FaceBook Timeline

OK so if you have not already seen it or heard of it FaceBook has just launched the new addition to its social networking site known as timeline. The first stab FaceBook took at this was a few month back when it basically copied Google+ in the layout of your news feed, by showing everything from your friends in a timeline, with new stories or updates showing at the top.

Now FaceBook has taken this a step further and now your profile is a Timeline, but this time of your life. The idea is simple really FaceBook wants you to share your whole life, including things that happened before FaceBook even existed, everything from your birth right up to the modern day including your other online presence such as websites, blogs, etc. The idea is that your friends can now see more about you and in doing so get a better understanding of who you are.

If you have not yet seen this or had your profile updated take a look at http://www.facebook.com/about/timeline where you can update your profile if you so wish, but in essence the timeline looks like this.

my profile on FaceBook

As you can see it now shows everything you do on FaceBook right on your profile, this takes the side bar updates that step further, so anyone can see what you have liked, posted, commented on or anything else simply by looking at your profile.

As for the layout it makes me think of another popular social networking site MyYearBook in the look and feel, it is even a bit of a retro look of MySpace in it. Looks to me like FaceBook is trawling the web and taking what they think is the best of it and adding their own flair to it.

Like or DisLike the New FaceBook Timeline?

Well I kinda like the look and feel of it, although it will take a bit of getting used to, and sharing stuff I feel is the whole point of social media, after all if you went into a bar you would interactive with other people outside your social circle, which is socialising and the web should be no different, and no matter what your chosen theme its all the same thing.

Yet as for showing all your activities I think this is a step too far, I mean yes share who I am and what I am doing or have done, but everything I do on FaceBook now thats a bit much. However, you can hide anything you wish to be hidden from your profile by simply editing it on your profile page, so if you dont want everyone to know that you liked something, said something or posted something just hide it.

Remember what Social Means

Ok so whilst sharing all your activities is not a good thing, we need to remember that sharing is what social networking is all about. Having the option to hide some stuff is great but dont go over board, try to keep it social. After all if you wish to increase your FaceBook friend count or Page likes you need to be social, for a great reference to how to use FaceBook more effectively take a look at this reference book here


Thanks Sean J Connolly FaceBook Me - Visit AJAX Web Development Store BuzzProperties.co.uk - Online Property Sales and Letting

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The Importance of a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Solution

Ok so you have your website and business up and running, and you are able to see how many people are visiting your website and you have started making a few sales, but how do you know who your customers really are, what have they bought, how did they find you, could they be intertested in something else you offer. The answer to this is you need some form of Customer Relationship Management /  Lead Management Software to allow you to effectively track your customers and sales in order to help make your process more efficient and in turn sell more and make more.

The Basis of a CRM and Lead Management Software

OK so what are CRM or Customer Relationship Management and Lead Management Software, simple these are software or systems that allows you effectively track both new and existing customers. These solutions can either be fully offline traditional solution or fully managed online solutions. Whilst most CRM solutions only give you a very basic view of your customers such as contact details, purchases etc they are a growing breed of online solutions that take this a step further and provide you with full Lead Management everything from that inital contact right through to closing the sales or increasing your closure rate.

Whilst the fully offline solution is probably better is you have your own IT department and the resources to managed it.  Opting for an online solution not only for your day to day customer information, but for also your full sales cycle is a cost effective way to help you not only manage your sales lead more effective and help convert more leads into actual sales, but it can also help increase the time you have running your business, although you need customers to use your business you also need to provide your business to these customers, kinda catch 22.

So you may be think, you have a CRM system and this is normally in the form of your email software and address book software, but these forms of software fall into the category of communication software and not into the category of Software for Lead Management or Customer Relationship Management Software, email programs work great for communication but fall way short of the mark in helping you make sense of the vast array of customers and analytics you will build up for your business.

From Analytics to Sales Leads to Closure

So we all know that like in anything there is a life cycle and in business that is no different, first off people find you, then they contact you and finally they buy from you. (yes this is simplified but is the basis of the sales cycle). The big question is how do you manage this process effectively and this is where your CRM and Lead Management Software come into play.

By making effective use of the vast amounts of customer data you have coming into your business, normally captured by website analytics software such as Google Analytics, website newsletter subscriptions, mail shot, etc and making sense of it you can not only increase your turn over but decrease your overheads, which in turn leads to increased profit.

So in closing, like the saying goes "knowledge is power" and the more applied knowledge you have about your business and customers, means the more sales will be closed and the more profit your will make, and this is why you need a Customer Realtionship Management / Lead Management solution.

Thanks
Sean J Connolly

FaceBook Me -

BuzzProperties.co.uk - Online Property Sales and Letting

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Twitter for Blackberry

Following on from my last post I would like to throw a recommendation out there for anyone using a BlackBerry or other SmartPhone. When you are out and about remember to keep on tweeting, and I think the best way to do this is to use the Twitter mobile app, I use the Twitter for Blackberry application and have done so some time. Its so easy to tweet and add photos, making my mobile tweeting so much easier.

AND NOW

There has just been a new update to the Twitter mobile application and you can now send tweets from more than more account, meaning if your like me and have several twitter accounts you can now Tweet from them all using the same phone and Twitter application.

Well done Blackberry (RIM) and well done Twitter.

If you use a Blackberry you can download the latest Twitter for Blackberry from the app store more info is available HERE

Thanks Sean J Connolly
 FaceBook Me -

  BuzzProperties.co.uk - Online Property Sales and Letting

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