Category Archives: Social Media Tools
Facebook Offers
Have you tried the new “Facebook Offers“? I just did.
If you have done an offer, I would love to know your thoughts and opinions, good or bad. I’ve done Facebook ads before and they worked pretty well but I haven’t done a promoted post yet. Have you?
Thanks for the feedback!
How Do I Block Farmville and Other Facebook Game Requests? *UPDATED*
Today’s “ah-ha” moment:
I get this question a lot and rightfully so…
Q: How do I get rid of those annoying Farmville/Cityville/Mafia Wars/Family Fued game requests on Facebook?
A: While in Facebook, go into your privacy settings at the top right of your screen (next to “Home”), scroll down and click “blocked people and apps”, then you can enter what apps (or people) you want to block.
**Thank you Cheryl F. for asking the question and inspiring this post. 
Click the pic!
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14 Best Places Your Business Should Be Found Online
We all know our business should be online, but where do we start? After a website and Facebook page, now what am I suppose to do? I have compiled a list of the best places you and your business should be listed online. Keep in mind, there are a TON of other places you should be listed as well, like directories, for example, but this list is of the top sites you should check out. Sites listed with a blue check mark also have a an iPhone/Android app…even more reasons!
1. Website – Everyone in business needs a website…NEXT!
2. Blog – WordPress, Tumblr, Blogger(Ideally connected to your website). You don’t need to be a writer to blog, but blogging about your business or industry creates a buzz, gets you noticed, and makes you the expert in your field.
3. Facebook Business Page - Make sure your business is a “page” and not a “profile”. Oh yeah and USE IT! √
4. Twitter - Yes, you want to be there. Period. √
5. LinkedIn – A social place for business, post your bio, upload your resume, make business contacts, create a business page, join groups, find jobs/employees and more. √
6. Yelp .com– A user review site that integrates Google maps, allows users to post pictures, rate, and review. √
7. Four Square – Using the GPS system in your phone to tell where you are located, users “check in” at these locations. Free advertising for you and (hopefully) perks for them. √
8. YouTube –Create your own commercials, how to videos, or vlog and ‘Broadcast Yourself √
9. LetsLunch.com – Great face-to-face networking tool, get on board!
10. Google + – Google’s answer to Facebook and Twitter…and then some √
11. Itsmyurls.com – Your entire online presence in one place
12. Instagram – Free photo sharing app where you’ll find a whole new following online √
13. Pinterest – A virtual pin board for the visual side of your business √
14. Google Places/Maps – It’s Google, don’t fight it. √
Did I miss any great ones? What are your “must have” online locations? Tell me in the comments below, I would LOVE to check them out and pass it along!
Thanks For Sharing!
Facebook Etiquette, Family Fights, And Knowing When To Block People
I spend a lot of time on Facebook and I have heard many stories from friends of how Facebook has caused problems with friends and family relating to arguments or offending others on Facebook. I personally have never had a problem like this ever. Until now.
Without going into too much detail and making the situation worse than it already is, I have certain people (extended “family” you could say) blocked from my Facebook profile, meaning I may as well not exist to them because they can’t find me and for good reason. Let’s call them “person A“. I don’t want “person A” to know anything about my personal life and want to keep it as private as I possibly can. However, their extended family members, “person B” saw something on my page, passes on the info, and “person A” got upset about it. So I blocked “person B” which I would have blocked in the beginning anyways if I had though about it.
Anyways…. Ugh, so high school-ish, right?
“Person A” is now upset that I blocked “person B” because they “did nothing wrong”. So now I look petty, immature, and like the bad guy all because I wanted to keep my privacy so it wouldn’t cause problems in the first place. I can’t win. So what do I do? Do I act as the better person, unblock these people (even though we still are not Facebook friends and they still won’t have access to very much anyways), or do I keep them blocked and continue minding my own business and hope they mind their own business (ha ha)?
What is the correct etiquette for blocking people?
If I would not invite you to my house, show you my photo album, and tell you the latest going on in my life, why would I share it with you on Facebook? I wouldn’t, you would be blocked.
That’s what’s so great about Facebook, you can control who sees what!
Click here to learn how to block certain posts from being seen, control your privacy, block people all together, etc!!!
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Thanks For Sharing!
Cool iPhone Apps
I thought I would take some time to discuss iPhone apps. I am always looking for new cool apps to use and I tend to download a bunch, then never use them. A friend said to me the other day (after scrolling through my many pages of apps), “Why don’t you group them together?”, I replied “Because I’ll forget what apps I have”. Am I the only one who worries about this?
I have compiled a list of the coolest apps I use on a frequent basis and made them clickable so you can go right to the iTunes store to get them, but I highly encourage you to tell me what your favorite apps are (so I can download them too!). Enjoy!
Draw Something (Free) – I am so addicted to this game right now! You draw a picture, the other person guesses. Great entertainment!
Facebook Messenger – This Facebook feature is great by itself because now I can message and reply without opening my Facebook app and going through all the steps to get to my messages. Yes, I’m lazy.
Skype - This one is a lifesaver for me! My husband spent the last 2 years working in Afghanistan and of course I can Skype him at home but this is great for on the go. Plus, I don’t have to video call him, I can use it as a regular telephone call!
Instagram – Editing pictures before posting to Facebook is an amazing thing! 
Shazam – Coolest app ever! Have you ever been listening to the radio and can’t remember the name of a song or artist? Click “Shazam” and it “listens” to the song, tells you the name and artist, and allows you to download it from iTunes!
5-0 Radio - Police scanner anywhere, anytime. Yes, I’m nosy!
Domino’s Pizza – I order pizza directly off my iPhone on a regular basis and NEVER have to talk to a person. So cool.
Ghost Radar - Friday night fun! This app picks up signals of “ghosts” and sends you messages. Creepy but fun!!!
TuneIn Radio – Any radio station, anywhere, anytime. Even better that iHeartRadio because you don’t have to share your Facebook info
Gas Buddy – Location based and tells you were the lowest gas is near you. Priceless!
Waze – Your traffic buddy. Tells you where there is traffic, police, construction, accidents, etc near you. Awesome tool!
ScoreCenter (ESPN) – Updates you on YOUR teams as it happens. Makes football season even more awesome!
Square – Accept credit cards with your iPhone…too awesomely convenient. (Paypal is coming out with this as well so stay tuned).
Honorable mentions:
Foursquare Fandango QR Reader EventBrite
WordPress Scriptures Netflix Starbucks
My Verizon Flashlight PayPal Yelp
What are your favorite iPhone apps?
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Did you hear about the upcoming Social Media Seminar?
Did you know I’m hiring?
Have you been to my Facebook page?
Learn Social Media – Next Event: Arlington, Texas
Social Media Crash Course Seminar
Are you lost when it comes to marketing your business through social media? If you are a business owner who wants to learn all you need to know to market your business online, then this class is for you! Take your business to the next level and leave your competitors in the dust! In this class, you will be taught the essentials to social media, how to do it and how to do it well!
~ Facebook ~Twitter ~Social media basics ~analytics
~LinkedIn ~Blogging ~Four Square ~RSS Feeds
~Yelp ~YouTube ~Google+ ~Best practices ~Creative content
~Tools for your toolbox ~Valuable resources ~Engaging your audience
Next Event: Arlington, Texas
Thursday, March 29, 2012
8am – 4pm
Holiday Inn
1311 Wet N Wild Way
Arlington, TX (Dallas/Ft. Worth)
$250 per person
OR
Can’t attend? No problem! $150 for the webinar
You MUST Register for this event and pay in advance by cash, check, or credit card. You may pay by credit card by clicking the “services” tab on The ChandaGunter.com Facebook page.
For more info contact Chanda Gunter:
435-767-8184
www.facebook.com/socialmarketingpro
www.ChandaGunter.com
www.linkedin.com/in/chandagunter
www.twitter.com/ChandaGunter
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Learn The New Facebook Timeline
Frustrated at the brand new Timeline design on Facebook? Don’t worry, I’m here to help! This class is designed to walk you through all the changes on both profile pages AND business pages. Bring your laptop!
$20 per person – register on the “services” tab at www.facebook.com/socialmarketingpro.
Next Class: Arlington, Texas
Thursday, March 29, 2012
6:30pm – 9:00pm
Holiday Inn
1311 Wet N Wild Way
Arlington, TX (Dallas/Ft. Worth)
For more information, call 435-767-8184
Taylor-Made Weddings FREE Facebook Page Assesment
Another FREE promotion, offered on my Facebook page to assess to your business pages. Taylor Proctor owner of Taylor-Made Weddings and Events asked me to review her page. So lets gets started…
Taylor-Made Weddings and Events
Needs improvement:
1. No welcome page/landing tab
This is your chance to WOW your fans before they even enter your page! Your website is beautiful and a welcome page is a branch off of your website. Your web guy could put something together very quickly or you could try wix.com which I am a big fan of since it’s free.
2. Wall post settings
Fans are allowed to post on your wall which is great however nobody can see them due to your page settings. A savvy user will know to click ‘everyone’ just under the picture strip but most users don’t know about this feature and user posts are lost. To change this setting go to your edit page section, then manage permissions tab, then the ‘wall tab shows’ drop down box should say ‘all posts’. Don’t forget to save.
3. Page owner
You are the owner of this business and it’s even named after you so why not feature yourself as the “page owner”? Many page owners are not aware of this feature and it doesn’t always apply to every page. In your case, you ARE the business and your clients need to know who they are dealing with. To change this setting, go to ‘edit page’, then to the ‘featured’ tab on the left side of the page and add your self as the page owner. You can have more than one page owner if needed.
4. Video
There were a couple of videos hidden on your page but I would suggest lots more! People are visual and your style is so great, so why not show it off! Set up a YouTube channel and then connect your YouTube to your Facebook and create a tab for it.
5. Content
Your overall content is great but always ask yourself ‘why would anyone want to come to my page?‘. I’m in no way a wedding expert of course, but I would imagine most brides are looking for wedding themes and ideas and clever ways to save money. While you do have some great articles and blog posts about those very things I would include more tips or ideas. I always tell people to give away *just* enough free information so they don’t need your services, but then when they do need someone, you will be the first one they think of.
The good stuff:
1. Picture strip
It looks like there is an attempt to use your picture strip at the top of the page to your advantage using your logo and a tag line ‘elegant, natural, simple’. The problem is the pictures randomly change order so your message with your pictures gets a little messy. Maybe add 2 more words to go along with it to fill in the spaces or use really amazing pictures to fill in those holes. Otherwise it looks like a banner add that was chopped up.
2. Logo/profile picture
I love your logo and the fact that your profile picture is so big! Only suggest I would make here is, since it is so big, maybe add a phone number, email, or website to it. If you wanted to reformat the whole thing I would use your logo but in a horizontal form instead of verticle with either a picture of you or maybe a QR code that leads to a great video of the best wedding you have planned.
3. About me
I love that you are taking advantage of the about me section and put your website first to make it more accessible.
4. Featured likes
It looks like you are featuring the buisness pages you work with in this section. Hopefully they are doing the same for you!
5. Content
Testimonials, stories, fan engagement, pictures, and lots of article and blog sharing. Good stuff! Your page gives an overall warm fuzzy feeling.
6. Photos
Great, great pictures! Again, people are visual and showing what you can do for them and ‘painting the picture’ is awesome! I love your style and I love the fact that you give credits (and link to their pages) in your pictures to the photographers, flowers, etc.
Overall Taylor, your page looks really good and you’re doing well!
P.S I love your website, who created it?
Good luck!
Click the pic!
Free Facebook Page Assessment – Cedar City Real Estate 411
Another FREE promotion, offered on my Facebook page to assess to your business pages. Derek Morton with Mountain View Title asked me to review his page. So lets gets started…
Needs improvement:
1. No welcome page/landing tab
Actually it looks like there was an attempt to set one up through wix.com however, there is nothing on the welcome page. Also, the welcome page is not set as your default landing tab (maybe because it wasn’t finished?) but can be set under the ‘edit page’ feature and then the manage permissions tab.
2. Logo and page name
I was a little confused because the page name ‘Cedar City Real Estate 411‘ is different than the logo/profile picture which is Mountain View Title and Escrow. After looking through the page I realized you work for the title company but the page is to promote general interest in Cedar City Real Estate. A couple things I would touch on here, since not everyone knows where Cedar City is located, I would change the name to include the city and state. The problem with that is since you have more than 100 fans, your page name can not be changed. So my suggestion would be to either change the logo to go with the name or include ‘Cedar City, UT’ in the logo.
3. Featured likes
The list of 5 pages on the left side of the page is the ‘featured likes’ section. A business page can like other pages, then ‘feature’ them on their page. This is great to promote other partners or favorite pages. You are using yours but after refreshing several times it seems as though you have not picked a select few and I never even saw Mountain View Title in there. You can select your featured pages in the edit page section under the ‘featured tab’ then check mark the boxes of the pages you want to promote.
4. About me
List your company’s website first on the “about me” section which will help funnel people over to the website. Making that link and a phone number easily accessible is a plus.
5. Wall posts
Fans are allowed to post on your wall which is great however nobody can see them due to your page settings. A savvy user will know to click ‘everyone’ just under the picture strip but most users don’t know about this feature and user posts are lost. To change this setting go to your edit page section, then manage permissions tab, then the ‘wall tab shows’ drop down box should say ‘all posts’. Don’t forget to save.
6. Content
As in any page there will be good and bad content. My overall question is what (or who) are you promoting? Are you promoting Derek Morton with Mountain View Title? Real estate in Cedar City, UT? Mountain View Title? Cedar City? All four? Who is your target audience? Since there were no home listings, my guess is you are not promoting that side of it. From what I can tell you are promoting the mortgage industry which, as we all know has not been fabulous in recent years and quite frankly is not the most fun topic to discuss. No doubt you have your work cut out So my suggestion is to keep it light, fun and entertaining which I did see several interesting and fun articles. Talk to your fans and ask what information they want or need. Ask questions and see what kinds of questions get comments, what works and what doesn’t.
7. Picture strip
Use your picture strip at the top of the page to your advantage. Any picture you post on your wall gets thrown up there but you can manage those pictures and keep what you want on the strip. Just hover over the pic you don’t want and you will have the option to delete. Use descriptive pictures and logos to tell a story or convey a message.
The good stuff:
1. Videos
I love the video explanations and the testimonials! Do at least one a week, post it on your blog, and a YouTube channel, then put a YouTube channel tab on your page.
2. Good content
Several funny posts, jokes and interesting articles. Especially ‘6 tips to make your move easier‘ and ‘4 steps to buy again after foreclosure‘. That is the kind of content that gets shared!
Good luck!
Click the pic!
Free Facebook Page Assessment – City of St. George, UT.
As a FREE promotion, I offered on my Facebook page to assess anyone elses page for them if they commented on my post. James Duckett, Technology Services Division Manager for the City of St. George, UT. responded. I have worked for a city department before and understand there are limitations and lots of red tape to do what most companies wouldn’t bat an eye to. So the fact that the city even has an active Facebook page is a huge plus! So lets gets started…
Needs improvement:
1. No welcome page/landing tab
This is your first impression. A welcome page is your opportunity to get their attention, convey a message, and wow them. No welcome page means new fans land on your wall which, depending on what your last post was, could be boring. Welcome pages are easy to create especially if you are a computer guy who knows HTML or iFrames. But if your not that savvy there are plenty of free applications like wix.com or you can always outsource it to your favorite web guy.
2. Business listing
I wasn’t quite sure how you got the City to be listed as a sports club and actually thought that was cute since St. George is known for its outdoorsy venue of rock climbing, hiking, marathons and triathalons. But hopefully you set up the catagory as a local business/place and then sub category as community or government OR under organization/government organization. Good news is that if you set it up wrong you can always change your category under the “edit page” feature. The name is good and says the city and state in the category line since of course there may be more than one St. George (What? Never!). ;) however it would be even better to have the state listed in the title name.
3. Profile picture
I would suggest using a larger logo for the profile picture. It’s too small to read the super cursive script that says St. George and it just gets lost.
4. About me
List the city’s website first on the “about me” section which will help funnel people over to the city website. Making that link easily accessible is a plus.
5. Wall posts
Fans are unable to post on the wall, limiting the engagement. Many cities do this for a number of reasons such as they, don’t want spam, they don’t have anyone full time to monitor the postings, or they don’t want negative feedback or irrelevant posts. The problem is, the city is alienating it’s fans and citizens by doing so. Social media is about people and talking to those people, not at them. Allow them to talk to you and then listen and respond. If there are negative comments, use it as a PR moment and solve the problem.
6. Use applications
The page is a little boring and could be spruced up with other applications. The city has a ton of information like events, department listings, and other city links. Use iFrame pages to create custom tabs to show a list of common referenced numbers or the events tab for upcoming community events. Connect the city’s Twitter and YouTube pages and create tabs for those as well. Make your Facebook page a secondary site to your website. Maybe even include a monthly Mayor’s address on video to post to YouTube and Facebook.
7. Picture strip
Use your picture strip at the top of the page to your advantage. Any picture you post on your wall gets thrown up there but you can manage those pictures and keep what you want on the strip. Just hover over the pic you don’t want and you will have the option to delete. Use descriptive pictures and logos to tell a story or convey a message.
The good stuff:
1. The name
As I said earlier, the name is good and to the point. City and state in the category line which will differentiate you from other similar cities when users are searching for you.
2. Featured Likes
On the left side of the page is the “featured likes” section. You have used this area well and connected with other departments and partners with the city such as the recreation center, police department, and Art Festival.
3. Good content
Frequent posts with links and detailed information is great! Lots of info coming from the city so get it out there!
4. Info tab
A history of the city gives a little trivia to someone who may not even been looking for it. I like it!
5. Pictures
Lots of great pictures from events and around the city, keep em’ coming!
Finally, ask yourself why would anyone look for and then go to the City of St. George’s Facebook page and then add that information. Are they looking for relocation, employment, chamber of commerce, utility department, events, news, phone numbers, the Mayor? Even better…ASK THE FANS.
Good luck!
Click the pic!
10 Things You Didn’t Know You Could Do In Your Facebook Newsfeed
Sep 4
Posted by Chanda Gunter
Facebook is the largest and most popular social network out there, but for many, it can be quite confusing. The beauty of Facebook is that just about everything can be customized or configured to your liking…you may just not know about it. If you want to know a little more about what you can do to customize your Facebook business page or just Timeline in general, here is some information for you.
Below are 10 configurations you can do right from your news feed in Facebook. Enjoy!
#1 Have you ever logged into Facebook and the first few posts were from hours ago? Facebook automatically shows you the “Top Stories” in your new feed which are posts that have received lots of attention via likes and comments, and Facebook thinks you shouldn’t miss out on this. Well, here’s how to fix it to show the “Most Recent” posts:
#2 Sometimes you just want to get on Facebook without anyone bugging you. You can be anonymous by setting your chat to “offline“. Any messaging you receive will be sent to your FB Inbox. Start by clicking the chat box at the bottom of the screen. It will pop open showing you who is online, who is not, and who is available by mobile. Then click the gear wheel and “Turn off chat“. Just don’t forget to turn it back on later!
#3 You can change who is seeing your individual posts. “Public” posts, showing the world symbol, mean anyone can see your post, friend or not. “Friends“, showing the figure head symbol, mean only your friends will see your posts. “Custom“, showing the gear wheel symbol, allows you to post to all your friends except for individual people. For example, you are having a surprise party for your mom and you create a post telling everyone you are planning the party. If you set the post to custom, excluding your mom, everyone will see the post but her! Pretty cool huh?
#4 Don’t you hate it when you comment on a post, then realize you misspelled something or forgot a word? You can edit your comment and move on
#5 Have you ever commented on a post and then regretted it later because 50 other people also commented and your notification box is filling up? You can “Unfollow a post” and never get notified again.
#6 The election is close and people are more than ever posting their political beliefs and it can be tiresome. I have many political friends and although it’s not my thing, I still want to be friends with them, but without seeing all those posts. There is a solution…You can hide them from your news feed, meaning you are still friends, they still see your posts, you can see their posts if you go to their profile page, but you won’t see them in your news feed until you put them back in your news feed. Just don’t forget about them! BTW…they will NOT receive a notification about it.
#7 Alright so maybe taking them out of your news feed is a little too harsh for you…Here is an alternative. Hover over the person’s name, then hover over “friends“. Click on “settings” and you will see options for “How many posts you see” and “What type of posts you see“. This allows you to see what you want to see from these people.
#8 You can create different lists for your friends and put friends into multiple lists. For example, family, co-workers, best friends, high school, college friends, etc. whatever you like.
#9 Now that you have all your friends neatly in lists, you can do 2 things with that. First, you can create a post specifically for that list. Now only your friends listed in “family”, for example, will see your specific post only meant for them. Second, you can look at your news feed with only that particular list in mind. For example, if you just want to see what your college buddies are up to, you can click on that list on your left side of the screen, and your news feed will only show those in that last.
#10 If you have a Facebook business page, you will appreciate this. An easy way to jump to your page and not have to go back and forth between “you” and “your page” identities is to click your page from the left side of the screen. It will also have a number next to it if there are any notifications for your page. Easy as pie!
I hope this helped you out and of course if you have anything to add to this, please post it in the comment section below.
Thanks for sharing!!!
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Tags: blocking, Chanda Gunter, chat, comments, edit, election 2012, facebook, friends, hide, how to, lists, newsfeend, pages, post, posting, privacy, public, security, Social Media, timeline, tools