Summer is just around the corner and Arizona is going to start heating up fast! Fasturtle® has some super hot deals to enjoy this year too! In celebration of our 10 year anniversary we are offering a $100.00 CASH bonus when a client you referred to Fasturtle® signs up and completes their project.* In addition, You know you have a great website, now it’s time to be found and stand out from the competition. We are offering the 13^th month FREE on a 12 month SEO subscription.

Fasturtle® understands that first and foremost, clients are the foundation of the success story that makes Fasturtle® what it is today, and without that support, Fasturtle® would not be going strong after 10 years. Fasturtle® hopes to say thank you by offering some service incentives this year to the great dedicated clients partnered with Fasturtle®.

We would love to hear your feedback, so let us know if there is anything great Fasturtle is doing for you or if there is anything you think Fasturtle® could improve on.

*excludes Hosting or Email Marketing Plans

With Facebook growing into a social media giant, small businesses are beginning to harness its awesome power. Many businesses however are making vital marketing errors that affect their Fan Base, and overall online social presence. Here are 5 common mistakes to avoid.

Blunder #1-Broadcasting

Facebook is about authenticity, innovation and creative posts, so if you are not engaging with customers in a way that makes it feel genuine then there is a good possibility you will see a slow in engagement. Remember, potential customers go to Facebook to make a connection or feel like they are part of a community, not to be blasted with useless generic information.

Blunder #2- Not Investing Time

Underestimating the time it takes to create a successful Facebook strategy could result in a relationship collapse, not only with new Fans but with pre-existing Fans who have come to expect timely responses to their posts and queries. Unlike traditional advertising, Facebook is not a “set it and forget it” tool, it needs to be updated and monitored continuously.

Blunder #3- Being Boring and Predictable

Think about what kind of content your fans would find interesting, funny or useful with planning a post. Use a wide range of media including, status updates, photos, videos, and multimedia. Creating filler content by auto- publishing from a blog or twitter can also damage your efforts. With Facebook’s recent change to publish items in a news feed on a priority system, automated posts are usually at the bottom and may never be seen by your fans.

Blunder #4-Failure to Learn Facebook Mechanics and Tools

Explore all of Facebook’s functionality and create a custom welcome page for your fans. Be aware of your profile image. Most companies upload a version of their logo, but the resulting thumbnail image that shows up in news feeds is only a portion of your profile image capturing a few letters in the middle of their logo. This partial image will be how your Fan’s see your brand in their news feed. Using Facebook Insights to see what content receives the most engagement is a great tool to optimize your future posts.

Blunder#5- Violating Facebook’s Terms

Many businesses are building a community on a personal page instead of a proper Facebook business page; others fail to abide by Facebook’s rules about running contests. Another area to be cautious of is Tagging an image you may not have permission to tag. Tagging people to get their attention is a violation of Facebook rules and will leave your site open to review and possible shut down.

To avoid these mistakes, take time to learn about Facebook, educate yourself on how to build and sustain an audience and engage with your Fans just like you would in real life. That is what sets a small business apart from a large corporation, its ability to actively engage with customers.

Recently Google™ launched an algorithm change targeted primarily at websites that copy content or provide little value for searchers. Weaker websites will see their rankings fall drastically while those with original content and information should start seeing better rankings. This goes to show that web technology and search engine ranking is an ever changing market with the stakes at an all-time high in the Google™ placement game. The top spots on the Google™ search page typically attract 20% to 30% of a page’s clicks while spots 2-4 generate 5% of pages clicks. Small businesses should keep their website content fresh, relevant and of high-quality by including such information as research, in-depth reports and thoughtful analysis. Failure to stay current and maintain your website could have drastic consequences for example, a slow in potential business or a complete overall drop in revenues. Fasturtle® aims to protect our small business customers and provide them with creative and innovative original content when building websites or updating current ones. Rest assured we will never copy content from other pages just to avoid a little hard work.

With over 1 million users, posting a listing to Facebook Marketplace is another way to reach your valued customers.
It’s easy and free of cost to all Facebook members.

Here are Fasturtle®’s Quick Tips to add a new listing:

1. On the Marketplace home page, click the Post button next to the category you will be selling
   Note: There will be 4 choices to select from- Items for Sale, Housing, Vehicles or Jobs
2. Select the type of listing you want: Sell it, Sell for a Cause, Give it Away or Ask for it
3. Type a title in the “What are you selling?” box and click POST
   Note: Keep your headline Short, Accurate and Eye Catching
4. Type the reason you are selling the item in the “Why are you Selling It” box
   Note: This section is visible by search results, so be detailed and use this as an extension to your headline
5. Type your Asking Price
   Note: Consider completing a fair market value search on your product to insure it goes in a timely manner. Overly priced items will not sell and underpriced items could be considered a scam.
6. Choose a Category from the drop-down menu
   Note: If you don’t know how to classify your item choose “Everything Else”
7. Change your location if necessary (This section is automatically updated from your profile)
8. Type a Description of the Item
   Note: You can type more than 4 lines of text in this section- Be detailed and honest about your product
9. Add up to Two Photos
   Keeping in mind that at least 1 photo is required
10. Certify you have the right to distribute the photos and click SUBMIT
11. Click Continue to close the Dialog Box

New Listings take 30 minutes to be included in a new search result. Facebook will display a small version of your ad and will confirm it has gone live with an email.

Fast Tip: Select YES on the final screen. This will ask if you want to post your new listing to your wall and the news feeds of your friend’s home pages. It will include a dialog box to write comments and will maximize your results.

Fasturtle® hit a company milestone this week reaching over 100,000 people in the span of only a few months. Using Tweet Reach, we identified how many Twitter users we touched with only 50 tweets – most of which were from other Twitter users retweeting about our recent website launches of BioMed Bridge and CurlFriends. In the game of quality communications and listening to others, this exceptional tool has allowed us to track and respond to those who tweeted about Fasturtle®.

Social media has once again proven that traditional media has its work cut out for itself, when a small business can write two press releases and get their name in front of that many people who may have never heard of us otherwise.

But let’s not pretend that Twitter is the magical key to all free advertising. Like most marketing efforts, this feat came to fruition through a bevy of different aspects. From the work of the designers creating functional and beautiful websites, to writing the press releases to maintaining an active and informative Twitter account, these things do not just HAPPEN. All technology aside, there’s a reason that old adages stay true. You get out what you put in – and Fasturtle® plans on doing just that.

WISHING YOU HAPPY HOLIDAYS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR

From all of us here at Fasturtle®, thank you for making 2010 a great year!

The last time you fed the chickens on Farmville, sent someone an iHeart, or played Mafia Wars, I’m sure the last thing on your mind was an internet tracking company. Unfortunately, that is exactly what those companies were betting on. But now the whistle is being blown by the Wall Street Journal in a recent investigation outlined by Emily Steel and Geoffrey A Fowler. According to the article on WSJ.com, many of the most popular applications, or “apps,” on Facebook have been transmitting identifying information—in other words, providing access to people’s names and, in some cases, their friends’ names—to dozens of advertising and Internet tracking companies. The top 10 culprits include the afore mentioned, plus FrontierVille, Phrases, Texas HoldEm, Causes, Café World, Quiz Planet and Treasure Isle.

This breach of privacy affects tens of millions of Facebook users, including those that have set their privacy to the strictest settings. For the people with private profiles, the tracking companies can only access a person’s name through their Facebook ID, a building block of the software. However, open profiles can provide information such as age, residence, occupation and photos – plenty of information for even the most basic marketing plans. Though most of the apps were not created by Facebook, and this is something that breaks Facebook rules, it raises the question about whether or not Facebook can keep its virtual mouth shut.

It is still unclear about how long this has been going on or even whether or not the companies knew they were doing it, but the reality is – anything with access to 500 million people is going to become a target. Facebook has apparently shut down any app that the Journal found to be transmitting user IDs and is taking strides to correct the issue. But this is where common sense might need to kick in. Set your profile to private, be careful with ads and decide if your identity is more important than feeding the chickens.

Here at Fasturtle®, we feel very strongly about security and we would be happy to send you our Privacy Policy if you have any concerns.

For the full article and more details about the investigation, please click here.

If you ever thought there was any chance of Facebook ever going away – think again. In an article from WebProNews.com, Rich Ord reveals that Microsoft is upping the ante when it comes to the search engine game. Since they have yet to compete on a traditional level, Microsoft is betting on the social power of Facebook for its own search engine, Bing. Having an ownership stake in Facebook, they have created a new product called Bing Social.

Until now, Google has muscled its way to the top with sheer domination of everything searchable. This is due to the use of a method called PageRank. In the most basic of terms, the method is what made search results more relevant to the user. Since Google found a better way to give people what they want, that is what people chose to use. Microsoft has chosen to combat this by adding into the mix the personal touch that Google does not provide. Bing Social will officially integrate information from reviews, photos and likes that your own personal Facebook network has posted. This is regarded as “instant personalization” that will create a search for each individual. According to the article, your Bing search results will actually be different depending on what your network of friends link to, like or dislike or review This will eventually include seeing who “liked” or “disliked” a particular link, being able to add and confirm data on Facebook and create a better non-celebrity search.

Clearly, this will have a huge impact on SEO as search engine marketers will have to rethink their strategy. But with change comes opportunity, so who knows where this will take us in 2011. Consumers will always choose what works best for them, so time will tell who will come out on top. As for Fasturtle®, we plan on monitoring this trend and seeing where it will take SEO as it pertains to our industry. Either way, we plan on staying as our client’s go-to for Search Engine Optimization no matter who is leading the race.

Question of the day: Do you want your friends determining your search results?

For the full article and more details about the new product, please click here.

1. 1.How will I build a website? (The basis for every good project decision)
   a. Purchase Software
   b. Freelance Contractor
   c. Professional Company
2. 2.What are the objectives for my website? (Should be tactical and financial)
   a. Number of Sales
   b. Provide Information
   c. Lead generation
3. 3.How will I measure my goals? (The internet is the most measurable medium in existence)
   a. Monthly
   b. Quarterly
   c. Statistics
   i. Visitors
   ii. Sales
4. 4.What target market is most important? (You can’t be everything to everyone)
   a. Customers
   i. Current
   ii. Prospective
   b. Vendors
   i. Easy Payment
   ii. Discussion Section
   c. Employees
   i. Current
   ii. Potential
5. 5.What are my visitor’s needs? (They came to you on purpose, not by accident)
   a. What do they want
   b. What do they need
   c. What is their expectation for their experience
6. 6.How do I currently market myself in the business community? (Monopolize the Industry)
   a. Networking
   b. Newspaper
   c. Magazine
7. 7.How will I exceed customer’s expectations? (Most important aspect of Website design)
   a. Navigation
   b. Forms
   c. Interactive
8. 8.How accessible am I to my clients? (The “I want it now” mentality has taken over)
   a. Person
   b. Phone
   c. Website Form
   d. Email
9. 9.What does my website say or will say about my company? (Image is everything)
   a. Pictures
   b. Content
   c. Layout
10. 10.What should my website cost? (Long after the sweetness of low price is gone the bitterness of poor quality remains)
    a. Portfolio
    b. References
    c. Experience

Social networking gives business owners and entrepreneurs an unparalleled opportunity to get themselves in front of large audiences in quick fashion. With relatively easy access to such a large group of people, you will discover new opportunities to attract ideally matched clients. In order to make this work using social media, you must have a clear and concise plan. When you take time to focus on the potential of the relationships you create in social networking, you’ll magnetize your marketing and activate a loyal following of ready-to-buy fans!

Know Why You’re There

It’s essential that you have a clear idea of why you are using social media. Most business owners have yet to clearly define why they are using it or what it will accomplish for them.

We have compiled this list of the possibilities social media may hold for you:

- Demonstrate your expertise

- Make connections with prospective clients

- Bring traffic to your website, blog, or articles

- Attract joint venture and strategic alliance partners

- Get on the media’s radar screen

- Expand your influence

- Establish credibility in your field or profession

- Build a base of loyal fans

Know Your Strategy

Always put relationships first because that is, after all, the basis of social media marketing. Acknowledge what it is your ideal clients are looking for and be the source of information and resources for them.

Your strategy must include a focus on 3 things: 1. providing value, 2. boosting credibility, and 3. building trust. Place your attention on adding value and people will anticipate the information you want to share.

As you bring in more value, you reinforce your credibility and earn the trust of your friends and followers. Value, credibility, and trust are the most important components that invite a follower into your marketing efforts. These three factors set the basis for both you and the potential customers and the expectations for both parties. A common mistake is to jump too quickly to the sales part of the relationship before a foundation has been established. By proving your value and worth with excellent information, you make it simple for others to perceive you in a favorably.

Know How to Take Action

Don’t forget: People buy from those they know, like, and trust. Social media is a way to add value, boost your credibility, and build trust with ideally matched contacts.

The opportunities are still revealing themselves in this fast and ever changing landscape, but keeping time proven client attraction strategies on hand will ensure your success for years to come.

Let us know your thoughts on this subject. I would love to read your comments!

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