Here’s a quick tip for Pinterest marketers … If you want your photos, infographics etc. shared on Facebook, make sure your original graphic is 520px or less. If not, the link will show but your fantastic visual will just be a link.

If you haven’t yet joined Pinterest, you’re missing what I believe will be the biggest social media story of 2012. Pinterest is the sharing of online dream boards. If ever you were a magazineaholic, tore recipes out of newspapers for things to try at some future date, or got duplicate copies of your photographs made so you could give people copies, you will love, love, love Pinterest.

But if you’re a marketer, you’ll love it even more. If you promote a post on Twitter or Facebook, timing is everything, because your audience will start to ignore your post within 3 hours.

I noticed one of my friends “re-pinning” something this morning that I’d posted 2 weeks ago. I did a little research. This recipe photograph was initially posted by Molly Harthgather 4 weeks ago. She has 498 followers, but this photo has generated 27 comments, 772 likes and 4,405 repins. It will continue to bring attention to the recipe blog where she found it for months or even potentially years.

And the icing on the cake for marketers? Every pin, re-pin, share and embed includes a link to the original source material. In the last month, Pinterest has generated over 200 backlinks to my travel website Things You Should Do.

I’ve started a Pinterest Networking Group on LinkedIn and am teaching a Pinterest Marketing class on February 14th in Sacramento. I’d love to see you either place.

Pinterest is in beta and you need an invite to join. If you’d like one, make a comment and I’d be happy to send you one.

You’ve looked online and seen comments about your business that you didn’t like. What are you prepared to do?

Reputation Risk is ranked First among all risks for company managers
84% of hiring managers in the U.S. think it’s appropriate to consider personal and professional data posted online when assessing a candidate.
One negative review on a site like Twitter, Facebook or Youtube can cost a company as many as 30 customers.
83% of companies will face a reputation management crisis in the next 5 years that will affect their share price.

In this one hour workshop, you will learn to analyze the current state of your reputation, create content that shares your good news and create a plan to make sure the good news gets seen.
Instructor – Julie Gallaher of Get on the Map Local Search Marketing

Everyone’s busy at Christmastime (or Chanukah, Kwanza, Festivus, New Year’s Eve) but as business people, we don’t want to miss an opportunity to thank our customers for their support all year long. Here are a few ideas for you to try.

I’m attaching my favorite holiday video. I hope your Christmas is Merry and Bright. See you in the New Year!

Small Business Marketing – Free Foursquare Class in Sacramento

The next big thing is Mobile … Why? Smart phone useage is going up, up, up

Over 500,000 businesses are using Foursquare to reach mobile customers while they’re out and about having fun. Come to my FREE Foursquare Class and find out how to use Foursquare to attract customers for your business.

You’ll learn how to:
• Set up a Foursquare Page for Your Business
• 7 Unique Types of Specials You Can Offer to Your Customers
• Using Foursquare Tips to Attract New Customers
• Profiting from Foursquare Even if You’re Not a Brick and Mortar Business
• Leveraging Foursquare to Get Attention on Facebook and Twitter
• Know who your most faithful customers are with Foursquare Analytics

Instructor – Julie Gallaher of Get on the Map Local Search Marketing. Social Media Consultant featured on KCRA, News 10, Sacramento Business Journal and the Sacramento Bee.

Tuesday, November 29, 2011, 10:00am – 11:00am

Tuesday, December 6, 2011, 10:00am – 11:00am

Tuesday, January 10, 2012, 10:00am – 11:00am

Evan’s Kitchen / Banquet Room
885 57th Street, Sacramento, CA 95819

Seating is limited. Please call Julie at 916-265-2521 or email Julie@getonthemap.us to reserve your spot.

Why Foursquare?

When a potential customer is nearby – you have the opportunity to lure them in to your business. When I see this, where do you think I go for lunch?

And after lunch, I might decide to get my car washed after I see this

For months, we’ve been telling business owners that they need to migrate from a profile to a business page. Facebook’s threatened to shut them down for a violation of the Terms of Service, but some have ignored because it’s confusing and a hassle.

But this weeks changes on Facebook make it even more essential that you have a solid strategy for marketing your business that recognizes the reality of human behavior.

On Tuesday, the Facebook tornado upended users with a totally new display. All of a sudden, people were overwhelmed with information from casual acquaintances and businesses that they had never seen in their Top News feed. And, where were their friends? Buried beneath conversations between people they barely knew, businesses that they’d never patronized and games they’d never heard of. If those conversations weren’t interesting to you, your only solution is to unsubscribe to the people who are “junking up” your news feed.

This is one of the biggest dangers in using a personal profile rather than a business page. You’ll never know if your audience reach is getting smaller. On a business page, Facebook offers analytics that tell me whether my influence is increasing or decreasing, and what type of content my followers like best.

If you’re a business owner marketing with Facebook, here’s my advice:

1. Lay low, limit your posts for the next two weeks. Don’t give anyone a reason to unsubscribe.
2. Download a copy of your Facebook data. Go to the dropdown arrow in the upper right corner of your home page or profile, click on the Account Settings link. At the bottom of that page is a link to Download your Facebook data. Do this now. Sometimes it takes multiple attempts to get it to work.
3. Spend the next two weeks lurking and researching. Observe which things posted by people in your news feed get comments and likes. Are the comments and likes from the people you’d like to reach?
4. Pay a lot more attention to creating quality posts. Are my prospective customers really interested in where I had lunch or what I watch on TV?
5. If you’re still using a personal profile for your business, create two smart circles. Title one business, the other personal. When you’re off your Facebook moratorium, be analytical and ask yourself if your business contacts will be excited to see this before you post.

If you need help converting your personal profile to a business page, I offer a one hour phone consultation where I walk you through the change. Call Julie Gallaher at 916-265-2521.

Meet Sacramento Businesses on Twitter at our Monday night Twitter Chats.

You’re invited to the next #SacBizTweetChat on Monday, Sptember 12th at 6pm. Everyone’s invited, but the special focus will be on restaurants.

What’s a Tweet Chat?

from about.com
A Twitter tweet chat is a pre-arranged chat that happens on Twitter through the use of Twitter updates (called tweets) that include a predefined hashtag to link those tweets together in a virtual conversation.

From the comfort of your home or office, on your desktop, laptop, tablet or smart phone, you can participate in a tweet chat.

If you’re a member of Twitter, you can fully participate – asking, answering questions and conversing with other participants. If you’re NOT a member of Twitter, you can observe and learn some reasons why you might like to join.

How to participate in the #SacBizTweetChat

There are two ways to participate.
1. Go to http://tweetchat.com and enter #Sacbiztweetchat in to the search bar. This is the easiest way to participate, because you’ll get a page that only shows only the tweets that have been tagged for our group and your tweets will have the hashtag added automatically.
2. Using twitter.com or an independent twitter tool (hootsuite, tweetdeck, etc.) type #sacbiztweetchat in to the search bar and you’ll find the conversation. Jump on in!

What will we talk about at the #SacBizTweetChat

Some of the questions we’ll ask include
1. How many times per day/per week do you Tweet?
2. What type of tweets are the most popular with your followers?
3. Have you attracted new customers to your restaurant or bar from Twitter?
4. Do you have a particular menu, food or beverage that generates a lot of retweets and comments?
5. Do you have any stories about new customers you’ve met on twitter?
6. How has Twitter affected your bottom line?
7. What suggestions do you have for Sacramento businesses just getting started on Twitter?

For more information and schedule of upcoming events, call Julie Gallaher of Get on the Map Local Search Marketing at 916-265-2521.

Tweet Chat Schedule

Monday, September 12, 6:00pm – 7:00pm Focus – Restaurants

Here, with links to Amazon, are some of the books I’ve been reading lately.

Meet the SEO Rapper – He’s fantastic!

m0serious – the SEO rapper from Houston, Texas. His advice is spot on! (how would you say spot on in rap?)