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.

Sign up for a chance to win a Social Media Strategy Session* customized for your business or group!  It super simple, free and no spam!  We will digitally choose someone to win at the end of this week.

We just want to help organizations start off the New Year with a great online strategy that works for them.  We love acting on our passion, so this is an amazing giveaway for us also!

 Click here to sign up! 

God Speed, Good Luck, Break a Leg:)!

*You will receive a one hour strategy session via Skype (telecommunications). We will look at your current online and marketing efforts prior to the meeting to help design the right plan with tactics and policies that can work for your business or organization.  Need more info?  Email us at info@StrategicOnlineNetworking.com

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.

The state of Florida is right in the middle of Hurricane Season which is June 1-November 30^th.  The residents here are urged often to be prepared in case a major storm strikes.  Though images of horrific Hurricanes scenes are etched in our minds, we have not had a real hurricane threat in nearly 7 years causing the populace to become slack with emergency preparations.

As harried as it is to have your family prepared, a number of businesses of all sizes have not prepared for a disaster either.  In the wake of recent earthquakes in Virginia and Colorado and riots in England, we should know that disaster could strike anywhere, at anytime and in any form. Being able to restoring livelihood is an important part of any disaster recovery. Preplanning can make that restoration easier.

There are some basic things you can do now to protect your business, employees and vendors in the case of a disaster.  The following are some ideas to prepare you to weather the storm:

• Back up your Data
  • This can be done by using an external hard drive.  These come in varying sizes and can be great to grab and go in a hurry when taking a desktop or CPU is not feasible.
  • Is your business very small or an external hard drive too expensive then do not snub a Flash Drive?  The 8 GB Flash Drive hold a lot of data and at $10-$12 during this back to school time they are a great buy.  I remember when they were $50-$60 not to many years ago.
  • Is your business a lot bigger and handling a physical device is not doable, consider a cloud platform.  Here are just a few of the online data backup systems Dropbox, Google Apps,  Mozy and  Greenview Data Inc. These are very affordable.
  • Any of your information that can be accessed by logging on anywhere and with any computer is a major access in the case of an emergency.

• Have your phone ready.
  • Have the latest version of your phone’s software installed at regular times.  This will help if you have to use your phone in varying coverage areas.
  • If you have a smart, android, iPhone or Blackberry update your applications like online banking, Docs to Go, Social Media, and contacts.   This can help you conduct some level of business if you are without power or on the move.
  • Even simple flip phones that have text only capabilities need to be updated with contacts.  There are a number of Social Media platforms that allows SMS updates (Facebook and Twitter to name two of the most popular).  You can text in for updates and stay in touch with family,  friends and employees.
  • If you are able to have more than one battery for your phone (as does the Samsung Epic) or a phone power booster, secure them.  These are great to have at anytime to keep you connected all day any day

• Have vital Documents in one easy location.
  • Do you know where your insurance papers are for your office building and company car?  Can you grab all vital documents as you walk out the door?  If not get a folder of these in a secure but easy to locate place that you can take with you in an organized fashion.
  • Do you have all your vendor and employee sensitive information, like Social Security numbers or company credit card information in a secure location that can be moved or stored safely in the event of a storm?  No one wants to combat identity theft at the same time attempting to recover from a disaster situation.

• Decide ahead of time how you will use Social Media and other online methods to communicate with your employees, vendors and clients.
  • Make a plan that you are going to tweet, update Facebook, email, and/or text with employees or clients to keep them updated on the status and safety of your business.
  • Realize today the public expects to learn information via Social Media.  Even if people don’t use Social Media themselves they will contact those that do to gain information.  Have a plan for this.

These are just uncomplicated recommendations that should not take long for you to set up for your business.

Your local Red Cross should be able to assist also.  They often have checklists and recommended steps to help you disaster proof your business. They should also be able to refer you if needed, to reputable firms in your area that can consult you for more extensive preparation.  In my area we have Florida Business Disaster Survival Kit .

If you have already experienced disaster you can check the US Chamber of Commerce website which has a section called The National Disaster Help Desk for Business dedicated to helping businesses after disaster strikes.

Small preparations now can make a big positive difference in the face of negative events.  – Chandra Lee

The time to repair the roof is when the sun is shining. — John F. Kennedy

By failing to prepare you are preparing to fail. — Benjamin Franklin

Enough talk about business!  Social networking was made for FUN and I want in on that, too.

Seriously.  We get all wrapped up in the business side of networking, building our client bases, and communicating with the masses…but what about YOU?

It’s time for a well-deserved break…on a budget.  Because you know you’re on one.  We all are.

Check out these places for social-networking deals.  Each one works similarly- they negotiate great deals from local companies (you can sign up for your specific city), offer them to thousands of people, and the businesses in turn get a bunch of new customers.  Everybody wins!

1. Center’d: This sites says it helps you plan the activities in your life.  Center’d is featured in most major cities and has an extensive online networking system that feature tweets (with lots of daily deal mentions of local businesses of all types), Facebook, a blog and emails.  It’s newest feature is Sentimentanalysis where they make an analyze of online reviews to let you know if an endeavor is worth your energy at that moment.  This new element is limited to certain cities.
2. Groupon: Hopefully you’ve heard of this one.  Groupon’s become a regular fixture in inboxes everywhere.  They offer great deals on everything from brow waxing to weekend get-aways.
3. LivingSocial.com: This is the same idea, but you also have the option of sharing the deal with friends.  If three friends buy the deal using your link, then you get it for free!
4. TIPPR: Limited cities available, but check them out, because they have some great deals if you happen to live in one of them!
5. DailyDibs.com: Pick your city, and Daily Dibs will condense all the deals from various different companies into one email for you.  It’s a daily one-stop shop for all the Groupon-esque offers.

A 2009 study by Expedia found that the United States ranks last with an average of 10 days of vacation a year. But studies also show that people in other countries who are nearly as productive as we are take more vacation days than we do- to the tune of 35 to 40 vacation days per year.

So do yourself and your business a favor and take advantage of one of the deals- whether it is a weekend vacation in Gatlinburg or two hours of housecleaning service at 50% off.  Give yourself a break, time to recharge, and return to work refreshed and ready to do all sorts of serious stuff.

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.

It happen to me once. I got on Facebook like I normally do and there was a message from a woman I didn’t know. She wanted me to leave her husband alone.  What?!  Who was her husband?  Later in the day a male Facebook friend called me to apologize for his wife.  They had been out drinking and when they came home his wife saw I had wrote “Congratulations” on his post about his new job.  Now over 25 people had commented on his post but alcohol fueled she focused in on me.  I don’t know why she accused me of being after her man.

We all know of people that have tweeted or updated a Facebook status with regretful foolishness.  But people that do Social Media drunk are in a league all their own. So much so someone has developed a program that will test your soberity before allowing you get on your accounts during hours that you preset before you go out drinking. It is called Social Media Sobriety Test.

How it works is that you set the time you want the testing to work on certain social media platforms, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Flickr even MySpace. So if you come in about 2:00 am on a Sunday morning, you try to log into your account of choice the software will lock you  out.  It will administer a couple of random test from within the software.  If you pass the test, it declares you are sober, and  it will open your account allowing you to interact online on your platform of choice.

I don’t know if it is a complete remedy.  An account of a reviewer stated that even sober she struggled to pass the sobriety tests the software gave her after coming in very late night.  The odd thing is that if you fail the test,  you are not allowed on let’s say Facebook, and the software will post for you, “ ”TOO INTOXICATED TO POST”.  E-gads who wants that on their profile? I hope that is an optional feature!

Whether drunk or not we need to be careful what we post online .  A lot of people are listening and everything online last a long time!  Remember once online people can forward and reproduce anything you put out there.  So if you don’t want it forwarded, known, or remembered don’t update , tweet or blog about it drunk or sober.  And be careful if you do Social Media for your company or business and also yourself.  If you get your accounts crossed you can end up getting embrassed pretty quick.

Here’s to sober social media. Cheers!