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Author Archive
Facebook Privacy: The Graph App and Other Things You Need To Know
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This morning a friend posted a Facebook Privacy warning with the very dire words “I WILL HAVE TO DELETE” you in the post. Of course, this made me wonder what I would need to do now to maintain a friendship but more importantly, to maintain my own security on the popular social networking site.
Her warning went like this:
WARNING!!! FACEBOOK HAS CHANGED THEIR PRIVACY SETTINGS ONCE MORE!!! DUE TO THE NEW “GRAPH APP” ANYONE ON FACEBOOK (INCLUDING OTHER COUNTRIES) CAN SEE YOUR PICTURES, LIKES, AND COMMENTS. The next 2 weeks I will be posting this, and please once you have done it please post DONE! Those of you who do not keep my information from going out to the public, I will have to DELETE YOU! I want to stay PRIVATELY connected with you. I post shots of my family that I don’t want strangers to have access to!!! This happens when our friends click “like” or “comment”… automatically, their friends would see our posts too. Unfortunately, we cannot change this setting by ourselves because Facebook has configured it that way. PLEASE place your mouse over my name above (DO NOT CLICK), a window will appear, now move the mouse on “FRIENDS” (also without clicking), then down to “Settings”, click here and a list will appear. REMOVE the CHECK on “LIFE EVENTS” and “COMMENTS & LIKES”. By doing this, my activity among my friends and family will no longer become public. Now, copy and paste this on your wall. Once I see this posted on your page, I will do the same.
Who Are You Hiring to Handle Your Social Media?
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These days everyone knows what social media is and how important it is to your business. Everyone has a basic understanding of how to operate Facebook and Twitter – so it’s usually not a problem to find someone who can ‘handle’ it.
However, it’s just as important to make sure that your social media person understands how to leverage Facebook to make it a valid part of a larger marketing plan. Make sure, as you set up your social media accounts, that you understand how to network properly with other businesses and how to give your company a ‘voice.’
Facebook is not a substitute for…
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There’s a new trend that has begun to take over the small business world and though it seems like a logical choice, it’s a dangerous path. Lately, I’ve had several clients tell me that they don’t need websites because they have a Facebook page. They are insistent that they can do everything they need to through the page and it’s free, so why bother with the hassle and expense?
It’s not really your site. Yes, you can go on Facebook and make a complete page with your company info, pictures and anything you could possibly want to have on a website there, but the page still does not belong to you. Everyone understands the annoyance of Facebook’s ever changing privacy policies, but they usually equate those with personal accounts. How can that affect business?
Integrity
Posted by: | CommentsRecently, I had a client hire me to handle reputation management on a business he’d just acquired. The business was a good one, with lots of potential but the person who had owned it previously was not interested in customer service or quality. He was only interested in the money that people were willing to pay. It had gotten to a point where people were paying for absolutely nothing. Unfortunately, it took my client a little time to realize how badly things had been mismanaged and by this time, they were in a definite hole.
Integrity is something that is sorely lacking in today’s society. There’s always someone to blame or an excuse to give for why you did or didn’t do something. So when someone speaks or acts with integrity these days, it tends to shock people. You’ll find if you run your business with integrity, people will gravitate toward it. Read More→
Publicity vs. Marketing
Posted by: | CommentsThough you often see the words paired together in companies and on websites, publicity and marketing are actually two different things. Some may call them both sides of a coin. Many in the industry see them as completely separate jobs that have some overlapping qualities, but in actuality, little to do with each 
other. So what does your company need? Marketing or publicity? Let’s find out!
Marketing is about building your brand and getting the word about your business out to your customers. It involves planning, research and goal setting. A good marketing consultant or firm will want to learn everything possible about your business. You cannot possibly give me too much information if I’m going to be marketing your business. The more information the better. Along with putting together a solid brand name, marketing involves long term goals and ideas based on growing your consumer base. Read More→
15 Faux Marketing Firms
Posted by: | CommentsThere are a lot of people out there who have started social media companies and branded themselves as marketing companies. The same also goes for web design and graphic firms. Because logos, websites and print materials are so integral to the foundation of marketing, they have claimed the title of ‘marketers’ or ‘professionals in marketing.’ But there’s a big difference in those two things.
Someone who puts together graphics can tell you a great deal about what the general public sees when they come to a website or what will be attractive in terms of logo and design for the consumer. I fully admit that I have no graphic training or talent and this is not my area of expertise. It’s why I’ve built a partnership with Sherry at JV Media Design. I often joke that many people are graphically inclined. I’m graphically DECLINED. But I can call my partner anytime and get her input when I am putting things together for a client and that’s invaluable.
The flip side of that partnership is that Sherry is well aware that she doesn’t have everything it takes to build marketing plans, write captivating content or get the word out about the websites she builds. That’s why we work together. I am her Marketing Director. Read More→
Did you know Facebook has ________?
Posted by: | CommentsFacebook is an ever changing entity. It seems that just at the point most of us get comfortable with the changes they’ve made, they are at it again. I know that this is a frustration point for many people – myself included. So how can you keep up on what’s happening at Facebook and make sure that your account is as up to date as possible?
Did you know that Facebook has a variety of official pages and groups that anyone can join to keep up with the latest updates and news? There’s even several that allow you to vote on prospective changes!
Facebook and Privacy is designed to keep you informed about all of the privacy changes at Facebook. Often they reveal what they plan to do well in advance of doing it – so you can have the heads up and know what you need to change. Read More→
KLOUT
Posted by: | CommentsYou may have heard a lot of buzz lately about a new site that supposedly measures your influence and reach on the internet. It’s called Klout. I first heard about it from a client and dissuaded them from signing up since they needed to do it via Facebook or Twitter. (I have issues with giving all of these applications all of my friends information, my pictures…all that stuff. You may have 
heard me mention this a few times via Christian Work At Home Mom Radio with Jill Hart.) Shortly thereafter though, I started seeing a lot of people on my Facebook news feed who had signed up and were posting via Klout. I was intrigued to say the least. And then it happened. I saw a news article from somewhere that said a man who applied for the job and had more skills, experience and talent than the job required was suddenly turned down for the job because he wasn’t on Klout. This worried me for many reasons. I know that people can jump on bandwagons and suddenly start assigning vital importance to things that in the big picture, won’t even make a blip. I wondered if Klout was one of those.
First, let’s take a look at Klout. This is what their website says about what they do:
We measure your influence based on your ability to drive action in social networks. We process this data on a daily basis to give you an updated Klout Score each morning.” Read More→
Interview: Lisa Bergren on Glamorous Illusions
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ABOUT GLAMOROUS ILLUSIONS
ABOUT LISA BERGREN
Lisa Tawn Bergren is the best-selling, award-winning author of over 30 books, with more than 1.5 million copies sold. She just finished writing a Colorado historical trilogy (the first book, Breathe, Sing and Claim), and has begun a teen series called River of Time (Waterfall, book 1, comes out in February 2011).
Lisa’s time is split between managing home base, writing (including a fair amount of travel writing), consulting and freelance editing (with a little speaking here and there). She’s married to Tim, a liturgical sculptor, graphic designer and musician. They have three kids–Olivia (15), Emma (12) and Jack (7).
All five of the Bergrens make their home in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
What is the Most Important Part of Your Day?
Posted by: | CommentsIn summertime it can be more of a challenge to be a work at home mom. Though I homeschool my kids now, I remember how hugely different the dynamic was when I had three at school and suddenly had three at home all the time.
The best thing that I ever did was to sit down with my kids and explain what the day looked like when they were gone at school. Then we worked together to figure out a schedule that they not only understood, but that worked for everyone in our house. The kids understood how important Mommy’s work was at the same time they understood how important they were to my day too.
We worked the schedule so they would come downstairs later in the morning and then eat their breakfast. After breakfast, they did their own chores in their rooms and spent some time on their own and then we did a family chore. We usually were able to end this part of the day by 11:00 or 12:00 and then we did family fun activities for the rest of the day. For my part, I continued to get up early and was usually able to be done with work earlier in the morning so I could spend time with them. Read More→
Classified Ad - 6 Months
