The Most Important Part of a Blog

For a Blog to capture the reader's attention you must have a compelling picture.  Pictures lure the passer-by into reading your post and digesting your message. Pictures add color and aesthetics making your post more appealing.

Interesting images and graphics can also drive search engine traffic. A picture is worth a thousand words.

OnFast recommends that you use your own original photos and artwork. Today digital cameras are inexpensive and easy to use. Uploading pictures takes only a few clicks.  For mobile phone users there is hardly any effort at all.

You can publish pictures and graphics of others with the proper attribution. You should give credit to your sources. Use copyright and trademark symbols where appropriate.  You may want to familiarize yourself with the "Fair Use of Copyrighted Works" page on Wikipedia.

With OnFast it's easy to insert pictures and gradually build a library of images to add to future posts.

For a free OnFast trial please visit us at OnFast.com
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Facebook And What It Can Do For Your Business

With Facebook having become such a part of everyday life now, it is essential that businesses have a managed presence there. Over half a billion users are actively signed on to the social networking site each day. This fact presents an immense opportunity for any company that is willing to make the effort to leverage Facebook to their advantage.

Facebook differs greatly from Twitter in that a company can build a real brand identity on their Facebook page, much like a website, while having the advantage of truly engaging with their customer base. Interaction is the key to all social media channels. Invite followers to provide comments and feedback about everything related to your business and what it does. A company can gain valuable marketing insight to what customers are looking for, what they think about a certain product or service, or what they would like to see in the future from the company.

OnFast Customer Story: Phil Hadley Of Collier Pest Control

Phil Hadley is the owner of Collier Pest Control, Inc.; a full service pest control company that has served the area of Lee and Collier Counties from Fort Myers to Marco Island, since 1990. Phil has been a resident of Naples, FL since 1957.

The following interview took place in February, 2012.

Social Media News Highlights For The Week Ending 2/24/12

Twitter Reaches 500 Million Registered User Mark

The company has not officially announced it yet, but the social media network reached a milestone of 500 million registered users this week. The pace of signups has been steadily increasing over the last year. The network officially announced they crossed the 200 million mark back in April 2011. At the current estimated rate of growth, Twitter will have over 1 billion users in about a year and a half. Full Story Here:

Facebook Timeline For Brands Coming Later This Month

It was reported that Facebook will be making its new Timeline format available to brands later this month. This past September, Facebook announced its new profile format, but stated that it was not intended for brands at this time. The new Timeline will give companies the opportunity to have a large, distinctive image at the top of their page and the ability to outline such things as corporate history. Full Story Here:

Just What Is This Thing Called Social Media?

Social media is a term that is heard frequently in this second decade of the 21st century, but many people may not be aware of what it really means. The word media can be defined as a tool or method of communication to a audience. As a tool of mass communication the so called traditional media filled this role.

First newspapers, then radio and television, gathered the news that was deemed relevant and communicated it to their audience. The problem with traditional media, and what has lead to the rise of social media, is that the communication goes only one way. Relevant news and content flows only in a downward direction to the media's audience. There really is no room for any interaction.

Is my data secure and always accessible?

At OnFast we understand that our customers rely on us to keep the OnFast software, systems, and data secure and reliable.

We have added several up-to-date security safeguards and backup protocols to ensure that our application is protected. 

The OnFast infrastructure uses redundant storage and multiple servers to keep the application and your data available in the case of hardware failure. The entire OnFast application - including your data - rests safely behind Cisco-powered firewalls. Only authorized personnel have access to the datacenter. 

OnFast is a SaaS (software as a service) provider, requiring nothing more than a web browser to access our services from anywhere, anytime.

Posted via OnFast - http://www.OnFast.com

Social Media News Summary For The Week Of 2/17/12

Facebook Effect Helps Boost Social Media Stocks

The recent announcement by Facebook of a IPO in several months, has left investors scrambling to get on board with social media stocks before hand. Stocks of social media companies have jumped an average of 35% recently as a result of Facebook IPO anticipation. Investors apparently want their piece of the Facebook effect. Some experts are calling for caution however, as last year's wonder, the online coupon site Groupon, is down 6.2% this year. Full Story Here...


Social Media Week Shines A Light On Social Business

Social Media Week is being held this week at 21 cities around the world. The events and activities are designed to focus attention on trends and developments in social and mobile media and its relationship to business. Many influential individuals and companies from around the globe are sharing information about social business with their sights set on the future. Full Story Here...

I've signed up. Now what do I do?

Once you have signed up and confirmed your account, be sure to login and explore OnFast's internal website.

Check the links in the "Getting started" box on your "Home" screen to create and schedule new social and blog posts, link your social network, and blog accounts to OnFast and setup your account and billing information.

There will be a free-trial banner at the top of your screen, which alerts you to the number of days remaining in your 30-day free trial. Be sure to upgrade your account to a paying plan prior to the end of the 30-day trial.

OnFast's New Features: Internal Changes

OnFast is excited to present our new internal features this week, including a new menu and consolidated social feed!

On login, the traditional tab layout has now been replaced by a new left hand menu (or drop menu for smaller browsers), allowing customers to easily get to all elements of the program, as well as improving the internal aesthetics.

How do I create and distribute a coupon for my business?

Distributing company coupons is a great way to keep loyal customers happy and drive new customers to your business. OnFast provides a simple and quick way to create and disseminate these coupons through your blog and social network channels.

To create and schedule a new coupon, select "Coupons" on either the "Home" or "Campaign" screen and then click on the "Add New Coupon" button. You can then enter the start and expiration dates, number of coupons to be distributed, coupon offer, coupon rules and the channels to which you'd like to distribute.

Blog, Blogger, Blogosphere

So what do these terms mean, and what can a blog do for my business?
 
New users to the social media world ask us all the time. "Just what is a Blog?"  Well, a Blog is a web site where you can post things about yourself or your business.  The word Blog is an acronym for Web Log. Take the last four letters and you have Blog. 


One of the more popular services that provides users with a free blog service is Google's Blogger. www.blogger.com With a little experience you can utilize some of the more advanced Blog features like posting pictures and links to other content sources. In fact, Blogs are designed to be easy-to-use by the non-programmer and the non-technical community.

Service your existing customers and find new ones

This is good advice and a simple common sense business strategy for success. In the process, it certainly can't hurt to tell your customers how much you appreciate their business. 

Fresh revenue from new customers is the fundamental cornerstone for the growth of any business. Acquiring new customers clearly needs to be a top priority in today's competitive business climate.  The trouble is, getting new customers is often a huge job in itself when you're focused on the day-to-day running of your business.

When it comes to communicating with potential customers, many small businesses simply don't have abundant time or technical resources to create sophisticated content or marketing campaigns. Moreover, hiring staff or an agency to do the work can be cost prohibitive. Today, small businesses are faced with huge advertising challenges that are seemingly insurmountable.