Getting the Most Out of Social Networking

We are social by nature. There are so many ways in which we interact with people - book reading clubs, community fairs, weekend barbecues in the neighborhood or by simply getting together for a good time. Technology, especially the Internet has given people the ability to socialize in a whole new way. Of course, we still meet people in person, but now, we can do so virtually and with almost anyone on the planet. This form of online interaction is especially popular amongst youngsters who are constantly in search of new adventures and new friends.

Instead of clubs and social dos, socializing online happens via websites which allow networking. The basic idea of social networking websites is that they are utilized to bring together people who share an interest in just about anything from music to golf to quantum physics. These websites provide a platform for people to be able to garner opinions from across the world on a subject that they hold close to their heart. You can share opinions as well as experiences first-hand. You can find a peer group to connect with or put together a team of professionals online for a job that you have in mind. Social networking has become the new means of making friends, finding professional assistance and discussing ideas with like-minded people. It is also become a platform where one can seek employment. There are companies that run purely by sifting through the reams of data on social networking websites to find the right person for their company.

Joining a social networking website is quite easy. All you have to do is register yourself and your email id on one of them and you are good to go. Your process of socialization begins once you are logged onto a website as a member. Most websites offer you the means to get in touch with the kind of people you are looking for. This can be done by viewing public profiles. You can then contact these people directly and see if they would be interested in touching base with you.

There are several benefits to social networking. You of course, make new friends from all over the world and broaden your perspective about life in general. You are able to touch base with professionals from varying fields for advice or help. This is also true of experts in fields as diverse as neural engineering or making sushi. You learn new languages, theories and points of view. You can also create an online community of your own if you like and then go about inviting others to participate.

There is however a flip side and the first concern has to do with the number of predators online. There are unscrupulous people in the virtual world who will steal personal information. Check the credentials of a social networking website before you register with them. Look into their security policies on your personal information as well. Do not be too liberal with personal information on your public profile. Even when you do strike up a conversation with someone new don't divulge your entire life history at the first meeting. Just as you would exercise caution in the real world so too you must in the cyber world.

Rapid Expansion of Social Networking

Social networking continues to grow as a vital part of our lives each and every day. From keeping up with friends and family to using sites such as Facebook as a way to market our businesses, there are hundreds of reasons why we should partake in social networking. In fact, over just a few short years, it is amazing the strides that social networking sites such as Facebook have taken.

In fact, there are currently more than eight hundred million active users on Facebook. In addition, more than 50% of those active users log in on a daily basis in order to check on the status of friends and to update their own status. Users also like to add pictures to their status with more than 250 million pictures being uploaded each day. This means that there are a lot of pictures available for each user's average of 130 friends to enjoy.

But it is not just individuals who use the networking site. There are actually more than 900 million objects such as pages, groups, events and community pages which individuals can interact with and do so on a daily basis. In addition to having over an average of one hundred friends, each person on Facebook is connected to an average of eighty of these object pages.

While it may have had its start in the United States, Facebook is now a global phenomenon. In fact, more than 75% of users are located outside of the United States and there are more than seventy languages available on the site.

More recently, you can take your Facebook page along with you on your phone. There are more than 350 active users who access the site through their mobile devices. There are also more than 475 mobile operators who work to promote Facebook mobile products.

Social networking has grown so that it has many more applications than just helping us keep in touch with friends and family, but is also can help out with keeping businesses afloat and even fighting crime. For example, a lot of businesses are now realizing that they can generate much more business by advertising their latest news on such social networking sites. This is also a great way to advertise for little to no money and get something in return.

Social networking has also become something of a crime fighting tool as well. Numerous police departments will use it in order to keep the community up to date on the latest things which are going on and also use sites such as Facebook as a way to warn the public of a potential threat. In addition, individuals are taking to social networking sites when looking for someone or to report a crime in an area in a way to warn their friends and family.

With the internet getting faster and expanding into new regions, there will be more and more people getting online and using social networking sites in the future. It will also be interesting to see what the next great social networking site will look like.

Why Use Facebook - The Business Use of Social Networking

Facebook is a forum for online, interactive communication. Over 90 million people in the world currently use Facebook to post information, share photos and provide key feedback via comments. When we research the answer to why use Facebook we need to explain the benefits of this huge communication community.

It can be used to wile away hours of time - playing fun apps, posting inspirational quotes and beautiful images, commenting on a huge range of topics, and it has the ability to distract the most intelligent of people, but the business use of social networking using Facebook can be powerful. This is because businesses using Facebook can potentially connect and interact with a massive audience.

For those businesses new to using Facebook for social networking the struggle has been around what can they possibly "post" that potential customers find useful. It can be difficult at first to begin the habit of "Facebooking" but the business use of social networking begins with the ability to connect and socially interact with your market. To form a relationship, whether business or personal, is all about the getting to know you and like you factor, and bigger still the trust you factor.

Once you build a list of "friends" that like you and trust you they will share this information with others.

The business use of social networking and why use Facebook for your business is because it has the potential to:

• Raise your profile globally • Raise your social interaction globally • Raise interest in your brand globally • Raise the roof!

When you use Facebook you can use your profile to highlight who you are and what you do so you can engage and interact with the right people. When you use Facebook to socially interact globally you can gauge what is happening in the market place by listening via comments to what your customers are posting. This enables you to predict what is happening in your market place far more effectively.

The business use of social networking will raise interest in your brand globally through daily communication. If you can spend 30 minutes every day learning about your market and posting information that is useful to them they will get to know you and your brand better. Better still, read all the comments available so you can make some serious connections.

Relationships are built on trust. The business use of social networking will help develop these relationships and help earn trust and therefore help you grow your business. Once you can teach your market something new, watch your credibility take off.

Social Networking - What Are the Advantages and Disadvantages?   Cost to Advertise on Facebook - You Might Find This Interesting   How To Combine Dental Recruitment With Facebook Style Networking   LinkedIn: An Effective Tool for Finding a Job   

Role Of Facebook In Social Media Marketing

Facebook would be probably the very first thing that comes up in your mind when you want to make friends or just want to know what they are thinking about. Undeniably, Facebook has become the most viral social media site in the world. For over 8 years, this site has turned out to be an international phenomenon in the virtual world with millions of followers and members. Facebook started as a hobby project of Mark Zuckerberg during his college days in Harvard University. Surprisingly, the site rapidly became a well-known social networking site in the whole world today, and now is the number one social networking site for the past few years.

Social media networks and social media marketing have a common target. That is, to generate audiences from different traffic sources. Social Media Marketing (SMM) is a generating tool that website owners use to get their customers' awareness regarding on a certain business or product. It is also a way of telling others that. "Hey! Our business is on!". It is an internet marketing that helps a certain site to deliver information to the whole world about what your business can offer and what your business can do.

Social media sites such as Facebook became a popular place to introduce your company and products which may able you and your team to create a bond among other people who shares the same interests of your business.

Facebook can create a long narrow bridge to you and your business with other people who do not have any idea about your site or what you do and what you can offers.

This site also makes you visible and creates a more open and connected relationships to your prospect customers. This enables you to be readily available and easy to communicate with others, especially those who have same mission like yours - to gain traffic on the web and to gain much of the attention of the members.

Facebook also allows you to spend time interacting with your customer. It gives you a chance to introduce and show your real personality to your clients.

Amazing isn't it? All these features make Facebook a very powerful tool and place to get millions of attentions from its members. But, the most important thing to remember is that, you might gain some audiences and customers attention through Facebook, just make it sure that you are consistently providing them with quality products and services.

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How to Repair a User's Privacy on the Social Networks

Many people believe that they can repair their social media privacy. However, this is not true because once privacy is gone, it is not coming back. A person has revealed too much information about themselves and it exists on a file on some hard drive on the internet. Even if the person succeeds in taking the information offline, it still exists in the minds of the people who have already seen the information.

The best way to repair a social media program is to take care of the program before it becomes a problem. This means that a social media user must plan every step that they take before they take it. Not only does this save relationships with other users, it also helps the social network user keep the privacy that they should keep. The information that a social network user tries to keep private is very valuable to other companies, therefore, a social media user must keep this information off the network as much as humanly possible. This is because every little bit of information released on the social network is used to make sales funnels that are specifically designed for the kind of person that user is at that present time.

If a person cannot repair their social media, then the next thing to do is to start a new profile. Starting a new profile will not erase the privacy that was lost on the last profile, but it will allow the user to have some privacy that was lost. This will not fix a situation where a person has experienced identity theft. However, it will let a user start over with a profile that has less targeted ads on the page. The only down side to this action is that the user will have to re-invite all their clients and contacts to their profile and these people may not all know that the new profile is the old user. Therefore, not all the clients and contacts will return to the user. This could be a problem for any future relationships that the user was trying to develop.

In the end, there is no good way to regain the privacy that a person has lost on the social networks. The only thing a person can do is manage how much privacy they will have in the future. This one action could change everything, however, because businesses come and go and the information may disappear. However, until that point, it is smart for a user of the social networks to manage their posts and updates with care. These posts and updates release information about a user and a user should never say anything that they do not feel comfortable with the rest of the world knowing. Therefore, the best way to manage a social networking profile is be careful how the user uses the system in the future.

No matter how a user tries to fix a social media privacy problem, they will always have a problem because people cannot un-see a post or update. Therefore, it is smart for a social network user to plan ahead and make sure they know how to use the system. The plan gives them everything they need to fix the problem before it becomes a problem. Therefore, the time that a user spends on making a plan for using the social network privately is time that is well spent.

Social Networking - What Are the Advantages and Disadvantages?   Cost to Advertise on Facebook - You Might Find This Interesting   How To Combine Dental Recruitment With Facebook Style Networking   How Social Networking For Business Can Build A Team Atmosphere   LinkedIn: An Effective Tool for Finding a Job   The Type of Person That Social Media Privacy Is Best for in Every Situation   

Use Facebook In Business Marketing

Facebook has now gained importance even in the business world as entrepreneurs have discovered that it is a powerful tool to market their business. With a growing number of users worldwide, Facebook has become the IT place for marketing efforts. If you have several fans in your page, your catchy campaign can go viral in no time. And the best thing about it is that you will not need to spend a lot to attract viewers as your campaign can spread like wildfire, with the help of your fans, of course.

But how can you use a Facebook fanpage for your business?

Facebook has paid advertising; you can use that, or benefit from their site without paying a dime. The first thing you need is to create a page. Facebook timeline has actually made that easier. Timeline, if you are not yet familiar with it, is the new profile view of the Facebook account, including fanpages.

You can customize the timeline fanpages, but with certain limitations. If you have seen some pages, you will notice that all have similar sections. There is the cover, the profile picture, information (about), application and the actual timeline. If you want your page to stand out, it is essential that you pay attention to the things that can set it apart. This includes the cover, the profile picture and the information about the company.

The cover should be appealing. It is important that the cover represents your business well because this is the first thing that your visitors will see. If they like what they see, they will like your fanpage. If they do not, then they will just ignore it. Do not underestimate your profile picture too. Bear in mind that this is the image your fans will see when you post something. Try to make it fun or intriguing, something that would entice others to check out your page. Finally, fill out the needed information in the about section. If you are just starting, it would be best to give your fans the essential information about your business; its name, contact details, location and such. For the more established company, they prefer to write a simple yet compelling welcome statement.

Use your page wisely:

One of the magic of the Facebook timeline fanpage is that its fans can grow in numbers even with little effort exerted. But such growth will not last for long if the page remains idle. Make your presence felt by becoming active. Post updates, ask how your fans are or say something about your upcoming activities. You should also spend some time interacting with your fans. Facebook users will surely appreciate personal interaction rather than computer generated replies.

A Facebook fanpage can be a great tool for your marketing efforts. Find a way to make it most effective. Take your time when setting it up and take the necessary steps to attract more fans. Customization is a key to the success of your page. However, it is your personal interaction with your fans that will keep them interested.

Social Networking - What Are the Advantages and Disadvantages?   Cost to Advertise on Facebook - You Might Find This Interesting   How To Combine Dental Recruitment With Facebook Style Networking   How Social Networking For Business Can Build A Team Atmosphere   LinkedIn: An Effective Tool for Finding a Job   The Type of Person That Social Media Privacy Is Best for in Every Situation   

How Social Media Can Help Your Job Search

In the last five or so years, social networking has become the main way we communicate these days.

It helps to have a well established network not only for personal fun, but for professional purposes as well. Your connections can not only speak for you as references, but they can also be your "in" when it comes to getting the job you want. So how can social media help your search? As a former HR rep and project manager with hiring experience who used social media to hire stellar talent, I can tell you what to watch out for from experience and what I look at when hiring online.

Your social network, whether we realize it or not, says a lot about you. Its what draws like-minded people to each other. Even with the less obvious sites like Facebook or Pintrest, where you display your likes proudly for the world to see, who you follow says a lot about your interests when people search for you and land on your page. The "don't judge a book by its cover" rule, simply doesn't exist in social media. Be careful what you post on your pages as companies will be judging you by them.

What to Post: If you simply MUST post those pics of your friends at the bar last night, it may help to have a separate professional page and network. This way, you can post that embarrassing picture without getting you or your friends "in trouble" with their jobs and you will not be hurting your search. When job seekers look at your pages, they want to see your personality shine through. Re-posting your favorite celebrity's witty tweets are ok, as well as posting wit of your own, just don't over do it. You want to steer clear of that celeb or tweeter that always posts offensive comments as it is not professional behavior.

As you think of your professional "personality", it may be hard to decide if you should change any element of yourself or leave it out. Think of your professional sites as your preliminary interview. You want to show off as much relevant experience as you have, but you don't want to over do it. Most companies only require a minimum of 5 years experience in any field. Post the jobs you have had in the last 5 years that are the most relevant.

You can jazz up your social network any way you like. You can also hire a graphic designer to make your pages stand out, or use images edited from Photobucket. You can use Instagram to make your pictures stand out and give your network a more retro feel, do it any way you feel that best fits your personality. You want to stand out and catch the eye of potential jobs.

Networking the right way You don't want to look desperate by tweeting and updating your status constantly about the job. Letting your friends and followers know you applied and asking for references once or twice is quite enough. You want to show you know how to network properly. Any other way can be detrimental to your search. When you update your status to your professional, the best rule of thumb is to think "Will this get me fired if I had a job in the real world?" If you wouldn't say it on the job in real life, don't post it to your page.

Using social acronyms is best saved for personal sites. Even I have difficulty with knowing when its appropriate to send a message with a smiley face or an "LOL" at the end. I usually wait for my potential bosses or clients to set the mood of the conversation and follow suit. If they are more casual and use abbreviations and acronyms, then I adjust. If they are professional, then my conversation and demeanor is more professional. In my personal online circle of friends, I have learned that different cultures have different acronyms. If you are going to be working with someone from the UK and you are in the US, you may find you need someone to explain things to you anyway. Why add complicated acronyms on top of that? It is just not professional.

Your professional network will say a lot about you as a person. It is best to have a network for friends and a separate network for work-related and job searches. This way, anything you post can not be held against you.

Social Networking - What Are the Advantages and Disadvantages?   Cost to Advertise on Facebook - You Might Find This Interesting   How To Combine Dental Recruitment With Facebook Style Networking   LinkedIn: An Effective Tool for Finding a Job   

How to Add Instagram to Your YouTube Profile by Finding Your Instagram Profile Web Address or URL

Instagram is becoming ever more popular. Even to the point of being acquired by Facebook for $1 Billion. But how do you find your Instagram profile web address or URL? And how do you share your feeds with other people on the net? Not only that but how do you add your Instagram account to your YouTube profile? All that and more will be answered in this article.

Step A: Find the Custom URL Submission Form 1. Sign into YouTube. 2. Click and open the drop down menu in the upper right hand corner of the page where you see your username. 3. Click on "My Channel" 4. Locate the "About" section of your channel and click on "Edit" 5. Scroll down to the form that says:

Add a new link Title_______________ Custom URL________

6. Minimize this window for later use.

STEP B: How to Get Your Instagram URL or Web Address 1. Visit www[dot]Followgram[dot]me 2. Click in the upper right and corner where it says "Sign in via Instagram" 3. Type your Instagram username into the "Username" form field located on the Instagram page you were redirected to. 4. Type your Instagram password into the "Password" form field located on the same page. 5. Click on the "Login" button located on that same page. 6. Read the agreement terms before you authorize Followgram.me to gain access to your account but keep in mind that you will not be able to retrieve a Instagram web address or URL until you accept their terms. It's like this with all the 3rd party Instagram apps since Instagram does not supply web addresses or URL's for their members. 7. Click on the "Yes" button. 8. Type your email address into the "Verify your account" form. 9. Click on the "Send" button.

STEP C: Confirm Your Followgram.me Account 1. Open a new internet window via FireFox, Chrome or Internet Explorer. 2. Sign into your email service E.g. Gmail, Yahoo Mail, Hotmail, etc. 3. Check your inbox for the confirmation email that Followgram.me sent you. - If you cannot find it check inside your spam folder since there is a really good chance it's in there. - If it's not in your inbox or spam folder, wait five to ten minutes for it to arrive. 4. Open the email sent from info[at]followgram[dot]me entitled "Confirm your followgram.me account" 5. Click on the link at the bottom of the email they sent you (e.g. [http]://followgram[dot]me/confirm/sda92u354ksfae934waewfrsdfj3 ) 6. You just created your very own Instagram web address / URL.

STEP D: How to Add Your Followgram.me Web Address / URL to Your YouTube Profile 1. If you finished the numbers outlined in STEP C it would have opened another window with the following web address / URL: [http]://followgram[dot]me/dashboard. 2. Look to the right hand side of the pop-up page you opened (the page that you opened after clicking on the confirmation link) and highlight your new custom web address / URL (e.g. [http]://followgram[dot]me/pinkiericegurl/ ). It's right below "Share your vanity page" and right above the "Tweet" button. 3. Press Ctrl + C or right click over the web address / URL showed in section two of this step (STEP D). 4. Minimize the Followgram.me internet window for later use. 5. Reopen the internet window you used to find your Custom URL Submission Form on YouTube showed in STEP A. 6. Click in the "Title" field in the "Add a new link" form found in STEP A then type in a title that is appropriate for your Instagram profile E.g. PinkieRiceGurl (Instagram). This title will be displayed on your YouTube Channel unless you remove it later. 7. Press Ctrl + V or right click in the "Title" field and select "Paste" 8. Click on the "Add" button. 9. Scroll up to the top of the page and click "Apply" just below the "Search Channel" field. 10. Congratulations! You now have a custom Instagram web address / URL displayed on your YouTube Channel! Feel free to share your new URL on Facebook, Twitter or via email.

Social Networking - What Are the Advantages and Disadvantages?   Cost to Advertise on Facebook - You Might Find This Interesting   How To Combine Dental Recruitment With Facebook Style Networking   How Social Networking For Business Can Build A Team Atmosphere   

Facebook Targeting by Age and Gender

I hesitated to even cover this topic in a post, because really, it's pretty self-explanatory: Facebook lets you target by age and gender. The End.

But after looking through my notes, I think I may be able to offer something of value on the topic after all. Here are a few tidbits you may not already know.

Birthday Targeting

Now, if you regularly advertise on Facebook, this won't come as news to you. But if you just googled 'Can I target someone on their birthday on Facebook', I have an answer for you:

Why YES, you can

When you create an ad, you have the choice to switch from Precise Interest Targeting to Broad Interest Targeting.

Switch to Broad Interest Targeting and you'll see an 'Events' option in the left-hand box. Once you click on that, you'll see 'Has birthday in < one week'.

If you select this option and you're running the ad for more than one day, it will deliver your ad to users in the days preceding their actual birthday (don't worry, they won't show your ad to users after their birthday).

If you're interested in trying out birthday targeting, why not offer a free treat or bonus to users around their birthday? Everyone loves being remembered on their birthday!

Exact Age Match or Broad Age Match?

Chances are you have an 'ideal client' in mind when you're writing your ads. Age targeting on Facebook lets you select the age range you want your ads served to. As long as your target market is between the ages of 13 and 64, Facebook lets you target them.

When you're creating your ad, you'll be given the option to check 'require exact age match' (by default, it uses a broad age match). Selecting exact age match means your ad is only delivered to those in the age range specified. Broad age match means the ad is delivered to those slightly outside the age range specified.

Generally speaking, I'd recommend using broad age match, as you are charged less for impressions outside your specified age range (can't beat cheap exposure!). Unless you have a really good reason to target a precise age, go with broad.

Gender Targeting

Online advertising is, generally speaking, pretty bad at gender-targeting.

It's rare in online advertising or search marketing to have the option to target by gender - Some keyword tools have, in the past, attempted to predict gender based on keyword choices, but this was always sketchy at best.

And you can, of course, attempt to target by gender by advertising exclusively on stereotypically 'male' or 'female' websites.

But of course, with Facebook, all things are possible.

As with many of their targeting features, Facebook pulls their information from the information users fill in when they complete their profile. As a user, you may balk at the fact that you're required to give any personal info at all. But as an advertiser, I bet you're pretty darn happy about it.

If the product or service you want to advertise is completely gender-neutral, you can still take advantage of gender targeting. Here's how:

Try creating a unique ad for men and for women, for the same offering. Keep in mind, in both tone and content, how men and women react to certain messages, images, features, and benefits. One size doesn't always fit all, so be smart and market to each gender in the way they can best receive your message.

Social Networking - What Are the Advantages and Disadvantages?   Cost to Advertise on Facebook - You Might Find This Interesting   How To Combine Dental Recruitment With Facebook Style Networking   How Social Networking For Business Can Build A Team Atmosphere   LinkedIn: An Effective Tool for Finding a Job   The Type of Person That Social Media Privacy Is Best for in Every Situation   

How to Use Facebook in Your Business

Facebook during office hours should never intertwine. But that is a thing of the past. Today, entrepreneurs found a better way of utilizing Facebook instead of blocking them from their offices. They have discovered that a custom Facebook fanpage will help improve their online visibility and marketing efforts.

If you have not noticed it yet, the site has become an essential tool for many businesses whether their market is online or not. This is because of the growing number of Facebook users. This is where the consumers are spending most of their time and business owners want to capture their interest y interacting with them using the best online tool.

Here are ways your fanpage can help your business:

1. It serves as a marketing portal for your business.

Facebook is a great marketing tool if you use it properly. Imagine the number of people who are using the site daily. Encouraging these users to view and like your page can greatly help improve your network. This is why you have to design your page carefully. You can follow the steps provided by Facebook or ask a social media management team to handle it for you.

2. This is one of the most convenient ways to disseminate information.

Information dissemination is one of the most challenging things to do. This is where Facebook is useful. If you have an important announcement to make, the users can easily broadcast it for you. Your subscribers will learn about this right away. They can share the information on their wall and their friends will most likely do the same. In minutes, people will learn about your important announcement. But for this to be effective, you need to increase your network. The more fans your page has, the easier it is to circulate the information.

3. It helps you address customer concerns immediately.

You can improve your customer service department through your timeline fanpage. You can assign personnel to handle the customer concerns that were channeled through the page. A fast and direct response can help ease an irate consumer in most cases. If their concerns were answered and handled well, they will stop complaining. In fact, they will be thankful with your prompt response. Immediate actions will surely make a difference.

4. Through Facebook, you can communicate with your consumers directly.

Fanpages are interactive, you can post something on your timeline and people can react to it. You can respond to their reactions right away. This simple exchange can help build a bond between you and your consumers or fans. A more personal relationship with them will help improve consumer loyalty.

5. The site can aid your knowledge of the current trends.

Facebook is a good source of information. Aside from the important news, you can also use the social media network to look at the trends in your industry. You may use this to study the demand of your market as well. You can also learn a few things about your competitors and compare what you are offering with theirs.

Facebook can be a powerful marketing tool. Learn how to use the timeline fanpage applications to your advantage. If you want, you can work with a team to manage your page for better results.

Social Networking - What Are the Advantages and Disadvantages?   Cost to Advertise on Facebook - You Might Find This Interesting   How To Combine Dental Recruitment With Facebook Style Networking   How Social Networking For Business Can Build A Team Atmosphere   LinkedIn: An Effective Tool for Finding a Job   The Type of Person That Social Media Privacy Is Best for in Every Situation   

Nine Simple Methods for Integrating Email Marketing With Social Media

According to Robin Neifield at ClickZ, the integration of an integrated email and social network campaign begins with customer acquisition.

Give your customers a compelling reason to join your list, states Neifield, through use of coupons, discounts, and or unique content. Attract new customers with sound bytes or snippets which can easily be shared, posted and liked. Keep social media users in mind with your newsletters and blogs. Many of the auto responders have applications which are easily integrated into your messages. Keep in mind the small screen of the mobile user by designing messages to fit easily on the screen by using single not double column messages. Remember that the mobile user does not use the precision of a mouse but her less precise finger, so use finger friendly large buttons and urls for mobile customers to open and click with ease. Keeping the less precise finger of the mobile user in mind, be sure to include plenty of white space between links so that your call to action will not be missed. Be absolutely certain to include the call to action early in your message so that the mobile customer does not need to scroll down. Avoid unnecessary images and content that will waste valuable small screen space. And last, keep in mind that marketing for the increasingly mobile device oriented consumer begins with a couple of statements from Lyris: First that the mobile medium is "in the moment", is on the go, and "always on" as opposed to the stationary mediums of desk and laptops which are heavily oriented toward lengthier presentations. We must understand that the attention span of the consumer declines at about the same rate as does the size of the screen on which he views his messages. Social Networking - What Are the Advantages and Disadvantages?   Cost to Advertise on Facebook - You Might Find This Interesting   How To Combine Dental Recruitment With Facebook Style Networking   How Social Networking For Business Can Build A Team Atmosphere   LinkedIn: An Effective Tool for Finding a Job   The Type of Person That Social Media Privacy Is Best for in Every Situation   

How to Improve Your Facebook Timeline Fanpage

You are now fully aware of the usefulness of Facebook to your business. In fact, you have recently upgraded your fanpage to the Facebook timeline fanpage. However, you are still not getting the visits you desire. Now, you are asking yourself what else you can do to make your page more engaging. Worry no more. Below are few helpful tips to help improve the performance of your fanpage.

1. Improve your cover and your profile picture (Avatar as some would call it). These are the first things that your visitors will see. These are also among the few things that you can really customize, so make sure that you make it count. Design and choose your cover and profile picture carefully to entice people to like your page.

2. Update your page regularly. You can either speak your mind about recent events, share some relevant links or videos, which went viral or just greet your fans and wish them to have a great day. Your page should not stay idle for long as your fans will easily forget about your page. Besides, if the fanpage did not have any activity, it will not attract visitors and your network will not grow.

3. Stress your marketing campaigns. This may be a form of contest, an announcement or other promotional efforts. You can highlight the update by clicking on the star button at the upper right corner of the newsfeed. This will enlarge the news and will draw more attention. You can also pin the update. When you pin an update, the post will remain on top of your page. You can also use its campaign photo as your cover, for the meantime.

4. Encourage your fans to visit your other social media account by providing a link in your page. You can ask them to follow you on twitter or connect with you in My Space. Link your Facebook fanpage with other social media to help you generate more fans.

5. Add links to other customized fanpages tab for specific purposes. You can have a page for those who want to sign up for newsletters and other relevant information. You may also have a page specifically for customer queries and complaints.

The new Facebook timeline fanpage provides business owners with a refreshing way to manage their fanpage. Although it may simple, it needs careful analysis and decision making as attracting fans is not easy. The fanpage administrator must continue to work on making its page engaging. To serve its purpose, there has to be a regular interaction with fans as well as potential clients and customers.

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Social Networking Sites - Harmless and Progressive or Harmful and Regressive?

Is it time to raise questions about a perfectly acceptable modern day form of communication? Am I about to raise uncomfortable perspectives that the masses would prefer not to consider?

I have formed these views following six months of visiting and reading from such sites. I also include the phenomena of e-mailing of which I have years of experience.

Clearly there is also a generational gap in understanding the benefits of social networking sites. I see the benefits it has brought my own daughter and son in their hectically busy and socially active lifestyles. But then I look back and see that people led exciting and fulfilling lives without the benefits of social networking sites.

In the days when we would put pen to paper the very fact of this action caused a presence of mind to dominate. We approached the act of communication with a deliberation and focus that pressing the send button does not require.

Do we actually hear much about the downside of social networking sites? Has any research been done to investigate how much depression sometimes resulting in suicides, is caused by inconsiderate words and ill thought out remarks that comes from the speed of computer drive communications? And in some cases deliberate insults. It takes less courage to speak off the cuff when faced with a non-human screen than it does in a face to face interaction.

I would like to think that the convenience and speed of such communications is actually teaching us to become mindful but somehow I doubt it. It is usually after a difficult and painful experience that such mindfulness arises.

I have in the past been guilty of firing off words from a state of emotional hurt and anger not thinking how my words would be received. And I learned to my cost that they did hurt, and caused a loss of trust that is taking years to overcome.

If we have not developed a strong sense of identity and are subject to low self-esteem or depression, reading about the successes, pleasures, friendships and happiness of others on social network sites, can actually compound our problems. You could also equally say that communicating our problems to others brings understanding and compassion and helps us see a different perspective that begins a healing process.

You see the problem is when we cannot see and "feel" the energy of the person to whom we are communicating there is a tendency to merely project our own mind-set with complete disregard of another's state of being.

One big advantage is there is less chance of keeping secrets anymore. As whistle-blower's sites prove and this can only be a good thing.

Certainly we will never return to living lives without these communications unless a catastrophic incident occurs that renders us technically bereft for a while. But maybe next time we are about to press the "send" button, we could stop and re-read what we have written and ask ourselves, "would I like to receive this?"

"Do onto others as you would have them do onto you?"

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Why Facebook Has Introduced The New Timeline

The New Facebook Timeline aims to create more engagement for small business pages.

It's now all about imagery - being able to capture the essence of what your Page is about in pictures and multimedia - because these are the items that have historically produced the most human interaction.

The dimensions of the images that you need: new cover image - 851 x 315 px; new profile image - 180x180 px; new app or thumbnail images - 111x74 px

Despite the concerns of small business owners, research has shown that the new Facebook Timelines for a selection of major brands are getting an average of 46% more engagement than the old style Pages. This figure rises to 65% for video and photos - termed interactive content.

There has been speculation that the reason for the change is that Facebook is trying to weed out those business owners who don't know how to use Facebook for Business properly.

Most will set up a fan page for one of four reasons - three of which will take a lot of effort and produce little reward:

1. To build a massive fan base; 2. To provide customer support and interaction; 3. To build a huge brand; 4. To build a list to sell my products to

The last one is the most important and most effective reason for having a Facebook business page.

The whole idea is to build a Timeline that will send potential customers to a custom tab that will generate leads by getting email addresses via an optin form.

Why Facebook Timeline for Business Pages Will Be More Effective Than The Old Style

It's all about story telling.

An example of effective advertising via a great story which has been bandied about recently is the effects of the film Top Gun which increased both the sales of Ray Ban sunglasses and the sign ups to become naval aviators. Just because two young guys had made them look cool.

John Carlton, the famous copywriter, said that the best advertising copy should have a star, a story and a solution.

If you know how to make your product the solution to someone's problem, the new Facebook timeline for business pages becomes much more powerful with its cascading comments and feature boxes.

The cover image is one large photo that encapsulates visually the mission and message behind your brand.

You can highlight important events in your business's history - milestones like the successes of customers who have used your product, the opening of a new store or launch of a new product. The arrival of new staff members, and the beginning of your brand.

All this is in chronological order and illustrated with images or videos and stretched across the page or pinned to the top to get noticed. People get a chance to see what your business is all about and how the company has grown. The idea is to create a powerful bond between your brand and its followers.

But the most important point is that each of these status updates should have a link back to the related page on your website or a dedicated Facebook custom tab designed to encourage people to sign up to your list.

So you can continue to market to them in the future.

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Social Networking Users With A Bad Experience Less Likely to Participate in Future Evolved Networks

Not long ago, I talked to a group of individuals who had been on the Internet since the very beginning. They had participated in forums, discussion groups, and all sorts of online communication. Back then, everything was quite civil, everyone was polite and sharing information. But just like the truckers in the old days using their CB radios were careful to watch their language, all that changes when a new breed of users comes forth. Today, you wouldn't want your kids to listen to CB radio because of all the bad language being used.

The Internet has become much the same, and if you participate online you'll notice that folks go out of their way to flame you, hurt your reputation, call you mean things, or generally trash anything you say, that they may or may not agree with. Because so many intellectuals were originally online and participated, they noticed the changes, and once those unfortunate changes came they left for higher ground and migrated to other forms of communication away from the malcontents which had taken it over.

In walks social networking and in the last five or six years it has grown by leaps and bounds with users numbering in the billions. That's an incredible number of humans, but humans suffice it to say, can be rather problematic in these types of situations. Often it seems like a free-for-all, and many of those who saw the degradation of this great communication device we call the Internet have chosen to shy away from social networks for this reason, can you really blame them?

An article titled; "Google Chief Betting Big on Social and Mobile - Internet giant focuses on new tools to improve the online experience and increase revenue without being evil" by Glenn Chapman, appeared in Industry Week on April 6, 2012.

Now then, obviously Google wants to remain viable for the vast number of individuals using the Internet, and therefore they have also entered the social networking game. Of course, it would be nice if they could uplift the image, bring the civility back, and return the Internet to what it was supposed to be; a place to exchange ideas, information, and bring people together. Some say social networks do this, however the level of conversation has dummied down the levels at which more intelligent and enlighten individuals would need to be coaxed back to participate.

Indeed, I would submit to you that therein lies the problem. Until we fix that, it's hard to say if more social networks are the answer. One would assume that increased competition would be good for the Internet, and might move things in the correct direction, although if a social networking site's job is to increase user base, chances are they will have to be pragmatic and allow at least some of that nonsense to propagate.

It would be nice if the less than intellectual conversations were corralled in such a way that those who might have been burned in the past would be willing to come back to play again. Otherwise, all we will have this incessant nonsense, big data, and an abundance sound and fury drowning out all the diamonds in the rough, and that would be a shame. Indeed I hope you will please consider all this and think on it.

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The Social (Butterfly) Network

With summer just around the corner, social networkers are buzzing with images and inspirations of the warm weather. As the temperature heats up, so does the integration of the social networking sites people are using.

New and almost seamless integrations of platforms like Instagram, Facebook, Tumblr and Pinterest are fueling style and beauty bloggers and followers alike.

The Socializing of our every day websites is making it even easier to share our outfits, tips, trends and sales. Social networking is also making it easier for Fashion and lifestyle brands to reach their customers, through mobile versions and linkings of our favorite networks. This is sending the fashion world into hyper-speed mode (as if it weren't fast enough) with instant updates on who is wearing what and how. Shoppers and dreamers can upload their outfits, beauty tips and shoe porn to an ever growing audience through multiple sites at once. Lookbook.nu has also integrated their sign in with that of Tumblr, Twitter and Facebook, like many other fashion oriented social networking sites. Easy and familiar access creates a fluid and personal online experience, prime audience for fashion and accessory retailers. The girl next-door can become an overnight it girl sensation based solely on "hype" gained through the website and its tributary links- and this can instantly affect the popularity and success of a product or brand.

New means of advertising are also abounding, with Tumblr finally freeing up advertising space and bringing back a paid feature section- utilizing a huge and previously untapped network of people. Facebook has been eschewing in a queue of business friendly apps, Branached out and payvment among them. While these may seem a bit like predecessors LinkedIn and Etsy, the Facebook infused interfaces may attract trusted users of Facebook who do not yet use other social, professional and marketing platforms. For those in the creative economy, this can be key to reaching your everyday customer and linking your retail, artistic, service or whatever you do- with familiar interfaces and friendly pictures links and content!

With students, celebrities and CEO's alike using sites like Pinterest and Instagram, a wealth of immediate and timely content is easily if not unavoidably available- from Rihanna's Instagram-ed party pics from Coachella to instantaneous political and courtroom updates via Twitter. The revolutionary part about all of these social linkings? Faster, easier and more in your face options for sharing and seeing on the internet.

For the fashion blogging crowd, this means your followers won't miss a beat, unless you want them to of course.

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Twitter Tip: Schedule Your Tweets

The best way to make a name for yourself on Twitter is to tweet regularly (with interesting information or links, of course). People who tweet at least a few times a day have a better shot at being noticed, being followed, being retweeted, and having their reputation improve.

Twitter can be linked up with many other sites where you'd create content. You can link it to Facebook, blogging platforms, LinkedIn, and others. Some of these sites even allow for automatic posting to Twitter. On the surface, this would seem to save you a lot of time. Rather than having to maintain multiple social networks, you can focus on one. Update once, and all of your networks are automatically updated.

As tempting as it may be, your best bet is to avoid automation. For one, the different social networks serve different purposes. A Facebook status update is not precisely the same as a tweet. If you're using Twitter to establish a reputation for a particular niche topic (as you should), then that's a different purpose than a personal Facebook page. Cross-posting can quickly become cross-contamination.

It's also better to create unique content. It's easy to post to one site and have it broadcast elsewhere, much like syndication works, but all it does is create duplicate content and associate you with automation. It will quickly become obvious that you're posting to several social networks just to gain exposure and not to actually interact with each one.

So what can you do to streamline your Twitter feed without being available throughout the day and without resorting to automation? The answer is simple: you schedule your tweets.

Several websites allow you to link up with Twitter and schedule tweets. I use a site called Buffer. Scheduling allows you to create original tweets and set them up to post at certain times. For instance, I have my Buffer account set up so that five tweets will post at specific times. I can change the times everyday, if I want, or I can target the same times.

I can simply create a day's worth of tweets before bed. I bookmark interesting pages and then queue up tweets with links to those pages, then forget about it. This setup ensures that my tweets are posted when I want them to post, regardless of what I'm doing at that moment. If I want a link to a blog post to be tweeted at 1:21 p.m., and I'm indisposed at that time, I can rest easy knowing that it still got on the feed.

This is just one simple way of making your life a little easier.

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