Posts Tagged ‘facebook’
With over 300 million FaceBook users actively using FaceBook, it has become the new area for hackers to spread viruses and steal your account information.
Below are some tips to avoid becoming a victim.
- Install Anti Virus and keep it up to date. AVG is the most reliable for Social Media.
- At the moment all viruses are spread via Facebook email and Wall posts.
- If you see numerous friends posting the same message with links then contact them off FaceBook and warn them that their FaceBook account may have been compromised.
- Do not open a link telling you to go to a YouTube video with a link that uses http://bit.ly . YouTube have their own link shortener http://youtu.be .
- If a message from a friend does not sound like them. It probably is not them. Delete the message and let your friend know of the message.
- If your account does have a virus, run a virus checker and then change your Facebook password.
- If you have completed step 5, then email all of your FaceBook friends to let them now and suggest these tips to them. The more vigilant we are against this the less likely FaceBook will be targeted.
- If you click a link and are asked to log back into FaceBook DON’T. This is a common tactic to steal your login details.
- If you add people to your account that you do not know and they send you a message stating that you are in a video or pic etc then remember that they do not know you. This will be a virus.
- Join our FanPage for the most up to date information about new viruses and FaceBook threats along with the best solution to rectify the problem.
Net Mania Fan Page is at http://facebook.com/NetMania or by using the FaceBook URL shortener http://fb.me/NetMania .
FaceBook recently added a new shortened URL “fb.me” to make it simpler to access pages, profiles and groups.
Initially it may appear that there is no need for such an URL shortener as most people have heard of FaceBook and know the FaceBook Url www.faceBook.com .
But there are 3 main advantages:
- The increasingly popular Twitter service with its 140 character limit can show readers that it is a facebook link and promote your brand at the same time.
- The popular mobile market that access the web via their smart phones and other mobile devices.
- It is much easier to give people a short URL to your pictures on your profile.
There are 2 main disadvantage at the moment.
- There is no way to track how many clicks your links are getting which will make online marketing with the fb.me URL difficult to analyse its success.
- If your Fan Page does not meet the minimum criteria of 25 Fans then you do not have a vanity url and therefore your Fan Page will not have a memorable fb.me URL.
The benefits of having statistics and other analytical tools associated with a URL shortener are so emence that we would expect that FaceBook will roll out the new features in the near future.
FaceBook announced that New Zealand users of FaceBook is at the 1 million users mark or 25% of the population. This is a 150% growth increase in the past year. http://www.insidefacebook.com/facebook-global-market-monitor/
This makes FaceBook the New Zealand’s most popular social media site and a serious consideration for New Zealand businesses to explore advertising opportunities and creating an online presence for thier businesses.
Most properties that are for sale and rent are advertised on the Internet, whether on the real estate agents web site, a Realtors web site or an auction web site. Advertising properties on the web is the most convenient manner to find the dream property and the most effective manner to sort out those potential people who are interested in the property.
More often than not, Real Estate Agents and property investors create an advertisement for a property that they hope will entice potential customers to ring them and meet with them. This defeats the purpose of online advertising and will just waste your time and money as potential customers move on to the next property they are interested in.
To gain the maximum advantage from advertising properties online, the advertiser should:
1. Include inside and outside photos of the house.
2. Use Google Maps to show the location
3. Use Google Street View
4. Give a good description of the property
5. Include email as well as your phone number as a means of contact.
6. Don’t have any hidden surprises such as fees you did not mention on the advert.
Real Estate Agents should also do the following to maintain and gain new relationships and coverage:
7. Use Twitter to send property updates and market trends.
8. Create a Fan Page for your self so that your clients can give feedback and un edited testimonials. Beware, if you are a dishonest Real Estate Agent i would not suggest doing this.
9. Maintain a regular blog with tips and new emerging trends.
10. Utilise online communications more. The telephone is not the only form of communication.
FaceBook will release Vanity url’s ie a FaceBook address with your option of a name in it such as http:/www.facebook.com/JohnSmith as opposed to the current system of un memorable names. Release date is Saturday 13th at 4.01pm. Countdown clock here http://www.facebook.com/username/
Users can choose a name for their profile and Fan Pages (If you have 1,000 fans before May 31). For individuals and companies who have common names you should be ready at 4pm to register your names before some one else does. The consequences are significant if you miss your prime name as eventually vanity URL names will become the normal way to find companies and individuals on FaceBook. If you miss your company name then your competitors will be gaining your traffic and visitors.
Your vanity url should be the same as your organiastion domain name to avoid future confusion with your customers.
For individuals you should consider future employment prospects will be able to find you more easily so you should use a name that you will still be happy with in the future.
FaceBook have made names non transferable. This means you get one chance at your vanity url name and removes much of the motivation of cyber squatters to bulk register and resell names at a later date.
FaceBook vanity URL’s are now in line with Bebo, My Space and the many other social networks who already offer vanity URL’s.
The Oceania region accounts for 3.4% of the 200 million FaceBook users and in the Asia region 6.6% of the region use FaceBook.
FaceBook is Australia’s 3rd most visited web site. Google assuming 1st adn 2nd postions. YouTube is 4th most popular site.
While in New Zealand FaceBook is the 6th most popular web site with Google ranked 1st and 2nd, TradeMe 3rd, Yahoo 4th and YouTube 5th. Bebo is ranked 8th most popluar web site.
Information sourced from Alexa.com and Oriely.com
As a web 2.0 consultant the first question business owners often ask me is “Why use FaceBook, Twitter and other social media for my business. We have a web site and FaceBook is for kids and isn’t Twitter like a web based SMS system anyway ?”.
For this article i will concentrate on FaceBook.com and then other social media in the next articles.
Any business or professional should at least be aware of the technology trends as your potential and current customers are more than likely using such technology in their personal lives. Internet usage in New Zealand alone is 87% of the population.
There are over 175 million FaceBook users who are generally in the 35 year plus old bracket who have higher education, disposable income and are likely to be people who are comfortable sourcing services and products online as well as meeting new people in FaceBook.
This creates an ever increasing pool of potential clients that if you do not make a presence on FaceBook then your competitors will.
FaceBook allows business to create pages that have a Google search priority hence getting your business online and into the Google search quickly and with a minor effort on your part.
People who use social media such as FaceBook are more open to being introduced to new people online. This is your chance to meet and network with new colleagues, create new business partnerships and introduce new customers to your business. It also provides you an opportunity to put a human component to your business thus removing the cold concrete walls that traditional business conjure up when we think of them.
By constantly updating your profile with your business Twitter and blogs with new information, tips and tricks you will show that you are an expert in your area and a thought leader. Give some free advise and your customer loyality will naturally increase.
Allowing open discussion from your group or on your fan page allows you to listen directly to your customers and improve your services and products. It also shows new and potential customers that you are an innovative and personal company that values your customers and are prepared to listen and make your customer a priority.
By having a business page on FaceBook you can create a targeted advertisement campaign in FaceBook with paid adverts, but more importantly you will receive a lot of free publicity within your networks and within their networks if you have the right social media strategy.
