Are you on Google +  yet?  If not you may want to consider adding it to your Social Networking list.  Why? One good reason is accessibility.

I had not seen an old friend on Facebook in sometime but I noticed him in my Google + stream (what they call the newsfeed on G+). I asked him if he had been like some of my friends that had suspended using Facebook.  These friends abandoned their Facebook accounts due to what they called security issues and switched to G+ for more control over their privacy.  He answered not at all.  Google + was the only social platform he could access at his new job.  So he used it more often to contact people and gain information during the day.

There are still a number of organizations and companies that do not see the potential of Social Media even for marketing. These companies often block Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and various other social media sites from their internet access to stop their employees from “wasting time” and “goofing off”.

I went to a meeting recently at a Fortune 500 company that has over 200 + offices globally.  One person (not me ) who needed to use YouTube to make part of her presentation suddenly was delayed because this Information Technology Company blocked the popular video platform from its internet system.  After using Google, we finally found the video on a blog site and watched the embedded YouTube video from this “trusted” online location.

Whether blocking certain Social Networks at a place of business is good or not is another article. But if your target market or sphere of influence is employed at such businesses it might be good for you to begin using Google + to connect.  As my friend I wrote about earlier testified, Google is often not blocked as the platform is used for business apps and search engine regularly.  But its new social networking program is now available on the same system.

Google + also now has Business Pages  so once you set up a personal profile you can create one for your business quite readily.  Therefore the biggest plus for Google + to me is at work accessibility.

Let me know what you think is the biggest plus to Google +

Thing #3 – Leasing verses Ownership – One thing you must own!

As the housing market declined more people are touting that ownership is over rated, renting is better and cheaper.  That mentality has reached a number of industries as well as websites. Websites are now being what I call “leased”.

A number of organizations are no longer spending a lump sum of money, getting a website custom developed and then having the controls turned over to them for management, either in house or through maintenance contracts with the developer.  Organizations are opting to pay a monthly fee for the website, and not own the site.  As long as the monthly payment is made the site is viewable online.  The controlling company may also include a number of hours of updates in the package.  Full access to the back end of the website is never granted.  These type websites are being offered by phone, cable, newspaper, and various automated online companies.

This is done for a number of reasons.  Some professional fields get locked into these options seeking convenience.  Also businesses that don’t know how long they will be around and those with fleeting budgets, a monthly fee simply sounds more manageable and smart.

Groups have to decide what is best for them and what they can afford when they build website.  BUT if you don’t own your website at least own your domain. 

Domain name can be purchased on a number of  hosting sites including ours Strategic Online Hosting.  Buy your domains and own them yourself.  When the development company makes your site you can forward your domain to that site. You can click here to find out more information about this process or use Google.

Therefore if you have a discrepancy with that firm or decide to build a customized site your preferred domain name is in your organization’s control.

If you need any assistance with your online presence from Website to Social Media contact us.  We will be happy to assist, consult or develop your online sites. Email us at  info@StrategicOnlineNetworking.com or call 823-421-1292.

This is the time of year that businesses, organizations, public figures want to ready themselves for success in the New Year. Often part of the overall preparation is to update online presences especially their website. The website is very important as it often is the linchpin for all your Online Marketing. This is a series of short blog post of things to think about if you plan to  update or create your website this 2012.

Thing #2 – Think Mobile (yes, again)

Want your website or major parts of it to not be seen on the hottest selling mobile platform?  Then develop your website or major parts of it using Flash.  Steve Jobs of Apple had an issue with Adobe Flash so his platforms are not Flash enabled. Including the ever popular iPad 2!

I have loaded up a number of high end company websites on my iPad 2 to see an absolutely blank page. See below the same website on Desktop and iPad 2, just in case you need more convincing.

What you can see on a desktop computer while viewing a Flash website.

What the iPad sees of a Flash Website

Clean websites, with functional layouts, proper direct information and great graphics make a site pop.  But if you must have “movement” on a site use templates with slider capability like  on WordPress.org or find a developer fluent in HTML5 , the new up and coming code for multimedia.

If you need any assistance with your online presence from Website to Social Media to advanced tips on Online Marketing contact us.  We will be happy to assist, consult or develop your online sites.  Email us at  info@StrategicOnlineNetworking.com or call 813-421-1292.

This is the time of year that businesses, organizations, public figures want to ready themselves for success in the New Year. Often part of the overall preparation is to update online presences especially their website. The website is very important as it often is the linchpin for all your Online Marketing. This is a series of short blog post of things to think about if you plan to  update or create your website this 2012.

Thing #1 -Think Mobile

Desk and laptops are still king but mobile is the wave of the future, the very near future! Currently in the  United States over 40% of the population owns a smart phones like iPhone, Black Berry and Androids. And just think of the millions of iPads and Android Tablets that have sold.

More people are buying these devices each day for convenience, faster online access and ease of travel.  The number  grows each day of those that are able to access your website from anywhere on the globe on a smaller screen. You need to build your website with that in mind.

A couple of  things can happen when someone accesses your website on a mobile device.

1. The viewer can just see your normal site in a smaller form.  This can make it harder to see your site or its the content and it can load slowly.  But for some simple layout sites this might be appropriate.
2. A plugin can be added to  your website platform that can detect the type of device that is viewing the online site.  It can then send the viewer to another site that you have built for mobile use or it can make the site switch to a mobile format,  making it function better on mobile devices.

You will need to communicate with your web developer to decided what is best for your website.

One of the most popular website or blog development platforms, WordPress.org,  has a number of plugins for mobile .  In addition many of the WordPress theme developers have mobile ready themes and plugins available.  So you can find a WordPress Template Developer that has mobile ready themes on which to build your website.

Another option is to check in with a Florida Company,  Savvy Phone,  they develop adaptive websites that morph to work on whatever device on which they are being viewed. With this process you only need one site and no matter what new device comes out this year your website will adapt to it.   If you call, tell them you heard about them from Strategic Online Networking :).

If you need any assistance with any area of your online presence from Website to Social Media to advanced  tips for effective Online Marketing, contact us. We will be happy to assist, consult or develop your online sites.  Email us at  admin@StrategicOnlineNetworking.com or call 813-421-1292.

Because you can’t afford NOT to be strategic online.

You often see companies that say at the end of their commercials or on a flyer “find us on Facebook”.  But they don’t tell you where!  They act like they are the only Joe Smoe Acme Product on a platform but they are not!  With millions of business Facebook Pages and Twitter accounts, finding an entity online is not as intuitive as you think.

Why?

Though there are not duplicates in Facebook aliases, web addresses or usernames, there can be repeats in Page Names. Take for instance if you want to find a business that can come to your company picnic and handout novelty treats to your employees and their families on a hot day.  If you are in Central Southern Florida that company is Dragon Ice Cream Treats.  When you search for Dragon Ice Cream you want to find friendly Dragon Ice Cream Treats  the wonderful special events company that delivers great ice cream treats right to your business or home party!

BUT you might end up with this Renaissance Dragon that sells odd ice creams at festivals in upstate New England.

This  is probably not what you had in mine for your employee appreciation and family fun day.

Online search is different for everyone.  Your computer now takes into account what you have been searching for in your recent past when you begin a new quest.  So every Dragon that has a connection to that recent Music search you did may come up before the needed Dragon Ice Cream Treats company that you want now.

Remedy:

Let people know exactly where your business is on Facebook and Twitter especially if you are not a Fortune 500 company.   A good example is on the back of this business card which spells out exactly where I am on Facebook and Twitter.  This is more than just the general Facebook and Twitter icon leaving a potential client unable to find you on those sites.

QR_codes are another great idea for letting people know exactly where you are online.  If you are at an event set up a sign on the reception table or in your program where people can scan QR_Codes and go straight to your Facebook or Twitter account on their mobile phone or tablet and like or follow you ( See below).

Dragon Ice Cream Treats shares in multiple ways in their ad.

Take into account your audience.  You may need to add simple instructions of using an app like Scan Life to scan the QR_Code.  Many people have iPhones, iPads,  BlackBerries and Androids but don’t use it to its full potential only because  they don’t know how.

Scant information can be true in other areas also.  I am shocked how little information businesses can give out at times about contacting them.  I get hundreds of emails a week that have no phone number, website, email address or alternative way to contact anyone in the company.  Every business email  should at least have a simple signature that gives your phone number if nothing else.  It doesn’t have to be fancy just give out the information.

These are just a couple of easy ways to get more people to your Facebook and Twitter pages. We will share more in the near future.

Today I saw a blog post by a small company; I will allow them to remain anonymous.  They were blogging about their anger towards a big organization (BO).  The BO had clamped down on them for their third party giveaways on Facebook that involved the BO’s products.  Their post was about how this wealthy entity was squishing them over some small giveaways.

Yes it was upsetting that the BO had sent the small business a legal document from a big cat law firm threatening legal action if they didn’t stop the giveaways. But as I read on I became more surprised that the small company was actually in violation of the current promotion guidelines of Facebook! What was even more alarming was that their marketing firm was helping the small company blast the BO by promoting the story.

People “like” pages for about three reasons. One of which is for giveaways and free stuff.  Facebook has some detailed rules that it does enforce about giveaways, contest and sweepstakes.

According to Facebook rules all these types of contest must be conducted on a third party application.  In other words you can entice people with the contest using an application product or app that streams in from outside of Facebook.  That app then needs to take the person interested in the contest “outside” of Facebook to register for the free giveaway.

Please note you can no longer, use Facebook itself to giveaway a prize.  You cannot pick winners from people that simply like or comment on your page.   That is exactly what this small business was doing. Picking people to win BO’s products from folks that liked their page.

This small business may not realize it but they were fortunate to only get a letter from the BO’s lawyer. They could have had Facebook shut them down for weeks due to this violation. It happens to people often on Facebook and other sites for that matter that break rules they don’t know exist. Small and large businesses as well as marketing firms need to do due diligence in educating themselves to understand the marketing guidelines of online sites they are using.

Don’t know if you have time to stay abreast of it all, with all the constant changes and verbiage to read?  At Strategic Online Networking we pride ourselves on staying up to date on all modifications online.  That is part of the “Worry Free” Social Media we offer.  We insure that all our clients stay in compliance to all branding and marketing guidelines of Facebook or other online platforms. Contact us at any time to look over your marketing campaign for added assurance.

First don’t click on the app. If you do or already have,  stop it by removing the app from your profile.

First go to your privacy settings and click on Edit Settings:

The  click on Removed  unwanted or spammy apps.

Then edit apps accordingly:

This will remove the app from working any further.

The newest web tool we have been using recently is Awesome Screenshot: Capture are Annotate by Diigo.  This makes capturing screen images and marking them up so easy.  No need to cut and paste into PowerPoint and then spend time in Photoshop cleaning things up.  See the video below to understand how easy it is to use.

See the screen I marked up below in less than a minute.  There is a free draw feature, colors, writing and I even blurred out the entire top of the blog  just for grins.  This is going to make making slides for trainings and presentations so much easier!

Check it out and don’t forget to let us know what you think!