Facebook is still the hottest (and most difficult) marketing game in town. These articles provide some strong how-tos and ideas to improve your presence and engage your fans.

Facebook 101 for Business: Your Complete Guide

You will find this article helpful, even if you are already using Facebook as a marketing tool. The first half covers how to adjust the privacy settings on your personal profile to prevent any questionable info getting out to your business contacts. I get asked this question all the time and this walks you through the process step-by-step. It is a must-read for anyone using Facebook for business.

8 Powerful Ways to Use Facebook Landing Tabs

I have been talking a lot lately (both in this blog and in person) about jazzing up your Facebook business page. Custom landing tabs are the absolute best way to make your page stand out and grab visitors’ attention. Read this article for ideas on using landing tabs in your Facebook business page.

The Inside Scoop on How Intel Manages Its Facebook Page

I was skeptical when I first started reading this article. Intel is such a large company that I wondered if anything that they did (with their giant budgets) would be realistic for more small business clients. The theme of the article is engagement and that is something that can be done with any budget. If you are having trouble engaging your fans (getting them to respond to you), then this article will give you some ideas on how to solve that problem.

In addition to social media, this week we cover two other powerful marketing tools—landing pages and events. The latter has a strong social media slant for those needing a fix but it should get you thinking outside of Twitter and Facebook marketing for at least a minute.

Landing Pages Are Your Secret Conversion Weapon

Landing pages are an interesting part of the marketing tool box. They have been done poorly for so long (think MLM and direct sales pages) that they are easy to dismiss as cheesy. On the other hand, a well-thought-out page may be just the thing to convert a looker to a buyer. I have recently advised several clients to add strategically created landing pages to their marketing tool box—should you add them too?

12 Ways to Market Your Event With Social Media

I have worked on two sides of the event marketing industry—as a part of the marketing team and also as a presenter. Getting the word out about your event to the right people is crucial for success. Social media presents us with a whole realm of possibilities and people to target. This article provides concrete suggestions on how to use social media to market your event. This is a must-read for event planners and business owners who host events.

7 Social Media Truths You Can Ignore and Still be Successful

If you are just starting out in social media or feel like your efforts are drifting, check out this article to learn what is important and what you can ignore.

This week we take a break from social media and online marketing articles and look at a couple of more generic business and marketing related topics.

Tips for Taking Better Photos

Laura Segall is a Phoenix, AZ wedding photographer who also happens to be a client and good friend of mine. She recently enlisted my help to choose a presentation topic for the local Association of Bridal Consultants (ABC) chapter. She had the brilliant idea of talking about how to take better photos—something any good bridal consultant (and self-marketing business owner for that matter) should know. This post is the written version of that presentation. It is a quick read full of helpful, practical, and most of all easy to follow tips. I often have clients who want to use their own photos in their marketing materials and most of them are just awful. If you are going to take your own photos, then you should absolutely read this article and follow Laura’s tips for improving them.

These Jobs Ain’t Coming Back

As the owner of small but growing business, I am seeing first hand how much small business contributes to our economy. A good friend of mine was recently laid off from her state job, which could have been devastating to her family except that I happened to be in need of a talented graphic designer. We started out working on a per-project contract basis, but if all goes according to plan she will be working full-time for me within a year. This article captures that concept and proposes that supporting small businesses is the way to get more jobs into the economy. I agree!

How To Talk To Small Business

Selling to the small business owner is very different than selling to a larger company. As this article discusses, small business owners are not spending someone elses money (they way a purchaser for a larger company is) but instead taking money from their own pocket and needs. When selling to a small business, you need to keep this difference in mind and tailor your approach.

In a previous series, we covered how to Optimize Your Business for Local Search. Creating a strong Google Business listing (using Google Places) is an important part of that process. We created this quick presentation, to show how to make the most of your Google Places Business listing. It is a short video and the process is pretty easy. The whole thing should take you less than an hour—happy optimizing!

This week’s roundup is a strange mix of marketing advice and how-tos. I am not going to say more than that…read on and judge for yourself.

Mundane Marketing Magic
This article caught my attention because I have recently been asked to bid on a re-branding project and have the topic on my mind. It is a good reminder because I get so caught up in the day-to-day tasks of running a business that I forget that everything I do is a reflection of my brand. When I am on a deadline I am more worried about getting stuff done, than how I am doing it reflects on my company. This article is a good reminder that everything we do in our business is marketing and should reflect your brand.

Hiring a Designer? Eight Things to Look For
If you are thinking about re-branding your business or simply creating a new marketing piece, changes are you will need the help of a graphic designer. Use this article to help you pick a good one!

4 Proven Steps to Facebook Page Success
As a nod to our two very successful Facebook Page workshops last week, this article will help you get started if you find yourself struggling with what to put on the page. It presents a simple formula and makes it easy to make a great Facebook Business Page.

3 Simple Ways to Re-purpose Your Blog Posts for More Exposure
If you are already blogging, then pat yourself on the back. Simply put, it is the easiest, quickest way to make your website a traffic magnet. This article gives you ideas of how you take those posts and give them legs—submitting posts to article directories (linking opportunity anyone?), creating an audio version, or share it with the world.

We had a great turn out at our Facebook Business Page workshop this week. During the workshop a question came up that we could not answer right away. Here it is now:

Q: How do I change the name (title) of my custom landing page (Boxes) tab?

A: You can edit the name of the tab in the application settings.

1. Click on the Edit Page link underneath your page logo.
2. Scroll down to the FBML application in the applications list.
3. Click the edit link underneath the Static FBML application.
4. Enter the your chosen name for tab in the Box Title field.
5. If you are adding code for a customized page, paste it in the FBML box below.
6. Click the button to save changes and you are done!

We also talked a bit of the changes and issues related to Facebook’s privacy settings. If you want to know exactly how you can make your profile secure check out the article 4 Simple Steps to Control Your Facebook Privacy on the Social Media Examiner blog.

If you have any follow up questions, just post a comment to this post and we will answer it for you. Good luck building your Facebook Business Page!

I have been hearing a lot about email marketing lately. The discussion centers on its effectiveness and whether social media has made it obsolete. I even remember reading somewhere (though I can’t remember where) that some consider a Facebook page the next generation of the email newsletter. Though I am still a little unclear about the effectiveness of email marketing, I did read a couple of articles last week that make a very strong argument for them. And with that in mind, I am also providing a link to a consultant that focuses solely on creating effective email newsletter and writes an (you guessed it) email newsletter on the topic.

• 3 Reasons Email is the Coolest Vampire Today
  A fun take on email marketing especially for those us with vampires already on the mind.

• Social Media Makes Email Even Stronger
  In this interview, Gail Goodman, Chairman and President of Constant Contact, makes a strong case for the inherent relationship between email marketing and social media.

• Blue Penguin E-Newsletter
  If you are thinking about starting an e-newsletter or how to make yours even better, sign up for Michael Katz’ e-newsletter. He has a wonderfully engaging writing style and his tips are always right on. I never miss an episode.

Preview the slides for our Create a Killer Facebook Page workshop. It is a great visual to compliment our blog series Create a Killer Facebook Page.

I met Laird Brown over a year ago and have enjoyed getting to know him and his Phoenix, AZ photography business. As a savvy and cost conscious small business owner, Laird has created a lot of his marketing collateral himself. I will tell the truth here—I normally turn my nose up at self-made marketing materials especially websites. Most of the time they look very templated and have very poor content.

Laird’s website is absolutely the exception. It is not a super sophisticated design but it looks nice (and not at all templated) and more importantly the content is completely optimized to the needs of his consumer. You can tell from his website that he totally gets his client, knows what they want, and has made it easy to find.  Check out Laird’s website below or at smallbusinessphoto.com along with a few of my points on what makes this website so strong

1)    URL and Title: Tells visitors exactly what types of photos he does, not weddings or fine art, but small business. If you own a small business and need photos, then you know you are in the right place.

2)    Navigation: Laird has kept the site simple, addressing the main questions up front:

Why YOU should be in your marketing? Who he is? How to contact him?

3)    Portfolio: This is the best part of this website and probably the most important. Of course, prospects want to see his work to know how good he is. They do not (and will not) spend hours trolling through his site looking through hundred of photos. The mistake most photographers make is to include too many images on their website. They want to include everything in the hopes of appealing to everyone. All this does is bore and chase off potential clients by overwhelming them.

Instead of the typical scattershot approach, Laird has focused his portfolio into four main categories and given them meaningful titles. They tell a visitor how they might use photography in their business beyond the typical boring headshots: Showing the People Who Make Your Business a Success, Presenting your Facilities, and Product Pride. Each gallery features only five to ten of Laird’s best pieces—enough to give them an idea of his ability, but not so much that they get bored.

I am not advocating that you all run out and dump your web designer or marketing agency and build your website yourself. It is a lot of work and you do need to have a very thourough understanding of your client base. My point here is that it is not impossible to get a good handle on your client’s needs and how effective a marketing piece can be when it is built with the client in mind. Great work Laird!

(Disclaimer: Though Laird was not a client when I conceived of this post he has since hired me to update his logo and business ID.)

This week’s round up is a mixed bag with social media as a loose theme. Here are four articles that you might have missed last week:

Facebook Community Pages: What Your Business Needs to Know

Everything you need to know about Facebook’s new community pages and how they could affect your business presence. I recommend that anyone who uses Facebook for business should read this article. These community pages have some interesting quirks that could make life difficult for business marketers on Facebook.

4 Detective Tricks to Find Your Customers in Social Media

This article has perfect timing—I had just been asked about where “customers” hung out online. The short answer is “it depends.” This article will tell you all you need to know to find out where your customers are hanging out.

5 Ways to Get More From Local Search

Local search has been a topic that I have been talking a lot about lately. I promise it will be the “hot” SEO thing that everyone is talking about in six months. So why not get a head of the pack and start optimizing your business for local search now?

How to Create a Custom Twitter Background Design

I get asked about Twitter backgrounds a lot. Here is a simple tutorial on how to create your own.