The So Delicious Dairy Free social media team apparently just found out it’s not OK to download someone’s photo and use it as their own. Oops. Yes, even in this age of social media, copyright counts.

Wednesday morning, So Delicious, the makers of popular nondairy milk alternatives, posted a cute picture of a yawning dog having coffee poured for it. A shot of one of the company’s nondairy creamers was superimposed onto the picture, as if it were sitting on the table.

The thing is, So Delicious didn’t take that photo. Theron Humphrey did. He’s a professional photographer who posts pictures of his dog, Maddie, regularly on Facebook. And Maddie has fans—11,693 of them at last count. Uh-oh.

An hour after So Delicious posted their infringement, Humphrey called them out and prompted fans “to leave a friendly message on So Delicious’s Facebook and Twitter asking them to make a $10,000 donation to a worthy animal rescue.” Soon, So Delicious’s Facebook wall was hopping with reprimands and suggestions for where to donate the money.

About 20 minutes later, So Delicious posted this update:

So Delicious isn’t the first to get into hot water over copyright infringement on social media, and they won’t be the last. But I don’t want my clients to be caught up in such a fiasco. So I’m planning a post about copyright infringement in this modern era—what’s copyrighted and what’s not, how to safely share Facebook and Pinterest photos, and where to find pictures to use without fear of reprisal. To get notified when that post is up, subscribe to the blog to the right.

Do you have any questions about copyright and social media that you’d like me to address?

Update: How do you deal with such a mistake? Let it fade away or put it smack dab in the spotlight yourself? So Delicious chose the latter and has launched a Facebook poll of sorts. “Over the next 24 hours, we are encouraging our fans to post photos to our wall of their favorite adopted furry friends, and let us know which organization, shelter, or rescue you would like to see us make this donation to and why.” Two hours later, they have about 150 comments. No such thing as bad publicity?

Can I say that? I think so. I’m not sure. Will it offend someone? Will it offend someone else if I don’t?

The political correctness of the holiday business language is … muddled. Commercials feature decked-out evergreens sheltering green-and-red presents. Holly leaves and Santa hats dance across marketing materials. Yet there’s nary a “Merry Christmas” to be heard. It seems it’s OK to show Christmas. It’s just not OK to say it.

Or is it?

If a client asked my opinion, I’d probably say go for it, depending on the audience. It may feel like a risk, but it’s one I think can pay off. The all-encompassing “happy holidays” leaves a bah humbug taste with many people. When a business directly acknowledges Christmas, those folks notice.

A blog post at Forbes.com from last year about this very topic backs me up. “The faithful are tired of being marginalized into a generic land of political correctness, and they are becoming more and more vocal about it,” it says. Businesses have responded, according to the post—many incorporating Christmas into their marketing again.

Of course, you know your audience. If you focus on the Deep South, for example (where I’m originally from), “Merry Christmas” is a good bet. For certain other areas of the country, you may want to think harder about the decision. Overall, in a 2012 Rasmussen Reports poll, 68 percent of respondents preferred “Merry Christmas” on store signs. Another option is to say, “Merry Christmas and happy Hanukkah.”

I work with clients all over the United States. I know the faith of some, not of others. My Christmas cards often say “happy holidays.” But I also enjoy it when I know I can write “Merry Christmas” because it makes people feel good to see their cherished holiday acknowledged.

That’s a big part of what marketing’s about—making people feel good about your brand. And that’s what Christmas is about, isn’t it? Marketing?

With a wink and a nod … have a merry Christmas, a happy Hanukkah or just a nice December all around.

Leigh Ann Otte is a freelance writer who specializes in high-end, SEO friendly Web writing—mainly about health, aging and long-term care. Much of her writing has a marketing or public relations component, and she often provides related consultations for clients.

P.S. Here’s some stuff I’ve been up to lately:

• Newspaper column: “Fairbanks Hospital Creating Virtual Flu Barrier for Patients,” Fairbanks Memorial Hospital (where, by the way, the record low for Christmas Day is minus 56).
• Voice-over script and recording: “Preferred Care at Home’s Senior Resource Panel.” (At the link, scroll down for the video.)
• Web copy: “Dispelling the Confusion About Home Care,” Preferred Care at Home.
• Editing and marketing work: TheSurvivalDoctor.com (whose traffic has boomed so much that it requires a dedicated server—this just over a year after launching).
• Blogging: PreferHome.com (in-home care) and OurParents.com (long-term care).

by Leigh Ann Otte

I think I’m going to start marketing myself as a best-selling editor. What do you think?

You see, I just so happen to have edited two new e-books that recently topped Amazon.com best-seller lists. I also helped develop their online marketing campaign.

I mean, I guess the author, Dr. James Hubbard (my dad) deserves some credit. But really, it’s all about the editor. Right?

OK, maybe I’ll rethink.

In the meantime, here are five projects I’ve had my hands in lately, along with a little tip for each, in case you’re planning something similar.

1. Best-selling e-books.

When they went on sale last month, The Survival Doctor’s Guide e-books quickly became top-10 Amazon best-sellers in the “Safety and First Aid” category—which includes print books. I edited them and helped create their online marketing campaign. (See the sales page here.) Now, almost a month later, they’re still top-five Kindle best-sellers in that category.

Tip: Create a buildup in your marketing campaign. Make your fans anticipate your book’s release with excitement. After all, if it’s a good product, it is exciting!

2. Blogs.

Interested in long-term care? Well, then, my blog posts for OurParents.com and PreferHome.com are right up your alley. Even industry insiders read the first one! The second is particularly good for people who care for their elderly parents.

Tip: If you’re doing a news blog, you don’t have to jump on every popular story. (Did you see the popcorn-butter-could-cause-Alzheimer’s frenzy?) Think about what’s worth your readers’ time. Or provide a counterpoint to that popular story.

3. Press releases.

I wrote one for the e-books and two for the national home-care franchise Preferred Care at Home (about Medicare benefits and their annual convention).

Tip: In today’s press releases, write for three audiences: journalists, online readers and search engines. Tricky? Yes. Doable? Yes.

4. Voiceover.

I have a background in acting, so I do voiceovers too—like the one I wrote and recorded this month for a home-care client that will be online soon.

Tip: Read your scripts out loud. Revise according to how they flow off the tongue and to the ear. (Hat tip to Dr. Patricia Raymond. When I was writing radio scripts for her, she basically told me, “If it trips you up, it’ll trip me up.”)

5. Websites.

I’m editing a website and a blog. I’ve also added more article samples to my own website. These are from SeniorCare.com:

• “5 Memory Activities for People With Alzheimer’s”
• “Memory Exercises to Prevent Alzheimer’s: 5 Ideas You Haven’t Heard”
• “Assisted Living”
• “Evaluation Checklist for Assisted Living Facilities”

Tip: Forget formalities. Write for a friend. Use conjunctions (“he’s,” not “he is”). Be approachable. Have someone read your work before you publish it.

I hope you have a wonderful rest of the summer. As always, contact me anytime at la [at] lawordsmith.com to chat about how I can help you stand out from the online crowd.

P.S. Here’s a little media praise for those books I edited, which are by James Hubbard, M.D., M.P.H.:

“You will not find any complicated medical jargon:  Both are easy to read and understand, non-alarming and very informative. … [T]hey are well worth the price.”
—Bernie Carr, The Apartment Prepper’s Blog

“One of the things that I really enjoyed about the book is that it was very easy to read; it was very approachable.”
—Aaron Frankel, Urban Survival Podcast

“Fantastic stuff and super easy to understand with his explanation. These books only cost a few dollars, and you should go out and buy them both now.”
—Rudy Kearny, Preparing your Family

About Leigh Ann

Leigh Ann Otte is a freelance writer who helps businesses stand out online. She writes high-quality Web content that draws in consumers. Her niches include long-term care, aging and health. She’s happy to discuss how how she can help improve your online presence. Contact her at la [at] lawordsmith.com.

Here’s one version of the rumor that’s making the rounds. The good news is, if you’ve already shared it, there’s an easy remedy.

Facebook is now requiring page owners (us) to pay to have their status updates read by every subscriber. If we don’t, status updates only show up in less than 10% of newsfeeds, even though you have “liked” the page indicating you want to see posts from this page. However, there is a way around it. Hover over the button on this page where it says “Like” and then make sure you are check marked to “show in news feed”. It’s free! And, you won’t miss updates from our page. Do it to all of the pages you’ve “liked.”

The truth: Last year, Facebook started showing fans fewer page posts. The less fans interacted with a page, the fewer updates they saw from it. Last week—surprise, surprise—Facebook announced that pages can now pay to promote their posts. Pick a post from the last three days, pay a fee, and it’ll show up in all your fans’ news feeds.

The problem: That rumor update above claims that if fans just check “show in news feed,” they’re home free. But that’s not true.

1. If fans are reading the post in their news feed, the “show in news feed” option is obviously already checked.
2. As far as I can tell, it’s the default option anyway.
3. Checking that option does NOT make all of a page’s posts show up. Telling fans it does makes them think they’re getting all your updates and may lull them into not doing what really works.

What to Tell Your Facebook Fans

Here’s what does work:

1. Strategy one: Fans need to continually interact with your page. They can like, comment, share, click links, etc. Here are some ideas to get them to want to.
2. Strategy two: Fans can now make interest lists that feature all the posts from whatever pages and profiles are included. For example, fans of The Survival Doctor (a page I consult on) could make a health or survivalist list. To see all the updates from those pages, they could just click on that list.

If your fans do these two things, they really are home free.

Leigh Ann Otte is a freelance writer and an expert in writing for the Internet. Her specialties include health, long-term care and aging issues.

But this ugly turn of events has prompted some businesses to get creative—and made for some lively pages. Sure, there are the typical go-to like-me posts: inspirational quotes, customer testimonials, article links, discount offers. Nothing wrong with those. But there are also more interesting ways to inspire engagement.

Here are my top-10 tips for new ways to engage your Facebook fans.

10. Ask for advice. People love sharing advice, so ask for it! It doesn’t have to be for you personally; it could be for your fans. For example, the Editorial Freelancers Association posted, “Tell us how you make working alone work for you without feeling too cut off from the outside world.”

9. Teach your language. Do your readers struggle with your industry’s jargon? Post definitions they’ll appreciate. China Highlights even teaches useful Chinese phrases on its page.

8. Inspire creativity. Sprinkles Cupcakes asked fans which flavor described their personality and offered up a giveaway of a dozen cupcakes as an enticement. Who could resist? The update received 840 comments, 587 likes and 30 shares (with over 351,000 fans). From other companies, I’ve also seen creativity-inspiring posts that asked fans to caption a picture. Granted, these challenges are more involved than I’d normally recommend; they require fans to work at an answer. But they can make for fun giveaway challenges, and you can go simpler for an everyday post.

7. Go blank. Fill-in-the-blank posts are easy and fun for fans. Here’s an example from Savoring Your Sixties: “FILL IN THE BLANK: Today I’m feeling good about ___________.”

6. Pander to the CCD (cutesie common denominator). Go on, post a cute picture. You don’t need a reason. On tax day, Zappos posted one of a puppy licking a turtle. “Forget taxes, we declare today Cute Puppy Day,” they said. “Flood Facebook with cute puppies!” They got 480 likes and 47 shares (of about 245,000 fans).

5. Make an inside joke. Have special fans? Make ‘em feel that way. Post things they’ll uniquely relate to, like The Introvert Entrepreneur’s picture of a fortune that reads, “For people who like peace and quiet: a phoneless cord.”

4. Promote through interaction. When Panda Express was promoting its new Peppercorn Shrimp, it could have just told people it was good. Instead, it got the fans themselves to say why the dish was tasty, with a poll that asked, “What’s your favorite ingredient in Panda Express’ new Peppercorn Shrimp?”

3. Make ‘em cheer. What do your fans love, besides you? Entertainment Weekly tapped into its fans’ passions by posting brief breaking-news updates when cult-favorite television shows were renewed.

2. Engage their brains. Merriam-Webster doesn’t just define terms, it challenges its words-loving audience to use them, like with this simple Mother’s Day post: “How would you describe your mom, in a single word?”

1. Go local. If you’re targeting fans in a certain region, you have a ton of options. Just take your camera for a spin. For most of its posts, Fisher Honda Kia, in Colorado, forgets about cars and engages its audience in local fashion—like this post challenging fans to name the springtime flowers pictured.

Bonus tip: Pit your fans against each other! I’m halfway kidding. But in a just-for-fun poll this month, The Survival Doctor (my dad’s blog, which I consult on) asked fans to vote on two photos by liking whichever they preferred to illustrate a certain post. Altogether, the photos got 44 likes. (The Survival Doctor had about 1,460 fans when the poll was posted.)

After all these ideas, I do have one “don’t” recommendation: Don’t ask fans to like your posts just to show support. At least don’t do it too often. It may inspire some likes, but it’ll also inspire some eye rolls if overdone—maybe even, after a while, some unfans or hides. And wouldn’t that just be a bummer after all this?

Leigh Ann Otte is a freelance writer and an expert in writing for the Internet. Her specialties include health, long-term care and aging issues.

The official date is March 4 (Sunday), but I say this fine subject deserves a whole weekend of hoopla. To kick things off, let’s go myth bustin’. I gotta warn you, though, this may be the start to a bad day. The thing is, I’m going to guess that most people believe at least some of these myths are true. So most people will soon be realizing they’ve been steadfastly sticking to rules they didn’t need to. But look at it this way: Your writing is now freee!

You can find a lot of grammar-myths lists, but my favorite is “Top Ten Grammar Myths” by Mignon Fogarty, a.k.a., Grammar Girl. Here’s my take on five common ones, which she includes:

1. Myth: You shouldn’t start a sentence with however, but or and.
   Fact: As long as you write a complete sentence, starting with a conjunction is A-OK.
2. Myth: You should never use passive voice. (Passive: “A ball was thrown.” Active: “A boy threw a ball.”)
   Fact: Passive voice isn’t wrong, and it’s even useful if you don’t know who did the action. Just don’t overuse it.
3. Myth: If someone asks, “How are you,” it’s incorrect to answer, “I’m good.”
   Fact: Not only is it correct, but Grammar Girl says some grammarians prefer it unless you’re talking about your health.
4. Myth: Splitting infinitives (to go, to see, to do) is a no-no.
   Fact: It’s perfectly OK to brazenly split. (See what I did there?)
5. Myth: Ending a sentence with a preposition is a no-no.
   Fact: To, at, in, up and all the other prepositions end sentences just fine, as long as they’re not redundant. (“Where are you going to?” is redundant.)

Grammar Girl’s post explains the facts in more detail and includes five additional myths you’ve probably heard. Are you taken aback, or did you already know all this?

Have a wonderful National Grammar Day weekend. Celebrate your writing freedom—now in more ways than one!

3 Quick Tips for Starting a Blog:

• If you’re looking for a customizable WordPress theme, consider Atahualpa, which he’s using. It has many options that are relatively easy to work with.
• Need ideas for your first few posts? Think of them as the base of a pyramid. Write about general topics that will be helpful to link back to later. My dad has written a few of these—for example, “Arteries Vs. Veins: How to Tell the Difference and Stop the Bleeding.” He links to it in other posts about wounds.
• Learn the art of the nut graf. It’s one little paragraph that can make the difference between readers zoning out and reading on with interest.

—

Leigh Ann Otte is a freelance writer and an expert in writing website articles. Her specialties include health, long-term care and aging issues. Contact her at la [at] lawordsmith [dot] com.

My posts have gotten more and more personal on that site—different from what I usually do for clients. It’s fun to incorporate life experiences every once in a while.

I had a client ask me this week about how personal blog posts should be. I may blog about that at some point. It was a good question. How personal are your posts?

—

Leigh Ann Otte is a freelance website-article writer and blogger. Her specialties include health, long-term care and aging issues. She’s a journalist at heart, a former magazine editor and, in her own mind, a famous actress with 10 miniature dogs all dressed in tutus.

But I would like to keep folks up-to-date on my latest writing projects, so I’m starting this little blog. I plan to post no more than once a week—maybe even once a month—because it’s more of a newsletter/blog meld.

So, if you’d like to hear from me periodically, please subscribe. (See the box to the right.) I’ll not bug you too much, and you might find some downright interesting articles to read in the meantime.