Making your page more professional looking is easy! Most of us have custom tabs on our Facebook page for more functionality, but did you know you can change those images to match your page?

See the video below on how with just a few clicks you can make your page more professional.

As promised in the video, below is a FREE set of custom icons you can use for your Facebook Tab images.

Download your FREE Facebook Tab Graphics here

Enjoy! and of course if you would like to order custom images tailored to your theme just contact us!

We all know that daunting task of making up content for Facebook, but with the advances of Facebook’s Graph Search posting is even more important as well as gaining fans and encouraging engagement.

With a little practice you can do this with minimal time and a little planning!

Many of you probably start out the day staring at that blank box and think ‘what the heck am I going to post today.” I know I used to. A great practice to get into is sitting down once a week and plan everything out for the entire week. Use Facebook’s scheduler (or a 3rd party scheduler) and set them for the entire week. Then just once or twice a day go back in and monitor activity. Be sure to address any questions or comments that have been posted to your page.

I did make a handy little sheet to help organize your thoughts, you can download this free planner here. It might be a great idea to make one for each week for the month and then add in posts as you think of them or for any events you know are coming up. Less then for you to do that week

Hired Helper-

If it’s in your budget, it sometimes helps to have some help with posts. Recently I signed up for Post Planner and it has been a great time saver and helper of post ideas. They have a library of 10,000 different questions, quotes and fill in the blank posts that can be used to raise your engagement.

The application also lets you schedule posts for your groups.

What other helpers do you use, post in the comments below.

I’m sure you have probably noticed the posts and quotes about Marie Forleo that I have been posting. About a year ago I enrolled her B-School and as an entrepreneur it was probably one of the best choices I made (only next to the decision to become an entrepreneur).  The program is almost like 4 years of business school packed into an 8 week online workshop. Not only is the leadership great but the online community of others is a wonderful inspiration!

If you are thinking about taking your business to the next level or trying to get yours off the ground I would highly recommend this course.

There’s only three more days until Marie Forleo’s B-School closes its doors to new members.  Monday, March 4th at 3pm EST is the deadline. Since this program only happens once a year I didn’t want you to miss out.

I wanted to highlight two important things about B-School that make it different than anything else out there.

Marie’s curriculum is incredibly comprehensive, but in addition to that…

B-School has something that that is essential for any thriving business owner… a hugely supportive community.

B-School comes with a worldwide network of entrepreneurs who are committed to growing themselves and their businesses for all the right reasons. If you’ve ever felt alone in your pursuit for awesomeness, the B-School community will change your life.

(You can hear this right from the grads here — hugely inspiring.)

The other thing is that all members of B-School get LIFETIME ACCESS to the program.

So it doesn’t matter if you’re feeling like you’re not “ready” yet or if you’re traveling – you should really get in on this now.

The next 12 months is going to pass either way.  You’ll either be waaay further in terms of your growth and progress, or you won’t.

The free sample B-School training videos are still up but only until March 4th, so be sure to go see them here- http://www.rhhbschool.com/?orid=2721&opid=31.

Now for the Bonuses!

If you sign up through my affiliate link I will give you a few great bonuses!

Bonus 1 - A Free logo design/redesign – A $425 Value

This includes designing your logo, handing off the various final files and a style guide when completed.

Bonus 2 - One on one GoTo Meeting session on Facebook or WordPress training (for 1 hour, a $125 value).

P.S. Remember, enrollment ends Monday, March 4th, don’t miss out! You can register here now.

Important Note: This offer is valid ONLY if you use the links on this page to sign up for B-school. 

As more are looking to the internet for searching and researching, it is becoming a necessity to have a web presense. So it’s important to get off on the right foot. Below are a few quick tips about domain names.

1. Buy your own domain name *very important*

So you have decided to take the plunge and start your website, you’ve hired a company and are ready to roll. You pick out the name and hand it over to the web design company. Wrong! This is one mistake that I have seen way to many times in the past few months. If you let someone else purchase your domain name technically it’s theirs and they own it.  Though not impossible, it become sincreasing harder to gain control once someone else has it. Say for instance you had a friend/collage of yours buy your name for you. Well years go by and you need to switch hosting companies but you don’t know what the log in is and worst yet you have lost contact with that person. On the flip side if you have a company register your name they can change any amount for  maintaining it.

2. Buy more than one.

If you have 2 or more domain names that referrer to your business don’t be shy about purchasing them all. Domains are much cheaper now than they have been in the past and having multiple domain names can help with marketing and web searches. Note they can all lead to the same website so you don’t need multiple web sites or hosting plans.

3.  Simple is better

When picking out a name try to go as simple as possible. On average over 100,000 domains are purchased everyday,  so as you can imagine your choices narrow the longer you wait. Domains can be up to 67 characters in length but shorter is better for consumer memory.

4. Don’t wait

Even if you haven’t fully committed to creating that website or business adventure still purchase the domain. On average a .com costs less than $20 a year so it’s better to jump on it than not to have it when you need it.

5. Google it but don’t post it

Once you have a name, google it. See if there are other sites related to it. If in the past it has been used spam or if someone holds the copyright. Don’t post the name in a forum or message board asking for opinions. You will get trolls that search those posts out and then buy your domain, of course you can buy it from them at a steep price.

What other tips or stories do you have when buying your domains, please put them in the comments below?

Was having a little fun with Photoshop this morning. Please feel free to use these timeline cover images on your Facebook pages.

Click on the image to bring it up to full size and then right to download it to your computer.

Click here for instructions on how to change your Timeline cover image.

If everyone likes them I will make a few more each month. Enjoy!

PLEASE NOTE: By downloading these images you agree to not sell them and to use them for their intended purpose.

Production notes: This has always been one of my favorite quotes as I make lots of mistakes

Production notes: This one is inspired by my father. Today would have been his 65th B-day and he was always there for anyone who needed help.

 Production notes: Martha Graham has always been a mentor of mine. She was a strong woman and never let age slow her down, she danced and choreographed for over seventy years.

If you have a request for a certain quote post it below in the comments and I will try and use it when I do the next batch.

Have a great fun weekend everyone!!

Jen

With the popularity of the internet and the ease of hiring an individual from anywhere I have seen many of these $5 – $99 logo sites. You know the ones that you just launch a contest and get all these design ideas to pick from. Where 25+ designers will give it a stab at designing your image.

Many of you may take one look at that statement and think it’s the best thing since sliced bread…you can get a logo for your business for under $100? So sure in text that sounds great but think about it, if that person has a chance of making $99 how much time do you think they spend on that design? How many other companies did they submit that same design to with just changing the name on it? And that other $5 site, how much time and knowledge do you think they have?

Sure a professional designer will cost more but they will also go though many steps to make your logo represent your brand. For instance here are a few of the steps I go though:

• Background – Talk with the client, review any marketing materials they currently have, speak with the owner and find out what type of styles they like, find out if they have anything in mind
• Research – study your product, find out how it’s used, what type of cliental it appeals to, what designs are already being used
• Design – Here I usually come up with about 20 initial concepts and then work through those to be able to present the client with 6-8 options.
• Revisions – Usually go through about 4-6 sets of revisions
• Deliverables – Deliver various file formats, variations and a logo style guide (this is a booklet that explains how the logo should be used, official colors, fonts, etc).

As you can see with a professional logo there is alot more involved which there should be since your logo is your identity to your business. It’s one of the first things your clients see and is the image they have of your company. It is something you will likely keep for 5-10 years (if not more). You want it to be as unique as your business.

So here are a few things to keep in mind when hiring a logo designer:

1. When getting a quote tell them your budget, and give them an idea of what you want. A logo that wants a custom charter will be more verses a styled icon.
2. Take a look at their portfolio, is their style something that you like? Remember you are hiring an artist, each style is different.
3. Make sure you will be receiving many file variations of that final logo (eps, ai, png, jpg are the most common). You should also receive versions that will be one color, a reverse version (i.e. if it was to be printed white on black) as well as versions with and without a tag line, if that is applicable. side note: if they are unable to provide a vector image (eps or ai) you may have trouble enlarging the file for print work and for screen or embroidery work.
4. Make sure it’s clear how many revisions you will be receiving for the price that is quoted.
5. Ask the designer if the artwork that will be used will be original or is from a stock art site.
6. Logo Guide – Will a logo style guide be provided. These are used to define the terms of how you should use your logo and which versions to use for certain situations.

Please keep these points in mind when you are looking for a designer. For some you may not care if your logo is the same 10 other companies (and that is fine) but if you are one that wants to be unique please consider hiring a professional.

My logo designs packages usually start at around $395 and go up, please email me for a tailored quote on your next project.

Addition: A friend just shared this video with me and I just thought it was perfect for this topic, enjoy!

Website Redesign Case Study

URL: http://www.gigisplayhouse.org
Product: Multipress WordPress Site

Challenge: GiGi’s Playhouse, a non-profit Down syndrome awareness center, was outgrowing their  current website. When it was first created there were only 4 locations, today they have 12 locations. They needed a better way of organizing and presenting their information. Their goals in the web site re-design process were as follows:

• Improve the flow of the site.
• Create better organization for the locations.
• Create a blog for each location that integrated with the website.
• Have better optimization for search engines.
• Add a content management system that each location could update themselves.

Results: JL Design created a Multipress WordPress site. This way all locations could have their own blog and mini-sites while still  being connected to the main site. All the sites use the same main navigation menu so the locations are still tied to the main organization. Making them multi-sites also helps with keeping everything updated.

Conclusion: So far the new format is working nicely. Visitors are able to find the information quickly and easily with the new multi-page format for each location. In the past month there has been a 15% increase in search engine traffic.

See the new GiGi’s Playhouse website live here.

I do get this question a lot. A client has decided to start a web presence but has no idea where to start.

First let me say that you have made a great decision, world wide there are more than 7 million people on the internet just looking for things.

5 simplified steps on how to get started on the web.

Step 1: And this is the most important step, what do you want to put up on the web? A pretty website is nice but if you don’t have the right content up there it’s pretty useless. A great way to start is to create an outline of the pages you want (about, contact, product 1, blog, etc.) Then work on the text that you need on each page. Now this will vary depending on what type of business you are running. You should also start looking for some nice photos. If you don’t have any professional quality photos you might want to look at getting some from a stock photo web site. Statics say you have 3 seconds to capture someones attention and bad photos is a good way to turn them off.

Step 2: Pick out a domain name. You need to pick out a name that reflects your business. It’s best to use something that isn’t to long and easy to remember. Now as you can image since the web is getting busier and busier that most of the popular .com names are already taken so you might have to get creative or choose a .info or . org (if you are an organization). It still is best if you can grab a .com address. Once you have a domain name you are happy with you need to register it with a registrar (like GoDaddy.com, hostgater.com, etc.)

Step 3: Hire designer or do it yourself? You need to sit down and decide if hiring a designer is in the budget or if you are going to tackle the task yourself. If you are someone that has a little experience with web or just likes trying new things then go for it. If you are someone crunched on time and has no clue about computers then hire someone. There are many levels of designers and I’m sure you can find one that suits your needs. Just be sure to look at their portfolio and see if you like their previous work.

Currently WordPress sites are very popular and for good reason. If you can learn the software you should be able to get a good looking site with just a few tools and some time. You could also hire a designer to start the site and then you would have the option to do updates to it at a later time. My advice is that if you can afford it, hire someone to at least set it up. This way it will be done properly to begin with and some designers will give you lessons on how to use the system before turning it over to you.

Step 4: Hosting. As with any website you will need to find a place to host your site. Basically it becomes online storage for your website. There are many different hosting plans. If you are going to be using a WordPress site be sure your hosting provider has the capability to host WordPress. Your designer should be able to help steer you to the type of hosting you need.

Note: WordPress does have free hosting (WordPress.org) BUT you can not use a custom domain name and you are limited to the plugins and templates that you can use. You are better off purchasing space. Nowadays it’s as little at $3.49/month.

Step 5: Plugins, SEO, ETC: Once you have your basics in your site it’s time to start adding functionality. Having a wordpress site makes this easy. There are thousands of plugs-ins (many free) that can add functionality to your site.  A plugin basically extends the functionality of your website.

Most wordpress designers will add in the basics for you when they create your site.

Here are a few good (and free) must haves:

• Search Engine Optimization (all in one SEO is a good free one)
• Email sign up lists (MailChimp, Constant Contact and most of the popular email services have plugins)
• Jetpack – this one comes free with WordPress. It will contain your site statics, sharing buttons and more.
• Contact Form 7 – This will make custom contact forms.

Be cautious about added any plugin, the best bet is to use the search within WordPress. The ones in the WordPress directory have been approved and tested.

What other tips do you have for first timers? Write them below in the comments.

Try our Website Organization Planner for more help with planning your site. Sign up below to get it free!

Groups are good for some instances but for a national companies/non-profits you may consider a switching to a fan page.

I have been working with a client to get their groups switched over to pages. The process is frustrating to get everyone moved over and posting on the fan page but in the long run I believe extra engagement will be the reward.

A few points to answer that  ”Why do we need to change?” question:

• You can’t share photos or stories from a group (THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT)
• Group postings are not placed in the users feed, thus most do not get seen  (THIS IS THE SECOND IMPORTANT)
• You can’t tag a group (mention it with a link in a posting on your personal page).
• Groups are not visible to unregistered people
• Groups are not indexed
• You will not be able to use a custom URL to promote it
• In a group you can’t tell what are official postings (they always come from a person)
• You can’t add plug-ins or apps on a group (for instance like gateway pages, calendars, etc)
• You can’t promote a group with ads
• There is a limit of the number of users you can have
• Also when a person likes a page they get instant access to post… for a group they have to ask and that will deter some.
• You can’t pin an import post to the top
• You can’t use the check-in feature
• You can’t set up third party tools to automatically post to your page (i.e. when you send out a newsletter it can put a post on your page)

If you are wanting to keep your posts more private and want control over your fans then yes you should stick with the group. If you want more engagement and sharing then switch to a fan page. In most cases I believe the extra work will be worth it in the end.

Have more reasons for or against? Post them in the comments.

Many of us woke up to this message today:

Coming Soon: New Facebook Pages
On March 30, 2012, all Facebook Pages will get a new design. Preview your page now to see what it looks like and try out the new features.

While the new design gives us some more options it also gives us a few challenges. Be sure you are ready for the changes before you switch over.

New Features:

• Cover Image: As with the personal timeline we now get a large space at the top for an image. Your image should be 851 x 315 pixels. Be sure to remember the bottom left will have your profile image. Also please note according to the rules you are not suppose to have any contact information in your image, including your email or web sites. In addition to that you are not suppose to have a reference to “liking” the page. For more info on this go to facebook.com/about/pages
• Tabs: The good news for tabs is that they will now use the entire width of the page. The bad news is that you can no longer make a tab your landing page.  It looks like you can still drive traffic to that tab page, but they are no longer forced to this page when going to your page. You can have up to 12 and only the first 4 show without having to click on the arrow button. You can rearrange them so be sure to place the 4 most important ones first. Also new is that you can make a custom image for your tabs. Be sure to take advantage to style your page. The size for the tab image is 112 x 75 pixels.
• Private messages: Now people can contact you privately using messages. Notifications about new messages will appear right in your admin panel.
• Changing your name: A new plus is that option to request for a fan page name change.
• Pinning Posts: You can now pin a post and it will stay at the top of your page for a week.

You have 4 weeks to get ready, or if you like you can activate Timeline now.

Links to other views and tips on the new timeline:

Everything You Need To Know (And More) About Facebook Timelines For Brands

Timeline on Fan Pages: 6 Things you Need to Know

Facebook launches Timeline for Pages

Facebook Timeline for Fan Pages – Frequently Asked Questions