New Features

• Branding – Add a unique cover photo and showcase your most important news to the top of your Page.
• Larger Stories, Milestones, and Timeline – Posts display larger photos and milestones that can include a date and other content.
• Highlights – Pin a new post to the top of your Page each week so fans notice what’s important. This allows you to keep a story at the top of a Page for up to seven days.
• Friend Activity – People who visit your Page have a more personalized experience because they see how their friends have interacted with you.
• Admin Panel – As an administrator, see and respond to your recent activity and private messages from the top of your Page.
• Tracking – Access a log of your Page activity to track performance, including tools to highlight, hide, or delete posts and change the date of a post.

Recent FAQs

Q: How do I invite friends to my Page?

A: Before Timeline, there was an obvious way to invite friends to ‘like’ your company page. For those with existing pages, you may notice that the invitation feature has been moved or changed. You can still invite friends to “like” your business page. Go to the page, but do not select “Use Facebook as Page.” Make sure the admin panel is open and click “Build Audience” next to the word “Manage.” A menu drop down will appear with the option to “Invite Friends.”

Q: How do I get a custom link for my Page?

A: Here’s another new change: At one time if a company page had over 25 “LIKES,” you could select a new name for the page and a direct link (custom URL) such as http://www.Facebook.com/DMediaWeb. Now Facebook has the requirement at 100 LIKES. However, recently we created a new page for a client and there was an option to set the direct link in the creation process. Sorry, existing Facebook accounts: you’ll have to work to get at least 100 LIKES before you can do this. But that’s OK, because you should want to get as many LIKES as you can anyway!

Q: What’s the best way to get people involved with my Page?

A: Share updates, photos, links, questions and other content on your Page regularly. Post a few times each week so your LIKES will see your stories.

Resources

• Tips from others about moving to Timeline: https://www.facebook.com/marketing/posts/10150758346981337
• Facebook for Pages guide: https://www.facebook.com/about/pages
• Timeline Pages PDF guide: http://ads.ak.facebook.com/ads/FacebookAds/Pages_Overview.pdf

1. When applying for a job, please FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS in the employment ad. They exist for a reason.

2. Speaking of all caps, I once had a vendor who WROTE EVERY EMAIL TO ME IN ALL CAPS. I finally had to call him to ask why he was always shouting at me.

3. Avoid using an apostrophe to form a plural. It should be “the 90s” not “the 90′s.”

4. “It’s” is short for “it is” and “its” means “belonging to it”.

5. If you want me to buy from you, at least take the time to check that you’ve spelled my name and my company correctly. (Hint: it’s on my website.)

6. “Your” and “You’re” are two different words, as are “Their” and “They’re.”

7. Graphic designers: You want to design stationery packages for clients? Then remember: although packages don’t move, they are not stationary.

8. Write your email answer above mine, not below it. It’s not wrong to write it below, just confusing as most are sent the other way.

9. Speaking of email, please change your SUBJECT line when you change the topic. Many people, myself included, sort and scan their emails by reading the subject line only.

10. And the BIG ONE, which I know many people share: When someone sends an email to a group of people and asks for individual responses, do not use the “REPLY ALL” button. Only reply to the person who posed the question. If you are the originator of the email, and you DO want the responses shared with everyone, then specify that request in your email.

I’m sure there are more business communication peeves out there. Please share your comments below!

Visit: http://design-seeds.com/index.php/search

On April 26, 2012, Facebook will change the display size of the profile picture/avatar. If you have a tightly integrated design, you’ll need to update your image.

This move comes just days after Google updated Google+ profiles to display a larger photo. The larger profile images help users identify the person they add into Circles or communicate with on Google+.

Previously, a Facebook profile photo measured 130 x 125 pixels, overlaying a user’s Timeline Cover image. The square photo is a smaller version of a user’s profile image, which displays at full size when a visitor clicks on it.

The new profile picture will be 160 x 160 pixels. It will be positioned 23 pixels from the left and 210 pixels from the top of the page.

This makes the image more prominent but it also takes up more of a user’s Timeline Cover. If you have a custom Cover that incorporates the profile image into it, this will impact your page. Be ready to update your profile picture on April 26.

Or contact D Media today for help integrating a custom Facebook profile, Cover and Welcome page with your overall marketing visual identity.

Veterinarians are very busy people whose main focus is on patient care. These doctors may be hesitant to join the online world of social media marketing. However, social media can help veterinarians succeed by connecting them to their clients and prospects. It’s a marketing tool they can effectively manage by learning how the different networks function, how to interact with people online, and how to generate good content.

At the April TCVMA meeting D Media, with its partner Cindy Watts of Outta the Box Marketing, will share how to do just that. The presentation will highlight the basics of social media marketing—why and how to market, specifics of set up and strategy for the top social media networks, and how to tie it all together with existing marketing efforts.

The DVSC has worked with D Media for over 12 years and has a long-standing relationship in building the company’s marketing campaign, including social media efforts.

If YOU are a local veterinarian interested in social media marketing, this will be a very helpful class to attend. If you can’t make it, and want to help with your social media campaign, please contact D Media for details on one of our social media marketing packages. We provide network set ups, personalized training, and campaign management.

What: TCVMA CE Meeting on Social Media Marketing
When: April 19, 2012 – 6:30 pm dinner, 7:30 pm presentation
Where: UNT Health Science Center
114 Beyer Hall Research and Education Building (RES)
3500 Camp Bowie Boulevard
Fort Worth, TX 76107
Map to UNT Health Science Center
For more info: 817-788-8474, info [at] tcvma [dot] com, www.TCVMA.com

Following is a letter the incoming president recently sent to all TSB members. Wow, what a great plug for D Media:

From: Scott Butnick
Sent: Thursday, March 22, 2012 10:42 PM
To: TSB Members
Subject: New Logo

Fellow Citizens of the Planet Brotherhood:

Two years ago, when Michael and I moved into our current positions, one of the the first priorities we determined was the need to refresh our logo and other communications media. Through collaboration with Perry Zidow and the Publicity Team, the effort to refine these media morphed into a broader push around building a Brotherhood “brand”. The first result of this was “Community, Culture, Chutzpah”, developed by Dennis Eichelbaum as our brand statement. The second result is our new logo, unveiled last night at the Brotherhood Board Meeting. A picture of it is attached to this note. You’ll see the logo start to show up on the BRO Newsletter, our poster that sits in the entrance hallway, and other Brotherhood media.

The logo blends simplicity with the opportunity to leverage the Temple’s own brand identity. “Branding” the Brotherhood is an important strategic step toward growing membership. At next month’s Board meeting on 4/18, we’ll discuss a new financial incentive we can leverage to grow membership.

We were helped in the design of the logo by Suzi Berman, who runs D Media, a graphic design firm that provides marketing communications consultation in both the for-profit and not-for-profit space. D Media works in the online domain and also with hard copy communications. Their website is www.DMediaWeb.com. We worked with Suzi Berman who has been a wonderful partner and we look forward to working with her again. Suzi’s husband, and the husband of one of her employees both play in the Brotherhood Softball League. Among other things, D Media does a lot of work with ad specialties. Check out the website. Feel free to share the website name with your friends, contacts, etc who could benefit from what D Media does.

A separate message will go out in the next BRO to the General Membership of the Brotherhood. Let us know what you think of the new logo. I’m sure you’ll have an opinion. Remember, “When there are Two Jews, there are Three Opinions”.

Thanks for your continued support!

Shabbat Shalom,
Scott Butnick

Thanks again to Scott and the TSB membership for their trust in our creative expertise!

Next week, Wednesday through Friday, I will be onsite at the Dallas Convention Center, gathering information, ideas and insight into the latest, most unique, cost-effective and industry-relevant specialty advertising products to help your business, your marketing, your event, your cause.

What does this mean for you?

I will be looking for products that will help YOU. If you want me to keep my eyes open for anything specific, please let me know! For example:

• something to help the response rate of your next mailing
• ways to say “thank you” to clients/referral sources
• unique products for your next tradeshow
• giveaways for an upcoming event
• a great idea to keep your name/product/company in front of your clients/prospects

Or if you are in a specific industry . . . . healthcare, education, nonprofit, recycling, business-to-business, veterinary, etc. . . .  and want me to look for industry-related ideas, I can do that too.

Think about what you need . . . then either tweet me on Twitter, message me on Facebook, email, fax, or call . . . Wednesday-Friday, the ASI Show hits Dallas!

—Suzi Berman, Creative Director

1) Hot trend to look for in 2012: http://pinterest.com. Pinterest is a virtual pinboard—a place to create collections of things you love and “follow” collections created by others.

People use Pinterest to collect and share a variety of things— wedding inspiration, favorite T-shirts, DJ equipment. You name it, people are pinning it.

Pinterest is one of the hottest new social networks. It’s on the current list of top 10 social networks, and it’s technically still invite-only.

With over 400,000 visitors per month and growing, Pinterest is a referral source for brands. Real Simple reported that in October, Pinterest drove more traffic to its website than Facebook.

How does Pinterest help bloggers with SEO? Pin images from your blog on Pinterest with a link back to your site. Pinterest users who have an interest in that image then get directed to your blog.

2) Where to build your blog for best SEO: Many bloggers start at a third-party site like WordPress.com, Blogger.com, or Tumblr.com. However, the panel was unanimous in this advice:

“Always own the content.”

Build your blog on your own domain; don’t entrust your content on someone else’s site.

If you currently have a blog at an online resource, move it to your own site. WordPress.com sites can be ported over to your own hosted domain using WordPress.org.

Hosting your blog on your domain offers the following benefits:

1. You own the content; no one can take it away from you
2. More professional on your domain
3. Complete control of your theme, can customize it to your design and upload plugins
4. Can run Adsense and profit from your blog
5. Can add blog to your existing website (yourwebsite.com/blog) or create your entire site on the blog platform
6. SEO and social media send links to your domain/your site, not to a third-party site

It was a very informative evening! I enjoyed seeing: @SocialMediaDFW, @pokersteve786, @tonycecala, @LissaDuty, @RobinatRibit, @bigpromotions

Effective January 22, 2012 USPS will increase postage costs by an average of 2.1 % across each class of mail.

For First-Class Mail Presort mailers, there is good news. With the new rates, presorted and automation letters weighing up to 2 ounces will be charged the same price.

Single-piece, 1-ounce First-Class Mail letters will increase by 1¢, to 45¢. (Additional ounces remain at 20¢.) Costs for mailing a First-Class Mail postcard will increase by 3¢ to 32¢. Costs of stamped postcards will increase 3¢, to 35¢.

For a list of new prices: http://pe.usps.com

Or download this handy PDF: DMedia-Postage Rates & Specs-2012.01

Whenever possible, we drop mail at the SCF (USPS Sectional Center Facility) for our clients’ direct mail and event mailer projects. This not only provides our clients with an extra postal discount, but it helps reduce the time the mail is in actually in the delivery system.

What Do You DO?

Looking at the site more closely I could not immediately determine exactly what the company offered and how it could help me. I clicked four buttons located “above the fold” on the home page. The buttons sent me to different websites, replacing the original site’s window.

After retuning with the browser’s back button, my eye went to a paragraph “below the fold.” This content had good information, which provided a clearer understanding. But these days users prefer not to scroll down long pages, nor read large paragraphs on the Web.

Don’t Bury All Your Information

True, not everything can fit on a home page. Sites must have subpages to provide more information. If users are qualified prospects, genuinely interested in the topic, they will search a site to find details. But we have to get them to stay on a site long enough to do that, and not frustrate them. Important information from subpages may need to come forward, even if just to serve as brief introductory lead-ins.

When users visit a website today they want to know within 30 seconds how that website can help them. What is the main product or service that can relieve the users’ issues? What makes this company a better choice than competing business who offer the same/similar service or product? Communicate that, not just with textual content but also with images. If I do nothing but visit a company’s home page—don’t get to any of the subpages at all—I should at least walk away with that information.

When constructing your website’s home page, consider these points:

• What makes your company better than your competitors?
• Why do your clients choose you?
• How do you solve their problems/pains?
• What is the demographic or description of your typical client?
• What is your biggest challenge in getting new customers?

A successful website will address these issues. If not fully on the home page itself, that initial page will indicate where to find answers to these points quickly, usually within one click.

Need more help? D Media provides website design, copywriting, photography, programming, page construction, and more. Visit our website portfolio and then contact us to start the process for your site.

Definition: “page fold” concept is the importance of keeping the most significant information within a page’s initial viewable area. That is, “above the fold” simply means “viewable without further action.”