Websites vs. Facebook

The battle is on!
A few years ago it seemed like every business now had a web site. Fast forward to day.: More and more businesses are now getting Facebook Pages. So the question is this, “which is better – a great website or a great Facebook Page?” Let’s dare to compare!
WEBSITES
I built my first web site in 1997, and so much has changed since then. Today’s web sites should be built with two audiences in mind. People and Search engines.
1) People: Your business web site allows you to put your best foot forward in front of the world. Business and organizations of any size can (and should) have professional sites. I recently read that over 70% of consumers pre-qualify a new business online by visiting their web site before even visiting the business!
With almost 3/4 of people getting their first impression of an organization online, it is mission critical to have a website that educates about your company and the value that you offer. With a web site you are in control of your brand.
2) Search Engines: Today’s phonebooks aren’t books at all, they are sites likeGoogle, MSN & Yahoo! New technology, but old-school marketing prevails. In the olden days, if your business couldn’t be found in the book, it didn’t exist (in the all important consumers eyes).
Today that is true as well. If someone “Googles” your business name or for your products and services and they don’t find you, they will go to your competitor. If you don’t exist online, eventually you won’t exist at all.
FACEBOOK
I built my first Facebook Fan Page back in 2009, and so much has changed since then. Facebook has made the internet approachable, and even fun.
There are literally millions of people using Facebook each day that don’t consider themselves geeks or even computer people. This flood of new people is a tremendous opportunity.
These users are checking you out on Facebook AND on your web site. The power of Facebook is that way users create and/or share info about your organization. They shape your brand! It is your job to help share what you want them to share.
And the winner is?
As you might guess, the the winner is the businesses who use BOTH a professional web site and Facebook page. The trick is how to do them both together, without wasting a lot of precious time. I’ve seen many business start to put a ton of content together and placing it only on their Facebook page.
The result is an anemic web site and an annoying business Facebook page. You need to find balance and integrate the two. Your local web developer should be able to advise or consult for best strategies.
I invite you to meet with your favorite marketing geek and draft up a online marketing plan that uses complementary web, social and eMail marketing to drive your bottom line up and up. To learn more about online marketing visit omOriginals.com and check out some upcoming class schedules. Call (360)575-9839 or online @ omoriginals.com
Oscar Myre IV is the web guru and head geek at his web development and marketing company, omOriginals Marketing! in Longview, WA. omOriginals serves over 300 businesses, both locally and internationally based. When he is not being geeky for businesses, he enjoys playing in his backyard with his kiddos and running the lake.

GeekSpeak 2011- What’s new with Business Facebook Pages?

I recently had the opportunity to teach a group of professionals about how to use Facebook for their business. I told them that the knowledge that I was instilling in them was dynamic and that it could change overnight. I said “Facebook changes a lot”.
Less than a week later, Facebook unveiled their new and improved Pages (for businesses, mind you). To upgrade or not upgrade? That isn’t a question, Facebook made the update to our Pages for us automatically.
Here are some highlights of the new Pages from FB with my insights.
Photos at the top: The most recent photos that you post to the Wall of a Page you admin, or photos you tag your Page in, will appear here. If you want to remove you can click on it and then on a little X to remove it. They aren’t removed from Facebook just from the top of your page.
Use Facebook as your Page: You are now able to receive notifications for your Page, view a News Feed for your Page, and like and post on other Pages as your Page.
Want to give it a try? (you can always switch back)
One way to switch between profile mode and Page mode. From your Page, you can click the link on the right that says “Use Facebook as [Your Page Name],” and then switch back by clicking “Use Facebook as [Your Name].”
What can you do with your Page?
Essentially, anything you do while using Facebook as your Page will appear on Facebook as coming from your Page (usually a business or organization).
Notifications: You can view notifications of Page activity and new fans on your page through the top navigation bar.
Wall filters: Pages now have two publicly visible Wall filters-”Posts by Page” and “Everyone.” When viewing a Page Wall with the “Everyone” filter, the most engaging posts will appear at the top (i.e., posts will not appear in chronological order). Page admins will be able to view additional filters-”Most Recent” and “Hidden Posts.”
eMail notifications: You can opt to receive notifications when people post or comment on your Page. This was a popular request. In the olden days you had to logon to FB to check your page, now you can receive notifications via eMail. Now that is progress! I’m not kidding, my wife (Publisher of this fantastic paper) has complained about the lack of this basic feature from the start.
Featured Pages and admins: You can feature other Pages your Page likes, or admins of your Page, in the new “Likes” and “Page Owners” sections on your Page.
Mutual connections: When people visit your Page, they will be able to view friends who also like your Page, as well as other Pages that both they and your Page like.
Navigation: Page can now be found in the column underneath your Page profile picture. The text in the box that used to appear in the box underneath your Page profile picture will now appear in the Info tab.
Profile picture size: The profile picture size for Pages has been adjusted down to 180×540. You should update your old profile picture.
The one constant for Facebook is change. Some call it progress, I call it job security. ~:-)
If you’d like to learn more about Facebook you can contact my company, omOriginals Marketing! for some consultation or to ask about upcoming classes.
www.omOriginals.com
(360)575-9839
Oscar Myre IV is the creative Director at omOriginals Marketing and co-publisher of The Valley Bugler, as well as acting Graphics coordinator for all advertising. He enjoys running the lake when he isn’t tickling or playing with his kiddos at their new house.

Geek Speak – “TAG” happy – connecting print to web

Between the print world and the digital world there has been a great chasm. Imagine this, you are sitting down in your recliner, drinking a nice cup of coffee reading the Valley Bugler Newspaper. Life is good, reading positive stories and LOL over the hilarious jokes. You are enjoying a good balance of stories and ads. You see an offer that interests you from a local business. It invites you to go to their web site.
Now is the digital disconnect. No matter how many times you click (or tap or touch) the web address it’s still just a piece of paper…
So how do we cross the digital divide? (Go from print to digital?) You might circle or cut out the ad to look at it later. If you are geeky you might go to your computer or grab your laptop and type in the web address to take a look. If you are extra geeky you might type in the url into your smart phone. Unfortunately, the above ways are cumbersome. In our world of instant gratification, your interest may be redirected back to your coffee or to your favorite Newspaper.
Enter the Quick Response QR Codes.
These 3-D bar codes (see below) are the bridge that can drive people from print to digital! >I think of them as paper based hyperlinks.
What does that mean?
You scan (take a picture of) the code on your smart phone and it links you directly to a web site. And you aren’t limited to just web sites.
The code can contain a phone number, social media link, an SMS message, a google map, V-Card data or just plain alphanumeric text, and the scanning device will respond by opening up the correct application to handle the encoded data. The codes were originally created in Japan in 1994, they’ve been in Europe for years and now we are seeing them in the US.  QR Codes use the ISO-18004 standard. This means they are the same across the globe. They simply differ in the content the contain.
If you’ve read this months Bugler you’ve already seen a handful of these codes. To read the codes you need to first get a scanner app for your smart phone. I’ve created a mobile web site that you can use to find a free QR code reader for your phone. Note: Your phone needs to have a digital camera in order to scan codes. With your phone in hand, open up your web browser and go to http://m.omoriginals.com
You can select your phone Manufacturer (Brand) and get setup. Here are three codes for your scanning enjoyment.

Now you can scan the code, check out a web site and even call the business or buy something on their website without getting out of your chair or spilling your coffee. Now that’s geeky.
Word to the wise (for businesses): Keep in mind that these paper hyperlinks send people to websites on mobile devises. Your web site may not be ready for the mobile world. You will likely need to make some significant changes to your website to make it mobile friendly before sending people there.
This is just a glimpse into the future of these codes. If you want to be a digital bridge builder, I invite you to contact my office to request a QR Code consultation. Scan the code in this article to connect. ~:-)
Or for those of you who WANT this type of technology but don’t have a clue what the above article is all about, you can call our office @ (360)575-9839 or go online to:
omOriginals.com

To Blog or Not to Blog; That’s No Longer the Question

I wish you a prosperous New Year. Many of our clients asked for help setting up BLOGS last year. BLOGS are a buzz word you should know.

First off, what is a BLOG?

The term is a blend of web and log. You see, geeks (& mathematicians) think it is cool to simplify things (often at the risk of making them more complicated). A BLOG is basically a journal on a web site. For many it is the “News” section. Much of a web site remains fairly static, but a BLOG is edited whenever news breaks.

A BLOG can also be interactive, where it can be open to comments. A word to the wise, be sure to moderate your comments. With my business, we send all comments to review by a human before they go live. ~:-)

4 reasons why you should have a BLOG on your company’s web site.

1. BLOGS are fresh, people know to look to the BLOG for the latest info about your company.
2. BLOGS are loved by search engines. What makes a search engine happiest? Fresh relevant content. A properly created BLOG is written as much for search engine rankings as it is for people.
3. BLOGS are archive-able: As soon as new articles are posted the old ones are archived. This allows visitors to get some history on past projects from your company.
4. BLOGS are social. BLOGs play nice with social media, and smart ones can automagically update your facebook, linkedin and twitter.

Warning: I hear some of you running off to Blogger.com to setup a BLOG right now. STOP!! I said above that the BLOG should be on YOUR Website. If you post it @ Blogger (or any other blogging site) THEY will reap much of the benefit for your hard work. Be sure your BLOG lives at your company’s website, not theirs.

What should you ‘post in your BLOG and how often?
This article is not a substitute to sitting down for some serious consulting with your favorite marketing geek, but I will share some general thoughts on content. We always work to deliver value. Most of our clients have a wealth of knowledge that they can share with their customers. By sharing your company as a resource, you become viewed as an expert in your area of business. Consider this an investment in your customers, current and future.

For omOriginals we post 2 articles a month with marketing tips [like this one ~:-)]. We also post brief articles on recently completed projects. This is valuable for our customers (promotion) and for visitors to see interesting marketing ideas, are to show real world examples of our work. We also share articles from others on occasion to change things up a bit.

How often? This will vary for each business. I often recommend 1 or 2 posts per month for companies new to BLOGGING. I’ve seen a fair amount of people start out strong with 1 or 2 a week for a few weeks and them drop off the map. It is best to make your plan sustainable. This is a balance of quality and quantity.

Here is a bonus: After you create these articles you can broadcast them in lots of places (Social sites, eMail marketing, newspapers, newsletters, mailers, etc.)

Do you have to do this alone?

Not unless you are a crazy micro-manager. Your company is likely a collection of uniquely talented individuals. Each of you has your own unique voice. By sharing the work of the BLOG with others in your organization you will have a richer experience for your users.

Side note: I enjoy reading Summer’s tips on our BLOG, they offer fresh marketing insight.

Outside help
There is a wealth of industry specific content available for purchase. This can save a lot of time, but be very certain that you agree with the articles. You can also hire a company to help administer your BLOG. < This could be an article in itself.

What is the point, Oscar?
A BLOG is a great way offer value to your clients while remaining at the top of their mindshare.  Today’s competition is tough and cutting edge! You need to use today’s tools to position yourself for success.

Happy BLOGGING.
Work Smart + Play Hard!
Oscar Myre IV, ~:-)
Bright Lovable Original Geek!

December 2010

Hello Friends,

With a new year just around a corner it’s time to review your website.

In October, we discussed the web site statistics that are available from your web hosting provider. This information told you how many people have been visiting your site and which pages they checked out. I invite you to dust off your web site statistics and take a look. If you are content with the quantity and quality of visits then read no more – we can talk in January.
Read more

Unveiling the NEW CowlitzToday.com

Let’s jump into this months GeekSpeak. If you’ve been tuning in for long you likely have a professional web site, a blog, a facebook page and you are probably doing a little twitter. Wow you are such a geek. ~:-)

But, are your events listed at CowlitzToday.com?

Is your business listed in the Cowlitz County directory?

We originally created this site to help people connect locally.

CowlitzToday.com is a free, one-stop community calendar and web directory of businesses.

We’ve partnered with many organizations that have events in our area. Every day, more and more events are being listed. If you know of events and don’t see them on the calendar, we invite you to tell the event holder how they can add their events for free! (Or you can add them yourself!)

CowlitzToday also has a helpful directory of local business and organizations. You can find virtually anything from Accountants to Food & Dining to Movies to Real Estate!

With this article we are announcing the launch of the NEW and improved business directory!

We created the new directory to help make more connections:

1. SEO Findability: Our first goal is improving local organizations search engine rankings in the search engines. Having a great web site or business is only great if you can be found. We’ve built the new directory with some new and old school SEO (Search Engine Optimization) tricks, which have skyrocketed viewership.
2. Social Browsing: Our second mission is to help harness the social networks. More specifically – Facebook. You see, Facebook is great at helping you share and even find what you are looking for, but it doesn’t work well like good old fashioned browsing.

We’ve improved the directory to make it easy to browse the directory. Similar to those phonebooks of yesteryear. Our new directory is a great way to learn and link. Listings include helpful info and now links to their websites, facebook & twitter. Facebook “like” buttons are built into every listing. ~:-)

It’s where all the cool kids hang-out.

Want another reason to add your stuff?

CowlitzToday.com is being visited by 20,000 people per month!

By the time you read this we will have nearly 1,000 local listings. You can share a listing on facebook with a click. I invite you to get your organization listed for free today. Cowlitztoday.com. Wherever you work, play or worship can be listed as it’s own entity.

And don’t forget the Cowlitz County Online Event Calendar. We’ve streamlined the adding of events. If you’ve haven’t added an event in awhile (forever is still awhile)

Click on the new “Submit Event” button to learn how to add your event (also for free!!). If your organization has multiple events per/year please consider partnering with Cowlitztoday. If you are eligible we will give you a free calendar that you can post on your site AND then all of your events will appear in the community calendar!!!!!

Our community has posted over 6300 events to date! You simply can’t say there is nothing to do around here!

So what’s next?

I double dog dare you to search CowlitzToday.com for your favorite local business. If you find their listing, I’m sure they love for you to “give Kudos” for them. If they aren’t listed please call, eMail or facebook them the link. They’d appreciate the help and we’d appreciate your helping in spreading the word to help even more people connect.

Smart Phone users there is a new way to visit web sites on your phone. Simply install a free scanner app and start scanning. Think of it as Bar Codes 2.0 Ready? Grab your phone and visit http://m.omoriginals.com We will hook you up to get you started. If you already have a scanner – Scan now. “Tag” is above at top of page, looks like a square ink blot!

Oscar wrote this article on his iPhone. ~:-)  Oscar is the owner and operator of omOriginals Marketing in Longview, WA and holds the title of award winning developer for the CowlitzToday.com web site. Questions about geeky stuff, call them @ 360-575-9839

Can you put a visitor counter on the web site?

Many of these geek speak articles are directly from my bag ‘o FAQs (frequently asked questions. So here is a question I was asked at least 2x last month…. “When you build my new site can you put a visitor counter on the web site?”

My answers goes a little something like this.

Yes, we can….but, there is an even better idea.

A web site visitor counter IS a visual way to show you the popularity or your web site. Unfortunately, they are terribly inaccurate AND everyone sees the results. A more modern approach is to have web site statistics. Here is what I like about website stats. Read more

Businesses “Like” Facebook.

Love or Hate Facebook, it is great way for businesses to connect with people.

I’m asked a lot of questions about Facebook. Here is one I asked myself, “How can we put a Facebook Like button on our web sites?”

I encourage you to ask yourself the same question, and to listen to how I answered myself. ~:-) Read more

Facebook Unveiled

This month I’d like to give you a peek into Facebook’s user data.. Facebook is doing an amazing job of collecting tons of personal data about it’s users. With over 400 million users the amount of data is mind boggling. First off how are they getting this info?
Read more

Drooling over the new iPhone

Say Hello to the new iPhone 4!

iPhone 4 is now here….well, almost.

Steve Jobs, Apples iCEO, unveiled iPhone 4 at during his keynote presentation in June. Steve is known for creating “Reality distortion field” during his keynotes.
Read more

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