With over 500 million users, Facebook is a powerhouse in social networking. If you’re not on Facebook and using it for your small business, then you are missing a huge opportunity. In my upcoming webinar series “Facebook 4 Biz: Ready, Set, Go!” (this webinar series is also part of my Super Summer Sale, which means you get an additional 20% off at checkout), I’ll be delving into the world of Facebook and how to use it to build your brand.

Have you ever wondered how businesses on Facebook get the “pretty” business pages? The answer is Static FMBL (Facebook Markup Language) which is Facebook’s answer to HTML. You can create your design in a WYSIWYG editor like DreamWeaver and paste the code into Static FBML. Just copy and paste everything between the “body” tags (leaving them out) and leave out any Javascripts. If you’re not familiar with writing HTML code, there are a number of HTML tutorials available online or you can partner with a virtual assistant, like Virtual Accuracy Companies, for your HTML creation.

After you’ve created your design elements then use this quick “how-to” I made about creating a landing page for Facebook Business page.

1. Install the Static FBML application located here: http://www.facebook.com/apps/application.php?id=4949752878

Underneath the FMBL logo, click, “Add to my Page”

2. On your Facebook Business page, click on “Edit Page”, which is located underneath your picture or business logo.

3. You will now be taken to the backend of your Facebook Business page. This is the nuts and bolts of the Facebook design elements. Under “Applications”, scroll to the FBML application and click “Edit”.

4. Create a title for your landing page, in this case, I chose “Welcome”. Now paste the HTML code you created earlier into the FBML box and click “Save Changes”.

5. To make the new page your landing page, go back to your Facebook Business page and underneath the “Share” button, click on “Options”, then click on Settings and a number of different options will appear. For the option of “Default Landing Tab for Everyone Else”, choose the name of your page from the drop down menu, in this case it is “Welcome”. Your information is now auto–saved.

Now anyone who visits your Facebook Business page and is not a fan, they will automatically be directed to your landing page.

Before we get into the blog post for today, I recorded a video to accompany it since the topic seemed to beg for it.

How are you using video for your business?

You’ve heard that using video to market your business can bring incredible results. But do the benefits outweigh the effort it takes to put your video online? In a word, Yes! Shooting a video, editing and formatting it, uploading it to the internet with the right title and description takes a bit of time. But the payoff for video marketing can be tremendous. Here are seven real benefits of marketing with video:

1. Personal Connection – Especially for internet based businesses, the personal connection with your potential market is a huge selling factor. With video, your audience can truly get to know you, eye-to-eye. They get to see that you are indeed a real, live person. They start building a deeper relationship with you and feel as if they actually have met you.

2. Social proof – There’s an old proverb: “Believe nothing of what you hear, and only half of what you see.” On the internet it’s so easy to be a fake and a fraud. People are skeptical about claims they read online, and rightfully so. But video puts a face to your words and makes you more believable and trustworthy.

3. Traffic – People are watching 2 BILLION videos per day on YouTube alone! That’s a whole lot of traffic you’re missing if you’re not marketing yourself with video. It’s free and easy to add your video to a large number of the video sites available online.

4. Emotional Influence – The classic horror movie is a great example of how the audio has an emotional effect on us. The creepy music comes in, immediately cluing you in that something bad is about to happen. Now, imagine combining that audio with powerful video cues to influence the emotions of the listener and create a much more compelling message than with just text alone.

5. Portability – Maybe even more so then articles and ebooks, video is portable. iPhones, Smartphones, iPads and all kinds of other devices allow video to be seen on the go. You can also allow people to download video easily so they can view it over and over again.

6. Demonstrations – Reviews, case studies and examples are great ways to sell products and services. It’s the reason why infomercials make millions of dollars. Now there’s no need for you to be as annoying as the Sham-Wow guy to make money with video, you just need to create videos that show and tell your potential customers why your product will be helpful for them.

7. Engagement – There are many reports available online to show that video boosts response and conversion rates. When someone is watching a video, you have their full attention – eyes and ears. Unlike with the written word, they’re not likely skip ahead or gloss over important information. Most people will watch a video from beginning to end, allowing you to clearly create a message and call to action that engages your audience.

Overall, video is an effective marketing strategy that is only growing in popularity. Since video is here to stay, it’s time to check out the options and see how quick and easy video marketing can be.

Windows Live is part business productivity tool and part social networking. The service seems to integrate the two seamlessly. What makes it even better is the fact that there are a number of ways you can utilize it, even if you don’t want to use it as another social network.

1. If you use MSN Messenger you already have “friends” who you can interact with using Windows Live. There are currently 299 MSN messenger users/accounts created, which means if you are an active user, it may behoove you to utilize the services of Windows Live.

2. In addition to being able to add your own original status updates, your Facebook feed can also be imported into Windows Live. This means that your status updates, photos, videos, etc. can be published to your Live account. This feature is also available for MySpace, Blogger, YouTube, Digg, StumbleUpon and soon, LinkedIn. You have the ability to comment on your friends updates in those networks directly from Windows Live.

3. One of the best features is free access to Microsoft Office online. Within Windows Live there is an Office tab and you are given a drop down where you can create Word, Excel, PowerPoint and One Note documents. The service is quite scaled down, but many of the basic and intermediate functions have been included. When you are finished, you can also share the documents with others. This would work very well in a team environment. The programs look almost the same as the ones installed on many computer systems, so if you like the feeling of familiar, you’re going to LOVE this feature.

4. Windows Live gives you the option to store your photos. Like many other social networking services , you can upload and store your photo files for quick retrieval. Plus you can also attach your Flickr, PhotoBucket and other accounts to the Windows Live platform.

5. Privacy seems to be of the utmost importance in Windows Live. When you first sign up you are placed in what seems like stealth mode, meaning you are the only with access to your account. You have to go through numerous steps under each individual piece of your profile to determine whether it will be public, shared with your friends or private. Unlike Facebook, Microsoft has made it clear that you own all of your data.

I know what you’re thinking, who needs another social network? But with the extra tools provided by Microsoft, Windows Live may bear some looking into.

There are so many marketing tools to choose from. It can be difficult to know which will work best for your business. However, a weekly e-mail newsletter is an effective and easy marketing tool for any business owner. Here are a few reasons why you will benefit from publishing a weekly e-mail newsletter of your own.

Sending out an e-mail newsletter is inexpensive. There are no printing or mailing costs associated with contacting prospects via e-mail. You will need to use a newsletter management program to send out your newsletter, but you can look for one within your price range. Newsletter management programs allow subscribers to manage their own subscriptions, so you don’t need to pay anyone for that service. Some even offer templates for you to use so you won’t need to hire a designer either.

You can track your marketing. Many newsletter management programs offer tracking so you can see how many of your subscribers are opening your newsletter. You can also see which links in your newsletter they’re clicking on. This will tell you what it is about your newsletter that interests your readers the most, and you can make the appropriate changes.

You are marketing to people who are interested in what you sell. Your subscribers signed up for your newsletter because they were interested in the information you offer. This can make it easier for you to convert them into buyers.

Your subscribers will become familiar with your products or service. It’s said that people need to hear about your product or service at least seven times before they will think about purchasing it. If you send out a weekly newsletter, that’s a great way to tell them about your product, over and over again. Remember to include helpful information as well, so they won’t feel like you’re sending them a sales pitch every time.

You will become a reliable resource, not just a salesperson. If you regularly publish helpful information in your newsletter, you will become a trusted expert. Your subscribers will think of you as a helpful resource they can go to for advice. This means they will be more likely to purchase from you when they’re ready.

You will build relationships with your subscribers. People buy from people they know, like and trust. When your subscribers hear from you on a regular basis, you will become familiar to them. They will feel like they know you and get to like you. Because you’re consistently providing good information, they will come to trust you. When they’re ready to purchase, everything will be in place for them to buy from you.

An e-mail newsletter is a great marketing tool that any business owner can use. Not only is it simple to manage, it will help you turn more of your prospects into customers.

Computer maintenance is one way to keep your laptop or PC working like new five years from now. Many people don’t think about maintenance until something catastrophic happens, but you have the good fortune to be thinking about it now. One part of the maintenance process is keeping your computer running at tiptop speed.

There are many reasons that computers begin to run slow: viruses, not enough memory, too many applications (goes along with insufficient memory) or a lot of files. Whatever the reason, something needs to be done so you don’t have to work at a snail’s pace.

Behind the scenes on your computer, many things are going on. If you get on the Internet, your computer may be allowing “cookie” files to be stored to remember where you’ve been. We download any and everything from music to videos to eBooks from the Internet. There are temporary files created for some of your downloaded items that can accumulate over time.

Sometimes, the hard drive just needs to be cleaned up a bit. With the defrag process, the computer finds ways to free up space on your hard drive. This cleaning process ensures optimal performance from your computer when something else is not the problem. Defragmenting your computer is a good first step when performance is not at its best.

If you are having a hard time navigating the various files on your computer, the proper name of the process used to correct this is “Disk Defragmenter.” You can use your program search bar on the Start Menu to find it easily. The defragmenter takes fragmented files and consolidates them or gets rid of them completely depending on what they are and if they’re needed.

This is not something that you need to do every day. Remember, you are maintaining here. Performing the operation once a week is good for those who use their computer every day and create a lot of documents and files. The best thing about Windows is that these maintenance operations can be set up on a schedule so that they work behind the scenes like Santa at Christmas. Schedule maintenance operations at odd times like early in the morning or in the middle of the night, when you are not at work on your computer in order to keep them from slowing down your PC while you’re trying to work.

In a nutshell, disk defragmentation is important for everyone. Scheduling the operation leaves your brain free to think about other things. If the defragmentation process does its job, your computer will continue working well for you without any hitches or glitches.

SEO, or search engine optimization is the be-all-end-all of traffic generation. The two go hand in hand. This is because, in order to gain traffic to your site your articles, your advertisements and your website must all be search engine optimized. So, when it comes to SEO, make sure you target everything and anything around this incredibly important concept.

Essentially, there are three basic elements to SEO- keywording, linking and content. Consider keywording, linking and content the three musketeers to successful SEO. To get you started, we’ve offered the top ten tips to SEO. Keep these in mind for all your copy and content to ensure the maximum traffic generation results.

1. Choose good keywording phrases- instead of shaping words around articles, shape articles around words. Target your content around keywords or ideas. In order to find an angle for your article, consider using Google Adwords to see which keywords are most likely searched. Then, write an article around these key phrases and terms. This may seem like an odd concept, but as soon as your brain gets used to it, the writing will flow naturally.

2. Use keywords throughout your website, marketing and advertisement- use keywords in your title, your subheadings and in your links. If you can, even use your keyword in your URL.

3. Link away- it is okay to link to other sites. In fact, it’s a good idea, especially if these sites are highly respected and informative. Sites with .edu and .gov are often the best because they represent a highly regarded source.

4. Link to your heart’s content- When writing content for your website link to other relevant pages within your site. For example, if I tell you about Social Media Made Easy on this page, it would benefit both of us if I linked directly to the page. People are automatically drawn to links, so it makes your content stand out.

5. Use your anchor text in links- Make sure your link text features your keyword phrase. Links stand out on websites and most people will click through, especially if your keyword phrase is directed towards their interest.

6. Always add new content- are you constantly updating and adding new content to your website? Well you need to be to ensure SEO success! This cannot be stressed enough. Content is what will make or break your site so make sure your content is entertaining, up to date and informative. For more content tips, check out the Article Marketing section.

7. Be Bold- make use of Bold HTML tags and other HTML tags to make your website stand out. Bold is beautiful.

8. Use Alt Imaging- a picture is worth a thousand words, especially on the net. Putting alt attributes on your images can allow you to place relevant text around your image, better for search engine indexing. Keep in mind that images are searched just as much as content is.

9. Include a site map- a site map is a great way to navigate through your site and can also be submitted to Google with XML site map. Site maps help search engine robots find every page on your website in just two clicks. What this means is better search engine results for all your web pages. Make sure you link all pages properly for the best SEO results.

10. Follow the rules- SEO has a set of particular rules. You need to understand the legality of SEO so you don’t get banned from search engines. So how do you do this? You research. You study. You learn. Take some time and go through the basics of SEO on the main search engines. Understanding the do’s and don’ts of SEO is critical when it comes to generating traffic. After all, your SEO strategy can either make, or break your website.

It’s now well known that you need to protect yourself while on the computer. Criminals have found ways to steal your information especially when you thought that you were safe. One way to thwart them is to employ anti-spyware tools on your computer to protect yourself.

Today, we do everything from order pizza to shop for household appliances online. With that level of traffic and financial information floating around, it’s no wonder criminals have turned their attentions to the Internet. But, luckily for you, so have software manufacturers in order to protect you.

No one wants to be the victim of identity theft or fraud. Even though it is not your fault, the burden of proof is on you and the red tape is monstrous. So, do all that you can to protect yourself and your loved ones while online.

One way to do that is to arm your computer with anti-spyware tools. Spyware constitutes programs that hide within other programs, hence the name “spy.” Here’s how it works: You go to a site and download a program. The program may be hiding a second program within itself that will track how you use it. This is a non-lethal spyware program. It was probably employed by the site for statistical purposes.

Then, there are other spyware that, when downloaded, will go in and rewrite certain things on your computer without your consent. If you’ve ever downloaded something and then your home page changed, it was probably courtesy of a spyware program.

Both of these are mild examples compared to what usually happens. More lethal spyware will search your files and retrieve financial information. There can be disastrous results, but you don’t want even the the mild spyware on your machine. If someone has to do something behind your back to get you to try it, steer clear.

Anti-spyware tools and programs seek out these dastardly additions and eliminate them. A well-protected computer will have both antivirus and anti-spyware installed for a wider net of protection. Spyware tools, like antivirus can be obtained for free or purchased.

Shop Around

Know what you are buying. Be sure that free programs offer you adequate spyware protection. Sites like STOPzilla and pctools offer free spyware tools for you to use. These tools work behind the scenes in real-time and on schedules to detect spyware. They also clear your browsing history and prevent pop-ups all over your screen. Spyware also lets you know if a site in your search results is dangerous for you to visit.

Paid spyware offers a few more perks, but make sure that you actually need those perks for your system. If you choose to pay, find software with multiple user capabilities so you can arm all of the computers in your home.

Here a few free and paid anti-spyware tools that I recommend:

Free anti-spyware tools

Ad-Aware Free
Spybot Search and Destroy

Paid anti-spyware tools

Ad-Aware Pro
Spy Sweeper

Protect yourself from the beginning. Use anti-spyware tools to prevent and remove spyware that threatens your computer.

Video marketing is becoming more and more popular all the time. Because many people are visual learners, they prefer to learn new information by watching a video rather than by reading pages of information. Additionally, videotaping yourself can make you seem more personable and approachable. Your viewers hear your tone and see your expression, which can make your message more compelling.

Video marketing is also extremely affordable. Many computers come with a webcam that can record videos. If your computer does not have one, you can get one very inexpensively at an office supply store or online. Another popular tool for recording videos is the FLIP Video, which is robust, compact and affordable. Best of all you can take this mini video camera with you. As a result, video marketing is a cost-effective way to market your website. Here are some ways to get the most out of your video marketing.

Remember your primary goal. When you’re making your first videos, there are a lot of different things to keep in mind and experiment with. First and foremost, your video is intended to promote your business. It should inspire viewers to visit your site and convert your visitors into paying customers.

Keep your video a reasonable length. Around two minutes is generally about right. That is how long it should take you to say something that it takes the average person ten minutes to read.

Promote your video on Twitter and Facebook. When your video is ready to share, publish your link on Twitter and on Facebook. Invite your followers and friends to watch your video and respond. Give them an incentive to watch by posting a teaser of what they’ll learn when they watch.

Track your results. There are tracking tools that can tell you how much of your video was played before the viewer closed it. You can also find out how many of your prospects decided to visit you after watching your video on a different website. Take advantage of these tools to measure your success and make necessary changes to your video marketing campaign.

Give your videos relevant file names. When you save your video, give it a meaningful name that is relevant to the content and interesting to your viewers. It is more likely to be viewed if the title is applicable to what your prospect is looking for.

Submit your video to video hosting sites. You can attract more prospects by submitting your video to other sites. YouTube is the most popular video hosting site right now. You can also submit it to Vimeo and Google Videos.

Add a call to action. At the end of your video, remind your prospect to visit your website or take another desired action. This is why you created the video in the first place – to motivate your viewer to take action.

Video marketing may be new, but it is here to stay. Following these tips will help ensure that you experience the greatest possible success from your video marketing.

For additional ideas feel free to check out and subscribe to my YouTube channel.

ThinkGeek :: Ironkey Military Strength Flash Drives

Jump drive, flash drive or thumbnail – they are all similar names for the same kind of device. These are external drives that are used to save information that you want to keep. But, how many of them do you really need?

Your computer has a hard drive. And, that hard drive has a certain amount of memory on it. It is a good idea to buy a computer with hard drive memory in mind so multiple applications or multiple files won’t slow your system down. Sometimes, you need external storage for more versatility.

A flash drive is another form of storage device. They usually connect to your computer via USB ports. They can range from 256MB to several gigabytes in storage capacity. You can have huge external hard drives with terabytes of data storage space, but we will concentrate on the flash drives for now.

Flash drives have several advantages. One, they are portable. You can use them anywhere you have a computer with a USB port. Your data is always with you when you need it.

Second, they are durable. You can hang them on a lanyard; place them in your purse or even in your pocket. Because of their size and lack of moving parts, a little jumbling is tolerated well.

Third, they can store massive amounts of data for almost instantaneous retrieval. Keep your pictures, music, videos and movies on flash drives to be used anywhere. They replace carrying around tons of folders in your briefcase.

Realistically, you only need as many flash drives as you have different tasks to use them for. For example, personal and business needs can be kept separate on two flash drives to avoid pulling up pictures of baby’s first bath at the monthly sales meeting. Buying a flash drive, with future storage in mind, ensures the most memory for your buck.

It is easy to check to see how much memory you have on a flash drive to know if it is time for another one to be purchased. When you plug one in to your computer, you can access information on it and about it. From your Start menu, go to Computer.

Here, all of your computer storage media are listed. Under Removable Storage, you will see your flash drive listed according to the port it is attached to. Right clicking on the picture will reveal a menu. Choose Properties and view a pie graph comparing used to free space.

Flash drives are useful for portable storage when you don’t need to take your laptop along. This is great for PC users who can’t possibly drag their desktop everywhere with them. Buy flash drives with sufficient memory for present and future needs.

Since the invention of instant messaging people have been looking for a solution like Meebo. It provides you with a number of advantages as a business owner and as an individual. Let’s take a look at eight advantages of using Meebo.

1. Meebo enables you to pool all of your instant messaging contacts into one location. Facebook, AIM, Yahoo and MSN can all be accessed from one central point. This provides tremendous accessibility advantages. You can also access MySpace, Gtalk, ICQ, and Jabber contacts for ultimate usability and functionality.

2. Meebo allows you to create a button for your website. When website visitors click on the customized button, they can instantly connect with you via social networking or chat. You can then save money on Live Chat and customer service support systems, and it enhances your visitor’s website experience.

3. Meebo also allows you to have several conversations at the same time. This gives you the ability to plan a family gathering, organize a meeting, or of course offer customer support to several customers at the same time.

4. It runs inside your web browser, which means you don’t have to download any additional software to use it.

5. Meebo also offers group chat options and the ability to share media. Now you can probably imagine how this would be useful with friends and family, but think about your business too. If you’re chatting with customers, you can send them images, videos and other tools to help motivate a purchasing decision. And this feature makes collaboration with associates easy and useful.

6. You can use Meebo on your mobile device. Meebo is available on the iPhone, android phones, Windows phones, Symbian and Blackberry. Meaning you can take your ability to connect with friends, family and business associates and customers with you wherever you go.

7. Using Meebo is easy. You simply need to register as a user of Meebo and define your data connection, including your username and password, to the instant messaging networks you utilize. Meebo works like a simple desktop program.

8. Finally, if you like to use Firefox as your browser, you can download the Firefox extension. It gives you a sidebar with a smart “buddylist” and visual notifications when you receive an instant message. You can also drag links and images directly to your “buddies”. Which means you can interact without having your web surfing and activities interrupted.

Meebo provides users with the ability to pull all of their instant messaging functions, connections and capabilities into one account. It provides tremendous functionality as a customer service option and it provides your users with one more way to connect with you as a business owner. If you use instant messaging, consider checking out Meebo.