The Ocean Agency » Social Media

How to Make Your Facebook Profile Business Friendly

Kirsten Woebbeking — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 17:54:28 +0000

Over the Holidays, I was talking with a friend who is graduating from college in May. She was saying how she might deactivate her Facebook account while she looks for a job in the event planning industry. I immediately rejected the idea and explained to her how important networking on social media accounts is, especially for such a socially driven industry like event planning. Since Facebook has become available to everyone and as more and more businesses adapt to the social networking site, the ‘college’ stigma it once had is dissipating. Use your social networking profiles to your advantage and let them tell potential employers who you are (and that doesn’t include last weekend when you got so wasted you danced on a poll). Here are some tips to make your Facebook page more business friendly.

Delete inappropriate pictures – Let your friends know not to tag you in pictures that might embarrass you or show you in a negative light and don’t be afraid to un-tag yourself. Find a respected friend, preferably someone already in the industry you’re looking to get in to, to go through your pictures and give an unbiased opinion on what pictures should stay and what pictures should go. In my last semester at college, I had my boss go through my pictures and it made me feel comfortable knowing that someone who once threw out a resume because of their profile picture thought my collection of college-era photos was appropriate for employers to view.

No negative posts – Absolutely, positively NO negative posts especially about your job! In fact, don’t even post anything about your job (past, present or future) unless you are singing the praise of your boss and/or team. Anything that could be seen as negative will greatly hurt your chances at getting or keeping a job. When writing a post (this goes for Twitter too) think to yourself: “Is this business appropriate” and “Would I tell my boss this?” If the answer to both are no, then you should think again about posting. It can get quite annoying to read negative posts from friends or people you follow (most people will actually stop following your or de-friend you… ouch). Rather than bringing down news feeds or timelines, post a positive quote that makes you feel better and helps you forget about whatever shitty thing just happened.

Change privacy settings – There are so many privacy setting options on Facebook now that you can customize groups and share certain information with certain groups. You can, of course, hide yourself from being searched for by just anyone and make your profile ‘friend-able’ through mutual friends only. You should definitely take advantage of the group settings. I have several different groups for close friends, colleagues and family (yes I’m friends with Mom, Dad, several aunts and uncles and too many cousins to count). Here are some tips to control your privacy settings:

To get started managing your privacy settings click on drop down arrow in the upper right hand corner and click privacy settings.

This is on the main Privacy Settings page. If you select ‘Friends’ then only your friends can view your entire profile, but if you select ‘Public’ then anyone can view your profile. To customize your settings click ‘Custom’ and this window will appear

In this window, you can select certain groups, networks or people who can view your profile. You can also select the people who you don’t want to view your profile (ie: Mom and Dad or co-workers)

To create groups and lists, go to your main page and click on ‘Lists’ on the left side of your news feed. Some groups may already be created for you based on your specified networks such as college, work, or hometown. To add people to lists and groups, go to their profile

Click on the ‘Friends’ drop down menu on their profile page. If I wanted to share something with just Good friends, I simply select that group while making the post. See the picture below:

Click on the drop down menu that says ‘Public’ and this will give you the option to select the groups you want to share your post with.

To control connections with other Facebook users, click ‘edit settings’ to the right of ‘How You Connect’

Change who can find you on Facebook: ‘Who can look up your timeline by name or contact info?’ For the most secure setting select ‘Friends’. With this setting, only people you choose to be friends with will be able to view your profile.

To control friend requests, select the drop down menu for ‘Who can send you friend requests.’ For more privacy select ‘Friends of Friends.’

Delete your wall. Prevent others from posting comments on your timeline by selecting ‘only me.’

If you go back to the main Privacy Setting page you can control your tags on Facebook by clicking ‘How Tags Work’.

To review photos, posts, or anything else you were tagged in, click on ‘off’ and then ‘enable‘ on the pop-up screen. This will prevent any posts or tags form being published to your timeline without your review.

You can also control what groups and networks can see posts you’ve been tagged in on your timeline by click on the ‘Custom’ drop-down menu and selecting those certain groups.

If you’re desperate, change your name – I know there are some of you reading this saying ‘I can’t be seen on Facebook at all’ which is unfortunate, but if you’re in a position such as teaching you take the risk of Facebook. Many of my teaching friends have changed their last name to their middle name to prevent students or their employer from finding or friend-ing them on Facebook. Along with changing your name, set your privacy settings on high just to be cautious. To make name changes click on the drop down arrow in the upper right hand corner and select ‘Account Settings’, click edit next to Name and you can change your last name to your middle.

I feel like I’ve only scratched the surface for privacy settings on Facebook. Take 30 minutes out of your day to assess your current settings and make them fit your needs now. If there are any questions about privacy settings I didn’t cover, visit the Facebook Privacy Help Center.

How Apple’s iOS 5 Will Impact SEO and Social Media

admin — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 18:58:45 +0000

On Tuesday June 9th, Apple announced updates to their mobile operating system iOS which will update all of Apple’s mobile devices (iPad, iPhone, & iPod Touch) with over 200 new features. This announcement will completely change how users share and receive digital content. In addition, over the past year, search engines have made it clear that quality digital content cannot be ignored when considering a SEO campaign.

As business owners looking for fresh approaches to market your business, you face even more challenges when it comes to planning marketing budgets. With varying opinions on whether or not your marketing strategy needs to include Social Media Experts, Apple’s decision to include Twitter into their operating system sets a precedent for social media’s long term staying power.

Tweet This

Of the 200 new features, one feature really stands out for digital marketers: Twitter will now be fully integrated within iOS. Through virtually any application on your device, you can share content directly to your Twitter account without using a Twitter application. Although there are already a number of Twitter applications available for iOS devices, full integration within the operating system could encourage more users to share more content online. According to a recent comScore study, Portal websites such as Search Engines are steadily becoming less popular with Social Media activity growing rapidly over the past year. Although Facebook is still the social media leader, its rapid growth over the past year is a sign of the times as it has moved into the #1 website people spend time online.

Recent data on online usage suggests that users are becoming more interested in engaging collaboratively with others online and less interested in browsing content autonomously. Social media sites and online marketers face unique challenges as they struggle with staying relevant in a constantly changing market.

Don’t Tweet This

With seamless integration – comes greater responsibility. As our lives become more social online, businesses need to be sensitive to what is being tweeted from their business accounts and public employee accounts. Take for example a Chrysler Social Media Expert who accidentally posted his opinion about Detroit drivers to the official Chrysler Twitter account, a comment that was meant for his personal account. In more recent news, Rep. Anthony Weiner’s reputation and career was tarnished because of one spelling error in a Twitter post when he mistakenly posted a provocative photograph to his public Twitter feed. Michael Fertik, CEO of Reputation.com, says that this type of mistake happens “millions of times a day,” – suggesting that these types of mistakes are common.

To maintain a positive reputation on Twitter, clear-cut social media guidelines should be developed for all employees, including employees outside of the social media department. In the early days of Social Media, websites like Myspace were used for personal expression but as more businesses take advantage of Social Media, the methodology is changing. In Social Media Marketing, you need to balance marketing messages with a personal touch as your followers won’t find value in your tweets if they feel like that are being sold to.

Twitters Impact On SEO

Google and Bing conceded that they use signals from Twitter when displaying Twitter posts and web pages in search engine result pages (SERPs). Both search engines try to calculate a Twitter handle’s authority based on followers and mentions. Like traditional link building, the higher the linking Twitter handle’s authority is, the more authoritative the link is considered to search engines. In turn, this means that content in a highly competitive search space has another opportunity for ranking well in SERPs through Twitter. To take advantage of all that Twitter can offer for your SEO campaign, your strategy should include creating resourceful content and promotion.

When creating a new piece of content, always think about why a user would want to read or watch this. What are they getting out of the content? Would they share this content with a friend or colleague? If you cannot answer these questions, then it probably does not belong on your website. If you content is resourceful and helpful to your online community, then Twitter is a method for letting everyone know about it. By adding a link to your Twitter account on your website, you can let people who are already interesting in you know how to stay in touch with you as you grow but what about people who don’t already know about you?

Social Media is all about connecting to like-minded people. Depending on your interests, you may find a large community of users talking about and sharing information you are interested in, it’s just a matter of finding them and connecting. The same can be said for promoting your content – there may be a number of users looking for the content you have but don’t know who you are. Researching and cultivating interest in your brand and content online is one way businesses can utilize Social Media Experts.

How to optimize your Facebook Fan Page

admin — Mon, 09 May 2011 22:25:14 +0000

With over 500 million registered users on Facebook and 32 million monthly visits from Google, ensuring your Facebook Fan Page stays visible in search means staying relevant. The visibility of your Fan Page not only affects how users find you within Facebook but also how users find your Fan Page using search engines. Listed below are several methods to ensure your Facebook Page is fully optimized to be easily found.

How Facebook Fan Pages rank in Facebook Search

Search within Facebook follows different rules than search within a search engine in two main ways:

• Facebook search is based upon exact match
• Facebook search is populated based upon a user’s connections.

The Facebook search algorithm operates on the exact match method, meaning only results containing the exact phrase a user types into the Facebook search bar are going to show up.

Facebook search is also populated based upon a user’s connections, meaning Facebook will show different search results to different users based upon how ‘connected’ they are to a Fan Page. The more friends a user has who have ‘Liked’ or commented on the Fan Page, the more likely that Fan Page is to show up at the top of their search results. While this helps expose your Fan Page to an already mildly interested audience, it also means that Facebook search can never be predicted.

How Facebook Fan Pages rank in Search Engines

There is no confirmed method for increasing your Facebook Fan Page’s rankings within search engines, however the more popular and dynamic an item is on Facebook the better chance it has of appearing in the SERP’s. Both Google and Bing have the ability to crawl and index certain parts of all FanPages, including the Wall, About Us section, Page Info and any additional HTML added to the Fan Page by an Admin.

Both Google and Bing then take this information, along with a variety of other signals, and assign each Fan Page an authority score. The more authority your Fan Page has the more likely it is to show up on Page One of the SERPs.

Optimization Tips for your Facebook Fan Page

As mentioned above, neither Facebook nor search engines have confirmed exactly what factors they use to rank Fan Pages but these tips below increase your exposure to both Facebook users and search engine spiders.

Select the right Page Name
Since Facebook search operates on exact match, the phrase users type into the Facebook search bar must be present in all part or part of your Fan Page name for your Fan Page to appear in the search results. Think like a user. When someone is searching for your Fan Page what search term would they use? Since popularity determines a Fan Page’s rank within Facebook, the more users who connect with your Fan Page the higher you appear in the search rankings. Your Fan Page’s title also appears as your title tag in search engines. Make sure this title tag clearly describes to users what your Fan Page is about when it appears in the SERP’s.

Grab a vanity URL
Once you have 25 people who have ‘Liked’ your Fan Page you can go to www.facebook.com/username and choose a vanity URL. Once you select a vanity URL it is permanent, so make sure it’s one you want to stick with forever. Statistics show that shorter, branded URLs are shared more frequently. Have you built up a strong presence under original URL Facebook assigned your Fan Page? Don’t worry, Facebook places a permanent 301 redirect on your original URL, meaning your original PageRank and link juice will carry over to your new vanity URL.

Use keywords in your Fan Page’s description
While Facebook internal search only shows results based upon a Fan Page’s name, search engines have the ability to crawl and index a Fan Page’s Info section, About Us section and Page’s Notes. Make sure to include keywords in these sections so search engines accurately understand the content on your Fan Page. However, use key words sparingly and naturally as search engines recognize and penalize keyword stuffing.

Choose the right Page Category
When Fan Page results show up within Facebook search their page category appears right below the Page Title. Make sure the category you select will accurately describe to users what your Facebook Fan Page is about.

Get people talking
Not only do you want users to ‘Like’ your Fan Page but you want them to talk about it. Facebook recently allowed users to filter search results from the past 30 days by both ‘Posts by Friends’ and ‘Posts by everyone’. Anytime a user shares content from your Fan Page, or tags your Fan Page in a status or comment, your Fan Page will show up under these search filters.

Create an Event
Facebook internal search also features an event filter where events featuring a user’s search terms their title will show up. While your brand’s Fan Page will not show up in the initial search box, when a user clicks-through to the event page they will see your Fan Page listed as the creator.

Never let content go ‘Stale’
Fully optimizing your Facebook Fan Page for search is only the first step to being found, keeping your Fan Page alive with fresh and resourceful content is the second. Google has admitted that ‘stale content’, or content that has “not been updated for a period of time and, thus, contain[s] stale data”, is penalized in the SERPs, so make sure the content on your Fan Page is never stale. On the other hand make sure you’re not continually pushing out irrelevant content or content that is not resourceful as this is viewed by both users and search engines to be overcrowding and spam. A recent Hubspot webinar cites every other day as the optimum frequency to update your Facebook Fan Page, but the best rule of thumb is to update your content only when it is resourceful to your users.

Interact with other pages
Two months ago Facebook introduced an extensive update to Fan Pages. One of the best features in this update is the ability for users to interact on Facebook as their Fan Page. In the eyes of Facebook, commenting on other relevant Fan Pages will connect you with that Fan Page and their users. This increases the amount of connections you have with other users and thus increases your chances of appearing within Facebook search.

Invest in Facebook PPC
Facebook PPC is fast becoming one of the best ways to be found within Facebook. In a recent webinar Hubspot claims Facebook PPC is the most cost-effective PPC program, with ROI from Facebook PPC being on average 50% higher than any anywhere else on the Web. Unlike other PPC programs, with Facebook PPC you don’t target keywords, but specific users with certain interests, and friends who have already ‘Liked’ your Fan Page. These tools allow you to target an audience with an existing connections to your Fan Page and usually leads to higher conversion rates.

How Social Media affects SEO

admin — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 21:29:21 +0000

With the rise of social networking sites, search engines have began looking to Social Media signals from a user’s social network to better determine who they were, and how to better serve them relevant content in organic search results. Although their complex ranking algorithm is kept under-wraps, Google has confirmed that signals from Social Media networks are becoming an increasing factor in how they rank websites in their organic search results. Today, users who are logged in to Google can register their social networking sites, filtering the organic search results they see based on various Social signals.

While Google uses over 200 factors in their complex search algorithm, the search engine giant has made it clear that cues from Social Media sites factor into this equation. Google has identified sites such as Twitter, Quora, StumbleUpon and LinkedIn as Social Media networks they look to for social indicators. Most notably absent from this list is Facebook. While Google has the ability to index comments, status updates and shared links from Facebook Fan Pages it does not take Facebook ‘Likes’ into account when determining page rankings.

How social media affects non logged-in users

Twitter is currently the fastest growing social network and the volume of publicly accessible information on the network makes it the obvious choice for search engines to gather their social signals from.

Of all the social signals Google receives from Twitter, the number of Tweets and Retweets a link garners is among the top social influencers on organic search rankings. “Yes, we do use it as a signal,” confirms a Google representative, when asked about the quantity of Tweets containing a specific link. “We use as a signal in our organic and news rankings.”

Since Google views global link popularity as an indicator of quality, this incorporation of Twitter makes sense. But what about the author who Tweets the link, is there any consideration given to who they are? Google has confirmed that each individual Twitter user has a personalized score based upon their online authority, but a user’s authority on Twitter only influences non logged-in search rankings in rare cases.

How social media affects logged-in users

Google collects social signals across dozens of social networking sites, so when do users see the bulk of this information? When they search Google while logged-in to their Google account. Google uses both global data from social networking sites and data from any personal social networking accounts that a user has linked to their Google account.

So which of these social signals carry the most weight for logged-in users? The author authority of a Twitter user or Facebook Fan Page who posts a link. Google assigns an individual author authority score to every Twitter user and Facebook Fan Page. When selecting which links to display under the ‘Top Links’ section in Google Realtime Search Google places a lot of weight on the authority of the Twitter user or Facebook Fan Page who shared the link.

Google is also testing a feature where users can link their Twitter accounts to Google News and see News content from just their network.

Google +1

As of Wednesday Google unveiled it’s latest attempt at becoming more social, the ‘+1 Button’. Currently, the +1 Button is available to English users who are logged into their Google account and have activated the feature under Google Labs. The +1 Button appears next to search listings and Ad Words advertisements acting as a stamp of approval. If a user finds value in a search listing or advertisement they can click the +1 button and their vote will be added to running tally for that specific piece of content and their endorsement and link will appear in a scrolling feed on their Google profile. “The primary benefit is that search gets better,” says Matt Cutts, the figurehead of Google’s spam fighting team. “It gets better in the user interface immediately, and we’ll look at it as a potential signal to improve search quality as well.”

When a user is logged-in to Google they will be able to see which links people in their network have +1’d for a specific search query. Who makes up your network?

People you follow in Google Reader or Google Buzz
Contacts in your Gmail chat list
Contacts in your Google Talk chat list
Everyone from your ‘My Contacts’ group in Google Contacts

But what happens if no one in your network has +1’d any links for a certain search query? For the most popular links Google will display the global number of +1’s that link has received.

Since the announcement on Wednesday search users and Website owners alike have been asking the same question, Will the number of +1’s a page listing receives affect that listing’s ranking? While there has been no official confirmation from Google, Matt Cutts was quoted as saying, “When someone recommends something, that’s a pretty good indicator of quality. We are strongly looking at using this in our rankings.”

What to Expect Next

For online marketers Social Media is already a popular form of linkbuilding, offering an affordable way to establish online credibility and organically build inbound links for content. A recent study from SEOMoz shows that a strong Social Media presence has a positive correlation with high rankings:

The recent addition of Google +1 and comments from both Google and Bing hint that Social Media will play an increasingly important role in how well a Web Page ranks.

While the confirmed direct impact of Social Media signals on SERP’s is still somewhat minimal expect to see Social Media become integral part of attaining page one rankings in the near future.

8 New Changes to Facebook Fan Pages & How This Affects You

admin — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 16:08:15 +0000

Mark Zuckerberg is shakin’ things up again! This past week Facebook changed the layout and functionality of their Fan Pages. While the new changes may not be obvious at first, they will have a huge impact on the way marketers use Facebook.

Listed below are 8 of the changes I am most excited about and how they will impact your online marketing strategy.

1. A New Layout

The most obvious tweak to the Fan Pages is the new layout. Fan Pages now look more like the Profile Page with all tabs categorized vertically on the left, a featured photo section across the top, and a smaller size for the profile picture.

Tip: Don’t want to update your existing profile picture to the new dimensions (180 X 540 pixels)? Facebook will scale down your existing photo for you.

2. Add Iframes to Your Tabs

Developers across the world are rejoicing the fact that Facebook Tabs can now be coded as an Iframe. This means that HTML or Javascript can be imported onto the 520 pixel canvas provided by the Tab. While coding in FBML (Facebook’s version of HTML) is still available, the language will be phased out by March 11, 2011.

Tip: Don’t want to update your FBML coding? Don’t worry all Tabs coded before March 11, 2011 using FBML will still display and function as normal.

3. Fan Page Updates Now Appear in your E-mail

Before the update, Admins had to manually scan their Page to spot new comments, ‘Likes’ and Wall posts, which for many active Pages meant missed interactions. The new settings now allow Admins to receive e-mail notifications whenever someone leaves a comment or post on their Page.

Tip: Want to turn off the constant e-mail updates? Navigate to the Page then click on “Edit Page” and “Page Settings”. There you will find a checkbox that allows you to disable e-mail updates.

4. New Spam Filter

Before you could only remove spam comments after they have been posted to the Wall. Now Facebook offers the ability to block posts that use certain words or phrases from appearing. Admins can also adjust the level of the language filter now, providing Pages with stricter policies against offensive language much higher protection.

5. Interact as Your Page

From a marketing point of view this may be the most exciting change. Admin now have the ability to use Facebook as the Fan Page itself. This means Admin can ‘Like’ other pages or post to anyone’s Wall using the persona of the Page. Page Admins can now actively seek out and interact with their target audience as the Page itself.

6. See Shared Friends and Interests

The social aspect to Facebook marketing has become more important as Pages now show visitors their mutual friends and interests (determined by the ‘Liked’ Pages the user and the Page have in common). Users can now easily see who out of their friends are also Fans of the Page.

Tip: Want to learn more about your Fans’ interests? Select the “Use Facebook as Page” option under Accounts and look at the right-hand side of your Page. There Facebook will suggest other Pages that are popular with your Fans and display the number of Fans that have ‘Liked’ that specific Page.

7. Fan Page Walls No Longer Operates in Real-Time

Under the posts from everyone setting, Wall posts no longer appear in chronological order, but are now displayed showing the top posts first. Facebook has not revealed how they determine top posts, but it appears to be based upon both how long ago the post was made and how many interactions the post received.

Tip: Still want to see the order in which Fans’ posted comments? On the left-hand side of the Page, under Wall click the option “Admin view”. This will automatically display posts with the most recent first.

8. See Featured Owners and ‘Likes’

Want to add a personal touch to your business Page? Admins can now choose to be shown on the left side bar as featured owners. Other Pages your Page has ‘Liked’ can now be shown as featured interests, letting your Fans know what other activities and businesses you are interested in.

Sometimes Facebook’s updates seem unnecessary and, well, just annoying; but I’m really excited about these Page changes. The changes reinforce the fact that Facebook is fast becoming an important platform for marketers to interact with their target audience.

Chicago’s Best "Check In" Deals on Foursquare

Kelly Sutton — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 15:28:48 +0000

Yep, we looked through tons of “check in’s” on Foursquare and here our the best deals. Which one’s do you like or have use?

The Art Institute of Chicago

Check in Deal: After Dark is an after hours event featuring music, gallery talks, a cash bar, and interactive performances. If you’re the mayor at the next event, show them at the press check-in table for free admission.

111 S. Michigan Ave
at Adams
Chicago, IL 60603

The James Hotel

Check in Deal: “Check-in for Charity” Show your Foursquare check-in to the front desk assistant & get 50% off a room upgrade! The James Hotel will donate 50% of the upgrade charge to our local not-for-profit partner of the season!

55 East Ontario St
Rush St
Chicago, IL 60611

Pompei Little Italy

Check in Deal: “$2.00 slice of our hand rolled pizza for checking in. Become Mayor and receive a complimentary gelato.”

212 E Ohio St
St. Clair St
Chicago, IL 60611

Vertigo Sky Lounge

Check in Deal: “Manager of Vertigo will buy a round of champagne for the Mayor and friends!”

2 W. Erie Street
State & Erie
Chicago, IL 60654

Jbar Chicago

Check in Deal: “Show your cocktail server or bartender that you’ve checked into J Bar on Foursquare, and receive 2 cocktails for the price of 1 before midnight.”

610 N. Rush St.
Between Ontario and Ohio
Chicago, IL 60611

C-View Rooftop Lounge & Outdoor Terrace

Check in Deal: “Complimentary Candy Bar Taste of 3 when you check-in to C-View, C-House or Affinia Chicago!”

166 East Superior Street
Chicago, IL

Salute Cucina and Wine Bar

Check in Deal: Half Off One of Salute’s Signature Pizzas with Purchase of Bottle of Wine. To get the deal you must check in and show to server when ordering.

46 E. Superior St
N. Wabash
Chicago, IL 60611

676 Restaurant and Bar

Check in Deal: “Foursquare users get $3 Summit Maibock (draft), $6 house wine pour and 15% off any food order for any check-in at 676 Restaurant and Bar (located on the 4th floor of the Omni Chicago Hotel.”

676 N. Michigan Ave.
Michigan and Huron
Chicago, IL

Looking Glass Theatre Company

Check in Deal: “$10 off one ticket to any performance on your first check-in at the box office! Subject to availability, not valid on previously purchased tickets or in combination with other discounts.”

821 N. Michigan Ave.
at Pearson
Chicago, IL 60611

Harry Caray’s Tavern

Check in Deal: “Show your server that you’ve checked in on Foursquare and get 10% off your check (4 guest maximum).”

600 E. Grand Ave.
in Navy Pier
Chicago, IL

Ben & Jerry’s

Check in Deal: When you check in to Ben & Jerry’s at Navy Pier, get 3 scoops for $3! Show that you’re mayor and and get an extra scoop on them!

700 East Grand Ave.
Chicago, IL 60611

Arbys @ Merchandise Mart

Check in Deal: When you check in to this location you can get a free small coffee with a purchase of a breakfast sandwich.

222 Merchandise Mart Plaza
at Orleans St & Kinzie St
Chicago, IL 60654

Adele Dallas Orr Boutique

Check in Deal: “$25 off purchase of $200 or more. Expires 12/31/2010!”

520 North Michigan Avenue, Level 3
“btw Ohio & Grand Ave”
Chicago, IL 60611

XS Boutique

Check in Deal: “Show that you’ve checked into XS Boutique, and get 20% off your entire purchase (excludes event tix)!”

1420 N Milwaukee
Chicago, IL 60622

Ay Ay Picante Peruvian Seafood & Steak

Check in Deal: “Free Dessert during the week (Monday-Thursday) One per table.”

4569 N Elston Ave
btw N Kennicott Ave & N Kiona Ave
Chicago, IL 60630

Allerton Hotel

Check in Deal: When you check in for your stay at the Allerton Hotel check in to Foursquare and they will upgrade you to a higher floor for free!

701 N. Michigan Ave
Huron
Chicago, IL 60611

The 900 Shops

Check in Deal:” On your 3rd check-in at The 900 Shops, get a free gift from the Concierge Desk on Level One!”

900 N Michigan Ave
Chicago, IL 60611

Wow Bao

Check in Deal: “Mayor of Wow Bao gets a free 6-pack of bao! All others, show you checked in at Wow Bao and get a free bao when you buy one.” (This deal is also available at the State/Lake location as well.)

835 N. Michigan Ave.
Inside main entrance of Water Tower Place
Chicago, IL 60610

Starfruit

Check in Deal: “Show that you’ve just ousted someone as The Mayor and get a free small frozen kefir with one topping!”

108 N. State St.
Block 37
Chicago, IL 60602

NYC Bagel Deli

Check in Deal: “A Free Dozen Bagels!”"

300 S. Wacker Dr.
at Jackson
Chicago, IL 60606

Berry Chill

Check in Deal: “Show you’ve checked in at Berry Chill on Foursquare and receive 10% off any yogurt purchase!”

635 N State St
Ontario
Chicago, IL 60601

Roof on theWit

Check in Deal: “Mayor and one guest receive automatic entry to ROOF and waived cover charge. All others, show you check in to ROOF and receive 1 complimentary small plate with the purchase of a signature cocktail.”

201 N State St
State & Lake
Chicago, IL 60601

Crepe Bistro

Check in Deal: “Check in on Foursquare and get Martinis for only $5 after 4pm on Tuesday through Saturday!”

186 N Wells
W Lake
Chicago, IL 60606

McCormick & Schmick’s

Check in Deal: “Enjoy 1 free Bar Food Menu item during Happy Hour with any beverage purchase just for checking in (excluding cheeseburger)! Mayor receives 1 complimentary dinner entrée with purchase of another entrée.”

41 E Chestnut St
Chestnut & Rush
Chicago, IL 60611

Hard Rock Hotel

Check in Deal: “Members of our Rock Royalty program get a room upgrade based on availability, and a complimentary amenity of their choice (including Garrett’s popcorn and beer!) Inquire at the front desk.”

230 N. Michigan Ave
at E Wacker Pl
Chicago, IL 60601

Bin 36

Check in Deal: “This goes for anyone, anytime you’re with us: show you’ve checked in, and your first flight is $10… wine OR cheese! Whatever you want!”

339 N. Dearborn St
Chicago, IL 60610

Sunda

Check in Deal: “Sunda Social happens every week day from 5pm-7pm with half off appetizers and sushi pairings! If you haven’t tried our brunch yet hit us up on twitter @sundachicago for secret twitter-only suprise!”

110 W Illinois St
btw Clark and LaSalle
Chicago, IL

District Bar

Check in Deal: “Receive one free appetizer every 4th check-in!”

170 W Ontario St
La Salle St and Ontario St
Chicago, IL 60654

Sound-Bar

Check in Deal: “Fridays and Saturdays free cover and a drink before 11:30pm when you check in and show your phone to the door staff (excludes special events).”

226 W Ontario
Franklin
Chicago, IL 60610

Tuscany Restaurant

Check in Deal: “Free classic tiram”isu dessert with every check in!”

1014 W Taylor St
btw Morgan and Miller
Chicago, IL

Pie – Eyed Pizzeria

Check in Deal: “20% off your entire order when you show that you’ve checked in on Foursquare.”

1111 W Chicago Ave
Milwaukee Ave
Chicago, IL

The Boundry

Check in Deal: “Show that you’ve checked in at The Boundary on Foursquare with parties of 3+ and receive 15% off your bill! Special available Monday – Thursday.”

1932 Division Street
Chicago, IL 60622

DMK Burger

Check in Deal: Free small sea salt & black pepper fry Monday – Friday, 5 pm – 7 pm.

2954 N. Sheffield Ave
at W Wellington Ave
Chicago, IL 60657

Brew & View

Check in Deal: “FREE admission to Brew & View with every 3rd check-in!”

3145 N Sheffield Ave
Belmont
Chicago, IL 60657

100 Well-designed Facebook Fan Pages

Kelly Sutton — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 22:45:47 +0000

A well-designed Facebook fan page can encourage more people to “like” your page. So we did a little research and found 100 very cool and very well-designed Facebook fan pages. Enjoy!

Is Twitter a Social Network?

Marvin Russell — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 16:00:20 +0000

Kevin Thau, Twitter’s VP for business and corporate development publicly stated yesterday that Twitter is not a Social Network. Up until this point I had never thought about the public’s perception of Twitter or Twitter’s perception of itself. In my mind I just threw Twitter under the umbrella of social networking websites. Thau went on to emphasize that Twitter is for news, breaking news and syndicating news. He stated;

“The guy who saw a plane land on the Hudson River right in front of him didn’t think to send an email, He tweeted it.”

Thau also stated that Kanye West’s public apology on Twitter was one of the most re-tweeted tweets of all time. This is actually starting to make sense me. Maybe Twitter is not actually a social network…

Personally, I use Twitter for 3 reasons:

1. To connect with people (hmm?)
2. Get new information
3. To share information

Number one makes me think social networking site. But number two and three make me think Thau is right. For example, think about the last time you went to a blog and used their share buttons. What did you notice? I took a snap shot of the last 4 articles on Mashable.com’s website. Notice the difference between Tweets and Facebook publishes. People are overwhelming tweeting these blog posts more often than publishing them to their walls. In fact, out of these 4 articles, people Tweeted them over 600% more than they published them to their Facebook wall.

: A Snapshot of Mashable.com’s blog

Is Twitter a Social Network?

Shareability should now be in your web vocabulary.

Marvin Russell — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 20:27:49 +0000

Ten years ago the web was used to gain information. Today’s it’s used to share information. People inherently love to share informative, resourceful, controversial, inspiring or funny things. It makes them feel knowledgeable and helpful amongst friends and family members. With social media, the ability to share information has never been so easy.

Remember a few years back when you read a good article online and the only way to share it was to email all your friends? It probably seemed simple and convenient. Today, what a pain! Welcome social media share buttons.

Examples of Share Buttons:
The image below is an article from Mashable.com’s blog. They do a great job of letting their readers share information on their site.

a. Twitter Share Button
By clicking this button you’re Tweeting the article to all your followers. Now if you’ve got 500 followers and 10 of them decide to retweet your article, the viral effect is exponential.

b. Facebook Publish Button
By clicking this button you are you are putting the title of the article, an image in the article, a blurb from the article and a link to the article on your Facebook wall. They say the average person has 180 Facebook friends. Essentially you’re recommending that all your friends and family on Facebook read this article, and according to the social media bible, “Groundswell,” you are three times more likley to trust a friend or family member when making a purchasing decision. Very powerful and my personal favorite share button.

c. Digg Share Button
By clicking this button, you’re casting a vote or a “Digg” on Digg.com and every click equals one digg. Articles with the most “Diggs” get ranked higher in the site, therefore giving them more exposure.

d. Facebook “Like” Button
By clicking this button you’re adding the title of the post, a link a blurb and a comment (if you choose) to your Facebook wall saying. I don’t think it’s as powerful as the Facebook Publish Button mentioned above because there’s no image. And when looking down a wall of posts on your Facebook page images get noticed and clicked on 80% more of the time.

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In addition to usability, simplicity, and organization, the word “shareability” should now be added to your web design vocabulary. When designing your website or blog, you should ask yourself or your developer, “How easy is it to share content on my website?” However, keep in mind that it’s not about sharing your website. It’s more about sharing a piece of content on your website, like a funny video or a great blog article.

Stay tuned. In my next article I’ll show you how to add share button to your website or blog.

What are your thoughts about shareability?

Should Companies Outsource Their Social Media?

The Ocean Agency — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 19:45:40 +0000

With the explosion of social media new companies, gurus and social media “experts” emerge every day. Many of these companies and individuals offer to take complete control of a company or brands social media presence. For some, this sounds great. Many think, “Oh, I won’t have to spend any time messing around on these social media sites, I have better things to do , like real work!”

While outsourcing your social media may save a company some initial time and money, it may hurt your brand in the long run.

A company who outsources their social media operations is essentially outsourcing their voice, branding, and PR. Outsourcing social media is somewhat counter-intuitive– one of the most powerful aspects of social media is that it allows companies to interact directly with current and potential customers, and by outsourcing social media you are cutting out that important interaction.

That being said, many companies who do not outsource social media “test the waters” and then fail miserably. Or, at the very least, do not get the most out of their social presence.

So, outsourcing isn’t especially effective and “testing the waters” sets companies up for social media mediocrity or embarrassment. What to do?

I would recommend outsourcing the initial branding and overall social strategy, so that the company or individual can feel especially confident when it comes time to execute.

So get your voice out there, just do it in a way that both reflects your brands personality while also staying within a calculated and effective strategy.