Here are 10 ways that you can take full advantage of the features that Facebook offers and optimize your very own Facebook business page.

1. Maximize the potential of the profile picture. Optimize the profile picture to not just have a picture of you and your logo. Include other features such as your tag line, services, products and website URL.
2. Create a welcome page. A welcome page is a mini version of your website. The page should have who you are and what your business is about. Put pictures of your products and services.
3. Get more sign-ups for your newsletter. Want more signs up for your newsletter? Your welcome page can include the sign up form for your newsletter.
4. Use Facebook Like Gating and get more likes for your page. Create a page that says like our page and get a free gift.  Next create a second page that is revealed once the visitor likes your page. The second page can have a link to a coupon, free eBook or anything else you can imagine.
5. Grow your community by informing visitors about your other social media sites. Want to connect with more people on your other social networking sites? On your welcome page, put icons with links to your Twitter, LinkedIn and Google Plus pages.
6. Save time by signing up for a free HootSuite account. Don’t want to login several times a day to write on your wall? The solution – sign up for a free Hoot Suite account and schedule your posts to go out as often as you like. This way you only have to schedule time to login to Facebook to read your newsfeed.
7. Attract visitors from the same location as you. Add a contact form application to create a tab on your page that has your business address and a map with your location.
8. Get more exposure for your blog. Have a blog? Use the RSS Graffiti application. RSS Graffiti periodically checks the RSS feed from your blog and posts it to your Facebook wall.
9. Broadcast your newsletter to also go out on Facebook. Many newspaper programs such as Constant Contact have a feature that allows you send out the link to your Facebook page for your newly published online newspaper.
10. Use the 80 – 20 rule for your posts. Create 80% of your posts that revolve around free information and 20% of your posts that promote features of your business. By providing free content and information you will connect with visitors and they will keep coming back.

Post by Heather Ross

Heather Ross is a virtual assistant specializing in internet marketing. Heather works with businesses who want to grow their online marketing presence by using tools such as newsletters, Facebook welcome pages, search engine optimization, WordPress web design and ecommerce. Heather helps her clients develop marketing plans to implement their objectives, reach their target audience, increase their market share and maximize their revenue. She is a Certified Social Media Specialist and a Certified Ecommerce Specialist in 1Shopping Cart. Visit her website at www.yourmarketingassistant.com and her Facebook page at www.yourmarketingassistant.com/facebookpage.

What are some of your tips on improving your Facebook Business Page?

In reviewing all of this, I’ve found that one of the most important things to consider when using Facebook is you are the user of the Facebook product and YOU control 100% what you share. That’s right – you may not understand your privacy settings, which I am going to cover during the webinar, but at the end of the day no one forces you to upload those party pics, the status update that says you are not home, or the rant about your boss being crazy.

The bigger challenge as I see it, when it comes to using Facebook, is judgment.

Are you taking into consideration the potential for the entire world to read your status update, see your photo, view your comment or watch that video you shared? Yes – I really mean the entire world.

Anyone can take a screen shot of what you posted and send it to the local news station, your boss, your mother and/or your spouse. It can be shared from one person to the next, and so on. And if there’s one thing you should know about Social Networks it is that once something goes viral…you can’t take it back. Words can’t be unread and pictures can’t be unseen. As soon as something is placed online it is as if you have created the perfect beginning for an avalanche. All it will take is one person with a loud voice (or many friends/followers on Facebook or Twitter) to share it and start the downhill slide.

So, my question for you when it comes to your Facebook privacy is this: Who is Responsible?

The only person who is responsible for what is on the Internet about you is you. Understanding your settings is key for sharing your content. I agree fully with that. But – there are no set of buttons that are going to filter poor judgment calls on Facebook.

Stop and think:

• WWMT (What Would Mom Think?)

• WWGT (What Would Google Think?)

• WWIT (What Will I Think – ten years from now looking back?)

Use these filters to govern what you post publicly. I believe in freedom of speech, and I also believe we are all (myself included) 100% responsible for everything that happens in our lives.

The only person who can apply sound judgment to what is posted is you. Start by asking the question, WWMT before you press the share button.

If you want to learn more about how to navigate your Facebook Privacy settings, hear Lisa Larter live on the eWomenNetwork Success Institute on Tuesday 11.01.11 at 1:30 pm CST.

We would love to hear your thoughts and advice! How do you protect yourself on Facebook?

Marketing with social media is no longer an option for businesses. It is an essential part of any marketing campaign, and can lead to incredible growth very quickly. Your online presence can have a huge impact on how your business interacts with prospects, and ultimately attracts more clients.

Here are five tips for making the most of social media to produce more profit, boost credibility and build your business:

1. Have a strategy. First, determine how social media fits into your overall marketing strategy. What is your goal? Do you want to build a list, drive traffic to a website, or both? Keep in mind that your overall results with social media will depend on your ability to convert that list of traffic into paying clients. To get best results, you’ll want to think through your entire process, rather than just rely on social media as the new thing.

2. Write killer content. There is only one thing that will get you popularity in social media…your content (or written information). You need to create content that people want to read; the kind that grabs attention, solve pressing problems, and has a strong ‘pass-along’ factor. Great content will get you a loyal audience on social media networks. If you are not a writer, or don’t like to write, hire a copywriter.

High value content is in demand both in social media networks and on the web as a whole. Garnering valuable information is the reason people look to the internet. To drive traffic to your site using social media, you must have something that people want.

3. Give more than you think you should and then give some more. Social media can be a highly effective relationship building tool. To build good relationships, it is good to give before you get. Recommend resources, contacts, and give information freely.

4. Strike a balance between giving and self-promotion. When you have new content on your site or that you have submitted to a directory, send out an email or message via the social network to let your readers know about it. But, be careful not to overdo it. You’ll alienate people if you are always selling something. It’s important to find the balance between sharing valuable content and resources with shameless self-promotion.

5. Be time conscious. Social media is an attractive marketing tactic because there is no huge financial investment to get started. However, it can suck up an awful lot of your time if you’re not careful. And time IS money if you want a successful business. You need to get really clear on what you want to achieve and allocate your time accordingly.

Most of all have fun! Social media is a great way to promote yourself and your business online and build trust and credibility with your potential clients over time.

Have any questions about these tips? Contact Cindy Earl, founder of GetKnownGetClients.com or email info@getknowngetclients.com. Hear Cindy live on eWomenNetwork Success Institute 10.27.11 at 1:30 pm CDT. We absolutely love Cindy, and we know you will love her too!

Join the conversation! We would love to hear what some of your tips and strategies are. How do you make the most of social media?

Photo-http://ht.ly/69QRW

Do you want to know what customers are saying about your business online?  Managing social media conversations can be time consuming and distracting.  There are a variety of products in the marketplace to help you manage discussions, post comments or retweet.  Our favorite is YourBuzz , a free application from American Express® OPEN, which offers a unique means of monitoring, managing and growing your online presence across social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook  with the added benefit of giving you access to your ratings and reviews on Yelp, Foursquare, Citysearch, Yahoo!Local, Bing Local and Superpages.

This app allows you to:

• View customer reviews, ratings and online mentions in one place;
• Respond, retweet, or create a new conversation;
• See how you stack up against the competition; and
• Get recommendations on action to take.

The YourBuzz application has some valuable features, including a scheduling feature so that you can pre-plan your marketing communications.  It also provides reporting with trends information, ratings by source and even ratings versus your competition.  By drilling down into the contacts area you can determine influencers based on their connections and review the geographic distribution of your network.  You also have the ability to view, edit and create profiles on these sites through YourBuzz.

If you are utilizing any combination of these social media and ratings/review platforms as part of your online marketing mix, then be sure to check out YourBuzz.  Let me know what you think!

is a valued and trusted sponsor of eWomenNetwork

• Bring lots of business cards
• Know what your Twitter handle is (some people will only remember you as that)
• Tweet from the event so people know you are there
• RSVP using the Twtvite link
• Be Social, smile lots, and have fun
• Don’t forget to include the #Hashtag!
• If you don’t have a  twitter account, come to the BeSocial booth and we will help you set one up

1. Of course, I encourage you to “Like” the eWomenNetwork Facebook page. Just to be clear, if you happen to live in a city where there is a chapter, you may already be connected to that chapter’s Facebook page. I’m talking about the corporate eWomenNetwork Facebook page. I am posting new things about the Conference daily, and by “Liking” us, you will have access to the information instantaneously. Instead, you run the risk that your chapter Facebook page is not lifting the information and posting it. That keeps you out of the loop, and heaven knows we don’t want that to happen!

2. If you are a tweeter like me, I would love to connect with you on Twitter too! I usually post 2-3 times a day, so you are sure to get the latest nuggets of information! I love to pass them on as soon as I get them myself. My tweets include announcements, reminders, opportunities, and encouragement. Please make a note of my Twitter handle: @SandraYanceyeWN (don’t forget the “eWN” after my name or your message will go to someone else). You may also wish to know the corporate eWomenNetwork Twitter handle: @eWomenNetwork. Finally, if you have wonderful comments you’d like to make about the Conference, just include the hashtag #eWN2011. When you include this hashtag, your Conference comments will be posted to the Conference pages on the eWomenNetwork website. How cool is that? We will promote you to all our visitors for posting encouraging words about the Conference.

Just to be clear, if you have comments you wish to tweet that are not related to the Conference, just use the Twitter handle @eWomenNetwork (and don’t use the hashtag). That way, your non-Conference topics will be in the appropriate and perfect place!

3. Finally, you can always check out LinkedIn. The Conference is listed as an Event on LinkedIn. You can share the information with your LinkedIn Network by clicking on http://events.linkedin.com/11th-Annual-eWomenNetwork-International/pub/699912 and then clicking on the Share button to send InMail to your contacts. You can post comments on that page as well. Does your chapter have a LinkedIn Chapter Group? That is a great place to share and discuss Conference plans for your Chapter.

If you are comfortable, please go ahead and set up Facebook and Twitter on your mobile device. If the thought of this makes you twitch, no worries! You can either skip this or we can help you once you arrive at the Conference. We will have the “Be Social” booth set up prominently in the Expo Area. Lisa Larter, from Ottawa, Canada, will be our Social Media expert this year (don’t miss her breakout session). She and her team will be readily available at her booth throughout the Conference to answer your questions and get you moving and grooving in the social media world. She helped me, and there’s no turning back now. What once seemed intimidating is now like second nature!

That wraps up my highlights on how to maximize your Conference experience by getting social and starting now! Enjoy the tips … more to come next week!

I’ve spent a lot of time looking at eWomenNetwork profiles.  I’ve reviewed hundreds of profiles out there.  Some profiles make me want to pick up the phone and call the person right away.  But many of the profiles are not nearly so exciting, not as attention-grabbing, not as likely to get a call or an email from a prospective client.

What makes the difference between a “wow” profile and one that just doesn’t get a response?  You might be surprised.  It isn’t fancy degrees or experience with big-name companies.  In fact, what catches my eye is something that could be working for everyone with a profile on the site:  Personality.

Most of the profiles I see on the eWomenNetwork site and other sites really don’t give me a sense of who the person is.  I don’t get a sense of personality.  I don’t grasp what they can do to make my life better.  There’s no clear explanation of how their product or service makes some kind of transformation for their client, if they even describe their product or service.

On the other hand, there are some profiles that I’ve seen out there that would make a wonderful introduction if they were a keynote speaker at an event, but they don’t show the benefits for me as a reader that would make me want to contact the business owners.  I might walk away feeling, “Wow that person has won a lot of awards and they must be very important and they’ve really achieved a lot.  Good for them.”  But it doesn’t make me want send them an email because I don’t see what they’re going to do for me.

So the first thing in making your profile magnetic to the type of clients that you want to attract is to truly make it personal with your passion for your subject.  This is where you become focused on benefits and not just features.

If you give me a list of bullet points that name your products, you have given me a list of features.  If you give me a list of bullet points about how I will feel or what will be better in my life after I’ve used your product or services, you have given me a list of benefits.

You want your profile to be benefit oriented so that the person reading down through your profile can hardly wait to get to the contact information because they’re saying, “I want one of these.  I want this in my life.  I want to make those changes.  Wow.  How do I get it?  Where do I sign up?”  They’re not going to feel that urgency to contact you if your site is all about you.  It’s got to be focused on what’s in it for them.

Your profile has to be passionate.  It needs to be personal.  One way to make your site more powerful is to share what got you started in this business in the first place.  What did you want to do better?  What did you want to change?  What did you set out to do or how do you make a difference?  That needs to shine through your profile.  Infuse the profile with your passion, and with the benefit that the reader is going to get out of working with you.  If you do this, your profile will stand head and shoulders above most of the profiles, not only that are on eWomenNetwork, but on all of the online groups.

Your profile needs to have some other very basic, very valuable information.  It needs to have your name and your company name, as well as an email address that you check frequently. Make sure that you have your phone number and your website listed.  Have a good, professional photo that makes you look friendly and welcoming.

Now moving down into the body of your profile, think “benefit oriented.”  Think about the problems that you solve for your clients or what your product does to make the people’s lives better who buy it.  Focus on what they get out of it as opposed to what you might want to tell them. They want to know what’s in it for them.  Think about your benefits more than your features.

Let your passion shine through and help us see you as a person.  So many of the profiles out there are so bland.  They’re so lifeless.  There’s just nothing energizing about them that makes us read them and go, “Wow.  I want to meet that person.”  They’re just boring.

I’d also suggest that your photo be fairly recent so that if someone meets you they’ll recognize you. I just had to renew my driver’s license and I guess that’s the state’s way of making sure that you’re not forever sixteen.  Make sure that the photo makes you look good and is a professional and recent photo.

Spice up your profile with a link to a business-related video you’ve posted to YouTube, or an audio greeting.  Create a link to a free download on your web site to give people a reason to click through to your home page.  When they request that freebie from your website, now they’ve opted in, which gives you permission to stay in touch with them. Give them a reason to get in touch with you now.

Your profile is the first step toward getting to know all of the fabulous women who are a part of eWomenNetwork.  Make the most of your eWomenNetwork profile so your ideal prospects and potential partners will be attracted to you.  Don’t be shy about finding other members whose profiles attract you and introducing yourself to get the conversation going.  You might be surprised at what can happen!

Join Gail Z. Martin 6.7.11 at 1:30pm CST on Success Institute to learn more about “Working the Room: Six Figure Tips to Maximize Your Networking”

On Twitter, hashtags (#) have become a favorite tool for conference and event organizers.  They provide a way to track topics and breaking news.  As more and more incredible business owners and entrepreneurs register for the 11^th Annual International Conference & Business Expo, we want to provide you with easy access to Conference updates, trends, topics and each other!  The hashtag for the 2011 eWomenNetwork International Conference is #eWN2011, and utilizing it in posts on Twitter will make your communication easy to share with other Conference attendees.

Introduce yourselves to new friends and followers by using  #eWN2011 in your tweets.  Take advantage of the opportunity to connect before you arrive in Dallas, TX.  Want to let everyone know what you are learning and who you are meeting while you are at Conference?  Be sure and include the hashtag #eWN2011 in your Tweets! We love to RT (retweet)!  Follow us on Twitter @eWomenNetwork.

Tip:  Did you know that businesses can search on hashtags that are specific to their target markets and begin conversations on Twitter?  (http://www.search.twitter.com)

This Conference will provide an unparalleled opportunity to grow and expand your business, knowledge and network.  You can follow the conversation on Twitter or on the Conference homepage at http://www.ewomennetworkconference.com.  #eWN2011 is registered at Tagal.us:  http://www.tagal.us/tag/eWN2011.  Be sure to connect with eWomenNetwork on Facebook and YouTube.  Get social @ #eWN2011!  We can’t wait to meet you!

*Hashtag photo by jeffisageek – Flickr

Whether you own your own company or operate a local franchise of a national firm, being a good neighbor is essential to creating a successful business. In the past, businesses have demonstrated their neighborliness by being prominent in the local scene. Sponsoring the town’s intramural or kids’ sports teams, underwriting local pageants, festivals and holiday celebrations, providing hometown scholarships, and encouraging employees to take visible roles in charity events have all been ways companies have shown themselves to be good neighbors.

Being neighborly also includes creating a sense of community by hosting programs that offer a chance for local people to mingle, relax and get to know each other. Some examples might include a health workshop held by a local medical practice, live music at a neighborhood coffee shop, bar or club, author readings and signings at a book store or library, or even a community day of service cleaning up a park or painting a school.

Now think about how social media could help you maximize those opportunities. Social media becomes a powerful way to leverage the PR benefit of your involvement as a sponsor before, during and after the event by creating new ways for the community to gather, communicate, interact and remember.

Before the event, use Facebook, Twitter and YouTube to generate interest in what’s coming up  Get the conversation going before the event even happens. Encourage your core team of organizers, volunteers and beneficiaries to get online and talk about the event on your social media sites and on their own. Get them to link to each other’s sites/blogs and reTweet.

During the event, take photos and digital video (simplify the permission issue by making permission to be photographed part of the participation contract and the ticket agreement). Tweet and blog live. Have roving “reporters” with digital cameras and audio recorders gathering on-the-spot comments from participants, organizers and attendees. Ask everyone who signs up to blog, Tweet and invite their Facebook friends. Sign everyone up who attends as a Facebook friend and Twitter follower so you can stay in touch. Offer a prize to the person who submits the best video or digital photo collage/slideshow and then post it on all your event social media sites (encourage everyone to re-post for more viral coverage). If you need more volunteers, ask your Twitter followers to come and help out.

Make the most of local PR by contacting the reporters for your newspaper, radio and TV outlets and encouraging them to cover the event in their social media as well as in their regular column or show. If they attend the event, get plenty of photos and put them on your social media sites. Use your tags and keywords for great searchability, and be sure to do your Social Bookmarking. You might even seek out local dignitaries like the mayor or council members for photos, audio or video. Politicians will rarely decline free PR!

You can also leverage the local power of social media by rallying neighbors to help. Local animal shelters have used Twitter and Facebook to feature pets that are available for adoption, ask for volunteers and solicit donations of food or money when money gets tight.

Most people have no idea of the variety of things that go on in their community every day. Few Americans read a daily newspaper, and many formerly local news stations now only run nationally syndicated programming. When you become the conduit to connect busy people to their community, you gain stature as a leader and visibility for your business.

By featuring local events, local people and local businesses in your social media conversation, you will create a “voice” that can resonate within your community and that raises your profile in a positive way. Put your social media sites on your business card, and invite everyone you meet to friend or follow you.

At the same time that you’re cultivating your neighborhood audience, don’t automatically close the door to growing regional or national clientele. You’ll need to create a separate social media campaign to offer your products and services outside of your community, since local happenings won’t usually be a draw for long-distance clients. On the other hand, if you live in an area that is a tourist resort, a college town or a city or region that has seen an exodus of residents due to economic circumstances, you may find that for those who have left, there’s no place like home.

For example, a favorite sports bar in a college town could retain connections with alumni who leave the area through social media. Restaurants have found gold in shipping favorite comfort foods, sauces and dips to regular diners who moved away, and a Facebook or Twitter site can allow your expatriate audience to get a taste of home. If you operate a store, entertainment venue or business that sees repeat business from vacationing clients, use your social media to stay in touch all year long, keeping them updated on what’s new, and finding out what they’d like to see when they return to your business.

Using social media for “local” businesses pays off in many ways. It can build business and strengthen community ties, which can win loyal clients. By staying in touch with event participants and “alumni” who periodically return, you can improve the odds of repeat sales. And by extending your reach to clients beyond your area, you also buffer your cash flow from the ups and downs of the local economy.

Join Gail Z. Martin on Success Institute, 4.5.11 at 1:30pm CST for “I’m On Facebook, Now What?”

For more information about Gail Z. Martin and DreamSpinner Communications

Money-Making activities are the #1 thing you should be spending time on in your day-to-day of the running of your business.

Don’t get caught up doing administrative tasks or time-sucking tasks that will never bring you customers.

Instead sprinkle in some of these quick and easy money-making activities among your big picture marketing plan and watch how more prospects come your way!

#1. Add (and send a personal message to) 25 people in Facebook or LinkedIn to your profile or fan page.

#2.  Make 5 follow up phone calls to connect with people in your database, previous clients for referrals or upsells, prospects for new business and more.

#3.  Email 3 people asking them if you can speak at one of their upcoming events, include creative ideas so they email you back.

#4.  Write a quick, ‘how to’ blog post or article for your blog, ezine or fan page.

#5.  Connect via email, facebook or phone with 2 people who you could do an article swap with you who have complimentary businesses to yours and a list.

#6.  Record a video tip about your expertise or something you teach in your coaching/business along with a call to action and get it up on YouTube, linking it out to your social sites and blog too.

#7.  Create a new freebie or free teleclass that will be of interest to your target audience and start promoting it for list building.

About the Author: Katrina Sawa is known as The JumpStart Your Biz Coach because she literally kicks her female entrepreneur clients into high gear when they work with her.  She is one of the eWomenNetwork Premier Coaches and works with women entrepreneurs worldwide on starting, growing and marketing their businesses.  You can find out more about Kat and get some Free Gifts at www.JumpstartYourMarketing.com/gifts.

Connect with Katrina Sawa at eWomenNetwork or

at JumpStart Your Marketing