My friend Kristine Maveus-Evenson, President of Capture Hits, shared this great list of recommended apps that I want to pass along to you:    

• Static HTML (tabs 1-12) -- She likes this one because you can simply drop/insert HTML
• JotForm -- No coding needed. Easiest way to add a capture form, though you won't get email list management.
• Pinterest tab -- Offers easy sharing of your Pinterest board. (She's  a Pinterest junkie and really likes this app, especially if you sell products with images!)
• Wildfire -- For handling contests
• Ecwid and InstanteStore -- FB friendly carts/ecommerce that works with a website and FB
• PostPlanner -- Allows scheduling of posts to FB Page/group within FB. Haven't seen it impact Edgerank the way 3rd party apps do.
• Booshaka -- For Fan of the Week. Why she  likes this one? Stats! Great info about top fans and their engagement.
• Forum for Pages -- Creates a tab to have threaded discussions exactly like a forum. Love this to keep the wall clean for engagement and the forum to talk about topics, provide support, etc.
• Fotobabble -- Allows lots of engagement (one of her favorites) because fans can upload photos -- such as "show us how you use our product" -- and make it a fun contest to get engagement.
• Coupon for Pages -- Allows/encourages sharing of coupons from fans to their friends.
• Networked Blogs OR RSS for Pages -- 2 different apps that bring your blog into FB easily
• YouTube for Pages -- Highlights new videos (or selected videos) you add to your YT channel.
• FAQ tab -- Allows a section to capture questions and created a searchable database of FAQ.
• Lujure - Great for customizing apps, particularly if you want to pull in content from elsewhere online. Easy to add images (eg. logo) to assist with branding. Love the hotspot function and drag, drop and resize nature of its features. $30 per month min buy in.
• Shortstack - Easy template driven app builder with loads of options for customizing. Free basic sign up which is sufficient if only managing one Page and simple apps.  This is where she sends beginners for their first attempt at DIY. Notice tabs a little slow to load at times, but so are all aren't they?

You can search for any of these apps by typing the name in search box inside your Facebook account and then following the steps indicated.

Personally, we've been using Static HTML and Networked Blogs for a while now with great results. I'm eager to try out the others and report back to you on my experience and the results. Which of these apps have you added to your Business Page? And with what result? Do tell by sharing your thoughts below!

As I'm sure you've noticed Facebook is constantly changing their landscape and how the features work. So, what worked 6 months ago to engage your audience probably isn't working anymore.

Admittedly, I haven't done the best job of engaging my audience on my Facebook page, but I'm excited that I'm taking steps to correct this. Thus, I want to pass forward the quick lessons I learned today so that if you have a Facebook Fan Page, you can make some simple tweaks to start creating better connections with your audience:   

If you’re confused by how to use social media to grow your business or are worried about your social media usage, make sure to avoid these three common mistakes:

Mistake #1 – Putting too much value in social media.

Putting all of your business eggs in the social media basket is never a good idea. Social media can definitely have an positive impact on your bottom line – but it’s a tool to be used in one part of your overall marketing plan. Don’t invest time in social media to the downfall of the rest of your plan. You need to incorporate social media into your overall inbound marketing strategy and make sure that it coordinates with the rest of your efforts. This means having high quality, relevant content to promote, an informative, easy to navigate website to send your contacts to and a plan for following up with leads. Many businesses make the mistake of growing their Twitter followers or pumping up their Facebook presence and ignoring their other marketing responsibilities. Social media is important, but a small part of the overall picture – be sure to create balance in your business for best results.

Mistake #2 – Using social media haphazardly.

Social media is easy to start – spend just a few minutes signing up and you can have an account ready to go. But just because it’s easy to get started doesn’t mean that you should use it just as nonchalantly. Many business owners get a cold splash of reality when they realize that their midnight updates or inconsistent posting schedule aren’t getting them the results that they want. Don’t jump into social media without having specific goals in mind. Focusing on specific strategies to achieve your goals will keep you from getting distracted, avoiding precious time or wasting valuable financial resources. If the tool of social media is used without strategy, it won’t be very effective at all.

Mistake #3 – Focusing too much on the sale.

Consumers *choose* to be on social media networks – they don’t have to be. And they won’t follow you or look forward to your updates if you’re too focused on selling to them. Selling on social media should be a side benefit to the real goal – building a relationship with your target market. If you do nothing but pitch your products and ask people to buy your product or service, you are going to repel the very people you're trying to attract. Balance your sales pitches with helpful information, and you’ll have a winning combination for social media.

Avoiding these social media mistakes will help to position you as a resource that your audience can trust. This will allow you to develop strong relationships that will support your revenue goals for years to come.

Here are five reasons why social media should be an essential part of your marketing toolbox:

What does this mean for your business? When used correctly, social media can create more visibility, opportunity and profits for your business. Take the time to research your target market and see how they are interacting on social media so that you can determine how best to use this tool to achieve your goals.

Marketing a service business will inquire an investment of your time and financial resources. What if you don't have a lot of money to spend on marketing? Now what? Does that mean you simply cannot market your service business and your only hope is waiting on the sidelines for someone to hire you? Not at all! Today is the day you learn that marketing a service business with a minimal budget is not only possible, it's easier than you think.

One of the first steps in marketing a service business is to get your branding in place. Make sure your business name, your tag line and your logo are all connected – that they send a consistent, positive and results focused message. Your brand is what prospective clients will remember you by. You've only got a few seconds to make a first impression, especially online, so make sure you have your ducks in a row -- everything about your brand should be clear, concise and consistent.

Once you have these critical elements in place, it's time to use them. The most important thing you need, once you have a brand, is a social proof. You need to be able to showcase how others have benefited from working with you. If you have a contact who will recommend you to their colleagues and friends, you have the beginnings of a client base. If you are just starting out your business and don't have any success stories to share, you need to create some.

I'm not advocating that you do anything unethical here. Don't make up a testimonial or pay your Mom to write one for you. Instead, offer a sample of your services free of charge to a friend or acquaintance in exchange for their positive feedback. (Obviously you have to over-deliver on what you promised!) Post the testimonial and their headshot on your website and you have just begun marketing your business! Repeat that action a few of times and your success stories will start shaping up.

OK, so you have a little branding set up and you have a testimonial or two. Now it's time to get out there and make yourself known. Leveraging social media is a great way to do this! Here are a few tips to get you started:

• Get social- create a page on Facebook, a profile on LinkedIn and a bio on Twitter. Schedule 30 minutes each day to update your profiles, connect with ideal prospects and participate in conversations. Your goal is to share helpful information that relates to your services and positions you as an expert, but be careful to , not go into sales mode. Let folks know who you are and how you have the answers to their problems. Don't just tell them you have the answers- give away a little bit of your expertise and show them you have the answers.
• LinkedIn is another great site to use for marketing your service business. This site is excellent for connecting with people you know- former employers, colleagues, college connections- and they can set you up with other people they know.
• Getting great results with social media marketing is all about being strategic in your efforts. This means you want to spend your time on sites where your target market hangs out, engage others in conversations and get to know then and then follow up with them to expand your network.
• Don't get caught in the trap of spending TOO much time on social media sites. It's easy to lose hours posting and connecting to people. Set a timer if you need to. Accomplish your goal and then move on with the next part of your day.

Marketing your service business without a budget really is possible. It just takes time, effort and some creativity to show ideal prospects who you are and how you can help them solve their greatest challenges.

Affordable marketing is easier than you think. In fact, you can start a new campaign today! After all, marketing is simply a matter of presenting solutions to people who are already looking for them! Using just a bit of creativity, you can implement these three affordable marketing ideas right now.

1. Affordable Marketing Ideas Start at Home

That's right, your home page! When was the last time you took a good hard look at your website or blog to see if it is sending the message you want your prospective clients to see? Ask yourself these questions:

• Is it user-friendly, with an easy-to-find contact form? 
• Does your home page give the right “feel” for your business to prospects who may not know you? 
• Does it give them the opportunity to sample your work in exchange for their name and email address?

Your website is a snapshot for any potential client to see how working with you can make a difference in their business or their life. You have about 7 seconds to make a positive impression. Keep your home page simple, clear and concise, but informative, friendly and attractive. Take some time to objectively review your home page, to analyze what it's really saying (and if it's easily collecting prospective client's information for you) and then make the necessary adjustments.

2. Affordable Marketing Ideas Are Socially Acceptable

Social media is a terrific way to market your business. Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn are three of the favored social media sites among many service professionals. When used correctly, social media is highly effective and costs only your time. Use your presence on social media to let people know how you can solve their problems and how they can contact you for more information. When interacting on social media sites, make sure you let your personality shine through.

People don't want to be “sold” when they are on Facebook or Twitter. They are there for networking, true, but they are also looking to develop relationships, for helpful advice and for inspiration to get them through their day. Use this to your advantage and address their needs.

3. Affordable Marketing Ideas Take More Time than Money

When you have a limited amount of cash to spend on marketing, you can compensate for this by spending more of your time. Invest some extra time blogging about common challenges your ideal clients face, delivering a talk on your expertise and creating newsletters for your list.

Investing extra energy into your marketing efforts is a great way to make the most of your down time when business is slow. You should strive to incorporate scheduled time for your marketing efforts into your day. Use this time to write articles, post blogs and get yourself booked for speaking engagements.

Marketing is a necessary part of doing business – and when things aren't as busy as you'd like, effective marketing becomes even more important. To grow your business and achieve your goals, make the most of affordable marketing strategies and use your time wisely to work your plan. You'll find your business growing faster than you thought possible and within your budget.

If you’d like to learn more about the strategies I have personally used to maintain a full practice of clients over the past 5 years, I invite you to visit me at www.BuildMarketingMomentum.com. There you’ll learn about my easy to implement and highly, highly affordable step by step system to get you more clients and generate more revenue in your service business. I look forward to working with you!

Yet, developing one takes all the intimidation and guess work out of using this popular tool for business marketing. If you've been holding off on using social media to market your services, then you'll be especially interested in today's article. Implement the following five steps and get ready to watch your business grow like never before.

Step One: Understand the Game

Social media is different from sales and other types of marketing. This isn't the place to do a hard-sell, “just for you, just today” kind of selling tactic. Successful entrepreneurs have quickly learned how to marry marketing and socializing on these types of sites and if you want to be effective, you need to do the same. Social media begins and ends with ... being social! Let people get to know the real you -- let all the best aspects of your personality shine through. Make sure in each interaction that you are pleasant, informed and helpful. Know that you need to let a little bit of your “real life” shine through, but keep in mind, a little bit goes a long way.

Everybody who's anybody has a profile in each.  And it seems everybody is preaching the same thing:

• You HAVE  to have a Facebook Fan Page
• You HAVE  to be on Twitter
• You HAVE  to join LinkedIn and participate in groups

But, do you really HAVE to do any of this?  Will your business fall in the water if you don't?

The answer depends on your target audience.

Remember, your target audience determines where you should be and how you spend your time.  If your target audience spends their day on Twitter, then that's where you should be engaging with them.  While it may be a little challenging to have a full-fledged conversation, you can still interact and find out what their challenges are, participate in the conversation when they are looking for solutions and become a trusted adviser.

The same could be true if your target audience hangs out on Facebook.  Maybe they prefer to interact there because there's no character limit (like the 140 characters on Twitter.)  They may like the back and forth conversation of posting comments on each others wall and seeing their updates throughout the day.

Being active in the social networks is much like networking in person - if you're doing it correctly. You should be making personal connections with people, having real conversations with them and above all, adding value to their lives and businesses.  Those in your network will appreciate your efforts to be truly and genuinely helpful.  Online or offline, this spirit is absolutely client attractive.

At first, it may start out with the little things like responding to a group question, or leaving your feedback on a blog post you saw in your Twitter stream.  But if you're genuinely helping people, being friendly and conversing with others, people notice. Then, you'll be known as the "expert" in the group, the go-to person that everyone waits to hear from.  And sometimes, you'll be exactly the person a potential client is looking for to help them solve a challenge they're facing.