Small Business

Facebook Page Cover Photo: How To Add or Update Your Cover Photo

by Admin on November 29, 2012

Are you thinking about updating your cover image on your Facebook page? Are you a little nervous about the rules and regulations? Let us help with a step-by-step guide on How-To create and upload a Facebook cover that makes people say WOW! Make a great first impression and show off your brand’s features while staying within Facebook’s guidelines.

Facebook has decided the cover image should be an eye-catching image that engages but is not an advertisement that uses overt sales techniques. The first step is understanding the guidelines Facebook created for Pages and their cover photos.

Here are some of the DO NOT’s:

1) DO NOT Include price or purchase information, such as “20% off” or “Download it here” with the actual download URL included.

2) DO NOT Show contact details, such as email, website address, physical address. This information should be shown in the About section. If there is a place for a piece of information in the About section, it is probably a good bet that Facebook thinks that information should not be included on your cover photo.

3) DO NOT Include Calls to Action, such as “Get it Here” or “Take the next step by going here”.

4) Previously, it was a fairly common practice to include a request to “Like” our page or “Share” this content. You might even see an Arrow point down to the place where the user could “Like” the page. However, it is no longer ok to include references to Facebook features or actions on your cover image.

5) And the legalese “covers can’t be deceptive, misleading, or infringe on anyone else’s copyright.”

The best-looking cover photos take advantage of the uniqueness of the Facebook cover photo size and composition.

Thank you to LunaMetrics for the image.

Here are the specifics:

1) Official Facebook cover photo size: 851 pixels wide by 315 pixels tall

2) Official minimum image dimension: 720 pixels wide

3) Profile Image Size: 160 x 160 pixels, with a minimum image upload size of 180 x 180 pixels

4) Profile Image Square Cut-Out: 168 pixels wide by 103 pixels tall, spaced 23 pixels from the left edge of the cover photo

Important Details:

It is best to upload an image that meets Facebook’s dimensions as closely as possible. If your image is smaller than the exact dimensions the image will be stretched and the quality will be distorted. When deciding on an image for your cover photo, choose high-quality images, which are optimized for web viewing.

Here are some ideas on types of images to use for your cover photo:

Your popular products or services
Employees educating your customers about your products
Customers using your products
Seasonal themed images
Location themed images

The next step is figuring out what content you can include on the actual cover photo. While it is NOT recommended that you include any calls to action or price information, there does not seem to be any issues with including impactful content. We’ve seen company taglines or short descriptive phrases that help the reader understand your business and what it can do to help them. One of the fun ways people are using their cover images is to convey motivational or inspiring quotes. We’ve used our cover image as a place to say Thank You and include images of our fans.

Guess what, you’ve completed the most difficult part of creating and adding a cover image to your Facebook Page. Uploading the actual image to Facebook is actually pretty simple.

Here you go:

To add a cover photo to your page:

1) Go to your timeline

2) Click Add a Cover

3) Choose whether you want to upload a new photo or pick a photo from one of your existing photo albums

4) Once you choose a photo, you can reposition it by clicking on the image and dragging it up or down

5) Click Save

To edit your cover photo:

1) Go to your timeline

2) Hover over your cover photo

3) Click Change Cover at the bottom-right of your cover photo

4) Pick one of the options from the pop-up menu (ex: upload a new photo, reposition your current cover photo, or delete your cover)

5) Save your changes

So, now that you are the local expert on Facebook Cover photos, show us what you’ve got! Include a link to your Facebook Page so we can all check out your latest cover image! If you’d like us to do it for you, please contact us or leave us a voice-mail using the button on the side of this page.

5 Tips On Creating an Infographic that Gets Shared

by Admin on July 25, 2012

Have you created your first Infographic yet? I would bet you’ve come across infographics in several different places in your web travels.

How to Create Your First Infographic

Sharing infographics is becoming one of the top ways to spread information. An infographic is a way to convey simple bits of information in a visually appealing format. They can be used to answer a question your audience is asking. Infographics are flexible enough to use in almost any situation and to deliver almost any meaningful message.

Why all the buzz about Infographics? Infographics are easy to share and lead your targeted audience to the hub of your business, your website. Here are some of the basic steps for creating an infographic and 5 tips on creating infographics that get shared and shared again.

The basic steps for creating an infographic:

1) Brainstorming Topics – Determine a clear goal and audience

2) Researching your Topic – Find your key data points

3) Creating a Flow-Chart – Show a progression of information

4) Choosing a Color-Scheme – Combine colors based on the point of the infographic

5) Combine Eye-Catching Graphics with key Data Points – Illustrate statistics and simplify the data

6) Closing the Infographic– Include a call to action and a conclusion that is supported by the data presented

5 Tips for creating Infographics that get seen:

Narrow the focus of your information as you progress down the page – At the top of the page offer the widest version of your data points and progress down the page to a conclusion at the bottom of the page.
Support the Data/Numbers with graphics – For each data point or set of numbers it is important to include a supporting Image. Combine a set of uniform graphics and a few unique images mixed evenly through the infographic.
Keep the width of the full image between 300px – 500px – Wider images are harder to share and embed on other websites, social platforms and blogs.
Clearly define sections – Break each section into easily digestible bits of information. It is easier to read if you group similar sets of data.
Do not include ALL the data out there – Pick specific bullet points that are connected to make your point. Make sure the reader can see the bottom of the image. It is easier to focus on specific pieces of information if the end is in sight.

Why not use an Infographic to bring people to the heart of your business and make it easier for potential clients to find you through search. We’d love to help! Let us know your thoughts and concerns in the comments!

How to Create Your First Infographic

by Admin on July 19, 2012

Have you created in Infographic yet for your niche? Here are a couple of tools available to help you create your first Infographic:
http://visual.ly/
http://piktochart.com/

How to Create Your First Infographic

Book Review: Become a Virtual Assistant: The Virtual Assistant Forums Guide to Success

by Admin on May 21, 2012

Have you ever been given the opportunity to review something a friend and colleague has produced? It’s exciting and a little scary. The creators of the 2nd edition of Become a Virtual Assistant: The Virtual Assistant Forums Guide to Success and others at The Virtual Assistant Forums provided me with some of the most helpful information and support when I started my business. Because of this, my expectations were very high.

Let me say right now, my expectations were far exceeded. This is the information I truly wish was available when I was forming my business. There are other systems and books created with the same theme in mind. However, none that I’ve read come close to the value provided in this e-book.

One of the things I found really impressive about the book is the way the information is provided. You can read a small section of the book and take a few days to implement these practices into your business. Then read another section and implement that process. The information is clear, concise & comprehensive.

So, I bet you are saying “What is all this fuss about? Just tell us what is included?”

130 pages of information, direction and assistance

35 Business Start-up worksheets, including sample contracts & other business documents

100 small business and virtual assistant industry resources and links

Here are a few of my favorite topics:

Introduction: Do You Have What It Takes? – A lot of the How To books out there for virtual assistant don’t get into the nitty- gritty of day-to-day life as a virtual assistant. The section titled “Do you have what it takes?” really helps you understand what is involved in starting your own business.

Beyond Trust: Ethics = Business Success – Unfortunately, not everyone starting a virtual assistant business is right for this career. You will run into people who have had bad experiences with virtual assistants which makes it hard for you to earn their trust. The information provided in this section is invaluable in helping you understand how to navigate this difficult situation.

More than a Name: Creating Your Brand – Determining the name of your business or creating your tag line or mission statement can be a little intimidating. This section walks you through the process with two real exercises that are very effective in helping you create these important aspects of your business.

Getting Their Attention: Marketing and Networking – This section walks you through how to get your business out there in front of potential partners. It gives you some of the best advice on how to network locally and online. In the end, you will have a complete marketing & networking plan in place to kick-start your business.

You can find a Table of Contents with all of the section titles here.

Virtual Assistant Forums: Become a Virtual Assistant E-Book, 2nd Edition

Be sure to check out:

Do What You Love: Determining Your Services
Crunching Numbers: Setting Your Rates
Who Will You Partner With?: Defining Your Ideal Client
The Good News & The Bad News

The worksheets & sample contracts are incredibly useful. Take the documentation and add your logo & brand information to it for a great start. Work through the worksheets like “Success Plan Worksheet” and create a successful plan. For my business, the web development questionnaire is extremely helpful. I remember documentation being one of my biggest questions when I was starting out. If you have any legal concerns, I would definitely recommend running the contract by your lawyer.

The resource list included with the e-book is very comprehensive. It includes links to training sites, graphics, file sending, social media, time management, website creation, video resources and much more. In fact, this list is probably one of the best features of the e-book.

This book provides potential virtual assistants with a blueprint for what is actually needed to start their business. It’s the perfect resource to help you create a viable business and helps you anticipate any problems or issues. If you are considering a long-term career as a virtual assistant, please invest in yourself and take advantage of this opportunity! I’d even say it is a good idea for anybody starting an online service business to read this well thought-out book. Some of my miss-steps and uncertainty could have been avoided if this resource had been available when I started out. The Smart VA for You says this is a Smart Buy.

Disclosure: As I stated, I received a copy of the e-book and all accompanying resources in order to complete my review. I decided to become an affiliate for this e-book because I feel this is a valuable tool for any potential virtual assistant

Small Business Owners: Year End Lists to help you Move Forward in 2010.

by SmartVAForYou on December 30, 2009

The end of 2009 is approaching very quickly. If you are like most small business owners, you have started to create or already created a plan for 2010. Here are few suggestions on how to best finish out 2009 in order to start 2010 a step ahead of your competition.

Taxes are Coming! Does the thought of dealing with the IRS overwhelm you? If you are like a lot of small business owners, the answer is a resounding YES. Below are a few steps you can follow to make you feel you are in control of the process:

INVOICES – Make Sure All Invoices have been Sent

TRANSACTIIONS – Have you recorded all of your transactions including:

Credit Card Charges
Cash, Check or Debit Payments
Receipts
eBay, PayPal Receipts and Payments

BANK ACCOUNTS– Reconcile Your Bank Accounts even if you utilize Online banking, this is a good time of year review your accounts. Be sure to check bank fees and records, banks aren’t always as accurate as you might hope.

MILEAGE- Can you deduct Mileage? You need to know the answer to this question. In most cases, you can deduct $0.55 per mile for trips to clients or meetings. A daily commute doesn’t qualify but, for a lot of people, this deduction can add up.

EXPENSES – Make Sure all Expenses and/or Income is categorizes is important. Taking the time to categorize Expenses, in particular, can make a distinctive difference in your allowable deductions. If you have questions about how to categorize an Expense so it can be used as a deductible expense on your Schedule C, ask a professional or hire a bookkeeper.

W-9’s – Be sure to obtain all W-9 information for any contractor’s you’ve paid in 2009. 1099’s are due January 31^st.

PROFIT AND LOSS – Review, Review and Review. Make sure everything is recorded accurately. Try to remember all of the details and make sure they are included. Do you have receipts in your car? Did you have a friend do some consulting for you business? What about a services swap? All of these need to be included. Again, ask a professional or hire a bookkeeper to answer any questions about what needs to be included.

ESTIMATED TAXES – Make sure your 4^th Quarter (and, if necessary, all other quarters) payment is submitted by January 15^th. The IRS expects that your 4^th quarter payment will bring you current with at least 90% of your taxes due for the year.

BUDGET– Create a realistic budget based on 2009’s actual numbers and your goals for 2010.

What about growing your business in 2010? Do you have a marketing plan in place for next year? What about finishing up 2009? Here are a few simple Online Marketing Tools to increase your visibility:\

SOCIAL MEDIA NAME/PROFILE - Reserve your chosen Social Media Name/Profile on the most popular sites. Even if you are not utilizing social media at this time, it is a good idea to create a basic profile on each of the most popular sites. You can check your name availability at: http://knowem.com/

Twitter – http://twitter.com
Facebook – http://Facebook.com
YouTube – http://YouTube.com
Delicious – http://delicious.com
Digg – http://Digg.com

LISTED – Make sure you are listed on:

Yahoo Directory – http://dir.yahoo.com/
Open Directory – http://www.dmoz.org/
Business.com – http://www.business.com/
Best of the Web – http://botw.org/

GOOGLE ALERTS – Setup Google Alerts to manage your online reputation. http://www.google.com/alerts/

MAP LISTINGS – Claim your Map Listing –

Google: http://maps.google.com/ – If you aren’t listed, setup a listing at: https://www.google.com/accounts/
Yahoo: http://local.yahoo.com/ – If you aren’t listed, setup a listing at: http://listings.local.yahoo.com/
Bing: http://www.bing.com/maps/ – If you aren’t listed, setup a listing at: https://ssl.bing.com/listings/ListingCenter.aspx

WEBSITE/BLOG – Clean Up any Broken Links on your own website or blog

Obviously, these are not comprehensive lists but I hope I’ve provided a good beginning to start you on the process of growing your business in 2010.

Twitter Really Is About Building Relationships and I’m Thankful for All My Followers

by SmartVAForYou on December 23, 2009

http://sophiezo.com/twitter-really-is-about-building-relationships-and-i%e2%80%99m-thankful-for-all-my-followers

What Can Hiring a Social Media Virtual Assistant Do For Your Business? – Guest Post on The Social Techzone

by SmartVAForYou on December 23, 2009

http://www.socialtechzone.com/wordpress/social-networks/virtual_assistant/

Are you ignoring the potential of a Facebook Page? – Guest Blog Post on SophieZo’s Blog

by SmartVAForYou on December 17, 2009

http://www.sophiezo.com/guest-blogger-jodi-crosby-smartvaforu-are-you-ignoring-the-potential-of-a-facebook-page

Creating Content with Purpose and for Usability

by SmartVAForYou on November 12, 2009

This morning I was on a training call with @Janice_Clark of Business Mom.Net and Team Double Click and other small business owners talking about creating content to promote our businesses. Some of the questions we discussed were:

A) What is content?
B) What do you need to know before you start creating content?
C) Who are you?
D) What you are all about?
E) Who are your competitors?
F) What are they all about?
G) What differentiates you from your competitors?
H) Who are you customers/clients/partners?
I) Where do they spend their time?
And Last, but not least!
J) What can you do to make that customer say, “WOW, you can do that?”

I’ll get back to those questions in a bit. Later in the day, I was online doing some reading and ran across this Set of Design Guidelines for Homepage Usability. At first I thought I was reading about a different subject entirely. However, as I read the guidelines, I realized that they had a lot in common with what we discussed earlier in the day. I’d like to provide you with what I took out of both situations as the truly important information.

1) Know Who You Are and What You Want to Provide – This is critical to success. Understanding your strengths and weaknesses and likes and dislikes is key to being happy and making your business flourish. Define exactly what services you want to offer. Recognize what sets you apart from your competition and make sure this is communicated in your content. Most of all, find something that you can do to make your clients understand that difference.

2) Provide Value – In order to provide value, you must understand your audience.

Who do you want as partners in business? You must be specific about your target audience. Specifying a niche is a great start but what about digging deeper? Do you want to work with Small Businesses? Great, where to from here? Narrow it down even further. Solo-Entrepreneurs, Women, Men, Technology, Work At Home Moms, Online Retail, Marketing Consultants. I know this is hard to do when you are first starting out. You might even take jobs outside of this target market. However, if you keep the goal in mind when creating content, the people you are trying to reach will hear you.
How do you provide value? Think about what your target audience needs? What is creating their pain? Can you help? If so, show them what you can do to alleviate their troubles. If you can’t help directly, provide them with information that could help them find a solution. Think about what makes you read what other people write. Offering helpful ideas will allow you to stay connected while you figure out how to best help them with their needs.

Make it Easy for your target audience to find what they need –

Once you have a clear understanding of who is your target audience, find out where you can “talk” to them. Are you interested in the small business owners who already have an online presence and understand technology? Then you need to be on the social networking sites. What about if you are targeting authors? Then you need to be at book signings, online at the many bibliophile forums and sites. ]
When creating content make sure to include contact information, offer different ways to open communications lines. Include other options to “follow” you or find out more information about you and your business.

I learned a lot today and I will be using it all towards bettering myself and helping others be successful.

Here are ways you can contact me:

Smart Virtual Assistant For You
Woodburn, OR 97071
email: jodicrosby@smartvaforu.com
Phone: 503-597-VA4U (8248)

http://www.twitter.com/SmartVAForU
http://www.smartvaforu.com/blog/
http://www.linkedin.com/in/jodicrosby
http://www.facebook.com/SmartVAforU
http://www.gist.com/SmartVAforU

Lessons from a Growing Small Business-Social Media Connections

by SmartVAForYou on November 4, 2009

A few months ago I decided to make the changes needed to take Smart Virtual Assistant For You to the next level. It has been a roller coaster ride. I’m sure any small business owner understands this feeling. Over the months since this decision was made, I’ve been doing everything an entrepreneur is told to do to make their business successful. My previous marketing experience has become a key component to growing my business. One thing I’ve been doing is utilizing Social Media to connect with friends, colleagues and even acquaintances from my past. It’s a fun experience connecting with people that you’ve lost touch with from your past. I’m amazed how many people are excited to re-connect. Since my business is a service business almost everyone has an idea of what I’m offering. However, once you get into the details, they are astounded at all of the services that can be offered through a virtual partnership. The social media connections I’ve made have lead to many exciting leads. However, I’ve learned a few lessons from the social media experience.

Connecting is about finding people you can help and people who can help you. A lot of businesses are using social media to connect to as many people as possible. This has not been my intent when utilizing social media. My goal is to find a few influential people whom I can partner with towards a common goal. The goal could be marketing our businesses together. It could be finding a way to make a client’s business run smoother and more efficiently. It could even be to create something that makes this world a better place. There are so many opportunities to make connections with other people and in the process grow your business. During this progression, almost everybody learns a few lessons along the way.
Blogging is a wonderful opportunity for educating. The main reason I started a blog was to provide a resource for potential partners to gain education about small businesses. My hope is to explain how a virtual assistant can help them get back to doing what they love. The most important aspect of a good blog is credibility and/or trustworthiness. Selling in every post will not build these ideas. A blog needs to be personal and find a way to connect with its readers. Once a reader understands exactly what you are trying to provide and believes that you are trying to help them, they will keep coming back to see what information you are providing.
Growing a business by utilizing social media is about embracing change while thinking long term. Listening to your audience and adjusting is critical. It is critical to understand that ultimate success depends on building a successful strategy for participation and support. A strong strategy includes resisting the urge to react to a situation and instead strive for focused clarity. Quick responses are sometimes necessary in the social media world. Try to make sure even your quickest reply takes into account your long term goals.
Try new tactics and analyze the results so you can be sure you understand what works and what doesn’t. Opportunities abound right now for experimentation with social media tactics. There are new tools being introduced every day. Not long after each new tool appears a way to measure it usefulness is developed. After you write your blog, do you track your activity through Google analytics? What about impact? Each business needs to find a way to measure and communicate their effectiveness in creating the right message.

The basic premise of what I’ve learned is: Social Media and any marketing program shouldn’t be about selling but about making connections. Listening to your potential and current partners in business is critical. Interact with your connections to see if a strong partnership can be formed from this connection.

Small Business

Book Review: Become a Virtual Assistant: The Virtual Assistant Forums Guide to Success

Small Business Owners: Year End Lists to help you Move Forward in 2010.

Lessons from a Growing Small Business-Social Media Connections

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