I’ll be leading an introduction and training session on Facebook and Twitter at the Marysville Public Library on Wednesday, October 20, 2010 from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. We’ll be using the library’s computers to learn about the basics of creating a Facebook or Twitter account, what the difference is between them, and how to stay safe and keep your personal information private.

Facebook is seeing its fastest growth lately among older users, including seniors. The potential of reconnecting with old friends and neighbors as well as staying in touch with what your grown children and grandchildren are up to is very appealing. Come learn how to get started with Facebook and get started with social media!

We’ll also look at Twitter and its uses, both personally and professionally. No previous experience is needed, and the session is free. Because there are a limited number of computers, the class is limited to ten. For more information, call the Marysville Library at (810) 364-9493.

I updated our “quick guide” to creating a WordPress post today. It’s intended for anyone who’s new to using WordPress 3.0, and anyone who only occasionally posts content to a WordPress-based site and would like a memory jogger to keep near the computer for those times. Eight steps and you have a new post!

Feel free to download a PDF copy today and redistribute as you like.

I had the pepper steak combo (with eggroll and wonton soup) at my local Chinese restaurant a few days ago. After lunch, my fortune was “Slow but steady wins the race.” I smiled when I read that because I’d just been thinking about the many “get rich quick” methods of internet marketing that are being promoted today. Do a search on Google for “SEO” and you’ll find some of them. They may promise to “guarantee” top listings on Google or Yahoo, or suggest they have a special relationship with the search engines that can rocket your website to that coveted number one position.

Just as in the “offline” world, there’s no shortcut to long-term success, and search engine optimization isn’t any different. There’s no easy way to trick Google and Yahoo into listing your site higher. Take it from the folks at Google themselves. So how do you get your website noticed by prospective customers?

The one thing all search engines seem to love is fresh, quality content. Oddly enough, that’s exactly what your website’s visitors are looking for. They want to see that your business or organization is alive and well, and they want to know enough about you to make a decision whether to buy from you, or join your cause, or take a job at your company.

So here are four basic tips on how to improve your online presence, and in turn improve your rankings in the search engines:

• When writing content for your business or organization website, tell the whole story. Don’t skimp on the details. Tell your visitors what you would want to know about your company if you knew nothing about it. Give them the information to make a decision right then.
• Keep the website updated. Think about the many websites we visit in a week that haven’t been updated in months or even years. How confident are you about the current status of that company? They might be doing so well that they’re too busy to update their website, but aren’t we more likely to assume they’ve gone out of business?
• Consider starting a blog. Search engines love blogs because there are usually many legitimate links coming in and out of the website, as you link to other interesting content and the media and other websites link to your compelling content.
• Use social media and networking sites such as LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to connect with potential visitors to your site. The more you get the web address out there, the more likely people with find you and pay your site a visit.

There have always been temporary ways to game a system, including search engine rankings. Usually those loopholes are closed fairly quickly, as Google and Yahoo change their methods to keep their rankings accurate. The methods I describe above, however, while they won’t bring overnight success, will in the long run build viewership to your website and improve your appearance in the search engines.

Slow but steady wins the race. Don’t take shortcuts, invest the time and money needed to create a great online presence, and the rest will follow.

The last time you needed information about someone, such as a phone number or an address, where did you go to find it? The phone book? A business card or note you were pretty sure you left on your desk somewhere? Even if you know you have the person’s phone number in your personal directory, chances are you tried to look it up online.

It’s not always convenient to call. Who wants to climb through the “phone tree” or wait on hold once you’ve reached the person you need to talk to? If you have a quick question, shouldn’t the answer be available just as quickly? As we become more accustomed to being able to find nearly any answer online, if your business isn’t providing answers that way, you’re missing out on an opportunity to work smarter, and possibly even losing business to impatient customers who just won’t wait anymore for you to catch up.

Take a look at your company’s web site. Does it answer – completely and honestly – the questions most visitors would likely have about your business, its products and services? Has it been updated in the past three months? Six months? Over a year? Are there easy ways for your visitors to communicate back to you, with email links, a request form, or a sign-up for an electronic newsletter? And if you were a visitor to your own site, would you want to come back to the site after that first visit?

That’s what social publishing and business blogging are all about. We can get you up-to-date with the latest Web-based technologies that will put you in touch with your clients 24 hours a day, seven days a week. You can’t be available all the time in person, but with the help of Kephart + Associates, you can make yourself available around the clock, even while you’re resting easy.

These exciting new technologies can help you:

• Keep your website updated, by you and your employees, with no prior knowledge of programming – if you can use a word processor, you have all the skills you need!
• Provide product information, specifications and diagrams quickly and accurately.
• Give answers to frequently asked questions online, reducing your customers’ need to contact you directly for simple issues.
• Create and share online schedules, task lists, and project management tools for your employees and customers.
• Impress prospective customers with your willingness to communicate proactively with them – today’s customer can tell the difference between marketing hype and honesty.

Kephart + Associates uses and supports open source software solutions. We are proud to be associated with leaders in cutting-edge interactive software applications, including WordPress 3.0, which is the power behind most of our clients’ websites today. We constantly evaluate new applications as they become available, and can recommend other solutions based on your business’s current needs. Contact us today at (810) 892-8599 or use our online contact form.

How honest are you online? Perhaps a little too honest? Have you done any of the following in the past month?

• Posted pictures from a private party you attended?
• Sent a tweet on Twitter or changed your status on Facebook to describe how tired, frustrated or depressed you were?
• Took an online poll that revealed personal details when it posted to Facebook?
• Used profanity or made sexual references in a blog post, a MySpace update or a Facebook wall post?
• Gotten into an argument or made negative comments about a third person when talking publicly on a social media service like Twitter or Facebook?

Users of these services seem to either be unaware or unconcerned that their words have a wider distribution than they may have intended. Individual privacy settings on Facebook are often more lax than they should be, allowing everyone to see your status, wall posts and other personal information. Twitter is sometimes mistaken for another instant messaging system, but everything you tweet is public (other than direct messages), so everyone can see and reply to your 140-character thoughts. The results can be surprising and unfortunate, from simple hurt feelings and misunderstandings to lost job opportunities or respect within a community.

Here are some steps to take to keep your social media reputation positive while staying part of your growing online communities:

• Check the privacy options on every online network you participate in. Make sure they’re set so that only those you’ve approved as “friends” can see your personal details. Nothing beyond your name is really required to allow new connections to find you, though you may also include your city and, on Facebook, your status. Everyone else should have to ask to be a friend before they see more info about you.
• Everything you “say” online is public, even when it’s private. It’s easy for one of your friends, especially if the relationship sours, to cut and paste and turn private conversations or details into public with a click of their mouse. Just like gossip in real life, don’t say anything online you could regret later. While online honesty can be positive and refreshing, it doesn’t mean you have to say everything. Think before you click and learn to edit yourself wisely.
• Think twice about every add-on, game or application you think of adding in Facebook. Most of them are perfectly safe, but they often ask for more access privileges to your personal information than they really need, raising privacy concerns. And they usually generate items for your News Feed that can become annoying to your friends when they have to wade through them, making them the Facebook equivalent of spam.
• Don’t confuse Twitter with Facebook, instant messaging or cellphone texting. It’s public. (Yes, you can lock your updates, but what’s the point of that?) If you’re uncomfortable with everyone reading your tweets, Twitter isn’t for you. It’s a different method of communication and can be very powerful for building communities and finding new business opportunities, but it can also be disastrous if its very public nature isn’t understood by the user.
• Delete social media accounts you’re not actually using. Don’t drive yourself crazy trying to keep up with several services, pick the ones that seem to be working for you and concentrate your communication efforts there. Get rid of the others to avoid someone getting into an inactive account and impersonating you without your knowledge.
• Remember that not only is everything you say online public, it’s more than likely permanent. Deleting a wall post or blog entry may make it stop appearing on Facebook or Blogger, but it’s probably stored deep in one of Google’s many search engine servers, ready to be conjured up with the right combination of magic search terms. Again, think before you click.
• Make sure your online “you” is the person you want everyone to know. Unless you want to be known as a depressed, whiny person who drinks too much, leave the photos of you doing shots at the bar and the comments about how bad your life is to yourself. The power of social media runs both ways: you can create an image as a positive, resourceful person or a negative impression that could cost you friends, money and personal success.

It’s important to be part of this online communication revolution. Being in control of your online image and keeping the private part of your life private are as important, though. Make sure you’re using the tools and not the other way around.