Marketing Idea: Print your logo or image on the floor!

Have you ever thought of printing your logo or marketing photos right on the FLOOR? How about on your counter tops? Talk about shock appeal! And a certain conversation piece for home or residential use.

Check out Image Mats. This is really cool stuff - with lots of potential. Your design images, photos, or logos can be printed on floor mats, counter tops and more. I recently spoke with Mark Gross, the owner of Image Mats, and was really impressed with the technology/approach described...

Seven Tips on Growing Your Business with Facebook

I just found some more wonderful ideas for growing your business with Facebook. Check out this blog post by Zeke Camusio: Facebook Marketing: 7 Ways to Use Facebook to Grow Your Business.

When is a Logo a "Great" Logo?

Most people are familiar with the FedEx logo.

But how many of you have noticed the hidden arrow?

New Logo Design for Dressage Horse Training Facility

My latest logo design has been delivered and it is a hit!  This logo is for a California Dressage Training facility. Their website will be ready soon -- and then this will become a hotlink to their site!

How to Get Fans for Your Facebook Fan Page

Once you have your facebook fan page set up, how do you get people to find you and become fans?

The easiest way to start is to click the "Suggest to Friends" link under the ID image on your fan page. You can let some or all of your personal friends know about your fan page and they can then choose to become a “fan.” Each time someone chooses to become a fan of your page, that shows up as an update in their facebook feed. Then, friends of that person may also check out your page and choose to become a fan. And so on. This is what is meant by viral marketing. It spreads on its own!

If you have a website, make sure to add a link to your fan page so that visitors to your site know you have a page. This approach applies to your other web venues as well. If you have a blog, a LinkedIn account, or any other platform that allows you to add your web urls, make sure top update them with your facebook page url. If you use Twitter make sure to create some tweets about the page with an active link.

You can also add your facebook page url to your signature on your email messages (right under the website address which I'm sure is already there!)

In addition, Facebook has an advertising program. Much like Google adwords, you can set up a campaign and run ads that fit within a specified budget. Tell a little about your business in the ad - and provide a link to your facebook page.

If you have a young facebook page you've probably noticed that the url is quite cumbersome. Once you have 25 fans on your facebook page, you can apply for what is known as a “vanity url.” With this special page address you can have a nifty location such as www.facebook.com/yourbusinessname instead of the long, complicated automatic url generated by facebook when you created the page.

To obtain your special url, first log into your facebook account. Then go to: http://www.facebook.com/username/

You'll notice you have the option to set custom user name for your personal account, as well as your fan page. Make sure to think carefully before deciding as you can’t change the name later.

Other helpful articles on Facebook Fan Pages:

• How to Create a Fan Page on Facebook
• How to Link Your Blog to Your Facebook Fan Page

How to Link Your Blog to Your Facebook Fan Page

One of the great advantages of having a facebook fan page for your business is that you can link your blog to it. Then every time you create a blog post, it will show up shortly thereafter in your facebook page feed! This is a great timesaver if you don’t have a lot of time to manage multiple social platforms.

Once you have the Facebook page set up, you can link your blog to it. Here’s how:

1. Login into your facebook account and go to your fan page.
2. Click on the “Notes” tab in the upper right corner of the tabs menu under your business name (you may have to click the + sign to see the notes option).
3. In the upper right corner - click the “Write a new note” button.
4. A “Notes Settings” box should appear on the upper right side of the page. If not, click on the little Notes Icon on the far upper right hand side of page (I know - it’s like doing the same thing twice!)
5. Once you see that “Notes Settings” box, you’ll see the option to “Import a Blog” just underneath. Click that link.
6. Enter the url of your blog into the appropriate area.
7. Check the little box promising that your are “legal,” and then click “Start Importing.”
8. On the next page you will see a button to “Confirm Import.” Click that button.

Your blog should now be linked to your fan page! Blog posts will appear automatically on the fan page now. Sometimes it takes several hours for the blog posts to appear - it depends on the facebook’s mood of the day.

Other helpful articles on Facebook Fan Pages:

• How to Create a Fan Page on Facebook
• How to Get Fans for Your Facebook Fan Page

How to Create a Facebook Fan Page

If you already have a personal Facebook account, you qualify to create a facebook page for your business. To create the “business page” you need to have the personal account set up first. The page is linked to your personal account from a log-in perspective, but does not include the friends and other connections you have made on your personal page. Thus, the page can be used to promote your business concerns, and your personal account can be kept separate. Technically, it is a violation of facebook Terms of Service to use a personal account for business, so if biz is your goal, you will want to create a facebook page.

To create a FaceBook page for your business:

1. Login to your personal facebook account
2. Go to: http://www.facebook.com/pages/create.php
3. Select your business category type from the radio button selections, and then choose the appropriate subcategory from the dropdown menu
4. Enter your business name in the “Name of Page” area
5. Enter the security text, click enter, and your page will be created!
6. Important: On the next page you will see your basic facebook page. It is a good idea to bookmark the url of this page. Also, click on the “Become a Fan” button so you can become the first fan of your own page.  Believe it or not, these two things will help you find the page link later, as facebook doesn’t make finding it self-evident from your personal profile page.
7. You can now upload an image to use for your business ID, just like you used an image for your personal ID. Also - you’ll want to update the Info section with your business name, address, and website.  You can add further information about your business and hours of operation as well if you like.

You are now ready to start posting and gathering fans!

Other helpful articles on Facebook Fan Pages:

• How to Link Your Blog to Your Facebook Fan Page
• How to Get Fans for Your Facebook Fan Page