Do You Support Your Competitors on the Social Web?
March 4, 2010
If you are a business owner or representative who participates in the social web on a regular basis, you may have come across an interesting scenerio where you have received an invitation from a competitor to “Become a Fan” on Facebook or maybe they’ve just “followed” you on Twitter.
How do you, as a business owner, handle this?
Are you one to support your competitors in this situation by reciprocity? Or are you one to ignore the invitations, perhaps even going as far as blocking them completely from your radar?
Although it felt a bit awkward at first, Virtually Ready has opted for mutual following in these situations. We feel its important to support and be connected to others within your industry, for someday your competitor may need your help or you may need theirs in the name of good business.
Thoughts?
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Virtually Ready provides Professional Web Presence Solutions for Business
Visit our website at www.VirtuallyReady.com
Lisa Duhamel – Virtually Ready On Cover of March, 2010 Issue of Website Magazine – Crowdsourcing Success
February 5, 2010
At the beginning of the year, Website Magazine conducted a crowdsourcing contest to appear on the cover and within the pages of their March, 2010 issue. Virtually Ready’s Owner, Lisa Duhamel, submitted her photo entry into the contest and was ultimately chosen to be included! The magazine is available in print and online and is enjoyed by over 140,000 other Ecommerce & Web Marketing Entrepreneurs, Website Owners and Internet marketers, including Virtually Ready – Professional Web Presence Solutions for Business.
We are thrilled to be included – BIG THANKS to Website Magazine for allowing us this very unique opportunity! Get your FREE subscription today!
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Virtually Ready, Inc. – “Extend Your Reach”
Professional Web Presence Solutions for Business
www.virtuallyready.com
Back In Business – Original Virtually Ready Fan Page Reconnected on Facebook
January 22, 2010
Recently, we reported an unfortunate experience where we were inadvertently disconnected on Facebook and lost our Fan Page.
We are very happy to say that we received an email from Facebook informing us that upon concluding an investigation into our account, our original account had been restored and they apologized for any inconvenience this may have caused. We are still unsure of the actual cause of this issue, but we believe it may have had something to do with a recent pre-2010 advertising control panel change .
While much time has been spent in building a new profile and fan page to keep our web presence going on Facebook, it only makes sense to revert back to our original, more established fan page. Since you cannot merge accounts, the best way we could figure to do this was to set up a “detour” announcement on the new page. We added a special graphic with link on the welcome / landing page, as well as details on the wall of the new fan page, directing any new or existing visitors over to our original page. Announcements were also made in the status update of the new page, extending out to Twitter and beyond, as well as via the “update fans” Facebook messaging option.
We’re very pleased to be back in business on Facebook and we’re looking forward to seeing you there in 2010 -> Join us at http://www.facebook.com/virtuallyready
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Virtually Ready, Inc. – “Extend Your Reach”
Professional Web Presence Solutions for Business
www.virtuallyready.com
Virtually Ready Clientele Extends Their Reach On The Web in 2009
December 30, 2009
2009 has been a very rewarding year for Virtually Ready and the clientele we have supported. We have worked very hard to extend the reach of each client partners on the web. In doing so, we have made a lot of progress together, and we would like to share them with you!
As we move forward into 2010, we would also like to extend our hand to you by offering you the opportunity to link to your website and/or social profiles here. Please comment with links to your website, Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, Squidoo, YouTube, etc.
Also, please visit our partners, show them your support, and we will do the same for you in return. Any growing legitimate business who replies will be accepted. All comments will be monitored so we ask that you please be considerate and do not spam or attempt to post anything that may be considered inappropriate in a professional environment.
Here are the wonderful clients who have most benefited from custom branded Virtually Ready’s Web Presence Solutions in 2009:
Susan Barnes, Author
John Taglieri, Musician
Thrift Town, Retail
Springbak, Retail / Consumer Product
Two Coconuts Swimwear, Fashion Retail
J. Joseph Salon, Beauty Services
Soundwave Merchandising, Music Promotional Products / Retail
Campus Customs, Promotional Products / Retail
Impact Baseball Academy, Sports
Diamond Pro Sports Management Group, Sports
3-D Motion, Promotional Products
Thank You to all of our client partners.
We look forward to working with you in the new year!
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Sincerely,
Lisa Duhamel, Owner
Virtually Ready – Professional Web Presence Solutions for Business
www.virtuallyready.com
Disconnected – Has Your Facebook Account Been Unplugged?
December 11, 2009
Are you on Facebook®? Do you also use the ever-increasingly popular social network for business? If so, we’d like to share a personal experience with you, which could happen to anyone at anytime, leaving your business vulnerable to a major loss of valuable web presence, personal and professional connections.
With the sudden rise in popularity of social media in the mainstream media and the increased usage by businesses as of late, everyone is being encouraged to utilize the social web to promote their business. The platforms are amazingly dynamic and offer a wonderful opportunity to connect with others, and promote your brand. However, there are some important caveats that those who are using social networks for business must be made aware. What would you do if you utilized Facebook for your business regularly, including the paid advertising features, and went to log in and found this message?
This happened to Virtually Ready’s owner yesterday, just after the most recent Facebook privacy changes took place. This is someone who has followed the frequently changing terms and methods to their best understanding, has experienced the growing challenge of keeping personal and business as separate as possible, helps other businesses grow on a regular basis and is always willing to lend others a hand on the social web. We are not sure as to the reason this occurred, but we convey our list of concerns below. Perhaps the account is gone forever. Perhaps not, as we have heard from others who have had the same thing happen to them only to have their account recovered later, but the main problem… we just don’t know.
The above disabled account message is accompanied by a link to Facebook® Help addressing “Why was my account disabled?” and a few other seemingly common user questions. If you believe your account was disabled accidentally, the option is offered to email Facebook®. However, there are a few problems that the scenario presents:
1) If in fact the user had done something wrong, no advance warning is provided – the plug is literally yanked from the wall leaving the user powerless.
2) No specific reason is provided to the user. They have no idea what they’ve done wrong, so how could they possibly address the issue and rectify it?
3) If you send an email to appeal, the user has no idea how long it will take before the network representative gets back to you. Historically social networks themselves have not necessarily been known for their prompt customer service, although ironically, many businesses now utilize these platforms as a method to improve customer service and increase customer response time. Please note: We always try to remember that social networking has grown incredibly fast, have struggled to find revenue, and manage their rapid growth. While many may criticize the various networks, they have continued to strive toward improving the functionality for everyone.
So now what? If your business relies on the social web, what do you do? Do you wait for a response with complete uncertainty as to the length of time this might take?
Virtually Ready takes the web seriously and we pride ourselves in provided basic knowledge to others who simply do not understand fully how the social networks actually work, especially when it comes to business. This situation has put Virtually Ready in a very difficult position as we are a web presence solution company – the business simply cannot sit back and wait for a response. Every minute that we cannot utilize the tools that our business utilizes regularly potentially hurts our business. We fully understand “glitches” and “network difficulties”, but if that’s the case, we would very much like to know right away.
“It is no disgrace to start all over. It is usually an opportunity.” – George Matthew Adams
Virtually Ready does like to look on the bright side of things, and would like to utilize this opportunity to help other business owners or representatives avoid the possibility of this happening to them, so we will provide some tips that will hopefully help others avoid being “unplugged” in the future.
Developing a Business Presence on Facebook®:
If you have a business and you want to “put it on Facebook”, DO NOT simply use a personal profile to do this. Please Please Please note the difference between a Personal Profile and a Fan Page – though they look very similar, they are not the same. To create a professional web presence for your business on Facebook®, you should be sure to do the following:
1) Create a FAN PAGE for your business. http://www.facebook.com/pages/create.php – NOT a Personal Profile. If you already have a Personal Profile, you will become the main administrator for the Fan Page by default. If you do not have a Personal Profile, you will be asked to create one.
2) If you don’t already have a Personal Profile, you will be asked to do so as stated above – or you can do so prior to creating your Fan Page at Facebook.com. When you set up your account, make sure to adjust your privacy settings immediately to reflect your personal comfort level. These settings are for your personal profile only, not for the Fan Page, which is created for business and is public. If / when you have a personal profile, set-up, DO NOT create a Fan Page for someone who doesn’t have a profile, as it seems this automatically designates you as the main admin and you cannot be removed.
3) Assign a back-up administrator for your Fan Page. Should you be the sole administrator and your account is disabled, your Fan Page COULD BE LOST as a result as well – this was the case with Virtually Ready’s Fan Page…. gone. We had developed a decent fan base, and are unhappy with the loss. Now we have to rebuild from the ground, up. We would thoroughly appreciate it if you would Become a Fan of our new Page and invite your friends as well. Thankfully, no client pages were effected since they all have more than one admin assigned.
Facebook® does not tread lightly on people who use Personal Profiles as a sole purpose of building a business – this is something we have always conveyed to our clients, so be sure to keep the two separate – See Facebook’s Terms of Service for details. A few tips:
1) Do not use your business logo in your Personal Profile photo.
2) Do not use your Personal Profile for the sole purpose of promoting your business.
3) Though it can be very tricky, keep your business and personal as separate as possible. We’re not exactly sure where the lines are drawn here, unless you’re very blatant in constant promotion and little else.
We thoroughly appreciate the opportunity to provide professional web presence solutions for other businesses; we look forward to continuing to do so.
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Virtually Ready, Inc. – “Extend Your Reach”
Professional Web Presence Solutions for Business
www.virtuallyready.com
Brand Transparency and the Social Web: A Double Edged Sword?
November 30, 2009
By now, most people are familiar with the effectiveness of Obama’s amazing Social Media Blitz leading up to the most recent presidential election. In the past, building a brand and its recognition on the internet was one thing, but along came a whole new way to promote a brand, build a following and interact with others on a much grander scale – enter Social Media. Looking back, many people really didn’t know much about this mostly uncharted territory this time last year, and it seems it has made quite the scene in the mainstream media ever since, while continuing to grow and evolve every day… so much so, that many people just can’t keep up with the frequent changes.
While the goal to implement a positive following for a virtually unknown brand can be a rigorous task, building upon and maintaining an existing, well-known brand can provide its own level of challenges as well. If your known brand does not satisfy its followers, there lies a risk of receiving publicly negative feedback. Some of the feedback may be legitimate and can be corrected by the company, while some may be a total farce and unwarranted. “Transparency” seemed to be the Word of the Year in social media, but do we need a reality check? How much is too much?
As the lines between business and pleasure seem to be increasingly blurred, every company that brings its brand online and wishes to dive into the social web should be aware of the positives and negatives involved prior to getting started. For example, this morning we received an email via LinkedIn asking us about the pros and cons of a Facebook Page. We have mentioned some of these in the past, but the main “con” we have found in utilizing the social web for business is the potential to receive negative public feedback. We believe the best way to defend against negative feedback is to be sure your online presence is being monitored regularly so each comment is addressed as quickly & efficiently as possible.
But as the day progressed, we began to see more and more articles popping up on Facebook & Twitter about the negative effects of Social Media. What is prompting this seemingly sudden reaction? The coincidental sequence of events prompted us to reach out to you and ask for your feedback, so please share your questions, concerns, thoughts and suggestions with us regarding social media for business.
In the meantime, here are a few DO’s and DON’Ts that we’d like to offer to you when introducing your brand to the internet & the social media realm:
1) DON’T take the web lightly. DO realize that the web is a vast virtual world that offers many great opportunities for your business that should be taken seriously.
2) DON’T skimp. DO make sure your brand is professional, presentable and dressed appropriately for your visitors. Provide a consistent branding experience to gain optimal brand recognition across networks & platforms.
3) DON’T publicize your personal physical whereabouts to others on the social web (yes, this includes the recent influx of geo-locators). DO stay safe and always protect your personal privacy.
4) DON’T try to do it all yourself. DO invest in a designated professional who is knowledgeable about the internet & social media to manage your website, business blog and profiles. This person should absolutely be considered a trustworthy part of your company’s team as they are to be responsible for regular monitoring and updating of your company’s web presence.
5) DON’T cast your web presence net so wide that you don’t have the means to manage it effectively. DO Keep it simple – See #4.
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Virtually Ready, Inc. / VirtuallyReady.com
Professional Web Presence Solutions for Business - “Extend Your Reach!”
Be Our Fan on Facebook: www.facebook.com/VirtuallyReady
Follow Us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/VirtuallyReady
New Client Spotlight: 3D Motion Lenticular Patriotic & Collegiate Sports Promotional Products
November 10, 2009
www.3-DMotion.com
Virtually Ready is happy to introduce 3D Motion, creator of lenticular patriotic & collegiate sports promotional products. We were introduced to the owner who had already had a website created, but was interested in basic website management as well as extending their web presence via social networking. Naturally, Virtually Ready was a perfect fit!
3D Motion provides you the opportunity to show off your patriotism and/or show support for your favorite college sports teams with their unique magnets, stickers, postcards, coasters and more!
These unique “motion” products get attention wherever you go and will let everyone know where you stand. The 3-dimensional image changes as the viewer or the product moves. It’s a great way to show your colors!
Feel free to show your spirit! Become a Fan of 3D Motion on Facebook and be sure to visit 3D Motion’s website at www.3-dmotion.com to order yours today!
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Virtually Ready, Inc. / VirtuallyReady.com
Professional Web Presence Solutions for Business - “Extend Your Reach!”
Specializing in Music, Fashion, Retail, Travel and Sports
Be Our Fan on Facebook: www.facebook.com/VirtuallyReady
Follow Us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/VirtuallyReady
How Effective Are Facebook Ads?
October 21, 2009
Virtuallly Ready Fan Page on Facebook®
At Virtually Ready, we’re reaching out to our connections to find some questions that may be looming out there about the social web and how to best manage your web presence. As a result, we received the following inquiry from one of our Fans on the Virtually Ready Fan Page on Facebook and wanted to share it with you.
“I think the thing that I have been wondering the most is how effective are the ads on here (Facebook)? I have been going back and forth on doing one for both the business and the podcasts, but I am wondering if they actually draw potential customers in or if they are simply click through counters. For the business, Myspace is still the best tool for me because of the heavy music influence on it, but I would like to have a way to draw more listeners to the podcasts using Facebook.” - Patrick
Advertising on Facebook is relatively painless and simple to implement. You create your ad based on their criteria using your text and/or image. Ads can be placed to promote Fan Pages, Websites or Events. Each Ad can be customized to utilize the pay per click (CPC) or impression (CPM) methods, so if you are on a limited budget, you can start “small” and control the amount you spend each day – the very minimum is $1 per day. There is a suggested bid provided when you’re going through the set-up process, and bidding at least the minimum suggested bid is advised for best results. If you’re still concerned about the effectiveness of your ad and investment, why not bounce your ad ideas off of a friend or two and see what they think before you implement your campaign? Perhaps they can help steer you in the right direction toward successful results.
Facebook allows for detailed targeted marketing directly to your specific audience demographics which allows your ad to be seen by those who are most likely to be interested in your product or service. They have fine-tuned the target market options down to local area and even targeting users on their birthday. One of the coolest features of Facebook Ads is the built-in Social Interaction capability, allowing users to see when a friend is a fan of your page, and connecting a related Page, Group, Event and/or Application. Think about using Facebook Ads as a means to “Extend Your Reach” and be seen by those who may not find you otherwise.
Once your ad is approved, up & running, you can take advantage of Facebook’s Ad Reporting & Monitoring feature to measure its effectiveness. As of this article, Facebook is testing a newer version of the Ads Manager to improve the campaign management software for monitoring your ad campaigns and see how well each ad is paying off for you. If you’re ad is not converting, consider changing your ad’s message and strategy. As with any advertising effort, the overall effectiveness of your ad could be determined by the message and/or level of interest in your product or service interest. Make sure your message is relevant, interesting and provides your target market with something they will want or need.
For more details, visit:
Official Facebook Advertising Information
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Virtually Ready, Inc. / VirtuallyReady.com
Professional Web Presence Solutions for Business - “Extend Your Reach!”
Specializing in Music, Fashion, Retail, Travel and Sports
Be Our Fan on Facebook: www.facebook.com/VirtuallyReady
Follow Us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/VirtuallyReady
Business Owners Have A Chance To Win A Customized Flip® MinoHD Video Camera from Virtually Ready
October 15, 2009
Do you own a business?
Here’s your opportunity to get connected and promote your business at the same time using the latest “on the go” video camera technology – The New Customizable flip® minoHD 120!
This handy little gadget can boost your online business promotions with its FlipShare software feature, that “makes it easy to email videos, edit individual clips, make custom movies, capture still-image snapshots, and upload video to Facebook™, MySpace™ , YouTube™ and other sharing sites!”
Virtually Ready is giving away a top-of-the-line 120 minute flip® minoHD model that we will customize for you and your brand, complete with your business logo!*
We have provided a sample Virtually Ready image (shown here) so you have an idea of the promotional potential the branded logo customization can provide for your own business when you’re out and about!
Ready to “Extend Your Reach?”
Here’s how to enter:
Step 1) Follow Virtually Ready on Twitter – www.twitter.com/virtuallyready
Step 2) Tweet The Following Message from your Twitter account:
“Follow @VirtuallyReady, Fan http://ow.ly/upKP & Re-Tweet for a chance to win a Customized Flip MinoHD 120 for your biz!”
Step 3) Become a Fan of the Virtually Ready Fan Page on Facebook
*Contest Rules: The winner will be chosen by random drawing at Noon EST on Friday, November 30th, 2009 from all of Virtually Ready’s connections that accurately follow ALL 3 STEPS of the contest – Follow, Tweet & Fan. The winner’s name and business will be announced publicly on www.virtuallyready.com and Virtually Ready’s social networking channels such as Facebook™, MySpace™, Twitter™, and more! To be eligible for the prize, the winner must own a business and have rights to their logo, which will be included as part of the prize giveaway (approximate customized value $329). If you do not yet have a logo for your business, contact our talented design & branding partner, Avalon Design Unlimited to get started! Final prize delivery subject to product availability at time of contest completion and all efforts will be made to assure the earliest possible delivery to the winner.
Related Information – Read more about the flip® minoHD:
Official Flip Video website
Mashable Article: New Flip Video Includes Direct Facebook Uploads
Flip Video Cameras on Amazon
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Virtually Ready, Inc. / VirtuallyReady.com
Professional Web Presence Solutions for Business - “Extend Your Reach!”
Specializing in Music, Fashion, Retail, Travel and Sports
Soundwave Merchandising Extends Social Web Presence for Business with Virtually Ready
September 21, 2009
Soundwave Merchandising - Specializing in Band Touring Merch & Webstores
A couple of months ago, Virtually Ready announced our new partnership with Campus Customs, which offers custom imprinted apparel, promotional screen printing & embroidery to their customers. Today, we are introducing an extension to that partnership with Soundwave Merchandising, a division of Campus Customs.
Soundwave Merchandising is known for having “major company muscle with independent company thinking and accessibility”, especially in the music industry. The company specializes in band touring merchandise and on-line merchandise stores. They also have complete festival, event, corporate and personal merchandise capabilities.
Their unique business model has been developed over the past several years by Ken Block of the band Sister Hazel and Joel Cobden of Campus Customs, and is known for being extremely artist-friendly, based on building long term, successful and profitable relationships. “We have shaped an extraordinary and simple model that offers NO RISK for our customers and provides the highest quality products with impeccable service. Whether you are a platinum selling artist or a brand new band, we have a 35 person staff in place that will help your merchandise world become a smooth and reliable revenue stream.”
The company has maintained an existing presence on MySpace® for some time, but they wanted to freshen up the look of their profile and streamline their web branding even further with the recent addition of Facebook® and Twitter®. Virtually Ready has designed new profiles for Soundwave on these three social networks and will also provide them with profile management solutions. Please join us in welcoming Soundwave Merchandising to the social web for business!
To keep up with the latest news from Soundwave Merchandising, be sure to:
- Become a fan of Soundwave Merchandising on their new Facebook® Fan Page at www.facebook.com/SoundwaveMerch
- Follow Soundwave Merchandising on Twitter on their new Twitter® Profile at www.twitter.com/SoundwaveMerch
- Add Soundwave Merchandising to your friends on MySpace® at www.myspace.com/soundwavemerchandising
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Virtually Ready / VirtuallyReady.com
Professional Web Presence Solutions & Management for Business
Specializing in Music, Fashion, Retail, Travel and Sports!
