social media, I’ll always be a Google Girl!  This Google Girl is doing the dance of joy now that Google Plus has arrived!

Are you a business owner that realizes brand recognition is everything?  If your head is spinning in ‘circles’ trying to figure out all the bells and whistles of social  media, sit down, take a break and contact us! Do what you do best….run your company and outsource your social media empire to Personalized Marketing!  Oh, I forgot to mention…our troupe of experts will even maintain your social media sites for you!

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We cannot overstate the importance of Google for business success in today’s internet based world. Google is the most popular search engine on the net. For vendors and buyers it is an incredible tool for sales on the net. In order to get a high ranking, it means that you are near the top of the search engines. More than Yahoo or MSN or any other search engine – more people use Google every day around the world.

Through it’s continually updated algorithms, Google provides what people are searching for on the web very effectively. Google has profited tremendously from the stunning growth of internet marketing over the last ten years. For marketing aficionados, Google has generated great profits for people promoting products from the websites or blogs.

It has been said that people usually search the first three pages of a search engine. After that, the quality of websites declines usually and so does people’s interest. Getting a high ranking makes a huge difference in drawing traffic to a seller’s blog or website. Google adwords similarly greatly aid people who have their own business online.

With the right marketing strategy, getting found on Google’s organic search can be a very attainable goal. The famous saying is true – in the offline world, it is location, location, location. In the online world, it’s traffic, traffic, traffic. Google and other search engines can make or break a small business online. That’s why it is so very important to understand how to harness the effectiveness of the search engines by using good promotion methods for your blog or website.

Great, smart advertising means higher search engine rankings and more traffic and success online. Google is expanding all the time with new concepts such as Google Plus which has become the fastest growing Social Media site of all time. I believe that the business potential of the internet is unlimited and with it is the potential of Google.

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Blogging for business is an easy way to generate social media links!

If you have a knack for writing and would want to have more traffic and sales, you might want to try your luck with blogging for business. These days, blogging is no longer strictly confined to those who can create journals online and state things that happen in their day to day lives. Even Fortune 500 companies have gone into corporate blogging as a means of leveraging more visibility. Blogging has become a form of social media that allows you to connect to a targeted public.

This connection is mainly established by way of RSS feeds. When people become interested in what you write, they can subscribe to your updates easily by utilizing the RSS feed capacity that blogs inherently have. As a result, your new blog posts would automatically be sent to their email address.

Social media comes into play as well with links from your blog to Facebook, YouTube, Twitter & LinkedIn. Your new posts are then visible to your followers on Twitter, your business connections on LinkedIn, and all your contacts in FaceBook. You can send out videos from your YouTube channel to your blog & to the other links you have established such as Facebook.

Small wonder lots of Internet businesses have also started to establish their own blog sites for marketing purposes, this is a great way to stay connected to your clients & potential clients.

Creating blog content is easy if you enjoy writing and have the dedication to produce two to four blog posts a week. To be able to keep your loyal readers, you need to make sure that you keep on updating your blog.. depending on your schedule and how often you can commit to it, you can opt to post daily or thrice a week. It would do well to create a plan beforehand so you will never run out of things to talk about and it would also be easier for you to insert topics, especially current events, which you feel apply to your business. As you proceed with your blog, make sure you also create your own tone when writing to help you become more distinguished from the “rest of the pack.”

If all this blogging seems like hard work (it is), give me a call today to find out how we can take your blogging for business off of your hands and into ours! 727.505.5384

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The Buzz that is Google Plus in social media has indeed shown just how powerful it can be when it comes to changing how we use social networks. FaceBook was able to prove that we ARE interested in other people’s information and businesses from the back side just years after it was launched. Now it seems internet giant Google would want to challenge that throne held by Zuckerberg at the moment.

As a social media marketer, the launch of Google Plus is just too good to pass up on. What started out as a purely invitational social networking device has largely gone mainstream (if you still need an invite, email me and I will be happy to get you one out!). Although Google plus remains in its experimental stage, lots of people have been riding on its bandwagon including software developers.

What’s there to like about Google Plus? A lot of things actually, especially if you were among those who used to love Facebook as a social media—minus the many applications it now has. Most people favor Google Plus because it gives them a bare bones advantage of connecting to people. Just as you would with Facebook, it also enables you to post your statuses, videos and photos on your wall as a public or private item. Your friends would also have the opportunity to view these things. But perhaps among the main features of Google Plus is that it automates your friends list within “circles.”

Every post you do is prompted to be kept private according to your choice of circle. Whenever a person adds you as a friend, you can also automatically place them within a circle. On the other hand you can already pre-add a person under a particular circle and wait for that party to approve your request. On top of all these, Google Plus also easily connects with other Google services such as iGoogle and the Gmail interface. It’s really an efficient tool to connect with others, without worrying about ads taking up space on your screen.

So will Google Plus truly trample over Facebook? Only time alone will tell. The benefits people enjoy on Google social media, we realize, can be changed in the future, hopefully for the better. It certainly looks that way as Google seems to be looking at what people want most. from their social media.

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How To Get More Facebook “Likes” seems a little ridiculous right? We all seem to have much better things to do then worry about if someone does or does not like our Facebook page.

WRONG! If your have a Facebook site for your business or hobby and want to attract more fans to it, you should check out the following instructions on how to direct more fans to your site.

Make use of good keywords. Search engines comb public sites for information. Keywords help a search engine to direct people to a site that is offering what they are interested in. The more keywords your site uses the better the chance that search engines, like Google, will direct traffic to your site.

Facebook ads. For more than a few dollars a month you can target specific demographics in ads on Facebook that help direct traffic to their site by the click of a mouse button.

Reach friends and friends of their friends by using photo tagging. You would have your friends upload pictures of themselves using the product that is being promoted onto the products fan page and then tag it. Businesses can use this technique to give discounts for their products.

Use other social media to increase your fan base. If you also use Twitter, you can post a link to your Facebook page in your tweets. Be careful not to overdo this or other tweeters may think that they are being spammed.

Encourage people to post comments! Keep your business page updated with new information so that people will want to visit and comment.

Update the posts regularly. You need to keep giving new information on your product or sevice so people will be looking for changes and not lose interest. If you are lax in this, you could lose your current fans as well as potential new likes!

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Effectively branding a business is perhaps the single most important task a successful business owner must accomplish. Often overlooked, and combined with assumptions that the product or service will “sell themselves,” failing to design an effective branding campaign for a business will lead a hopeful business owner down a path heading everywhere except to success. The brand must be well thought out, showcase the most important aspects of the business, target the key audience, provide enticing information about the business and encourage further interest.

Today, more than ever before, the internet has become the star player in the advertising realm. The most important thing to consider when utilizing this fast-paced and ever-changing media platform is to ensure that you brand your company in a way that can be seamlessly translated across all your internet properties. Whether you are advertising on a Chamber of Commerce website, an online periodical, Facebook business page, or the actual business website, the current or potential customer must receive the same message regarding your product or service from all of the sites. Though your target audience may shift and change, the message about what you provide should stay the same. In order to do this, branding should focus on concepts that are easily understood and relatable by all who may come across the advertisement of your business.

Whether your business appeals to the top 10% of the population or specifically to main stream U.S.A., concepts like loyalty, quality and value remain highly important across these and all other demographics. By tailoring a branding campaign for your company highlighting concepts like these, you can effectively reach the customers you’re aiming for without providing misinformation or misconceptions about your business. Key concepts, like those mentioned above, convey to customers messages that inspire trustworthiness of your business and the idea of a smart dollar spent. And nothing is more important in this economy than spending wisely!

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