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Thursday, February 10th, 2011  3:39 pm Now that Facebook has digitally entrenched itself in every aspect our society, even the slowest to adapt are picking up the habit.
“No, Grandpa, I’m not joining your mafia– I don’t care if we’re family…..and stop poking me!”
This shift has allowed Facebook to move from a tool for marketing to college kids, towards an media that can touch everyone. For businesses, the process starts with creating a “fan” page. A Facebook Fan Page is a great tool for drumming up new business as well as keeping current clients —potentially.
So how do you convert all that potential into a positive movement?
Step 1.) Create Page – The easy part
- Include all contact information, physical addresses, and hours of operation
- Add picture of your logo or building for the photo
- Link to your website or blog
- Include quick elevator pitch under the [Basic Info -> About] section
*Note: This page is for your Business. Keep personal content to a minimum.
Step 2.) Get Fans – The hard part
In the age of the News Feed, users don’t click “Like” on just anything. The two keys to getting fans are; 1.) Creating real value users can only consume by “Liking” you, and 2.) Telling everyone about it.
Creating Value:
- Giveaways/Contests: Draw for a prize once you reach (X) number of fans
- Discounts: Post exclusive deals periodically that fans are eligible for.
ex. How do you like to unwind? The first 7 people to respond get 50% off their next trip to our spa!
- Blog: Write about topics of interest to your customer base
- Q & A: Create a forum to discuss issues/get answers about your area of expertise
Telling Everyone about It
- Collaborate with Twitter: Putting links to your offers, giveaways, or blogs in Tweets is the best way to get your content seen and gain more followers. **Try to get people with lots of followers to Re-Tweet (RT) your Tweets.
ex. Please RT: Get 50% off at My Dayspa! Like us on Facebook to be eligible for daily exclusive deals! Link to FB Page
- Talk About It: List your Facebook URL on your website, ads, business cards, mass emails, direct mail, etc… When you’re out in real-life social situations, tell people about it. Get the word out that you post content on Facebook that people want to see.
- Stay Active: It will take a commitment. To be effective you must hold people’s interest. Running a daily coupon/special is a great way to get attention.
- Run an Ad! (see last blog about Facebook Ads)
Treat your Facebook page as a marketing campaign. Track leads that come from Facebook to determine if the time you’re putting in is getting a worthwhile return. Now go get social networking!
For social media questions email Bryan at – Emmendorfer@dynedge.com
Monday, January 24th, 2011 12:39 pm The Facebook ad system is based on a supply and demand bidding system. It can be tricky (and expensive) to get the results you want from your Facebook ad campaign. Here are some tips to get your costs down and results up:
Paying for your Ads – CPC vs. CPM:
CPC you pay for each click. CPM you pay for each 1000 times your ad shows up on a profile. I recommend “Cost per Click” for beginners. The only way CPM will be cheaper is if your ad beats the average click through rate.
Bidding: During peak times the suggested bid is very high. It dips in the middle of the night. To get more clicks for less money, post your ad around 4am.
*Insider tip: If your ad has a low click through rate, the bid price will go up. If your click through rate gets too low, Facebook will stop running the ad all together. Change the text slightly and repost to start over fresh and start getting impressions again.
Hitting your Target:
Your audience is segmented based on the keywords in their profiles. The best keywords are the most expensive. (Remember, ad rates are supply and demand) Get creative and find back doors to your target market.
Ex: If you’re advertising a hybrid car, “Green” is probably the first keyword people think of. Try using an activity someone who cares about protecting nature might be interested in like “camping” or “hiking”.
Getting Attention – Creating your Ad:
If you begin the ad process by clicking “Promote with an Ad” under the picture on your home page, you will not be able to control the title field. At the very bottom of the page, click Advertise->My Ads-> Create Ad, then copy/paste the URL from your FB page. This allows you to title the ad however you want.
Text: 140 Characters. Make ‘em count!
Picture: Use a photo editing program to tweak and add attention grabbing text to your picture. Max image size is 110 x 80 pixels. Keep this aspect ratio in tact when creating your image so text is not distorted.
Getting Results:
One of the most overlooked features of Facebook is that it’s customizable (If you know some HTML). Using the Static FBML application, you can create a custom page inside your fan page that relates directly to your ad.
People spend on average less than 15 seconds on a webpage after they click an ad. If you want to get results from your clicks, the content on this page is key! All the info you want them to see should be on this landing page.
Thursday, January 6th, 2011 11:37 am Planning to travel this holiday season? Taking your laptop along for the ride? Here are some tips to make sure you aren’t asking Santa for your data back.
Before you Leave
Run software updates 2 days before you head out: Installing updates can rejuvenate your machine and help protect it from the latest viruses. However, sometimes an update can have a negative effect on performance. Run it two days in advance to test it out. If things aren’t running smoothly, you can remove it manually and return to the previous version. Microsoft will eventually fix the glitch and you can reinstall it at a later date.
Run a full backup and test restore 3 files: Even personal laptops should be backed up. Traveling puts loads of extra stress on your technology. To eliminate risk of data loss, an inexpensive external hard drive and simple software will do the trick. After the back-up, try to open at least 3 files to ensure the copy was successful.
While in Transit
Bouncing around in your backpack for a week can be extremely hard on a laptop. Here are some tips to help minimize the damage:
- Double bag it: Use a tight-fitting laptop sleeve that fits inside your shoulder bag for extra shock protection.
- Don’t Check it: When flying, always carry on your laptop. (Have you seen the way they handle bags?)
- Keep it cool: Between 50° – 95°F. Too hot causes parts to expand, too cold makes parts brittle. Make sure your laptop is on a hard, flat surface to allow airflow and prevent overheating— and don’t leave it in the car when its -2° out! (Temperature Monitoring Software: Real Temp for Windows; iStat for Mac)
- Shut it down: Make sure your laptop is off when it’s moving. Spinning hard drives damage easily.
Other Good Ideas
Remote Bricking: If you’re traveling with sensitive data, it’s a good idea to invest in some “bricking” software. Computrace Lojack for Laptops can lock, wipe, and track your laptop in the event of loss or theft. For about $60, you can ensure your laptop is as useful as a brick to anyone who steals it. (Also a good idea for Smartphones)
Run Updates Again: Run updates when you return from a long trip. Who knows what new threats have reared their heads while you were away?
Friday, November 19th, 2010 2:38 pm Raise your hand if you still use a yellow book to look up phone numbers….
No one? Well than what has replaced this staple in our everyday lives? We all know its Google. Google has become more than just a $190B company– It has become a verb synonymous for internet searching. Googling is our go-to method for finding…anything.
When someone googles a business, one of the top 2 results is usually the Google Places Page. This page is available for every business that has been indexed by Google. Brand new businesses may not have one yet. Google Places is the new improved “yellow book listing” for the internet age. This is where people go to find your contact information when they are interested in doing business. But who creates this page and who’s responsible for its accuracy? The answer to both questions is… You do.
You need to take control of your Places Page, and if you haven’t yet, somebody else can and will— and they might not have your best interests in mind.
In order to ensure accuracy and prevent competitors from sabotaging your page, Here’s How to Claim Your Listing:
- Find your Page: The first step to claiming your listing is to Google search for your company and click on “more info” or “places page”. Here you will see what information Google has defaulted on your page, and if someone else has already claimed it. There is no easy way to get control of your page back if some else has hijacked it, so it is important to get control of your page as soon as possible.
- Log In: To claim your page you need a Google account (gmail, youtube, ect.). If you don’t have one yet, create one. Once you’re logged into Google and on your unclaimed page, click “Owner?” and follow the prompts.
- Get your Pin: Next, Google will send a postcard to your business address with a pin number you’ll need to confirm you’re the owner.
- Edit your Info: Once you get your pin in the mail, you can start editing the content of your listing. You can add a detailed description, photos, links, and categories that describe your business.
Remember, this page is usually the first thing people see when they are interested in your services. Make sure to deliver a concise, clear message with no spelling errors. This page is free advertising— put some time into what you’re communicating.
Monday, November 1st, 2010 10:59 am  Today, even industries like trucking rely heavily on strong computer networks. Recently, a large distributor in Metro Detroit called us for emergency support. All their servers were down and they had a lot of angry customers. We had not worked with this client in the past so we were essentially going in blind.
The AC had broken in the server room days earlier causing overheating and a forced shut down. This problem could have been easily avoided, but no one was monitoring the servers for warning signs.
To compound the problem, the server cluster had not been set up following “best practices” standards. So when the cluster of servers went down, the active directory controller also went down. This turned what would have been a relatively simple fix, into a major outage.
Lack of monitoring and faulty configuration cost this logistics company 10hrs of downtime. Labor to get the network back up and running cost around $2,000. This was a minor fee compared to the overall damages caused by the outage. If we look at lost productivity alone, being down for 10 hours cost this $50M company around a $137,000. This doesn’t take into consideration any client loss that resulted, or the negative effect on their brand overall.
In highly competitive industries, only the strong survive, and your business is only as strong as your network. The more competition, the less room for error, the more costly each error becomes.
If you caught an employee stealing 130,000 dollars, they’d be fired. So why is it acceptable to let a near sighted tech support team rob you blind? If you’re having issues that are costing you uptime, you’re risking more than your productivity– you’re risking your business.
Sunday, October 24th, 2010 6:03 pm  Downtown Nashville: Just stopped into the SMART TAN International 2010 indoor tanning industry convention and trade show. The exhibitors’ booths were amazing. Some of them looked like little houses with two stories packed full of tanning goodies.
About three years ago, we built a web application for SMART TAN. We helped them create an online tanning certification system and a web portal for indoor tanning employee training. SMART TAN is consistently a leader in growth and innovation in their industry. Dynamic Edge continues to work with them today – tweaking and improving their web offerings to stay a few leaps ahead of the competition.
During my visit I counted over 100 exhibitors and what appeared to be a sea of thousands of attendees. Great job SMART TAN!
Friday, September 17th, 2010 12:57 pm According to a 2009 Symantec Study, cyber crime is now the most profitable criminal activity– just ahead of drug trafficking.
What are they after? Access to your data. They want account numbers, social security numbers and personal information. Today, these threats come from all over the world. No longer is the average hacker a bored college techie. Now, there are warehouses of children in Russia that are paid cash per SSN harvested. They have the time and motivation to exploit any and all weaknesses in our networks.
The worst part is, there is a weakness in every network that no firewall or virus software can eliminate. The people using it. The number one way criminals gain access to your network is by misleading a user into inviting them in. One wrong click and they have everything they need to rob you blind and destroy your business.
Here’s the scoop: the criminal does some research and crafts an email specifically directed at one of your employees. It says something about saving money on healthcare or another work related topic to peak their interest. There’s a link and a form that the user is asked to fill out. Here’s the new trick—the email appears to come from someone inside the office, usually their boss.
By clicking on the form, the user gives the criminal control of their computer. That night, the criminal uses access to the user’s machine to break into the company server. He then has free will to harvest and destroy your data as he pleases.
The best targets for these crimes are businesses that do not have a full time IT person. These businesses usually depend on a tech guy to come out and fix stuff when it breaks. The biggest problem here is that most of them don’t even know they’ve been hacked until it’s too late. A recent study found that last year 40% of small businesses’ networks were accessed by a hacker. Half of them didn’t even know they were attacked.
What can you do? Train your people, blog about it, tell your mom, and make sure that you don’t click on anything that you are not expecting. If you’re ever suspicious, ask whoever supposedly sent you the e-mail if it’s legit. Just remember, the email may not be from who it says it is.
I learned about this new threat 3 days ago when the Nashville Technology Counsel hosted Infosec. I haven’t told my mother yet, or trained my staff, but I did blog about it. Tell your friends folks. This threat is real.
bfm
Monday, September 13th, 2010 2:50 pm Did you know standard small business insurance only covers hardware lost in disasters and considers data an intangible asset? Could you keep your business running with no data? Could you afford to buy new software and sales leads? What are your years of saved files worth?
3 out of 4 Businesses never recover after a disaster strikes. The best way to protect your business is to have a full, offsite backup system. Making sure your data is in two places at once not only protects against hard drive failure, but ensures all your info cannot be lost in one disaster.
The next best way to prevent data loss via disaster is backing up your workstation on a fire and waterproof hard drive. This is not recommended for backing up servers, but for individual machines it’s a good, cost effective solution. You can currently purchase a 2TB ioSafe Solo model for around $400. If you’re running a small, single computer business, this is a great way to protect your data.
One problem with using a fireproof HD is it’s usually in the same room as your primary data, plugged into the same wall. In the event of theft or power surge, your home business could be devastated.
Locking up offsite backups in a secret location is equivalent to the level of protection the President and VP receive from the secret service. The ioSafe Solo is like a good bulletproof vest (and hat)—a lot safer than wearing a t-shirt.
If you’re currently backing up on an external HD and have no plans of moving to a more sophisticated, offsite system, I highly recommend this nearly indestructible hard drive. It probably won’t stop bullets, but it will protect you against the 3.6% chance of losing your “intangible” assets to flood or fire.
Monday, September 13th, 2010 2:46 pm
Russian spies have grabbed the headlines in recent weeks. Eleven have now been captured and are standing trial in New York City. However, another 200 million spies remain at large, and they have managed to infiltrate almost every home and business in America. But these spies are taking much more from us then some political plans. They are taking our identities, our dollars, and our productivity right out from under our noses.
Today cyber-espionage is a threat to every one of us. Spyware programs have been unknowingly installed on 80% of all computers in America. These programs range from benign pop up ads, to software that steals passwords, credit card numbers, and our identities.
These spies are designed to fool us into downloading them, and usually sneak inside our computer systems through simple human error. Sometimes they piggyback on programs we choose to download. Other times they are slipped onto our hard drives simply by visiting the wrong website. We can take precautions to avoid downloading spyware like only opening emails you expect, not downloading free software, and visiting only approved websites. But there’s no way to be connected to the internet and not face spyware threats.
The effects of spyware can be devastating to a business network. The most innocent spyware tries to target us with ads and collects information about our web history. Although this sounds like little more than an invasion of privacy, the data constantly flowing to and from each computer in the network can bring the entire office to a standstill. Often, the symptoms of these programs are misdiagnosed as outdated equipment, leading to pricey network overhauls. For a 50-station network, replacement costs can range up to $100,000, but the worst part is, the problem still won’t be solved. Unless your office is filled with 50 tech experts, spyware viruses will certainly be contracted again and weeks later leave you in the same slow, leaky boat. Left untreated, these “innocent” adware programs have been known to cripple entire networks costing companies millions.
Then there are the malicious spyware viruses that steal passwords, social security numbers, credit card information, and even your private messages. These targeted attacks prey on human errors with misleading e-mails, links to fake anti-virus software, and countless other tricks to infest your hard drive. Most companies are reluctant to admit security breaches, but according to the FBI, 20% of US firms have reported cyber attacks. The average cost of each reported attack is $24,000.
Computer hackers are in the spyware business for one reason— money. The criminal spyware industry is super-profitable and employs some of the brightest computer minds in the world. Even though there’s a constant battle to defeat these new economic and security threats, no anti-spyware program is ever truly up to date. Because of the dynamic nature of these spyware viruses, the only possible way to prevent infection is constant monitoring by a professional network administrator. As our methods of doing business and transferring information evolve, so too does the need for network security. In 1920, our cars didn’t have seatbelts. In 1960, love was free and unprotected. And in 1990, we didn’t worry about computer security. But these days are much more complex, much more sophisticated, and much more dangerous. And that’s why these days we need much more powerful, proactive computer protection. In 1980, Russian spies were our biggest threat. In 2010, it’s the spy you just download that you need to worry about.
Monday, September 13th, 2010 2:44 pm
A new product being raved about by technology gurus around the world is a brand new…pen? Yes that is correct, a pen. Of course it isn’t just your everyday pen; it is a very unique pen, one that can do all sorts of interesting and never before seen things.
The Livescribe Pulse Pen is quickly becoming every student and professional’s dream gadget. With the Pulse you can record what is being said as you write. While this isn’t a totally new concept, it was what the pulse does after that that makes it unique. After you write whatever notes it is that you have, you can then upload a digital copy of them to your computer via a simple usb hub that is included with the Pulse. In addition to that, the Pulse will show you any type of audio that is associated with the words you have written.
For example, if you were writing notes from a seminar and turned the record button to “on” and then uploaded those notes to your computer, the digital copy would highlight the text in green that had audio associated with it. What you could then do is click on the green highlighted text and it would play back the audio the same way it was being read as you wrote your notes. If that were not enough, there are also really neat features that you can do with the software that is unavailable on any other types of “smart” pens.
The Pulse is capable of allowing you to search for words that have been digitalized by the computer. As one tech company noted, the person who wrote the notes handwriting was horrendous and the Pulse software was still able to recognize the word when typed into the search query. It can also do other things like playing the piano that you drew on the paper, or computing calculations on the calculator template provided on the notebook.
While it sounds like a no-brainer to purchase, there are of course a few downsides. First of all, everything that you want to be digitally copied must be written on special paper that is made for the Pulse. This can obviously be costly and inconvenient. Second, you can only upload the Pulse software onto one computer and many users have griped that if they are going to spend hundreds of dollars on a pen, it should allow them to upload the software more than one time.
While this may be true, there are more positives than negatives towards the Pulse and as long as you are going to be using it, it will be an investment that saves you both time and energy while increasing your productivity.
To find out more about Livescribe Pulse give Dynamic Edge a call at 734.975.0460.
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