12
Apr
Is there a large blank space staring at you from the top of your Facebook page? If so, you may be a little behind the times.
On Feb. 29, Facebook announced that they would automatically change all pages to their new timeline format on March 30. If you didn’t switch over before then, we’ve provided you a step-by-step process to get started. If you did, we’ve got some tips that you may still be able to use.
- Decide how important your profile picture is.Your new cover photo is the most dominant image on your profile, but your profile picture is what will appear on your customers’ news feed. We suggest using your logo or another company-identifying image as your profile picture.
- Think of a concept for your page. You will want to brainstorm before settling on your profile picture and cover photo. Ideally, these graphics will work together to create an overall concept. Some of our favorite concepts are Fanta‘s Lost in Time theme and Ford Mustang‘s subtle cover photo-profile picture integration. Keep in mind that Facebook restricts some content on your cover photo.
Design and upload your cover photo and profile picture. Your profile picture should be 180 x 180 pixels, and your cover photo should be 851 x 315 pixels. If you don’t upload a new profile picture and cover photo, your new page will appear with a blaring blank space at the top and your old profile picture may be cropped strangely.
Learn how to crop your header image in our recent blog post Create Your Own Web Graphics with XHeader.- Edit your basic information. If you are a small business, your contact information will appear in the new About section below your profile picture. If you are a brand, a description will appear. To edit this information, click on the Manage tab in your administrator panel. Then, choose Edit Page and Basic Information. Make sure the category is correct, because it will also appear in your About section. Brands should limit their description to about 165 characters to prevent part of it from being cut off. We like Dallas TNT‘s about section, which provides a short description and a link for viewers to visit Dallas TNT’s website.
Organize your applications. Your apps now appear as thumbnails under your cover photo. Up to four apps can be viewed without the audience clicking on the expansion button. Your photos will always appear as the first option in your apps bar, but you should check your insights (Facebook statistics) to see which other applications are most popular and consider your current marketing aims before choosing which other apps will appear above the expansion line. You can design your app thumbnails to work with your overall concept. In the administrator panel, click Manage, Edit Page, then Apps. From there, you can edit an app’s settings and upload a 111 x 74 pixel image. Livestrong and Starbucks both did a nice job choosing and integrating their applications. You can have up to 12 apps.
Reorganize and monitor your posts. The new timeline layout offers businesses more opportunities to control their post feed. Here’s a few tips on how to benefit from these opportunities.- Use photos, videos and links to make posts more engaging. When you add one of these features to your post, it appears larger and attracts the reader’s eye to your information.
- Pin your most important post to the top of your feed. To do so, hover over the top, right corner of the post, click on the pencil symbol and choose Pin to Top. It will stay at the top of your feed for up to seven days.
- Hide embarrassing old posts. Click on the pencil symbol again and choose Hide from Page.
- Star important posts. By clicking on the star symbol in the upper, right corner, you can make the post twice as big.
- Post in the past. Hover your cursor over the blue line down the middle of the page. When it turns into a plus sign, click and create a new post with a date from the past.
- Instead of hiding negative posts by other people, delete them. Go to Manage in the administration panel, click on Use Activity Log, click on the grey circle to the right of the post you want to delete and click Delete Post. This will prevent the post from showing up in the friends’ activity box that appears when people use your site.
- Add information about your business by using milestones. The first thing you should understand about milestones is that they are not posts. Milestones are used to tell your company story by highlighting key moments. To add a milestone, simply select the Milestone option above your post entry space. You will be asked to enter an event, location, date, story and photo. Using a photo will make the milestone more prominent on your timeline, which appears the full width across your page with a blue flag on it. The New York Times updated their milestones all the way back to 1851, and did a fine job, too.
- Decide if you want customers to be able to message you directly. With the previous design, there was no way for people to sent a private message to pages. Now there is. If you don’t like this feature, you can turn it off by going to the administrator panel, clicking on Manage, Edit Page and Manage Permissions. Uncheck the Messages field.
If you’re still in need of inspiration after reading through our steps, you can visit the MayeCreate Facebook page or the Tranquility Facebook page. Don’t wait too long to get started, though. This new format offers the opportunity brand your company through Facebook like never before.
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07
Apr
We take pride in working with clients who take pride in themselves. You can always tell when a company values hard work and quality customer service. Christensen Construction Co. recently enlisted the help of MayeCreate Design to design their website. Their new website provides some insight into how they’ve accumulated 3 decades worth of know-how, the services they offer commercial, residential and public customers as well as information about the materials used and equipment they have for sale. Read More >
20
Mar
Monica is going to speak to the Adobe User Group tonight. Check out her presentation on how to add the art of sales to your creative process.
Presentation Overview:
Adding the Art of Sales to Your Creative Process
Some clients are easy to please while others are though, some make good design decisions and others make you want to run and hide from their so called creative ideas. Sales may seem like a dirty word to creatives but when approached correctly it’s an extremely effective and sometimes under utilized tool to keep you AND your clients happy. We’ll be discussing ways to approach your design presentation like that of a sales person, to guide your client to make good design decisions, make your job less stressful and keep projects on budget.
19
Mar
With a less than 6 percent average click-through rate, it’s hard to meet everyone’s needs within one newsletter e-blast, but that doesn’t mean you can’t try. With a few simple tips you can strengthen those loose ends and get people to want to know more.
You Have 2 Seconds, Make Them Count
According to the New Email Metrics: Two seconds to make an impression, you have two seconds to make an impression and encourage the readers to continue with the content of your email. That’s less than a billboard, this means that you must offer a clear and concise way to disperse the information. Read More >
17
Mar
Bing and Yahoo! merged their search engine results. This is a pretty big deal because the 2nd and 3rd largest search engines merged their operations and services. The two search engines agreed to use Bing search tools to display results on both search engines and to give analytics in Bing Webmaster Tools.
What This Merger Means To Users
1. More Results Faster – To say it simply, users want the best results from their search engine. With the recent consolidation, searching through Bing and Yahoo! will enable you to receive more results faster.
2. Use Bing Webmaster Tools, Not Yahoo! – Webmasters should now be using the Bing Webmaster Tools to ensure that their websites continue to get high quality organic search traffic from Bing and Yahoo!. Read More >
14
Mar
Presenting the new & improved Deli Llama Orchestra Medicine Show, a web design by MayeCreate Design
It’s not very often that we get the chance to work with clients who travel all over the world. Deli Llama Orchestra, a group of musicians who bounce all over the globe spreading harmonious music and clean water, do just that though! We’ve had the pleasure of creating their website, playingharmony.com.
This web design has bold, bright Rastafarian colors with textured neutral backgrounds. Large slideshows and photo viewers allow viewers to “travel the world with DLO”. As the Deli Llama Orchestra continues on their worldly travels, they will be updating their blog. If you’re not going to be skipping across the great puddles, you can find information about their latest cd, Soul Food, on their website. Some of the instruments used include Tibetan bowls, guitar and flute.
Check it out: playingharmony.com
It was great fun to work with the Deli Llama Orchestra and learn about their mission to bring “singing bowls” and clean water to the many gatherings they play at. We enjoy working with individuals and businesses who take great pride in what they do.
Anyone interested in learning more about our web design services can call the office at (573) 447-1836 for a obligation-free conversation. We always start by getting to know you better – so you too can have a website, or any other marketing materials, unique to you and your needs! We believe you deserve better. Get your pride on and contact us today!
05
Mar
T
his Valentine’s Day, the MayeCreate and Tranquility teams couldn’t resist stirring up a little love.
We started preparing in advance. Marie designed the e-mails and cards that we sent to customers, adding a pint size giraffe and a few pinches of ridiculously adorable.
Stacy and Megan whipped up a few cookies…okay, a few hundred cookies, and we sent them out to customers. Some of the cookies went to the Boys and Girls Club of Columbia. The kids there sent back thank you cards in response. After we oohed, ahhed and goggled over them for a few minutes, we pinned them up for the whole office to see.
Andy Sommers wrote, “Thank you for the deliscious Valentine’s Day cookies! I wasn’t expecting much on V-Day this year, so it really made my day. Thank You!”
The other kids drew pictures and wrote little messages. Below is a photo for all of cyberspace to admire.
29
Feb
In addition to following MayeCreate Design on Facebook you can now also follow us on Twitter! Follow @MayeCreate.
11
Feb
Author, Musician, Speaker, Dabbler Kent King's personal website.
All of our custom web designs reflect the person, organization or business they are built for. Kent-King.com is no exception.
It was a pleasure working with Kent King while working on his personal website. He is a published author, musician, speaker and self-proclaimed “dabbler”. We don’t often have the opportunity to use words like “Whatchamacallit” as a page title, so this project was an inspiring one! The dark, but warm look suits the Christian Fiction novels he writes.
In addition to information about himself, his books and resources, Kent opens his writing and other articles to discussion and debate. His site will soon allow the general public to post articles, questions and musings as conversation starters. Anyone interested in learning more can visit his website at kent-king.com.
Thank you and congratulations to Kent King. Any individual, organization, or business interested in learning more about our custom web design services can visit our portfolio or contact us today. We also offer an array of other design services. Get your pride on and start the conversation.
08
Feb
Plot Pots new website.
With audiences everywhere looking to the internet for answers, the creator of Plot Pots made a wise decision to first market his product online.
With every new project, we start by getting to know the individual or business. Epic Innovation’s Plot Pots was no different. We learned from the product’s creator how a simple product can make a big difference in protecting plants when they are first growing.
The Plot Pots website reiterates the idea that “simple is effective”. With only four pages, the site provides the information viewers are looking for in a clear, upfront way. Viewers have the ability to view photos, read about data collected during the 2011 growing season and even order the product online! Take a look at the website for more information.
© 2012 MayeCreate Design