This post isn’t about the history of the fool’s day, if you want to read that take a look at the Wikipedia entry – though take it with a pinch of salt. What I want to do in this post is examine why big name brands such as Google and Sony use April Fool’s day to release “new products” and why some small companies can also benefit.

Many big name brands post news or enter a new product on April Fool’s day … sometimes everyone laughs at how stupid an idea it is or simply because it is so fake its brilliant… and sometimes that happens a few moments before realising the joke is on them because this is a real product, as was the case with Google Mail back in 2004.

The reason they do it is simple, the attention.

Due to the growth of the internet and in particular the viral effect simple products and articles can have online, stupid pranks can gain great traction and reaction. It can drive millions of visitors to your video, website or image – and you can monetise that there and then. Or you can use the prank like Google, Sony, Microsoft etc do … and use it for brand points of awareness. The viral effect will get your name on the coffee table over every household with a computer and internet access. April Fools Day is the perfect chance to pull a prank and get some wanted attention.

By the way I should point out at this point that it isn’t just a single day boost. Websites and blogs, as as well as social media, can mean your fools day hoax can live on for a long time – even after you’ve forgotten. 2012 seems to be a bumper year for the “best of…” blog posts about fools jokes online, from both big blogs like PC World and smaller blogs like The Ourdoors Blog. And when they write about your hoax they will link to you, some nice link juice from some nice link baiting – just like any other viral campaign.

So, thats why well-known brands use April Fools as a tool for brand awareness. But did you know smaller companies can also use April Fools to gain traction online and grow their audience and potential sales?

For instance, in 2011 The Outdoors Blog posted about Dutch Clogs the New Walking Boots. IKEA last year began selling a Doggy Highchair, The register used apples patent claims to the rectangle and american start up TaskRabbit no longer deals in tasks just puppies!.

Still not seen enough pranks do a search for “april fools 2012″ there are lots of best of sites for you to take advantage of. If you want to listen / see some of the best check out This Week in Tech from last night (April 1st, 2012).

If you’ve spotted an amazing April Fools leave a link below!

If you have not already seen a new style page click here to see ours.
Psst don’t forget to click “like”

More Visually Engaging

The first thing you will notice with the new layout is the large cover photo, the profile image stands out more as do the 4 main applications of  a page (you can have more but only the first 4 show without clicking to show more).

Cover Photo – This is a great visual connection point, its huge real estate (815px x 315px). You can change it as and when you want to suit your needs. A draw back is you can’t use it to say “sale now on”, “hit like” or anything of this elk – its not a bill board … this of course has its good and bad side but I think it’s pretty good as it means you won’t see lots of the same type of spammy cover photo. This is a creative space for you to showcase your latest work.

Profile Picture – Having given with one hand they are taking with the other. You now have a profile picture, the same as that on your personal profiles. This means its a square (it should scale from 180px x 180px to 32px) and no longer a tall rectangle. It’s important to remember this needs replacing and not leave it a week before you notice it, like i did – oops.

Photos and Apps – Your photos and applications will now appear below your cover photo and to the right of your information box (which is just below your profile image, so do update your information). You can customise the order each item appears in, if at all using the app’s admin area under “manage” (formerly edit).

Larger Stories – Although limited to half the page you can now show off larger photos on your timeline than in an old post. You can show off multiple photos with one large one if you upload multiple images and well you can ask questions, pin stories (keeps them at the top of your page). It’s a nicer look than the old pages that’s for sure. But note after 7 days nothing will appear on the left hand side if you haven’t added an update.

Highlight Stories – if you click the star on a story you can highlight it as being important, it will become a full width item, great for photographers and crafters showing off their goods or putting up a poster maybe … there are many uses i’m sure including video. Its not clear what other side impacts highlights may have from Facebook optimisation to search optimisation, if any.

Milestones – You can add great big milestones to your timeline, at any date previous or current. I will be playing with this to upload an image (843px x 403px) of client design work I’ve done. Again it’s unclear of the impact though you are warned not to over use the highlight tool or milestone tool – they don’t say why but I suspect it will get messy and your edge rank may go down a little.

Are Others Engaged? – On the right hand-side below your photos and apps you will see a friend section, 2 boxes – 1 showing who likes you and another whos talking about you. Its a great instant way for outsiders to see some interactions and how popular your page is.

Managing Your New Facebook Page

There is a new management tool in town. If you are the admin of a page it is just above your new cover image and shows you insights, interactions, latest likes, notifications and messages. It’s a brilliant quick overview of your page, you can hide and expand this at any time (top right of the page).

From this box you can also manage your page, grow and engage your audience and find help from facebook documentation.

There is also something called the “activity log” (under manage page). It offers insights into how your page and posts are being used. You can filter by date or post type, from this you can then edit a post, star it, highlight it, pin it etc.

Anything Else? – Yes you page can now accept messages, if people have liked your page and you’ve turned messages on your audience can now contact you. It’s a nice simple contact tool, and beats that old app you had to do it!

Checklist for Migrating to the New Facebook Pages

So you are ready to move to the new facebook business page, or you’ve been forced to as it’s passed March 30th – what do you need to do to ensure the success of your new page. Below is my checklist for having a successful new facebook page.

1. Upload a cover photo
2. Upload a well branded profile picture
3. Pin your posts (especially if its to your blog or website)
4. Arrange your photos and apps
5. Publish everyday if you can
   - Ensure each post is visually appealing
   - Ensure you don’t spam the hell out of your own page
   - Use insights to see which type of post works best
6. Manage your page with the new admin panel
   - Keep track of notifications and messages
   - Read page tips, they are useful – honest
7. If you have apps make sure they use the full width (now 810px)

Don’t forget to hit “like” on our page, in the sidebar or click here.

As of this second my advice is to do 2 things;
1 set up a personal profile and 2 set up a business page from this.

Run content side by side for each, but try to encourage use of your Google Plus business page where possible. That of course is on the basis that you are not an individual and you are wanting to promote a business and not yourself or just your work. If that is the case simply have a personal profile.

Google Plus for Business has more limitations than most social networks, but it also has some great features and more on the way we are told. For example Google Hangouts are an awesome way to have a small group communication and meeting or to launch a video podcast from… or a town hall meeting, such as what Obama has recently.

Here are my 5 tips for effectively using Google Plus to Market Your Business

1. Treat Google+ Like Facebook and Twitter
   Google Plus although primarily a place to post and talk about your news right now is also a place for communication.  This for the most part will be between your community (circle) members but you should also get involved. Be part of the community you create.
2. Get Connected – with Everyone!
   Google have made it amazingly easy to connect (circle) friends and family – take advantage of it’s ease and add people to your circles, lots of those you circle will circle back … and get your post as you post it. Tip: use the groups and create more groups to categorise those you circle, if you don’t you will get flooded with so many posts its scary… categorisation saves you time and effort and of course makes life easier in the long run.
3. Understand Your Audience
   Right now, most of Google Plus user base are mid-level or above employees or business managers, they are not your average Facebook user – don’t expect hundreds of comments but expect a few carefully thought out ones. The difference in audience means you also need to take more care in how you say and introduce things, you aren’t talking to teens and twenty somethings for the most part, these could be business owners and certainly if they have circled you have an interest in what you are saying – so be nice, be clear and be refreshing.
4. Complete Your Profile
   Google Plus has an interesting effect on search results, your profile picture can sit next to your sites, your articles and of course items you +1. This means you need to complete your profile fully and with some twists to make it work best for you. Rather than me explaining how to do this I advise you take a look at this post by @ajkohn about optimising your google plus profile. I also advise you take a read of a guest post from a few weeks ago by regular poster Ben Greenwood explaining what the fuss is about with google plus.
5. Like Pinterest, Don’t be Selfish
   In a recent post about how to use Pinterest for marketing and seo I explained that etiquette has it that you shouldn’t just promote your own work and goods. Why because you look like a jerk and people will just unfollow you. The same rule stands for Google Plus, consider it a share and share alike service  – post only the kind of thing you have seen shared before. And if you like something of course hit +1 and share, the more you do it the more likely others are to with your posts.
6. BONUS TIP: Use the Tools on Offer
   This sounds obvious but ensure you have the Google +1 buttons on your site and articles in a prominent location to your content (for instance my own are to the left floating, always on screen – feel free to click it!). If you have a blog  or own a news outlet with multiple authors ensure you are assigned as the publisher and the authors as authors (this can be done with a simple link to their profile on Google Plus). If you have a Google Plus page for your business have a widget in the sidebar, if it’s just you also have a widget … make it clear you want people to circle and add you. But remember this is a different audience to Facebook, your community won’t hit hundreds over night unless you are a huge company like Pepsi or Ford – slow steady growth which is maintained is good and not to be frowned at.

If you want to share your tips for marketing using Google+ please do leave a comment below.

And don’t forget to hit +1 on the left of this article and Add to Circles from the widget on the right

_{Img Src vanmarcianoart on flickr}

Twitter have a massive userbase across the globe. It comprises of all kinds of people, men women, adult child, artists zoo keepeers and many more! As such a common question is can Twitter be utilised as a marketing tool for a given product or service?

I think the title of this post answers that, yes of course twitter can be used for marketing. Indeed, Twitter is one of the best marketing tools on the market today, from simple exposure of a product to direct selling – Twitter is Amazing for Marketing.

Although there are many ways to use twitter optimally I want to today concentrate on just 5 techniques for getting to most from Twitter as a platform for communication. These ideas are based on an assumption that you have completed your account description, have a good handle, have a brand-led profile image, have your web link in the profile and have a background that is consistant with your brand. For an example of this see my own account twitter.com/andykinsey and compare its design to andykinsey.co.uk

1. Follow Your Idols, Friends and Similars
   When you start on twitter you will be a blank canvas. Twitter will say follow these celebs, don’t bother, search for other artists if you are an artist, other designers if you design etc – follow your friends and idols. These are folk you are likely to get some kind of conversation with, speaking of which…
2. Start Conversations 
   Once you’ve followed people, and hopefully you may get a few follows back – start a conversation. Talk about what you are doing, why you are on twitter … ask for advice on getting started from others you follow. If you are a crafter there are hundred of crafters and artists online, they maybe in the same niche market as you but most are in another area and therefore will be only too happy to help you get going. Twitter is a friendly place where businesses help one another. Give value to your readers and followers by engaging with them. The more you talk with people the more people will talk back and the larger your audience will grow … people follow others based on conversations they have.
   Tip: do not self promote intently at this point, twitter is about creating conversations, from this comes promotion in time but it should not be forced.
3. Connect Using Media
   Twitter is fantastic at sharing media. For instance you can post images and video, audio and text – all the key media in one place. Ok you may have to use an extra service like youtube or twitpic as a connector service but having media on your account (say a half finished piece you are working on for a new exhibition) can be a talking point. You talk about it, others will ask about it and share it. Media has a way of connecting with people beyond simple text, it lives longer in a memory and so can reinforce you and your brand.
4. Promote Your Business
   Having just given you 3 steps to promoting yourself using twitter this is a bit of an odd title you may think. But here is what you are up against, some 75% of accounts on twitter are in some way a business account, a tiny proportion of them talk to others and and the rest just straight promote or link out and tend to be seen as spambots. The good thing is that because there are so many you can promote your business with links, pictures and videos and talk about your brand without fear of it being too spammy and annoying. So do it! Talk about your industry, ask for feedback, ask for questions and ideas. By doing this you can begin to establish yourself as an authority in a market and niche – your followers will grow and so will the conversations.
5. Enjoy Yourself
   Promotion on Twitter is like no other. Your account should not just be business, though some would advise it is, your account should be a person who can talk and communicate, engagement is what twitter is about. It is your job to engage, and away from business you have a life, talk about it… when it’s friday show your relief for friday being the end of the week. On a monday if you have the monday blues talk about it. Mid week talk about the weekend. Show what you are doing, if you go to an exhibit that you love talk about it and show pictures, engage with your community.

If you have any comments on these tips or would like to share your own tips leave a comment below.

And don’t forge to tweet me @andykinsey

The answer is indirect brand marketing strategy, sounds complicated but it isn’t really. The idea is that you can talk about your amazing products for 5% of the time, the remaining time you spend talking about and liking other peoples products, photos or designs – you become part of the Pinterest community, this of course the secret of Internet Marketing through Networking.

To help you along your way here are my top 5 tips for marketing your brand and products using Pinterest.

1. Audience Specific Pinboards
   Whether you are a person who knits, bakes cakes, designs logos or sells sports gear create boards around these topics, so design, build and output (or just output if you so desire) and post other peoples work that you admire and love. Basically the key is to show your passion by posting amazing images and in your description showing your appreciation for the piece of work. Don’t  post your own work here, but perhaps open the board for others to contribute and maybe they will post your work and say they love it – build a community around a pin board.
2. Use Pinterest for Market Research
   Pinterest isn’t (at least right now) being used by hundreds or thousands of businesses, and most of the businesses that are there are small businesses looking to market their company. That means the overwhelming majority of users are consumers, they may well be your target market, if you are a craft or design person you can get feedback and improve your products by looking at other products and in the 5% you post your stuff ask for comments.
3. Cross Platform Promotional Contests using Pinterest
   It sounds odd that as much as social networks think of themselves as walled gardens (aka you and I should only share what we share with our friends and on that network) they really aren’t. What I post to AK Designs on Facebook is tweeted, when a blog from this site is published it gets tweeted, facebook shared, google +1′d etc … people don’t do the walled garden concept which is why cross platform promotions work. In the audience specific custom pin board section I mentioned allowing contributors to post to your pin board. For one competition you could ask users from facebook or twitter to post to your custom pin board with a winner choose at random or the winner being the one with most re-pins or likes (telling them they must link to your account in some way)… For another you could ask people to share your profiles across each media, each time they do they get an entry to a prize draw for a gift of some kind. The ideas are endless but the key is to get people engaged by jumping from platform to platform and promoting your brand name in the process.
4. Add Pinterest Pin It Buttons to Your Website or Blog
   A bit like the buttons to the right of SEOAndy.com, Pinterest offers Pin It buttons which you can put on your website around images or videos (oh I forgot you can post videos to Pinterest, so if you create how to videos or podcasts use Pinterest to Promote them!). One thing to note is if you have a blog, remember to have at least an image on the page worth Pinning else don’t have the button, don’t waste your time or bandwidth. One click and it’s shared.
5. Direct Marketing using Pinterest
   Having just told you not to direct market on Pinterest here is a secret… knock yourself out but don’t do it by uploading your stuff yourself. Ask others to do it, ask others to follow your Pinterest and from there ask them to visit your website or other social accounts. Further to this create exclusive bundles of products and exclusive coupons only available on Pinterest etc.

So there you have it 5 tips for using Pinterest to promote your brand online easily and without a fuss.

Now feel free to Pin this article (look a Pinterest logo for you, or my face, Pin My Face … I dare you

Oh and follow me on Pinterest – pinterest.com/andykinsey

– UPDATE: NOPIN for Blocking Pinterest

Since writing this post Pinterest have given way to some companies concerned about copyright infringements. In the USA they already had the lovely DMCA and it worked well… but some companies wanted more. Some companies (for some reason I can’t yet figure out) wanted to be able to block users from Pinning their content.

If you are one of these companies you may want to reconsider your position, if you still want to block Pinterest simply use this code in your <head>

<meta name="pinterest" content="nopin" />

If someone then tries to pin it will simply display a message saying that your site doesn’t allow pinning.

I must advise you against using this strategy, it will be a loss of traffic, a loss of audience that you wouldn’t other wise have and it’s a loss of promotion channel. If someone is abusing your content and claiming your work to be theirs, send a DMCA its easy to do.

If you are concerned about your latest work only being pinned you can use this code just on one page which is more advisable than a blanket cover.

One of the best brands for this is of course Virgin, each time virgin launch a new part of their company there is some whacky stunt – such as Richard Branson running around the streets naked. Anyway…

For a few week’s I’d been looking at airlines and the type of things they do. Most are boring, but some have fun – at Christmas they may have a Santa painted on the cone but that’s about it. So today when I stumbled across Kulula, I was excited. This is a brand which is engaging, fun and most of all makes you smile. With that in mind I want to share a few more pictures with you of their planes!

Above of course is their Movember plane – don’t forget to sponsor me this Movember.

Where are your pilots?

Black = Orange?

Attention Grabbing

Where did it go?

just in case the pilot forgets

That zips up this post

Thanks to Kulula.com for allowing use of these pictures.

Below are some examples of logo redesigns, which do you think have mad the service and company appear improved or better in some way? leave a comment and let us know.

So which were the best, which failed, which impress and which don’t? You tell me?

Also if you have a logo redesign to share, tweet @andykinsey

When you first start out online as an “artist” it can be quite daunting thinking about how to be seen through the crowd of other artists, in the same niche. But alas success is within reach, in 3 steps, you can ensure your portfolio is seen, admired and drives business.

Design, Develop & Deploy

Step 1 – Design a Killer Portfolio

As an artist you will naturally want to create the best portfolio around. Not just in your little niche but the best overall. This was certainly one of my aims when I redesigned my Website and Graphic Design portfolio earlier this year. So what are the minimum requirements for a “killer portfolio” website?

• Examples Your Work (with case studies if applicable)
• Your Skills (tell them what you can do, plain and simple)
• Your Personality (don’t make the mistake of being bland, show your passion)
• Your Style (the design itself should reflect your work and style)

Notice I say examples of your work. As a designer I’ve working with far to many companies to name or show my work. Show only your best work, things you are proud of – writing a case study should be simple – if its a painting explain what it shows and means to you, if its a website explain what work went into it etc. Creating a portfolio isn’t expensive or hard work – if money is an issue use a system like behance or deviantart they are free though not quite as professional, if you want higher quality use a professional web designer (like me)

Step 2 – Develop your arena

This section I will keep short and sweet, a subsequent post will list some ideas of places to do this. Basically this is about blatant self promotion. You have a high quality professional website, it’s time to back it up – join other artist based websites like deviant or folksy or coroflot show off your work on there but make sure each image you upload has your web address in a comment (and watermark the work). This is the development of your brand so again show only your best work, if you’ve other work you can show this too here but don’t show the same 50 pieces of work on 50 websites, show your best plus maybe a few other pieces of random work.

Note though that although these sites may offer you a chance to create a portfolio, such as behance, you dont want to do this – you simply want to show some of your work and point them to your real portfolio. This is why you should join lots of them, you dont have to do them all at this stage, but over a few months or a year maybe.

Step 3 – Deploy in a big way!

Now comes the bit that is likely the hard work for you – more so than creating the perfect portfolio website, promoting that website. But you’ve done a fair bit already by joining the creative communities online (like deviant) but now you need to engage with them, offer to write guest blog posts, comment on blogs about your niche, engage with users on social media (create a facebook page use twitter).

If you are wanting to gain work via your portfolio (not everyone does) then you could link to your LinkedIn profile, join other communities such as forums, read up about internet marketing (you already are by reading this blog), put it on your great business card – but most of all have fun doing it. Don’t be a stickler for detail just go out have fun and tell people they should take a look at your work.

Remember though – you never “complete” your portfolio polish it and polish it, add to it, take from it update it love it be it. your portfolio is your existence - never let it go.

–

If you know of any amazing portfolios let me know, in the next few weeks I’ll be publishing my top 10 inspirational portfolios from across the creative niches. If you have a great portfolio or know of one let me know! Leave a comment! 

Personal Branding / Public Relations

1. Building a list of journalist, writers, editors etc
2. Targeting each piece (if its a politician each piece is about something they have done, is happening or otherwise – basically each piece has its own little audience)
3. Targeting each piece to contact list (editing bits of a piece to appeal to a certain contact or audience they represent)
4. Send It (getting it out into the wild)
5. Measure success (was it published, covered by a newspaper etc)