The new look definitely looks much cleaner and very slick design-wise. Usability for page admins also has improved.

Facebook’s new streamlined page layout

Timeline Design on Right

The new look page has the timeline running down the right only. On the current layout the posts go across the page from left to right.

The new timeline feed is much more streamlined and consistent in look. This will make it much easier to view information on the page and the post looks the same as how it is displayed in the News Feed.

Page Information on Left

Your business information will now display on the left hand side. This includes your page likes, ability to invite friends to the page and your business information like your website URL.

Easy Access to Admin Tools

I always found the admin tools of the current layout to be a little confusing. They were quite hidden within the page. The most commonly used admin features will now show in the top right of the screen (only admins can see this of course).

Pages to Watch Feature

There is a new  Pages to Watch feature which is available to all admins. This feature is really exciting and allows admins to create a list of Pages similar to their own and compare the performance of their Page and the ones on this list.

It gives you a great benchmark on how your page is performing across those competitors.

No Custom Tabs

I know some people will be concerned about the loss of the custom tabs on their Facebook page.

I have always held the belief that people don’t really go onto your actual page that much. So I can’t imagine anyone will see a dramatic decrease to the usage of these tabs.

You will still be able to create custom tabs and promote these with a link on your page. This would drive much more engagement to those tabs than waiting for people to go to your main business page.

The post Facebook page redesign is being rolled out appeared first on Picasso Media Group.

1. Trying to find an expert in that field
2. Looking for someone who they can trust

Your website needs to be credible and fulfill BOTH of these requirements. If you can nail these two things with your message then you will have a higher change of getting more leads. My top tips for creating a credible website are.

Get Clear on Your Message

Here is where most people struggle but this is where you can really stand out from the crowd. When creating your website you should answer the following four questions:

1. Who you are

Use this area to demonstrate your background and your personality so that people understand exactly who you are, and why they might want to work with you. Don’t be shy but try not to be too over promotional and arrogant.

2. What you do

This probably something you are already doing, but really get into exactly what you can help people with. Treat this like a services page but give it some personality as well.

3. Why you do what you do

This is where you can really stand out from competitors. What is it that makes you do what you do? Why are you so passionate about your work and what do you love about helping your clients. Is there a reason as to why your method is different to competitors? Let your personality shine.

4. Your results

For this you need to use real results that you have achieved for your clients. Case Studies work amazingly well for this type of context on your website. Create a standard format that your case studies will follow – what the client’s problem was, what you implemented in their business, and the results after the fact. I also like to include a testimonial from that client to really add to the credibility. I can’t tell you how many requests for quotes I have received from case studies.

Credibility as an expert

This is where you get to show off your expertise in your field… please don’t go calling yourself a ‘guru’ it doesn’t help to build your credibility. You can include media snippets where you have been featured, any awards you have won and client testimonials.

Easy to contact

This sounds so simple but you would be surprised at how many websites and companies that don’t have an easy way for people to contact them. To be credible people want to see that they can get in touch with you if they have any questions or problems. Hiding your contact details just makes you seem inaccessible and will put people off.

Real People

For me if I am buying from someone online I want to know who it is that I am buying from. It adds a personal touch to your website that people love. This is one thing I learnt early on and have never looked back. When I did my own website for the first time (a long time ago now) it didn’t include my image. I have used a stock image instead. I had some feedback from someone I didn’t know on Twitter who reviewed my website. He had specifically said that he wanted to see a photo of ME and not a stock photo. That advice has stuck with me and something I still promote to my clients. If you don’t have a good photo then book in with a photographer and get some professionals shots done. They don’t cost as much as you think. If you have a team of people then get a team photo done. I promise it does wonders.

Spell check

I know this seems trivial and I am not being a grammar nazi but no matter how good you are at spelling and grammar, always be sure to have someone proof read your website. I assure you after you have been writing your content for a while you will miss mistakes. So have someone you trust check for errors and fix them.

The post Building credibility with your website appeared first on Picasso Media Group.

For me it has been too many times.

Thankfully in my six years in business it only happens on a rare occasion. Each time I have ignored my intuition I have come to regret it later and also pay a large price for it.

Today was my light bulb moment after a particular difficult situation with a client.

I NEED to follow and trust my intuition every single time. No more ignoring it and pushing that feeling away.

You know that guiding light inside of you that is telling you (sometimes screaming at you) to avoid a certain situation or client.

Right from the start there were warning bells that I never should have ignored (which is a whole new blog post in itself). Big, HUGE red flags, screaming at me from within that I need to say no to this potential client.

But you know, at the time I really needed the business so I ignored my inner self telling me to say NO and said YES.

Any way long story short, the project went pear shaped and now I am sitting here regretting my decision to ignore my intuition.

I like to think that I have good instincts and a great judge of character, so I definitely need to learn to trust myself more than I do currently.

Your intuition is there for a reason, it is there to guide and protect you. Most business owners have a great sense of intuition but how many actually follow it.

My mission is to never ignore my inner self again and to be aware of that gut feeling telling me what I should do. I need to learn to trust myself and know that I am making the right choice for me.

Have you ever regretted ignoring your intuition?

The post The biggest mistake I have made in business appeared first on Picasso Media Group.

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But guess what, it may seem overwhelming but if you simplify your content marketing system and follow our tips for creating content on your blog then you will be well on your way to more traffic.

You will never be stuck for topics on your blog.

Ask yourself what problems you are solving

• What are the biggest issues potential clients will face that lead them to searching for your business?
• What are some goals your potential clients will be trying to achieve?
• What are their biggest challenges?

Get into the head of your potential customers and answer questions with some really great content. For example, what do I need to do to setup a website as a title for a blog post.

Using Google Analytics Statistics

When you go into your Google Analytics account for your website you can view the traffic statistics. You can look under the traffic sources and organic and then view the top search terms that people are coming to your website for.

You can then use this to create and optimise your content in the form of a blog post that fits in with these terms.

Google Suggest to Choose Blog Post Topics

This is a very little used tool but very cool to work out what you can write about in your blog posts. It will help you see related topics for search terms.

Using Google and related search to come up with content

For example, I have typed in how to use social media and it has given me a few related searches based on that search.

I can now use this little feature to create content topics. So I could decide to write a blog post on how to use social media for your business or how to use it effectively.

People love how to blogs and they mostly will type in ‘how to’ or ‘how do i’ into Google when trying to find content.

Google related searches

Client and Prospect FAQ’s

Are there questions that constantly come up when you are chatting to potential new clients?

Go through your inbox or previous emails and see what people are asking you.

If there are you can use these to create blog posts or a YouTube video to answer the question.

Look at old content

The internet and business is changing rapidly now so make sure you go over your old content to see if there have been any developments. It is a perfect opportunity to stay relevant in Google and keep people up to date on new tricks and tools in your expertise.

Keep articles simple

When you start writing your articles make sure you keep it simple. Assume that people reading your blog don’t know anything about you, your business or what you are selling.

Once you have created your content and posted onto your blog, don’t forget that you need to share out through your communication channels.

Do you use Twitter or Facebook? Great then be sure to post the link to your page.

Share with your email marketing database with an email.

Start sharing your content and get it out there.

The post How to come up with content for your blog appeared first on Picasso Media Group.

So many people do not know who their website is hosted with or where they bought their domain.

This arena can be really confusing especially when you aren’t sure what it all means. However, it is important that you know this information and that it is all setup under your own name.

In this blog I am going to explain in simple terms what things you need to know about with your website.

Your domain name

This one is really simple, your domain name is what people go to to visit your website. So for this website my domain name (or URL) is www.picassomediagroup.com.

Initially, this domain name would have been registered with a company (or domain registrant). This needs to happen for your website to be active.

Companies like Crazy Domains, GoDaddy, NetRegistry etc all have a place where you can register a domain name. When a domain is registered you will do this for a certain amount of time.

• .com.au domains for example are registered for a minimum of two years. So in two years from when you register the domain you will need to re-register.
• .com domains are for a minimum of one year. Again after that year you will need to re-register the domain name

When you register a domain, the domain company will provide you with logins (or you set them yourself) so that you can manage your domain/s.

When your domain comes up for renewal the domain company will email you reminders. Usually they start a month of two out to give you plenty of notice.

To ensure your website continues to work your domain MUST be registered before it expires.

If you don’t you can come up against problems.

What you need to know

• what company your domain is registered with
• your logins to manage your domain
• keep your email address with them current so that you receive update notifications
• renew your domain before it expires

Your Website Hosting

Your website hosting is where your website lives. Think of your domain name as the address of your house and the website hosting as the house where everything lives.

You need both your domain and hosting for your website to work.

When hosting is setup, logins will be provided by your web hosting company that will give you access to the control panel (where you manage your hosting).

Your hosting will usually be renewed every 12 months unless you have chosen to pay a monthly fee.  If you don’t renew you hosting when it comes up for renewal you can lose your website and all of the information on it. So you need to make sure that you don’t let your hosting expire.

This has happened to people I know who don’t have a backup of their website and then lost their information when their hosting expired. It was back to the drawing board.
Some hosts will keep backups for a month after your website expires, but it is best not to chance it.

Hosting companies will email you when it is due to expire so make sure you keep your contact details with them current.

What you need to know

• who you hosting is with
• when your hosting expires
• your hosting logins
• renew your hosting before it expires

Both should be in your name

Sometimes when you do a website your web developer will set up your domain and hosting for you. That is fine for them to help you, but please make sure everything is registered in your own name.

In particular the domain registration should always be in your name.

It can be really hard to transfer a domain into your name.

The name on the domain registration has control basically, so what happens if you fall out with your developer? Then how hard will it be to get control of your domain.

Stay organised with our website cheatsheet

Download our cheat sheet and stay organised.

The post Important information you need to know about your website appeared first on Picasso Media Group.

WordPress 3.6.1 is the latest stable release and it is advised that all of our clients update their website to the newest version, which includes some important security fixes.

WordPress 3.6.1 is also a security release for all previous WordPress versions and we strongly encourage you to update your sites immediately. It addresses three issues fixed by the WordPress security team:

• Block unsafe PHP unserialization that could occur in limited situations and setups, which can lead to remote code execution. Reported by Tom Van Goethem.
• Prevent a user with an Author role, using a specially crafted request, from being able to create a post “written by” another user. Reported by Anakorn Kyavatanakij.
• Fix insufficient input validation that could result in redirecting or leading a user to another website. Reported by Dave Cummo, a Northrup Grumman subcontractor for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

If you require any assistance with updating your website then please contact us. We can assist you with any maintenance issues you may have with your wordpress website.

Remember to backup before updating.

Resources

• Stay Smart Online
• WordPress

The post Important WordPress Security Update: Upgrade Your Site Today appeared first on Picasso Media Group.

So here are my top tips to increasing your email subscriber list.

I promise you it isn’t anywhere near as scary as you think.. and you probably already have all the content you need to get this going.

Create an irresistible offer

Getting people to hand over their email address these days can be hard work, so you need to give them something of value.

Create a piece of content that is low cost to you but high value to your potential clients.

Think about who your ideal client is and what their biggest problem is that YOU can solve. As an example in my business my clients want a website but they get overwhelmed with the planning process of a website which can lead to procrastination. So our 10 day e-course walks people through the process of planning a website and what they need to think about.

Things that work well are:

• e-Books
• Videos
• e-Courses – keep them short, sharp and actionable
• Blueprints
• Record an interview or webinar
• Checklists

If you already have blog posts or content written I guarantee you can make that content into something of value to your subscribers.

Your opt-in needs to look great

Now you have your offer and it is time to start getting subscribers. When putting your opt-in on your website it needs to catch the eye of subscribers, but not overwhelm the rest of your website.

I can hear you saying that you don’t know how to make your subscribe form look nice. Never fear, there is a cheeky plugin called Hybrid Connect that will take away all the hard work and leave you with an AWESOME looking opt-in form.

The plugin installs directly into WordPress and connects to all the major email marketing programs and has a heap of options for your website.

You can put your opt-in in the sidebar of your website (as you can see here) or you can put it at the bottom of your pages and blog posts.

Decide on using the evil pop-up method

You know the ones that pop up on your screen when you go to some websites.

These can be a double edged sword they are proved to increase your subscriber list but they also do annoy some people. So you need to make a decision on what is best for you.

For professional services I think that you are better to have this in your website with a ‘call to action’ rather than a pop-up. You want people to focus on your services more so I think that pop-ups are best left alone.

For bloggers I think that you can be a little more relaxed and use these if you want.

Keep your emails short and sweet

Do you have a lot of spare time to read long emails? Chances are you will flag them to read but you don’t get back to them. This is much like your email subscribers.

So keep your emails short and to the point. Ensure that the information you are sharing is what your clients are expecting to read about from you.

Continue to offer your subscribers great content and even throwing in some bonuses or free things every now and then. This will keep them engaged and you will be at top of mind when they are ready to purchase.

Use an email system that allows people to update their address details

People change their emails so you need to cater for this.

I recently decided to unsubscribe from a whole bunch of emails that I don’t read. I also wanted to change the email that the ones I wanted to keep receiving however most made it really difficult and I either had to stay using the same email or I had to unsubscribe.

Make it super easy for people to continue receiving your emails by allowing them to update their preferences.

Some things that you should NOT do

Getting subscribers can be hard work but the ones who do subscribe will be a lot more targeted. So here are somethings you should definitely not do when doing email marketing.

• Scalp email addresses from social media websites. If you are on Linked In and someone connects with you this is NOT permission to add them to a list and start emailing them. This is called spam and you can be fined.
• Do not send emails from Outlook. Use something that will manage people who wish to unsubscribe this will ensure you are compliant with the SPAM Act.
• Do not email people too much they already get enough emails.
• Do not send emails that are too long – people will not read them unless the content is amazing.

The post How to increase your email subscribers appeared first on Picasso Media Group.

Perhaps you have lost a big client or a project hasn’t gone as planned. Or you might have a few things in your life that is affecting your mindset in your business. You have found yourself into a business rut and you could be struggling to get yourself out of it.

Don’t worry we have all been there and never fear, this is totally normal! If you have not hit a block in your business yet then kudos to you that is awesome.

Sometimes things in your life or situations in your business can throw you for a six and make you lose focus. Nothing is going to run smoothly all the time.

However how much the rut will affect your business all comes down to how you handle the situation and how long you let this affect your mindset.

So here are my top tips to get back on top and move forward in your business.

Look at what is causing the rut

Ok the first step to moving on is looking at what is causing the issue. Perhaps it is a cashflow issue or perhaps it is something in your sales process that might not be going well.

Acknowledge it and then move on for now. We will be making plans in the next few steps so that you can fix the issues.

If you need to, call a friend or colleague and have a little vent to them.

Once you have done this its time to start taking ACTION.

Take a break

This one is simple. Do you ever go into overwhelm mode when you are stressed or you feel like you are losing your mojo?

I know I do!

So the easiest way to beat this overwhelm is to take a break. I know it might be hard to take a long break so just take an hour and look after YOU. Go for a walk or go to the gym. I always find physical activity is great for the soul and your mind.

This will help you get refocussed and ready to get back into work when you get back.

Make a List

Closely linked to the overwhelm, when faced with a hard situation in business I tend to start to procrastinate and this does no good for anybody! Procrastination is bad so the best thing to do is to make a list.

I love writing out my to-do list onto paper and get everything out of my head. Go through your inbox and get everything into a list so you can prioritise.

Then slowly start working through the priorities one thing at a time. If you see something on the list you know you will procrastinate on do that first. The important thing is to just start and to keep going. Once you get started you will feel great and productive.

PRODUCTIVITY TIP: If you have trouble focussing still grab a timer. Turn everything off that can distract you like your phone, your email and social media. Set your timer for 50 minutes and do not stop working until your timer goes off. Then have a 10 minute break and start again.

Schedule a planning day

I love this tip and this is great for getting your motivation back.

Look at your diary and book half a day or a full day business planning day. Find somewhere OUTSIDE of your office that you will find inspiring to go and work at. I love going to my local cafe and sitting in the sunshine.

Again make sure all distractions are switched off so that you can focus. I mean it do not check your emails whilst there. Set your out of office on and get a Virtual Assistant to take care of any emails for you while you are out of the office so you don’t have to stress.

I promise that the world will not stop when you take one day to work ON your business.

Map out a plan for your next 3 months and goals that you want to achieve.

If you do this regularly it might mean revisiting the goals you have set and make sure they are still in alignment with your business and you goals.

Join a Mastermind

Sometimes it helps to mingle with other business owners. I  always come away feeling inspired and motivated to make changes in my business.

Masterminds are great ways to do this and finding the right Mastermind can have an exponential change on your business.

If you are unsure how to find a Mastermind ask around colleagues or simply create your own. Find people who you think would complement and inspire each other. Then set aside a little time per month to meet up.

I find that face to face Masterminds always beat out any online masterminds. I love online but you can’t beat the live interaction and inspiration that you will get from a face to face mastermind.

These tips should have you well on your way back to motivation town.

Do you have any other tips to help with motivation? I would love to hear your tips so leave your comment below.

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