The Chiropractic Marketing System That Works - How to Use Facebook to Get 12 Patients Immediately

The most powerful chiropractic marketing tool for chiropractors is not hard to find nor does it cost thousands of dollars. It's something which you probably already have and which you can do yourself. It's Facebook! Incredulous? My client managed to secure 12 new patients within a week of marketing his practice via Facebook. He did it in three steps, and I will share these methods with you right now.

Why market your practice via Facebook?

Facebook is Massive: It seems the whole world is using Facebook. 200 million people have a Facebook account. This population equals that of the 8th largest country in the world! We are talking about a huge social networking community.

These users love Facebook: In a single day, the total amount of time that users spend using Facebook totals 4 billion minutes. At one point of the day, 100 million users are logged in to their accounts.

These users belong to your ideal market: Two-thirds of Facebook members are finished with college. Among these people, those 35 years old and up are rapidly growing in number.

The Viral Nature of Facebook: The average member on Facebook has been shown to have 120 friends. 

How big is this opportunity?

Let me put it this way. If you have 200 patients using your Facebook page to connect with you, you'll essentially be plugged into 24,000 potential patients!

Get started on this powerful marketing tool in three steps:

1. Get your patients to use Facebook

I knew that my client was losing a terrific marketing opportunity when he told me that he didn't have a Facebook account yet. He already had 500 patients he had seen over the years.

I told him to go create an account on Facebook.com - it's free and takes only minutes. The site then allows its members to import their contacts from their email account. It makes it easier to find their friends already on the site, or invite their contacts to join them.

2. Upload a video about your practice or a symptom you treat

Videos are always fun to watch and online video is exploding with growth. I recently read that the average YouTube user spends 21 minutes a day watching video. We're going to take full advantage of the curiosity factor of video. Facebook makes it very easy to record a short video and then post it to your Facebook page... and then the goal is to drive as much massive traffic to view the video on your Facebook page as we can.

After getting his contacts, my client uploaded a video entitled "The Chiropractic Solution: How to Stop Back Pain Without Surgery." It was only 3 minutes long and was filmed in his clinic while wearing his white lab coat and simply sat on a treatment table and talked into the camera. Then he uploaded the video to YouTube.

YouTube generates something called "embed code" that makes it very easy to paste your YouTube video into Facebook. Also Facebook has many tools for posting your YouTube videos in your Facebook account. In fact 10 million videos are posted to Facebook every month -- so videos are very popular on Facebook. 

3. Spread the news and drive the traffic!

The final step was to drive massive traffic to his Facebook page by generating excitement to view his new video. Patients love watching videos like this. I told my client to send an email invitation to his 500 patients with a link to his Facebook profile to check out the video. He strongly encouraged them to post a comment about the video to get them involved! This whole idea of "involvement" is a core psychological component to making your Facebook marketing gain traction. The more involved we can get patients with your Facebook page, the more business it will generate. 

To summarize, this sent two simple emails:

- An invitation from the doctor to use Facebook;

- An email with a link to view his video on his Facebook page.

Let's talk about the results of this three step system:

This doctor got 12 patients in a week because he drove patients to his Facebook page, got them involved, and teased them with his video.  Since we know statistically that the average Facebook user has 120 friends, this excitement led to patients, referrals, and reactivations.

What can you do to continue getting great results from your Facebook marketing? He ensured the growth of his results by uploading more videos and each time sending an email to his patients inviting them to check it out and comment. Each instance resulted in more clients or reactivations.

There's no denying the potential of Facebook as your chiropractic marketing tool. Today Facebook is the largest social networking site in the world. Creating a single account connects you to 200 million people - all potential clients. By following my three simple steps of getting contacts, creating a video, and getting site traffic, new patients and reactivation will come to you faster than ever. And it's FREE - can any other advertising alternative beat that?

Resource for this Article:

Learn 1,001 more chiropractic marketing tips that work like crazy to get new patients at: http://www.practicebuildingcenter.com

Thanks for reading! Good luck in your chiropractic marketing endeavors.
-- Ben Cummings

Facebook - The La Brea Tar Pits of the Internet

Let's suppose that it's 35,000 years ago and you're a Wooly Mammoth. You're casually lumbering along, as you like to do. It's a hot day, and you're thinking it would be nice to find a pond or something where you can wet yourself down, cool off, maybe take a long refreshing drink. You happen upon just such a spot. You look around, and there's nothing untoward, so you dip a little bit of your foot in, and discover that the water is pleasant. You're up to your ankles, and nothing unusual has occurred, so you wade in further and stand there, up to your knees, soaking and sipping, and generally enjoying yourself.

After a while, feeling very much invigorated, you decide to mosey on, maybe find some marsh grass to nibble upon for a snack. What you didn't notice is that while you were wallowing, distracted, you've been slowly and imperceptibly sinking in to a pit of viscous goo. By now you are well and truly stuck. You may thrash around and try to extricate yourself a bit at first, but eventually, exhausted and resigned, you are completely enveloped by the innocuous-looking Tar Pit.

As with the hapless mammoth, so is it with the innocent Internet user upon encountering Facebook.

Even trying to write about Facebook is difficult, because it is sprawling, addictive and idiosyncratic. It is cohesive and fragmented, frivolous and utilitarian, a boon to society and a scourge to productivity. In case you haven't noticed, I have mixed feelings about Facebook. This article doesn't purport to be a review or an endorsement, but more of an overview, and perhaps an introduction. I'll be that initial elephant foot dipped in the water. Whether you decide to wade in is up to you.

What is Facebook?

What is Facebook? If we ask our old friend, the Wikipedia, it will say this:

"Facebook, formerly TheFacebook, is a free-access social networking website that is operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc."

That's a start.

Free access: anybody can use it. You don't have to pay for it.

Social Networking Website: A website where people voluntarily share information with friends, family, colleagues, and total strangers, and join themselves into groups and affiliations of all different varieties and sizes (more on groups in a little while). Facebook is all about communication, and members interact with one another in several different ways.

[NOTE: In this article, I will be capitalizing Facebook as a proper noun. In the company's logo, it is spelled all in lowercase.]

When you first sign up with Facebook, you create a profile. The profile contains a whole range of information about you. You can decide how much or how little to share, and you can control who gets to see the information. The settings allow you to control the levels of privacy. Some of it can be for public consumption, or just visible to the people in your network, or just to members of specified groups of family or friends.

Your profile page is broken up into different tabbed sections. You click on the tab to make that section active. The main sections are: Wall, Info, Photos, and Notes.

Info is pretty much what you'd expect. When you begin with Facebook, you join different networks. The main one will probably be based on a geographical area, usually a major city. For example, I belong to the "Los Angeles" network. You can also join networks based on where you went to school, and the company you work for.

The information that you share can be as detailed as you want, from your gender and your hometown to relationship status, political leanings and religious views. There is room to list your favorite music, movies, television shows and books. Once again, all the information is voluntary, and you don't have to share it with anyone you don't want to.

Photos get uploaded to the Photos section. You can "tag" someone in your photo by clicking on the center of a face, and entering the person's name, so that the face is associated with the person. If the person is also a member of Facebook, that picture will be linked to their profile as well.

Notes is a section where you can write or attach text: a poem, essay, opinion, idea; anything.

Wall is the equivalent of a virtual public wall where information about you is available to your friends and group members (more on those in a moment - I promise). Every time you do something in Facebook, you can choose to have it posted to your wall. This is also where you can type a short message about your status.

More exciting terms defined: Status, Friends, Groups & the News Feed!

The Status box is an empty box at the top of the screen labeled "What's on your mind?" You can write anything you want in this box, and it is displayed on your wall and on your profile page. If you wish, you tell everybody that you just walked your dog, or had a really terrific plate of scrambled eggs, or that you're feeling cranky, or will be picking up shirts from the dry cleaners, or that you're upset with a political figure's recent speech, or that you liked a movie, etc. etc. etc. You may attach links to anything on the internet, should you want wish to share something you've found interesting. You can also attach pictures, and upload or link to videos. You are limited only by your imagination and your own sense of propriety.

I should say at this point, that there are rules governing what you can and can't link to or say. They're pretty basic and you agree to them when you create your Facebook account. They can also be found at the "terms" link at the bottom of every page. There has been some controversy in the past with regard to the ownership of intellectual property when you post your original content to the site. They've modified the terms based on the feedback from the community, and my impression is that they're not out to screw you. Nevertheless, if you have a legitimate stake in your intellectual property, as a writer or photographer, etc., it would behoove you to carefully go over the terms before you post anything. This, of course, is true when posting anything, anywhere on the web.

You can easily configure Facebook so that you can post status updates from your cell phone. This allows you to share text, pictures and video from out in the world. No longer must you be tethered to your computer, should you wish to share your thoughts and feelings!

After you've been using the site for a while, your Wall becomes a document mirroring your life and activities, thoughts and interests.

Friends is an important concept on Facebook. Think of a friend, relative, coworker or acquaintance with whom you would like to be connected. You can search for them by their name. If you find a match, you can invite them to be your Friend. If the other person assents, then you each show up among the list of approved friends for the other. You then have access to each other's full profile, and your status updates will appear in each other's news feed (explained very soon).

All of the information in your profile that you have labeled as being acceptable to share with your friends will be available in your friend's version of your profile. Similarly, your friend's profile information is now available to you. You may also become friends with someone if they initiate the process. If they do, you will receive an invitation to become friends with the other person. If you recognize the person and choose to become friends, you can accept the invitation and then you will show up in each other's friends list as well.

You can post messages and comments to your friend's public wall. These Wall-to-Wall messages show up on both of your walls. It's a quick and easy way to communicate with someone, but don't forget that it isn't private. Anyone with access to either wall will be able to see the exchange.

If you want to communicate more privately, there is a message system that will be familiar to anyone who has used web-based email. It works like a simple version of gmail or hotmail, and allows you to send private messages to any of your Facebook friends, or the people in the groups to which you belong. Speaking of groups...

Groups are collections of Facebook members with a common interest. Anyone can create a group for any topic. For any given group, the creator can choose to make membership available to anybody in Facebook, or they can restrict the group to membership By Invitation Only, meaning the group is searchable on Facebook, but members can only join with the permission of the group's creator. Finally, the group can be private. A private group won't show up in the Facebook search engine, and can only be joined by the invitation of the group's creator.

Here are some examples of just a few of the groups to which I belong:

Friends of the Walt Disney Family Museum
Bone Marrow Transplant Awareness
When I Was Your Age, Pluto Was A Planet
Californians Against Public Education Funding Cuts
Lost Timeloop Theory Fan Club
BookCrossing
Another main Facebook feature is called the News Feed. The News Feed is a page that posts updated status messages, pictures, and links from the friends in your friends list. It's like having a stock market ticker of your friends' lives.

Fun & Games

Besides updating your own status and keeping tabs on the status of your various friends, there are hundreds, perhaps thousands of different activities to occupy your time on Facebook.

Finding your way around on Facebook takes a little getting used to. The paths from one area to another, and the methods, for example, for sharing a link from your status box, or your wall, or your news feed are slightly different. If you need help, you can always post a question to your Facebook friends on your wall, and chances are you will quickly be inundated in advice. Facebook has a pretty good help system built in, and you can access it from the link at the bottom of most pages. There is also a search box in the upper right corner of each page. This is a good place to go if you are looking for a person, group, or application.

Although Facebook is free, you are continually exposed to advertising, mostly in a column down the right side of the web page.

Of course there is a chat feature. In the lower-right hand corner of the window, you can find a list of your friends who are currently online. By clicking on a name, you can start a text chat with someone.

There are thousands of quizzes available on Facebook, on every conceivable subject. If you want to discover which Disney Princess you most resemble, or which sandwich, Transformer, chemical element, Star Wars character, etc., there is a quiz for you. You can share your quiz results and compare them to your other friends who have taken the same quiz. The tools are available to make your own quizzes to publish and share, should you so desire.

One of the more bewildering Facebook applications lets you give and receive virtual "gifts" to your Facebook friends. The gifts come in thousands of varieties. You can choose birthday cakes, plants, buttons with slogans, furniture, motorcycles...anything you can imagine can be made into a gift and then shared. You can choose from existing gifts or create your own.

Another strange thing to do is to poke a friend. When you "poke" somebody, they receive a message that they've been poked by you, and they may opt to poke back. Then you will receive a message that you've been poked, and you can poke that person back again. It reminds me of two siblings in the back of a station wagon on a long trip: "If you kids keep poking each other, I'm going to turn this internet right around!" One friend came up with an explanation for this behavior that almost makes sense. Poking is just a way to let the other person know that you were thinking about them, which is a nice sentiment, I suppose. Poking on Facebook is less likely to cause restraining orders than in real life.

There are many many free applications available. Some are useful, some frivolous. You can keep track of events and birthdays with calendar programs that send you reminders of your friend's birthdays. You can maintain a list of the books you read, and share reviews with other members using applications like WeRead and Visual Bookshelf. Some of the applications are variations on simple games. They derive their income by getting you to play and exposing you to advertising. Some claim to be for a good cause, like saving the rain-forest, and others are simply for fun. In games like Lil' Green Patch, and Lil' Blue Cove, you collect and maintain plants, or fish, and send them to your Facebook friends.

There are travel games where you kidnap another player to a destination of your choosing, and they must answer a travel-related question to escape. You can trade salvos with a variety of water pistols or participate in an online pillow fight.

There are games where you unscramble words or manipulate shapes for points.

All of these games combine a participatory element, so that you can play with or against other Facebook friends.

The Big Wrap-Up

Facebook is so successful because of the social element: the ability to communicate with your social network. The site is well-known for reuniting people who haven't spoken in decades. It is an amazing tool for locating school-mates from the third grade, ex-girl and boyfriends, and faces from the past.

The idea of this seething community of people that you know, spread across the globe, busily pursuing their daily activities, living, loving, amusing themselves and each other, is what makes Facebook so addictive.

Before I wrap this discussion up, I would like to make mention of the potential business uses for Facebook. People and companies can speak directly with their clients, and maintain open lines of communication. Organizations can quickly and easily communicate among their employees through the use of groups as well. It gives a business new and immediate ways to connect to their clients.

Facebook doesn't really do any one new thing that can't be found elsewhere on the web. It is a success story because of the unique way in which it combines all the different elements. With over 200 million users, it has achieved a critical mass that allows it to leverage the affects of social networking. The site is still in its infancy, and exactly where it will go, how it will grow, and what new ideas and opportunities it will offer is open to speculation. It should be an interesting ride.

Meanwhile, come on in, the water's fine. Don't worry too much about sinking in the tar, you'll be entertained all the way down.

Larry Spinak is a professional computer consultant and tutor in Los Angeles, CA. He started his own firm in 1999, called CompuNerds.
? 2009 - All rights reserved

Facebook Business Applications and Marketing Tools - Even Create Your Own

The idea behind using Facebook as a venue for doing business is building a user base in the form of a community who respond to you as a person or to your product. If you just turn your page into one big advertisement, you are not going to get much in the way of a response. You need to educate people about the product without coming across as a hard sell.

You want to create the impression that you are here for socializing, not business. People will come to trust you and be more likely to buy your product or service if you can do this.

Facebook has built in tools which can be used to build your business. These include:

- Social Ads

- Pages

- Beacon

- Insights

- Platform

- Polls

These tools can help you to build awareness of your brand through Facebook and bring in potential clients. Needless to say, you are going to have to learn to use them effectively. Read on to find out how to harness these tools to build your business using Facebook.

You can learn how to take further advantage of these features by visiting the facebook website business section.

SOCIAL ADS

Social ads have a lot of promise for building your business since they can go directly to the news feeds of your Facebook friends. Anyone who is on your friends list will be able to get the word about your business right on their profile page.

This is also a very easy way of target marketing. You can control exactly who sees your ads - and target marketing is the way to get sales.

FACEBOOK PAGES

You can make a Face book page for a business, just as you would for yourself. This allows people to interact with and even become friends with your business. It is a great way to make a lot of people aware of your product and your brand who would not otherwise.

You know when someone becomes friends with your business on Facebook that you have a potential client; at the very least, they have shown some interest. People can interact with your business as they would with any of their other Facebook friends - they can leave comments and generally enhance the experience of a visit to your page.

You can use Facebook to your best advantage by adding features that will appeal to your target market and fit in with the brand image you are aiming to create. Quizzes, games, a Facebook group and so on.

FACEBOOK BEACON

Like social ads, Facebook Beacon gives you the ability to build your business by promoting yourself via your Facebook friends news feeds. You can set Beacon to notify all of your Facebook friends whenever you have a new product available, or any other sort of news or information you would like to disseminate amongst your Facebook friends. All you need to do is to add a little code to your Facebook page (this can be done by copy and paste, so no need to panic).

This encourages more interaction with your page, the website of your business and your company in general. This also helps get the word out about your businesses product or service.

Do not fret that you will be mercilessly spamming your Facebook friends and invading their privacy - they can opt out of these updates at any time they choose. You of course have the same ability for Facebook Beacon updates from others.

FACEBOOK INSIGHTS

If you are using facebook as a method of promoting your business you will of course want to know just who is checking out your Facebook page, clicking on your ads and joining your friends list. Facebook Insights is a tool which can give you a lot more detail on these sorts of statistics, which can help you to evaluate the efficacy of your campaign.

Armed with this information you can make the call as to whether viral marketing is working in your favor. Word of mouth is one of the best means of advertising and Facebook can facilitate it on a large scale. Facebook Insights lets you figure out what parts of your campaign are working and which are not as well as giving you valuable demographic information which will help you refine your campaign further.

FACEBOOK PLATFORM

Facebook Platform is an exciting tool for business indeed. Programmers can use this tool to build programs which will work with Facebook and add to the usefulness and fun of your Facebook page. If people like what you have on your page, they will spread the word and this build your client base.

You can add all manner of different applications to your site using this platform. Many opt for games, quizzes and other interactive features. You can have a look at the Applications page on the Facebook site to get an idea what sort of things others are using the platform for. These kinds of features can really help you build your brand image; take advantage of them.

FACEBOOK POLLS

Facebook polls can be a great way to gather demographic information from people using the site. Since you can make the poll interactive and fun to use, you'll have no trouble gathering data. Best of all, you can target your polling.

You can make sure your polls are targeted just where you want them to be since you already have access to some data such as marital status and age of your Facebook friends. This helps you keep your polling relevant.

Do not forget about these valuable tools - they can really help out your business.

Anyone who is willing to put in just a little bit of effort can make their own applications for Facebook. You just need to learn Facebook Markup Language - there are plenty of tutorials online which can help you learn the ropes of this quickly.

Remember to have a look through what is already out there in terms of Facebook applications before you develop your own. If everyone is already using a very similar application, not too many of your fellow facebook users will be enticed by it. Do something a little different if you want to grab the attentionof people.

CREATING APPLICATIONS FOR BUSINESS

With just a little bit of programming know how, anybody can make and distribute their own applications. You'll be doing this to build your business and it can make a big difference. Applications can really draw in people and keep them on your site. Games are especially popular and can build your brand while keeping users engaged and entertained.

You would be unwise to neglect the use of these applications available to you through Facebook. They can help get the word out about your business - and that is why you made a Facebook page for your business in the first place, no?

You will also be building a sense of community amongst all of these potential customers which will help you get sales.

Here are a few tips for getting the best results from your applications:

1) Make it relevant

In marketing, relevancy is everything. If your potential customers can not get into it, or if it is unclear how the application ties into your product or service, rethink your application.

2) Privacy policy

Even if they are on facebook to socialize, people still want their privacy to be respected. This is why there are friend lists and groups, to which one must be invited. Privacy is a natural human desire and Facebook facilitates this while still allowing for socialization. Remember to respect the privacy of users and retain that trust you have worked so hard to build with them.

3) Free distribution

Once your application is finished and ready to go, you will distribute it. You can do this by listing it on the site along with all of the other Facebook applications and then invite others to install it. If your facebook friends like your application, they will spread the word.

Leon Edward helps people to start, build, market and promote internet based home businesses and ways to earn money at home

Learn More about Facebook Business Applications at http://www.homebusinessit.com/facebookaplications

Learn the secrets to awesome success and wealth from the greatest minds in the field of personal achievement..Leon Edward recommends personal development training at [http://www.PersonalAchievementOnline.com]

Facebook Phenomenon

Facebooking

In February, 2004 a new phenomenon began; it was called Facebook. Since then it has had more than 58 million active members, number of members doubling every six months and each member logging in for an average time of twenty minutes. Basically, Facebook is a social networking website made for students. It has now been so popular that the first thing college students do after checking their email is to log into their Facebook account because they will have at least some emails from Facebook, if they have not disabled the automatic email feature. When you get in, there is no way out until you check all your friends' latest photos and comments on your wall. You might just start "Biting Chumps" with is an invitation for you to become a virtual Vampire, Zombie, Werewolf, Pirate, Ninja, Jedi or Sith. It is pretty complicated but I am sure at least 58 million people could directly relate to it. After an hour or so, you realize you have a research paper due tomorrow and regret about the time you wasted on Facebook. I believe Facebook is more than just for social networking. It is a means of connecting people and defining yourself. Due to Facebook's newly established booming identity, it is not just surfing the Internet anymore, it is "Facebooking".

Facebook has started a common culture among students. Nowadays, Facebook friends are nearly as good as friends in flesh. You go around your college and smile at people you recognize from Facebook. Which is one of the reasons for its rise in popularity. College life is a radical social transition from high school which makes it unclear for for the students. Facebook allows these students to meet thousands of other people in the same situation. I believe which is why students are eager to make Facebook accounts as a way to get connected with their new college community. It is easy to strike a conversation with someone about whom you know every information from zodiac sign to favorite movies.

The most common use of Facebook is for social networking. Days when you had to advertise for a party using fliers are over. If you missed it because no one told you about it, it is your fault; it was on Facebook. And people will not even feel guilty about not informing you in person. It is also a common method to talk about interesting things that happened in college. Once you check friends that are on-line you can start a conversation that might have taken place on phone or rather on person. You could discuss about class or just strike jokes. And the best thing is, you have lots of time to respond so you can think of million ways to make your response humorous or classy.

It is absolutely normal for college students to spend so much time on Facebook. It is a way out from the hectic college life into the "world of Facebook". It has become something for fun rather than studying- a new method for "time-pass". You can spend hours at it and not know about it. May be people used to watch movies or listen to music during such free time but now they "Facebook".

One of the reasons for the popularity of Facebook has to do with all the features on it. There are so many applications and groups and discussion topics that you feel that you are involved in something important. It seems as you are expressing yourself and not just wasting your time. For example if a Nepali is to come across a group called "Gautam Buddha was born in Nepal, not India" than it is sure to interest him because he has seen the site in Nepal were Buddha was born and has also heard ignorant people say that he was born in India. By joining the group he seems to have made a stance. He will not leave without leaving a comment on the "group wall" about his encounters on the subject after joining the group. And doing so makes him feel like being a part of something that is contributing for a cause.

One of the other causes for increasing popularity of Facebook is because it lets you get connected with your old friends from high school. People have many good friends in high school and Facebook is an excellent medium to get to know about what is going on in their lives. Facebook will let you know if they had a party because you will see a new uploaded photo album and then you can go on commenting on all the photos and then continue discussing the good old days you had.

Due to its phenomenal use it has now turned into a means to advertise yourself. And I believe it is one of the most important cause for such exponential growth of Facebook users. Everything on Facebook is rather public. It is interesting to see how people share such private information as their birth dates, cell phone numbers and addresses on Facebook. And even the conversation you had with your friend is public. I believe the most important reason for this is because everyone is screaming to get recognized and Facebook provides a platform for it. Facebook is no longer just for social networking. It is a way of advertising your self in your world. You could advertise about your "Relationship Status", or your political or musical views. There are certain features such as "status" and "mood" which are used specially for this reason which allows other people to know how you are feeling. It is a easy way to let others know about what kind of a person you really are. And since there are millions of other people that are Facebooking, you are sure to be seen.

Nonetheless Facebook has been a major phenomenon for college students. Its creator Mark Zuckerberg has become the youngest billionaire. This reflects the grandeur that Facebook has turned into. Whether the students call it social networking, "time pass", self advertisement, or a waste of time, it seems that Facebooking is to be for a long period of time.

Don't Stick Cotton Swabs in Your Ears, Delete Facebook!

Sometimes during your life, someone will give you good advice. You have choices, you can hear the advice or investigate the situation, or you can take the advice. This article is about some opinions, some facts, and some advice. You read in the title about cotton swabs but the article has not much to do with the swabs. This article is about Facebook and about the control that Facebook has over your free account.

What do cotton swabs and Facebook have in common? Control. The key is control. Facebook gives you hardly any control over your profile and the rest of your account. And when you stick cotton swabs in your ears, you lose control of your common sense. Every since the beginning of time, moms have been telling kids to keep away from the cotton swabs. Now this mom is telling you to stay away from Facebook unless you are going to alter your pages on Facebook.

Just recently I was reading about Facebook, their privacy report and how hard it is to delete your account. Being a skeptic, I tried to delete my own account also. It is harder to crochet a full size quilt. Facebook does not want yor account deleted. And one has to ask oneself why one single website needs that much control over a person's account First, a little background, you open a Facebook account and you believe that it is a social networking account, a place where you and your friends can get together, share stories, share book reviews and view each others' pictures while meeting other friends and business workers. It appears that way when you first open your account. Then, BOOM! Then you get to know what Facebook is really all about.

You receive messages from your friends that seem like friendly gestures and these messages say join or sign up with a different application. There are warnings all over the account (red flag number one) that these applications have nothing to do with facebook. Then there are warnings that you can block these applications. If you opt to join the application to your Facebook account, you are then told you need to send the same application to about twenty (Yes twenty!) of your friends or networkers). Seems that almost everyone on Facebook is sending out these applications and almost every send demands that you send that to twenty friends. Can you imagine the email list that this corporation is forming with all fo these lists of friends? You do not have to be a rocket scientist to figure out that Facebook and their affiliates are collecting emails for some reason or other.

Friends: This article is not about the friends. The friends that I had on Facebook are wonderful. This article is about privacy policy at Facebook, and it is about the nonsensical way that the applications insist that they obtain all of your friends email addresses to add a small application. This article is about the myths of Facebook and the truths that are really happening all over Facebook.

Tricks: Then you get the smart application that one of your friends send to you. This application boasts that you do NOT have to send this to twenty friends! Wow! You think, what a relief. So you press the button to check out this application and you ad to have it added, thinking that you do not have to send this to twenty friends. Then you hear the catch. You do not have to send this to twenty friends ONLY if you choose to participate in the endlist list of surveys that they send you. So there is the catch, participate in the surveys or send the application to twenty of your friends. (Does that sound like you are right back where you started from?).

Delete the Account: Ah, so you think that you can just delete your account when you want to? Better start now, and you will have your account deleted in a few years, maybe. Yes, I said years, and I said maybe. Under the pretext of making things easier for you in case you want to join Facebook again, Facebook insists that you delete each and every thing in your account FIRST and MANUALLY before they consider deleting your account. I have tried to do that in the past. It is like this, you delete something and you think it is deleted, yet in small print, Facebook tells you that somewhere else on Facebook that must be deleted again. Can you imagine going through this process if you have years of entries?

To finish their process, you might have to click tens of hundreds of thousands of times to finally clear out one Facebook account. Look at your friends list, look at your applications list, the wall, the other itmes connected to facebook! If you are the average Facebook member, you will take weeks or months to manually delete it all . And then Facebook can begin to delete your account.

Where is the Delete Button? It is not there. There is no listing in any of their sections to just delete the account. Finally after days of searching, you find the questions, How do I delete my account. The Facebook form letters give you more form answers, telling you you to manually delete all of your items, that means news sources, mini-feeds, news, messages, wall , and more. (If you have already delete these, you go back and send another message to Facebook stating that you have deleted all these. You wait, and you wait and wait some more.

Here is something from the tornado of privacy information that Facebook offers: They offer you the information that they are not responsible for ANYTHING at all that happens to you from your Facebook pages. Their privacy and contract instructions and information state that you are totally responsible for everything and anything that happens to you so they are not liable for ANY damages at all ever to anyone. (That is my wording but that is exactly what Facebook wants. They want out of any responsibility. In other words they have so protected themselves if you have any losses through Facebook, so much that they even put a dollar amount on it stating that you can't claim any more losses than $1,000. (This figure is as of this date of writing. Friday, March 14, 2008

More Tricks: When you try to delete some items, Facebook tells you that you can HIDE the items, but not delete them. Who ever heard of such a thing in any website? You go to delete and it tells you to HIDE it? Last time we looked, delete means to completely delete it and hide means something totally different. Hide means that these applications might be visible to facebook employees and others . (And probaly Facebook has hundreds of employees if not thousands. Do you really want all your personal information hidden rather than deleted? So, unwillingly , you hide all your personal information or whatever is not allowed to be deleted. And then you go back and email them again to say you ant you account permanently deleted. Still with me? The point I am making is that Facebook makes it almost impossible to permanently delete your account. They want you as a permanent customer. They figure at least one or two or more of your friends will convince you to stay with Facebook. If you have gone through this process, you have probably figured out by now that nothing will convince you to go back to Facebook.

Compare Other Websites: If you stop and compare other networking sites (there are plenty of them), you will see that other sites offer you more privacy and they offer a way to delete information and a way to easily delete your account. That is the way that it should be. There are many other sites that permit you to have more control over content.

Facebook is safe? Lots of the people we know, like Facebook because they think (That is THINK) Facebook is safer than other sites. And that could not be further than the truth. Facebook is a website and it is just as unsafe as any other ordinary webiste. They give it the impression, the look as if it is more busines-like (compare it to myspace.com) But what members do not realize is that Facebooks' business is collecting information and denying they have any responsibility to protect you or your friends. No one can or has proven that Facebook is any safer than any other site. So, be cautious on Facebook. Do not believe or think that this site is any safer than any other website. Any information that you type into that site can be obtained by any number of people, including by hackers.

Do You Want to Delete Your Facebook Account? If you want to do this, begin today by manually deleting each and every post,, picture, fun wall applications and any other thing connected to the Facebook account. Do not plan to delete it all in one day if you have hundreds of messages, but begin today.

Tricks for You: Here is a suggestion that you might or might not want to take. Have you thought of deleting all the messages and then posting a message on your fun wall, stating , I am deleting my account due to privacy policies of Facebook and due to the fact that Facebook makes it very difficult to delete items permanently. I am deleting my account on Facebook because I do not like an account that gives me little or no control over my privacy). You can write whatever anti-Fcebook statemnts that you like in your facebook account -as long as it is legal. , to express your opinion of Facebook. Now that might even help you get your account deleted, who knows? I can not imagine that Facebook would want all your negative publicity on your site. Remember type in there only what is legal. If you do this remember not to add any friends and not to add any other applications , gifts, or pictures.

Write and tell me if you are successful in deleting your Facebook - if that is what you want.

The author of this article has had many works published in the USA. She has traveled extensively throughout the East Coast and through the South while observing people and writing about life and everything that is in it. She writes about various topics that interest readers across the nation and all over the world.

How to Use the Facebook Like Button on Your Website

One of the questions we're hearing a lot these days is: "What's this Facebook 'like' button all about?" Once we explain it, the next question we get is: "How quickly can I get that on my website?" So I decided to write out an explanation for how it's done that anyone can read, understand and put into action for their own website.

Here are a few quick questions we often find ourselves answering that have quick answers:

Icons - Do I need to have a Facebook account to be able to add the "Like" button to my website?

No, you don't. Anyone can add it regardless of whether or not they have a Facebook account. Click here for our easy step-by-step guide on how to set up a Facebook account.

What are some of the key benefits to creating a "Like" button?

There are several very important reasons to get this like button on your website. Here's a list of a few of them:

* The Facebook brand carries with it a sense of safety, authority, trust and familiarity. Having their logo and a connection to them on your website will make your site look and feel more legitimate and trustworthy in the eyes of Facebook users. This is massive in building credibility, increasing traffic and driving sales.

* Your website has a chance to go "viral" as friends recommend you to their friends who then recommend it to other friends, etc... As the saying goes: "birds of a feather flock together" and this can be a fantastic way to penetrate your niche and have your customers spread the word in a low commitment way for them that can build amazing results for you.

* One great part of it is how much Facebook charges for it - nothing! That's right, it's free. A free advertising tool that relies on referrals and recommendations (we all know the value of those).

* A seismic shift is starting to happen and Facebook is squaring off against Google and looking to overtake them as the internet's number one search engine. This won't happen overnight, but it's wise to align yourself with Facebook early on so that you can get brownie points from Facebook for having got in on the ground floor.

So, now that you know what's at stake, here are some more general questions we get asked by people like you all the time. The answers are important for getting your head around how it all works - in simple terms.

What is the Facebook "Like" button?

The Facebook like button is used in two general places. One is on the Facebook site, the other is on sites outside of Facebook. For the most part we'll be discussing the button you can put on your website, but I'll just take a moment to talk about the like buttons on Facebook.

The like button on Facebook is a button you can click on after looking at pretty much any content on Facebook. This could be a friend's photo, a comment a friend has made or even a group or application. The fact that you have "liked" these things is then reported in your friends' news feeds. If you have "liked" a page on Facebook for a product, community, etc... then they can send you updates and information from them will appear in your news feed.

The like button we're most interested in is the one you can put on your website. This is the one you can often see when you visit a website online, and it looks like this:

The one on the left is the i-frame version and the one on the right is the JavaScript version, but we'll get into that later.

When someone visits a website with this button on it, they can click on it to let their friends know that they like the site. After clicking on the button they'll have a pop-up asking them to login to Facebook (or sign-up if not already a member). Once they've logged in, they'll see the button on the right above, which shows which of their friends like that page, along with their friend's profile picture. After clicking the like button, a story will be posted automatically to their Facebook page telling their friends that they like the site!

If the button has been set up correctly, the website can also be placed on other parts of the Facebook user's profile by using "tags". So if, for example, someone is looking at a webpage about their favourite movie and they click the like button. That movie can then be added to that person's profile under "interests". There are many categories you can tag.

How do I put the Facebook "Like" button on my website?

This is where it gets slightly more complicated - but only slightly. There are two kinds of like buttons you can add to your website. One, which is much more simple, is known as the i-frame. This button is simpler and gives users less information about who, specifically, likes your webpage. With this option, users won't get to see their friend's profile pictures pop-up and the button is far less customisable.

laptop

The second option is JavaScript. This one is harder to add but allows users to see their friends' profile pictures and names pop-up which makes a huge difference in terms of emotional connection and trust building. The JavaScript button also allows the user to write a comment about your page that will be shown to their friends. The i-frame just shows the link, whereas the JavaScript will show positive comments that can be worth their weight in gold.

To get the "like" button put on your just head on over to Facebook's page that's designed to help you add the like button to your site. They have some explanations there on how to add the button with lists of all the options and how to implement each one. It takes a bit of programming experience and know-how that anyone with a web design background can have up and running in less than an hour.

However, if you're interested in using the JavaScript options to really leverage the full power this button can unleash, or if web programming isn't something you're overly familiar with and you'd like some help then you can get someone else to get someone else to set up your Facebook like button exactly the way you want it.

Christian Thurston (along with the rest of the Internet Marketing Solutions team) is a leading expert on Facebook. For in-depth analysis, advice and insights into how Facebook operates and what this means in the context of the internet and how Facebook effects businesses, other social media and individuals alike, go to http://www.adsforfacebook.com/the-facebook-like-button.php.

Enhance Your Brand - Create a Facebook Page

A large and growing number of some of the most valuable demographic groups are devoting more of their attention to Facebook versus other media channels. With 300 million active users and counting (plus 500,000 new users every day), Facebook is no longer just a virtual community for college students to share photos and news with their friends. Adults and professionals from around the globe have embraced the platform, including 90 million in the U.S.

This has businesses large and small asking themselves: Will Facebook really help my business? Does my company need a Facebook Page?

Why is Facebook Important to Marketers? Facebook offers a unique marketing opportunity for businesses. More and more people are migrating to social networks, and that's where they're choosing to research companies, products, and services. Marketing on Facebook has a viral effect, as it does on most social media sites.

Microsoft's recent partnership with Facebook to integrate Facebook updates with Bing paves the way for more real-time search results. Google likely will do the same with Facebook in the near future. So having an understanding of Facebook can open up new ways for marketers to reach out to their audiences and brand themselves.

Consider some of the benefits of using Facebook as a business branding tool:

Customer acquisition: As people become fans of a company's Facebook page or post comments on it, they get a notice posted on the wall of their own page -- where their networks see it. This increases visibility, and the viral aspect often leads to new fans. Facebook pages can also be linked to other social networking sites, increasing a brand's reach.

Customer interaction: Facebook provides a forum for dialogue between a brand and its customers. This enables companies to build better relationships and to demonstrate to their customers that they care about what they think.

Reputation management: Direct contact with customers via comments and feedback helps companies gain a deeper understanding of how their brand is perceived online and offers an avenue for brand enhancement and, if need be, damage control.

Traffic generation: As traffic increases on a company's Facebook fan page, traffic to the its Web site increases, too. Facebook Pages also appear in search results.

Targeted advertising: Facebook ads enable businesses to advertise an event, a Web site, a product - any content, really. Companies can target the reach of their ads by gender, age, interests, and location. With custom filters, Facebook automatically updates the count of people who fit the criteria and gauges the size of the target market on Facebook.

Increased exposure: An important reason to invest time in creating an engaging page is that all the activity of your fans (from becoming a fan to posting a comment) is shared with a greater network.

Branding: In addition to a company's Web site, a good Facebook Page can create brand awareness for new audiences and reinforce it for current customers by sharing valuable information with its fans and emphasizing the company's position in its industry. Developing and nurturing an active community enhances a brand.

It's free: What's not to like about using a new, viral channel for customer interaction without paying a cent?

Here are three brands that have embraced the Facebook Pagesplatform and successfully leveraged it to engage their audiences and create a real community for their fans:

Starbucks (5 million fans)

Pizza Hut (1 million fans)

Pringles (2.8 million fans)

9 Things to Think About As You Create a Facebook Presence For Your Business:

Start with a strategy: Just like any kind of marketing, having a solid strategy in hand from the beginning is key. What is your message? Who are you targeting? What's in it for them? How will you reach them?

Be creative: You need to have a strong creative execution. What is exciting or interesting to your customers/friends/fans? How does your page content add value? Creative execution includes sharing photos and videos, running contests and promotions, having lively conversations with members, and doing things that are just plain interesting that will keep your fans coming back.

Engage with your fans: Many businesses create a fan page, invite people to join, and then seemingly forget that the page exists. Active fan engagement is the key to an effective Facebook presence. Have a content plan in hand that's engaging and germane to your target audience. What will you post? When will you post it? How will you inspire your fans to participate? Don't just create a page - create an engagement plan.

Communicate consistently and frequently: The most successful and fruitful social media campaigns promote a strong message that is repeated often and is consistent in voice and tone. This increases brand awareness and sales potential by keeping your brand messaging top of mind with your target audience.

Own your fan page: Some company fan pages are created and managed by an actual fan instead of the company. Fans expect company pages to be run by the company itself, and they want the company to play an active role. Issues around having a fan own a company's page might not immediately present themselves, but not having control of a brand's messaging might cause problems down the road - even if the owner is the company's biggest fan.

Monitor discussions: It looks pretty bad when a business is inactive and doesn't respond to its fans. It's important to monitor your fan page for activity and respond to relevant questions and comments. It's a good idea to have someone who is dedicated to this effort and empowered to engage on behalf of the company.

Pay attention to analytics: Facebook fan pages offer analytics and insights, so you can learn how engaging your page is. These great tools will help you understand what is and isn't effective, aiding you in your efforts to constantly improve and refine your page.

Don't focus on the number of followers/friends/fans: Many businesses focus on the number of fans they have. This measure lacks relevance, since it's not difficult to get followers or fans. These numbers shouldn't be used as a key metric - what matters is how you engage your followers. A balanced approach measures what's really important based on your strategy.

Be transparent and honest: The importance of establishing integrity, honesty, and transparency up front cannot be overstated. Once credibility is lost, it's very difficult to get it back.

The Takeaway Facebook has quickly morphed from a fad into a highly effective business tool. If you have the time to devote to building and using social media for marketing, Facebook may have potential for your company. It can be a powerful avenue for establishing and enhancing a strong online brand identity.

Pam Dyer is a Seattle-area marketing professional who is very interested in social marketing. The advent of social networks and the ability to engage customers in all sorts of new ways for branding, advertising, PR, and CRM can be a boon to companies that are willing to embrace it. Her blog, Pamorama ( http://www.pamorama.net ) covers all of these topics and more.

The Basics of Building Facebook Applications

The ubiquity of Facebook is hard to ignore. It started as a local service that helped college students connect and has expanded into a worldwide phenomenon with millions of users accessing Facebook and associated applications every day. The size of the Facebook audience makes it a compelling platform for developers as does the versatility of the site. There are a wide range of applications already being used on Facebook and the possibilities for new applications are limited only to the developer's imagination. So let's discuss some of the basics when it comes to building Facebook applications.

In the Beginning

Any developer who is hoping to write or install Facebook applications must first have his or her own Facebook account and then must install the developer application. Facebook's developer application allows you to create, monitor, and configure applications. In addition, you'll need to secure yourself a server as Facebook applications run form the developer's server. The benefit of this is that you can write the application in whichever language you know best. For the sake of simplicity, examples in this article will use PHP but the process is the same regardless of the language you use.

Once you have your Facebook account, have downloaded the developer application, and have your server ready to go, you'll be ready to start developing your own applications. Still, having a bit of understanding of the Facebook platform will help you during the creative process. First and foremost, the fundamental components of Facebook are clearly outlined on their developer site. Essentially, the platform is made up of three parts: API, FBML, and FQL. Of course, APIs determine the ways in which you can connect to and interact with Facebook. FBML is the custom Facebook markup language which has basically be modeled around HTML. While similar to Coldfusion or ASP.NET and associated tag-based syntax, FBML helps you to define the pages of your application specifically for the Facebook Platform. And finally, FQL is the Facebook Query Language which is also a customized developer language for Facebook that is based on SQL. FQL is especially useful when there are no helper methods in the API but can also be used for tags in FBML giving developers an incredible amount of control over the details of their application.

Facebook Development Tools and Resources

Like any development applications, Facebook features a range of tools and resources that can help developers in a number of ways. Apart from the core documentation, tools can also help you debug raw API calls or tweak the FQL. With Facebook resources you'll find a collection of libraries for PHP and Java as well as links to other libraries like ActionScript, Cocoa, Coldfusion,.NET, Perl, Python, and Ruby. In addition, Facebook has an ever-expanding community wiki that can help answer any questions you may have about the details of developing Facebook applications. Because Facebook is a fairly complicated social media network, pages often feature layers upon layers of detailed information and it is certainly in the best interests of the developer to become familiar with FBML and API. Indeed, FBML and API allow you to manipulate a lot of this information so a more in-depth understanding of these tools and the terminology used on the site. Experienced Facebook users, for example, will know the difference between the News Feed and your Profile page and so should developers.

Step-by-Step Guidelines for Creating an Application

At this point, let's discuss briefly the stages involved in building a Facebook application. Of course you'll need to get the Facebook Developer Application to begin but from here there are some basic principles that should help guide you through the process.

1. To begin setting up a new application select the "Set Up New Application" option in the developer application. You'll want to name your application and you'll also need to accept the Terms of Service. Your API key is used so that Facebook can recognize your application and your application secret are used so that Facebook can authenticate your requests. Choose a secret that is easy to remember and also difficult to hack as you would with any online password.

2. The next step involves configuring a number of settings before starting to write code. Under the "Edit Settings" section you can enter support and contact information, including your email address.

3. A callback URL is required and this would need to be the address where your application is stored on the server.

4. A canvas page URL is also required and this tells us where your application is stored on Facebook. Developers usually want to match their canvas page URL with their application name so that it's easy to remember for users. This URL must be a minimum of 7 characters long and can include only letters, dashes, and underscores.

5. Next, Facebook will ask you whether your application can be added on Facebook, obviously you'll want to say "Yes."

6. To continue developing your application click "Save and Continue."

While these are the most basic steps for creating a simple application, configuring your application to your host still needs to be completed. Nevertheless, experienced developers will find it an extremely straight forward exercise to develop Facebook applications. The process is streamlined and simple so as to encourage the addition of new, interesting, and interactive applications from a broad developer community. Regardless of culture, language, or location applications can be easily uploaded for the enjoyment of the massive Facebook audience.

Moonrise Productions is a full services San Francisco web design company. They offer complete design services, social network web development, ecommerce development, social network hosting and more. With New York, San Diego, San Francisco and a Los Angeles presence no matter where you are, we've got people to serve you.

Why Facebook is Re-Writing Marketing Books

Imagine you had a party that got reported around the world. A party that never took place at all.

So here's what the fictional party looked like.

"A birthday party invitation posted on the popular social websites Facebook and Bebo attracted some 400 guests and gatecrashers.

The birthday girl, British 16-year-old Jodie Hudson, and her mother Amanda learned too late the disaster the online invitation would cause to their luxurious Marbella vacation villa. The villa suffered ruined walls, destroyed carpets, and broken banisters,doors and furniture.

And apparently they threw a TV into the swimming pool." As I said: The party never happened.

But month after months parties such as this do happen.

If you were to trundle down to downtown Auckland you'll find hordes of party-goers. They turn up. They drink. They dance. They socialise. And more importantly they don't destroy furniture or throw TVs into the harbour.

And the primary source of attraction isn't an email newsletter.Or posters plastered all around town.Or someone making a call to invite you to the party.
Amazing as it may sound to your ears, it all happens on Facebook.

But surely Facebook is for a younger demographic, you argue.

And again, you'd be a lot of the mark.

Because savvy marketers across the planet are using Facebook to gain supporters and customers. And contrary to what you may believe, the demographics of Facebook has changed rapidly. Suddenly, it's your customer that's on Facebook: And he/she is no teen.

But how do we know this to be true?

There's proof, of course, but let's see why Facebook seems to work better than email or other media. The biggest reason why Facebook works is because it's a lot like how you get business offline. If you look at about 80% of your business, you'll notice one striking fact. That the chunk of your business comes to you via word-of-mouth.

And that's how Facebook works.
You post your Facebook profile.
And people find you.
God knows how they find you, but they do.

And the reason why they find you is because your customer is doing all the hard work. Because it's so easy to put up a page on Facebook, most people do. The next thing they do is populate the page with things they like. And some of the things they like are things that you sell.

So let's look at the examples:

1) Gail Martin: Author of Science-Fiction books.
2) An Auckland DJ who wanted to prevent bars from closing at 3am.
3) Barack Obama who wants voters to show up--and vote for him.
4) SpyBar that has theme-events that attract party-goers.
5) The All Blacks that gets support for the Tri-Nations Trophy.
6) Auckland Salsa Freaks for people of all ages to learn a new
dance move.

So let's expand on three of these many examples

Example 1: SpyBar
In the past, SpyBar used to use email newsletters to generate traffic to their events. Despite sustained efforts, their email list grew slowly. This is because it required party-goers to get to SpyBar's website and then register.

Traditional methods such as printing posters, and sending out physical invites were costly and time-consuming.

Facebook has none of these constraints.

The party-goers were already visiting Facebook on a regular basis. And were just one click away from landing on the SpyBar Facebook page. What's even more interesting, is that in almost every case, it was the party-goers themselves, that introduced their friends to the SpyBar Facebook page.

Result:
Whenever Spybar has an event, all they have to do is post their event (and posters) on Facebook. And send a notification to all their Facebook friends. Immediately there's a response. Party-goers have an RSVP mechanism that enables SpyBar to then gauge the numbers of likely attendees.

Example 2: Gail Martin: Pre-selling Science Fiction Books

Most publishers do diddly squat for their writers. In most cases,publishers will promote the super-star authors, and leave the rest of the authors to do their own marketing. Gail Martin uses Facebook by getting onto Science-fiction sites and driving visitors from there to her Facebook site.

This enables her to build a 'database of friends.' And when a new book is about to be released, she can not only create a buzz around the new book, but can also use Facebook friends to promote her book to their friends.

Because a large number of her books sell in the gift-giving period running up to Christmas, she can then manage a campaign that not only gets her speaking engagements, and book-signings, but also push up the sales of her book at just the right time.

And a lot of this activity is simply done by the 'friends'. All Gail has to do is send out one notification. Then friends take over, telling friends. And the ball starts rolling.

Example 3: An Auckland DJ who's against bars closing at 3am

On 10 July 2008, Auckland Police decided to submit a plan - which would dramatically alter Auckland's nightlife - to the city council with a plea for the 24-hour licensing policy to be brought into line with other districts.

Immediately an Auckland DJ, decided to put together a group on Facebook. This group would be dormant unless the plan went forward.The Auckland city council shot down the plan, but well over 1000 people had already signed in to the Facebook page, ready to protest should they be deprived of their vodka and martinis at 3am.

Facebook as you can see, is a group-building activity

Most pages were initially set up just to meet others online. But that situation has morphed into something bigger. If you're selling ice-cream as Movenpick does, you can start up an Ice-Cream Lovers Event.

If you're selling bread, as Baker's Delight does, you can start up a group that adores Cheesymites. If you're selling real estate, you can literally do open-homes for specific houses online, separating each group based on the type of house they prefer.

But there's always the question: How do you get started?

There are three core ways to get started.
Method 1: If you've got a online list
Method 2: If you've got a offline list or retail establishment.
Method 3: If you don't have a list of any kind. Or no store.

If you've got an online list, email them and ask them to join be your Facebook Friends. And yes, send a reminder or two as well. That will build up your Facebook list quickly. With an offline list, you can do the same. And make sure that you entice customers with some goodies, so that they can go online and register.

But what if you don't have a store or any online list for that matter? Well, you simply find other lists. Gail Martin gets traffic from other sci-fi sites. The Auckland Dj simply tapped into various bars lists on Facebook. Yup, it's indeed possible to visit other sites and simply invite friends over.

Yes, Facebook is just another way of marketing. But what makes it entirely different from other methods is the instant word-of-mouth appeal.

That alone should make you investigate.

Next Step:We're on FaceBook too-for a reason. Just look up Sean D'Souza FaceBook

?Psychotactics Ltd. All Rights Reserved.

Do you want to learn 'How to create headlines that work'? Click to get access to a free report on Why Headlines Fail

Facebook Payday - Making Money on Facebook - An Honest Review

Do you know one guy made over 1 million in one week on Facebook? It's true.

The purpose of this article is to give a honest review of the new product "Facebook Payday" by Peter Koning. I have had the opportunity to take a look at the material in the pre-launch, and because of that, I want to give you my impressions.

There are so many ways and angles to make money online today....everything from gambling online to selling items on eBay or Amazon.

If you are into making money online, one of the areas that is often over looked are the social networking communities. There has been a lot written on MySpace and other social communities, and how to connect with people and promote your business, however, there has been little mention of Facebook...the monster of all social network communities...until now.

The numbers are staggering:


More than 63 active users
An average of 250,000 new registrations per day since Jan. 2007
An average of 3% weekly growth since Jan. 2007
Active users doubling every 6 months


These numbers are phenomenal, and for opportunists there is gold in those numbers. In fact, if you reach only 0.1% of their active members, you'll be reaching 100,000 people. That's almost an entire city of new people for you to meet. Not only that, these people are interconnected because of the relationships they've established on Facebook.

Peter Koning in Facebook Payday provides you with all the techniques that he has used to build up an enormous online business. For those who are open to social networking online, making money on Facebook can be very profitable to you. The Facebook Payday gives you all the monetizing application tools, relationship building strategies, as well as a full template and flowchart on different methods to promote your online or offline business.

What You Get With "Facebook Payday" -

1. Three Bonuses:


Facebook Primer eBook with all the applications needed to monetize your Facebook profiles
Facebook Social Ads eBook. Peter Koning bought the resale rights to this product and adds this as a bonus.
8 Interviews with Facebook pro's - Fahad Maniar, Mari Smith, Mike Geary, Paul Renner, Ron Reed, Rhoberta Shaler, Steve Iser, and Beverly Trca-Kitchen.
A Reed Floren lost interview.


** Interviews are available in audio or transcript format for you to download.

2. The Main Facebook Payday eBook itself, which is 101 pages in length, and comes with an additional Facebook Payday Action Worksheet pdf.

This is not one of those shallow info. products that is a waste of time and money. Peter Koning leaves no stone unturned as he reveals all of his secrets and gems in making money on Facebook. Facebook Payday goes over:


Selling Products on Facebook
Marketing on Facebook
Online Advertising on Facebook
Selling Services on Facebook
Build Your Own or Monetize Existing Applications
Investing


I found that the greatest benefit in Facebook Payday are the social networking strategies that lead to a "call to action" and making money. As well, there is an extensive discussion on driving traffic to your profile and then ultimately to your product sites. Using private messaging, walls, virtual gifts, discussion threads, joining networks, and more, are all ways to social network with people to build your business.

I can't tell you here, as I'm sure Peter K. would send his lawyers on me, but he reveals a special application that will allow you to sell affiliate products and get paid on your Facebook profile and sites. Not only that, but Facebook Payday advises you on what type of services or products to promote and sell on Facebook.

If you have an existing online business (or offline), and your looking for ways to promote your business, Facebook can give you an endless stream of customers knocking on your door with credit card ready in hand. With over 63 million active members, do you think you can find a few business partners?

Of course you can...and if you want to get a "piece of the pie," and want the best Facebook strategies, then I highly recommend Facebook Payday.

Discover how to generate an easy $20,000 per month with Facebook Payday

Click here to find out the precise details

Facebook Lite Unveiled - Stealing Twitter's Thunder

Facebook Lite has been the newest Facebook makeover in which the social network has become a lot more simplified. How is this affecting social media optimization? Many believe Facebook Lite has been introduced as a direct competitor to Twitter's minimalistic look. Before, it used to be that social networks with more applications, options, preferences was better. Facebook was winning that race by far, with hundreds of different applications you could choose from as compared to other social networks which had just a handful. Facebook also had more detailed privacy and profile settings and a variety of options on how you wanted to display your profile. Now marketing has seen the popularity switch from more to less with people enjoying Twitter's simple look and the idea of a limited character micro blogging service.

There have been some significant changes in the new Facebook. Facebook Lite does not have any applications like the regular Facebook does. Facebook Lite allows you to tag the friends in your network if you mention them in a status update. When you mention a friend from your friend's list while typing a status message, Facebook Lite provides you a drop down menu of friends with that name so you can tag the friend mentioned. The person who you tagged in your status update is then notified, just like if you tagged a friend in a photo on regular Facebook. A lot of people take time to "get Facebook" when they first join. There's so many applications, choices, options, features that it can leave someone new quite confused and frustrated. First time I dealt with Facebook I think I had to sit for a good couple hours clicking on random tabs to figure out what they all did and how I get back to where I began from. With experience of using this social network you get a hang of it. I think Facebook Lite is a way to end this problem and provide users with a faster simpler version of Facebook if they choose.

I think this is the first time Facebook has renovated in such a way so that they can offer two different versions to their users instead of one version that people may or may not like. I say this is smart marketing strategy. It's like a beginner's version (Facebook Lite) and an advanced version (regular Facebook) If you can handle and enjoy the complex nature of Facebook, you can go ahead and use the regular Facebook. If you like a simple Twitter like feel to it, then go in for Facebook Lite. I think from the Social Media Optimization point of view, businesses and corporations will prefer the regular Facebook as it gives them more leeway to provide information and entertainment to their followers. Last year Facebook had unsuccessfully tried to buy out Twitter. Since then, Facebook has done the next best thing and copied Twitter's minimalistic appeal. But even then Facebook's networking is still quite different from Twitter.

People connect with each other on Facebook generally if they are acquainted with each other or are friends. Connections on Facebook depend on one person connecting with another and if they accept, you are then connected to the same network. Then both parties get status information and updates about each other. Twitter works differently in that you can choose to follow random people or people you know. Anyone you choose to follow is not obligated to follow you back. You don't have to know them or be friends with them, you follow them if you're curious enough to want to know about their activity. Twitter has received a lot of publicity for celebrities and businesses using this social network as a way to reach out to their fans while also maintaining their distance.

Twitter and Facebook are both popular social networks that have been utilized by companies for their Social Media Optimization campaigns. There's not much we can predict about the impact of Facebook Lite at this point. It might be the newest rage or it might just not catch on. It will be interesting to watch and see how much people enjoy using Facebook Lite and what Twitter users have to say about the new Facebook.

You can check out Facebook Lite on your own by going to http://www.lite.facebook.com

Pragmites Consulting offers Social Media Optimization assistance along with search engine optimization, web 2.0, website design and other Internet marketing services. Pragmites Consulting is a distinguished offshore Internet Marketing consultancy with clients from all over the world. Please visit http://www.pragmites.com for more information and details.

5 Ideas For Making Money With Facebook

How to make money with Facebook? Is it really possible to make money with Facebook? It seems like making money with Facebook is on everybody's mind these days. If you are one of those people who want to know how to make money with Facebook, here are some ideas to help you get started in making money on Facebook.

These methods don't require you to buy anything or pay someone to tell you the "secrets". As a matter of fact you can start making money with your Facebook right now without having to spend any money at all. These are no "secrets" for making money on Facebook. Simply some very basic methods that people use to make money elsewhere, but with a little work and patience you can apply the same methods to make money on Facebook.

Of course, like any other method to make money, you need a market for it. In this case the market would be Facebook friends. The more Facebook friends you have, the more chance you have of making (more) money. What if you don't have much Facebook friends? Fortunately it's very easy to create a massive market (friends for Facebook) simply by searching and inviting others to be your friend. But, if you want to take it to the next level and automate the finding and adding friends process, there are some software that can do just that.

Ok, lets get to the point and see how you can make money on Facebook. Here are some proven ways you can use to make money on Facebook.

Showing ads on Facebook

With all the Facebook applications that make it easy and a snap to start showing ads on your Facebook, there is no excuse for not taking advantage of this method, specially if you are popular amongst your Facebook friends, and have a big audience to show your ads to. Using AdSense, chitika and other PPC advertising companies you can easily setup your ads and customize it to your liking. Make sure to set it somehow that it serves ads related to product and services that you know your Facebook audience is interested in.

Writing a Facebook book (How To...)

Facebook is attracting more and more members everyday. And lets face it, not all of these people are Facebook savvy. And even though getting started with Facebook for you and I might be simple and quick, many people have problem with the basic things. Write a small and to the point e-book about Facebook and how to use it. Maybe a simple step by step instruction for getting started with Facebook. Or an e-book about how to use different application to make Facebook experience a better one. There are many possibilities. With the huge amount of Facebook apps and all the new ones that are added daily, this can be quite big. You don't even have to pay to promote your e-book, simply use your own Facebook or better yet create one for your e-book and start promoting it.

Affiliate marketing on Facebook

It's the same idea as showing ads, but in a more direct way. Register for free with affiliate networking sites such as ClickBank, Maxbounty and etc, and pick a product relevant to your Facebook audience interest to promote. You will be provided a simple code which is a link with your affiliate id embedded in it. Whenever someone clicks on that link and buys the product or service, you make money by getting a commission.

You can create an entirely new Facebook for that product and start promoting it there. A friend of mine is actually doing it for 4/5 different weight loss product. He created a Facebook page for each product and started adding friends to his Facebook. He writes short posts about the product and posts it on his Facebook with his affiliate link in it. Hi is making a couple of hundred dollars a month doing this. I know it's not much, but for something that doesn't cost you a dime and takes about 30 minuets to setup, and takes about 20 minutes or so a day to run, I don't think it's a bad deal.

Blogging about Facebook

There are already some people doing it. But there is always room for new voices. Get a free blog over at blogger and use Google AdSense (which is already integrated in blogger, so even if you don't know how to show ads on your blog, you can set it up with couple clicks) to show ads on your blog and make money that way.

When you established yourself as an authority and a trusted person for anything related to Facebook, you can get some sponsor and maybe use affiliate networking sites to find and promote Facebook related product.

Create and sell a Facebook application

If you are savvy enough and know your way around, why not use your skills to make a Facebook app of your own and sell it to Facebook users? Again, once you made it, you can use the same strategies mentioned above (blog or a Facebook page for the app) to promote your app.

There you have it, 5 ideas you can use to make money not only on Facebook, but you can also apply the same ideas to MySpace, Twitter and other social networking platforms to make money.

Satrap is the founder and author of controversial blog, blogstash.com. A blog full of great how-tos and information about making money online. Visit blogstash today to get your share of this valuable information and learn how to make money online.

Social Media Marketing - The 10 Social Media Laws of Facebook

Where have YOU been?

Unless you have lived in a cave the last 4 years, you have probably heard of this. It is a rocking hot social networking site that seems to be almost everywhere today. It is on the news. It is on the radio. It is on the minds of millions of folks a day.

It is called "Facebook" and over 175 million people are active on this site.

Ok- I know that you may be asking," A LAW about Facebook?" Yes, 10 of them for marketing and business success in what you do. I am a marketer and have been for 20 years. I built a training and consulting business that does business in over 20 countries, because of social media and the internet. And there are marketing laws that all marketers and business professionals must follow if they are going to have Success in the marketplace online.

It is the same for Facebook.

Lets cover them briefly:

1) The Law of Visibility on Facebook.

You MUST be visible on Facebook of you are going to get your message out. You must spend time on Facebook and get to know people. You must put yourself together a "Facebook blueprint" and work it. How many hours a week are you going to be seen on FB? How many times are you going to befriend someone this week? How many times are you going to upload photos this week? All of these things put you in the 'Visibility Zone" on Facebook, and on the radar as far as people on Facebook. Be SEEN and be THERE on a daily basis.

2) The Law of the Powerful Facebook Profile.

Why would people want to get to know you? One of the first things they check out is your Facebook profile. What does it say- but better yet- what does it DO? Does it make people curious and want to get to know you? Does it make them think? Does it make them smile? Does it make them see that you have Value for their life and can help change it?

Powerful Facebook profiles are NOT based on what is said in your profile- but what it DOES.

Does it direct them to DO something? Does it tell them you are person they MUST know? Or someone that has a nice picture and a nice profile- with no magnetism? Put yourself OUT THERE and tell the world WHY they need you as a friend, and get them to take action towards YOU.

3) The Law of the Facebook WALL.

You MUST use your Wall to market or message. many folks regard their Wall as a communication utility like email. It is not that. You already have a Facebook email. The Wall is for you to BUILD- BRICK BY BRICK- MESSAGE BY MESSAGE- NOTE BY NOTE- VIDEO BY VIDEO- your Brand on Facebook. Every time something happens with you- it goes on your Wall. Don't stare at the wall- CLIMB THE SUCKER and make your message the PEAK of the page- and keep yourself out there with the Wall. And answer the messages on your Wall. Thank people for sharing with you their visit or message. This will show up on THEIR wall. This will set you apart from most on Facebook. The Wall is simply a BILLBOARD of what you are doing and your friends are doing on Facebook. Use it often and wisely.

4) The Law of Your Facebook Network.

You are part of a local Facebook network and you have access to that network to befriend them. I live in Birmingham Michigan, and the network i am a part of is the Detroit network. There are 640,926 people in my network that I could potentially MEET LIVE in a local place and get to know them and connect with them. You have local folks as well. Where do you find your network?

Click on "settings" and then click on "network." You will find it there. This is a GOLD MINE of people in your local area to CONNECT and Construct new trust bridges that may lead to business down the road.

5) The Law of the Facebook Notifications.

This is an overlooked and rarely talked about utility. Notifications are part of your "Facebook email system." Go to "email" at the top of your Facebook profile page, and then click on "notifications."This is list of who is thinking about you, talking about you, including you in tags, and generally is pointing to you. This is a GOLD MINE of people that have PROVEN they are behind you and willing to make you a part of their Facebook experience. Pay attention to the Facebook notifications. Thank them for their thoughts of you on their Wall and let them know you appreciate it. Include them as well on your tags and other activity on Facebook. The notifications are GOLD and is a prospecting Vault of Leads. And make sure you stay CONNECTED to them.

6) The Law of Facebook Link Love.

The Link application on Facebook is a HOT commodity. It allows you to post a link that you like and then sends it out on the news feed that is on your home page. It picks up the image that you want on the link page, and allows it to be a LIVE link. Send out other people's LINK and givem some LOVE. Do NOT just send out your own links. Let others do that. Find interesting links of others and send them out.

WHY? EXPOSURE for you. You will be given credit for the link. People LOVE link love. If you send out a LOT of other people's links on Facebook, they will start sending out YOUR links. Been there done that.

7) The Law of Facebook Groups.

Join groups. Join a LOT of Groups. Start your OWN groups. The join MORE groups. Why? Here are a few reasons: EXPOSURE. CONNECTION to other Group members. AUTHORITY. Start your own and be a Leader. INCREASE YOUR REACH.Groups extend your reach into Facebook. MULTIPLIED PROSPECTS. There are more people in a group - then on a profile page.

Duh. Build a list in your own group and then you can become an admin and email messages to them. Make them messages of VALUE and interest.

8) The Law of Facebook Events.

Attend events. Attend more Events. And then attend many MORE events. Why? It allows you to leave a message on the events page wall, and create exposure. I attend at least 2 Facebook events every week- to learn- and to network. Events can be found on the new Facebook page in the upper right under "Upcoming"-these are the events that are upcoming. There is one unique twist: You have birthdays under the "upcoming" tag- and you can send presents to folks. THIS will get their attention as it shows up on their wall and the news feed as well. Attend as many events as you can. make them worth your while- learn and grow from them. BUT'always leave a RSVP message about attending or not- with an encouraging message. This will show your professionalism, and caring.

Event UP! This will do you well on Facebook. Put the term "events" in the search box, and it will find every event that is going on in your network of friends. It is a GOLD MINE of new possibilties of business. Become a master of events!

9) The Law of Facebook Multimedia- Videos and Photos.

People LOVE photos and videos. They are the most looked at and watched pages on Facebook. Make some videos and upload them. Upload some photographs. Not only will the be seen on your wall and the Facebook news feed, but also will allow you to "tag" others on these. This means that you can pick out people you have befriended and let them know you are thinking of them. And when you tag someone- it shows up on THEIR wall. Not isn't THAT cool? It is called EXPOSURE!

10) The Law of the Facebook NEWS FEED.

This is the big kahuna of Exposure on Facebook. This gets you out to ALL of your friends and creates a massive exposure vehicle that can keep your brand in front and recognized. You also will be many times on the "featured" part of the new news feed on the right. This gives you HUGE exposure. Whatever you do, like change your status, upload a video, write and publish a note, or just comment on another person's message on the Facebook news feed- it SHOWS UP in the news Feed. Be seen- and be seen often if you are trying to brand yourself on Facebook.

Yes, you need to establish relationships, and build community. But if you are going to MARKET on Facebook-then you need to at least get a guideline of what and how to do it. The 10 Social Media Laws of Facebook hopefully gave you some idea in your social media marketing.

blessings...Doug Firebaugh

Doug Firebaugh is one of theTop Social Media strategists, MLM, Network Marketing Home Business Trainers, Speakers and Authors in the world. A Million people a month read his training letter.He has helped over 10,000 people worldwide earn in excess of 50,000 a year. He wants to help you do the same. You can subscribe to his FR-ee training letter -which includes 3 FR-ee gifts just for subscribing at http://www.passionfire.com - plus FREE ebook

Promoting Your Business With Facebook

In the past few years, websites have become increasingly essential for achieving success on the internet. Facebook is one of the most widely used social websites on the internet and as such presents businesses with an opportunity to enhance its profile.

Facebook is an important tool for promoting your business or blog. Facebook pages is dedicated for business use and offers a cost effective opportunity for small as well larger businesses. Over the years the popularity of Face Book has continued to grow at a phenomenal rate. It has been growing faster than many of its rivals such as MySpace.  Facebook now has over 200,000,000 active users all over the world.

The large user base of Facebook has made it attractive for businesses to use it as medium to connect with customers.  It offers a business with an opportunity to acquire new customers and drive traffic to its website. Facebook can be used to promote a business in many ways.

Listed below are some ways a business can use Face Book:

Business profile on face book pages

As discussed earlier, Facebook pages is a section dedicated purely for promoting business. A business can create a page on Facebook pages in order to tap its full potential. A Facebook page is more than simply a blog page. There are many applications and built-in tools to make the page interactive and interactive for your users.

The Facebook page of your company is accessible to Facebook's vast user base as well as being available publicly on the internet and search engines like Google. A Facebook page can be a powerful tool to help your business to acquire new customers.

Creating your profile is only the first step that can then be used to invite new and expand your company's network.

Create and expand your business network on Facebook

After you have successfully created your business profile on Facebook, you can build your network and start expanding it. As with other professional networks on the internet, the main benefit depends on how established your network is on Facebook and its popularity among users. A large network for your company is important to leverage the maximum benefits for your company.

A good place to start expanding your network is to invite colleagues and customers to join your business network on Facebook. They can do so by adding your network to their favourites or joining as fans.  Any posts you make on your Facebook page will automatically appear on the news feeds of all those who have added your profile to their friends list on Facebook. This provides opportunities for posting information such as latest news, special offers and so on. You can use the search feature of Facebook to find your contacts and invite them to join your group or network or add your company to their friends list on face book.

Promote Your Business

Your Facebook profile and business page offers opportunities to promote your company and enhance your profile. The default info tab on face book pages can be used to provide information about your company and also includes a link to your company's website.

Promote your Website and Blog

You can also use Facebook to promote your website and blog. Many businesses operate a blog these days. You can promote articles of your blog on Facebook. You can easily import blog posts from your blog to your Facebook page. Your posts will be available on your profile as well as in the news feeds of your fans and subscribers.  The amount of traffic you can generate to your company's website from Facebook will also depend on how active you are on Facebook.

Sell Products in Facebook Marketplace

You can also use Facebook to sell products or services. Facebook Marketplace is dedicated specifically for listing items for sale. Facebook market place is free to use and offers a method to promote products and services you would like to sell to others. You can use the market place to promote existing products from your website. 

Advertise on Facebook

In addition to promoting your content on Facebook via your profile or business page, you can also use facebook to advertise your business.  There are paid advertising options for promoting your business or products on Facebook. You can easily create advertisements for your business in few simple steps. The charge is based on pay per click or per thousand impressions. The high website traffic of Facebook can help acquire new customers as well as drive traffic to your website.

Author K.Singh is an experienced Internet marketing and Web development consultant in London. He is the director of a Web Design Company in London, and is the Editor of a Search engine marketing Blog.