By: Kim Tranter

You might have noticed that Facebook is now filtering your Facebook Message Inbox. Facebook announced Thursday that it is “tweaking” the messages in your inbox to better ensure that important messages get to you quicker. What Facebook deems as less important messages are being dumped into your “Other” folder which is the equivalent of a spam folder.


Facebook has updated its filtering to two major settings and is asking everyone to choose a setting now. “Moderate” allows more messages from friends of friends, groups and people who might be otherwise related. “Strict” will strain everything out but close contacts.

Messages from people you are not close to will usually end up in the “Other” folder. Thursday’s update now allows the sender to spend a dollar to have that message appear in the regular inbox.

What a can of worms this could prove to be. For both Facebook and users. Facebook believes that spammers won’t want to spend a dollar to have their message seen while an old friend probably would. But do you really want to hear from that ex-husband or old girlfriend, even if they are willing to pay a dollar?

The Facebook blog post states “if you see a message from someone you don’t want to hear from in your Inbox, you can always select “Move to Other” or “Report Spam” from the Actions menu. You can also block people that you don’t want t hear from on Facebook.” This is certainly reassuring.

Facebook believes that imposing a charge on a sender “may be the most effective way” to discourage unsolicited or unwanted messages and make the delivery of useful and relevant messages easier.

I’m sure more will be revealed over the next few months.

An industry that at one time relied on a great deal of travel and seriously expensive equipment found only in major recording studios is now rapidly becoming a “work at home” vocation powered by the Internet and social media. It has been estimated that voice-over is now an $11 billion dollar industry world-wide thanks to video and internet gaming, audio books, webinars, commercials, eLearning and a new term called “explainer videos.” The latter is what you'll often find on You Tube explaining how to use a product or device.

Jerry Reed, Whitesboro, has been part of the transition since he was a local broadcaster at WIBX in Utica in the 1980s. At one time he found himself traveling to Albany or Syracuse to be the voice of a video or commercial. Now, with a moderate investment in computers, and audio equipment designed to interface with those computers, he has set up a recording studio in his home and can provide his voice to anyone anywhere in the world and almost instantaneously, if needed.

This past year Jerry was contacted by a company in The Netherlands that was looking for someone to be the English language storyteller for their very popular Dutch children's book – Frederik Spin. The book was made into an APP and is now available in the iTunes app store with Jerry as the storyteller. The company provided the script, Jerry recorded it, delivered digitally through the Internet.

Auditions that at one time were held at a studio are now conducted by invitation from agents and Internet casting sites. So, Jerry spends part of every day auditioning and uploading those audition files for review by the potential client.

Reed uses social media to market and showcase his skills on Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and other voice-over specific social media sites where he's apt to be heard by agents and casting directors. He does this without ever leaving the house.

For more information, feel free to visit his website at http://jerryreed.com.

By: Kim Tranter

Craigslist is an often overlooked marketing tool that should be utilized by small business owners. Use of Craigslist is not just limited to those that produce physical products or offer services but can be utilized by brick and mortar businesses, nonprofits or anyone wishing to generate more business. A web developer that I work with makes regular posts on Craigslist and has generated a number of new clients for his business. Here are some tips that I have found useful in promoting on Craigslist.

• Craigslist’s Alexa ranking is 50. That means it is the 50th most popular website. That also means that it ranks high in search engine results. So make your ad title creative and relavant to your business.

• Post pictures. As in all social media content, folks love pictures. They might even click on the picture in your ad because it says “pic.”

• Pay attention to posting times. Early mornings before work and evenings after work are best.

• Create multiple ads and possibly use different email addresses to get more print space. Rotate your ads to see which get more action. Delete those that don’t. Track your results.

• Do post your internet site if you have one.

• Create interesting content in your ad with a call to action.

• Consider checking out and posting on forums. Forums are very popular with lots of interaction.

• Practice safe selling. Don’t list your email address unless you want tons of unsolicited emails. Don’t ever agree to meet someone in a private place. Never give out your personal phone number or address. Never give out bank information. Consider using paypal for payment transactions.

I believe in promoting my businesses on every site available. Some are more relevant than others and some take more time than others. This can certainly be said for Craigslist. Postings can fall off quickly so be sure and post regularly and often.

Experiment with Craigslist and see if it works for you. You might be surprised. To get started visit www.Craigslist.com.

By: Kim Tranter

On Friday, Facebook released updates for Android users on mobile devices. These updates will make using your Facebook app more enjoyable and easier to use. Facebook usually updates iOS users first, but not this time.

I noticed first that the app is much faster with a larger image size. This makes things much easier to read. Navigation is faster which is always a plus.

The new update allows users to post a link outside of their own timelines as well as adding voice messaging and quicker loading time for photos.

Before these updates, Facebook users could only use the SHARE button to post stories on their own profiles. With this newest update, mobile users can now share stories to a friend’s timeline, groups or on their pages. When a user clicks the SHARE button on a post, a message is seen on the bottom left corner of the screen that is similar to what desktop users see. The user can choose whether they wish to share normally, with one friend, a group or on their page.

Facebook has also given Android users a new voice messaging option. Previously this option was only available on the messaging app, Facebook Messenger. Now you can send it right from the main app.

Finally, Facebook says that photos will load much faster. That’s great news because sometimes uploading photos seem to really lag or fail completely.

To update these changes to your mobile device, simply go to the app store or visit Google Play.

By: Kim Tranter

If you have decided that it is important to have a Facebook page for your business, take some time to learn what other businesses in your industry are doing and how they are presenting their businesses. This will be the means by which you communicate your business to the public, so think carefully before just throwing up a Facebook page.

These are some common mistakes that businesses make with Facebook.

1. Having a lousy or no cover photo. Often the cover photo is the first thing someone sees. If your picture is blurry and says nothing about your business, you could be losing customers even before they can like your page.

2. Letting a relative, dishwasher or college intern handle the page without direct knowledge of your business and your supervision. It’s important to develop and stick with a strategy that highlights your business and all it represents. Just wait until the first time your admin goes on a rant on YOUR business page about another business, person or event. That could really hurt your image.

3. Not responding to comments made on your page, even the negative ones. People who post negative comments usually come back and check on the business’ response. Not responding or just deleting the comment shows that a business is really not interested in what others have to say. They really aren’t interested in communicating with their customers, and are just interested in talking about themselves.

4. Focusing on the number of fans, or likes, rather than on engagement. The number of fans means nothing if you aren’t getting them to your business or purchasing your products.

5. Being to stuffy. Remember Facebook is supposed to be fun and engaging and personal. Be light-hearted when you post on your page.

6. Posting only look at me, look at me, look at me content. People soon get bored and often delete. Share interesting facts and ideas about your industry, your community or what folks can do with your products.

For some small businesses, Facebook is their only means of connecting. Facebook is really only a start, but an important one. Take time to learn and study how successful businesses are using Facebook and try and mimic their ideas. Notice I didn’t say copy, but it’s great to get ideas and see what others are doing. If Facebook is your only social media platform, take time to learn and do it correctly. It’s really that important. But do keep in mind, there are lots of other social media platforms that are out there and ready to help you brand your business.

By: Kim Tranter

A.J. McCarren is the quarterback of the Alabama Crimson Tide who has received world wide acclaim for his skills, looks and personality. Since I’m not the sports blogger (ha ha, that’s a joke), I won’t go into his stats here, but suffice it to say that he led the Alabama rout of Notre Dame in the BCS Championship game Monday night. McCarren is a remarkable athlete and also a Twitter user. McCarren’s growing chest tattoo has received a great amount of media attention from pictures to Twitter attention and blog posts around the world.

Well now McCarren’s girlfriend is receiving even greater attention than he is! It all started Monday night when the announcers of the BCS Championship game seemed to be mesmerized by the beauty of A.J.’s girlfriend, Katherine Webb. In fact, the announcers gushed over her for several minutes and she was spotlighted multiple times during the game. Katherine is 23 years old and just happens to be Miss Alabama and she is beautiful.

Katherine is so popular now that she is creating a social media sensation. Her Twitter account went from a couple hundred followers before the game to over 228,000 followers as of this writing. She is even followed by folks like LeBron James. A.J. McCarren has a mere 133,000 followers. Katherine has received so many text messages, that it shut down her phone.

So if you still think Twitter is dumb….

*There are over 360 million Twitter users.
*Daily tweets total 230 million.
*Over 55 million Twitter users log in using their mobile devices every month.
*Organizations leveraging Twitter include restaurants, attorneys, medical, retail, brands and celebrities.
*37 percent of Twitter users will purchase from a brand.

Maybe you should rethink Twitter and learn to write conversations in 140 characters or less.

By: Kim Tranter

The time will come when every business will have to face a bad online review. It’s just a matter of time. No matter how hard we try, we just can’t please everyone. With the availability of online review sites or social media sites when people are free to air issues, our unhappy customers now have an open place to vent their bad experience or their frustrations.

Being ready for such an event is very important to every business. Having a plan of action and an idea of what to do, where to start or a company procedure is the beginning and could save lots of heartache and anguish down the road. You’ll be glad to you took steps now to maybe avert a disaster.

Here are some ideas to think about.

Think of some terrible experiences and how you would like to see your company come out of the experience.

Designate a go-to person to discuss the problem with who will formulate a game plan and present the company’s response. Don’t just leave it in the hands of someone whose responsibility to make Facebook posts.

Is the customer right? Does the company have an issue that needs to be corrected? Look honestly through the eyes of your customer.

Figure out the complete facts of the situation before responding.

Wait until emotions have calmed down before responding. Don’t respond as a hothead. You’ll be sorry later.

Don’t threaten the reviewer or make promises you can’t keep.

Don’t point the finger at someone else.

Be sincere.

Sometimes the worst thing a company can do is nothing. Sometimes it is the best thing a company can do. Discussion among the team will help to formulate a sound response. Future viewers will be watching how a company handles such an issue. Future perception is very important now. As painful as it might seem, admitting to a problem and offering to correct it is probably the right way to go. Don’t be afraid to make the offer to set things right.

By: Kim Tranter

Most of us like to read online reviews. We like to read about the experiences of others before making a purchase, traveling to a destination or hiring someone to work for us. Online reviews make it possible for us to see how others have enjoyed what we are considering. Our reviews highlight a great experience or warn others of something that just didn’t work out for us.

Jane Perez of Virginia hired a contractor by the name of Christopher Dietz of Dietz Construction to perform some work on her home. They were apparently classmates at one time. Ms. Perez was unhappy with the work performed by Mr. Dietz and left a scathing review on the popular review site Yelp.com. Her review stated that Mr. Dietz had done damage to her home and billed her for work he did not perform. She even went so far as to say that jewelry had disappeared and that Mr. Dietz was the only one with a key to her home.

In response to this review, Mr. Dietz filed a $750,000 defamation lawsuit against Perez arguing that he lost $300,000 worth of business as a result of this online review. Mr. Dietz requested that the court issue an injunction to keep Perez from writing more reviews against him.

Last week the court ordered Ms. Perez to remove the reference to the stolen jewelry from her review and to change the reference to a previous lawsuit. The underlying defamation lawsuit remains pending.

A 2011 Harvard Business School Study on Seattle Restaurants found that an increase of one-star for a restaurants overall rating on Yelp results in a 5 to 9 percent jump in revenue.

Seventy percent of consumers worldwide trust online reviews. So it’s important that we be credible and accurately share our experience. If we are heated about an issue, it might be a good idea to wait a day or so to ensure that we are not acting angrily and might say something we will regret later. Finally, write your review in a Word or Google document and then paste the contents to the review site. That will give you the opportunity to read what you have written several times before you hit Submit.

By: Kim Tranter

Last June Facebook announced its newest mobile feature called Nearby. Originally called “Friendshake” this program was designed to help users find friends and potential friends who were located nearby. The very next day Facebook pulled this feature after fears of stalking and privacy issues.

Now Facebook has released a new version of Nearby with a totally new angle. The new version of Nearby allows users to locate local businesses that are in their area. The Nearby section is featured on the left-hand menu and allows locations that are favored by friends who have liked, recommended, or checked into certain places. Categories can then be selected to find all the businesses nearby such as restaurants, hotels, nightlife and more. Each business listing also shows friends who have checked in as well as other details of the business. A user can directly “like” the business from this point as well.

Is this beginning to sound like Yelp or Trip Advisor? You’re right. Users can also rate the businesses they frequent using a 5-star rating system much like Yelp and Trip Advisor. These ratings do not provide the same detail as a Yelp or Trip Advisor rating, but with the power of Facebook, it has the potential of becoming just as important. With over 600 million mobile Facebook users, this program could be huge.

As this program grows, it has the potential to gain more and more in popularity. Facebook has always been a great site for users and businesses, but with the addition of Nearby, it is more important than ever.

If you have a business page on Facebook, it might be a good time to start ramping up your check-ins with employees and customers. It could also prove to be beneficial to ask your customers to leave you a rating or a check-in on Nearby. Make sure your business category is correct in your About Listing.

If you are a Facebook user, the businesses that you frequent would sure appreciate if you took a minute to do the same.

The app feature is available for both Android and iOS.

By: Kim Tranter

If your Facebook cover photo has been removed, you are not alone. You are not imagining things. In just a matter of days, Facebook has wiped out cover photos on countless pages.

The incident was first reported by Mashable, a leading internet news blog site, when several staffers noticed that their cover photos were missing. Originally, there was no explanation as to why these photos were removed so Mashable emailed Facebook. In response, Facebook replied that they had not changed their policy regarding photos as outlined in the Terms of Service. Facebook went on to specify that a cover photo should be a “unique image that represents your Page.”

Reasons photos have been missing appear to be possibly related to a copyright violation or anything deemed “promotional.” Users report images such as those from The Good, The Bad and the Ugly, Axl Rose, The Hobbit, Doctor Who and more have been removed. One user even reported that a picture of himself with his Twitter name had been removed.

Users are now reporting that in response to complaints, Facebook is posting this message when users attempt to upload a new cover photo:

“Pick a unique photo from your life to feature at the top of your timeline. Note: This space is not meant for banner ads or other promotions. Please don’t use content that is commercial, promotional, copyright-infringing or already in use on other people’s covers.”

Users may want to take a look at their Facebook cover photo and make sure that it fits into Facebook’s guidelines. If you believe there might be a problem with your photo, it might be best to be proactive and change the photo yourself before Facebook does. This seems to be a pattern that is emerging from Facebook and is a glimpse of more to come.

I would be interested in hearing of any incidents where Facebook may have changed a reader’s photo without the reader’s knowledge and what the photo consisted of.

There is always so much that goes on in the internet world that it’s often hard to keep up with the latest in trends and programs. Well, I just heard of another such site that’s been around for a while. Of course, it’s from Google. Those folks always amaze me.

Google Authorship was started about the same time as Google+. You may have seen it in action when searching the internet. It’s that cool little photograph of the author of a particular article or blog that shows up right next to a link. I’ve never really given much thought to that picture and the link to the corresponding website until I read the details about it.

A review of Google Trends shows that Authorship has really taken off the last part of this year. It remained very flat during 2011, but interest is rising at a fast pace.

Probably the biggest push of Google Authorship is the indication by Google that someday Authorship will be used as a ranking factor. Although that is not the case presently, Google is collecting information on authors.

To get started using authorship, some simple items are required. You must have a Google+ account. You need to have a photo with a recognizable headshot, a byline of your name on each page of your content and an email address on the same domain as your blog. If you blog is on a separate domain, there are special steps to create your authorship account. For detailed instructions, more information and to get started, please visit https://plus.google.com/authorship.

I will be including my byline on my future blogs. I’m anxious to see this one in action!

By: Kim Tranter

If I had a crystal ball and could see what folks are thinking about websites and what items people are interested in and what they are buying around the web, I could make a lot of money! Marketing is a huge industry and knowing exactly the right combination of web and social media presence is the magic key. There is never a boilerplate solution. What works best for one web site might be a disaster on another.

The folks at Pinterest are trying to help out with all this. They want you to be successful and know which items of yours are being re-pined and what your reach is. If you are a small business owner, this is gigantic. I’ve done several prior posts on the importance of Pinterest in a marketing plan and some of the great features that Pinterest offers to consumers and retailers. Now you can see for yourself.

Simply go to www.pinterest.com/source/thenameofyourbusiness.com. Remember to remove the www from the domain name and add the proper extension such as .com, .net, .org, for example. You will easily see what is catching the eye of your customers. You will see what items are being pinned and who is doing the pinning or re-pinning. This might help you to greatly improve your online presence.

I tried this on some local companies I know and nothing appeared for any of them. This means they have no Pinterest presence at all and are missing out on a huge opportunity. I tried this on some big names and the results were compelling. Take a look at amazon.com and then take a look at barnesandnoble.com and you’ll see what I mean.

So, allow me to get on my soapbox for a minute. Maybe this will help small business owners and entrepreneurs to understand why they need to have an internet presence and what the internet can do for their business. Don't be left behind or let your competition get the edge any longer.

By: Kim Tranter

If the thought of Christmas shopping and battling crowds or finding your way around a congested mall or store are more than you can handle, I have great news. Just in time to maybe prevent some major anxiety attacks, Google Maps announces a way to keep you “one step ahead of the crowd.”


From Black Friday through the holiday season, Google Maps will help you devise your holiday shopping game plan. While visiting some of your favorite popular retail locations including Best Buy, Macy’s, Nordstrom, Bloomingdales, Harrods, and more, you will be able to figure the fastest and best way to get around by utilizing the store layout feature. This feature is also available for many malls and even airports. The maps are accurate and easy to use.

Using Google Maps simply zoom in to a participating store. he familiar blue dot icon will help you figure out where the departments are, the food court, the restroom and so forth. You will even be able to find the ATM. For many locations, you can even get indoor walking directions to find the best route from one store to the next.

To access these maps, you will first need to update your Google Maps program on your Android device. Visit Google Play on your phone or desktop and select “update.” This just takes a few minutes. You will immediately notice the dimensional buildings and the different look.

I tried this feature out for our local area. Sure enough, all the Best Buy departments are labeled. Unfortunately, the Macy’s departments were not. But the Macy’s in New York City had the department layouts for all levels.

In our local area, several stores are now included in Google Maps including Game Stop, Victoria Secrets and more.

This new maps app is a must have!

By: Kim Tranter

Secret Boards

Just in time for the holidays, Pinterest has announced their new secret boards feature. These three specially designed boards will allow you to keep track of holiday gift ideas, plan a special event or work on a project that you don’t want to share with anyone. You can keep secret boards to yourself or invite family and friends to pin with you. The secret boards began rolling out this past week so if not immediately available you should see them soon.

To add a secret board, visit your profile and scroll down to the bottom. Click “Create a Secret Board.” Or, you can use the “Add+” button in the top right corner. Select “Create Board” and turn the secret button on.


Pinterest Mobile App

If you are a Pinterest user, you might have already found the Pinterest mobile app, but this was news to me. I love Pinterest and have been a pinner for quite some time but just stumbled across the app. Several apps were available in the mobile market as third-party Pinterest apps, but now the real app is here. The iOS app has been available for quite some time, but Android users have had to wait.

Announced back in August, the app has gained in popularity with more than 5 million downloads in the last 30 days. Pinners across the globe are having a great time pinning and accessing their accounts from wherever they choose, taking their boards with them.

The mobile app is available for iPhone, iPad and Android devices (regardless of size) for free.

By: Kim Tranter

Let’s face it, as much as most of us love Pinterest for the sheer pleasure of experiencing new ideas, it is a huge marketing tool for many small businesses. Look at the potential here if you will. Let’s say you own a bridal store and someone pins one of your wedding dresses or a pair of shoes. That pin is then available for all of their friends to see. If any of their friends repin the original pin, now that item is available to all those new pinners. I’m sure you get the idea.

Pinterest has figured that it only stands to benefit by offering dedicated brand pages, your website. Can you see the potential? The feature is intended to let other pinners learn more about the people they are following. You will now be able to highlight your full website URL right on your Pinterest profile. To make it a little more fun, users will also see a checkmark next to your domain in search results and on your profile.

Website verification is not yet available to all users, but rest assured – it’s coming.

To get started, log into your Pinterest account and go to “Settings”. Scroll down the page and make sure your url is entered and click “Verify website.”

#1 is Download the HTML verification file. Click this and the download will begin.

Next you need to upload the file you just downloaded to your web server. If you have trouble with this part, get ahold of the person who controls your server and they can do this very quickly and easily. I emailed my Webmaster and it was done presto!

To finish, click item #3 where it says "Click here to complete the process." That's it!

Pinterest then will check your website and verify what you just gave them. You will see a success message once this has been completed.

Now other pinners will see information about your website.

Going back to the owner of the bridal shop, instead of just having their pins displayed, others can find more information about them so easily and maybe decide to take a look at the items on their website. Again, imagine the potential here….

By: Kim Tranter

Over the years I’ve learned some practical online advice that I’d like to share. Some of it may seem very basic and some you may wonder about, but all of it has saved me time and some aggravation.

First of all, create another email address. I have one email address that I use for my business, one for my personal life and friends and one just for junk. Whenever I request information online, it seems they always want my personal email so I give them my junk email address. I can check this account whenever I choose but I know that unimportant email is not going to clog up my business or personal accounts.

When I download things from the internet, I’m pretty selective about where I store it on my personal computer. I have a file for tutorials, another file for pictures and so on. This way I can retrieve information easily and have a good idea of where it might be on my computer. There is nothing worse than trying to find something you know you have but have no idea of where it might be stored.

Create a database of people you come in contact with. You never know when you may want to contact someone or send out a newsletter or email. Build that database using last name, first name, business, email address and how you know that person.

Buy your name as a domain name. Do the same for your children. You never know what the future holds. If you do business online or are an entrepreneur, you might want to use your own name to promote your services. Unfortunately my name is not avaialble. This is one I wish I had learned sooner.

Consider buying your tagline or the SEO terms by which people might search for you. For example UticaJeweleryStore.com or MohawkValleyNutritionist.com.

Remove your phone number from your Facebook page unless you want everyone in the world to have it!

Avoid Scammers. Everyone always says it and it seems so simple but it's a true reality. I recently tried to purchase some Patriot tickets on Craigslist.com from a seller in “Boston.” I suggested that the seller set up an ebay transaction so that the transaction would be protected for both of us. Instead, the guy sent me a really really good email supposedly from Paypal requesting that I transfer money immediately. What made me suspicious was that the payment method was Western Union. I called Paypal and, sure enough, it was a fraudulent transaction. Phew! Saved me some money. Remember to never give out your password and don’t click on links that look suspicious.