Social Media

Pinterest Promotes Pins… Changes for the Better?

By Robbin Lynn Crandall

It was bound to happen. Because why would any social media platform let itself lag behind the rest when it comes to promotion? Or making money, for that matter?

CEO Ben Silbermann of Pinterest, the popular virtual bulletin board platform, has announced that to ensure Pinterest is here to stay, he will start experimenting with promoting certain pins from a select group of businesses.

But, he says, this doesn’t mean users will start seeing a bunch of garish banner ads.

This is good news.  

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Why Fake Yelp Reviews Don’t Pay

SEO Companies Get Stung by Fake Yelp Reviews

If a Search Engine Optimization company approaches you about writing fake Yelp reviews for your business, please say, “No, thanks.”

Why?

It’s illegal.

Nineteen SEO companies were recently caught in a sting operation conducted by the New York attorney general. They will have to pay $350,000 in penalties for posting fake reviews on sites like Yelp, Google Local and CitySearch. 

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How to Add Recommendations to Your Facebook Business Page

FB recommen title
Wouldn’t it be nice to display recommendations from your customers right on your Facebook business page? Local businesses, like restaurants, have had this capability for a long time now. But companies and organizations can add this feature to their page too. Imagine what this will do for your business when visitors to your page see a list of glowing recommendations!

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Good-bye, Facebook Edge Rank… Hello, News Feed Algorithm

Facebook edge rank
By Gloria Rand

If you thought it was tough managing Facebook Edge Rank to get your posts noticed by your fans, wait until you hear about the News Feed Algorithm. Let’s just say, things have gotten a whole lot more complicated.

There are now a billion people using Facebook every month, and 128 million use it every day in the U.S. Facebook is now using a wide variety of signals to try to ensure that users see the content they want every day.

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Social Media Marketing Lessons from Diana Nyad

Social Media Marketing Lessons

By Gloria Rand

U.S. endurance swimmer Diana Nyad made history on Monday afternoon, becoming the first person to swim from Cuba to Florida without a shark cage. Appropriately enough, Nyad completed the task – her fifth attempt since 1978 – on Labor Day.

After the swim, the 64-year-old swimmer said she had three messages, “One is we should never ever give up. Two is you never are too old to chase your dreams. Three is it looks like a solitary sport, but it’s a team.” 

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Facebook Changes Contest Rules to Benefit Small Businesses

Facebook contests

By Gloria Rand

Facebook contests Small business owners got a big break from Facebook today. The social networking giant has changed its rules regarding contests and promotions. You no longer have to use a third-party app to run a contest, sweepstakes, competition or drawing. You can still use a service like Woobox, for instance. But you’re not required to do so.

The Facebook changes allow Pages to:
►collect entries via users (fans and non-fans) posting on the Page wall
►collect entries by users commenting or liking on a Page post
►collect entries by having users message the Page
►collect votes via likes (new fans, post likes)

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