Why You Should Never Buy Fake Facebook Fans

Companies that sell fake Facebook fans are pretty much a dime a dozen.  Buying some fake fans is as easy as buying bulk canned goods in your local Costco.  Most companies offer packages for groups of Facebook fans, assuming that the more fans you can buy, the more interested you will be.  You can buy thousands of fans if you really wanted to.

Buying Facebook fans is one one of the worst, if not THE worst fan acquisition strategies I’ve come across.  In the long run, pumping your Facebook fan page with fake fans will actually hurt, not help, your marketing strategy.

Let’s go back to the beginning of what Facebook was all about: making relationships.  Savvy businesses soon picked up on the fact that these Facebook relationships could lead to increased sales and brand awareness.  From their, the business fan page business exploded with potential.

Va-Va Viral!

When we talk about things going ‘viral’, we’re talking about the unprecedented impact of hundreds, thousands and even millions of people sharing pictures, status updates, and videos online through social networking.  When businesses and marketers looked at the numbers from something that went viral, they automatically started thinking how they themselves could make something go viral.  All of a sudden, more became better.

When a video or photo truly does go viral, it really is an amazing thing.  And yes, it could mean a huge increase in publicity for a brand, product or person.  At the root of all things viral are real people.  Yes real people with real friends and real social networks.  That’s how the big snowball starts.  I tell 100 of my Facebook friends, who in turn tell 100 of their friends, who tell 100 of their friends and so on….big possibilities for companies.

The reason buying fake Facebook fans can never help any business or brand achieve stardom or anything even remotely viral is because these so called Facebook fans are typically ‘fake’ accounts of people who don’t even exist.  These accounts are made and then they are ‘friended’ with 50-100 other fake accounts to make it seem like these people are legitimate Facebook users with friends who can help but a business on the map. Fake people with fake friends can NOT help increase your visibility.  If you’re interested in putting your product or brand in front of a bunch of fake people who can’t help share your story, brand or business, then buying fake fans is the way to go for you!

Fake Fans Hurt Your Facebook Edgerank

Besides being a waste of money, fake fans actually hurt your edgerank.  Edgerank is an algorithm that Facebook uses to assess the popularity of your Facebook fan page.  A page with a higher edgerank gets shown in the news ticker more and on other peoples’ pages, increasing your overall visibility.  One of the factors for calculating edgrank is the amount of ‘likes’ and ‘comments’ a page gets.  All of those fake fans aren’t going to interact with your page much, which is going to decrease the amount of likes/comments to your #of fans ratio, which will decrease your edgerank score.

If you want to find quality, real Facebook fans you have to take the time to create relationships with the people online.  That’s what Facebook is all about anyway.

A Few Tips for Getting More Quality Fans

Attract people who actually want to be a fan of your page with these simple tactics:

  • Add your Facebook fan page link to your email signature
  • Add a prominent link to your Facebook fan page on your website, right up top
  • Invite people to ‘like’ your page when you send out email campaigns
  • ‘Like’ other relevant businesses and begin networking with them (networking, not self-promoting)
  • Run a paid campaign to put your business in front of relevant people on Facebook by targeting your exact demographic

Salon Marketing: Going Pink for Breast Cancer Awareness

tshirt

Breast Cancer Awareness t-shirt for $5.95

We are just a few weeks away from the start of Breast Cancer Awareness month.  Without a doubt, someone who has sat in your chair knows a survivor, patient or remembers someone who fought.  This is a critical time for salon owners and staff members to connect with your clients on another level.  Show your support for your community, friends, and clients by marking the month with special promotions and highlights to show you care.

Here are a few ideas:

  • Kerastase Salons- advertise the pink Chrome line and donate a percentage of sales for the month to Breast Cancer Awareness
  • Have staff members who are bold enough dye a streak of hair bright pink! It’s fun and will definitely be a great way to promote BCA through pictures online and in the salon
  • If you have a salon uniform (or even if you don’t) change it up for October by incorporating pink.  PinkRibbonShop.com has a great selection of Breast Cancer Awareness t-shirts that start as low as $5.95. You can also get pink bands to wear around the wrist.
  • Put a collection box (wrapped in pink wrapping paper) at the front of the salon.  Encourage donations by letting everyone know that your salon will match however much is collected and the money will go to the Breast Cancer Awareness organization

These are just a few ideas. We can come up with so much more and this is an important cause to recognize.

Call me if you want to brainstorm, 732 757 7944.

Stacey

Webwire Improves Press Release Submission Features

webwire.comOne of my favorite cheap press release sites, Webwire.com, has recently made their PR submitting services even more powerful. I usually use the $19.99 option for my Internet Marketing clients who want great exposure on Google as well as media attention.  The benefits of Webwire.com are that it only costs $20.00, often appears on Google Page 1 for many search results, allows unlimited live links (don’t go overboard or your PR will look like an advertisement and NOT get published) and incorporates social media tracking into the stats.

Now Webwire.com has stepped it up a notch to include the ability to hyperlink text to live URLs as well as basic formatting function for the body of the PR (bold, underline, etc).  A new option has also been added to include a summary/teaser for your PR. This is important because this is another opportunity to utilize your keywords to get you noticed.  You can also add bullet points or a numbered list much easier now.

If you’re looking for an inexpensive press release newswire to submit your company’s news and announcements, you have to check out Webwire.com. If you draft your press release properly, you will be impressed with the results!

 

 

Local SEO: How to Time Your Strategies for the Seasons

freelance seo njThis is an excerpt from an article on Search Engine Land…a great source of Digital Marketing and SEO information.

If you are a business that plans SEO strategies around the holidays or major events, these tips are worth reading.  Much of it is common sense but you’d be surprised how much of common sense gets lost in the garbage.  It’s to no fault of the business owner who is usually running around wearing multiple hats.  That’s why it helps to have a local SEO company to help with the planning phases of your marketing tactics.

Here are a good few good tips from our friends at Search Engine Land to keep in mind:

For seasonal and locally focused SEO campaigns consider the following tips.

1.  Plan Ahead

If you want to rank for a seasonal keyword like “back to school sale” in your city, you’ll probably want to try to rank for the query ahead of time. While putting up a great piece of content and getting links at the time of the event can work, as people are more likely to link to something that’s current, I have found it’s more reliable to get your content indexed and linked way ahead of time.

During the actual time you want to have the best rankings, you can also add additional content that targets variations of the keyword and links back to the original page you are trying to rank. This can both bolster the original page as well provide an additional URL that can rank.

2.  Understand The Time Window

Planning for your New Years Eve party usually starts around December 1st. So if you’re a restaurant, you’ll want to rank for “New Years Eve menu” well before New Years Eve comes around.

3.  Understand The SERPs For Your Keyword

While Google and Bing update their various SERP displays regularly, having a handle on the different SERP inventory available for your target keyword is a good idea.

If Google is showing a lot of images, then you know you need to work on image optimization. If there are Shopping results as in the backpack example, you know you need to get your inventory in Google Shopping.

For event-based keywords like “Black Friday Shopping”, Google often shows relevant News links above the organic results around the time of the event. For the News results, consider writing an article on “Black Friday Shopping” for your local newspaper.

Often times, SERPs with News results also show blog results, so this would be an indication that you might want to add some content about the event to your blog. If it’s a hot term, update your blog regularly throughout the day, as Google will often update these links with the latest content.

4.  Create An Editorial Calendar

One of the challenges (and opportunities) with the Web is that it forces businesses to start thinking like publishers. But businesses should already know when their hot seasons are.

They also should know the types of products people will be looking for and the types of questions they will be asking search engines. Map out the seasons that effect you in a editorial calendar spreadsheet and start figuring out where your areas of SEO opportunity are going to be over the next year.

To help you get started, I have created a Local SEO Seasonal Calendar that shows some of the major events for the year, complete with relevant local business categories/keywords for those events and the window of time for each.

And remember, with local SEO, ’tis always the season.

For more information on Search Engine Optimization, send us an email or call 732-757-7944.

Blog Writing Services

freelance bloggersDoes your business have a blog? If not you are missing out on web traffic, customers, sales and more.  Blogs help drive traffic to your main website and can also be used to promote sales, special products or new services.  A blog brings you and your customers closer together, positioning you or your company as the ‘expert’ or ‘authority’ on any number of subjects.  Consumers are more likely to buy from a company that they have developed a relationship with, even if it is a virtual one.

How to Blog

Blogging can be as simple as sharing ideas or thoughts in your mind with your customers.  Write about issues that are relevant to your industry and business, issues that pertain to your customers and ones that answer questions that they may have.  It is estimated that over 85% of consumers look online for answers before they call a particular business.  If a consumer is searching online and you’re not there, you just gave away a potential sale to your closest competitor.

Freelance Blogging

If you don’t have the time or desire to blog, let the experts at TCR Marketing blog for you.  Our skilled team of writers are trained to write blogs that get the attention of search engines and incorporate important keywords for your business.  Don’t have a blog? No problem.  Blogs are free to create online at dozens of blog posts like WordPress.com, Blogger.com, TypePad.com and more.  You can also create a customized blog site that looks nearly identical to your main website to maintain your current branding and established image.

Don’t delay getting started on blogging, start today!  The only thing you have to lose is customers!

Send us an email for more information.

Gourmet Beach Wedding Favors and Party Gift Ideas

Edible Gifts Plus introduces new beach wedding favors and summer party favors from their giant selection of customized gourmet gifts.

Rounding out the hottest ideas in summer gift giving are Flip Flop Sugar Picture Cookies, Nutter Butter Flip Flop Cookies, Hand Decorated Oreo Flower Cookies and a great big ‘Life’s a Beach’ cookie bouquet.  All summer and beach wedding favors are hand decorated and certain items can even include a personal message.

Flip Flop Sugar Cookie

Flip Flop Sugar Cookie

The Flip Flop Sugar Picture Cookie is one of the best selling items for summer and beach themed parties. These delicious fresh-baked sugar cookies are hand-dipped in Belgian white chocolate and decorated with sprinkles in the colors of the consumer’s choice. The cookie is decorated to look just like a flip-flop and can also be personalized with a monogram, name, special date, initials, etc. They make great summer party favors for birthdays, weddings, and anniversaries. Consumers can view this product at http://www.ediblegiftsplus.com/Flip_Flop_Sugar_Picture_Cookies_p/pc-flp.htm


For those attending a beach bash, the ‘Life’s a Beach’ summer cookie bouquet is a great way to make a splash at any party.  It’s filled with up to 12 delicious sugar cookies that are all hand decorated to resemble flip-flops, fruit, beach balls, tank tops, cocktails and more.  The center cookie is reserved for the consumer to choose a special message to display.

Last but not least, fan favorite beach wedding favors are the hand decorated Oreo flower cookies.  These floral creations resemble more of a tropical delight than they do a chocolate treat.  But don’t be fooled, underneath a beautiful layer of the hand painted flower-patterned goodness is everyone’s favorite chocolate cookie with cream in the middle. Starting at just $1.75 a cookie, they make incredibly affordable beach wedding favors!  The Oreo flower cookies can be seen online at http://www.ediblegiftsplus.com/Chocolate_Covered_Oreo_Flower_Cookies_reg_p/vt-hdorccb.htm


Edible Gifts Plus has a large selection of summer wedding and party favors available to order.  Most gifts can be personalized with special messages, individually wrapped or creatively bundled in a festive summer gift basket. To learn more about Edible Gifts Plus and to see their full selection of summer gifts, please visit http://www.ediblegiftsplus.com/Summer_Gift_Ideas_Cookies_Fruit_Ceramics_Hostess_Gifts_s/399.htm


About Edible Gifts Plus

Edible Gifts Plus is a gourmet foods business that is the result of years of party planning, research, unique gift giving and lots of delicious sampling! It is an appreciation for the best that life has to offer and a passion for excellence, in both product and customer service that created EdibleGiftsPlus.com.

Consumers can shop through hundreds of personalized edible gift selections for any occasion including birthdays, parties, weddings, holidays, and more.   From customized fortune cookies to their famous Picture-Pops, every sweet can be hand decorated and personalized for any event.  They even offer kosher gift selections.

http://www.EdibleGiftsPlus.com

Additional Links:

Edible Gifts Plus on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/EdibleGiftsPlusFan

Edible Gifts Plus on Twitter: http://twitter.com/ediblegifts

Blog: http://www.ediblegiftsplus.vox.com ; http://www.cookiegiftbasket.vox.com

Breast Augmentation Seminar in NJ Helps Patients Understand Their Options

One of the most popular cosmetic surgery procedures in NJ (and in the country) is breast augmentation surgery.  With so many questions about the differences between silicone and saline breast implants, top NJ Plastic Surgeon, Dr. Anthony Lombardi, has offered to host a free seminar which will feature information about breast augmentation surgery and a Q&A session.  The event will be held the evening of June 16th at 6:30pm at Aquamedica Day Spa in Long Branch.

Women considering breast augmentation surgery will have the opportunity to speak in person with Dr. Lombardi who will elaborate on the procedure, the differences between silicone and saline breast implants, who is a candidate and more.  Dr. Lombardi will also offer special prices for Juvederm™ fillers at $399 for 1 syringe or 2 syringes for $699.   Botox® will be offered at $9 per unit (typical treatment is 33-50 units).

Women who would like to learn more about the differences between saline and silicone breast implants, and how to know which option is better for them are encouraged to attend the seminar.

Although the event is free and open to the public, space is limited and reservations are required. Anyone who would like to attend Dr. Lombardi’s seminar can RSVP by calling Aquamedica Spa at 732-222-8611.

About Dr. Lombardi:

Dr. Lombardi is the founding surgeon of The Plastic & Cosmetic Surgery Center in Eatontown, New Jersey. He is Board Certified by the American Board of Surgery and the American Board of Plastic Surgery and is a member of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons.
Dr. Lombardi has received highly specialized training in all aspects of cosmetic surgery including Breast Augmentation, Facial Rejuvenation, and Body Contouring procedures. He is trained in the latest cutting edge techniques of cosmetic surgery including laser surgery, Botox, Restylane, and all of the newest facial fillers. In addition, Dr. Lombardi is the first plastic surgeon in Monmouth County to perform Thermage, or the non-surgical Facelift.
To learn more about Dr. Lombardi, visit http://www.doctorsofcosmeticsurgery.com/

Additional Links:

Aquamedica Spa: http://www.aquamedicaspa.com

Dr Anthony Lombardi: http://www.lombardiplasticsurgery.com

Media Contact:

Stacey Berlin

Stacey@TCR-Marketing.com

732.757.7944

Personalize Your Father’s Day Gifts With Edible Gifts Plus

This Father’s Day, consumers are looking to toss out the ties for a more personalized Father’s Day gift and they can do that with help from America’s favorite gourmet gift resource, EdibleGiftsPlus.com.

If the old saying is true that a way to a man’s heart is through is stomach, follow Edible Gifts Plus!  They offer the largest selection of fresh baked gourmet gifts that can be personalized with any message or photo for any holiday or special occasion.

Personalize a picture cookie for dad!

Personalize a picture cookie for dad!

The picture perfect gift for Father’s Day? Personalized Picture Cookies. Delicious graham cookies dipped in white Belgian chocolate and hand decorated with a full-color image of the consumer’s choice.  A ‘picture frame’ is sprinkled around the photo using a choice of nonpareils.

One of this year’s best selling gifts is the 14-inch world famous pizza—chocolate pizza that is! A chocolate lover’s dream, this pizza is baked from rich Belgian milk chocolate blended with puffed crispies to create an extra large 14-inch sweet and crunchy “crust.”  A helping of premium grated white chocolate for the “cheese” is added and to finish it all…dad’s favorite (chocolate) toppings including pepperoni, mushrooms and green peppers.  Like any good pizza pie, delivery comes in an authentic cardboard pizza box.  

If dad doesn’t have a sweet tooth, personalized tea and coffee mugs make great gifts, like the Daddy Needs Sleep mug.  New dads especially can appreciate the power of a fresh cup of tea or coffee and the reason behind this mug!

When it comes to getting dad a memorable and personalized Father’s Day gift, the possibilities are limitless at EdibleGiftsPlus.com.  They offer the largest selection of gourmet gift baskets, chocolate gifts, cookie bouquets, giant fortune cookie gifts and more.  All of the Father’s Day gift ideas from Edible Gifts Plus can be seen online.

About Edible Gifts Plus

Edible Gifts Plus is a gourmet foods business that is the result of years of party planning, research, unique gift giving and lots of delicious sampling! It is an appreciation for the best that life has to offer and a passion for excellence, in both product and customer service that created EdibleGiftsPlus.com.

Consumers can shop through hundreds of personalized edible gift selections for any occasion including birthdays, parties, weddings, holidays, and more.   From customized fortune cookies to their famous Picture-Pops, every sweet can be hand decorated and personalized for any event.  They even offer kosher gift selections.

Additional Links:

Edible Gifts Plus on Facebook

Edible Gifts Plus on Twitter

Blog: http://www.ediblegiftsplus.vox.com ; http://www.cookiegiftbasket.vox.com

Graduation Gift Ideas

EdibleGiftsPlus.com, the leader in customized edible gift ideas, announces a new selection of gourmet graduation gifts appropriate for grads of all ages.  This year’s graduation gift ideas include giant fortune cookies filled a special message to the grad, sugar cookie bouquets, and gourmet chocolate and fruit gift baskets.

All of the gourmet graduation gifts are baked fresh, hand decorated, and made special for each grad.  Additionally, most gifts can be personalized with special messages from the sender.

graduation gift ideas

graduation gift ideas

The top selling graduation presents from Edible Gifts Plus are the giant fortune cookies, cookie bouquets and chocolate dipped Oreos. Fortune cookies and Oreo cookies can be ordered individually or wrapped in a gift box like the Gift Box of 12 Graduation Oreos.   The cookies are covered in the customer’s choice of chocolates – dark, milk or white – and decorated for graduation with festive candy confetti and royal icing decorations -caps, diplomas, stars and balloons. Each cookie is tucked inside a clear cellophane bag, and heat-sealed at both ends for freshness and quality.

The Giant Fortune Cookie Graduation Gift is hand dipped in chocolate and covered in an assortment of confetti decorations.  Graduation Fortune Cookies also contain special messages of the sender’s choice.   The giant fortune cookies start from $29.50 while regular size fortune cookies can be hand decorated and ordered individually from $0.99 each.  

In addition to making excellent (and delicious) graduation gifts, these gourmet creations also make great favors for any party.

EdibleGiftsPlus.com also has one of the most extensive selections of cookie gift baskets, candy bouquets and chocolate and fruit baskets.  For graduation, the Hats Off Lollipop Bouquet bundles flavorful lollipops in the shape of stars and graduation caps in a ceramic coffee mug decorated with smiley face grads.

For the complete selection of graduation gifts from EdibleGiftsPlus.com, consumers should visit EdibleGiftsPlus.com

About Edible Gifts Plus

Edible Gifts Plus is a gourmet foods business that is the result of years of party planning, research, unique gift giving and lots of delicious sampling! It is an appreciation for the best that life has to offer and a passion for excellence, in both product and customer service that created EdibleGiftsPlus.com.

Consumers can shop through hundreds of personalized edible gift selections for any occasion including birthdays, parties, weddings, holidays, and more.   From customized fortune cookies to their famous Picture-Pops, every sweet can be hand decorated and personalized for any event.  They even offer kosher gift selections.

http://www.EdibleGiftsPlus.com

Additional Links:

Edible Gifts Plus on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/EdibleGiftsPlusFan

Edible Gifts Plus on Twitter: http://twitter.com/ediblegifts

Blog: http://www.ediblegiftsplus.vox.com ; http://www.cookiegiftbasket.vox.com

Edible Gifts Plus Offers Mother’s Day Gift Delivery Overnight

Last minute Mother’s Day gift options from Edible Gifts Plus include a sweet selection of gourmet goodies available for rushed and overnight delivery.

Consumers can choose from a broad selection of personalized cookie bouquets, gourmet fortune cookies and sweet Oreo cookie creations. 

Giant Fortune Cookie

Giant Fortune Cookie

The Giant Fortune Cookie by Edible Gifts Plus is one of their most popular gift choices all year round.  This special Mother’s Day gift is a creative alternative to flowers or candy and can be personalized with beautiful decoration and a special message of your choice on the foot long fortune inside.

The giant fortune cookie is first hand dipped in the consumer’s choice of gourmet Belgian Chocolates (dark, milk, or white), delicious gourmet confections (strawberry or peanut butter), or rich, golden gourmet caramel.  It is then hand decorated with 100% Hand Made Royal Icing Decorations including butterflies, flowers, and a candy plaque that spells “Mom”… Confectionary designers add finishing touches by sprinkling this treat with sweet pastel candies – pink hearts and pink/white decorations! Consumers can choose their decorations and personal message online: http://www.ediblegiftsplus.com/Mothers_Day_Giant_Cookies_s/124.htm

Special Mother’s Day Cookie Bouquets are also available for last minute shoppers.  These flavorful baskets of sweet cookies come in fun shapes like flowers and butterflies with a center cookie bearing a special message for Mom.  A hand decorated bouquet of 8 butterfly and flower shaped sugar cookies can be seen online at http://www.ediblegiftsplus.com/Hand_Decorated_Bouquet_of_Butterflies_and_Flowers_p/hdbqbf8.htm

Mother’s Day Oreo cookie gifts are hand-dipped in Belgian Chocolates – dark, milk or white – and decorated with an assortment of 100% hand made Royal Icing decorations.  Confectionary designers complete each cookie with a sprinkling of pink and white non-pariels, flowers, hearts, or a special candy plaque that says the word ‘Mom’.  Oreo cookie gifts are available individually wrapped or packaged in a beautiful gift box from Edible Gifts Plus. Oreo cookie gifts are available at http://www.ediblegiftsplus.com/Mothers_Day_Oreos_and_Grahams_s/127.htm

Mother’s Day gift shoppers can find dozens of sweet gift ideas online including chocolate gift baskets, cookie bouquets, hand dipped fresh fruit, giant cookie gifts and candy bouquets.  

About Edible Gifts Plus

Edible Gifts Plus is a gourmet foods business that is the result of years of party planning, research, unique gift giving and lots of delicious sampling! It is an appreciation for the best that life has to offer and a passion for excellence, in both product and customer service that created EdibleGiftsPlus.com.  

Consumers can shop through hundreds of personalized edible gift selections for any occasion including birthdays, parties, weddings, holidays, and more.   From customized fortune cookies to their famous Picture-Pops, every sweet can be hand decorated and personalized for any event.  They even offer kosher gift selections.

http://www.EdibleGiftsPlus.com

Additional Links:

Edible Gifts Plus on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/EdibleGiftsPlusFan

Edible Gifts Plus on Twitter: http://twitter.com/ediblegifts

Blog: http://www.ediblegiftsplus.vox.com ; http://www.cookiegiftbasket.vox.com