Want to Know How to Better Engage with Your Fans?...

As a small-to-midsize business owner, it can be very challenging to keep up with the infinite ways to market your business online. Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock somewhere, you know that Facebook is huge and, as a business owner, you need to have a presence there and start using it to get the word out about your products and services. That being said, there is a bit of finesse required if you want to use Facebook appropriately and engage the audience on which you are focused.

This article, written by social media expert Mari Smith on SocialMediaExaminer.com provides some great techniques for building up your fan base and engaging with them properly so they keep coming back.

Remember, you are in business to provide a product or service to someone who has a need to be filled. So, why not use tools like these to make sure you know exactly what the needs of your customers and clients are and how you can best serve them? I think that the more personal we can become with one another in an increasingly virtual world, the better off we will be. You may not have a storefront for your business, but you certainly have a powerful medium to invite people in.

Read the full article here: How to Better Engage Facebook Fan Page ‘Fans’ | Social Media Examiner.

Here’s a Great Reminder About Passwords...

My colleagues at Geek for Hire, Inc. recently sent out an update to remind us all about the importance of changing our passwords on a regular basis. In referencing a recent question posed in The New York Times entitled “Password Unprotected“, Geek for Hire reminds us all to change our passwords regularly and make sure to change them to something that is not easy to guess.

For some of you, this might seem pretty obvious, but I’m guessing that many of you reading this a) use the same password on multiple accounts including credit cards, bank accounts and social networks; b) don’t think to change your password regularly because it seems like a pain to change and remember a new one; c) don’t think that anyone knows you well enough to guess your passwords or that the people you might have shared passwords with would never use that information to betray you or cause harm.

The reality is most people choose passwords that are easy to guess. Fortunately, many systems, e.g. Google, now help you to know if your password is weak or strong. That being said, do yourself a big favor and change your passwords today. And, if you work with clients who’s accounts you have access to, ask them to do the same.

It might seem like a hassle, but it will save you a lot of pain and frustration in the long run. I’d rather have to remember a new password than rebuild my savings accounts or help a client rebuild their entire website or e-commerce system.

Have a great day!

How Do I Use Facebook to Build a Following for My ...

This is a question I get asked a lot. Most people are familiar with Facebook as a tool to network and reconnect with old school friends or colleagues. However, most people are still learning the ropes on how to use Facebook as a tool to promote your business. I’ll be sharing more information on this topic over time, but in the meantime, here’s an article by Susan Payton that provides some basic steps to getting started: HOW TO: Set Up a Winning Facebook Fan Page.