Why Use Social Networking?

Social Networking is growing ever more popular each year. Social Networking is a great way to advertise your business and gain new customers. Here are the top five reasons to use social networking websites to promote your business.

1. It's free
2. It's quick and easy to get started
3. It can help you reach out and find new customers
4. Social networking sites get picked up by search engines, increasing your search engine ranking
5. Most are customizable so you can match your business websites colors and designs (ask us how)

Some of the most popular social networking sites include Facebook, MySpace and LinkedIn. Before you decide which service(s) to use, evaluate which services best suit your needs and who uses each service most. Here is a list of some of the more popular social networking sites and who generally uses them.

• http://www.linkedin.com/ - For Business Professionals
• http://www.facebook.com/ - For Social Networking and Small Businesses
• http://www.myspace.com/ - For Social Networking
• http://www.plaxo.com/ - For Business Professionals
• http://www.reunion.com/ - For Finding Past Schoolmates

What is Google Calendar?

Google Calendar is an easy to use, free online calendar of events that can be shared with co-workers, family, friends and/or the public. It can also be customized and incorporated into an existing website or blog. Google Calendar has a few benefits that other calendars do not currently offer.

Never Forget Another Event
Get reminders sent via email or have a text message sent to your mobile phone.

Access your Calendar from your Mobile Phone
If you don't have a computer, no problem. View and edit your calendar using your mobile phone.

Invite People to your EventsYou can invite people to your events on your calendar. Guests can then RSVP by email or via your online Google Calendar.

Sync your Google Calendar with Desktop Applications
Google Calendar can syncronize its events with Microsoft Outlook, Apple iCal and Mozilla Sunbird to reduce confusion and better manage all your events.

Access your Calendar when you are Offline
Don't have access to the internet? You still have access to your Google Calendar. With offline access, you can view a read-only version of your calendar no matter where you are. However, you can't make any updates when working offline.

Customize your Calendar
Your Google Calendars appearance can be customized and incorporated into your website or blog using HTML code. You can customize the colors of the calendar and what size you want the calendar to display on your website, it can fit anywhere and is interactive. (right) Sample of a Google Calendar that fits in the side margin of Blogger blogs.

Contact Red Lace Design to incorporate your Google Calendar into your website or blog. If you don't already have a Google Calendar, we can set one up for you.

What is Tell-a-Friend?

Tell-a-Friend is a Social Twist Service that is considered the #1 word of mouth marketing widget that you can use on your websites and/or blogs. It is a single, customizable button that provides all the channels to connect your web pages to your visitors through email, IM (instant messenger), blogs and social networks such as Facebook.

What would be the benefit of using the Tell-a-Friend service? It lets your visitors add your web pages to social networking sites and blogs. Think of it as a way to allow your website visitors to bookmark your website while providing you with an inbound link. And inbound links improve search engine optimization for your website so it benefits you and your visitors.

Other added benefits of the Tell-a-Friend widget is that it is the only free button that has multiple sharing channels in addition to its multilingual support, anti-spam features, built-in privacy measures and it's small footprint so it won't slow down your websites page load times. You can also keep track of 'shares' - how many people have actually used the widget on your website - through the Tell-A-Friend website.

Contact Red Lace Design today for implementation of the Tell-a-Friend widget on your website.

Snap Assistant Website Launch

Red Lace Design has launched a new website and blog for Snap Assistant, a Portland based business providing Virtual Assistance, in a snap. Snap Assistant provides its clients with Virtual Assistants that assist clients from their own office on a contractual basis providing administrative, human resources, communication, creative and technical services. You can visit their website at http://www.snapassistant.com/ and you can become a follower of their blog by visiting http://snapassistant.blogspot.com/ and selecting 'Join This Site' using Google Friend Connect.

Client: Snap Assistant, Portland Oregon USA
Project: Website Design, Blog Design, Logo Design

Put your business on Facebook

Facebook is a social networking site that allows users to stay in touch with their friends, family, co-workers and even customers. Facebook was founded on February 4, 2004 and today millions of people use Facebook everyday and are able to upload an unlimited number of photos, share links, share videos and learn more about the people they meet through their 'wall' and it is absolutely free.

So who uses Facebook? Individuals, public figures, celebrities, musicians, bands, artists, communities, businesses, pretty much anyone you can think of. You can create a personal account and/or a business account.

Business pages are distinct presences that are seperate from user profiles and are optimized for a business organizations needs to communicate, distribute information, engage their fans and capture new customers through their fans recommendations. Business pages have the ability to give you access to free advertising to millions of people just by creating an account and if you want more visability, you can create an ad on Facebook to further showcase your business. With a Facebook business page, you are also creating an opportunity to help your business with search engine optimization by creating incoming links to your business website from your Facebook page using the 'share links' feature. A great feature that will appeal to some businesses, is the 'photo gallery' section of your Facebook page. For instance, if you have a portfolio, a photography business, a landscape or architecture business, a restaurant, perhaps you want to share a series of images to your potential customers. You can upload an entire photo gallery (up to 200 images per gallery) to display your work and/or business, plus you can include captions and links to each image.

Pros of Facebook:

• It's free...
• Free advertising to millions
• Unlimited photo uploads, great for portfolios
• Helps with SEO (search engine optimization)
• You can join 'networks' to connect with your community
• Capture new customers

Cons of Facebook:

• No easy web address to verbally tell someone about
• No ability to customize your Facebook page (colors, background, etc.).
• Searching for someone by their business name can be a challenge

Overall, the pros of Facebook outweigh the cons and I would recommend it to any business as an opportunity to further advertise your products and services for free while connecting with your local community.

Red Lace Design offers Facebook set-up for businesses which includes account set-up, icon creation, Facebook badge creation (for use on your business website to link to your Facebook page), profile and privacy set-up, adding your business information, joining networks and adding links to your homepage, all for the low introductory rate of $100. We also offer photo gallery creation, discussion board creations and sending out friend requests for an additional fee. Visit us at Red Lace Design to learn more and get started on your Facebook business page today.

Red Lace Design is on Facebook and part of the Portland Oregon network.

Little Garden Grow Blog Launch

Red Lace Design has launched a new blog for Little Garden Grow, a place for home gardeners to learn how to properly grow and harvest their vegetables, flowers and herbs. Little Garden Grow's blog provides users with growing tips, harvesting information, how to grow from seed, plant placement and perennial maintenance. You can become a follower of Little Garden Grow by visiting their blog http://littlegardengrow.blogspot.com/ and selecting 'Follow' using the Google Friend Connect.

Client: Little Garden Grow, Beaverton Oregon USA
Project: Blog Design, Logo Design, Photography