Are you one of the Facebook users who felt a bit blind-sided by the switchover to the new Timeline view?  You are not alone.

Although Facebook did send announcements to users a month or so in advance, I can absolutely understand the frustration of opening your page and seeing it completely discombobulated.  You now have to learn yet ANOTHER thing on Facebook.

While social media marketing can be not only enjoyable and extremely beneficial to your business, one of the byproducts of this terrific medium is the fact that you have to constantly stay on your toes and keep abreast of the changes.  As technology changes, social media changes.  As people change, social media changes.  As….ok, you get the idea.

What I want to do here is share with you a positive aspect of this change, and one of the most beneficial aspects of the new Facebook Timeline layout: images.  If you haven’t been using pictures in your social media marketing efforts before, now is the time to start.  As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words – now you have the ability to put that saying into action!  

With the Timeline layout you are now able to create a visually stunning Facebook Page for your business using your own stock imagery, brand logos (for some pictures – read below), and any other photographs that are in your marketing arsenal.  

But to get the most out of your pictures on your Facebook Page, you can’t just upload them willy nilly.  You need to resize them to fit!  This is one of the largest mistakes I have seen people make when converting to the Timeline layout, as the wrong size can make your picture look clipped, pixelated, distorted, or just plain ugly.

Here are the sizes (in pixels) that you should format your pictures to in the Facebook Page Timeline layout.  I have added a couple of extra tips for each of the areas covered to help you maximize the marketing potential of your images.  

When it comes to formatting these pictures, use the picture editing suite that came with your computer, or look for another service/software online where you are able to crop and resize your images (these are the two most important parts).

Now onto the sizes.  Here are the top 3 that you need to be aware of:

*Timeline Cover Image: 850 x 315 pixels (they must be at least 399 pixels wide)

This is the large header image which will be the first thing that people see.  Choose a hi-resolution image of your product line, somebody using your products, one that is inline with your brand, one the represents your services, etc.  As I mentioned above, you are not allowed (at the moment) to add your brand logo, website address, phone numbers, or anything similar to your Cover Image.  Facebook is pushing you to lead with a visual that represents your brand message and image – so have fun with it and think outside of the box.

*Profile Image: 160 x 160 pixels (as of April 26, 2012)

This is the small box on the left hand side under the Cover Image where you need to put your brand logo.  What happens if your brand logo is rectangular or outside of the exact 180 x 180 pixel proportions?  My suggestion: see if you can come up with a different variation to fit.  Remember, this perfectly square logo will be also useful on your business profiles on Twitter, Google+, YouTube and more….so it is worth putting it together.  

*Highlight a Post: 843 x 843 pixels

This is a new function (and my favorite) of the Facebook Page Timeline.  Look at one of your previous posts on your Facebook Page.  When you place your cursor over the top of the post, in the right corner you will see a star button.  If you cursor over the star, the word “Highlight” comes up. If you click this, you will see that the post will now nearly fit the width of your Facebook Page.  I suggest using this for pictures or video only….as with words or small images, it can look pretty weak.  When you Highlight a post with a picture, you will THEN have the opportunity to format it.  Cursor over the top right hand side again, and you will see the image of a pencil.  Click that and a drop down menu will appear.  In that menu you will see “Reposition Photo”.  Click this and then drag your photo to the spot that you like it (or click ‘default positioning’).  Presto changeo – the right positioning!

There are many new features that are great for marketers using the new Timeline view, but images are definitely at the top.  Now you will be able to not only make the most of your Facebook Page’s new Timeline view, you will be able to properly brand yourself and create an engaging and beautiful ‘shop window’ on Facebook.

Warm Regards,

Chris

Source: Chris Tompkins, CEO and Founder Go! Media International

The Better Business Bureau (BBB) serving Nebraska, South Dakota and southwest Iowa, along with the Council of Better Business Bureaus (CBBB) is issuing the following alert:

“For the past 4+ months, BBB has been the victim of a massive phishing scam that uses our name and logo to fool people into thinking the email is from BBB concerning a complaint against their business. Unfortunately there have been significant losses to businesses across the country as a result of these emails. Although they appear to be coming from a BBB computer, they are not,” stated BBB President and CEO Jim Hegarty.

The attacks have escalated dramatically in the past several days and their messages are changing too. The most recent email from the scammers seeks to trick victims into filling out an online form that asks for detailed information about the business. “Because the links contained in the email may contain viruses, anyone who clicks on them should immediately scan their computer with updated anti-virus software,” stated Hegarty.

The email that bombarded businesses and consumers yesterday began with, “The Better Business Bureau has received the above-referenced complaint from one of your customers regarding their dealings with you. The details of the consumer’s concern are included on the reverse. Please review this matter and advise us of your position… In the interest of time and good customer relations, please provide the BBB with written verification of your position in this matter by April 06, 2012. Your prompt response will allow BBB to be of service to you and your customer in reaching a mutually agreeable resolution. Please inform us if you have contacted your customer directly and already resolved this matter…” This email lists a Matthew Bourgeois from Washington DC/ Pennsylvania BBB as the sender and has the phone number of the Utah BBB in it.

These emails appear to have been totally random in who they are sent to. They have gone to businesses, but they have also gone to individuals who have never owned a business, as well as to educational, nonprofit and government addresses. There is no indication that BBB Accredited Businesses are being targeted.

The emails appear to be part of a criminal campaign that has spoofed other trusted identities, including Bank of America, Intuit (maker of Turbo-Tax) and the Internal Revenue Service. The FBI has made this a priority and CBBB is working closely with their cybercrime division and other law enforcement agencies to shut down the scammers.

The spammers’ goal is to get as many email recipients as possible to click on the link within the email which redirects to a website infected with malware. If you clicked on the link within these emails, your computer is likely to be infected. The criminals then use that malware to transfer money out of bank accounts or obtain additional email addresses.

BBB is directing many resources to combat this attack. We have hired security specialists to track the fraudulent emails and shut down the websites hosting the malware. We have been working with forensic criminal experts to make sure no malware has infiltrated BBB’s computers or those of our vendors.

In the past week, many recipients have gotten multiple copies – sometimes dozens or even hundreds – of the same email. This may be due to some unsophisticated “copycat” spammers who don’t even know or care that they are sending multiples of the same email.

The two things people can do right now to prevent being victimized by this scam or other phishing scams:

• Install good anti-virus software on your computer(s) and get regular updates of virus definitions several times a day
• Never click on links in emails that have come to you unsolicited
• If you have clicked on a link in one of these emails, run a complete system scan of your computer or network, and make sure your anti-virus software includes elimination of the Zeus or Z-bot virus.

BBB encourages any company that suspects they have been infected or sustained losses to contact us at 402-391-7612 or 800-649-6814.

Source: Better Business Bureau, Inc.
Serving Nebraska, South Dakota & Southwest Iowa

When you want to find a reputable company to handle your business dealings, start with one that is on the BBB Honor Roll. See the Website Managers, LLC full report showing a BBB A+ rating on the Honor Roll.

Shop around for the best price. There are tons of web hosts out there to choose from that all have different prices. Some may offer features that you need and some may offer those that you don’t. Try to find something that fits your budget and has tools that you will use. It doesn’t make any sense to pay extra for something you have no use for.

Take you time and do your research. There are a lot of things you have to look for in a web host. Look at things like how much downtime they have every month. If they’re down quite a bit then you’re going to lose traffic and that’s not good. Also, you have to look for how much bandwidth you have to work with. This is basically how much data can be accessed from your site. If you go over this limit because too many people are downloading and uploading things to and from your site, you could end up getting your site shut down until the next pay period starts. The final thing to look for is how much web space you’ll have. If you’re hosting large files then you need to find someone that offers adequate space.

Free hosting sites are not recommended if you have a professional website. This is because you don’t get to decide what ads they place onto your website. You’ll make no money from the ads either. They also sometimes have annoying banners or pop-up ads. Another thing is that you’re usually not going to have your own domain name with a free website. That can really be a pain if you’re trying to advertise a site because the URL will be long and have the free host’s name in it.

You may not know how to code a website from scratch and that’s okay because there are templates out there. Make sure that you get one that looks great and works with a few different browsers. Just because something looks great on your computer doesn’t mean it will look that way somewhere else. Different browsers can display things differently so it’s important to find templates that are made to dynamically change when displayed in different browsers.

Forums can be a big help when looking for a good web host. These are places where people go to discuss pretty much anything. Just search the web for web hosting forums and you’ll be able to see people having discussions about various hosts. Don’t be afraid to sign up and ask other people questions; they’ve probably been in your shoes before.

Using these tips will allow you to find a web hosting company that works for you. If you’re planning to put a website online then you have to study various companies. Now that you’ve learned a little more about web hosting you should be able to get started today! We recommend you take a close look at Website Managers, LLC for all your web hosting and website management.