As Facebook launches their IPO after reaching more than 845 million users, I’ve been wondering what’s next. 

In the last month, Pinterest has been part of of my marketing discussions with other online publishers and marketing cohorts.  Is this the next BIG thing?

Like YouTube, Facebook and most of the social media applications, you’re not supposed to blantly promote your products.  However, Pinterest has a growing momentum and I’ve noticed that many small businesses are using it to showcase their products.

For those with a visual product, Pinterest could be a strong viral sharing tool.

If you haven’t used it before, Pinterest works like an online corkboard where you can “pin” photos and ideas onto different boards.  You can’t start an account without getting an invitation.

Have you considered using Pinterest to build awareness your product’s benefits?  Please leave a comment below.

Blog is a funny word. Watch business people squint and squirm when you mention it.

It’s time to stop calling it a blog. My good friend Deborah Chaddock Brown said that she listened to an interview with Shel Holtz and David Meeriman Scott where the word blog got nasty reviews.

All believe (and me too!) that blogs are a crucial component of your marketing program and business communication. Some even say that ALL small businesses should have their websites on the WordPress platform.

But we’ve got to get rid of the word “BLOG”

How about:

• Online publication
• Virtual newsletter
• Online Realtime Feed
• Company news

What euphemisms do you use for your blog?

You’ve probably seen the new Facebook cover header on the profile pages in the Facebook Timeline format. It’s a big banner photo above a two column timeline. 

As an individual, you are NOT supposed to use the banner for anything commercial (like promoting your company.)  In fact, you’re not supposed to be using a profile page for a company anything.  It’s against Facebook’s terms of service. 

But I wonder about the smaller businesses where the person is the company.  It becomes such a part of you and your life.  I’ve seen some of my friends on Facebook make a collage of photos about their life for their banner and include their company logo in the collage.  That makes sense to me. 

If you’re running a small business and talk about your business in your personal Facebook profile page, you should definitely create a Facebook Fan page for your business.  But, since timelines aren’t here yet, you may want to consider adding something to your banner that includes your company too, right?

Makes sense to me if you are the company’s owner right? If you haven’t updated your banner yet, consider:

• Beth Kanter ‘s thoughts about using the Facebook Timeline Covers as a way to promote your brand Is a Good Idea or Not
• How Converstations Mike Sansone’s worked his logo into his cover banner.
• What the “queen of facebook” Mari Smith suggests for your Facebook banner and how she interpret’s Facebook’s rules concerning promotion of your company, product or service.

It’s just a matter of time before people get comfortable with banners and then Facebook will bring the banner feature out for the Facebook Fan pages.  Maybe sooner, who knows. 

Get Ready to Rebrand your Facebook Fan Page

Meanwhile, if you’re timeline cover and banner challenged, here are a couple of sites that will help:

• Big Huge Labs - a neat site that provides tools to make your photos more interesting
• Sign generator – another site with tools to give more interest to a photo
• Banner maker - a site that allows you to upload your own background and then some individual photos to make a collage.

Let me know what other sites you have found to help to adjust to the new Facebook Timeline.  It’s just a matter of time until the Facebook Fan Pages will be making the change.

Check out this graphic widget that I just got from the 2012 Conversion Conference organizers.

If you’re working on attracting and converting prospects into clients, you’ll want to take note of the 3 things they did right with this graphic:

• Bright colors
• Easy to read words
• Clear next steps

Notice the title tag that I used when I posted it on this blog? Just hover over the image and you’ll see it. I changed it from the name of the image to title=”Click HERE to Get your Chris Brown speaker discount to the 2012 Conversion Conference in San Francisco.”

I think that this will help people know what the next step is.

Does this give you an idea about how to use a graphic like this on your website or blog? Do your potential clients know what the next step is?

Are you attending the Conversion Conference on March 5 and 6 in San Francisco?

I’m speaking at 11 o’clock on the first day of the conference and I’m really excited to participate in all the great sessions!!

Click here to get my speaker discount and view pricing.

Dates: March 5-6, 2012

Location: San Francisco Marriott Marquis, 55 Fourth Street, San Francisco, CA 94103

About: Optimizing the conversion rates of online campaigns. Experts and authors in disciplines ranging from web design, email marketing and persuasion principles to multivariate testing and usability converge for two days to discuss the latest tools and techniques available to help website owners and marketers increase the effectiveness of their online marketing efforts.

Will you be there?  Leave a comment below or send me an email!