I recently met with a prospective client who was interested in Social Media.

They have always used more traditional advertising methods such as CraigsList and other yellow pages based methods, and wanted Social Media to accomplish the same thing. They wanted us to create a series of social networking pages (Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, etc.) that would just attract business.

Unfortunately, it was not going work the way they wanted.

Social Media is a dynamic exchange of information with the rest of the online world that increases your visibility and network of available resources. Social Media is NOT a passive form of advertising.

The success of Social Media is directly tied with the activity of the user. If you want Social Media to not require work, then it won’t work for you or your business.

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Occasionally we get people wanting us to work in Flash. While we are able to do the work, we discourage our clients from using it in most situations.

Flash is bad for Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

While Google is working on listing Flash-based websites in their engine, it is still somewhat “iffy”. Further, the reality is that many of the best techniques used for SEO simply cannot work with a flash site.

Flash is usually bad for User Interface (UI)

While it can be cool, Flash usually deviates from the best User Interface principles, in favor of what the designer wants. This is never good.

Flash is not supported by most mobile platforms

Most experts predict that mobile platforms will occupy a significant portion of the internet browsing in the near future. Currently, Flash is not supported on many of those mobile devices, including the iPhone and Blackberry. Basically, developing a site in Flash ensures that you are not thinking for the future.

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This article is based on a document that we give to our clients that we help with blogging. It is a compilation of ideas and thoughts collected on the internet on how to be successful using Twitter.

Introduction

Twitter is the single fastest growing social media outlet on the Internet. From April ‘08 to April ‘09, Twitter has gone from 1.22 million users to 17.1 million users (Time magazine).

More importantly, Twitter is a fantastic tool to increase your network. Unlike other social media tools such as Facebook or LinkedIn where the primary network is people you already know, Twitter goes far beyond that network putting you in touch with a world beyond the one you already have access to.

General Tips

1. Coordination with Blogs
2. Don’t be a afraid
3. Search is your friend
4. Pre-write your tweets
5. Pre-date your tweets
6. Use Twitter software
7. Find Your Voice
8. Re-Tweet With Confidence
9. Consistency

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This is part three of a three part posting on Corporate Blogging. It is based on a document that we give to our clients that we help with blogging. It is a compilation of ideas and thoughts collected on the internet on how to be successful with a blog.

Ancillary Benefits of Blogging

1. Blogging makes you a better thinker
2. Blogging makes you a better listener
3. Blogging makes you a better writer
4. Blogging makes you a better salesperson
5. Blogging keeps you focused on learning
6. Blogging makes you a better networker

Blogging makes you a better thinker
In an effort to create content for a blog that is succinct, it can reveal new ways to look at common things, or apply simple solutions to seemingly complex problems.

Blogging makes you a better listener
By listening with a writer’s ear, you will find yourself coming up with blog ideas simply by listening to others discuss unrelated subjects.

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Flying Chimp Media was an exhibitor at the 24th Annual Accounting Show for the FICPA. This is a trade show for Certified Public Accountants to get their CPE credit while getting a chance to learn about various products and services that can benefit them. It gets around 1200 attendees every year.

While we have done trade show booth designs before, it was the first time that Flying Chimp has ever been an exhibitor at a trade show.

Our Plan

In keeping with all things Flying Chimp, our booth had to reflect our fun and creativity, while still being professional and easily understood.

Our booth was very visual with a lot of our humor throughout, but we were careful not to be over the top. Of course we were consistent with our branding throughout.

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