Stop Looking Like a Fool With Facebook Law for Idiots Mashable Stop Looking Like a Fool With Facebook Law for Idiots Hey, naive Nancy and gullible Greg, stop posting copyright notices on Facebook that use fancy schmancy terms like communiqué, Berner Convention and action. You may think you're erecting an invisible wall of copyright protection around your profile castle, but you're really just making yourself look like a social media jester. Three steps to add bling to your blog If you think your blog could use a little more punch, listen up! Here are three ideas that anybody can use to make your blog posts sing with some editing bling! Let’s get phat. Go non-linear. In school and in business, we’re conditioned to write in a linear way. We start at the beginning, discuss the middle, and conclude with the end. Edit ruthlessly. Bring some heat. Boring: A strategy to build a Twitter Community Blingified: Bringing Down the Twitter Snobs SEO for Bloggers How I Became a Google Whore Building Social Media Relationships Blingified Social Media and My Big Conversation Fail See? If you added a fourth editing tip to this post, what would it be?
5 Ways Brands Use Pinterest To Authentically Connect Here's the big shocker: If you don't think about strategy before you dive into Pinterest marketing, your pinning efforts are very likely to be a giant waste of time. The first thing you need to do—even before you create your boards and pins—is to define your company's Pinterest strategy in order to determine which individuals you are trying to reach with your marketing efforts. And the more you know, the better your chances of being able to truly connect with those people. Defining Your Ideal Client One of the best ways to create detailed, useful buyer persona profiles is to connect directly at the source; that is, to interview people. You want to know as much as possible about each group of people, so ask as many questions as you can. Use the answers you gather to create a detailed profile on each type of client you are trying to attract to your business. Oreck (@oreck), maker of vacuum cleaners, air purifiers, and other small appliances, focuses on women as their ideal clients.
New Tab As diverse as any other colour, embrace hues of white for a clean and modern look in your home decor. When touring a designers' show house in Southampton, N.Y., one summer, I was amazed to overhear the diverse reactions to an all-white living room. One visitor found the room "sterile and antiseptic"; another remarked on the "purity of vision and lack of artifice." Some found the room warm, but many commented that it felt cold. How is it that one colour (or, rather, absence of colour) can elicit such a dichotomy of opinions? Often it's assumed that white is a "standard" one-tone-fits-all, especially when it comes to wall colour. Modern white In an ultramodern loft or condo, nothing defines the space like a crisp white. • Kimberley's perfect pairing: Modern white Silvery blue Farrow & Ball's All White 2005 is pure, bright and summery. Romantic white Envision a Swedish manor house with northern light streaming through the windows or flea market finds in shades of chalky grey.
Blog Like Tebow Never has the obligatory end-zone prayer been so hip. Never has an iffy NFL 1st year rookie quarterback come so close to being a pop icon. Never has a sports figure forced us to weigh faith and attitude so heavily in our tabulation of greatness. Tim Tebow is preaching even when he’s trying his darndest not too. I’m gonna have some fun today because Tebow has something to teach monitor-tanned bloggers too. Tim Tebow isn’t a writer. Take a knee, it’s Tebow time: Make Progress Every Day Many believe that Tim Tebow as probably the greatest college quarterback ever. But, in the run-up to the 2010 NFL draft, many teams doubted Tebows ability to perform at the elite level. Even then, Tebow’s past success didn’t assure future glory. ”Right here, right now, Tebow is the worst quarterback in the NFL.” - Mark Kiszla, from the Denver Post, after the Denver’s loss to the Detroit Lions I’m going to inch out on the limb with you here. Now you must perform at the elite level. Faith Is Tebow’s faith for real?
Achieving a Vintage Look Through Color Tones in Photoshop CS by Guest Contributor Anna Gay Photographers are often striving for a “vintage” look in their photos, and even though there are endless ways of achieving a vintage look, there are a couple of characteristics to keep in mind. First of all, the color tones in a vintage photo often lean towards either a blue or a red hue, or a cross-processed look. Vintage photos also have an element of noise or grain that can be achieved through textures, and also a certain amount of vignetting around the edges of the photo. In this tutorial, we will look at adjusting color tones and adding vignettes. This photo is the result of adjusting the color curves, adding two vignettes, and a color fill, which we will walk through step-by-step. First, open your photo in Photoshop and make sure your foreground color is set to white in your side tool bar. You will see the above dialogue box. As you can see here, there should be three layers – your Background image, then your two gradient layers.
How To Use Twitter (It’s Easier Than You Think) What’s A Tweet? Let’s begin with the basics. Twitter is a micro-blogging platform, where your messages, broadcast to anyone who wants to listen, are limited to just 140-characters. That means every letter counts. You are free to post as many of these micro-messages (tweets) as you like. But you must realize there are readers on the other side of those tweets. Tweet Like You Mean It The last thing you want to do is alienate your Twitter Followers (people who read your tweets). Never go on and about how great you are, no one cares. Always place quality over quantity. Tweet like you speak, and your readers will read like they listen. Be sincere. Make sure the content you’re linking to is interesting and always be aware of how much you send. Avoid The Pitch You might think Twitter is a tremendous sales tool, and it is, but don’t be the guy at the party handing out business cards when everyone else is talking about the game. Social media is relationship marketing. 1. Click here for more Twitter tips.
Some of the best Facebook case studies for brands - 25 video examples For the last couple of weeks, we have been constantly hearing about the Facebook IPO, but we wanted to shift the focus away from the business of the social network to sharing some useful video case studies from brands and businesses who have leveraged Facebook to their advantage. There is a mixture of large campaigns from big brands using complicated apps down to simple campaigns that get the users involved and there should be something for everybody on the list to help you get inspired. We cover all the sectors including consumer goods, alcohol brands, food companies and retailers and if you can't find a little something on this list to create your own unique Facebook campaign then there is something very wrong. Enjoy the list. Heineken Beer Tender A simple little app that lets you share a keg of beer with a friend anywhere in the world as a gift with you getting one in return. iLike Diesel KLM Meet and Seat Kraft Likeapella Citroen Car Crowds Volkswagen Fan Wagen Corona Light What Zurich Needs
f-commerce statistics roundup: Facebook commerce by the numbers “It’s a matter of time—within the next five or so years—before more business will be done on Facebook than Amazon” Sumeet Jain, Principal, CMEA Capital “In three to five years, 10 percent to 15 percent of total consumer spending in developed countries may go through sites such as Facebook” Mike Fauscette, Analyst, IDC Consulting “Anyone who still believes in 2010 that Facebook isn’t going directly drive a massive commerce opportunity for merchants and retailers alike on that platform will find themselves this time next year in 2011 wishing for their own Christmas miracle” Karen Webster, President, pymnts.com. You get the picture; f-commerce – Facebook-enhanced retail – is the new shiny new object for industry players and investors. But beyond the shine, spin and hyperbole – is there any early data to back up the excitement? Of course, the ‘lies, damn lies and statistics’ caveat applies here – data is tentative and premature, and often originating from sources with vested interests. 1. 2.
5 Cool Creative Facebook Marketing Campaigns To find inspiration and creativity it is often thought that you may need to climb a mountain or meditate on a beach but maybe you just need to have a deeper and more intimate understanding and knowledge of the playpen that you are engaged in every day. The reality is that creativity does not emerge from a vacuum, in fact most of the time “creativity is the act of reassembling many elements that are already known” – Seth Godin. It is taking these elements and adding your voice, twist and touch that combines into what James McIvey calls the innovation from the “adjacent possible” Understand Your Domain Intimately understanding your domain provides the tools, experience and insights that enables that key element we call “creativity” to emerge from its chrysalis and blend these elements into a matrix of visual and sensory design and function that surprises and delights. Facebook Creativity & Emotions Facebook creative design at its ultimate destination should inspire and have emotive power. 1.
How to Use Social Partnerships to Amplify Your Marketing Would you like to combine forces with another company in a collaborative promotion? Want to know why this is wise and how to do it? Keep reading… Going Beyond the Customer Many marketers have a relentless focus on a single dimension of social interaction: the brand-consumer relationship. Thinking that the “social” in social media marketing is all about your relationship with consumers is constraining. Rethinking the role of other relationships can dramatically improve the effectiveness of those very marketing efforts designed to engage your target customers. While social channels facilitate new ways of tapping into “partners” and as the line between personal and professional relationships has blurred, it is important to view business relations in a new—and yes, more social—light. The concept of “partner marketing” is not new. In this ad Southern Gulf Electric uses the Kohler brand to bolster its credibility. Social Partnering Strategies So What Makes a Partner a Partner? In summary: