Social Media Tips for Small Businesses

More businesses are turning to social media like Facebook and Twitter for free, quick and easy promotion.  Rather than pay a lot of money for traditional advertising, small businesses can benefit from their own Facebook page and Twitter feed to get their message out there.  Using social media for advertising can be sticky, though, since social media creates a far different relationship than the standard "advertiser/viewer" exchange.  Here are some tips to navigate the choppy waters of social media advertising to get the most out of your business' social media presence.

Be a Friend

Social media like Facebook, Twitter and Google+ create a relationship with your audience.  Always remember that using social media means your customers interact with family and friends on the same platform they interact with you.  Like it or not, this blurs the lines between categories like "friend," "customer" and "company."  What this means to you is that you must be genuine and conduct yourself on social media according to its own mores and practices.  In other words, be a friend and don't communicate like a company, which leads us to our next point.

Don't Shill

This is the biggest social media marketing mistake I see, usually because marketers are stuck in the old ways of advertising.  They think the tried and true communication methods proven in print and electronic media advertising will also work in social media.  They're wrong about that.

It's tempting to approach social media like any other advertising and just plug away, shilling everything under the sun to drive business.  Trust me when I say that constant huckstering is the best way to get customers to unfriend you.  Think about it.  Would you want what amounts to commercials showing up constantly in your feed?  This is not to say you should never promote your products.  Come on, that's why you're on social media in the first place!  Just be mindful of your posts and temper the flow of selling with non-commercial messages like links to articles, helpful hints or just a simple greeting.  Customers will be more receptive to sales messages if you come across as a friend first and a company second.

Make it Worth their While

Along with your shills and friendly notes, give customers a reason to follow you and give existing friends a reason to stick around.  One way is to publish content relevant to their interest.  Another way that might be better to both parties is to announce deals and special offers.  Discounts and promotions are a great way to get new friends and inspire social media loyalty.  This gives something to your friends (a deal) and give you something as well (more business).

Network

Networking is just as important in social media as it is in the real world.  Use your account to follow the accounts of other local businesses.  Their fans might notice you and start following you, adding to your audience and spreading your promotional message.

I'll wrap up this article with my own shill if you don't mind.  If you live in or around Mt. Airy or Frederick, Maryland, or know someone who does, and need computer repair help, give me a call.  Here's my website, email, Facebook page and Twitter feed.   I offer a wide range of computer services at great prices for both home computer users and small businesses.  Thanks for reading and good luck with your social networking!

Five (plus one) Quick Ways to Speed Up a Slow Computer

Add Memory.  Different flavors of Microsoft Windows have different memory capacities, and this is further compounded by the processor architecture (32 or 64 bit).  Check the chart linked here and see if you can add memory.  Doing so can definitely speed up a slow computer.

Go Wired.  Wireless networking is convenient.  It's more fun to surf the web and do work in your living room.  That's where I'm writing this, after all.  But if your computer is slow, the culprit might just be a slow wireless connection.  If this is the case, try using an Ethernet cable instead of wireless.  If you're very far from your router or modem, try an "Ethernet over power" solution like the one mentioned in this article.

Defrag.  Your hard drive stores information wherever it can, not contiguously.  Deleting data leave holes, which leads to files being saved in pieces all over the hard drive.  This can lead to slower file access and, of course, a slower computer.  Defrag your hard drive regularly to consolidate data and make access faster.

Reboot.  It's healthier to leave your computer on at all times -- cold startup is tough on hardware and helpdesk friends tell me 80% of the time, that's when hardware fails.  That being said, you do need to reboot once in a while, especially if your computer is running slower than usual.  Rebooting will clear out your pagefile and virtual memory and restart background programs, "freshening up" your computer for faster performance.

Spring Cleaning.  Take some time to clean your computer once in a while.  Uninstall programs you don't need and take any programs out of startup that don't need to run in the background.  This article mentions how to run MSCONFIG.  If you're going that route, definitely triple check every app before turning it off.  That being said, shutting down unnecessary background programs and uninstalling software you don't need on a regular basis are great ways to speed up a slow computer.

Bonus Tip!  I don't know how many times I've seen clients who have two or even three antivirus programs running at once.  Antivirus programs aren't like locks on your house.  You only need one good one.  More than that and you'll definitely have a slow computer.

Common Computer Repair Misconceptions - Part 1

As a computer repair professional, I encounter a lot of misconceptions about what we do in this field.  It’s easy to see how these misunderstandings happen, since computers are pretty complex and there’s a “knowledge gap” between technicians and their customers.  Unless your technician really takes the time to explain exactly what’s causing a problem and why – something I strive to do on my client engagements –  misunderstandings can occur that cause difficulties, pain and hard feelings for both parties.   Here are a few of the misconceptions I sometimes encounter.  I hope this fosters a better understanding between computer technicians and you, the client! 

After a Repair, Future Issues are the Technician’s Fault or Problem

This is probably the toughest one of all.  If my mechanic fixes my brakes and, a week later, my engine starts leaking oil, I’m not going to assume they’re related.  This happens all the time in my field, though. 

I’m sure it’s completely innocent and related to the mysterious nature of computers.  Cars have been part of our lives for a very long time and most of us have at least a basic grasp of their systems.  Not so with computers, which have been in households really for the past decade and a half.  The mystery is still very prevalent, but this will change over time.  So I can understand why home and small business computer users might make the whole “correlation/causation” mistake.  The understanding just isn’t there yet.  I'm sure a day will come when a router is as recognizable as a gas cap, but that day's just not here yet.

What I do, after client engagements, is follow up after about a week has gone by.  If my clients are having the same problem or a related issue, I’ll fix it for free for up to a month after the repair.  I do my best to do right by my computer repair customers but if there’s a new problem, it has to be a separate service call and a new fee. 

Everything Can Be Fixed

I’ve been doing this for over a decade and many computer repair guys have been doing it longer.  We can work miracles sometimes.  On other occasions, it’s nobody’s fault that something can’t be fixed.  This is most typically the result of a bad virus or outdated hardware.

I do my best to clean viruses, but if I try for a few hours and your PC is still infected, it’s time to look into other options.  Virus writers specifically craft their little nasties to be difficult to remove.  Even the technician’s best manual removal efforts and AV software might fail.  When this is the case, it’s not really the fault of the tech.  Some viruses simply won’t go away.  Clients need to understand this and be ready for a wipe and reinstall.

The other pain point in the “everything can be fixed” realm is outdated hardware.  If your computer is more than 5 years old and it’s running slowly, there are a few things I can do.  See previous posts here and here regarding what causes a slow computer and what can be done to improve it.  Notice I said "improve" and not "fix?"  That's because technology moves FAST and it’s entirely possible your old computer might just not be up to snuff with regard to running the latest apps.  There really is only so much I or any technician can do to pep up your old PC.  I've leveled with clients before who were happy with my honesty and really just wanted to get an extra year out of their systems.  When we both understand, it's a great feeling.

These are just two of the many misconceptions tech guys like me face.  I’m writing this not to complain, but to hopefully help techs be better techs and customers be better, more understanding customers.  This was fun to write, and I’ll definitely continue soon.  If you live in or around Mount Airy, MD or Frederick , MD and need computer help, check out my site at www.userfriendlysupport.com.  Thanks for reading and happy computing!