Making the Most of Facebook Timelines

Among the many exciting features that Facebook offers, the Timeline feature is one of the most useful. If you use the feature properly, you will grab the attention of your current and potential fans and keep them indefinitely.

Some of the Facebook Timeline features that can help you to do this are milestones, highlighting and pinning. Those features can help you to increase the amount of people with whom you interact online. The features amplify what you would be doing already, only they do it in a bigger and better way.

Using the pinning feature

When you are using the pinning feature, you are keeping your status update at the top of your timeline. This needs to be done manually. If you use this feature, your status update will not be able to move from wherever you "pin" it no matter how many new status updates you add to your Facebook page after that (within a seven-day time period). There are several useful pieces of information that you will want to know:

One at a time: No matter how many items (status updates, posts, etc) you want to pin on your page, you can only pin one at a time.Where your pinned post will appear: Your pinned post will always appear at the top of your Facebook Timeline (on the left).The length of time that pinning lasts: After you pin a post on your Facebook page, it will remain pinned for seven days unless you unpin it before the seven days are up.How to pin a post: If you want to pin a post, you should click on the pencil icon that appears in the upper right hand corner of your status update. Once you have clicked on the icon, select "Pin to Top."How to unpin a post: If you want to unpin a post on your page, click on the pencil icon in the top right hand corner of your pinned post and choose the "unpin" option.

Pinning is a very useful feature because it gives you ideas on how to pin most effectively for your business. You can offer to give something valuable to your fans if they agree to "Like" your page or send you their contact information. Another effective way to use the pinning feature is by pinning something on your page that you would like your new visitors to see before anything else. It basically works as a welcome message in that context. Pinning works just as effectively with videos as it does with the written word. You can put a welcome message above the link for the video and invite your visitors to watch the video. If you don't want to use a video, you can also use still graphics to get your point across.

Highlighting one of your posts

The term "highlighted post" means that you have a post that you choose to put across your Timeline (the width of both columns). If you highlight the post, you will be getting your visitors to pay attention to it and the unwritten message that your visitors will get is that you consider it more important than your other posts. You are letting them know that it is worth paying attention to it. There are several pieces of information that you will want to know about highlighting a post:

Pinned posts versus highlighted posts: In general, pinned posts stand out more than highlighted posts; however, highlighted posts hold a great deal of value.Limitations: Highlighted posts have no limitations.One at a time: Facebook will not allow you to highlight and pin a post at the same time. You need to choose which one you want to do.How to highlight a post: If you want to highlight a post, place your mouse over the post (in the upper right hand corner). You will see a star icon. Click on the star to highlight a post. If you want to unhighlight the post, click on the star again.An important difference: Facebook does not allow you to keep a post at the top of your Timeline once you have highlighted it. Highlighted posts appear in chronological order. The more posts you highlight, the further down the older highlighted posts will appear.

There are many wonderful ways in which you can effectively use the Highlighting feature. You can highlight testimonials that people have written about you and your business (with an image of the person who wrote the testimonial, if that is appropriate). You can include it in your status update and then highlight it so that people are drawn to it. Since there is a likelihood that you will have many highlighted posts, you can create a strategy of how you want to present those posts. That can be most effective. You can also highlight a post that discusses new products and/or services that your brand is offering.

Creating milestones

A milestone is an incredible way to present a story for your business using words and graphic images. You can include your business's mission statement as part of the story as well. You are able to place them anywhere you wish on your Timeline. The only placement limitation will be the date that you actually place them. There are several pieces of information that you will want to know when it comes to creating milestones:

How to create a milestone: If you want to create a milestone, click on "Event, Milestones +" at the top of your screen.What you need to do next: You don't need to highlight milestones because they are already highlighted. They will appear across both columns in your Timeline.Creating multiple milestones: There is no issue with creating more than one milestone for your Timeline.Going into the past: You are not limited by time or date. If you have a milestone that you want to create for today and you have milestones that you want to post that occurred in the past, you are allowed to do that.

Using milestones as a tool can be extremely effective. You should incorporate them as part of your social media marketing strategy. You can use graphic images in your milestones, include a call-to-action or include other compelling pieces of information that will be of value to your visitors. Regarding graphic images, you should choose your cover photo carefully. You want it to reflect who you are and what you represent in your business.

Facebook Timelines are valuable tools that are user-friendly and can be instrumental at drawing more traffic to you and allowing you to establish more relationships with other business people. Your online connections will be valuable and you will benefit from each other. So, jump right in and start making full use of Facebook Timelines for your business.

We are pleased to provide you with the insightful comments contained herein. For a free assessment of your online presence, let's have coffee.

Michael Cohn is the founder and Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of CompuKol Communications. He has over 25 years of experience in IT and web technologies. Mr. Cohn spent a significant amount of time at a major telecommunications company, where his main focus was on initiating and leading synergy efforts across all business units by dramatically improving efficiency, online collaboration, and the company's Intranet capabilities, which accelerated gains in business productivity. He also reduced company travel and travel costs by introducing and implementing various collaboration technologies.

His expertise includes business analysis; project management; management of global cross-matrix teams; systems engineering and analysis, architecture, prototyping and integration; technology evaluation and assessment; systems development; performance evaluation; and management of off-shore development.

Mr. Cohn earned a Master's degree in project management from George Washington University in Washington, DC; and a Master's degree in computer science and a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering from Fairleigh Dickinson University in Teaneck, NJ.

Mr. Cohn is a member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).

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5 Steps to Success for Making Money Online

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INTRODUCTION

In the words of the famed marketer Jim Kukral people use the internet for two purposes either to seek a solution to a problem facing them or to get entertained.

What then are these problems that people want solutions for?

Some of the omnipresent problems are of the ilk How to make money, How to get a job, How to lose weight, How to raise a child, etc. etc.

The problems have always been the same online or offline what is different now is the ease an availability of the solutions particularly online.

Why should you go in for providing the solution online:

· Low setup cost

· Low Overheads

· Single Owner

· No Physical Assets

· No Inventory

· Ease of operating location

· Open for business 24/7

· Easy to reach out to Billions of customers

· Multiple streams

5 Basic Steps

One of the most coveted niches in generating revenue online is via an interactive membership website. This is a very popular niche but extremely hard to get into unless you are forearmed with the requisite knowledge and tools.

There are five basic steps (Qualitative) and eleven detailed steps (Quantitative and Operational) that you need to follow towards setting up a successful online membership site.

The five steps can be encapsulated as follows:

· Step 1

Choosing the type of membership website that you want to setup

· Step 2

Planning and setting up your OFFER

· Step 3

Setting up the actual SITE

· Step 4

Advertising your SITE

· Step 5

Maintaining and Growing your SITE

· Step 1

Choosing the type of membership website that you want to setup

A Membership site is not a small undertaking that you can approach in a casual or unplanned manner which would be a sure recipe for its demise! The first step is to set up a membership site that has the potential to hold your interest in the long run as it will require a constant maintenance on your part. Additionally the fact is that your work is double fold i.e. you not only need to keep the old members engaged but also you need to attract new ones. Thus if it's a topic that doesn't really hold your interest down the line you will lose your passion which will sound the death knell for your online venture.

Take your time to do some high quality research which if need be should be extensive towards arriving on a topic that is of interest to you and also is of interest to other like minded people!

This research will lay the foundation stone for your venture so don't hold back at this stage or it will show later adversely!

Niche topics are best and all you need to do is ensure that there are enough people out there who would be interested in the topic to the extent that they would consider signing up to your offering and subsequently pay for it too!

Some common examples that would be guaranteed to draw a crowd are those centered on weight loss, generating income, video games, travel etc.

Once you decide the topic you then need to break it down into sub-topics towards fostering and initiating interested discussions. This is of paramount importance to keep the audience engaged and also attract new faces into the same.

You are empowered to start any type of membership site under the sun without knowing a thing about it as long as you have an healthy interest in the same and it is something that you can stick to for a considerable period of time As long as you have an interest in your chosen niche you and your audience will be fine!

The membership site must naturally be in a profitable niche and you should have done enough research to ensure that it is not one of those topics which is freely available online and more importantly for which people don't want to spend! The targeted customer base has to be a hungry and willing one, hungry for the information and willing to part with their money for the same!

Do the requisite market research to ensure that your targeted clientele is willing to pay for your service, information and/or product.

Finally if you are able to set up a membership site that is based on a niche that you are interested in and that is profitable well then half the battle is already won and you are on the way to an assured success!

· Step 2

Planning and setting up your OFFER

The next step that you need to undertake is to ascertain what the targeted clientele is purchasing. This is the time for some no holds barred intensive research that will shed some light on this vital aspect.

The way to do this is conduct an intensive online search and research, for eg. You Google the topic and subtopics and keep a count of the number of Google advertisements that pop up. A strong presence of Google advertisements is usually a very strong indicator of a buying market which is your target. Additionally you can also visit affiliate sites and check the numbers there for eg Click bank can help you see what is actually selling like hot cakes in the market.

After this you need to start work on your content be it a product or a service or information that you are selling. Be prepared to spend some quality time here as you only have one shot at your audience and you need to give it all you have to make it count! Once a prospect is unimpressed or bored or unmoved it is practically impossible to rope him back in so make sure that the first look at your content blows people away!

What is also very important is that you take your time to ensure that the site comes across as a professional one which shows the audience that you are indeed in the know of things and that you know what you are doing. This doesn't mean that your offering has to a utopian perfect site but that everything is set in the right place so as to enable your visitor to take note of all that you need him/her to take notice of!

Once you have put something together do not forget to take a step back and view it as a visitor would or better still have someone take a look at it. This someone has to be a person who had nothing to do with developing your site and is essentially there as a first time visitor with no prior information and no conditioning which is what the majority of your prospects are going to be. The question to be asked is whether the site looks like it has something of such perceived value that people will be willing to pay for it and actually make a purchase.

· Step 3

Setting up the actual SITE

To set up the site is quite a simple and straightforward step if you have any prior experience in the same. Nowadays there are some customizable word press membership sites that you can buy and avail of which are extremely simple to set up wherein all you have to do is to follow step by step instructions.

There are available a number of tools in the market to help you set up your membership site and the best part is that a number of these tools are totally free as well! If it's your first online venture then you would do well to go in for a wordpress option which comes with a number of free plugins that are instrumental in getting you a great ranking and also improving your seo presence. There are also a lot of specialized software programs that will enable you to have a par excellent customer support system and also a forum in place. However if you feel that you are not technically savvy and would rather not go down this route it is very easy to hire a professional from the Internet Marketing industry to set it all up for you and even teach you a thing or two if you so desire!

As far as the Graphics are concerned you can easily get a lot of high quality stuff on the internet and that too for free. If it's a specialized graphics cover that you need then also it is fairly cheap to hire a graphic designer from any of the hundreds of forums online!

Usage of the free online tools to set up your membership site will allow you to get you started without too much initial investment that in itself is a great way to start any business offline or online! Naturally later on when your site is generating healthy income you always have the freedom to upgrade your site by purchasing products like Dreamweaver or Frontpage.

· Step 4

Advertising your SITE

Once your membership site is all set up and you are ready to ply your offering be it a product, service or whatever, it is time to get your clients/customers/members.

There are thousands of ways to advertise but you don't want to rush in there trying everything and waiting for one method to click and hit the jackpot! That can of course happen but then the statistical probability of that happening is the same of you winning the lottery so you are better of formulating well thought of marketing plan that you then implement step by step.

Like the saying goes different strokes for different folks, some businesses get great results from adwords, some do well with forum advertising, some are fantastic with social media while some thrive by way of article marketing and son and so forth. The key to success here is pinpointing a variety of promotional techniques and then testing the waters with the same. Keeping in mind the results generated stick with the top two or maximum three methods to optimize your output.

The most common problem membership sites face at the time of their launch is that a number of prospects are reluctant to part with their money right away for something they haven't tried or tested before. A great way to convert these people that are essentially sitting on the bench is to offer a trial membership for free for the first month or charge a token amount of one dollar for a month. It is actually better to charge a minimal amount like even a dollar for two reasons one is that you are still making something albeit small and the more important reason is that you have the prospects credit card details wherein it is now much easier for you to convert him or her and they now have moved one step closer in placing their trust in your product.

Once you have the numbers it is relatively easier for you to ply them with excellent content and persuade them to stay and even spread the word by acting as your ambassadors. Make sure that you deliver in giving them what they joined your enterprise in the first place.

· Step 5

Maintaining and Growing your SITE

Once you have the membership site up and running with a healthy number of members/subscribers you need to strike a balance between keeping your current membership base and adding new members to the current base. You not only need to keep an efficient and effective follow up sequence with your current members but also you need to keep publishing content designed to attract and interest new faces to your crowd. Now you have your finger on the pulse of your customers and you know exactly what their likes and dislikes are. Keep tweaking your content accordingly and you will be fine.

Keep sending out surveys which will keep you abreast of what the members want and what you can do to not just satisfy them but absolutely delight them!

If you play the game right and follow these steps it would be a no brainer that your membership site will soon be a booming success and one that keeps you and your members happy for a good number of years. Furthermore once your system is locked down and in place you have the luxury of outsourcing your current business in order to focus on setting up new sites etc. That way you assure yourself of multiple streams of income and effectively replicate your success again and again!

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This EBook is all about the effective techniques and smart ways that will make you money online. Online sales for 2011 exceeded $155 Billion and are expected to double by the year 2014. If you want a piece of this and make money online, part time or full time then read this book carefully and follow its step by step program that will guide you towards the financial success and freedom that you deserve! This book has been thoroughly researched and vetted and is a simple to follow guide that will teach you the ropes of this business and also give you some very effective tips and invaluable advice.

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Making Money on The Web - My 5 Steps To Making Good Money Online

Many people have asked me for steps to making money on the web, because it seems like that has been a challenge for many people.

And being a big fan of keeping things simple, I have broken down my formula into 5 simple steps.

So if you want to learn the my secrets to online wealth creation, here are my 5 proven steps.

Step 1 - Finding a Profitable Niche

This is important. Without it, you cannot define a direction to go in your online business and go toward making money on the web.

You must understand that what the people are searching for and what the market demands are.

Start by using can use free Google keyword tool. Find one that will be of most interest to you or at least something that you are knowledgeable about so your business becomes enjoyable, and not a chore.

Step 2 - Look for Relevant Hot Keywords

Hot keywords are one of my main secrets to making money on the web, and you will want to keep a lookout long tailed keywords when you're doing your research on the Google keyword tool.

Step 3 - Setup Your Site Using A Blogging Platform

If you're just starting out on making money on the web, then you'll appreciate this step.

Free blogging platforms like Blogger.com, Weebly.com and Tumblr.com offer beginners a fair chance of getting online because you get to put up a site without paying for domain and hosting.

So look to a platform you're comfortable with, and start building your site.

Step 4 - Drive Traffic to Your Site

Traffic is the bloodline of any online business, and it determines if you're going to be making money on the web or making a loss online.

Start by using free traffic methods. These include article marketing, forum marketing, document sharing and press releases submission.

On the other hand, you can do paid adverting like Google AdWords or Facebook ads.

Find one you're comfortable with, and get started.

Step 5 - Increase Your Conversions

The final step to my online wealth creation is to tweak your website, such that it can convert well. What that means is that it will cause the maximum number of visitors to buy from your site for the traffic you drive.

Simple tweaks include adding your photo online, adding a simple introduction video, placing a more obvious order button or even selling the right product.

Change things one at a time and see what improves. Keep the positive changes, and discard the negative ones.

See what I mean? Making money on the web is really not difficult when you follow the right steps. Try out what I outlined above, and see if you'll make money online or not.

Also, don't think that the above takes a long time for you to get started on. Did you know that my 5 steps to making money on the web can actually be set up in as little as 24 hours?

I include a secret resource on my site that you can check out, and you can visit my site at Internet-Mkting.com. I will show you my secret resource to making money on the web the quickest way when you visit my site.

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