Which Facebook Buttons Should I Use?

Facebook offers a plethora of plugins to help connect your site to their platform.  These buttons have multiple functionalities and have been viewed across the web in many different design and layout schemes, but how helpful are they? To gain the most benefit from these development tools, you'll need to understand what each of them do.  Below, I've laid out the button images and what they accomplish, so you can decide for yourself what would work best on your website. "Like" Button   What it is/What it Does This is the standard. The "Send" button is an add-on feature and is not required. Text is included, and the number automatically calculates. This button scours the Facebook platform looking for any mention of the page (or, URL) that it resides on. For example, http://www.weblift.com/blog/ would count the number of times individuals have shared... Keep Reading

Categories: Web Tips & Advice 

Social Responsibilities for Businesses to Consider

Social networking is the "new way" for businesses to get, and stay, connected to their customers.  Not only is it effective, it's also easy to break into. Platforms like Facebook and Twitter offer a simple (yet professional) way for companies to open a window into their customer's thought process through free signup and page-building tools. Under pressure to compete, many small to large businesses jump onboard without fully understanding the implications and responsibilities behind them. It wouldn't be "social" if it didn't mean that someone is required to socialize.  Therefore, your company needs to stay on top of the social feed before promoting it on your website, business cards or company storefront.   Be sure to post several times a week on Facebook and Twitter to show customers that you take the network seriously, and plan a small staff to handle responses, quest... Keep Reading

Categories: Web Tips & Advice 

Making the Mobile Leap: Questions to Consider

I've heard so many people ask the same questions: Does my company need a mobile website? What is involved in making my website mobile? Who should I hire to convert my exisiting website to a mobile envioronment, or who should I work with to design it? If you've ever asked yourself one of those questions, then you're not alone.  In 2010,  consumers effectively accepted mobile browsing in a significant way (according to The Nielsen Company, 91.7 million users adopted mobile browsing in 2010) and this number is only expected to increase.  With so many people browsing the web through handheld devices, a mobile website is a must-have marketing tool for any business looking to stay in touch with their customers.  But how does one make the mobile leap? The level of mobility that your website requires is largely dependent on your business goals.  A few ... Keep Reading

Categories: Web Tips & Advice 

5 Reasons to Switch to a SaaS Solution

A recent research report by the Aberdeen Group, "State of SMB Retail: Top Business Process and Technology Strategies for ROI Success" identifies five compelling reasons why SMB retailers (and the majority of businesses in our opinion) should be using SaaS solutions for business processes. According to the report, SMBs have an "overwhelming need to be able to repidly implement new, improved customer-centric initiatives", and "to be able to provide applications anywhere, even globally. As long as there is browser availability, SaaS is a completely viable deployment option". The report then identifies 5 specific advantages of SaaS applications as follows: Vastly improved scalability options Lower Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) - only pay for what you use Economies of scale: due to many users of teh same applications, the vendor is incentivised to deliver functionality on a frequent ba... Keep Reading

Categories: Web Tips & Advice 

Shady Advertisers 'Like' Tricking Facebook Users into Joining their Page

I hate it when companies trick users into doing something they don't want to do. Facebook users had come to understand that "Becoming a Fan" of a brand on facebook meant they would get updates from that company in the future. Today I came across this ad from 411-PAIN which is CLEARLY misleading facebook users. It encourages users to "Click 'Like' if you think Nicki [Minaj] is the bestest!" I like Nicki Minaj, but I am not even a little bit interested in adding 411-PAIN to the list of companies I want updates from.  How this ad even passed the quality review is beyond me - but I guarantee you that there are tons of new facebook users that "Like" 411PAIN without intentionally wanting to. This is not smart advertising but spam tactics. If you ask me, Facebook should delete this ad campaign and figure out how to notify users that they signed up to receive updates from... Keep Reading

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