How an Alaskan Mom Brings Millions to Her Carpentry Blog
Just over two years ago, Ana White wasn’t quite sure what a blog was.
Today, she runs her own rapidly growing destination, drawing nearly three million page views every month.
Successful professional bloggers aren’t hard to find, but a few things are remarkable about White’s success:
- She writes a do-it-yourself carpentry blog. With White’s help, droves of women are discovering they can build beautiful, stylish things.
- She started with dial-up Internet and does it all from her home in the Alaskan interior (where record-smashing temps recently hit -40° F).
- White succeeded accidentally. She never expected that simply sharing what she loves could support her entire family.
This self-described “homemaker” has an innate knack not only for woodworking but for business as well.
Turns out, this blog Cinderella tale is all about sharing your personal story. Oh, and relentless blogging. 
Top 10 Facebook Apps for Fan Engagement and Building Community
Are you looking for ways to better engage Facebook fans and build your community?
These top 10 Facebook apps are, in my opinion, some of the most useful ones for pages when it comes to encouraging fan engagement and giving value to your community.
They are also very easy to use. Some may be familiar to you, but you may find some new gems to try out.
By the way, check out Top Ten Facebook Apps for Building Custom Tabs & Pages. If you are looking for a more comprehensive list, check out the one by Mari Smith: Top 75 Apps for Enhancing Your Facebook Page.
How a Scrapbooking Company Used Social Media to Beat Target as Best Brand in Minnesota
On the morning of June 10, Kristen Jacobs was monitoring the Twitterverse for mentions of her employer, Creative Memories, as she usually does. One tweet in particular stood out.
Upon closer inspection of the tweet and link, Jacobs discovered that Creative Memories was going head-to-head with one of America’s biggest retailers, Target, in a “Minnesota Brand Madness” challenge put on by the Minneapolis St. Paul Business Journal.
Creative Memories learned first on Twitter that it was included in the Minnesota Brand Madness competition.
This was news to Jacobs (the company’s web content community manager), as well as the rest of the scrapbooking company. But Jacobs knew where to turn first.
9 Facebook Marketing Strategies to Build Super Fans
Are you looking to attract high-quality and loyal fans to your Facebook page? Without quality fans, your Facebook marketing efforts can fizzle out quickly.
Keep reading to discover nine ways you can build loyal fans who’ll love your business.
In a recently published infographic, Moontoast illustrates a Facebook fan’s journey from a “Potential Fan” all the way to a “Super Fan.” The image below shows a fan’s progression.
20 Ways to Promote Your Facebook Fan Page
Are you looking for creative ways to spread the word about your Facebook page?
Your fan page can be one of your organization’s richest sources of interaction, R&D and lead generation. The only problem is making people aware of it!
Unless you have a built-in audience like big-boy brands Coke or Red Bull, you’ll need to educate your fan base on how to find you on Facebook.
To help you out, I’ve put together a list of 20 different ways to promote your Facebook page. Even if you only put a few of these ideas into action, you’ll start seeing growth and increased conversation on your fan page.
Are you ready? Let’s get started.
7 Tips for Dealing With Upset Facebook Fans
What do you do when you’ve just received a less-than-complimentary Facebook wall post from someone who likes your business (or used to, so it seems)?
The customer could have a simple complaint, or be so upset he’s gone on the offensive, making sure you and the rest of your community knows he’s angry.
Your next steps are key to retaining not only the business of the angry customer, but the business of other fans who like your page as well.
4 Tips for Effective Facebook Community Management
Do you manage a Facebook page?
Are you looking for an easier way to manage your tasks?
In this article I’ll share four tips that will increase your value to your community.
About Community Managers
The role of community manager has been around much longer than Facebook. In fact, I like to think of the community manager as a modern-day Andy Griffith. You help people out, give advice, get to know the neighbors and occasionally keep the peace and lay down the law. The analogy isn’t perfect, but you get the idea.
You may start out as the sole admin on your Facebook page, but as your business and Facebook presence grow, you may need help (after all, Facebook is open 24-7). You may want to hire a community manager to facilitate the discussions, postings and moderation.
How Social Media Drew 27,000 More People to the Races
In Southern California, the Del Mar Racetrack is the place to see and be seen. And now it’s the place to check into, tweet about and post via Facebook.
This Southern California institution, in business for 71 years, draws thousands every summer for horse racing, its cool bars and restaurants and a busy slate of concerts and festivals.
But like many entertainment industry venues, Del Mar attendance has dipped in recent years due to the ailing economy. But in 2010, the track added a new star to its marketing lineup – social media.
With virtually no other marketing changes, social media boosted attendance this past season by 4.2 percent.
“That’s an increase of 27,000 bodies,” said Craig Dado, senior vice president of marketing at Del Mar Racetrack. “In this economy, I’ve got to be honest, it was a little bit surprising.”
How to Build Your Facebook Fan Base by Creating Experiences
It’s obvious that Facebook pages are quickly becoming an essential part of most businesses’ marketing strategies. But how can you find ways to differentiate yourself from the competition?
In this article, I’ll take a look at how brands are standing apart from the crowd on Facebook. And how you can employ some low-cost techniques to grow your fans.
How Facebook Friday Expert Sessions Increase Fan Engagement
Do your Facebook fans have questions they want answered? Would they like to have access to industry experts who can answer their questions?
Are you aware of the Facebook Friday expert sessions Social Media Examiner has been doing?
Here’s how they work. We bring an expert to our Facebook wall for an hour to answer questions. The expert gets great exposure and the fans get their questions answered.
These sessions are a great way for fans to quickly get the information they need. And you can model this for your business. These open Q&A sessions with industry experts are a great way to encourage engagement with your fans and get your updates to show up more in your fans’ news feeds.
