I use HootSuite Pro to help manage my social media profiles every day. Yes, every day!  This is an invaluable tool in my business.

Why is HootSuite Pro such an integral part of what I do?

1. Unbelievable Price Point – HootSuite Pro base accounts start at $9.99 and include one team member ($10 value), and one analytics pack ($50 value). This is a tool that doesn’t break the bank!
2. Unlimited Social Profiles – I can add as many Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google+ Pages as I like and access them all with a single login using HootSuite Pro. This is a tool that is convenient!
3. Unbeatable User Dashboard – I switch back and forth between all of the profiles I manage on HootSuite all of the time. It’s very straightforward how to select profiles to view and post from.  This is a tool that is easy to use!

HootSuite University is pretty fantastic, too! We all know that today’s social media landscape is rapidly changing.  The HootSuite University helps professionals to stay up to date through social media education and industry-recognized certification.

Right now, there’s a special on both of these great tools. Using the Coupon Code HOOTXA50 will get you 50% Off HootSuite Pro and HootSuite University for 60 Days!

REALLY, check out HootSuite Pro and HootSuite University.  The coupon is valid until June 30, 2013, so take this opportunity to get started with HootSuite Pro at 50% off.

I highly recommend HootSuite Pro and HootSuite University, and I gladly pay full-price for them because they are SO worth it! But why pay full-price if you don’t have to, right?

50% Off HootSuite Pro and HootSuite University for 60 Days

You can thank me later!

Disclosure Statement

IMPORTANT: None of this is my real information.

I keep seeing these funny little ‘Find your ______ Name” things on Facebook and blogs.  I honestly thought they were really cute… at first. Here are some examples.

1. Your SPY name (middle name and current street name): Autumn McMaster

2. Your MOVIE STAR name (grandmother on your dad’s side and your favourite candy): Joanne Snickers

3. Your RAP name (first initial of first name and first three or four letters of your last name): K-Pro

4. Your GAMER TAG (a favourite colour, a favourite animal): Turquoise Zebra

5. Your SOAP OPERA name (middle name, and city you were born in): Autumn Winnipeg

6. Your STAR WARS name (first three letters of your last name, last three letters of mother’s maiden name, first three letters of your pet’s name): Protonzip

7. Your JEDI name (middle name spelled backwards, your mom’s maiden name spelled backwards): Nmutua Notselgae

8. Your ROCK STAR name (first pet’s name, the street you grew up on): Zap Valley

9. Your SUPERHERO name: (“The”, your favourite colour and the automobile your dad drives): The Turquoise Charger

10. Your ACTION HERO name (first name of the main character in the last film you watched, last food you ate): Manny Apple

Those names are pretty funny – they were even funnier when I used my REAL information.

Even if you don’t know me, if this were my real information, there are things you can now figure out about me from this list:

First Initial: K
Middle Name: Autumn
First 3 letters of last name: Pro
Mother’s maiden name: Eagleston
Paternal grandmother’s first name: Joanne
Current Street: McMaster
City born in: Winnipeg
Pet’s name (first 3 letters): Zip
First pet’s name: Zap
The street I grew up on: Valley
My favorite color: Turquoise
My favorite candy: Snickers
One of my favorite animals: Zebra
The vehicle my dad drives: a (Dodge) Charger

Those look like a LOT of the answers to the security questions I have on many of my bank and credit card accounts (and other places…).

Take that a step further – if you personally know me, or see this on my Facebook Page through one of our mutual friends, you likely know my first name, where I currently live, and maybe even where I grew up.  Even more complete information!

This is a PERFECT “in” for identity theft! Or at least fraud of some kind! YIKES!!!

The first one of these I got by e-mail originally, with the instructions to change all the answers with my own information, and then forward my answers on to my friends.  I now know all that information about the friend who sent it to me (the info is safe with me!).  But what looks like a cute little fun ‘game’ can end up forwarding or publicly posting your potentially very useful information OUT THERE into cyberspace.

If you get one of these, or one like it, please don’t forward it, or post it on your blog/myspace/facebook/etc., with your real answers in it.  You might fill it out and see what kind of funny answers you get, but don’t share it.

Also, be wary of some of the other fun “About Me” e-mail forwards that you get from time to time.  Many of them really are just for fun, and contain nothing more than goofy information – but take a second look before you hit the send button to be sure you aren’t passing along important security information.

It’s all fun and games, until somebody’s identity get’s stolen.  Then it’s just plain criminal!

(updated from a post on my personal blog in November 2008!!!) image source: unknown (it’s everywhere on the internet, I can’t find the original creator…)

I just wanted to update you on the Facebook Page that got shut down that I told you about yesterday.

A bit more discussion regarding this specific page being shut down leads me to believe that the issue may be much bigger.

It appears that when Facebook starts clearing out what it has identified ‘fake’ or ‘spam’ accounts, if your page has been liked by many of those accounts, they may assume that you’ve obtained those LIKES by some underhanded method, even if YOU handled everything properly on your end.

For big contest bloggers, or for large-scale contest promotions, this could be a huge issue.

You don’t have to be on the internet very long to know that there are lots of spammers/trolls/etc who frequent contests, and those kinds of individuals don’t follow the rules – which puts your page at risk.  I can’t say that I feel very comfortable with that, myself.

The suggestion is that gaining LIKES through any connection to a contest may not be safe for your page.  Ultimately you can not control or verify the validity of every fan on your page, especially when large numbers come through contests.

I’ll have more to say on why I think Facebook cares about this later. But for now, I wanted to let you know some more about what I’ve discovered in this case. I don’t know that I’ll get it all figured out, but my goal is to discover the driving factors behind why these things happen, to help you to avoid having it happen to your own page/business.

image source: PreHub

Businesses with Facebook Pages and general users alike experience frustration when having to adjust their practices to meet Facebook guidelines, especially their Promotional Guidelines.  Specifically where contests are concerned for example – Facebook can be used to promote but not to conduct any kind of contest. This really bugs some people, and some business pages have been shut down for lack of compliance.

I’ve heard the argument that the guidelines are unfair, ridiculous, etc… Regardless of our opinion, we DO, in fact, agree to the Terms of Service.

If it was just about giving away stuff, that would be one thing. If it’s about non-compliance with Terms of Service that EVERY Page Administrator has to agree to when creating a page, and the terms which we ALL agree to when we sign up to use Facebook, then that’s a different thing. The Terms govern how the site is to be used, for our enjoyment, safety and privacy. It doesn’t matter if we like the rules – we are bound to the terms of the network we join.

I believe there are also some legal implications beyond Facebook guidelines. I’m not a lawyer, or a contest specialist, and I don’t know all the details about these things, but I do have enough experience to realize that there’s often more going on than what we see on the surface.

MANY of the contests I see on Facebook violate their own provincial and state laws, above and beyond “just” Facebook guidelines.  Businesses have different identity issues, and are prosecutable in different ways. SO, regardless of breaking Facebook guidelines, individuals and businesses operate under different legal restrictions, and their activities (including contests) are governed by the laws of the land they operate in.  From the Facebook Promotional Guidelines:

If you use Facebook to communicate about or administer a promotion (such as a contest or sweepstakes), you are responsible for the lawful operation of that promotion, including the official rules, offer terms and eligibility requirements (e.g., age and residency restrictions), and compliance with regulations governing the promotion and all prizes offered in connection with the promotion (e.g., registration and obtaining necessary regulatory approvals). Please note that compliance with these guidelines does not constitute the lawfulness of a promotion. Promotions are subject to many regulations and if you are not certain that your promotion complies with applicable law, please consult with an expert.

Legal mumbo jumbo maybe, but necessary for the protection of those who enter contests and participate in promotions!

Beyond that, Internet space is not as intangible as we like to think it is – it’s valuable real estate. There are potentially HIGH ad revenues in question with every web page out there. And, just like REAL estate property, when your neighbour is pulling stupid stunts because they feel like the rules don’t really need to apply to everyone, it hurts the whole neighbourhood (i.e., your property values all go down). And maybe it takes the authorities coming in and dealing with the bad neighbors (shutting down Facebook Pages).

I’ve shared before in my post Remember: We get to use Facebook for Free that as members of such a huge social network, we really do enjoy some amazing functionality.  Facebook is a FREE membership service providing a LOT of resources to us. I appreciate those services and resources, personally and professionally.

I do think it’s OK for Facebook to have their contest and promotional guidelines in place and to enforce them. I honestly believe that if we follow the guidelines, we have a much lower likelihood of having contests come back to bite us in the proverbial butt, with unhappy contestants who disagree with winner selection and possibly even bring legal action against us. I prefer to do my due diligence with preparation in advance, rather than having to cover my tracks later!

Not sure if your contest complies? Check out some Examples of Contests that Violate Facebook Terms.

Of course, mistakes happen on all sides, and I wish I could fix that. It’s not a perfect system by any stretch.

Again, I always say that it’s not my job to defend Facebook and the way they operate. It IS my job to understand the medium within which I do my business, and to know the rules as best as I can so I can help my clients to operate their businesses in accordance with the terms, and therefore under the protection of those terms as well.  Am I a rule follower? When it comes to my clients’ businesses, you bet I am!

We see many contests DAILY that violate Facebook Promotional Guidelines.

All of these examples, when posted directly on your Facebook Wall (as a status update, etc.), requiring Facebook’s functionality (likes for votes, comments for entries, etc.) constitute Direct (and improper) use of Facebook for contests:

• Enter to win (whatever prize) by answering this question in the comments:

• To Enter: ‘Like” MY Facebook Page, “Share” this image! and “Comment” telling us why you want to win!
• We’re giving away “whatever prize”.  1) Make sure you like (or are currently liking) our page.  2) SHARE this photo! Winner will be announced Friday at 5pm!
• Let us know who you think should win!  In a comment below, tell us who you think deserves to win! (Leave a little note about WHY they should win).  THEN come back and LIKE your favourite comment.  The comment that receives the most likes will be our winner!

I could do this all day! I see examples of ‘illegal’ contests all the time EVERY day.

Let these serve as a few examples of ways NOT to conduct contests on Facebook Pages. As I mention in my Facebook Pages DO get shut down – REALLY post, it’s very serious to mess with Facebook on their promotional guidelines.

“Officially”, we are all made aware of the terms when we sign up for Facebook, and every time a Page is created the administrator has to check the box, “I have read and agree to the terms of service”… which nobody ever really reads, LOL!

We’ve seen MANY examples of Pages being completely shut down with no prior warning or notice…. and often all the administrator accounts associated with the pages also completely locked out. That means that you LOSE access to all of your content and contacts, plus all the work that you’ve put into building the page and the community.

So, that’s where I’m coming from – I advise on what I know, because I NEVER want to see that happen to anyone I know. It is potentially devastating for your business. Also, I do think it’s OK for Facebook to have contest guidelines. But that’s for another post!

Have you seen these kinds of contests running on Facebook? What do you do when you see them?  (I mark them as spam!)

Does your Facebook Page gain “Likes” from contest entries?

There seems to be some grey area in Facebook’s promotional guidelines right now, and I would advise against using “Like us on Facebook” as an entry option for any of your contests anywhere.

I’m investigating the details, but today I have news of a page that only promoted giveaways (did not have giveaways happening directly on the Facebook page) and was shut down. I’m not at liberty to say which page, but I do have some details I can share.

Part of the correspondence from Facebook to the page administrator includes this explanation:

To address this issue, we have taken the steps necessary to remove these Likes or Subscriptions and have placed a permanent restriction on your page. This decision is final and cannot be appealed.

There is question about HOW the page received their Fans (the methods with which they found people and got people to LIKE their page). I’m pretty sure that the page only received LIKES by direct/organic growth and through giveaway entries, and has never paid for LIKES or subscription services (many of which you can find on the internet).

One of Facebook’s Promotional guidelines CLEARLY indicates that any use of Facebook’s functionality for the purpose of contest entries is strictly prohibited. Previously, I had understood the guideline to restrict that to things like:

• “Like this Photo” for an entry into the giveaway.
• “Share this Photo” for an entry into the giveaway.
• “Leave a comment here” (somewhere on Facebook) for an entry into the giveaway.
• “Upload your own photo directly to our Facebook Page” for an entry into the giveaway.
• etc.

But I also understood that the guideline allowed your fans an entry into your giveaway or contest if they just LIKED your page. I take that from the guideline itself (I’ve bolded the section I believe to apply):

iii.    You must not condition registration or entry upon the user taking any action using any Facebook features or functionality other than liking a Page, checking in to a Place, or connecting to your app. For example, you must not condition registration or entry upon the user liking a Wall post, or commenting or uploading a photo on a Wall.

(e.g., “Like my page on Facebook, then come back to my blog and tell me that you liked my page for an entry into this giveaway”).

Based on what has happened with this page, I am now unsure that even this is allowed.

(There ARE applications that allow for photo uploading, votes on photos, comments, etc… – but they are 3rd party applications hosted off of Facebook and only shown within a frame on Facebook.)

As I said before, I don’t have all the details, but I wanted to say it again – Facebook Pages DO get shut down, REALLY!  This Facebook page, that myself and many of my blogger friends know well, was shut down TODAY!

At the bottom of the Facebook Guidelines Page it DOES state:

We reserve the right to reject or remove Pages for any reason. These terms are subject to change at any time

In my professional opinion, it’s not worth the risk of losing all of the hard work you put into your Facebook page by doing contests/giveaways and promotions improperly. In this case, we’re not even sure what the real offense was, or how to go about proving the alleged offense to be false.

For the time being, I would advise against using Facebook as an entry into your off-site contests at all. I also continue to strongly advocate against using Facebook for contests DIRECTLY. (See my post Examples of Contests that Violate Facebook Terms.)

If you’re unsure, it’s always better to err on the side of caution. PLEASE don’t hesitate to contact me (Contact Off the Wall Social Media) if you have questions, and if I can’t help you, I do have a resource who I would consider to be an EXPERT on Fanpage Competitions.

I understand the frustration that Facebook can cause you and your business – my hope is to inform you of what I understand, not to defend Facebook and the way the operate.  We may not LIKE the rules, but we do have to function within the Facebook guidelines if we want to be able to keep using this medium, and not have our pages shut down.

Also, if you’re interested, I have shared a bit about Why I Think It’s OK for Facebook to Have Contest Guidelines.

Fore MORE info on this specific situation, please check out this UPDATE March 14 9:11am – Facebook LIKES From Contests May Be Bad for Your Page

Facebook has once again shuffled things up a bit for businesses using Pages.  That real estate at the top of our Timelines that we think belongs to our business really belongs to Facebook, and they have a new rule about how to use it.

I’m talking about the Facebook Cover Photo – that large banner-type image that spans across the top of our Timelines on our Facebook Pages.

Last year they rolled out the new Timeline, and we had to deal with their original Cover Photo Guidelines. Well, those guidelines still apply, with a new rule added as of January 15, 2013:

Timeline cover photos must not contain more than 20% text.

This rule also applies to images for ads within Facebook.

Here are a few links to articles that will help you to determine if your Cover Photo meets the 20% rule:

http://sproutsocial.com/insights/2013/02/facebook-cover-photo-policy/

http://www.business2community.com/facebook/new-2013-facebook-cover-rules-text-allowance-reduced-0378163
(This one has a great listing directly from Facebook about dimensions for text that would be less than 20%)

I’ve also pinned a full-size graphic from the last article that nicely illustrates what 20% text (in various formats) in a cover photo looks like:

http://pinterest.com/pin/211035932510972569/

I’m not too worried about the new rule, as I mentioned in my Facebook Status Update on January 13, 2013.  I think it’s going to be difficult to enforce, but I also can understand where Facebook is coming from. That’s prime advertising real estate!

Have you updated your Cover Photo to comply with the new rule? If you need help with that, we provide basic graphics services and can update this valuable image for you ASAP!

What do you think of the new 20% rule?

Twitter Workshop: Hands-on Basics & Business Best Practices

Date: Thursday, February 28, 2013
Time: 1:00pm until 4:00pm
Location: tecconnect
3582 30 St. North
Lethbridge, Alberta T1H 6Z4
Cost: $65 per person if registered before Monday, Feb 25 at 5pm;
$75 per person after Monday, Feb 25 at 5pm.

Register via Eventbrite: http://whogivesatweet.eventbrite.ca

Geared toward novice Twitter users, this workshop is designed to give you a solid understanding of how to begin to use Twitter more effectively for your business.

Topics:
  Why should I give a Tweet?
 What is a tweet?  -  Terminology
 How do I tweet?  -  Functionality
 What shouldn’t I tweet?  -  Etiquette
 Best Tweet Practices for Business

We’ll be looking at the both Web platform (twitter.com on computers) and also Mobile Apps (used on your smartphones or tablets).

Bring your laptop, smartphone, and/or tablets for real-time hands-on learning.

To make alternate payment arrangements, in advance, phone Jeff at 403-394-5603.

Those tiny pictures that show up beside every post in your News Feed are called Profile Thumbnails. Have you ever seen one that was completely out of focus, or was showing someone’s shoulder instead of their head? Did you know that you can adjust that thumbnail, both for your personal profile, and for your Facebook Page for your business? Here’s a quick How-To Edit Your Facebook Profile Thumbnail tutorial, with snapshots!

Here is an example of a badly placed Profile Thumbnail on Facebook:

In this case, the image isn’t awful – it just doesn’t look like I’d prefer for it to look. In some instances, because of the way the thumbnail image shows up, a poorly formatted thumbnail may actually obscure the branding meant to be shown in the image. For photos of people, an incorrectly placed thumbnail could be very unflattering or even inappropriate. Let’s fix that thumbnail placement to maximize the use of that valuable Facebook real estate.

1)  Go to your own profile or to your Facebook Page.

2)  Hover over anywhere on the profile photo (i.e., hold your mouse on the image, but don’t click). A little menu will pop out to the right that says “Edit Profile Picture”:

3)  Click “Edit Profile Picture” and a drop down menu will appear. Click “Edit Thumbnail”.

4)  From this new window, you can choose to uncheck the “Scale to fit” option box. This gives you the ability to drag the thumbnail around to fit it however you want it. Use your mouse to grab the image (click and hold) and drag it to whatever position you’d like it to be in. Drop it in pace by releasing the mouse button. NOTE: you can only move the image around – you can not change the orientation (i.e., you can not turn it sideways or upside down).

OR You can CHECK the “Sale to fit” option box and it will shrink the photo so that all of it fits inside the thumbnail area.

5)  After you’ve adjusted your image, click “Save” at the bottom right of the “Edit Thumbnail” window to save your changes.

Your new thumbnail image should populate throughout Facebook. (Sometimes this doesn’t happen right away. But you should see it showing up within 1/2 a day or so. If it doesn’t, repeat the process above.)

This edited image will show up most places around Facebook, including the News Feed and notifications. It will also show up on your own profile page (Timeline) or Facebook Page for your business as a better representation of you or your business.

 Again, in this case for illustration purposes with my own logo, it’s not a huge difference. But I much prefer to have more of my blue bricks showing up around the Off the Wall sign. So ‘scale to fit’ was the option I selected.

NOTES: Depending on the dimensions of your original Profile Image, you may find that dragging the image to show the most important parts in the thumbnail will work. Or you may prefer to shrink the image so that the whole thing fits in the thumbnail.

Also, the easiest images to manipulate into consistent thumbnail images are square. Most of the time a square profile image will allow you to use the FULL image in your thumbnail. That’s something to keep in mind when selecting your profile image, especially for business.

A simple thing like this – scaling or adjusting your Facebook Profile Thumbnail Image so that you’re showing your best ‘face’, so to speak – can go a long way toward brand recognition for your business, as well as providing consistent images for business and personal representation online.

Did you know you could change this little thumbnail image on Facebook?  Have you ever changed yours before?

Jump-Start is 3-month social media coaching program to get your business started with social media, while you and your staff are trained at the same time!

Month 1: “Get Ready”

• Watch and Learn
• Most content creation by Off the Wall
• Learn the process and rationale behind social media posts
• Engage with posts as much or as little as you like

Month 2: “Get Set”

• Hand in Hand
• Collaboration with Off the Wall to post updates and create conversations together
• Plan editorial calendars together
• Learn to coordinate with others
• Fine tune social media strategy together

Month 3: “GO!”

• Launch and Go!
• Start taking charge of your social media channels
• Planning your own calendars
• Learn how to measure what’s working and what’s not
• Full Support with Coaching Calls and Monitoring by Off the Wall
• Decide on course of action following JumpStart

All this for under $1000 per month! Contact us for full details.