Miller Mosaic Social Media Marketing

How Much Common Sense Do You Need to Participate on Social Media?

Phyllis Zimbler Miller — Wed, 16 May 2012 06:36:16 +0000

The May 14th Wall Street Journal article “Facebook and Twitter Postings Cost CFO His Job” by Rachel Emma Silverman is a mind-blower:

Gene Morphis, chief financial officer of fashion retailer Francesca’s Holdings Corp., was fired because he “improperly communicated company information through social media.”

The article reported that his Twitter username is @theoldcfo and gave as an example of his tweets one that he tweeted on March 6: “Dinner w/Board tonite. Used to be fun. Now one must be on guard every second.”

As the saying goes, how dumb do you have to be? You are the CFO of a company, presumably trusted with the company’s funds, and you do not know enough not to tweet this?

The mistake by Morphis is not an example of not knowing the difference between private and personal. This is an example of not understanding what you do not disclose about your employer (or your business).

Social media should not be blamed for Morphis’ stupidity. That blame rests solely on Morphis’ own shoulders.

And while Morphis was appropriately fired, his stupidity should be a wake-up call for all of us to examine what we share on social media sites.

If you need help with knowing what not to share, here is the full-page warning posted at the beginning of all three books in my new series HOW TO SUCCEED IN HIGH SCHOOL, COLLEGE AND BEYOND:

WARNING – READ THIS RIGHT NOW TO SAVE YOURSELF FROM MAJOR MISTAKES

No matter what – NEVER, EVER, EVER put anything online that could damage your future.

And NEVER believe that privacy controls will protect you. Even if you think no one except yourself can see that nude picture of you, do NOT put it online.

While I am a huge advocate of effectively using social media for your goals in life, I also know that sharing inappropriate information, photos or videos can really hurt you.

In case you are unsure what could be harmful to your college applications or beyond – here is a partial list:

Photos or videos of yourself with beer, alcohol or controlled substances in your hands

Photos or videos of yourself in lewd (or no) clothing

Photos or videos of yourself making vulgar hand gestures

Comments or videos with R-rated swear words

Hurtful comments or videos about others

Photos and comments can live on the Internet forever even if you have deleted these. Please do NOT shoot yourself in the foot by putting inappropriate photos, videos or comments online.

While the above tweet by Morphis can probably be included in the “hurtful comments” category, we will create another one just for him:

Anything that you should know better than to say publicly about your company or your business

After all, how much common sense is required to know this?

Phyllis Zimbler Miller (@ZimblerMiller on Twitter and @ZimblerMiller on Pinterest) has an M.B.A. from The Wharton School and is the co-founder of the online marketing company www.MillerMosaicLLC.com, which helps clients with effectively using social media to connect with prospective target audiences.

Visit her author site www.PhyllisZimblerMiller.com to find out about the three-book series HOW TO SUCCEED IN HIGH SCHOOL, COLLEGE AND BEYOND COLLEGE.

Tips About Using Facebook More Effectively

Phyllis Zimbler Miller — Thu, 10 May 2012 01:38:49 +0000

As Facebook continually makes changes – adding features and taking away features, it can sometimes be difficult to do even “simple” things you have done before.

For example, I really liked the way previously I could choose to participate on Facebook in the name of a Page of which I am an admin. Now I have to do this one of two different ways, depending on which Page I want to participate as.

If I want to function as a Page that I “own” (set up via my own Facebook profile account), I can simply click on the little dropdown arrow next to the “Home” on the top nav bar. Then I can choose to “Use Facebook as:” and click on the Page name.

But, if I am admin of a Page set up through a client’s Facebook profile account, I have to:

1. Start from my own profile

2. Go to Page that I want to participate on Facebook as

3. Click on “Manage Page”

4. Click on “Use Facebook as [name of Page]”

On the other hand, here is a new feature that I learned about from Facebook guru Mari Smith:

When you are on your newsfeed for your profile (the “Home” locale), look down on the left-hand side of the screen and click on the dropdown arrow next to “More.”

You will then see the heading “Interests” and you can click on “Add Interests” to come to www.facebook.com/addlist/ where you can “subscribe to interest lists or create your own.”

What I found most interesting is that a list can contain people and Pages. Of course, you can choose “public,” “friends” or “only me” for who can see the list.

(Remember, though, nothing online is ever truly private. I would highly recommend NOT creating a private list that, if it became public, could embarrass you.)

For an example of a list, see Mari Smith’s “Facebook Experts and Resources” at www.facebook.com/lists/10150585382860868

And, finally, I want to give a shoutout to the thumbnail images that Yael created for my three Amazon country stores on my author Facebook Page – see these now at www.facebook.com/PhyllisZimblerMillerauthor

(I did have to remember to go back to the Amazon U.S. store app and manually add the just-released paperback format of HOW TO SUCCEED IN HIGH SCHOOL AND PREP FOR COLLEGE because the Amazon store app on Facebook will not automatically update.)

Phyllis is also the author of fiction and nonfiction books and ebooks. For more info see www.PhyllisZimblerMiller.com

Amazon Opportunities for Book Authors

Phyllis Zimbler Miller — Tue, 01 May 2012 18:10:21 +0000

I have been working on marketing self-published books and ebooks, and here are some often overlooked Amazon opportunities:

Amazon store on a Facebook Page:

You can have an Amazon store on your Facebook Page. (See the Phyllis Zimbler Miller author Facebook Page Amazon store as an example.) Kudos go to Yael K. Miller for figuring out how to do this.

The basic steps are:

1. Sign up for an Amazon associate account — https://affiliate-program.amazon.com/

2. Go to Associates Central — https://affiliate-program.amazon.com/gp/associates/network/main.html

3. On nav bar – click “aStore”

4. Click on “Add a Category Page”

5. Change category name, such as to: My Books on Amazon

6. “Add products” (you can rearrange the order manually)

7. The return to “Create aStore Pages” and click “Continue” to “Color and Design” to choose options for your Amazon store.

8. Click “Continue” to “Sidebar Widgets” and choose your options.

9. Click “Finish & Get Link” and choose “Embed my store using an inline frame”

10. Then copy link (change width to 100%) and go to your Facebook Page and use the “Static HTML: iFrame Tabs” app to create a customized Facebook Page tab.

Adding a book or ebook to your Amazon Author Central account:

As you add books on Amazon – whether physical or in the Kindle format – you must tell Amazon that these are your books.

You need to go to https://authorcentral.amazon.com and “Add a book to your bibliography” and claim the book as yours.

While the book may be added, what may not happen automatically is that, if you are adding a Kindle edition after the physical book is on Amazon (or the other way round), these two formats may not automatically be linked.

I learned about this issue when my father asked why his second book of short stories – BLOSSOM WINTERS IS DRIVING ON THE LOS ANGELES FREEWAYS AND OTHER SHORT STORIES – did not show both formats in one listing as Amazon did for his first book of short stories – THE LOVE LIFE OF HOWARD HANDSOME AND OTHER SHORT STORIES.

The answer is that often an author must contact Author Central to ask that this be done, and it can take one to three days to show on Amazon after the request is made. (This is especially important in order to ensure that the reviews of the same book are shared between both formats.)

Plus you want to check that all your books on Amazon, whether physical or ebook, have the “Look Inside” feature. (You can contact the Amazon team responsible for this at insidethebook-submission@amazon.com )

And then there is Amazon Studios, as Amazon has now entered the film business and screenwriters can upload their screenplays after carefully reading and considering the agreement.

(If you are interested in reading screenplays, check out my screenplays that you can download for free at Amazon studios.)

CreateSpace Kindle conversion note:

I had learned that $69 was the base price for a Kindle conversion by Amazon’s POD publisher CreateSpace of a book published in physical format via CreateSpace. I then asked for a quote for conversion of Shirley Windward’s THE EDNALOR MYSTERIES and was given the price of $165.

When I asked why so much higher, I was told by a support rep:

All books with a trim size that exceed 7 x 10 are considered a complex conversion and require more time for our Kindle Conversion team to perform the necessary steps to adapt your book to Kindle compatible format.

If you are publishing a book through CreateSpace and deciding on the trim size, keep this information in mind. You may want to choose a size smaller than 7 x 10 if you plan to have CreateSpace do the Kindle conversion.

And please add in the comments below any other Amazon opportunities for authors that may not be well-known.

UPDATE: Book marketing expert Penny Sansevieri reported in her May 10th ezine: “The #1 Facebook App for Authors is Now Free!” I just tried it out and it is truly easy. Get the app at https://apps.facebook.com/authorapp/?ref=ts

Phyllis is also the author of books and ebooks, including the new HOW TO SUCCEED IN HIGH SCHOOL AND PREP FOR COLLEGE. Learn about her books at www.PhyllisZimblerMiller.com

Important Security Update: WordPress 3.3.2

Yael K. Miller — Sun, 29 Apr 2012 19:03:47 +0000

On April 20, WordPress 3.3.2 was released. Keeping your WordPress version update is important as, according to company Sucuri Security, 70% of website hacks are because of outdated software. And website hacks are very much on the rise.

It is especially important to update to WordPress 3.3.2 because this update is a security update closing a number of security holes.

How do you know if you site even runs WordPress?

If we, Miller Mosaic, LLC (Phyllis Zimbler Miller and Yael K. Miller), built a website for you then it runs WordPress.

If we didn’t and you’re not sure if your site runs WordPress, login to your site and it should load a page called “Dashboard.”

The box in the upper left corner should say “Right Now” and say “You are using WordPress version number.” If you don’t see this, you most likely don’t have WordPress.

It is possible that you have a website where only the blog itself runs WordPress. If you have a separate login for your blog than the login for the other pages on your site, login to your blog and check.

So you are running WordPress, now what?

There are two ways to update WordPress: a) the quick and not the best – the auto update; or b) the less quick and recommended — the manual update. Below I will be giving instructions for both update procedures.

WordPresss developer Ipstenu says that “the auto upgrade tool will never be 100% perfect” and tells people to manually update.

I highly recommend you manually update.

If you want your website updated using the recommended manual update but aren’t comfortable doing this yourself, we offer the service for you.

If your WordPress version is 3.0 or greater, for $50 we backup your site using WP-DB-Backup, update WordPress, and update plugins. If your WordPress version is 2.7 to 2.9.2, the fee is $60.

If any of your plugins are not compatible with the latest version of WordPress, we will keep the plugin deactivated and inform you. We will not search for a similar plugin that is compatible with the version. If you desire this, that is an additional fee.

Whether you auto update or manually update, there are two first steps in common: backup your site and deactivate your plugins.

You can backup the databases of your site using the free plugin WordPress Database Backup aka WP-DB-Backup, which backups your pages and posts but not images you have uploaded. To backup “everything,” you can use the pay plugins VaultPress or BackupBuddy.

Auto Update:

Backup your site
Deactivate plugins
In the sidebar, go to Dashboard-Updates
Under the message that says “An updated version of WordPress is available. You can update to WordPress 3.3.2 automatically or download the package and install it manually,” click the button that says “Update Now.”
Once a message appears that says “WordPress updated successfully,” view your site to make sure your site didn’t break.
Activate your plugins one at a time and view your site to make sure that each plugin didn’t break your site.

For the manual update, you need to use a FTP client:

Manual Update:

Backup your site
Download your wp-config.php file
In the sidebar, go to Dashboard-Updates
Under the message that says “An updated version of WordPress is available. You can update to WordPress 3.3.2 automatically or download the package and install it manually,” click the button that says “Download 3.3.2”
Exact the files
Open the wp-config-sample.php file (not in Word) and see if there are any new settings. If so, copy the information from your wp-config.php file and paste into the wp-config-sample.php file. Save the document as wp-config.php
Deactivate plugins
In your FTP client, delete wp-admin folder and wp-includes folder
Upload new wp-admin folder and wp-includes folder
Upload all new loose files from the root directory
Delete wp-config-sample.php
Delete readme.html
Go to http://www.yoursitewebaddress.com/wp-admin/
If it tells you “Database Update Required,” click the button “Update WordPress Database”
View your site to make sure your site didn’t break.
Activate your plugins one at a time and view your site to make sure that each plugin didn’t break your site.

If you would like us to update your website or have questions about our update service, please email me at ykmiller@millermosaicllc.com

While Miller Mosaic LLC uses reasonable efforts to include accurate and up-to-date information regarding updating WordPress websites, Miller Mosiac LLC makes no warranties or representations as to its accuracy. Miller Mosaic LLC assumes no liability or responsibility for any errors or omissions in the instructions for updating WordPress websites.

Miller Mosaic LLC also assumes no responsibility, and shall not be liable for, any damages to, or viruses that may infect, your computer equipment or other property on account of your use of these instructions for updating your WordPress websites.

Yael K. Miller (@MillerMosaicLLC on Twitter) is the co-founder of the online marketing company Miller Mosaic LLC with a special interest in WordPress websites.

Better Late Than Never: Avon Calling for Social Media

Phyllis Zimbler Miller — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 05:44:37 +0000

The April 23rd Wall Street Journal article by Emily Glazer titled “Avon Is Late to Social Media’s Party:With U.S. Sales Flagging, Representatives Want to Harness Facebook, Twitter and Other Web Tools” is an interesting example of many companies that have been very slow to grasp the power of social media.

Especially with a cosmetics product line sold door-to-door, where relationships are everything if you want women to allow you in to their homes, it would appear rather obvious that social media could be utilized to create the foundation of those in-person relationships.

Glazer’s article begins:

The Avon Lady needs to spend more time on Facebook.

Avon Product Inc., famous for sending its representatives door to door, is losing traction in the U.S., where many time-stressed consumers are increasingly buying their cosmetics on the Web. Operating profit per representative in the U.S. has plunged 75% over the past decade, according to an analysis by Sanford C. Bernstein.

Turning around that decline will be a big item on the long “to do” list for new Chief Executive Sherilyn S. McCoy, who joins the company Monday after 30 years at Johnson & Johnson.

If I were Ms. McCoy, I would be less concerned about technology at Avon corporate headquarters and more concerned about teaching all Avon representatives how to effectively use social media.

Of course, that would first require that Avon itself understand that social media is about sharing and not selling. A quick look at Avon’s U.S. Twitter account – @AvonInsider – shows a company that does not really understand social media interaction.

And on the home page of Avon’s website there are no social media icons.

What boggles my mind is that a company as large as Avon, with presumably access to funding for training representatives, has not gone all out to utilize the power of the Internet.

While perhaps such a large company embraces change at a snail’s pace, if you are a small company or a service professional you can take advantage of the Internet now.

And if you are a small company selling cosmetics in competition with Avon, now may be the time for you to really clean up.