Wallpaper is Back in Style...and Old Bob's Has You "Covered"!

Old Bob's is a curious place, with an odd miscellany of products for your home and yard. Haven't ever heard of them? They just might be Indiana's hidden gem! From small out buildings and sheds, to a plethora of bird and squirrel feeders, Old Bob's has everything you want for a happy, lively back yard. But they are so much more than just a shop for bird lovers...

Old Bob's caught on (before most) that wallpaper is coming back in style, in a big way! They offer over a thousand of sample books, with nearly every design you could think of, right at your fingertips!

 But the best part of all, is that you can get each and every design at a discount off retail prices! They also have a variety of wall borders, some of which you can browse (and buy!) online.

Old Bob’s has been a family owned business since 1975.

Get the Most Out of Social Media in 4 Hours a Week

To be a success at your small business venture, you have to master the art of time management. Too often, small business owners get distracted by all the options on social media sites, like Facebook. There is just so much to do, and so few hours in a day! So how can you have the most social media impact, without devoting all of your time?

Narrow your focus and organize the time spent maintaining social media. Pick the social media outlets that work best for your business (start by checking out Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, and Pinterest) and divide your time - I suggest four hours per week for the following tasks:

Step 1: Create and schedule content
 Spend your first hour finding or creating content that pertains to their business, and will interest fans. Schedule your posts, so that your account is active during the course of the week. You can also purchase SEO keyword enriched content for very little. 

Step 2: Open communication
 If a customer comments on something or asks a question, it is important to answer them with the proper information and in a timely manner. Spend at least an hour each week responding or following up with your fans. Do this at the same time every week, so they know when you are online. If you are a larger company, you may instead consider account management services. 

Step 3: Grow your network
Managing your social media can seem like a daunting task, but most sites have built in ways to make it easier to expand your audience. Facebook, for instance, will offer you several similar pages to the one you just liked. This will make it easier to find other people and companies to follow. If you find this to be a tedious use of your time, you can add fans and gain a following effortlessly, with a Fast Fan Gain Package or becoming a Sponsored Page on Network Ladders. 

Executing a professional, entertaining and effective social media marketing strategy doesn't have to be a daunting task. Select the sites that suit your business’ needs and organize the time spent on social media into manageable chunks.

5 Tips for Getting Your Facebook Posts Seen

Did you just write a really powerful blog post? Or do you have an product to promote? You want to share that on your Facebook fan page, because it will increase your viewership. But not everything you post will get seen by all of your fans. We know, we know. How could that be? Facebook does their best to make sure its users aren't overwhelmed by messages they don't want. In this article we'll show you how this works and what you can do about it with News Feed Optimization (NFO).

What is the Facebook Newsfeed Algorithm?   

We're not going to get into all of the details, but what you need to know is:

• Facebook didn’t want to crowd your newsfeed, so they created an algorithm that hides content it thinks you might skip anyway.
• That means that just because you post something to your fans it doesn’t mean they’ll all see it.
• Unfortunatley, average fan pages rank low in the algorithm so that 50-70% of fans never see the content in their newsfeed.
• You need to focus on driving the actions that impact NFO like impressions, likes, and comments.

Impressions Are Your Best Friend

Lots of people look at Facebook Insights and get confused about why their total impressions are higher than their total number of fans. Total impressions are a count of everything, but what you should really care about is unique impressions -- how many different people you reach, not how many times you reach one person.  And how many impressions you get are what measures how often you show up in fans newsfeeds.

Getting Seen: Six Tips for Optimizing Your Newsfeed and Status Updates
Here are six tips to help you get noticed in the Facebook newsfeed.

1. Be human! People come to Facebook to interact, not to have your product shoved down their throats.

2. Keep your status updates short & sweet, otherwise people won't even read them.

3. Think about time of day: what time are most of your fans online and checking Facebook?

4. Likes and comments boost a posts ranking in the newsfeed. Use the 80/20 principle: Post 80% about things related to common interest of your fan base, 20% directly related to your brand/company. This will keep people active!

5. Remember that there is a higher likelihood of people seeing your posts if they are text only, less likely if they include a link, and even less likely if they contain a photo or video. 

8 Tips for Being Professional on Facebook

Facebook has grown rapidly and now boasts some 900 million users globally. It has become a perfect platform for B2C (business to consumer) marketing, providing targeted advertising opportunities based on user’s likes and affiliations. Facebook is now moving towards a more professional and more career oriented service. They have recently introduced changes to personal profiles, giving more space for work and education information.