Michael Luca, Assistant Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School, wrote a really good anlaysis on Harvard Business Review entitled “Yelp Is Leaving Chains Behind”, on the real impact of Yelp and its review and ratings system on a business’s bottom line.

Michael conducted research and studied records on 3,582 restaurants that were in business in Seattle at any point from 2003—2009 and discovered that increases in independent or small chain restaurants’ Yelp ratings lead to revenue increases, with ratings having more impact the more reviews a restaurant gets.  It’s  also a great example of how important it is to measure the impact of Social and ROI, both before and after you embark on a social campaign.

It’s also important to note that while online reviews and ratings have become a really important source of trust for people in making buying decisions, Yelp actually filters reviews based on various algorithms, and particularly and specifically to discourage a business owner from requesting reviews for fear of “skewing” reviews and ratings. Most business owners are unaware of this and don’t understand why reviews that customers have made on their request aren’t showing up.

From Yelp:

It’s worth re-iterating and recognizing that Yelp isn’t fool-proof.

Providing excellent customer service, authentic referrals, interesting content and real conversations – online and offline – are still the best way to market yourself in this new, overcrowded, full of false prophets and increasingly noisy digital world.

Now this is what I call a BRILLIANT piece of social marketing – funny, entertaining, and totally compelling for sharing. I just can’t decide if I like the male couch or the police masseuse better…

Click here to view the embedded video.

Facebook has announced an update on the Facebook blog today that the rollout of Timeline, its new profile page concept and layout, is now available wordwide.

Timeline was originally introduced at the Facebook f8 conference on September 22, 2011, but was limited to only a few people and those who took the time to install the “developer” version (yes, for geeks like me who couldn’t wait).

Timeline is, according to Facebook, “…a new kind of profile that lets you highlight the photos, posts and life events that help you tell your story”. It looks completely different from the “old” Facebook, which was just a “wall” of posts and comments – now, it looks like this:

Over the next few weeks, everyone will get Timeline. When you get Timeline, you’ll have 7 days to preview what’s there now. This gives you a chance to add or hide whatever you want before anyone else sees it.

There will be a quick tour available at the top of your Timeline to learn about the new features, or if you want to get timeline now, go to the Introducing Timeline page and click “Get Timeline”  - or you can wait until you see an announcement at the top of your home page on Facebook.

Yes, this means that whether you like it or not, you’ll soon have to use Timeline – and be forced to have the new look of Facebook’s new profile pages.

One of the most compelling features of Timeline is that it’s really easy to see older posts and images, with the context of when those posts and images were created with a “timeline” down the center of the screen.

The question I think a lot of people will have is whether or not they want those posts or images “always” accessible – you may be happy that it’s wasn’t that easy to go into your history and see pictures of that ex-boyfriend and you from 2 years ago – the older stuff was harder to find in the past. With Timeline, your whole history is just a click or two away.

Once you’ve activated Timeline here, you still have 7 days to review your posts and change privacy settings. If you decide that you want to make any of your older content private, go to your Privacy Settings (under the Home link at the top right of your Facebook account) and click “Limit The Audience For Past Posts“:

To see what your new profile will look like to the public (or to specific people), click the Cog symbol to the right of your new profile photo and click “View As…“

For me, the jury is still out on Timeline – I love that images I’ve uploaded are much more visible, and the sense of time and history, but it seems harder to follow a thread of conversation and very “boxy” – everything is in it’s own box now and I feel a bit like I’m in Legoland.

What do you think of Facebook’s new Timeline? Post a link in your comment below to your Facebook page or profile along with your comments.

Last week, Twitter introduced a new design that simplifies the look and feel of your Twitter profile on both Twitter.com and mobile phones. TweetDeck has also been updated to be consistent with the new version.

The new design is scheduled to be rolled out over the next few weeks, and is available on just-updated versions of mobile.twitter.com. Twitter for iPad is scheduled for a later release, and will Twitter promises to share news as it becomes available.

The design includes four new tabs which, according to Twitter will “bring you instantly closer to everything you care about”.

The new tabs are Connect, Discover, Me and Tweet. The Home tab will still be available as part of your navigation menu as well. The tab menu is consistent whether you’re on a mobile phone, your laptop or a desktop browser.

The biggest change is that the main navigation where your profile picture, bio, # of tweets, # of people you follow and # of your followers, as well as suggested “Who to Follow” and Trends is now located on the left side of the Twitter page instead of the right.

The 140-character typing area to post your latest tweet is now in the upper left corder of the left menu – another big change.

This leaves a ton of room on the right for the main stream of Tweets - which can now expand to include replies, retweets, embedded photos and videos.

Home – the Home tab is still where you see your Twitter news stream, the view of Tweets from the people you have chosen to follow, with the latest news, commentary and information from people and companies that matter to you. Photos, videos and conversations are embedded directly in Tweets and everything in the Home tab will appear consistently across computers, iPhones, and Android mobile phones.

Connect – The new Connect section is where you can see who has followed or mentioned you, retweeted or favorited one of your Tweets. Whenever you come across an @username—in the news, on a billboard or on a business card—enter it here to learn more.  You can also track your impact across Twitter with Interactions, which shows all the actions other people take related to you and your Tweets, so you can see all the Tweets in which you’re mentioned in one place, as well as who follows you, retweets or favorites one of your Tweets, or adds you to a list.

Discover – the new DIscover tab lets you see Stories and trends of content that is trending based on recent popularity, as well as your connections, location and language.

You can also enter a hashtag (the words that are preceded with the # symbol) to discover all its related stories, conversation and content.

Me (Your Profile) – the Profile section is where you can enter your bio and personal photo, share your location, link to your website or blog, collect and send Direct Messages, view your lists, favorites, followers, photos and more.

Tweet – The new “Tweet” button lets you send a message out instantly, upload photos, add your location and link to videos, news and other stories directly within your Tweets. You can also upload photos right from your mobile phone or desktop.

To get the new version of Twitter, you have to download the mobile version first. Visit fly.twitter.com to download the version for either iPhone or for Android at the bottom of the page, then follow the instructions to download for your phone.

What do you think of Twitter’s new look and layout? Post a link to your Twitter Profile in the Comments section below and share your opinion

Dear Cirque de Soleil,

First, I need to tell you of my absolute admiration for the incredible accomplishments of Cirque de Soleil – artistic and creative, ingenious and inventive, athletic and graceful, masterful and musical – just a true joy to watch and experience the “grandest circus” of them all. I’ve had the pleasure of seeing 3 Cirque de Soleil shows in my life, the first was Saltimbanco in Seattle about 12 years ago, the second was Zumanity in Las Vegas 6 years ago, and last weekend I saw Totem in San Francisco – all of them beautifully executed with breathtaking moments and memories.

But last weekend at Totem, as the crowd began to gather towards the huge tents at AT&T park and we took our seats under the huge main tent of the “cirque” – I noticed that many people, including me, had their cell phones in their hands and were happily taking pictures of each other in the excitement and anticipation of the evening.

And as each cell phone flashed to take a picture, an usher would quickly rushed over to advise the audience member that “No pictures are allowed”.

Really??

A “No pictures allowed” policy – in an age where information can be published so freely on the internet (news, music, speech, photos, video…)?

I couldn’t help but wonder – how does this policy of “no pictures allowed” help Cirque de Soleil?

In the last days of 2011, with the possibilities of viral video and images through social networking and mobile (“hey, I’m at Cirque de Soleil – check out this incredible performance by these gymnasts on the trapeze!!!”) – the policy of “No Pictures Allowed” seems terribly antiquated and short-sighted.

Isn’t it time to re-visit this policy?

Think of the benefits of allowing the audience to take photos – MUCH more visibility, free publicity, sharing, liking, posting and tweeting all over thousands of people’s profiles across all kinds of social networks – the net gain would be SO much greater.

People take pictures at sporting and lots of other types of events all the time. Baseball games, basketball, football, political events, fundraisers, concerts, parades, outdoor festivals, fairs – even uprisings!

What’s the downside? Are you worried that people will take a picture with their cell phone and “sell” that picture somewhere? Believe me, most people aren’t even thinking of that type of thing anymore – digital information is far too easy to create and the value of the small amount of “bootlegging” or high-res quality images that are produced and sold from most people’s cell phones has to be negligible at best. Isn’t there much higher value in the visibility and free publicity you would gain?

I can understand concern about camera flashes during performances, but is there a technical way to mitigate some of that? And I know any time I’ve performed on stage, I can barely see the audience or flashes or even movement because the stage lights are so bright.

Seth Godin talked about this paradox of “No Pictures Allowed” in a post on his blog 5 years ago – “In an experience economy, where a bear workshop or furniture superstore is a form of tourism, photography is part of the deal.“

This is an experience age. The Cirque de Soleil is an experience – do you really only want us to talk about our experience with words – and words alone – and not pictures?

Think of the irony. Doesn’t “no pictures” fly against the whole concept of the visual and sensory experience that is Cirque?

Think of the free publicity!! Think of how many more people would hear about your shows!! Think of how many more people would attend and support you!!

I’m pleading with you to re-think this policy which is firmly embedded in the 20th century philosophy of scarcity and control – neither of which belong in this day and age where it’s now really easy for ANYONE to publish information in this highly digital world.

Remember who you are, and how we, the spectators, are part of your incredible story from the earliest days of Guy Laliberté’s idea to “bring the cirque” to the people of Quebec. For so many years, you have brought us joy. In your own words – “Cirque du Soleil tale is that of a remarkable bond between artists and spectators from around the world. And it is the latter who feed the sacred fire of Cirque du Soleil.”

Let us help you now by allowing us to spread the word of Cirque de Soleil and feed that sacred fire.

A great presentation from Steven Van Belleghem, Marloes Eenhuizen  and Elias Veris of InSites Consulting, a European market research company that like to call themselves “change agents” rather than market researchers, on stats, figures and really interesting factoids about the state of Social Media all around the world in 2011.

Love their “who we are”…:“We are a crazy blend of academic visionaries, passionate marketers and research innovators who are determined to challenge the status quo by taking research forward every day and bringing a sense of ‘coolness’ to it.”

And here’s the presentation:

Facebook, the most popular social network in the world with close to 800 million users, has agreed to settle Federal Trade Commission charges against Facebook that it deceived consumers by telling them they could keep their information on Facebook private, and then repeatedly allowing that same information to be shared and made public.

In a blog post on November 29th, Mark Zuckerberg, CEO and Founder of Facebook made a  ”Commitment to the Facebook Community” that addresses the FTC settlement and outlines steps he’s taking to comply with the agreement.

The FTC complaint against Facebook lists a number of instances in which Facebook allegedly made promises that it did not keep:

• In December 2009, Facebook changed its website so certain information that users may have designated as private – such as their Friends List – was made public. Facebook did not warn users that this change was coming or get their approval in advance.

• Facebook represented that third-party apps that users’ installed would have access only to user information that they needed to operate. In fact, the apps could access nearly all of users’ personal data – data the apps didn’t need.

• Facebook told users they could restrict sharing of data to limited audiences – for example with “Friends Only.” In fact, selecting “Friends Only” did not prevent their information from being shared with third-party applications their friends used.

• Facebook had a “Verified Apps” program & claimed it certified the security of participating apps. It didn’t.

• Facebook promised users that it would not share their personal information with advertisers. It did.

• Facebook claimed that when users deactivated or deleted their accounts, their photos and videos would be inaccessible. But Facebook allowed access to the content, even after users had deactivated or deleted their accounts.

• Facebook claimed that it complied with the U.S.- EU Safe Harbor Framework that governs data transfer between the U.S. and the European Union. It didn’t.

According to Lesley Fair, Attorney, Division of Consumer & Business Education, FTC , the following is a summary of “where Facebook went wrong” with its privacy practices:

On November 29th, the FTC announced a settlement and agreement with Facebook, barring Facebook from making any further deceptive privacy claims, requiring that the company get consumers’ approval before it changes the way it shares their data, and requiring that it obtain periodic assessments of its privacy practices by independent, third-party auditors for the next 20 years.

Specifically, the proposed FTC order is designed to prevent Facebook from engaging in practices in the future that are the same or similar to those alleged in the complaint.

The FTC order states that Facebook is now:

• barred from making misrepresentations about the privacy or security of consumers’ personal information;

• required to obtain consumers’ affirmative express consent before enacting changes that override their privacy preferences;

• required to prevent anyone from accessing a user’s material more than 30 days after the user has deleted his or her account;

• required to establish and maintain a comprehensive privacy program designed to address privacy risks associated with the development and management of new and existing products and services, and to protect the privacy and confidentiality of consumers’ information; and

• required, within 180 days, and every two years after that for the next 20 years, to obtain independent, third-party audits certifying that it has a privacy program in place that meets or exceeds the requirements of the FTC order, and to ensure that the privacy of consumers’ information is protected.

FTC Facebook Consent Order #FILE NO 092 3184  Details: The proposed order is organized into ten Parts which describe the various steps or actions that Facebook must comply with:

Part I – Prohibition of Misrepresentation – prohibits Facebook from misrepresenting the privacy or security of “covered information,” as well as the company’s compliance with any privacy, security, or other compliance program, including but not limited to the U.S.-EU Safe Harbor Framework.  “Covered information” is defined broadly as “information from or about an individual consumer, including but not limited to: (a) a first or last name; (b) a home or other physical address, including street name and name of city or town; (c) an email address or other online contact information, such as an instant messaging user identifier or a screen name; (d) a mobile or other telephone number; (e) photos and videos; (f) Internet Protocol (“IP”) address, User ID, or other persistent identifier; (g) physical location; or (h) any information combined with any of (a) through (g) above.”

Part II – Clear and Prominent Notice – requires Facebook to give its users a clear and prominent notice and obtain their affirmative express consent before sharing their previously-collected

information with third parties in any way that materially exceeds the restrictions imposed by their privacy settings.  A “material . . . practice is one which is likely to affect a consumer’s

choice of or conduct regarding a product.”  FTC Policy Statement on Deception, Appended to Cliffdale Associates, Inc., 103 F.T.C. 110, 174 (1984).

Part III – Limitation of Access to User’s Data Following Account Deletion – requires Facebook to implement procedures reasonably

designed to ensure that a user’s covered information cannot be accessed from Facebook’s servers

after a reasonable period of time, not to exceed thirty (30) days, following a user’s deletion of his

or her account.

Part IV  - Establishment of Comprehensive Privacy Program – requires Facebook to establish and maintain a comprehensive privacy program that is reasonably designed to: (1) address privacy risks related to the development and management of new and existing products and services, and (2) protect the privacy and confidentiality of covered information.  The privacy program must be documented in writing and must contain controls and procedures appropriate to Facebook’s size and complexity, the nature and scope of its activities, and the sensitivity of covered information.

Specifically, the order requires Facebook to:

• designate an employee or employees to coordinate and be responsible for the privacy program;
• identify reasonably-foreseeable, material risks, both internal and external, that could result in the unauthorized collection, use, or disclosure of covered information and assess the sufficiency of any safeguards in place to control these risks;
• design and implement reasonable controls and procedures to address the risks identified through the privacy risk assessment and regularly test or monitor the effectiveness of these controls and procedures;
• develop and use reasonable steps to select and retain service providers capable of appropriately protecting the privacy of covered information they receive from respondent, and require service providers by contract to implement and maintain appropriate privacy protections; and
• evaluate and adjust its privacy program in light of the results of the testing and monitoring, any material changes to its operations or business arrangements, or any other circumstances that it knows or has reason to know may have a material impact on the effectiveness of its privacy program.

Part V –  Independent Audit/Report – requires that Facebook obtain within 180 days, and every other year thereafter for twenty (20) years, an assessment and report from a qualified, objective, independent third-party professional, certifying, among other things, that it has in place a privacy program that provides protections that meet or exceed the protections required by Part IV of the proposed order; and its privacy controls are operating with sufficient effectiveness to provide reasonable assurance that the privacy of covered information is protected.

Parts VI through X – Reporting and Compliance Provisions:

Part VI requires that Facebook retain all “widely disseminated statements” that describe the extent to which respondent maintains and protects the privacy, security, and confidentiality of any covered information, along with all materials relied upon in making such statements, for a period of three (3) years.  Part VI further requires Facebook to retain, for a period of six (6) months from the date received, all consumer complaints directed at Facebook, or forwarded to Facebook by a third party, that relate to the conduct prohibited by the proposed order, and any responses to such complaints.  Part VI also requires Facebook to retain for a period of five (5) years from the date received, documents, prepared by or on behalf of Facebook, that contradict, qualify, or call into question its compliance with the proposed order.  Part VI additionally requires Facebook to retain for a period of three (3) years, each materially different document relating to its attempt to obtain the affirmative express consent of users referred to in Part II, along with documents and information sufficient to show each user’s consent and documents sufficient to demonstrate, on an aggregate basis, the number of users for whom each such privacy setting was in effect at any time Facebook has attempted to obtain such consent.  Finally, Part VI requires that Facebook retain all materials relied upon to prepare the third-party assessments for a period of three (3) years after the date that each assessment is prepared.

Part VII requires dissemination of the order now and in the future to principals, officers,

directors, and managers, and to all current and future employees, agents, and representatives

having supervisory responsibilities relating to the subject matter of the order.

Part VIII ensures notification to the FTC of changes in corporate status.

Part IX mandates that Facebook submit an initial compliance report to the FTC and make available to the FTC subsequent reports.

Part X is a provision “sunsetting” the order after twenty (20) years, with certain exceptions.

The FTC also recommended improvements to Facebook’s internal processes – in response to which Zuckerberg announced the appointment of two executive privacy officers:

• Erin Egan has been appointed as Chief Privacy Officer, Policy. Egan recently joined Facebook after serving as a partner and co-chair of the global privacy and data security practice of Covington & Burling, an international law firm. Egan has been involved in legislative and regulatory efforts to address privacy, data security, spam, spyware and other consumer protection issues. Egan will lead Facebook’s engagement in the global public discourse and debate about online privacy and ensure that feedback from regulators, legislators, experts and academics from around the world is incorporated into Facebook’s practices and policies.

• Michael Richter has been appointed as Chief Privacy Officer, Products. Richter was previously Facebook’s Chief Privacy Counsel on the legal team. Richter will join Facebook’s product organization to expand, improve and formalize its existing program of internal privacy review, and to ensure that Facebook’s principles of user control, privacy by design and transparency are integrated consistently into both Facebook’s product development process and Facebook’s products

Zuckerberg also offered the following as evidence of changes that Facebook has made in the last 18 months in announcing more than 20 new tools and resources designed to provide more control over the Facebook experience:

• An easier way to select your audience when making a new post
• Inline privacy controls on all your existing posts
• The ability to review tags made by others before they appear on your profile
• Friend lists that are easier to create and that maintain themselves automatically
• A new groups product for sharing with smaller sets of people
• A tool to view your profile as someone else would see it
• Tools to ensure your information stays secure like double login approval
• Mobile versions of your privacy controls
• An easy way to download all your Facebook data
• A new apps dashboard to control what your apps can access
• A new app permission dialog that gives you clear control over what an app can do anytime you add one
• Many more privacy education resources

The FTC also hosted its fifth Twitter Chat on November 29th, 2011 to answer questions from the public regarding the settlement with Facebook, click here to view the transcript, with Twitter handles redacted. All tweets are visible to the public on the FTC Twitter account @ftc.

What do you think of Facebook’s response to the FTC charges and settlement?

Do you proactively manage your privacy settings on Facebook?

SEO Basics for WordPress

What is SEO?

How do most people find information today?

Via online search.

In fact, 98% of purchasing decisions are made today by visiting a business website first.

The higher you are in search results the more visible you are – so the more likely you are to be found by users on looking for something using search engines.

More visibility = more traffic

Search Engine Optimization refers to the process of analyzing your website and improving its visibility in search engines using organic or natural methods instead of paid or pay per click methods.

SEO is an acronym for Search Engine Optimization.

With “Traditional Marketing” – in person, conferences, tradeshows, publications, magazines, advertising, brochures etc. – we were at the “receiving” end of information that was provided to us by media companies, journalists, publishing conglomerates, and advertising/PR firms.

“New Marketing” – search, social channels, social networking, social media – is permission -based – it allows people to FIND you by virtue of the content, conversations and communities that you create, publish and participate in online.

That’s why people like social media and search engines – it allows people to participate in the process, and to find information that’s relevant to them, instead of being fed information that they may not want in the first place.

SEO and social media go hand-in-hand. With the popularity of social networks, people can now publish everything they think about – the result is a massive proliferation of information online – which means it’s become even more critical for people to be able to filter and find the information they need by searching – and finding- what they’re really looking for.

That topic is for another blog post – let’s keep it simple for now. The following 60-minute video explains SEO (How to optimize your WordPress website/blog) for WordPress with accompanying audio:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Download the Presentation Slides as a PDF – SEO For WordPress Part 6

What’s your best tip for improving SEO on your blog?

[Updated 11/20/2011] My favorite game when I was 8 years old was Monopoly. I loved the idea of owning property, building a kingdom, the risks and rewards – and I loved the rules. Taking turns to move around the board, getting paid if someone landed on your property, 3 turns to get out of jail without doubles and without a Get Out of Jail card…lots of options, lots of possibilities.

When you were a child, you naturally loved to play games. You learned the accepted pattern…and sometimes, you figured out what you could do to change the pattern and make it more interesting. Still fun, but more challenging, more stimulating and in particular – what worked for you.

So when my sister and I played Monopoly,  we decided to distribute and negotiate for the property cards at the beginning and create strategic alliances with other players to build our empires. We bent the rules to fit our needs, experimenting and trying something new. In the end, we enjoyed the game even more – and learned that it was ok to experiment and take a risk.

One of the biggest challenges we face when we become adults is that we’ve been taught to fit in and learn the rules of the game so well, that we become the rulekeepers, or gatekeepers. We stick to the rules because we want to be accepted, we want to belong. So we conform and live by the rules – particularly in business.

But one of the main reasons technology and particularly the Internet is so challenging is because it’s pushing forward and changing the rules of the game. The familiar rules of business transactions, relationships, marketing and communication are being transformed by the online world and how we communicate. Boundaries and edges are expanding every day. Social Media, Google, blogs, search engine optimization, Twitter, Wikis, podcasting, videoblogs – all these tools and myriads of others came into being and are constantly evolving and changing every day because someone, somewhere is willing to think outside the box and take a risk and try something new.

Do you remember when Yahoo! was the #1 search engine? The founders of Google, Sergey Brin and Larry Page, believed they could change the rules of search, even when Yahoo! owned the market - and Google simplified search to just a single textbox on a blank page. They upended the conventional, accepted way to search online, and in doing so, changed the game to fit their idea of what made sense.

There are those who are the gatekeepers – the rulekeepers and risk-minimizers.

And then there are those who are willing to challenge the status quo, ask questions, experiment and make a change - the gatejumpers.

But making a change requires courage, and the willingness to step outside our comfort zone – and in some cases face our fears. But the rewards of change can be tremendous – breaking new ground, building relationships with people we would never have otherwise met, gaining new insights, the satisfaction of creating something new or original, improving a business process, innovation and invention…

So take a small step forward. It’s ok to take a risk and think about how you might be able to change – or even break – a few rules. Are you dealing with your customers the same way you always have? Are you marketing the same way you always have? Maybe it’s time to give yourself permission to make a change.

When it’s your business, it’s your game, your name, your rules.

Are you a Gatekeeper or a Gatejumper?

This is the 2nd WordPress Workshop in an 8-part series on WordPress. This segment explains How to Setup and Install a basic WordPress website/blog. It also looks at the WordPress Dashboard, and some of the basic settings in WordPress.

This webinar covers:

You can watch the video and/or view the slide deck as a PDF.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view as a PDF

Click here to see Part 1 – An Introduction to WordPress

Click here to see Part 3 – Adding Structure and Content

I recently received a Facebook question from someone who’s become a volunteer Facebook Page Administrator for her son’s school – a question I’ve had a few times on how to post a comment to a Facebook Page as yourself if you’re the administrator of the page:

Q. Greetings Roohi, I hope this finds you well. I wanted to ask you this: I have become an administrator for my son’s school. Even when I am not signed on as the admin for using the page, if I want to write a comment on the school’s FB page it shows me as the school. Is there anyway I can keep my identity and be able to write comments on their page as myself? Thank you so much! - Kathleen McCauley Anast

A. Kathleen – thanks for the question! There are a couple of ways you can do this:

The first method is to post the comment from your personal profile:

1. From Your Personal Profile (Your Facebook News Feed)

Log in to your Facebook personal profile, and from your own News Feed, find the item and post the comment in response to the news feed item. This way, the comment will show up as yours, not as the Page adminstrator – the only catch is that you have to be on your own profile, and you have to find the item in the newsfeed – not always an easy task since there’s no “search” capability for newsfeeds or if the item happened in the past.

The second method to post a comment to a Facebook page as yourself is possible because Facebook actually provides a method to change your posting preference. I think this is easier for  Page administrators since you can do this from the Page itself and you don’t have to hunt and peck for the posts you want to comment on, like you do if you’re on your own News Feed.

Here are the steps, along with screenshots:

2. From the Facebook Page (As the Page Administrator)

Step 1. Go to Page Settings

Login to your business Page and click the “Edit Page” button.

Step 2. Your Settings

Click on the “Your Settings” link.

Step 3. Posting Preferences

Un-check the “Always comment and post on your page as…” box.

Click the Save Changes button.

Step 4. Go to Page Wall

Click on the “View Page” button to return to the Page wall.

Step 5. Comment from the Page

Now  go to the Page wall, and click on Comment below the post on which you want to comment. You’ll notice your own profile picture appear as the thumbnail, and you’re now able to comment as yourself.

And that’s it – you’re now able to comment as yourself on wall posts of Facebook Pages for which you’re a Page administrator.

This is the 7th WordPress Workshop in an 8-part series on WordPress. The topic is How to Create a Successful Blog with great content – “Content Is King”.

This webinar covers:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view as a PDF

Click here to see Part 1 – An Introduction to WordPress

Guest Post by Ann Mullen

According to a new Fall 2011 Small Business Attitudes and Outlook survey by Constant Contact, small businesses are becoming significantly more active in promoting their businesses and engaging with their customers using social media marketing.

Compared to a similar survey conducted earlier this year, 67% of small businesses cite ease-of-use as a major reason for the increase in social media marketing compared to 54% in the spring.

However, the low cost of social media is the principle reason business attitudes towards social media are changing, with 83% citing “low cost” vs. 72% in the Spring 2011 survey.

According to Constant Contact social media General Manager Mark Schmulen, “Small businesses are still learning how social media marketing can help them grow their customer relations. They’re realizing that it’s easy, affordable, and a great way to connect and engage with customers.”

While Facebook still holds the lead as the primary tool of choice , small businesses are increasingly turning toward Twitter for their social media marketing needs, with an increase from 47% to 60%.

In addition:

• A whopping 96% of all 2,000 small businesses surveyed in the Fall survey said they used Facebook as a marketing tool.
• Facebook’s value to small businesses increased, with 86% saying they find it effective, up from 82% in the spring survey.
• Marketing firms reported that only a little more than half their clients make use of social media.
• 60% of small businesses reported that they respond to all comments whether they are negative or positive.
• Website and email marketing remain popular as marketing tools at 98% and 95% respectively, however, online advertising (66%) and event marketing (55%) were also popular as part of the marketing mix.
• Social media is used as part of a wider marketing strategy, with offline ads 71% using print media and 55% holding events.

Schmulen states “Plain and simple, customers want small businesses to interact with them, whether that’s on email or via their social-media platform of choice, be it Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn.”

About the Survey

The Constant Contact-sponsored survey was conducted in October 2011 with small business owners and employees. Results include responses from 1,972 respondents across a range of business-to-business and business-to-consumer industries. Of the respondents, 87 percent of are located in the U.S. and 81 percent have 25 or less employees. 95% are Constant Contact customers.

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About the Author: Ann Mullen has been writing most of her life, including as many as 3 columns a week for a newspaper in South Texas. For the last two years, she has been learning and writing about websites, blogging and social media marketing.

Yes, this Youtube video of Dave Carroll and the story of his struggle with United Airlines for breaking his Taylor Guitar is from several years ago but worth re-posting – a great example of the power of the digital citizen and how one person can sway the opinion of millions with a simple, great story, imaginative delivery and a few clicks of a keyboard.

Click here to view the embedded video.