Social Media Blog

Blimey, Facebook have made it really hard to work out how to edit your reviews. How to edit your Facebook Review Once you have published your review, click the three dots …

We've put together an infographic to show you how to stop Pinterest email notifications in 5 easy steps! You might be asking yourself why you would want to disable the …

In one of my training sessions, Geoff asked about hiding connections on LinkedIn. By default, your connections are set to show to your 1st level connections. This is another reason …

I was giving a LinkedIn training session to some lovely people from the insurance world today and they asked me how to change the background image on your LinkedIn profile? …

NOT UP TO DATE ANY LONGER SORRY …

Post updated November 2017 The new rules from Pinterest say that if a site is used for commercial purposes, then it must be a business account, not a personal one …

When you come to transfer domain ownership for a .co.uk website, you suddenly realise the importance of buying and registering a .co.uk domain correctly in the name of the person …

Pinterest can be a great asset for any business. Why? Pinning, tagging and sharing beautiful images can give potential clients another platform where they can interact with you. Not only …

This was the plea from a couple of the ladies on my Facebook training courses over the last few months. They want a Facebook business page to promote their products …

My body building client who performs under his real name wants to be sure that no fans can access his family photos and other info on his personal profile. Setting …

Will they know if I disconnect or remove a connection on LinkedIn? When I first began on LinkedIn, I accepted some invitations from people that I did not know, who …

SORRY THIS POST IS NOT UP TO DATE - i have been unable to find the answer on the current platform …

Every time you update your LinkedIn profile, a notification goes out in the newsfeed. Invariably it will tell all your friends that you have a new job and suggest that …

What are Facebook Milestones? Facebook Milestones are opportunities to celebrate or highlight something special or unusual that has happened for your business. They used to get a lot more visibility …

At one of our training sessions, I was asked how to deal with the issue of adding your maiden name to Facebook. Those who don't know how to do it …

UPDATED FOR 2017 LAYOUT An attendee of one of our Southend social media training consultations asked how to add an email to LinkedIn and then make it the login address …

Skills and Endorsements is a very important part of your LinkedIn profile. It's one of the top four places where you should be using your key words and phrases to …

The new version of LinkedIn for 2017 has brought a whole raft of changes to the way that we use the platform to connect. The most notable of these is …

The new updated LinkedIn layout is slowly rolling out across the UK and users should be aware that they may now be displaying their birthday on their profile - even …

On 31 January 2017, Facebook announced that they have updated their algorithm to combat businesses that game the feed with their Pages asking for likes, comments and shares. How Facebook …

I've been asked about this quite a few times recently. It used to be called Attribution and could be controlled in the Admin panel but that was a bit clunky …

Since May 1, 2015, RSS Grafitti is no more. If you are looking to auto post from your blog to Facebook, the RSS Feed to Facebook applet on IFTTT seems to do the …

Earlier this week I got a notification from Facebook saying that someone had created a profile with my picture! As you can imagine, I was equal parts confused and fuming. There was …

Endorsements are the social proof that validates and advertises your skills to the rest of the world on LinkedIn. For the most part they're great, but problems arise when I receive endorsements …

We've worked with many domestic and commerical security companies across the UK and, at first, nearly all of them asked "but do I really need to invest my time and …

This question about how to hide some LinkedIn endorsements but not others has come up a couple of times in my LinkedIn training consultations. But why would you want to do …

Why Should I Post on Facebook? Well the idea is to create ongoing massive engagement so that you turn your fans into profitable super fans. These are the ones who …

Another new feature just appeared on our Facebook Business Page - Instant Replies. The Message Response Time stat often gets us into trouble if we don't respond within an hour! …

A great question from our LinkedIn training course this morning. How do I remove these pending requests to join LinkedIn groups? I asked to join months ago and now I …

The Business Profile question has started coming up more and more. Not just at my LinkedIn training courses but actually on LinkedIn itself where some people have erroneously created two profiles …

Another recent change to Facebook affects the Other Inbox which has now become a spam filter called Filtered Messages. Most people are familiar with how to see that they have …

***Updated for May 2016*** As of May 2016, you now have to set the Post Attribution on the Page for yourself. First of all you need to know that the …

Wow, it's two years since I last wrote about domain renewal scams! But there are still fraudsters jumping on the bandwagon in 2016 as evidenced by this email in my …

It's always a good idea to have more than one Admin of any Business Page on Facebook. Suppose you are unable to get to your computer and someone puts something …

You need to add a Manager to your Google Plus Page if you want someone to help you to manage your map listing. Changes to Google Plus Local Pages - …

So you find a great image in your business newsfeed and you know you want to share it with your fans. But you've only just shared some other great content …

The Lollipops are great fans of BBC4's The Bridge and, in particular, Saga Noren's OCD-type attention to detail, which can be very amusing. This week's gem involved instruction on the …

The recent Hubspot State of Inbound 2015 data highlighted a couple of interesting stats relating to salesmen, spreadsheets and technology. Unsuccessful sales teams are 2x more likely to use Excel, …

The recent Hubspot State of Inbound 2015 data highlighted a couple of interesting stats relating to salesmen, spreadsheets and technology. Unsuccessful sales teams are 2x more likely to use Excel, …

Are you a Woman In Business in Billericay?Would you like to connect with other business professionals in your area? Do you find weekly breakfast networking almost impossible to fit into …

I visited the Metro Bank store in Southend last week and I really enjoyed it. I never thought I’d even think of a visit to a bank as enjoyable, let …

Are you a confident blogger? Then you should publish LinkedIn articles on a regular basis. These are different to status updates where you post links and images. Publishing articles is about longer …

One of my clients emailed me about a call informing them that your Google listing will expire today. I called the number and eventually got a call back. Online Content …

Buffer and SumAll have produced a great infographic with the the answer to the often asked question How Long Should It Be? as it applies to social media. Whether you're …

There is always confusion over whether Facebook penalises pages which use automated posting. Things like Hootsuite and Buffer. So, if you're not sure, you can use their own tool on …

It's been bugging me for a while now. When I try to share stuff from my personal wall to my business page, it won't always share in the name of …

Some great stats showing the effectiveness of content marketing in the UK in 2015 Content Marketing in the UK 2015: Benchmarks, Budgets & Trends by CMA and DMA sponsored by …

Are you using video to promote your business? Here are some great stats from Adelie Studios about why and how you should be using YouTube (and the other social media …

Be aware that Horde's clunky and hard to use system has become even more incomprehensible. I had a site that was attacked by a bot sending out hundreds of email …

Further to our recent post on the Google Local Stack, we're getting regular calls from business owners about problems with their Google My Business local map listings. It's vital for …

At the end of last week, Mike Blumenthal introduced us all to Google's new Local Stack for local search terms, e.g., local seo in essex. This is the latest visual …

find the help centre on LinkedIn How to add a second LinkedIn Email without password or access to the primary email account - when you are still logged in We …

Jon's a keen footie fan and loves to watch Aston Villa whenever they play in London. He is avidly awaiting the start of the new season next weekend and scours …

Many people don't realise that it is actually possibly to get critical sales data from their LinkedIn connections - at the press of a button! Yes, LinkedIn offer a data …

We run lots of social media courses but the 1-2-1 consultation on Google Plus is the one that could make the most difference to the visibility of your business in …

Check out this Inbound Marketing rap by the guys at HubSpot! It's probably one of the best things on the internet and it could even earn you some money. Inbound …

Following on from our post about the problems with promoting the Essex Means Business event on LinkedIn, here's a video highlighting some of the best bits of businesses in Essex …

Here's a fun infographic for teachers who want to use Twitter. Whilst some of it is very American, with its references to the #EdTech and #EdChat - an online Twitter …

You can no longer switch back to Classic Google Maps. We are all now stuck with the Full version they want us to use. If you are seeing the Google …

Have you just Googled Facebook blocks my website? The dreaded Facebook says my site is unsafe message has now morphed into a Something Went Wrong message due to a Facebook …

A simple post that tells you how to leave a group on LinkedIn. I know that many of you want to know how to do this because I can see …

According to Twitter's Twitter product manager, Sachin Agarwal, July 2015 will see Twitter increase increase direct messages (DMs) from the current limit of 140 characters. Twitter increase Direct Messages character …

We've all done it! The 'expert' showed us how to do it and we think: "Yes, that's easy, I'm sure I can remember how to do that!" And then a …

Really sad to hear about the impending demise of Yahoo Pipes. A visit to their site shows that no new pipes can be created and those that are already in …

Hurrah! It appears you can now change your Twitter username AND keep your followers! This update is a massive step forward by Twitter, allowing the user to simply swap over …

So you've created your Company page. What now? You should probably add other members of staff to the LinkedIn Company Admin list so that they can add content too. This …

What is a geo-tag? An automatic tag which marks your geographical location on social media. Geo-tags can be a great thing for a business on social media. Highlighting a location …

Facebook's Promote Your Local Business has been trumpeted in the Facebook news feed as a must have opportunity for local businesses. Because it has a choice of a Call Now …

You've been collecting email addresses for your business database for ages. And now you want to start working that list! The idea is to send out reminders of upcoming events …

My email inbox on LinkedIn is starting to get a lot of action. But not in a good way. It's beginning to be spammed by sponsored InMail from LinkedIn's partners …

They're at it again. After the warnings earlier in the year about clickbait and promotional posts disappearing from the organic news feed, three new changes are about to start occurring …

I first heard that the Facebook Like Box was to be discontinued on 23rd June last week. I was actually quite pleased because the current version is not mobile friendly …

Since my facebook business page layout update 2014, they've been at it again. I discovered that they had completely removed the option to edit the Page Info from Settings whilst …

So, here it is! The 1000th post on the Lollipop Local blog. I started the blog on Lollipop Local in February 2011 and you can read my first post here …

Yes, there are still business owners out there who do not have a website! Small business owners who work from home producing fabulous jewellery, pottery, bunting, picture frames, knickknacks. They …

A question that came up during a LinkedIn training consultation recently was What Does Share With Public mean? When you share a status update on LinkedIn, you get offered the …

I came across a great webinar with Paul Lemberg this week all about what constitutes a business. He said that solo professionals don't have a business! So, if you're a …

Really excited to announce that Lollipop Local has now fulfilled the criteria to display the Google Partner badge. This means that we have passed the Google Adwords Certification examination for …

If you are using the old style LinkedIn pages then read on. If you are using the new style LinkedIn pages, there is currently no way to get a custom …

Ha, finding the RSS feed URL for a site is so simple - when you know how! And it took me a lot of searching to find the answer. So …

As signatories to the Prompt Payment Code receive a letter about changes to the Code following a consultation process in December 2014/January 2015, the FSB announced that only 21% of …

Earlier this month, the Chancellor used his budget to promise a radical review of the business rates system, a 400-year-old burden that dates back to the Elizabethan Poor Law of …

Just found this great infographic on Instagram strategy from Salesforce . It includes some stats about users, how and why businesses should use the platform, as well as some mistakes …

Here at Lollipop Local, one of the first things we show business owners is how to maximise the effect of their Facebook cover image by turning it into a click …

Got a call from a business owner in Liverpool today. He told me that he was paying a company who guaranteed him a front page ranking with his Google Map/Google …

Facebook Insights is the tab in the navigation bar of your Facebook Business page. Insights are the statistics of Facebook. They show you lots of information about your status updates …

The problem with being part of a networking franchise like Women In Business Network (WIBN) is that you don't have a lot of control over what goes onto the main …

Apprentices are thriving in England and National Apprenticeship Week celebrates the positive impact they have on individuals, businesses and the wider economy. Is your business an apprenticeship provider or are …

Last week, Facebook released a blog post alerting business page owners that today, March 12th, they will begin removing certain voluntarily deactivated accounts and memorialized accounts (where the owner has …

Going through and making changes to my posts about how to add an admin my Facebook page, I noticed a function in the Settings sidebar that I have not seen …

I want to apply admin roles but all the searching and googling say click settings and then page roles on the left hand side - this does not happen, I …

The problem with being part of a networking franchise like BNI is that you don't have a lot of control over what goes onto the main website about your particular …

One of our clients received a message from Google Webmaster Tools telling her Googlebot can't access your site She was not sure whether this was a sales message or something …

This infographic from MalwareBytes struck a chord as two of the three computers on our network fell victim to malware a few months ago. So we are very pleased to …

Really excited to show off our new website design for Inner Body Pilates who run classes in Leigh on Sea and London. Previously built on a 1 and 1 template, …

Research by BIA/Kelsey reveals that US local marketing ad spend is projected to grow to nearly $150 billion in 2017. Here is an infographic showing some great reasons why your …

Really enjoyed this infographic which shows what Google auto-suggests/completes when you type each individual letter of the alphabet into its search bar. So much for A is for Apple and …

Jo, when I try to share the link to our business Facebook page, it shows this link with loads of numbers and letters which is impossible to remember. What can …

Interesting infographic on local marketing outperforming national efforts …

Now this was an interesting question that came in this week! Some people complain bitterly about receiving birthday messages or notifications about birthday messages on LinkedIn and would like to …

After a strange hiatus, Series 3 of The Fixer returned to BBC2 last week with episode three. It told the story of The Singing Kettle, a tea room in Torquay …

Interesting infographic on the changing views of national brands on local marketing in the US …

Recently we were asked to help the Southend Hospital Charity to promote awareness of their work through social media. They had a presence on Facebook but it just wasn't translating …

Privacy settings for status updates on Business Pages are always public but Facebook continue to play around with Privacy Settings for personal profiles so it is important to keep on …

A great question from Jo Curtis who runs networking lunches for business women in Billericay, Brentwood, Leigh-on-Sea, Southend and Thurrock, Essex. How do I find the URL for a Facebook …

At Lollipop Local, our tagline is 'We Direct Traffic' and we're always looking for interesting ways to achieve that. Twitter cards is the latest method of encouraging visitors to come …

So how do you block YouTube ads, those annoying rectangles that can often highlight a competitor on your own material? How very frustrating when you've uploaded your lovely new video …

The Apprentice for 2014 has been a delight. Yes, there were some truly horrible candidates but the moments of business clarity were enlightening. Episode 6 - Board Games Don't ignore …

Lollipop Local are proud to announce that we now provide Growth Vouchers, and we're ready to help your businesses grow! What is a Growth Voucher? Growth Vouchers are part of …

In the run up to the New Year, there was a furore on Twitter as a rather unpleasant individual vented his homophobic spleen in the direction of a previously much …

Wordpress is one of the best loved website platforms because it is so easy to use. The down side of being so popular is that hackers can cause maximum effect …

It took me a few minutes and a few aborted attempts to schedule a post on my Facebook Business page. The schedule post button had disappeared from its normal place …

A question that was asked after one of our recent social media courses on Facebook advertising was can I create my own Facebook ads or do I need a designer? …

Being able to pin your most important posts to the top of your business page has always been a big plus for businesses on Facebook. This means that you choose …

Our lovely web designer is very excited by news of Google's latest beta offering and that means we are too! It's a captcha that can tell the difference between regular …

I recently discovered Twitter's SMS feature that allows you to send tweets via text message, and subsequently receive your followers' tweets as text message notifications. How to use Twitter SMS …

Last week, we ran another of our Basic Facebook Ads training workshops for local businesses from the Southend area at our training room in Leigh on Sea, Essex. Only the …

Following on from our hacking problems, one Thursday morning started with two computers on our network that were attacked by malware, apparently whilst looking at the Lollipop Local website! Poor …

Wordpress is one of the most popular website platforms in the world, but it is also one of the most frequently targeted by hackers. Most Wordpress websites are under constant …

Great article and infographic on Convince and Convert about the rise of Plagiarism on the internet. Plagiarism is when someone takes words that you have written and passes them off …

I received a marketing email from Perry Marshall recently which got me thinking. He said: "Nobody who bought a drill wanted a drill. They wanted a hole. Therefore, if you …

One of the attendees on our Facebook training consultation only ever uses her iPad. However, iPads don't always have all the functionality required to run your Facebook account so We …

Episode 1 - 10 years of sales People who say they are great sales(wo)men invariably are a legend in their own lunchtime. And, most importantly, you need to prioritise the …

I'm currently setting up a new business. I'm looking to use LinkedIn, Google+, Facebook and Twitter (although I only really have experience with Twitter at the moment). In my business, …

As of this week, Likegates are no longer permitted on Facebook. But, Jo, what are Facebook like gates, I hear you say! It's where you make an offer or run …

As we learned previously here, automated tweets can get you into trouble at this time of year. There are two two minute silences. One at 11am on Remembrance Sunday - …

Your Facebook Voice is controlled via Post Attributes in the Settings area of your business page but there is also the option to control this on individual posts How to use …

Nozzy came to us looking for help with her website. It looked good but it just wasn't bringing in the customers because it wasn't showing up on Google. We took …

Lollipop Local are pleased to announce our Facebook Ads training courses. How Facebook say you should use their platform Facebook have set out their own strategy for how business owners …

They've only gone and done it again. The Twitter layout seems to have changed as of last week and now holds a striking resemblance to the Facebook layout. It was …

When you are learning about Statutory Sick Pay as a new employer, there are a couple of abbreviations that you need to understand. PIW = Period of Incapacity for Work …

Facebook says my link is unsafe Further to previous issues with Facebook saying that my website was spam, it has now gone a step further! When I try to upload …

Can I find the URL for a status update was a question that came up in one of my LinkedIn consultations and then later in an exchange on Google Plus …

I watched a brilliant webinar this morning courtesy of HMRC on getting started as an employer. I can see you shifting in your seat uncomfortably! No, it really wasn't boring …

I always encourage attendees of my Twitter training consultations to use Twitter Hours for their town or industry. The idea of Twitter Hours is that you get a group of …

Scrolling through the newsfeed, I saw an ad that I really don't want in front of my face. But how to get rid of it? Well you hover over the …

I have to admit that when I first saw the headline 'Facebook to charge users' in a thread about Sheryl Sandberg selling off another 283,000 of her Facebook shares, I …

Episode 2 of Series 3 of Alex Polizzi's The Fixer introduced us to Social Media and sausages. Hecks was a small business with big dreams. They had failed once before …

I think the thing that comes across most about Alex Polizzi as The Fixer is how many businesses there are out there who do not know their numbers! We often …

The switch from Google Plus to Google My Business means that there are a lot of inconsistencies in the categories for existing businesses which have been ported over. For one …

It can sometimes happen that you need to delete a Facebook page. There may be a duplicate or, perhaps, you don't run that business any more. Delete Facebook Page If …

I needed to find out how to cancel Paypal recurring payments and subscriptions recently. I checked my previous post on the subject and discovered that the instructions were out of …

A few months ago, we got a call from Shencare Community Transport in Birmingham. They provide transport facilities for community groups - so helping the elderly and disabled to get …

During one of our social media consultations in Southend, our student wanted to know how to block an ex boyfriend. Well, you go to the profile you want to block …

You may have discovered that you have more than one Twitter account and don't want to have to manage a second. You may have been told by your employer to …

Following on from this post talking about how some of the bigger banks and financial institutions have banned their employees from using social media in an attempt to stop unprofessional …

On my Facebook training course, I tell students that the reason why they need a Facebook business page rather than a Facebook group is because Google indexes Facebook's business pages …

I had to change the Google Plus and Google account owner details for one of my clients. The member of staff who originally set everything up for the business had …

I come from a family of insurance brokers and underwriters. I was married to a solicitor for 20 years. I read the small print in the contracts and I try …

Jo, I created a LinkedIn Company page for my Fire & Security company years ago but now I can't remember how to log into it! Here's some help for David …

So you can't get into your LinkedIn Company page for some reason and decide that you want to start again. However, it's not that easy! You can only delete a …

Lollipop Local are looking to employ an apprentice and we've just started looking through some of the resumes with a view to starting the interview process. What we wanted was …

My lovely friend Wayne from horkan.com has the answer to something that was asked recently on one of our Facebook training workshops. What happens if I like everything that Facebook …

Whilst we were on our summer break, we purchased The Guardian one day in Waitrose. Well, strictly speaking, we didn't because it was free if you spent a certain amount …

Create a Facebook Business Page So when you create a Facebook account - that's your personal profile. It's where you make friends and put up status updates that are personal …

how do i hide my birthday on facebook I missed my designer's birthday recently - Facebook didn't tell me to congratulate him. So I messaged him to how this could …

SADLY THE 'GET INTRODUCED' FEATURE IS NO LONGER AVAILBLE. I was watching an interesting webinar on how to make sure that your connections include influencers and referrers who will become …

I hate Facebook Messenger. And I hate the fact that Facebook force me to install it as an app on my mobile phone if I want to view any of …

We received a communication from the Co-operative Bank recently talking about Vishing. Obtaining personal information over the telephone in order to commit a fraud has been around for a while …

Infographic about what personal information you may have given away and where you did it. Big data is big business. You need to think carefully about what you put on …

Another great question, this time from a one to one social media training consultation this week. Why you might need to change the email you use for your Facebook login? …

It was a question that came up during a one to one training consultation on Facebook with Caron. How can I stop these stupid game invitations on Facebook? I felt …

Great infographic from Vertical Response that gives the Dos and Don'ts of using Facebook for Business Courtesy of: VerticalResponse …

Every time I run one of my Facebook workshops, I talk about a survey conducted by Legal & General where they discovered that 9 out of 10 adults who use …

There are three ways that you can use Reviews on Google Adwords. First there are the two ways to get the little gold stars - with thanks to Joy Hawkins …

Sometimes you may feel that your website is not working for you. And it certainly can be the case if you don't put as much effort into marketing your website …

We've had to ask ourselves when you stop contacting prospects about a product. Every week for the best part of a year, Jon has pitched about our social media training …

Why keeping it real is vital to using Google+ safely Google Plus's rule was quite clear. Just like Facebook, they wanted to ensure that there were only real people on …

One of our clients has received an invoice from a previous hosting supplier but doesn't know if they should pay it or not. It is for hosting their website... but …

Great question from a new business owner we are about to start working with. We had talked through the importance of choosing the right keywords a responsive, optimised website that …

One of our clients received an email from a new, start up directory for personal trainers. They asked us if we thought it was worth paying for listing there. There …

When you try to link your personal page to your business page, it can be quite easy to get it wrong. We've started noticing a lot of 'suitcase pages' showing …

A few months back, LinkedIn accepted my request to be one of the first to publish on LinkedIn. I posted two or three times and got some more eyeballs on …

A couple of weeks ago, it was announced that the Google Authorship images would be discontinued. These were the little photographs that appeared next to your name if your website …

I have to admit I am a bit fed up with LinkedIn Company pages. Mine has been live now for over a year and I have still managed to accumulate …

Oh how we all laughed! The Local SEO Pros of the world united in sniggering at Google's most recent advert for Google My Business in the US. It would seem …

I was reading the FSB's Business Network magazine this month and found a really interesting article on why business owners need to write a Will. Richard Wood, Technical Advisor of …

It's been a bad week for the Lollies when it comes to Facebook. First up, they decided to tell everyone that our website might be unsafe. Yup, even though we …

So you've created your Twitter account and they've told you that you will get a confirmation email to the account you used to set up your new Twitter. But nothing …

I really like what Ed Milliband was saying last week about changing the arrangements for Jobseeker Allowance so that it was paid to people who were training to acquire the …

One of my clients set up a Facebook ads account in US Dollars rather than British Pounds. We thought it would be easy to change this after completion of the …

In the week that we put in our application to employ an apprentice, I began to feel a distinct sense of panic as I read the June/July edition of the …

This month's FSB Business Network magazine was interesting from several perspectives relating to our plans to employ an Apprentice from our friends at ITEC in Basildon. There was an article …

The latest news from Google world is the launch of Google My Business. This is the product that will replace both Google Places, Google Places For Business and Google Plus …

My client just followed Facebook's instructions to change the currency on her Facebook Ad Account. They put this notification at the top of her page and also at the top …

If you are a local business on Facebook, your customers will be able to leave Reviews of your business. How to leave a review on Facebook You should see the …

[question ask="Hi Jo, I have created my facebook business page. Do I try and 'get friends'? Does it work the same way as personal facebook? Is it linked to my …

Just what is Twitter? It was a question asked at my latest Tweeting 4 Twits training course last week. Well, Twitter is a way of communicating with people across the …

UPDATED FOR 2014 LAYOUT CHANGE - Log in to twitter.com. In the menu at the top of your Twitter profile, select Me How To Edit Your Twitter Profile 2014 Now, …

Via: Great infographic from PowerFormula Do you know how to use LinkedIn for business? Come on our training course and find out what you need to do to use your …

Interesting question that came up in one of my training sessions on LinkedIn this week. "Can I make my LinkedIn profile invisible until I am happy to publish it?" Yes, …

You can log into Foursquare using your Facebook or Twitter account. How do I add my business to Foursquare First you need to create a listing. Go to the business …

If you work from home and want to hide your address so that it does not show on the internet, you can still show up in Google maps without revealing …

Facebook is currently rolling out the latest round of changes to personal timelines and also to business pages. You can find out more about how this affects your Facebook business …

Don't be afraid! Google Plus is actually very similar to Facebook in terms of how to use it. What's the difference between Facebook and Google Plus? So, what's the difference? …

UPDATED FOR JUNE 2014 I wanted to add an Admin to my Facebook business page so the easiest way is to find that person in the list of people who …

How to leave Google Plus was a question that was asked in a variety of ways at our recent Google+ Training Workshop. So when you ask how to leave Google …

UPDATED FOR THE NEW GOOGLE MY BUSINESS LAUNCH Following on from our post on what type of Google+ page you need for your business, this is what you need to …

This came in to the Contact Form on our website. I would like to talk to you about seo for my some websites please call me as possible 0703 *** …

LinkedIn are rolling out their new layout in 2017. If your profile is using the new layout, please click here to learn how to remove your birthday from your profile …

Google+ Local or Google+ Business page is the question that caused the most problems during my first Google+ training course. And then Google decided to change Google Places/Plus Local to …

Great infographic from The Social Media Hat showing the numbers of active users on the main social media platforms. Are you making the most of social media for your business? …

A great question that we were asked today. Why is LinkedIn showing a random image from my clients website on her profile? This is what happens when you add a …

My first Sponsored InMail arrived in my LinkedIn inbox yesterday morning. It looked like a normal message until I clicked through to view it. Then I saw the full example …

I won a prize in a Facebook competition a couple of weeks ago! Hurrah! Sadly, I was not able to collect on the prize. [Tweet "Why announcing winners of your …

It's great having a Google Places/Plus Local Business Page because other people can leave you nice reviews. It's also great that other people can upload images of them having a …

I had a call from a taxi driver recently. He said he wanted my help with Google Places. His question? Why are other people's ads appearing on my Google Places …

Social Media Workshops Tweeting for Twits Is Twitter working for your business? 40% of the 15 million Twitter users in the UK only ever read tweets. So, just because no …

Jo has been running 90 minute workshops on Facebook for groups of small business owners in Essex for the last 18 months. These also covered the basics of Social Media …

One of the questions I most often get asked on my Google+ training is what is Google Places? With the arrival of Google Plus, there are several types of business …

High Visibility Social Media Are you Lost on LinkedIn? Does your profile get you noticed? For the last 18 months Jo has been running 60 minute training seminars help business …

Another great question from an attendee of our Twitter training course was: [question ask="Do you know if it is possible to set up an auto thank you message to new …

It was Sam from 137 Digital's stand in at the BNI who did an entire 60 second pitch consisting of "We, we, we, I, I, I, me, me, me, us, …

On Wednesday 21 May, Lollipop Local joined Ford Dunton's Andrew Bruell, Ian Mullins of MC2 Marketing in Brentwood and Paul Forster from Chelmsford accountants', Bird Luckin to give advice on …

One of the attendees of our Twitter training course recently asked what link shortener should be used on Twitter. Personally, I use Hootsuite which automatically gives me an owly short …

So you gave Google your mobile phone number so it could verify your information and keep you advised if anyone tried to access your account. But now you've got a …

I hadn't realised there was a Twitter follow limit until today. I like to follow interesting looking accounts and usually follow back people who follow me. I'm polite like that …

I am not alone in disliking giving my email and access to other personal information when I access something with a Facebook app. I know from personal feedback when I …

Another great question from our recent LinkedIn training workshop. Can I add my social media manager as an admin to my LinkedIn Company page? I know that to create the …

The new Twitter layout is rolling out to most people over the next few weeks. It really does look a lot like Facebook - why would they do that? I …

Back in 2012, there was an announcement from PC World that a security breach at Zendesk, the customer service support platform, had resulted in the possibility of hacks to accounts …

After years as a Global Search Engine, Google went Local and Mobile in the UK. By mixing up the order of importance on their results pages, they levelled the playing …

Further to my recent SEO Warning about the business owner who could not get his website to rank for his own name, here is another similar tale with a twist …

Google say that 18% of local searches via a smartphone result in a sale within a day. And that 4 out of 5 customers want search ads to be customised …

April 2014 Update: Google Places Help should now read Google Plus Local Help Has your Google Places listing dropped off the front page? Have you moved office and want to …

78 million website owners use WordPress for a reason... More than 22% of websites use WordPress as it is the best platform to get found on Google. Put simply, Google …

Google is updating her lovely Algo again and promise this will help with those nasty doorway pages. This page has been updated to reflect that update! It's still a great …

I had a potential client contact us this week asking for help with 'getting to the front page of Google'. The only information I was given was the person's name …

This week I ran a Twitter training course in Brentwood at Warley Park Golf Club. Great twitter training today @JoShaer cant wait for the next course on blogging tomorrow — …

This one has come up a couple of times after people have been on our Facebook training course. I have a friend in real life but when we go to …

Further to my post about cups of coffee inspired by the BBC2's Business Boomers about the Coffee Hot Shots, there was one aspect of the programme that I did not …

A question that came up recently on one of our Facebook training courses. [question ask="I have found someone using my photo and my friend's last name with a fraudulent identity …

Let's just start with this straightforward remark. XP? Just give it up, NOW! On the 8th of April XP officially became obsolete. Now call me picky if you like but …

Lollipop Local are running regular Twitter training courses at their new offices in 1729a London Road, Leigh on Sea, Essex. We now have a brand new training room which can …

A few weeks ago I delivered a short SEO course in Basildon for the apprentices at ITEC Learning Centre. They run the only City and Guilds Social Media course in …

You can choose who you want your status updates to publish to by selecting individual names or circles or public at the bottom of each post on Google+. However, if …

BBC2's Business Boomers about the Coffee Hot Shots took me back to my childhood where coffee came in one size dependent on the crockery of the shop you were in …

Amazon has become a regular component of our life through both our affiliate marketing efforts and our shopping experience when time is tight so I enjoyed the episode of Business …

There are a few options here and it depends whether you are talking about messages from strangers or from existing connections. Stop messages from people who are not already connections …

Social Media Today tell us that as of September, there were over 15m Twitter users in the UK with 80% active on mobile devices (compared to only 60% globally) Over …

We watched The Wolf of Wall Street last week. The story of Jordan Belfort's rise and fall as a stockbroker in the 1980s... and then his rise again as a …

Search Engine OptimisationSearch Engine Optimisation is one of those terms that has spawned an industry of charlatans. Whether you live in Essex or elsewhere around the globe, there cannot be …

Blocking is a new feature that was introduced by LinkedIn in February. Blocking a connection on LinkedIn You go to the person's profile - this means that you can only …

[question ask="When my new website is be ready to roll out, I presume I can take my domain name with me?"][/question] Another great question after one of our training courses …

Last week we were really proud to be asked to sponsor and present the first Social Media Apprentice Award at ITEC for 2014. There were several other categories: Adult Learner …

Heartbleed is the latest virus/hack issue to trend across the webisphere. It is a security flaw which takes the form of a bug in a piece of software called OpenSSL …

No matter what they tell you, Google's not your friend Their goal in life is really just to make you spend spend spend They'll send you special offers, cos you're …

I had a day off today - for my birthday :) And a late lunch at the fantastic Sand Bar and Seafood Restaurant in The Broadway, Leigh-on-Sea. With Jon - …

NO!!!! Please don't do that! Just as with Facebook and LinkedIn, Google's guidelines confirm that the main profile on Google+ has to be a person with a first and last …

Yes you can add your maiden name to your Google+ account. And your Ph.D or other letters of accreditation. Here's how: Go to your Google+ profile. Click Profile in the …

[question ask="I have two Twitter accounts - what should I do?"][/question] Great question from Angela at Inner-Body Pilates after one of our Tweeting 4 Twits Social Media Courses in Leigh …

192.com is a scraper site. Even if you have not set up an account to list your business there, this directory may well still show your contact details. Judging from …

I ran one of my Google Adwords training courses for a local Essex business woman recently. She was paying an Adwords Management Company over £200/month to run her account and …

I was on a great workshop in Brentwood this week. It was all about developing your personal brand with Elaine Smith from Inside Out. Your personal brand should not be …

[question ask="Jo, how do I search for the relevant # for my business? i.e. bookkeeping, accounts, tax etc?"][/question] Great question about hashtags from Crystal from Thurrock on our recent Twitter …

Facebook Featured functions updated for April 2014. You now access Featured Likes, Page Owners and Admins via the navigation bar above the cover image. Click on the Settings option. In …

Facebook Ads have been completely out of kilter recently but whether there is an actual fraud or if it is just inefficient planning I am not totally sure. This chap …

[question ask="How do you delete a direct message on Twitter?"][/question] Especially for the lovely Hilary at Kibbles Mill who asked the question on my Twitter training course last week. You …

News from Twitter on photos this week. You can now upload up to four photos in any one tweet on mobile. And, just like on Facebook, you can tag up …

I'm not quite sure what all this means but a client received an email from Scoot telling them that they are now the authorised reseller of Bing Places. Last I …

After the success of our social media workshop in Chelmsford recently, we're really excited about our next Twitter training course in Brentwood. Remember to come and find us on Twitter …

The March/April 2014 edition of the FSB's The Voice Essex is a spotlight on women in business in the UK. The front page trumpets that there are around 860,000 SMEs …

Great training course with some of the Chelmsford representatives of Forever Living in February. These included Southern Lights Aloe and Lifestyle Choices Today It was really interesting to see how …

Some of Jon's business cards have the old Birmingham phone number on them. When I say some, I mean about 300! It just seems such a shame to thrown them …

Lollipop Local are delighted to announce that they now offer Hootsuite training from their base in Leigh-on-Sea in Essex. You can come to our offices or we can visit you …

A question that has been asked a lot recently is who can see my Email address on LinkedIn? The answer is: only first degree connections and people you have emailed …

What's that sticking out? My lovely designer was looking at a post I had put onto our blog. He was viewing it on his iPhone and, about half way down, …

A worrying blog post from Krebson Security about yet another attack on Wordpress blogs. 42,000 of them this time. The latest attack leveraged the pingback feature which allows other sites …

Getting online customer reviews is difficult enough to start with, particularly on your Google Places/Plus Local page. But if a customer does take the time to say something nice about …

Now regular readers will have heard me banging on about not using a personal timeline if you are a business. And how we can help you to stop being a …

[question ask="Why can't I see the location on profiles when I view with the mobile Twitter app?"][/question] Another great question from one of our Twitter training courses in Brentwood. In …

[question ask="Is there any easier way to like another business on Facebook as your business page?"][/question] Jenny of Travel Counsellors, Brentwood Great question from Jenny whilst I was at a …

It was most frustrating! A new site and we were setting up Google Authorship using Yoast's SEO Plugin. But my own User name just did not appear in any of …

"Oooh, you LinkedIn criminal!" Following on from my post about not being a Facebook criminal, the habit of creating a personal profile in the name of a business is spreading …

So, you've created your Twitter account! And now you need to start finding people to follow in the hope that they will follow you back. So, you go to the …

[question ask="Why are your blog posts on Facebook saying 'First published on Lollipop Local: SEO?' It's very irritating!"][/question] Great question from the lovely Ian from TheSocialGolfer.com Well, I use an …

I wrote a post recently about why individuals on Facebook should not connect with businesses who had set themselves up as a personal profile - the Facebook criminals. The difference …

One of our clients, let's call her Philippa, signed up to Facebook and created a personal profile. She immediately received two invitations to be friends with existing members. Facebook had …

I was giving a special training session to a group of ladies from Chelmsford, who are independent distributors of a particular range of products. It was a question that I …

This month we have been working with Louise of The Sand Bar & Seafood Company in The Broadway, Leigh-on-Sea. They had not created a Facebook page but an unclaimed one …

I was updating my listing over in the Federation of Small Businesses Directory but it would not allow me to complete the listing unless I put in my SIC Number …

[question ask="Was just checking Webmaster Tools and we seem to have some kind of HATOM mark up error on 711 entries since 10 January. Looks like they are all blog …

A feature of Twitter that has been on the rise recently has been Twitter Chats aka Twitter Live Chats which appear as #TownHour. What is Twitter Chat For Towns? These …

Why Twitter Lists? Twitter lists are an essential feature once you have followed more than about 20 people. You simply have to organise them in some meaningful way. Otherwise you …

[question ask="Jo, I just ran up a £1500 debt on my credit card using Google's Pay Per Click. Do you offer some basic Adwords training so I can stop this …

On the most recent edition of Dragon's Den on the BBC, there was a business woman dressed very smartly and doing a fantastic pitch for investment. But the camera seemed …

[question ask="If I search on Twitter for the same word or phrase with or without a hashtag, won't it bring up the same answers?"][/question] A question which rather threw me …

It's quite hard to remember the Google Adwords character limits so I thought I would write a little blog post as a reminder. Hopefully this is something that will help …

Back in 2013, transferring the registrant of a .co.uk was much more complicated. A client had asked us for help with changing the name of the registrant. The limited company was …

Valentine's Day brought a boom in traffic due to a vegan Twitter celebrity retweet, i.e. plant powered ultra-athlete Rich Roll, to be precise. While most welcome it was quite surprising …

It was an interesting day. Browsing status updates on LinkedIn, I came across a picture of a lion which was accompanied by the slogan Get 30,000 LinkedIn Connections Super Fast! …

This is a Valentines Day love experience... well kinda. It's definitely a story of some unexpected Twitter love that happened on Valentine's Day. It highlights the scope Twitter has to …

UPDATED FOR 2014. Of course, Google Plus finally started to make the platform easier to use recently. If you hover over your picture at the top right of your navigation …

[question ask="I have set up my Shortstack tab to collect email addresses and add them to a dedicated list on Mailchimp. I have set up Mailchimp to tell me if …

The lovely Philippa from Flora's Gardens was having some training on Facebook. She didn't want to have an active personal profile but she did want to be able to upload …

Further to our posts on how to change the registrant of a .co.uk website, here's another question that has come up from clients. What happens if your domain lists someone …

Since the announcement that Twitter was showing images in their newsfeed , it has become common place. But not if you don't know how! If you upload an image to …

Many co-workers share a Google Calendar so they can both see what the other one is up to and synchronise to ensure there is adequate cover for telephones. Dr Jon …

[question ask="Jo, we can't get our new email address to send or receive through Windows Live Mail 2012. But our old one still works fine. What's going on?"][/question] I dread …

Even if you're determined to use Facebook only for your business, you still need to have created a personal profile. From there you create your Facebook business page. But you …

Ever since the Google penalty began, there have been emails asking for links to be removed from decent sites. This is usually due to panic setting in. A Google penalty …

Back in February 2013, we wrote a post on why buying backlinks was bad. On June 16 2013, Google updated its ranking advice: It used to say: “In general, webmasters …

At Lollipop Local, we've been building simple tab apps to go under the cover image on your Facebook page for over a year now. When you are on your PC …

[question ask="How can I get a joint profile picture and cover image on Facebook"][/question] Great question today from our friends at Crown Vocational Training. The first time I saw one …

Of course many businesses would like to have a personal profile rather than a Facebook business page because it makes it easier for you to approach potential customers. Friends can …

There is nothing worse than logging into your Wordpress website and finding page after page of spam comments. Well, actually there is! It's logging into your Wordpress website and finding …

With all the changes to Lollipop Local over the last few weeks, we needed to upload an updated header image to our LinkedIn Company Page. However, it was easier said …

Thanks to All Facebook for the heads up that you can now reply as your business to Facebook Reviews. The Reviews box has been there a while for local businesses …

It's really simple to leave a Facebook group. On the Facebook Group page, you hover over the cog setting at the top right. Down near the bottom is the option …

[question ask="Jo, How can I remove members from my Facebook Group?"][/question] The only way you can remove a member from a Facebook Group - whether it is Open, Closed or …

I've been Googling to see where to book the Lollipop holidays next year and ended up choosing the Coralli Spa resort in South East Cyprus. I decided on a self-catering …

Do I still need a LinkedIn personal profile if I've got a Company page for my business?The short answer is Yes. Setting up a LinkedIn Personal Profile and Company Page …

At least once a month, I receive an email in my gmail account from the GMail Team titled Message Left On Server from 'Name of Business' If I click on …

I don't know how I managed it but suddenly my CAPS LOCK went into reverse. What is Caps Lock in reverse? So, when I had pressed Caps Lock on, the …

After my most recent LinkedIn Workshop, I went on to LinkedIn and noticed that there was yet another change. Previously, there was an Activity section in your profile. It was …

Jo, Can you disconnect from people on LinkedIn? How do you remove a connection? Another great question that came up during my LinkedIn Workshop this week. How to remove a …

Looking at my Google Calendar recently, I realised that there were events there which I had not accepted. In some cases, I wasn't even aware that they were happening! It …

Rather alarming to read a post about the new Email via Google+ function from Mashable. This announcement from Google looks likely to lead to Google+ Spam. Rolling out over the …

During the fiasco of the transfer of business customers from LloydsTSB to TSB Business, I originally wanted to stay with Lloyds for easier access to the most local bank. However, …

As well as using the advanced search feature mentioned in our How to use LinkedIn post, there are other ways of using LinkedIn for sales. Find more people to follow …

Interesting infographic from Boot Camp Digital. It seems to foretell the end of Vine - because of the success of Instagram videos. And also the demise of Facebook - well …

[question ask="Jo, I've had an email asking if I want to buy MyKeywordInMyTown.co.uk - should I buy it?"]We've had a lot of questions about this recently. And the answer, as …

You may have noticed on Friday that our website was down for maintenance. It was a site that I put together using my very basic Wordpress skills three years ago …

If you want to list your blog on Technorati, first you need to sign up and submit your blog's details. They will then send you a verification code which you …

One of my client's local business pages was mysteriously changed to a community page for martial arts overnight and he was not sure how it had happened or, more importantly, …

Here's a great infographic from Demand Metric all about why content marketing is still KING. Importantly there's an awful lot of stats gathered that support the claim. Effective content creation …

There are lots of ways that a business can communicate with potential customers. But there are a growing number of ways where you can blot your copybook before you get …

Following on from my post about the people who could not get into their Facebook personal profiles, someone else asked me how to contact Facebook. These are the forms that …

Two incidents where people have called us saying "I can't get into my Facebook personal profile" Suspended for trying to add an admin to a business page using the business …

When the membership of your business networking group starts to grow, its power can be extended if the members work together to promote each other on social media platforms like …

Further to my post on late payment problems, I read an article in the FSB's Network Magazine by Philip King, the Chief Executive of the Institute of Credit Management (ICM) …

Jo, How Do I Link My Facebook Business Page to Twitter so that the status updates post on the home stream there? Whilst I would not advocate ONLY auto posting …

Jo, I've had this email from Nominet about showing my personal address on the internet but I don't know what to do with it. When did you get it? About …

Setting up secret groups on Facebook is one of the best social media tips for business networking groups. It helps to put communications between members in one place without overwhelming …

Over the last couple of days, Twitter made the decision to change how its blocking functionality worked. The Verge explained that the change meant that people who had previously been …

Who Do You Think You Are? is a programme on BBC1 which helps celebrities to trace their roots and this week's episode was particularly fascinating for those of us who …

Back in March, Facebook announced that there would be changes to its Newsfeed to ensure consistency across all devices. What Facebook wanted to achieve with their new news feed To …

Google have updated the procedure for how to add a new user to Google Analytics yet again. This is the December 2013 version. How to add a new user to …

share from pinterest to facebookI'm sure that when I used to post pins to Pinterest, they would automatically appear on my Facebook page... but now they don't. This could have …

Another question asked at one of my recent workshops was about how to block a Facebook personal profile from a business page. If that person is writing something unpleasant on …

How can I see the best times and days to post to my Facebook fans? When are my fans online? It was another question asked at one of my workshops …

A question from a recent workshop was "Are hashtags case sensitive?" What are hashtags? Hashtags are used on many social media platforms these days, including Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. They …

So, when am I going to see the results of the work you're doing and the money I'm paying out? When is the phone going to start ringing? That's a …

Business Networking Groups are all about referrals and recommendations. But so many don't understand how social media can be an integral part of that real life connecting. Social Media Tips …

If you are a franchisee, then LinkedIn Company Pages will come as something of a disappointment. LinkedIn is set up so that the mothership gets the Company Page. As a …

I expect that everyone who has a website has encountered this problem. It's not loading and your browser is implying that it's not working. You clear the cache. Sometimes you …

I wrote about why using photographs on your blog or website can be a bad idea here. Today I learned a great trick that will help you to find out …

Show Facebook updates in news feedAs we know, Facebook's algorithm ensures that only a limited number of your posts will be seen by your fans. Unless you pay to promote …

The Liverpool Victoria have released some great stats about micro business owners. There are 1.7 million 'one-man-bands' operating in the UK One in twenty (5%) of these are turning over …

This is why it is always a good idea to set up your LinkedIn profile so that you have both a personal email address and a Company domain-based one listed …

See who has viewed my LinkedIn profile Can you tell me how I can see who has viewed my Linkedin profile and who they are ? It is saying that …

facebook logout Here are five times that you might want to use the Facebook logout feature. Facebook Logout 1. Logout of Facebook when you share a computer with other people …

I was asked by a local secondary school to give my social media workshop to their year 12 and 13 students who are doing a business studies course. They were …

Great advice about using your PC for long hours in the office from Jo Larner, my favourite Osteopath at 4 Seasons Complementary Therapies 1. □ Remember to take care when …

great blog titles infographicGreat infographic on blogging titles that get you noticed. Could your business benefit from a blogging strategy using keywords to get noticed? …

Using LinkedIn for Marketing - incomplete profile connectionsI've been training people how to use LinkedIn for business for some time now. I've also been on various courses and listened to …

More Changes at Facebook and this time for Events! Read more about Using Facebook Events in 2013 I had a call from a client who was struggling to get their …

Is your LinkedIn Company page safe? Great article from Lighter HR Solutions about some potential problems with the ownership of contacts and properties held on social media sites. Why creating …

Facebook Interest Lists are a great way of organising the pages that provide you with valuable information on a particular subject. Add Pages You Have Liked To Facebook Interest Lists …

November Update: And it's all change again at Facebook if you want to merge duplicate Facebook pages together. Thanks, as ever, to my friend Shawn of Interactabel Social Media for …

Blog writing tips infographicGreat infographic showing blog writing tips that can get your business noticed in the 90 seconds that visitors will stay on your website. Find out if your …

How to Highlight Recent posts by others on Facebook April 2014: If your Facebook page has been upgraded, you will no longer be able to highlight Recent Posts By Others …

I don't think there are many of us who haven't received a message from a friend's gmail or hotmail account that has been hijacked or hacked. Somehow these individuals manage …

How do I join Facebook? Many of the people who attend our workshops don't know how to create a Facebook account. So, here's what you need to do to join …

UPDATED FOR DECEMBER 2014 The Facebook Review tab is here to stay underneath the cover image at the top of the page for those businesses who have chosen the Local …

Facebook Review Pop Up Effective use of your Facebook Reviews is very important to the success of your business page. A happy customer clicks on the Review button under your …

Many LinkedIn users do not realise that it is possible to link to your LinkedIn Company Pagefrom your Personal Profile. It's an important thing to do because it allows your …

Here's what some of the ladies said about the LinkedIn Workshop we ran in Brentwood. This was done by embedding their tweeted thank yous. @JoShaer Great training session on LInkedin …

For a few months now, we have been offering a service where we bring your website into your Facebook page using the tabs underneath the cover image. Suddenly, this week, …

Last Tuesday, Twitter switched on previews of images. I've been having a few days away from the computer so the first time I realised was on Friday when I saw …

NOVEMBER 2013 UPDATE: If you are trying to log in but getting a 1000022 error which says there is a problem with your card, try using Internet Explorer as your …

Facebook's Review Tab is now here to stay but only for pages which have the Local Business category. Find out how to get the Facebook Reviews Tab and stars and …

In the run up to Christmas, it's vital that small businesses make the most of every opportunity that social media can offer. If you sell products that are very visual, …

We had a call this week from a business in the West Midlands. They were unable to get their Google Places page to show for their main search term. And …

Opt Out - Pair my social actions on Facebook with no one It's called pairing your social actions. To the uninitiated, it's where Facebook show your name and the fact …

Successful Business Women Help Each Other I'm part of an organisation where successful business women help each other. it's called the Women In Business Network and there are five groups …

Many people think that using Facebook for business is just creating a page and putting up a few status updates. Sadly, that's what leads them to complain that Facebook does …

MAY 2014 UPDATE - Does Facebook say your website is unsafe? Go here to find out how I sorted out this problem. facebook says my website is spam Facebook says …

rotate photos on Facebook I received an interesting question on how to rotate photos on Facebook today. "Help, I've just uploaded my new profile picture and it's showing as horizontal …

All businesses collect and process “personal data” as defined in the Data Protection Act 1998. When you collect people’s personal data, they need to know: Who you are, what the …

This is a question that I am getting asked a lot recently. How can my fans ask me questions about appointments and stock on my Facebook business page? So, here's …

Facebook Group Chat Phishing ScamI have become aware of a couple of examples of a Facebook Group Chat Phishing Scam recently. A few weeks ago, my friend, Claire, suddenly opened …

facebook down notification I first noticed that there was a problem with Facebook yesterday when I could not create a Facebook app or upload the new tab I had built …

Researching for one of my LinkedIn workshops recently, I read an interesting tale about a man who was convinced that the big boys all share your email information. What happens …

Great article about families using technology to communicate by Louise Ridley in some of the marketing blogs this week. Using data from Sparkler for Microsoft, they discovered that the average …

Do you need funding to get your business found online? Would you like a grant of £2,000 to grow your business? You know that you need training to be able …

As I keep on saying, Wordpress is a fantastic content management system and this is highlighted once again by the existence of Wordpress Roles for Multiple Users. Jo, I want …

I have written several times about the potential for getting into trouble with copyright infringement. On Social Media, by using images on your website that don't belong to you and …

Google's Shared Endorsements means that they have changed their rules so they can promote your +1s and shares to your friends - if you are over 18. With thanks to …

reply or comment on facebookWhat's the difference between a reply or comment on Facebook? Underneath any status update, if there have been no other comments, then you only have the …

My accountant and my book keeper would both like me to get a business credit card. I think it makes it easier for them to monitor my expenditure rather than …

Yahoo Mail has had a bit update but how do I print emails with the new layout? Printing Emails Using Old Yahoo Mail Layout It used to be that you …

If your business is a local bricks and mortar shop or premises that people can physically visit, then you should set up your Facebook Page as a Local Business. This …

I received some Twitter direct message spam from a local business that I follow today. It used the 140 characters to tell me all about how I could get free …

Edit Facebook postsYay, the ability to Edit Facebook Posts has finally arrived! There is nothing worse than posting a status update in a rush and then seeing it in your …

Having gone through Rules #6 and #7 about posting consistently and through the day, it would be very wrong to miss out the importance of regular blogging to underpin that …

Announcing Facebook Contest Winners On Your Wall 2014 Since you can now run a competition actually on your Business Page (not your personal timeline though) and ask people to like …

LinkedIn invitations - don't connect yet You don't have to connect with everyone who issues an invitation on LinkedIn! In fact, these days, LinkedIn would rather that you did not …

I suspect that many of us wonder how to go about clearing a gmail inbox. It can be so daunting and stressful to open your inbox and see thousands of …

offlining for blackberriesI first heard the phrase Offlining in a post at New Media Angels. It's where you go cold turkey without any devices that could connect you to the …

Interesting new term - Astroturfing - from our friends in the States. There has been a big hooha over there when a large number of SEO companies and SMEs have …

Futher to my post on Facebook SEO and whether you should claim the vanity url and lose the hyphens, it was interesting to note a search that I did using …

Have you been asked if you want to like similar pages on Facebook?Has anyone else seen this? It doesn't happen all the time but if you like an image or …

ShowRooming I had not come across the term ShowRooming before but enjoyed this interesting article by eConsultancy. ShowRooming is the action of researching (or trying) products by visiting a local …

Social Media PlanIf you want to make sure that your time on Facebook is as effective for generating leads as your weekly breakfast meeting, you have to work out a …

September 2013 Update - Well, following on from the various hitches where my business debit card would not work in my card reader and I had to use my personal …

reposition image on facebookThe image you've just uploaded to Facebook does not show the caption or part of the image that you wanted to highlight. What to do? Hover over …

So I'm in Google Chrome and I want to Pin something to my Pinterest board. I've set up a Pin It app on my toolbar - but the whole bar …

find the help centre on LinkedIn Yes, you can delete your LinkedIn account when you don't know or have access to the email address. But you will need to get …

I remember this piece from my childhood, it always made me smile. And, from an early age, I wanted one of those pink plastic toy typewriters. Was it Chad Valley …

Software For Photo Editing Captions For PicturesAre you looking for software for photo editing? Do you want to be able to produce captions for pictures to upload to social media? …

Did you know that if your business has 5 or more people you must keep a written record of your fire risk assessment? Did you know that you need to …

where's the seo on my cheap websiteJo, I have been offered a cheap website - 5 pages for £99 with a minimal monthly fee for hosting, is this going to …

Spent the day at ad:tech, the digital marketing exhibition and conference in London. What messages came home with me? That Social Media and SEO are becoming vital parts of each …

embed google+ posts on website or blogYup, where Facebook go, Google+ will surely follow and Google+ posts can now be embedded into websites. How to embed Google+ posts on your …

Marin Alsop made history for women in the music business last night. After her performance at the Royal Albert Hall, she said: "Quite a lot has been made of me …

Having whinged about the ineptitude of Bing in the UK and Nokia's Here Prime Places in the past, I am happy to report some better news. I have a new …

facebook as speed datingSome bloke sent us an email about our LinkedIn course asking why he should pay for our tuition when he could work it all out for himself …

Interesting times for social media and copyright. I noticed another social media company had published a link to an article in The Guardian about social media... on its Facebook business …

I was asked recently: "Can I have 2 Accounts On LinkedIn Using Different Email Addresses If I Do 2 Different Jobs?" LinkedIn's rules on setting up an account are actually …

Further to my post on the changes to the way Facebook decides what content to put into the newsfeed, Amy Porterfield's latest advice is about ways to make an impact …

Infographic by Julianna Rae - Luxury Lingerie You should pay particular attention to the section on how lawyers scour Facebook pages for evidence of wrong doing when a divorce is …

Following on from my posts on Using Facebook Events and Create an Event in Facebook Groups. Here's a slide presentation on how your guests can share your event on Facebook …

linkedin duplicate accountsI've had to deal with LinkedIn duplicate accounts twice in the last couple of months. Ways that LinkedIn Duplicate Accounts can occur In both cases, clients came for …

It's been a busy old week of fiddling at Facebook. High Quality Facebook Content First they announced that they had been surveying people about the quality of the content in …

Facebook have been at it again. I will discuss the news about quality content tomorrow. I want to address the news about Facebook Competitions first. For months now, Pages have …

linkedin-change-email step 1 I had a client recently who wanted to change the email on her LinkedIn account. She had set the account up from her hotmail account. It had …

Two programmes about Facebook on Channel 4 recently. The first placed its focus on what can go wrong when you put the wrong things onto social media. If you don't …

capital letters to lower case in photoshopMy client was trying to prepare some slides in Photoshop but the lettering was all in capital letters. Yes, there were big capital letters …

embed facebook posts on your websiteYay, you can now embed Facebook posts on your website! It was first rolled it out to a select few users as a test in …

Further to Mike Blumenthal's Google Local Train Wreck post and Andrew Shotland's Google and Local SMB post, both talking about the difficulties Google seems to face in effectively serving the …

So, here's my first Facebook Embedded Post. I chose the one from the FSB because it is so timely for many small business owners. The great thing is that you …

From the contact form on my website Luis Hill luishill87@yahoo.com Telephone 0017849632 Website URL http://ca.com Message: Hi, Thank you for using our Infographic (http://tiny99.com/***** - details removed just in case …

[caption id="attachment_11398" align="alignright" width="250"] Who needs LinkedIn courses? Surely it can't be that hard to fill out a profile?There are almost 13.5 million UK business people registered on LinkedIn. According …

I urge all small business owners to download a copy of this information booklet from the Government.Cyber security: what small businesses need to know - Publications - Inside Government - …