Social Media News – Page 5

Find Your Perfect WordPress Dream Theme

June 7, 2011

The feature I like the most about WordPress is its ability to let you change the look and feel of your site. It can be done on the fly without any web development background. You can accomplish this by finding the perfect themes and plugins to suit your needs. WordPress has thousands of self-installs which means there are hundreds of options for free themes and a huge array of themes for sell. I always suggest to my clients that they find a theme that matches the subject matter of their WordPress blog. Here’s an example of a friends blog Tandem Revolution, which covers her and her husbands biking adventures. I like the use of the image across the top showing the spokes of a bike. It is a simple yet effective use of a theme that matches the topic of her blog. Free themes tend to have some limitations and affiliate links. Whereas paid for themes give you more flexibility with customization. I suggest starting out with something free if you are on a limited budget. But if it is in your budget I would take your time and find something that fits your needs. If your traffic grows you can change your theme at anytime. The theme I use for this site was free and fits in well with the look and feel of my book. Here are five sites to locate your perfect WordPress dream theme. #1| ThemeForest Themes for any budget and any industry ThemeForest has a wide variety of WordPress themes for the average blogger and those looking to sell product using WordPress. Themes are affordably priced for those on a budget or those looking for something unique. I have included a screenshot of the e-commerce theme WpShop below to show the power of WordPress. It is not just for blogging and can be used to sell a myriad of product, list homes and rentals, promote a restaurant or business. Theme Forest on Facebook #2 | Elegant Themes Offers lots of themes at a great price Elegant Themes has lots of great themes to pick from and at only $39 a year gives you access to 61 designs. Plus ET says they release 2-3 new themes each month so you are sure to find something. You also get 30-days to decide if it is worth it with their money-back guarantee. I like how they target themes towards specific industries such as restaurants, retail and a host of other themes to match your needs. Since I love food I included the MyCuisine theme as the screenshot below. #3 | Woo Themes Lots of free themes and a wide variety for any industry Woo Themes is another big player when it comes to WordPress themes. Woo offers any array of themes that are build for SEO and functionality. I have heard through the grapevine that Woo offers great support from tutorials, video tutorials and user support forum. The thing that I like most about the Woo Themes is you can sort themes on their website to find the perfect match. How about at least a dozen free themes to boot? There is bound to be something for everyone with Woo Themes. Woo Themes on Facebook #4 | StudioPress WordPress themes built on the Genesis Framework These themes are built with search engine optimization in mind. Wondering what the Genesis Framework is? Here’s more information on that and why you should go with StudioPress. I have to admit that these are some of the best WordPress themes I have seen. The layouts are nice, clean, modern and eye-catching designs that stand out. Plus you can get all themes for one great price and you get future themes at no extra charge. #5 | Legend Themes New player in the theme market offering clean designs Legend Themes is located right here in Boise and has just a few themes to pick from along with the free Emphasis Theme. The Snapshot theme is perfect for those who enjoy the art of photography. All themes have a nice clean look to them and offer various customization. The price on this theme and others are $70 which includes technical support. More Resources: 80+ Clean and Simple WordPress Themes 380 Premium WordPress Themes Free “Leather” Theme from Legend Themes MagPress Free WordPress Themes Article by Dennis J. Smith ““ Promote Your Business Or Cause Using Social Media ““ A Beginners Handbook

WordPress WordCamp attended by over 300 in Seattle

April 18, 2011

I attended my first WordPress WordCamp in Seattle, WA yesterday(Saturday), after driving up from Boise on Thursday. I learned a lot even though I slept a few hours the night before the event. I went with a friend I meet on Facebook after attending a social media class with her sister last fall in Seattle. If you haven’t had a chance to attend WordCamp I would recommend you look for one in a city near you. I got some cool swag and scored a few t-shirts from WPCandy and ThemeForest along with a few WordPress and VaultPress buttons. After checking in my friend and I grabbed a pastry along with some coffee. I needed it to wake me from the dead! The first speaker of the morning was Scott Berkun who was actually pretty entertaining. I found out when I got back to my hotel room that Scott is a published author and has several bestsellers, including “Confessions of a Public Speaker“. After the keynote speech WordCamp Seattle broke out into sessions for Bloggers(myself), those who build themes and a development track for those who create WordPress plugins. We moved to the other side of the room and took our seats to listen to Heather Gold talk about “Tools for Tummeling“, which I had never heard of. Her point of view is about the need to create websites that create a sense of community. Developing a site that creates interaction amongst its users so it is more dynamic than linear. There was some interaction with the audience however it was hard to hear at times. I’m not sure that passing a microphone back and forth works well. I wish the speaker had wore a mic and had one just for the audience members as she spoke with them. The speech I was interested in started after a break and was Aaron Hockley from Portland, OR. Another favorite city of mine because of the natural and tech environment. Aaron spoke about various ways on how you can monetize your blog with product sales (e-books), affiliate marketing, advertising and membership programs. But he failed to mention one of my favorites which is Clickbank, because they are located in Boise, ID. Read my previous post on how to fatten your wallet by selling digital products on Clickbank. Aaron has a photography business and was kind enough to take photos of those attending the event. After a nice lunch with with lots of choices (salads, sandwiches, brownies and cookies) we took our seats again for the next speaker who was Bob Dunn. Bob is a WordPress coach who is located in the Seattle area and teaches others the benefits of WordPress. He spoke about how to bring more readers to your blog through a user-friendly WordPress site. I got some good information and it reminded me that I need to make a few adjustments on my blog. Like gathering e-mail addresses so I can stay in touch with my readers. I haven’t had time to browse his blog yet, but looks like lots of good information. If you are interested you can also find him on Facebook and “Like” has fan page Savvy WordPress. Another quick break and we were listening to Justin Briggs talking about an important subject for bloggers. Justin is an SEO consultant who explained how things like speed of your website can effect your search engine rank. He went over plugins that help with the optimization of your WordPress blog and other items you should consider. My favorite plugin for SEO is one called All In One SEO Pack WordPress Plugin which is free. Find out more here in a post I wrote about “3 Social Media Tools To Grow Your Business“. You will find information on the three tools I think help grow a business online with WordPress. The main part of the day finished up with an interview with Alex King (conducted by Nick Ohrn) who has been around WordPress since its beginning. He is originally from Seattle but now makes his home in Denver. He was asked questions about his involvement and about some of his past and current projects. If you want to learn more about Alex there’s lots of information about him, his project and companies on his website. We wrapped up with Ignite WordCamp Seattle which features about 6 different speakers. It was my first time seeing the Ignite speaking format which is 5 minutes of speaking about a topic while showing slides. If I get up the nerves I might try doing my own Ignite speech at a future Ignite event. But for now I’m happy with watching others get up in front of a room filled with techies and bloggers. I certainly would recommend a WordCamp event to anyone who uses WordPress, interested in blogging or those who develop themes, plugins or anything that revolves around WordPress. You will learn lots and have the chance to connect with many like minded people. Look for an event in a city near you or even plan your own WordCamp in your city or country. List of Speakers at WordCamp Seattle WordCamp Seattle Blog WPCandy WordCamp Seattle 2011 Liveblog Please not that some of the links on this page are referral links to other companies. DJ Smith Promote Your Business Or Cause Using Social Media Post Sponsored By: GreenHostUSA : WordPress Hosting

Promote Your Business with Facebook Deals–New!

March 19, 2011

Facebook is getting ready to launch a new feature that lets you offer your customers deals when they “check-in” using Places on Facebook. Called “Deals” the latest feature is currently in Atlanta, Austin, Dallas, San Diego and San Francisco. I did notice that there are a few deals in my local area which is Boise, ID but I haven’t been to those businesses. Facebook claims that over 200 million mobile phone users are actively using Facebook on the go. That’s huge potential for a business to draw in new customers. Business can set one-time deals or even set-up loyalty deals by rewarding return customers. Hopefully there will be a day you won’t need to carry around those stupid cards on your key chain. I’ve included a link down below of a PDF from Facebook to give you more information. There are several videos to get a better idea on how “Deals” can benefit your business. Are “Deals” active in your city? Is this something you might consider for your business? See how it works: http://www.facebook.com/deals/checkin/business Deals for Businesses PDF ““ Download For more information head to Facebook and http://www.facebook.com/deals. Source: Dennis J. Smith Promote Your Business Or Cause Using Social Media ““ Beginner’s Handbook

Hyper Alerts Free Facebook Fan Page Notification Tool

January 27, 2011

With all the social media sites out there it’s a wonder that we have time to do much. Most of us running a business don’t have time to monitor our Facebook Fan Pages. Wouldn’t it be nice to know when someone has left a comment for one of your post? I have found the perfect free tool to help you manage your social media and stay on top of the game. YouTube Video ““ Hyper Alerts Here’s how it work: Get Your Free Account at the Hyper Alerts website: http://alerts.hyperinteraktiv.no/ Set-up Your Hyper Alerts: Click on the + Add new alert button to start the process. Tell Hyper Alerts which fan page or pages you’d like to monitor. There is no access via Facebook Connect so your personal information is not accessed. Pick your setting on what time you would like HyperAlerts to send your notification. Hourly, Daily, Weekly or Monthly. I would recommend that you check at least daily to keep in touch with your fans. Wait for the nifty e-mail to arrive with your notifications in a nice clean format. Right from the e-mail you can click to view the post or you can stop getting alerts of you choose to do so. Let me know what you think and feel free to comment below or share this with your friends. Know of a better social media tool? Posted By Dennis J. Smith Promote Your Business Or Cause Using Social Media ““ A Beginner’s Handbook

Get Real-Time Facebook Updates On Your Desktop

January 17, 2011

I love it when I find a cool new social media tool that I can share with friends and others. Facebook Desktop is one of those social media tools that notifies you in real-time when friends post something new to Facebook, updates their status, comments on your photos and more. All this without the need for a browser and its not intrusive when it notifies you. Notifications show on the right side of your screen briefly and then fade out of sight. If you miss a notification you can have it replay the last five updates. Users can also pause updates or adjust settings accordingly to lessen the amount of updates. You can download Facebook Desktop to your desktop free of charge. It installs within a few minutes.

Promote Your Business Or Cause Using Social Media For Less Than $3 Bucks

December 31, 2010

I have found a great place to store, share and sell PDF’s called Scribd.com. I have converted my book “Promote Your Business Or Cause Using Social Media“ to PDF and you can download a copy within minutes for less than $3 bucks. There’s over 75 pages of 4.5-star rated information on how you can promote your business with social media. Start off 2011 with a great deal and build your social media plan today! The document can be read online or you can download it to your PC to view at your leisure. It’s available in other formats if you’d like the skip the PDF and go with a traditional paperback book: Available at: Amazon.com ““ Paperback Amazon.com ““ Kindle Edition Barnes and Noble.com – NOOKbook (eBook)

Promote Your Business Or Cause Using Social Media Now Available On Amazon Kindle

November 26, 2010

Promote Your Business Or Cause Using Social Media is finally available for sell in Amazon Kindle format. The Kindle version is priced at just $2.99 and you can download it within minutes. If you don’t have a Kindle that’s not a problem because it is available for PC, iPad, iPhone, Android and more by downloading the appropriate free software. See the links below. If you want the latest Kindle you’ll find them on Amazon.com and I’ve heard the older version is going to be on sale Black Friday morning. Learn how social media can help you promote your business or cause on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, WordPress and other social media venues. Join the Facebook Fan Page to stay up-to-date on the latest social media news. Please feel free to leave reviews or comments below and share this with others. Buy a Kindle Reader ““ Amazon.com Kindle for PC ““ Download Kindle for Android ““ Download Kindle for iPad ““ Download Kindle for iPhone ““ Download Promote Your Business Or Cause Using Social Media – Download the Kindle Version Stay tuned for the iPad and Barnes and Noble Nook version of “Promote Your Business Or Cause Using Social Media” coming soon. Dennis J. Smith Promote Your Business Or Cause Using Social Media ““ A Beginner’s Handbook

Twitter’s Official Analytics Product Has Arrived

November 22, 2010

Reposted from Mashable Twitter has started inviting a select group of users to test a new analytics product, Mashable has learned. Such a product has been rumored for some time, and a Twitter executive said earlier this year that Analytics would debut by the end of 2010. With Twitter Analytics, users will be able to see a plethora of data about their account; for example, information about which tweets are most successful, which tweets caused people to unfollow, and who the most influential users are that reply and retweet their messages. In the images below, you can see how some of this data is charted. A bar graph over 6-hour increments shows you mentions, follows and unfollows, for example, and you can filter tweets by categories that are defined as “best,” “good,” and “all.” In what will no doubt come as a blow to the third-party vendors that are already providing similar tools, we’re hearing that the product will be free and that Twitter has no immediate plans to charge. We’re working to gather more information, but we may hear more about it later this afternoon, when Twitter’s Evan Williams takes the stage at the Web 2.0 Summit in San Francisco. Stay tuned.

Category: Social Media News