How to Change your Twitter Header

Wow, new changes today! Twitter has added a header image.

1) Log into your Twitter account.

2) Click on the Me tab on the top of the page.

3) An Edit Profile tab should now be visible; click it.

4) Find the Design tab, click it and the design page will open.

5) Scroll down past themes to Customize your own. There you have the option of changing your header.

6) Click change header and upload the photo of your choice.

• Minimum dimensions of 1252×626

The new header option allows you to place images behind your avatar. This can add depth to any “fun” branding you do on your Twitter page.

Colors and Purchases From Impulse Buyers

Impulse buyers are drawn to red-orange, black, and royal blue. These colors make people want to buy your products or services quickly. Are you using colors to attract buyers? There are a lot of different things that can change a purchase cycle. Besides color there is the biggie, visual appearance. Make sure you produce an attractive product and sell it in a visually appealing manner.

Other things about orange. Orange creates an aggressive call to action (when worded properly): subscribe, buy, or sell! The orange color is good for Fast Food, Clearance Centers, and Outlets. It is an impulse buying color!

Did you know that 52% of people are more likely to enter a storefront if there is a sale sign in the window?

Amazon.com found that if the site was slow, so were sales. For every 100ms it takes to upload sales decrease by 1%. Ouch!

 

Use color to attract the right customers and then make sure you make their buying experience enjoyable. That’s when word of mouth marketing takes over!

Attract impulse buyers with red-orange

Facebook Lunch and Learn Class

On September 26th, 2012 Southern Social Media will be holding a Lunch and Learn for Facebook Marketing. This class is intended for small business owners that already have a page set up and are looking to leverage their social media marketing for added income. Things to expect: food, networking, hands-on training, take-a-ways, and goodie bags.

Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 at the door. Purchase tickets on our website by clicking here. For more information please send me an email: rachel@southernsocialmedia.net

More information:

Location: FirstLight Art Academy

1710 General George Patton Dr.

Brentwood, TN. 37027

Sponsors:

FirstLights Art Academy

Eagle Communications

SpotOn by Central Payment

Costco Wholesale

Gifts & More

Alternative Income Streams

Alternative Income Streams… not a pyramid scheme!

I have recently become quite interested in the multitude of alternative income streams out there. After the decline in the economy during 2008 and beyond, I have come to notice more and more get rich quick schemes popping up. I believe in good, old-fashioned hard work. But, I am no fool. This is not the time to keep all your eggs in the same basket. Open your eyes to some possibilities available to you that can earn as little as $100 a month extra to complete income replacement.
The first thing is to really dig down and look at the type of person you are. Not all income streams are made the same or require the same type of person. Be honest with your abilities and whether or not you can go outside your comfort zone. Many of the network marketing opportunities sound great. But, the day to day work can be more than what you want. Check out all opportunities, multiply times, and with multiple consultants. Getting in with the best trainer for your personality type is crucial to your success.

 

I am currently experimenting in one that I am hesitant to announce until I am sure of it’s validity. If its a real thing. I will post more about it.

 

Keep looking at all opportunities but run from get rich quick schemes.

Pinterest Users Are Selfish?!

It’s all about me…

I was reviewing the website named Repinly. There are some interesting statistics on Pinterest users. It seems most users are using the social sharing platform to pin things that interest them. On any given day Pinterest users spend over 82% of their time pinning images to their boards. Only 13.3% of users like other people’s pins. And, sadly, commenting only accounts for less than 1% (.5%). So what does that mean to you, the business owner trying to capitalize on this new social media platform?

Picture Content

Have pictures that portray your company clearly and concisely. Using images to capture the content you wish to share. Not just random pictures, but maybe take the time to add your logo to the bottom corner (not so big it disrupts the image message). And what about image names and titles.

Names and Titles

When your user goes to pin an image on their board and the title auto-populates, what will they see? Misspelled words, random numbers that were given by your camera, or nothing? This may be something you have no control over and you need to chat with your web designer. Test your website’s images and see what information comes up on your board. Is it what identifies you and your brand? Although pinners can easily remove what you write, at least you got your brand name or message in from of them.

Close it up

Pinterest may or may not be your best marketing tool. Go through all your data, images, and goals before starting out. Plan your campaign. Follow through. And, analyze everything!

Visit: http://www.repinly.com/stats.aspx for more statistics.

Website SEO from our BAM Group

Website SEO – Basic Search Engine Optimization

Is your site ready to be found on Google? Chances are you had your website designed and didn’t ask if SEO was included in the cost. More times than not, it isn’t. What can you do now? A lot.

A. Go to your website and right click in an empty space. Scroll down to view source. A new page will open with coding. Meta tag description, title, keyword, and more should appear near the top. This helps Google identify the content on your website. If it is not there, it may be difficult for search engines to accurately place your page.

B. Claims your Google Places Page. This is very important to do and use correct keywords for your industry. Fill in all options accurately and with correct spelling.

C. Create your Google + account. If Google offers it and you do not utilize it, it will hurt your search results. This is similar to creating a Facebook Business Page.

D. Get help. If you cannot do any of these things or if some of it seems confusing, get help from someone who knows how to do it.

My company does all of these things and more. It is important to find the right person to help you, whether it is me or not. I am always available to answer questions.

To join our Facebook group click here.

June 30th is Social Media Day – 2012

How will you celebrate the annual day celebrating or memorializing social media? Regardless of the realm you prefer, this is your day!

What will you be doing??

Mashable.com has begun a page about how people can participate in Social Media Day. Click here to visit it. It offers organizing tips, meetups, and much more!

Whatever you decide please post your activities here so you may get more participants.

Location Based Marketing

Are you the mayor? Did you check in for a discount? Is there a daily deal for that?

Location based marketing is more prevalent in larger cities but is starting to take force in techy suburbs. Which one is best for your business? That depends on the apps most being used in your area. Do research to find what may work for you. Then, if at first you don’t succeed, try a different approach. 

Whichever location based service you use make an attractive offer. If it something your customers or clients won’t use, it is a waste of time and money. Some good ideas are: coffee shops could offer the Foursquare Mayor free cup of coffee on Tuesday’s, a clothing store could use Facebook’s checking in to give an extra discount for those who check in, you get the idea. Pick something that is relevant to your customers but isn’t a huge revenue loss.

Have signage around your retail location to encourage people to engage with your  location based marketing. It can placed around the store or at the register. Using a marquee or signage at the front door, you can announce what the mayor receives. Then, you can engage with the customer when they ask how they can get the offer. 

The ultimate experience is not about losing money or giving stuff away. It is about customer engagement and fulfillment. These satisfied customers will tell others about their special treatment. I call this Priceless Advertising. 

Here are some links:

Home

https://www.facebook.com/help/?page=186851114696034

If you have any questions or want to start a marketing program that includes these options, please give a call.

Apps for custom tabs on business Facebook pages

Customizing a business Facebook page with different types of apps is a great way to get engagement. The companies that make these custom apps are busy keeping up with the latest Facebook changes. But not all of them are created equal. Some of these apps, even the expensive ones have not figured out that images must be hosted on a secure site and not just on Flickr. Having pictures posted on image sharing sites like flicker will not allow them to be seen when someone opens up a custom Facebook tab. And, what will your potential client think then?

So what can you do? Many apps have free trials. Take advantage of these free trial to explore the options and different opportunities in each app company offers. Some of the apps especially the more expensive ones offer the user or no HTML coding experience necessary. These template-based options are not a bad idea at all. On those types it comes down to what you can afford. When you use 83 based custom app they use their own advertising on the bottom and you cannot remove it. Not a bad thing but be aware in advance.

There are several that I like as well as when I do my very own. Woobox offers an in-between option for people who do have coding experience and understand the rules of Facebook as well as some simple uploading of pictures for less experienced users. Involver is another one that has a free version and offers many options to non-coding Facebook administrators.

Remember what catches your eye and your potential customer’s eye, will help grow your business in the long run. So set a goal to implement apps on your Facebook page this year.

Contests on Facebook, What Should You Do?

When Facebook first hit the internet it was like the wild West. An untamed territory with fewer rules. As the team has reigned in the lawless ways and evoked a peacetime, profit machine, rules are being broadcast. But, no one is listening. Take, for example, contests. People are still posting contest in their status updates, asking for inappropriate responses, and announcing winners in the stream. What are the rules now? To review the rules, it is best to look at the official Facebook terms of service in regards to Promotions.

Here is a link.

The basic run down is that you cannot just post a contest with a status post. They must be run on a 3rd party app or canvas page. it must be clearly written that Facebook does endorse your contest. And all rules and regulations must be clearly stated. There are some cool sweepstakes apps and they can be pricey! There is only one that I have found that is truly free. Hooplasoft.com can help in creating completely FREE promotions. Check out this link for the app.

I have heard that Facebook “police” will remove your page if you are violating their terms of service. Why risk it? Do it correctly, get more fans, and everyone is happy!