For Pac-Man 30th anniversary this weekend, Google is celebrating with a free online game embedded in its homepage logo.
The logo is a Pac-Man game. Alongside the “Google Search” button, today the site offers an “Insert Coin” button.
Click it once - you get Pac-Man. And added bonus - click it twice - you get Ms. Pac-Man for two players. Check it out!
Do you remember going to dance clubs? Hanging out at the corner or in the schoolyard with your friends? I mean, your real friends. These days you may never even meet your friends in-person. Times have changed. It is time to change with the times.
We rely on Social Media to help us connect with friends, grow business relationships big and small, and reach customers locally and globally. Social Media is your oyster.
There are many common forms of Social Media including:
• Concepts, slogans, and statements with a high memory retention quotient, that excites others to repeat.
• Grass-Roots direct action information dissemination such as public speaking, installations, performance, and demonstrations.
• Electronic media with ’sharing’, syndication, or search algorithm technologies (includes internet and mobile devices).
• Print media, designed to be re-distributed.
Doing your Social Media homework can be lots of fun. It may be as simple as going to your local library and signing up for free courses. You are likely already enjoying the benefits of Social Media on websites that have podcasts, videos via YouTube, sharing photographs via Flickr or Picasa, reading or writing blogs, checking in on events or reading social news via Digg or NowPublic. It is your turn to learn more about it. Check out this video Social Media in Plain English !
How do YOU like to socialize?
• Social Networking is widely known as Web 2.0. Connect you with your friends, people with similar interests, potential employers, and find more connections.
• Social Bookmarking sites allow you to organize your favorite sites, tag them for keywords, and keep them all in one place. However, what makes these sites social is the ability for you to share them with others.
• Social Recommendation sites create user generated recommendation sites. Sites like Digg, Netscape and StumbleUpon encourage users to submit items they like and then give others the opportunity to vote on them.
• Social Content sites are where users create and manage the content from photos to videos, information on a topic, and everything in between.
Got Social Media? Make the most of it.
It is a very simple process of adding multiple admins to your Facebook Fan Page. There is no limit on the number of admins your page can have; however, at the end of my steps, I’m going to give you a couple things to consider when it comes to admins on Facebook Fan Pages.
Here’s how to add multiple admins to your Facebook Fan Pages:
1) In order to add an admin, the person must first be a “fan” of your Facebook Fan Page. Make sure whomever you desire to be an admin, make sure they go ahead and become a fan by click the “Become a Fan” button at the top of your Fan Page.
2) Click “See All” link that is right above your list of fans. This is the link so that you can see all of your page’s fans.
3) Once your list of fans opens, you will then see the box called “Make Admin” to the right of each person’s name. Go through your list of fans and chose whom you’d like to be a page admin.
4) Once someone is a Facebook Fan Page Admin, they will be able to access the page, and make broadcast updates, implement changes to the page, and remove fans from the page.
A couple things to consider about having page admins:
This means that admins on a fan page can only interact as the fan page, not as their personal Facebook profile – meaning their personal profile image won’t show, only the Facebook Fan Page image.
> Facebook Fan Page Admins have the ability to remove fans from a page. So be careful in whom you chose to be an admin as they may be biased and remove fans causing you to have less of a viral marketing effect with your broadcast messages.
>Facebook Page Admins have the ability to make other fans admins as well. Again, be careful whom you chose considering that whoever is a Page Admin, could always make any other fan a page admin as well.
Do You…
* Want to learn step by step instructions on how to build a free website online with no design experience?
* Want to learn step by step instructions on how to attract more traffic to your website via SEO?
* Want to learn step by step instructions on how to create a successful facebook fan page to attract more business?
Who should attend?
* Start up business owners who can not afford the height prices of a custom web site design.
* Small business owners who have web site and want to attract more customers to their site.
* Unemployed or underemployed people who want to build a web presence to help them find a job.
What will I gain from this seminar?
* Step 1: Step by step instructions on how to build a free web site on line.
* Step 2: Step by step instructions on how to optimize your web site for maximum search engine results.
* Step 3: Step by Step instruction on how to set up a facebook fan page and promote your business to your customers.
Class Details
Date: May 26, 2010
Time: 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Location: Hilton Garden Inn, 420 Totten Pond Road, Waltham, Massachusetts, USA 02451
Cost: $199.00 (early booking special booked by Sunday April 25, 2010) April 25 - May 25 $249.00
Social Media continues to rise in popularity and is an important part of a business strategy today. Many companies have experienced growth as a result of utilizing social media outlets effectively. Many company’s ask why should I blog ? Why should we utilize Facebook ? Why Twitter?. The answer is very simple, the top 4 applications that are found via the search engine Google are :
1. Company Blog
2. Facebook
3. Twitter
4. Linkedin
5. You Tube
This is one of the many reasons why it is absolutely beneficial to take advantage of these networks.
The most important aspect of these media outlets is for companies to understand that EACH platform has a separate strategy. Is it a best practice for a company to update their blog, facebook and twitter with all of the same information ? The answer is NO. There must be a strategy in place for each platform. If a company shared the same information on each platform there would be no purpose for a client or customer to do visit a company’s Facebook Fan page and twitter and blog. With all the information being the same, there would be no call to action driving the reader to each of these locations. One thing we do want to get across is that you do want all the information to be relevent to each other. Have the same overall message but you want to differentiate.
The purpose of a company blog is similar to Facebook in terms of interaction. You want to develop and create a following, a readership in which your readers respond to your posts and become engaged in your topics. Many good and credible blogs are “Mommybloggers“, companies have hired them for : product trials, product feedback and just their overall opinion. These Mommybloggers have created great relationships and popular followings. They have build trust and are very credible within their spheres.
The purpose of Facebook is to become interactive with your clients or customers. Have them leave a testimonial on your Fan page. If you have a Fan page that is increasingly interactive with your clients or customers then you know you are doing a good job. You also want to make sure you are bringing in relevant content and information from outside sources. Using the Link button is the correct way to do this. It adds credibility to your page.
The purpose of Twitter is to provide 140 character information shout outs. It is also used find people within your sphere, follow them and learn from them and in turn they will follow you.
In a nut shell, the purpose of social media is to become interactive and share information with your potential clients and customers. Just remember that it is very important to develop a 30,60,90 day marketing plan for each platform. Yes, they are simple application to use, but also require time and a successful strategy.
The unemployed and under-employed are not just thinking outside but jumping outside the box to create a meaningful and financial viable future. If this describes you, you know it’s time to move your cheese and learn how to create your own web site. By taking control of your destiny, you will reduce your frustration from applying to non-existing positions that remain posted to an extremely competitive job market.
Being out of work brings emotional and financial stress but being out of work also allows you the opportunity to reassess, discover yourself, and direct how you can not only routinely seek work but create a future that is satisfying in accordance with your own talents and dreams.
No previous experience is necessary to start and to be successful in your creating your own web site. Consider–Where are you? Where do you want to be? Have an idea of what you actually want to accomplish and how you want your web site to look. Think of web site an extension of you—your ideas, your thoughts, your creation, you hope for a brighter future; this is your story. Promote yourself professionally with online resumes, join occupation groups, develop a business, link to meaningful, related sites, start a blog or comment on blogs that relate to your topic.
Create your own web site from A-Z. As a beginner and layperson, just take a step by step approach through the whole process. Here is a snapshot of what you need to learn. Read more details about The Essential Step-by-Step Guide to Making Your Own Website.
1. Get Your Domain Name
First, get yourself a domain name. A domain name is the name you want to give to your web site. You have to pay an annual fee to a registrar for the right to use that name. Think of registering a business name in the brick-and-mortar world; having that business name does not mean that you also have the shop premises to go with the name.
2. Choose a Web Host and Sign Up for an Account
A web host is a company that has many computers connected to the Internet. When you place your web pages on their computers, everyone in the world will be able to connect to it and view them. Sign up for an account with a web host so that your web site has a home.
3. Designing your Web Pages
Next, design the web site itself. Look at well-known, successful sites to probe your imagination as well as newly-created sites created by those attempting to move out of the unemployment sector to new horizons.
4. Testing Your Website
Test your web pages as you design them in the major browsers: Internet Explorer 8, Internet Explorer 7, Internet Explorer 6, the latest versions of Firefox, Opera, Safari and Chrome. These browsers are free which you can install.
5. Collecting Credit Card Information, Making Money
If you are selling products or services, you will need some way to collect credit card information. You should read up on how to accept credit cards on your website.
6. Getting Your Site Noticed
When your site is ready, you will need to submit your site to the search engines, particularly Google. Promoting your website is critical.
Take a deep breathe and create your future.
This past week Boston Web Creative had the pleasure of teaching the students at Boston University Center of Digital Imaging about PHP, Wordpress blogs and the importance of SEO and Social Media Strategies. It was great to see a class full of inspiring and very talented students eager to understand emerging social media and SEO strategies.
We often hear questions : As a company, how do I utilize Facebook, Twitter etc. Are they right for me at this time. The simple answer is YES. Now is the time. So many companies today have taken advantage of social networking and are benefiting from it. If you are one of those companies that haven’t, I would ask yourself why ? Just like domain names, there are only a certain amount of www.facebook.com/________ company names available and you as a person and a company. Make it yours, reserve it today!
Did you know that last month Facebook alone had more searches than Google ?? Is it a sign that the web is becoming more sociable than searchable ??
Social networking website Facebook has capped a year of phenomenal growth by overtaking Google’s popularity among US internet users, with industry data showing it has scored more visits on its home page. Facebook’s home page recorded 7.07 per cent of traffic and Google’s 7.03 per cent.
It is the first time that Facebook.com has enjoyed a weekly lead over Google.com. The lead may be slim, but it has become inevitable as Facebook’s popularity has grown rapidly from just over 2 % of visits a year ago.
Facebook’s membership has more than doubled in the past year, passing the 200 million mark last April and 400 million in February.
The true value of social networks and Facebook should be very clear to marketers today.
You want your website to ratchet up to the top of the search heap. Without question, it’s competitive and time-consuming. Be aware that an elevated search position may not help your sales if the language in your site is not relevant to your goal.
Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of improving the volume or quality of traffic to a web site from free search engines. When your site appears high in the search results list, the more visitors will click on your site. With the need to search for information in mere seconds, you’ve got to be on top of your game.
Sure, you can stay up to speed with recommended books on the topic.
Now, as you embark on your SEO, be realistic about your results, buckle up, and put on your thinking cap. Sit down with a cup of tea and take the time to understand your purpose, your constituents, your visitors, your buyers. How do they think, how do they click through information, what is their mindset? Knowing your visitor is essential and the keyword density checker is a tool that you can use to improve not just keyword density but keyword frequency, keyword prominence, and keyword proximity. Which keywords are relevant to your website and pages?
Keep it simple for the visitor. Have a clear purpose. Be sure each page has go-to links with your contact information. Have only useful links. Keep it easy on the eyes, graphically. These ideas and more gives your website the deserved marketing share that you are striving to achieve.
SEO can also refer to “search engine optimizers,” a term adopted by state-of-the art consultants who perform optimization projects for clients to enhance their search engine exposure. It takes understanding of the competition, a methodical approach, and tactics to get to a high ranking position.
Make SEO your priority and get started now ! If you don’t your consumers may change their minds and you will be behind the eight ball. Your website is one of the most important places where you want to be in the thick of traffic.
Below are some of the most common mistakes that businesses and people make when it comes to social media networking. Try to avoid all of these. 
1. Setting up a blog, Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter page and then not providing updates. Would you send out a blank newsletter to your customers ??
2. Thinking I understand social media and I can just do it myself. It may be more cost-effective or time-effective to delegate certain social media responsibilities to a company that specializes in it or for someone else to handle.
3. Forgetting that social media is about creating interaction with your clients or customers, not just about sending out information.
4. Clicking onto a site for “business” and then getting distracted by other information or friend updates.
5. Spending too much time on sites you enjoy and not fully evaluating whether that particular site is the most effective one for your time and efforts.
So many companies and products are reviewed online by opinions of their customers. Today, more than ever people are posting their personal opinions. They are posting them - Positive and Negative. Services like Yelp make it easy for people to review personal experiences of other customers. Yelp has shifted the way testimonials are viewed. They are right in front of you, at the click of a mouse. You can read whether or not a restaurant has excellent, good or bad service and the quality of their food. You can even get a full understanding of a restaurants atmosphere just by reading the reviews posted by other people that have been there.
If you are planning a vacation, Trip Advisor is a company that allows all reviews to be posted right on the site. If you want to understand what a hotel is like in Venice or if a hotel has a view of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, just click on Trip Advisor. They will let you know. They even reveal the date and time of the most recent posts so that you can see if it is out dated. I recently went on a trip to St. Thomas and I reviewed two hotels that I was debating on staying at. I ended up picking the Ritz Carlton based on reward points, etc. but my point here is that the reviews were right on target. They even instructed me which side of the hotel had the best view of the ocean, which side had be renovated and what restaurants where best to eat at off of the resort. It was a phenomenal experience and I am so grateful that I was able to read the reviews before hand.
So my point is here, for companies. Hug your customer- you may never know what review they might post.
