A while back we published a Facebook checklist for business pages and we think it is probably worth publishing again. We have noticed that many Facebook business pages are not taking advantage of the vanity URL option that Facebook provides. It is #10 on our list.

The Facebook vanity URL will help you promote your page by giving you a short and more meaningful URL to use in your marketing communications. The vanity URL for our page is www.facebook.com/whartonmarketing – that is much easier to communicate than the string of numbers an characters that are in the URL that Facebook assigns you!

If you haven’t already done it – go get your vanity URL today! Look over the list and see what else you can do to improve your Facebook Business Page!

Facebook Business Page Checklist

Have you completely filled out all your information?

2. Did you use your keywords in your description?

3. Did you include contact information on your page?

4. Do have a strategy for:

-What you will post
-How often you will post

And, are you committed to keeping it up?

5. Do you have a plan for getting fans?

6. Have you published your page?

7. Are you a fan of your page?

8. Have you added your page to your profile’s favorites?

9. Is your website linked on your page?

10. Have you created a vanity URL? (http://www.facebook.com/username)

11. Does your website link to your Facebook page?

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The Arkansas Small Business and Technology Development Center’s Facebook ABC’s seminar is coming up next week and I understand it is filling up! Here is more info and the registration link. Hope to see you there.

JONESBORO, Ark (March 1st, 2010) – The Arkansas State University Small Business and Technology Development Center along with the Mountain Home Area Chamber of Commerce and Arkansas State University Mountain Home will hold an introductory seminar on Facebook ABCs for Businesses on the ASU Mountain Home campus Tuesday, March 16th.
From 2:00-5:00 pm Facebook ABCs for Business Seminar – a basic course to help small business owners evaluate how Facebook and other social media can help their marketing efforts. This 3 hour seminar will be taught by Christi and Joe Wharton, Wharton Website Design and Marketing. “Facebook has become a great marketing tool for small businesses,” said Herb Lawrence, ASU SBTDC Center Director. “Over 325 million people are currently on Facebook and over 300,000 small businesses have Facebook Pages that allows them to find, communicate with, and develop profitable relationships with customers. The question is: are you on Facebook to interact with them?” This course will show attendees how this powerful social media network allows them to establish relationships with others on Facebook who want to know more about their businesses. In this introductory seminar, topics will include an overview of how social media works; how Facebook helps small businesses improve their marketing efforts and basics of setting up a Facebook Profile that is linked to a Page. Attendees should have some basic computer knowledge.
Registration is $35 per person ($25 for Chamber members and $20 for ASU Mountain Home Faculty, Staff and Students). For more information or to register contact the Arkansas State University Small Business and Technology Development Center at (870) 972-3517, email asusbtdc@astate.edu, register on line at http://asbtdc.ualr.edu/training/jonesboro.asp or “fan” the ASU SBTDC on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/asu.sbtdc.
These seminars are co-sponsored by Mountain Home Area Chamber of Commerce, Arkansas State University Mountain Home, Baxter County Library, First Community Bank, First Community Bank and Liberty Bank of Arkansas.

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I’ve been playing with Google’s new social media offering, Buzz, this morning and seeing how it can help businesses. It is really geared more for people than businesses at this point, but it is yet another place where you can build the social media presence for your business.

The mobile Buzz is currently available only on Droid and iPhone, but it has some nifty features like knowing your location and allowing you to see what is “buzzing” near you.

You can read more about Buzz at Mashable and read some marketing tips for Buzz from Hubspot. Just when you thought you had the social media conquered, here comes another opportunity!

We’ll be keeping up with all the fun here at Wharton Marketing to keep you informed.

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From Mashable

According to market research firm IDC, vendors shipped 54.5 million smartphone devices in the fourth quarter of 2009, an increase of 39% compared to the same period in 2008.

With the ever increasing use of smartphones, businesses must be prepared. Gone are the days when people would pull out a phone book and look for the name and address of a restaurant, an auto repair shop, a clothing store. Now, as they are out and about, they can pull out their smartphone and find a restaurant, read the menu, make reservations and get a map with directions from where they are to the restaurant of their choice. They can even ask their social media friends for recommendations.

Combining a mobile friendly site with social media power can put your business in a perfect position to take advantage of this growing opportunity. Loading speed is even more important than ever in the smartphone world. Google has even mentioned trying to make loading speed a factor in their ranking algorithm. You may or may not need a separate .mobi site for use by smartphones, but at the very least, you need a site with clean, uncluttered code and all your pictures should be optimized for the fastest possible loading time.

The social media aspect is just as important. When someone asks their social media friends for a recommendation, will your name come up? Make your presence known on the social media sites and offer great information. However, the most important part of this equation is focusing on delivering excellence once your customer finds you. Even if a restaurant is found on a smartphone and offers a great menu, if you don’t focus on delivering excellence, you will not likely be recommended in the social media world.

Marketing in this lightening fast world is a challenge but it is the businesses that meet the challenge that will rise to the top.

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Many business avoid using social media like Facebook for security reasons. It is true that Facebook is targeted by hackers and the reason is it is the biggest social network out there. Businesses are vulnerable because you actually want people to see your business phone number and other contact information. So, what are businesses to do? Maybe the answer is they just need some  “social security.”

Here are some “social security” guidelines:

• Use a good password and change it often. What are the 10 most common passwords (and the most hacked)?

1. password
2. 123456
3. qwerty
4. abc123
5. letmein
6. monkey
7. myspace1
8. password1
9. blink182
10. (your first name)

• Use an updated browser that features an anti-phishing blacklist such as Internet Explorer 8 or Firefox 3.5 (and higher).
• Become a fan of Facebook Security to keep up with the latest security threats and solutions.
• Consider setting up separate g-mail account for login purposes that does not use your name.

Take proactive steps to protect yourself. Facebook can be a great marketing tool for businesses, just do it safely!

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A couple of interesting thoughts come to mind after the ABC’s of Facebook class last week. One comment from a participant was that Facebook for business was only for small business – big companies don’ t make friends. On the contrary, big businesses do use Facebook and they use it effectively to interact with their customers. And, their customers are responding. They look to Facebook pages to find out about sales and get special deals and find out about new products and services.

Internet marketing, whether through a website, social media or a blog can help level the playing field, however, it still takes time and effort for big companies and small businesses alike. Another participant in the class said she just didn’t want to have to spend any time on making friends and updating and interacting on Facebook. Actually, in that case, Facebook probably isn’t for her. A big company with lots of name recognition may not need to spend as much time making friends and inviting them to their business page, but for a small business, it is critical. It is a great opportunity to meet new people and hear from existing customers and to let them know what is going on with your business and offer them something in return.

Small or large, Facebook is a good tool for businesses. Is your business using Facebook effectively?

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You are invited to attend our NEW Facebook ABCs for Business Marketing Seminar in Mountain Home!

325 million people are on Facebook half of whom are on line every day! And…they are looking for information about products and services all around Arkansas.  Are you there to meet them?  Should you be? Join us Thursday, January 21st at 6 p.m. at the Baxter County Library and find out!

Whether you are a beginner or a Facebook “Veteran” this workshop will show you how to use Facebook for Business Applications you need to connect with customers and grow your bottom line.

The workshop will be conducted for the ASU SBTDC by Christi and Joe Wharton, Wharton Website Design and Marketing

Facebook has applications that any business or non-profit can use to meet and communicate with potential customers without being a “Tekkie”. attend this informative seminar and find out:

What is Social Media Marketing anyway?
How does Facebook really work for businesses?
How Difficult is it to setup and maintain? do I have to be a “webhead” to have a Facebook page?
Is it even RIGHT for my business?
Get a SIMPLE “hands-on” presentation and learn how to set up a Facebook Page for your organization
Much much More!

This seminar will be held on Thursday, January 21st from 6-9 p.m. at the Baxter County Library.

Cost: $35 per person or $25 for Chamber members
Special Offer: If you are already on Facebook, “Fan” the ASU SBTDC Page before the seminar and get an additional $5 off registration cost.

Register Now

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Have you made a Facebook business page yet? Here is a checklist to use to make sure you getting the most from your page!

1.  Have you completely filled out all your information?

2.  Did you use your keywords in your description?

3.  Did you include contact information on your page?

4.  Do have a strategy for:

-What you will post
-How often you will post

And, are you committed to keeping it up?

5.  Do you have a plan for getting fans?

6.  Have you published your page?

7.  Are you a fan of your page?

8.  Have you added your page to your profile’s favorites?

9.  Is your website linked on your page?

10.  Have you created a vanity URL? (http://www.facebook.com/username)

11.  Does your website link to your Facebook page?

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Do start ASAP. It won’t start itself!

Do work at getting fans. Invite friends through Facebook or by email. All your pages posts are for naught if no one is looking.

Do add a Fan Box to your website. Everyone can see how popular your page is.

Do update frequently.

Do make updates relevant.

Do add your blog’s RSS feed to your page.

Do make a memorable web address for your page.

Do publicize your events on your page.

Do engage in conversation with your fans.

Don’t tell people what you had for lunch or any other irrelevant information that they really don’t care about.

Don’t “spam” your fans with the same information over and over.

Don’t talk about politics or religion on your page unless your business is political or religious. Save those for your profile.

Don’t forget to ask your fans what they think. Ask questions.

Don’t make a page and forget about it. If you forget it, so will others. Keep it up to date!

Don’t neglect to give your fans and anyone else who visits your page information about how they can contact you.

Don’t forget to show your passion!

Don’t forget to add your memorable web address to your business card and email signature.

Don’t get on the wrong side of Facebook. Follow the rules!

Don’t stop! Keep it up. Success takes time!

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It is interesting to read studies and find information that kind of jumps out at you. In the 2009 Business Social Media Benchmarking Study by business.com, we find just that. According to the study, the most popular social media resource for businesses are webinars and podcasts. That rings true with us. We often attend webinars and podcasts to keep up with the latest that is going on in our industry.

Popular Social Media Resources

However, when we look further, we see what most businesses offer, and it doesn’t necessarily match up with how most businesses use social media. For instance, we see, while businesses love to attend webinars and listen to podcasts, most don’t offer webinars and postcasts themselves.

Popular Social Media Initiatives

I smell opportunity here, how about you?

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