But don’t think you’re done with Facebook yet – not even close. You may not realize it, but the folks at Facebook want to help your business – they want you and your customers to use Facebook more. To this end, Facebook has been working hard creating (mostly) free tools and new capabilities enabling you to do more than ever with Facebook marketing.

Here are some of the more advanced Facebook online marketing tools and tactics you should consider:

Facebook Graph Tagging – Frequently referred to as “SEO for Facebook,” graph tagging allows you to add special keywords to the source code of your website (called META tags) which are designed solely to allow your page to “talk” with Facebook – letting it know what your website and its content is about.  Theoretically, this will help your Facebook page come up more frequently when users search for a product or service on Facebook instead of a search engine. It also allows users on Facebook to see richer content about your company when users Like your page, as some of these data fields are included in their Like posting – another way for you to get an edge over competition. One note – to enable Graph Tagging you must add a Like button to your site’s page(s) to enable this functionality.

More Info: http://developers.facebook.com/docs/opengraph/

Facebook Insights – often called the “Google Analytics for Facebook,” Facebook Insights lets you glean information about what visitors to your Facebook page are – or aren’t – doing. Admittedly the reviews of this Facebook analytics tool have been mixed to date, but there are certainly some valuable nuggets of information one can learn about their Facebook page’s performance and content offerings with Facebook Insights. Taken a step further, you can use Facebook Insights to “claim” your website’s domain by adding a unique Facebook verification META tag to your site’s homepage. Please note – your page must have at least 30 Facebook Likes for Facebook Insights to be enabled.

More Info: http://developers.facebook.com/docs/insights/

Facebook Live Stream – one of Facebook’s more innovative offerings, Live Stream lets you borrow Facebook’s technology to let users share comments and content live (aka real-time). This can be a great feature for a major event – online sales, grand opening, contest, game and so on. Just set a date and time, email your customers and invite and host a live event on your own site – 100% free of charge!

More Info: http://developers.facebook.com/docs/reference/plugins/live-stream/

Facebook Brand Tagging – another feature that has caused some controversy, Facebook brand tagging refers to users, hopefully your customers, “tag” – or cite – your product, service or company name in the images they upload. This information then appears virally on their friends’ walls, potentially providing a lot of free publicity. Although Brand Tagging was initially seen as a tool for large, national brands, there is evidence I works as well – if not better  for small or local business too. One reason if a fan of a small business employs tagging (ie: “enjoying a Crème Brule at Jack’s Bistro”) it seems authentic to everyone else, while for well-known brands it often smacks of corporate sponsorship, the antithesis of good social marketing.

Facebook Storefronts – Also known as “F-commerce,” the jury is still out on adding actual online shopping capabilities to your Facebook page. Many experts believe that Facebook users use the platform to socialize and communicate – not to shop. Others will tell you F-commerce is the “next big thing” and you’d be crazy not to do it. If you already sell online or would like to start, a Facebook storefront may be worth a try. Many experts recommend giving your customers a reason to shop on Facebook, such as a sale or exclusive item. Two popular, relatively painless Facebook commerce solutions to check out are  Shop Tab and Payvment. These services were not actually launched by Facebook itself,  but Facebook certainly endorses the idea of shopping on their platform. Take a look!

All of us at ConceptLocal Online Marketing hope you will make the time to dig a little deeper into what Facebook can do for your business. As always, we’re here to help.

1. Login to your Google+ account. Don’t have a Google+ Account? Ask me for an invite.
2. Go to your profile page by clicking on your name and look at the address bar at the top of your browser. You will see a string of numbers after “http://plus.google.com/” – this is your Google+ Profile ID.

My profile url is showing https://plus.google.com/105901687327922956640/posts which means that my Google+ profile ID is 105901687327922956640.

That’s it, you now know your Google+ profile ID!

If you found this post helpful, please share it.

When writing, distributing and promoting your press release online, planning search engine optimization (SEO) and social media distribution is key. Here are some tips, websites and ideas to help your next press release make an impact online.

Keyword Research, Links and Press Release

1. Research keywords and keyword phrases to identify which keywords will give your release the best exposure. You can do this using Google’s free keyword research tool and by performing your own searches. Look at the results that come up – does your announcement fit with the results? Refine your keywords to match what your audience is looking for. Think: If I searched for [insert keyword] would I want to read this release?
2. Select 3-4 primary keywords for the release. Use your keyword and phrases in the headline, sub-head and first paragraph. Remember, good writing is important. Be sure that your keywords are inserted in such a way that the copy flows and the reader is engaged.
3. Pay careful attention to your links. Link your keyword phrases, do not link jargon or general phrases like “click here”. Search engine’s make assumptions about your content based on linked terms. DO THIS: “Company XYZ, a social media marketing company…” INSTEAD OF “Company XYZ, a social media marketing company “
4. Link to deep relevant pages in the site, not the homepage. Give your readers more information and help them learn more about your company. The homepage is too general. Link to a blog post, a product page, company fact sheet etc.
5. Track how many people click and monitor your release’s impact. If you are using Google Analytics, try the URL Builder. Learn how to create trackable links with Google.

Posting Press Releases on a Website

1. Optimize the webpage title, description and header tags to communicate the press release content effectively in search results.
2. If you are posting a PDF, optimize the PDF Document Properties — Title, Author, Subject, and Keywords.
3. Post your releases on a blog platform with RSS capabilities to give the media and others a simple way to subscribe and stay up to date automatically
4. Request Google to add your site as a news source

Boost Distribution with Social Media

1. Create and distribute a social media press release for use by bloggers and various social media outlets.
2. Bookmark releases using social book marking services such as Diigo, Del.icio.us, Digg, Friendfeed, Newsvine or similar services and tag them with keywords. And, when your release is picked up by other news sources, be sure to bookmark those pages as well.
3. Write a blog post and Twitter post version of the announcement and include a link to the press release.

Distributions Channels
Each of the site listed below can help you further distribute your release throughout the web. There are many free services available.

• http://www.prweb.com
• http://www.prleap.com
• http://i-newswire.com
• http://www.webwire.com
• http://www.pressbox.co.uk
• http://www.24-7pressrelease.com
• http://www.clickpress.com
• http://www.przoom.com
• http://www.pr.com
• http://www.marketwire.com
• http://www.prnewswire.com
• http://www.businesswire.com

News search engines:

• Yahoo News/Blog Search
• Google News
• MSNBC Newsbot
• Topix

Blog search engines:

• Technorati.com
• Google Blog Search
• Findory
• Feedster

Tag based engines:

• del.icio.us
• gada.be

Gina discussed the challenges of owning and operating a business in Lindenhurst Long Island and explained how Concept Local helps businesses use search engine optimization,  social media, blogs and professional web design to attract and retain customers.

“Money & Main$treet” on Verizon FiOS1 Long Island, offers an insightful look at the business and financial issues on Long Island. Hosted by Carrie Lee, each 30-minute show originates from a “Main Street” in a town on Long Island and takes a practical and in-depth look at the business of Long Island.

Watch the full interview.

Of course you have a lot to do and, as a small business owner, the last thing you want to do is create even more to do, or, even worse, take time away from revenue-generating activities.

With this in mind, how does Social Media Marketing fit in for the small business owner? As an agency specializing in social media for numerous clients – some of whom are quite small and working on small budgets – here’s a bit of what we’ve learned:

Don’t try to master, or even use, every Social Marketing tool available:

Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, personal Blogs, etc, etc. One could spend every day just building out and adding to every Social Media outlet that’s available. And, make no mistake:  more are coming out all the time. But in truth it’s better to use one, or possibly two, Social Media tools well, instead of merely establishing a presence on everything that’s out there.

So which tool should you use? Well, that’s not something I can answer here in a blog post, as the answer depends on three questions:

1)   your primary objective

2)   your type of business (aka your target audience)

3)   the resources you have at your disposal

Don’t look at Social Media as simply more work to get done:

Businesses who use Social Media well create what we call authentic connections. If you’re just rushing through a blog post, tweet or Facebook page update like you might check off any to-do, you’re more than likely wasting your time. When it comes to Social Media, you are essentially having a conversation. Would you rush through a real-life conversation with a good friend just because you have a lot to do? The same is true here – what you post, in whatever social medium – needs to come from the heart.

By engaging in your Social Media outlets, your customers are giving you their time – the most precious commodity to any of us. If you try to cut corners they’ll know it, and your attempts will never grow, spread or succeed.

The best users of Social Media don’t treat is as just another task. Instead, they weave it into their already existing life: you can use a laptop, smart phone or iPad to post essentially anywhere at anytime, whether at work or at home (or perhaps on the beach). Engage with your followers whenever inspiration strikes you, not on a rigorous schedule! That said, it is important to post with some regular consistency, be it daily, a few times a week or even monthly.

Consider outsourcing basic Social Marketing within your company or to a Social Marketing agency

Like any of us you’re busy. Beyond that, it’s essential that you focus on your core competencies to succeed. With this in mind, is there someone else in your company who might assume the actual work or managing your social media program?

Do you have an intern, college-level employee, stockperson, busboy or someone in a similar entry-level position? Or perhaps you have a daughter or son working with you now? Well, trust me, anyone between 18 and 30 is already adept at using Facebook. And many are conversant in with Twitter and blogging as well.

With this in mind, perhaps this individual can assume the Social Marketing production role in your company. This is a sought-after skill in today’s job market, which anyone would be happy to add to a resume. In addition, you could offer them a stipend – or include this work in hourly pay – for their services rendered.

Just remember, they are now a voice for your organization, and this will require your oversight, just as you’d review any printed piece or promotional material or your company website.

Of course, if you want to ensure a 100% polished approached, your Social Media is best left to a Social Media marketing agency, like Concept: Local, who are adept at making you stand out and succeed in cluttered online spaces. Small business Social Marketing specialists typically offer service which start at just a few hundred dollars a month.

Set goals and have realistic expectations

Like anything else of real value, when it comes to Social Media Marketing, you will get out of it what you put into it. If you launch a basic Facebook page or just start a Twitter feed don’t expect your phone to suddenly start ringing off the hook.

The truth about Social Media Marketing is that it is an investment in future growth and longevity. You need to attract followers, and engage and re-engage them. You need to devise content of some value, disseminate it, and then let the word spread. Unfortunately, this is a fact that many other agencies just quickly glaze over.

However you go with your Social Media Marketing program, the team at Concept Local is always here for you, and we wish you much success and the best of luck!

The following is a select group of solid performers that I am confident will help you set up your online business in no time so you can start realizing your dreams.  They were selected based on my personal experience using them for both myself and my clients, and their ability to meet 3 basic requirements:

1. It’s easy to set up, understand and use.
2. It integrates into the current platform or system.
3. It requires little to no technical expertise to manage and master.

After all, the goal of any online business once it’s set up, is to provide a framework from which you can communicate and sell independent of your time or location. And the way to achieve that is to use tool that simplify the process so you can do what you do best… run your business!

Open your Business Today – Get Started Here

1. Domains & Hosting: GoDaddy. GoDaddy also offers seamless Wordpress integration and outstanding customer support.
2. Website & Blog Platform: WordPress.
3. WordPress Theme: Thesis. A powerful framework that is simple to use, provides airtight SEO, and flexible design. You just customize the design and add content!
4. Ecommerce Platform: Shopify.
5. Credit Card Processing: PayPal.
6. Mobile Credit Card Processing: Square Up.
7. Email Platform: MailChimp or AWeber. Add an email sign up to your website.
8. Web-based File Storage & Sharing: Dropbox or Files Anywhere.
9. Sales delivery platform: Clearslide.
10. Online form creation: Formsite.

3 Tools to Take WordPress to New Heights

1. Content Analysis: Scribe SEO: After you have written a blog post, use Scribe SEO to analyze the natural, reader-focused content, and find out how to gently tweak it based on 15 SEO best practices.
2. Ecommerce: WP e-Commerce. See more here.
3. Social Sharing: Tweetmeme, Facebook Share, Linkedin Share

Develop Content Customers Want: SEO Tools to Make Your Eyes Pop & Spark Inspiration.

1. Find what people are searching for and decide how you’ll fit in using the Google Keyword Tool and Keyword Discovery.
2. Rank & Learn from the Competition with SEO BOOK: An outstanding SEO resource and tool box. Sign up for a free SEO BOOK account to get 3 SEO tools that will change how you do at SEO. RankChecker, SEO Toolbar, and SEO for Firefox.

8 Blogs to Feed Creativity & Occassionally Blow Your Mind.

1. Chris Brogan: The man, the myth, the legend.
2. Think Traffic: Learn how to get more traffic and build a thriving audience for your website or blog.
3. Outspoken Media: Fresh, engaging and informative SEO commentary.
4. Social Fresh: Social media training and events targeted for marketers.
5. Brand Savant: Research, Data and insights about social media consumer usage, behaviors and attitudes.
6. Pushing Social: Practical blogging tips for serious bloggers.
7. Social Media Examiner: Information on how to use social media tools like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn to find leads, increase sales.
8. Social Mouths: Be entertained, informed and inspired to be successful.

Help Make this List Even Better: Share Your Online Business Secret Weapons!

Tell us what tools you use to support your online business and why you think they’re the best… do they save you time? Offer your customers extreme value? I’d also like to know which tools would you never use again and why? Post a comment below.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

StartupNation.com Honors Nation’s Leading Moms in Business

ContestCause Wins Top Honors in Mom Business Competition

Lindenhurst, New York – April 28, 2011 – From among contestants across the United States, ContestCause (www.contestcause.com) has been ranked 87 in StartupNation.com’s 2011 Leading Moms in Business competition (www.startupnation.com/leading-moms-in-business).

Millions of votes have been cast in the annual competition, and this year’s flurry of popular support of the 2011 contestants was no exception. America has once again demonstrated its immense interest and supportiveness for moms building businesses as they also tend to their families.

“With startup rates at an all-time high, these leading moms are leading the pack in startup rates,” says Rich Sloan, chief startupologist and co-founder of StartupNation. “They’re going after their business opportunities and developing their innovative products and services with fervor,” Sloan adds.

“We are thrilled to be named as a winner among such fantastic Mom startups,” says Gina Kearney, proud Mom, CEO and Co-Founder of ContestCause. “At ContestCause we are determined to bring old-fashioned, door-to-door, fundraising into the Internet era and help students and adults use the Internet to achieve their fundraising goals.”

Some key features of ContestCause that resulted in its high ranking and among the panel and voters included:

• It’s new, innovate and fresh take on group fundraising.
• The ability for anyone to set up a custom design contest – for free!
• It’s ease of use and end-to-end fundraiser management – they manage the contest, produce the t-shirts and ship direct to supporters.
• Their commitment – ContestCause gives one third of all sales right back to the fundraiser.

The winner’s profile for ContestCause can be found at http://www.startupnation.com/leading-moms-in-business/contestant/10118/index.php.

The 2011 Leading Moms in Business ranking highlights some of the dominant trends, motivations and attributes among moms in business. They include:

• A great eye for providing attractive discounts, coupons, savings and value, all especially important to consumer moms of the recession era.
• A likelihood to come up with innovative products and solutions to address the challenging maze of motherhood. It’s an environment that demands resourcefulness.
• Conscience-driven business, where “doing well” is just fine, but the real rush comes from doing good.
• The attraction of being your own boss looms large for moms wanting to take control they just can’t find in a day job.
• Sustainable solutions and responsible business practices are increasingly paramount.
• Making the most of social media for business benefit is seemingly a birthright for the socially adept moms.

The full results of the 2011 Leading Moms in Business ranking are available on StartupNation’s website at http://www.startupnation.com/leading-moms-in-business/.

To learn more about ContestCause visit the website at www.contestcause.com.

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About StartupNation

StartupNation (www.startupnation.com) provides over 200,000 pages of business advice and networking for entrepreneurs and serves millions of entrepreneurs annually. StartupNation is a free service founded by entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs with the intention of providing a one-stop shop for entrepreneurial success, including blogs from a host of experts, podcasts, webcasts, eBooks such as Start Your Own Mom Business (www.startupnation.com/mom-business), award-winning step-by-step advice, and more.

StartupNation co-founders, Rich Sloan and Jeff Sloan, are two of the country’s leading small business experts. The Sloan brothers speak frequently at entrepreneurial forums and recently hosted a Public Television special helping people transform their passions into business opportunities. They are authors of StartupNation: Open for Business, published by Doubleday. The Sloan brothers are regularly quoted and featured in media such as The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Fortune Small Business, Entrepreneur Magazine, CNN, CNBC, MSNBC, FOX News and many others.

It’s a very easy way to recommend and essentially bookmark content online by storing your +1′s in your Google Profile. But, seeing my profile picture in Google search results, throughout the Google network and next to ads – on any website (!) – seems well, odd.

Disagree and want to give it a try?
Enroll in the Google +1 Experiment to see a small blue +1 button next to search results, ads, and a variety of other content across the web. Click the +1 button to make your mark and add the content to your Google profile where you can also add and remove your 1′s.

What do you think of Google +1?

A new Harris Interactive survey concluded that when a company addresses negative reviews and feedback directly, the customer often deletes the negative review and often becomes a brand advocate!

The Harris survey tracked customers who posted negative feedback during the Holiday shopping season. The survey found that 68% of customers that left negative reviews got a response from the company, and 18% of those people ended up becoming loyal customers.

The survey also showed that of the 68% of customers who received a response, 34% deleted the negative review and 33% then posted a positive review of the company. See additional findings.

How to Handle Customer Complaints in Social Media

1. Take a breath, then prepare your response. Read the comment and try to understand the customer’s particular situation. Do not get defensive and fire off a public reply. Try to remember the adage, “the customer is always right” (even if they aren’t), and prepare a well thought out response – you only get one chance at this!

1. Check for accuracy. Review the comments and identify anything that may be misleading to others who are reading the posts. Do not allow misinformation to spread about your company.

1. Reach out. Send the unhappy customer an email or direct message to discuss the situation and see how you can be assistance. And remember, be polite, positive and respectful – this will go a long way.

1. Post a public reply. Apologize directly to the customer for their unhappiness. Address their complaint and any inaccurate information, and provide details on how you will work with them to remedy the situation.

1. Post a public follow-up. Once you have worked with the unhappy customer and come to an understanding, post a follow-up detailing the exchange. identify the steps your company took to address the situation and the result. Be sure to provide a contact number or email for anyone else experiencing the same issue so they can contact you before they decide to post negative comments.

It is important to remember that your company’s perception in the mind of current – and new – customers can be greatly impacted based on how negative comments and unhappy customers are handled in social media. They are watching how you respond and forming opinions and future buying decisions.

Therefore, it is critical that when a customer complaint is posted online, whether it’s on a website or social media platform, that it is addressed as soon as possible, in a direct, respectful manner and with a commitment to solving – or at least lessening – the customer complaint.

If done correctly, your company will have a unique opportunity to show its commitment to its customers and dedication to keeping them happy – a surefire win for online brand advocacy and customer growth.

I recently came across this illustration and although it first struck me as very funny, I found myself wondering about just how much of our lives we crowd-source due to technology.

Just once I’d like to see a “thought about buying” or “didn’t even realized existed” category of products to move our crowd-sourced society to break out into the moment, see something for the first time and understand how fresh thinking, spawns fresh experience and new avenues for growth.

The next time you shop online, throw a new, thought-provoking item in your cart – it just might turn into something wonderful.