However, from time to time, a plugin or a theme (or a file within a theme) gives WordPress a bad reputation.

I wanted to talk a little about two examples:

A Good Plugin Turns ROTTEN: Social Media Widget Plugin

There was a particular plugin that went bad. The name of it is ‘Social Media Widget’  (social-media-widget) Plugin – it does not mean all social media plugins are bad. It is just the one by this unfortunate name.

This plugin has been hacked.

Sucuri‘s blog wrote: “We discovered it is being used to inject spam into websites and it has also been removed from the WordPress Plugin repository.”

I don’t have this on my list of must have plugins, but over the years, a couple of people have asked me about it.  I believe I have contacted those of you I knew had asked about it, and told you to remove it immediately.

But just in case you ever tried it on your own, or through a recommendation, please be aware, there is a known hackers script within it.

The story goes: The guy who created this plugin sold it.  The company who bought it, supposedly, hired someone to work on it and that person infected it with a hacked code.

So, if you have the plugin called Social Media Widget Plugin remove it immediately and head over to Sucuri.net or another scanning tool, to scan your site and make sure you aren’t infected.

Themes with potential problems: TimThumb Vulnerability

Some of you may have had a file in your theme that was a problem about a year or two ago.  The file name was TimThumb.php.  If you did, you may have received a call/email from me or you were on a hosting plan that replaced the file for you.  Most reputable hosting companies handled it for you.

Recently, we have been noticing that our clients’ sites with the largest number of brute force attacks (which we are blocking with security plugins) also are sites with the TimThumb file in it.

So, I am suggesting you consider moving to a different theme, if possible.  If you don’t have a heavily customized theme, you can simply move to Twenty Twelve, which works nice and has a lot of advanced features for a free theme.  It is also the default that comes with WordPress, so you know they are making sure it is OK.

Remember, if you do change themes, you may have to reassign sidebars and widget areas, loose some features or have to reinstall a logo or background. So plan it out, back it up and then make the move.

If you don’t want to move to a different theme, then you should check with your hosting provider to see if they have a newer version of the TimThumb, to replace yours. Or do some research online.  If I hear anything more, I can let you know, if you email me.

Some final notes:

As with any kind of software (WordPress and plugins are software), if you are on an older version – even one version behind a security release, you are at risk.  This means you should do a complete backup and upgrade to the newest version to keep your site safe and up to date.

What if you do a monthly backup? Why do you need to backup before upgrading?

I get asked this question, so wanted to address it here.

Sometimes hackers put in ‘dormant’ scripts or codes, they sit there undetected by you.  So, if you find out on the 15th of the month that the hacker found a vulnerability in a plugin – or whatever – and put the code in on the 3rd, but your last backup was the 1st of that month, any new content you have added could be lost forever.

A backup is only as good as how clean and recent it is.

This is why I am always telling you it is important to have a backup and upgrade maintenance plan in place.  For the clients whose sites I maintain, I keep at least 52 backups.  I keep a year of of weekly database backups and a year of monthly complete site backups.

Most of you guys either do this process yourself or hire me to do it for you.  But unfortunately, I know there are a few of you who have not backed up or upgraded when you were supposed to – this includes your plugins and themes, and WordPress installation.

Whether you want to believe it or not, the hackers don’t really care who you are, they are just looking for easy targets. So don’t make yourself an easy target!

They are looking for the easy targets, especially with this current round of large scale hacks. As far as anyone can tell – and everyone is trying to figure it out, from your hosting company to WordPress to the news outlets – these hackers are specifically looking for those of you who have not made your site secure with your username and password.  But also, as the examples above show, your plugins and themes can make you vulnerable, as well.  Keep Safe.  And when I have news, I will share it, if not hear on Facebook or Twitter.

Take some easy steps to make your site safer than 99% of the others out there – change your username and password and backup and upgrade your site.  I wrote about it in a post about Is WordPress Still Safe?

The two best things you can always do to protect your site are:

• Be Proactive – Make sure everything on your site is secure, backed up and updated
• Be Creative – Create super strong, crazy long login access: meaning your username and password!

If you have been reading the news, you may have heard there is an ‘orchestrated attack’ on WordPress sites.

Over the last few days, I have received a lot of emails from clients asking about this issue, what it means and what they can do.

Several people pointed me to this Forbes piece outlining “the most important things you can do to keep your WordPress website or blog safe”. We will go over what you need to do (use strong login info and keep the site up to date), but first:

You are probably thinking this means WordPress is insecure, right?

Well, actually, NO!

This is the biggest misconception.  The WordPress software seems to be stable – meaning there are No Known Vulnerabilities causing a security risk to the current version of WordPress (if you aren’t on a current version, then you should upgrade now).

If there were a known issue, WordPress would work to fix it and get a new security release out as soon as possible (like they always have).

To address this misconception that it is WordPress that is the problem, Matt Mullenweg – the founder of WordPress – put out a release stating:

It is not a WordPress issue, but a Username and Password issue

In fact, WordPress has done many things over the years, to make your site more secure. This includes allowing you to choose your own username, instead of using the default of ADMIN (which the hackers are hoping you are using).

“Right now there’s a botnet going around all of the WordPresses it can find trying to login with the “admin” username and a bunch of common passwords…” Mullenweg wrote on his own WordPress blog.

You are as secure (from this type of hack) as your user name and password.

Then, why this ‘orchestrated attack’ specifically on WordPress?

This is still being investigated (but there is a larger scale threat to the Internet itself). Right now, it seems the hackers are taking advantage of people using the common username of Admin and then hoping for those people to be using a weak password – like the word ‘password’.

The hackers’ end goal, once they get enough hacked sites, is to take down the whole Internet. No really, the hackers are trying to take down the web. We just hope they don’t get that far.

For now, let’s talk about your site.

So many times I hear people say, why do the hackers care about me?

The answer: They don’t. They just are using the most vulnerable, the low hanging fruit, as a way to get to their bigger goal.

You might ask: Is my password really that bad?

Let me ask you this, is it the same one you use everywhere? If so, it is bad.

• Is it the name of your favorite pet, your child or your significant other? If so, it is bad.
• Is it a word in the dictionary with 123 after it? If so, it is bad.

Huffington post talked about the worst passwords to use - in an article from 10/25/12:

The top three passwords of 2012 — “password,” “123456,” and “12345678″

New entries to this year’s top 25 include “jesus,” “ninja” and the highly imaginative “password1.”

Anyone who knows me, knows I have been trying to get you to use strong ‘crazy’ passwords for years – and have not used the username of Admin since 2008.

Anyone who has worked with me in the more recent past, knows I am also creating super ‘annoying’ but also very strong Usernames, as well as passwords.

I also strongly suggest (not request) you to create a different unique and crazy password for everything: your email address, your hosting company, your FTP site…(and especially your bank account and anywhere else where money is involved – like Amazon, or wherever you’ve stored credit card info online).

To understand more and to learn how to create a crazy strong password, you can read my blog post entitled: Cyber Pickpockets Want Your Passwords- or revisit UniqueThink’s terms agreement (which also discusses password and security issues.

I know, now you are saying: BUT, I can’t remember all those long passwords!

And, I am hear to say, you don’t have to remember them all.  There is software to do that for you!. To help you retain all those crazy upper case, lower case, symbols and numbers in your usernames and password, I recommend a password management tool. My favorite tool for remembering my passwords is 1Password.

So will a new password really keep your site safe?

Please keep in mind: Usernames and Passwords aren’t the only way hackers enter your site.  However, this hack appears to be about trying to get in by trying ‘every key on the ring.‘

These guys use robot scripts to go thru the most common words, hoping you used one for your username and password – this is what they call brute force.

Let’s break it down. Keep your software up to date and your login unique and strong.

Matt Mullenweg says “Do this and you’ll be ahead of 99% of sites out there and probably never have a problem.”

What EASY things can you do to stay secure?

1. Change your UserName and your Password – make them super secure!  Angela Bowman of AskWPGirl has written out instructions on how to change your username.

2. Scan your site, to make sure it is clean and free of known malware

I tend to use this free tool:

Sucuri.net – this is a great way to make sure your site stays secure.  And, if you do get malware, they can remove it for you (there is a fee for cleaning up and also monitoring your site, but they are cost effective -starting at $89.99.  And to scan your site, it is Free!  http://uniquethink.com/go/security

3. Set up a Backup and Upgrade process

There are several ways to backup – I use both of these, and more:

WordPress Database Backup https://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/wp-db-backup/

On-demand backup of your WordPress database (database only).

BackupBuddy: A premium plugin that allows you to backup your full site, not just your database.  You can also use this tool to MIGRATE your site to another server http://uniquethink.com/movewp

4. Get Rid of Plugins and Themes you aren’t using – they could have a vulnerability you aren’t aware of – so if you aren’t using it, loose it!

5. If you don’t have some reputable security plugins installed already, there are a few plugins I rely on:

Limit Login Attempts: https://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/limit-login-attempts/
Keeps you safe from Hackers – will lock them out after a set amount of times

WordPress Firewall 2 https://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/wordpress-firewall-2/

Monitors web requests to identify and stop the most obvious attacks. (Note: This hasn’t had a needed version update in a while, so it hasn’t been updated, yet it is still secure and keeps my site safe, every day! It gives me reports proving it).

BlueTrait – this one gives you a log of everything that happens on the site – from logins to attempts and more. https://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/bluetrait-event-viewer/

Angela Bowman – a.k.a. askwpgirl – is suggesting WordFence. Right now, I am playing around to see if I should use it instead of or in addition to the above plugins.  She is using it instead of these, which sounds wise (one plugin to do the job of many).

So, what did we discover?

1. WordPress (the software) is secure – though some themes and plugins may not be.
2. The UserName Admin is NOT!
3. A weak password makes you vulnerable.

Yes, WordPress sites, just like any other kind of site, always has risks of getting hacked – Just like your office, home, car, even gym locker, is at risk of getting broken into. But as we discussed above, there are some simple steps that make you that much more secure.  Take action on them now!

If you use a plugin called the Social Media Widget Plugin or have a theme with TimThumb, please also read this post called: WordPress ‘Addons’ With Known Problems

But I can appreciate those of you who don’t enjoy the idea of writing. 

Sometimes life gets so busy, I find I haven’t made time to write on my own blog.

Yet, I know people are still reading and benefiting from things I’ve written in the past.

I know this, because I am fortunate enough to have them tell me.

And, that is the beauty of ‘evergreen’ content – meaning it is still useful to new folks who come to my site…even years later.

In fact, one of my blog posts, in particular, remains the most read article on my site, even though I wrote it in 2009.

It’s called:

The funny thing is when I wrote this post it wasn’t because I had to, it was because I wanted to share a great experience I had at a restaurant – not about the food – though that was great, too.  What I experienced was some folks who did some ‘uniquethinking’ about their own marketing. And being the marketing dork that I am, I had to share their ideas with others.

My post of Marketing Tips for Restaurants has become so popular that it was just reference on the Best Small Business “Anit-Boring Marketing Advice” Series, put together by Valpak (you know, those blue envelopes filed with coupons that come in the mailbox).  Yes, even the mailbox-centric site has its own blog!

So, it proves that what I tell you guys is true:

If you write genuine content about something that interests you, people will not only read it, they will share it!

My Challenge to You:

Find someone doing something amazing in your industry – something that inspires you and write about it.

How this helps your business:

If you write about things that inspire you and are related to your industry, you’ll connect with others who feel the same way.  Sometimes they will be business associates (who want to work/partner with you), sometimes they will be industry organizations that want to have you speak at their events or write for their blogs. Then there are your clients & prospects (who get to learn from you and feel connected)!

Writing let’s you expand the reach of your ideas, the ones that created your products and your services.

I’ve been thinking about writing, a lot.  Both how to inspire myself and how to inspire you guys! And, then this weekend, I received a Facebook invite from a friend of mine from high school, Dean Orion.

He started a blog and wrote an ebook on the subject of writing: Live To Write Another Day, A Survival Guide for Screenwriters and Creative Storytellers 

 And, I thought even though I am not a screenwriter, I need to read this – because creative storytelling is what marketing is all about, right?  Well, to me it is.  It’s about telling a story in a creative (yet, genuine) way, one that connect to people – inspires them.

Dean’s book did that for me.  It connected to me, not because I know him from years ago, but because of  what he talks about  – in an easy and comfortable way – in a way everyone can relate (not just screenwriters).

And guess what? On March 12 and 13th, 2013, you can get a copy of Dean’s ebook for Free! 

So, with that in mind, and the fact the ebook is free, you need to pick this up on Tues or Wed. There really is no reason to procrastinate.  But, speaking of procrastination, check out what Dean has to say about that subject and the writing process:

Now that I’ve gotten that off my chest, we should probably give procrastination a more positive name, don’t you think? How about Pre-writing?  Mindframing?  Sound better?  I think so. 

- Dean Orion from  Live To Write Another Day, A Survival Guide for Screenwriters and Creative Storytellers 

Now, get Pre-writing, while you read his book! And, yes, I do get not all of you are writers, but you are business people who need to communicate with your audience.  So, even if you just find one little morsel – isn’t it worth the read?  It’s definitely worth the price of free (today and tomorrow only – but only $9.99 normally).

As Dean says: the chapters are short and very digestible, so you can certainly nibble away at it a little bit at time.

Here is my little morsel from his section on The Write Environment:

Have a set place and schedule (an appointment you have to show up for – in my case scheduled in my calendar – to do your writing).

Yep, I couldn’t wait, so I actually purchased my copy over the past weekend (even paying for it was worth the price!).  Not only because I wanted to read it right away, but I always like to try things before I recommend them to folks.  And, look, I just wrote a blog post about it!

Definitely let me know what part of the book resonates with you! Or if you already have a writing tip that works for you, share it below!

It talks about how Fake Friends on Facebook could hurt Your Business, and has altered Facebook’s reputation.

The author – Somini Sengupta – looked at these false accounts from many different perspectives. Here are a few points, but you should read the whole article, to evaluate your online friends’ influence on your own company’s reputation.

1. Facebook has ‘said that of its 855 million active users, 8.7 percent, or 83 million, were duplicates, false or “undesirable,” for instance, because they spread spam.”
2. A hospital had a fake Facebook Business Page appear using their name and logo, with views opposing Obamacare. The hospital realized their reputation was at stake. It took about a week and a half, not to mention some back and forth, to get the social media giant to rule in their favor (and consider the false page was violating FB’s terms of service). In a world of instant access, that is a long time to get a response. So, the hospital took matters into their own hands (as much as they could), by noting it on their real page and getting local press exposure.  The false page disappeared (apparently with no help from FB).
3. What is Facebook doing about this: FB has hired a team to try to get fake sites removed, and will flag pages inviting 100s of friends at one time.  How does that relate to your real FB account?  Be careful not to send out large numbers of invites, all at once! Isn’t that a common practice, when a page is new?
4. This last part could be an article in itself: College kids hide their party habits from future employers – by using fake names on their Facebook Accounts. This seems harmless, but some employers might disagree. Gotta give the kids some credit, for coming up with this idea, though! What’s your business policy about hiring practices base on Facebook profiles?

Read the complete article on the NY Times site: https://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/13/technology/false-posts-on-facebook-undermine-its-credibility.html

What do you think?  Which of these online activities are most concerning to you?  And, if you’ve read the article, are their more important social media issues then what I’ve mentioned?

How, if any, will this relate to your interactions with Facebook?  Are you confident Facebook is doing what it can to get the fakes off their site?  Do you think it will influence your decision to use social media?  Will you keep an eye open for fake accounts?

Let us know, by commenting below!

Focusing on the possibilities…

WordCamp Denver 2012 was this past weekend and I had the opportunity of doing a presentation called A Beginner’s Guide to WordPress for Non-coders.

We had a lot of fun at the event and there were a bunch of great presentations.  If you didn’t make it, you can go over to WordCamp Denver’s site, to download the slides to any of the speakers’ presentations.

Here is the link to download my slides:
http://uniquethink.com/PDFs/BeginnersGuideToWordPressforNonCodersUniqueThink1012.pdf

Or you can view them right now:

The presentation included:

• What is WordPress?
• The difference between WordPress.com and WordPress.org
• Understanding the Dashboard
• Where to find help
• Content Management System
• Visual Editor
• Widgets
• Plugins
• And info on what to consider, when picking a Theme
• Plus more…

Even without audio, I hope you enjoy the slides. Feel free to share this with other non-coders interested in getting started with WordPress.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Focusing on the possibilities…
Bethany

Previously, this was not available to pages, but it now is.  So, if in the past you were told you couldn’t, you will be glad to know, now you can!

Here is a screenshot showing How to Change Your Facebook User Name:

2. Someone asked this question about Facebook Usernames that I thought was worth sharing:

QUESTION: If you want to combine two Facebook accounts, using the username from the one you want to cancel, how would you do it?

ANSWER: Unfortunately, Facebook doesn’t allow you to transfer a username.

They perceive it as squatting.

Here is what Facebook says:
“We have a no transferability policy. You can’t secure a username on one account and then transfer it to another.”

For more info about usernames on Facebook, read this: https://www.facebook.com/help/usernames/general

MORAL: Make sure you brand yourself, when you create the Username.

Did you have a question about Facebook Usernames?  If so, let us know by commenting below…

I am not sure if you have been watching the changes the web has been going through.

Fortunately, most of them are very interesting, bringing an exciting evolution with new and better options for building your business online.

The challenge is staying on top of all of the incredible choices and changes, while still staying focused on what is most important to you – running the day to day of your own business.

I know you don’t have time to learn every new tool and feature that comes along, but some of you have been asking me to let you know what to keep in mind, as you are growing your online presence.

To help with that, I am putting together a series of posts called: How The Web is Changing.

This first post talks about several of the most important/interesting things related to Sites and Blogs (with an emphasis on WordPress, since so many of you are using it). I’ll be exploring these changes for you, so you can consider which may be of value to your business.

If you don’t have a WordPress website/blog, much of this will still help you evaluate building a site or redesigning one using some of these new technologies. Along with this review are easy Action Steps to help you evaluate whether they are important for you to pursue.

My next few posts will explore the changes in Mobile, Email Marketing and Social Media.

For now, here are some of the things to consider about your Website/Blog.

Changes to Websites/Blogs

Though many of you are already on WordPress, did you know they keep making it easier, while adding more features?  And if you haven’t checked out any of the newer themes, you are in for a lovely surprise!

For the last few years, we’ve seen major advancements (like image sliders without flash, being able to use more font options, and seeing the site look more consistent on different browsers!). Much of this technology wasn’t supposed to be fully utilized until about 2014 (such as HTML5, not to mention CSS3 and Responsive Design).  Developers are already building with the technology, which means there are more advanced options available to improve your website (whether you use WordPress or not).

Here’s a quick and easy video to explain it in simple terms:

Don’t worry, you don’t need to learn any new technologies. That’s the beauty of many of these features, they are being created to allow you to do things easier (in fact, you are probably already using some of them:

• Drag and Drop features
• Adding a video without using a plugin

Just know the technology exists to make your site even easier for you to use, while providing capabilities to do so much more.

Kind of like The Six Million Dollar Man/Woman (except much, much, much, much, much cheaper)

“We have the technology…better, stronger, faster…”

So, what does this mean for you?

Things that would have taken a lot of heavy programming to code are now easier to incorporate into any site, or are common features within WordPress and on some of the new crop of premium themes (and even free ones, like Twenty Eleven).

In other words, better, faster and unlike the Bionic Man, they are available and cost-effective for everyone.

My current favorite WordPress Premium Theme developers are:

• Theme Blvd: Angela Bowman turned me on to these themes by Jason Bobich of Alaska.  Maybe the long, cold days made this all possible, or maybe this guy just has a good work ethic – which UniqueThink appreciates, but whatever it was, he took the time to create a series of videos to explain all the amazing features he has built into this new selection of premium themes.  And each only costs $37
• My personal favorite of the moment is Alyeska. I am using it to do a fairly quick redesign of the Video Station’s website (it’s not completed, but we made it live, because it is so much better than their old theme, even with very minimal customization!)
• StudioPress: I’ve been recommending the selection of themes from StudioPress for a couple of years now, but the new batch of layout options offer more features, including a landing page template on many of them.  Here is a new one called Focus

“I just finished spending time looking at pretty much every feature. It looks wonderful, and is so easy (and fast) to navigate. You are both priceless and invaluable, to be redundant. Thanks so much!”
- Bruce Shamma – Owner of The Video Station

Many folks will be happy with a theme by either of these developers, right out of the box (virtual box, that is), but if you are like most of my clients, you’ll want a custom look for your unique brand.  Either way, these themes are a great foundation to build a more engaging, dynamic and interactive site.

There are a ton of features built into all of these themes that I could write a whole blog post on (including image/video sliders and multiple layout options), but the other thing that is so interesting about many of these themes is they were created with Responsive Design.

Responsive Design

We’ll talk more about what Responsive Design is, in the near future, but for now, just know that a theme with responsive design takes into account what type of device your visitors are on, when they come to your site.  That means the site will look great on a large monitor and just as good on an iPhone screen.

And for those of you using straight HTML or other platforms, Responsive Design is not WordPress specific.  It’s just that these themes are incorporating it.

If you have considered changing the look of your site, this may be the time.

New Releases for WordPress

Additionally, they are just about to come out with a new features release of WordPress.  You may or may not need these features, but did you upgrade to the recent WordPress 3.3.2 security release?  If not, please do so now, or contact me to do your upgrade!

Your WordPress Action Steps:

Take a look at your admin section (the kitchen, as I call it).  Make sure you are up to date with version 3.3.2 (3.4 should be out any day now, but as you’ve heard me say, it is always important to upgrade when a security release comes out).

If you are up to date, skip down to the next set of Action Steps for Evaluating Your Current Site.

• If you aren’t at the latest security release, you definitely need to upgrade now.  But equally important, make sure you backup your site and verify your plugins are compatible with WordPress.  Why?  Because if your site isn’t backed up and you have a conflict with a plugin, you could loose your site, or at least crash it
• If you are on a much older version (which I hope is not the case), the Broken Link Checker plugin may crash your site on upgrade, so deactivate and remove it, before you upgrade.  Then reinstall the latest version, after your upgrade has been completed.  It’s a great plugin, so remember to reactivate it!
• Back up your theme, too, especially if it has been customized.  You can also check to see if there is a new version of your theme – it will tell you in the upgrade section – but if it has been customized (and it wasn’t done with a child theme or you are unsure), check with the person who customized it, before you upgrade
• After you have backed up and checked your plugins, upgrade to the newest version of WordPress
• If you have not had me teach you how to do the backup and upgrade, let’s set up a time for a tutorial or have me do the maintenance for you!  I can’t say it enough, you have to stay up to date with the security releases.

Your Action Steps to Evaluate Your Current Site:

• Is it doing everything you want it to do?
• Are you happy with the look of it?
• Does it have all the functionality you want or need for your visitors?
• Is your content current and are you adding new content on a frequent enough basis?
• Are you integrating with social media appropriately?
• Do you provide easy ways for folks to share your content?
• Does it look/function well on different sized screens?

If the answer to these are all yes, congratulations and keep up the good work.

If the answers are no, it’s time to do a little exploration.

For those of you currently using WordPress, or are interested in redesigning in WordPress, take a look at these new themes with Responsive Design. See what functionality they provide and which look you like.

Visit your competition’s website, to see what they are doing right and what they have done wrong, too. (Don’t just assume, because they do it, it works. Look at their site like a new customer might look at it.  Is it easy to find the info you need?  Do they answer the most frequent questions clients ask you?)

Then ask some of your current clients for feedback about what works and doesn’t work for them, both on your site and – if you are comfortable with it – your competition’s site.

What did you find out, when reviewing these Action Steps?  Were they revealing?  Did they help give you some direction?

Obviously, there are always more questions to ask and more to evaluate, but let me know what you discovered, by posting a comment below.

You can also help to direct the next part of this series, by letting me know if you are more interested in Mobile, Email Marketing or Social Media.  Tell me which you’d like to see me write about next in this series: How the Web is Changing.

What is Pinterest anyway?  Why should I use it for my business?

These are some of the Pinterest related questions I’ve been getting asked lately, so I wanted to share some insights with you.

First, what Pinterest is:

Our good friend and Boulder Blogger Beth Hayden, of Blogging with Beth, stated it well in her recent guest post on Copyblogger, “56 Ways to Market Your Business on Pinterest“:

…you can create online collages (“boards”) for different topics you’re interested in, and then add images and videos to your boards by “pinning” them (the equivalent of using glue sticks on old-school vision boards, but faster, slicker, and considerably cooler.)

This is how I’ve been explaining it: Pinterest lets you coordinate things you want to share (images, blog posts, videos) into specific topics that folks can follow. 

For instance, if you were putting up recipes, you could create a series of boards such as “Appetizers”, “Entrees” and “Desserts”.  If someone is interested in all 3, they follow your whole profile.  If they only care about Desserts (can you blame them?), they only follow that specific topic (board).

And, later on, when you decide you have a new topic, let’s say “Movie Munching, Done Yum“, you just create a new board and you now have a place to pin all your tasty treats.

Second, should you use Pinterest for your business:

Again, we turn to Beth’s fabulous guest post, in which she gives stats:

Pinterest has nearly five million users, and is rapidly growing. Nearly 1.5 million unique users visit Pinterest daily, spending an average of 15 minutes a day on the site.

These stats are changing as we talk and as Pinterest rapidly grows (even though Facebook is giving them a run for their money by introducing FriendSheet).  And the key reason to get in there now is to benefit from the traffic, as Beth wrote:

Think those inspiring vision boards don’t result in referral traffic to websites and blogs? Think again. In January 2012, Pinterest drove greater traffic to websites than LinkedIn, Google Plus, Reddit, and Youtube — combined.

But we should be clear about how to use this great social media site for your own business. Pinterest’s site states on their Pin Etiquette page not to self-promote (or at least don’t make it the only reason you are there!):

Notice the words “try not to use Pinterest PURELY as a tool for self-promotion”
(My feeling is they know you are going to promote yourself a bit,
just don’t make it the only reason you are on their site)

So, how should you use Pinterest for your small biz:

Really, it is no different than I’d tell you for marketing anywhere:

• Start by making sure you understand why to be there: It’s about building community, not just about shouting out sales
• Make sure your audience is there: Right now, the highest demographic is 25-54 yr old females with some college education – this is changing rapidly – new research shows 60/40 female to male, but women will probably remain one of the top demos, if not the top
• Let others talk about you: Make it easy for them to pin what you write on your blog:
  
  
  
  For instance, feel free to Pin and share this article - at the moment, I am using a WordPress plugin called Pinterest “Pin It” Button By Phil Derksen there are also share options at the top and bottom of this post
• Pinterest is a Social Media site – it is for being social: Join the conversation, reply (Re-Pin) what others have added
• Pinterest likes images and videos: Just like we’ve known about blogs, email newsletters, and other social sites
• Pinterest is also a Marketing Tool: Like all tools, you have to use them effectively to benefit
• If nothing else, get over there now and secure your name so no one else takes it: Mine is pinterest.com/uniquethink

There is always more, but for now let’s look at someone doing things right on Pinterest.

Here is a healthy example for you.  Mashable.com writes this about Whole Food’s organic approach to Pinterest:

To make a lasting connection, the goal is not to promote the shampoos, strawberries and steaks that are sold in the actual stores but to communicate the lifestyle that the Whole Foods team aspires to…

In other words, like all online social media, it is not just about selling or bragging, it’s about building a community by sharing like interests and valuable insights.

I found this great video where this woman discusses using Pinterest to Promote Your Products (the right way):

Megan Auman of DesigningAnMBA created this video and I agreed with most everything she says (She even refers to Pinterest as a Tool, just like I always tell folks: Tools are there to help you, but you have to use them!).  So, wanted to share it with all of you.  It is WELL worth the 21 mins and, since it is free, it is a cost-effective way to learn about Pinterest!!

However, there were a few additional things I wanted to make sure  you knew about, so please watch this informative video and read Beth’s blog post on Copyblogger, but also take the following into account.

Important Action steps:

• Choose Your First Followers Wisely: When you sign up, Pinterest will force you to tell it what your interests are and then will auto-assign users for you to follow.

• No one mentions this and it can make a big difference.  For instance, I just picked something generic like Art, when I first signed up.  Now, I get a lot of folks who do beautiful Tattoo art, but they aren’t really my audience nor am I theirs

• Check Out What Others Have Done: Before you begin pinning away and creating boards, take a look at what other people have created.  It will help you determine your board names and how to categorize things (Beth’s blog post and the above video also give great insights – take advantage of this info)
• Make sure you have rights to images you post!

• Add the Pin It! button to your browser: You are going to want to add this very easy to use tool, so you can add to Pinterest on the fly – watch this short video to show you how easy it is:

I hope this helps to get you started.  There are two more things:

Beth Hayden is about to release a book on Pinterest, you can pre-order it from Amazon now: Pinfluence: The Complete Guide to Marketing Your Business with Pinterest – I do not get any kind of affiliate fee from you buying the book, but I did get to read some of it, while she was writing it, and it is filled with helpful and important information about using Pinterest for your biz (especially the copyright chapter!!!).

You currently need an invite to join Pinterest, I can easily give you one.  This could change at any time, but if you haven’t gotten one yet, let me know.  I can send you one.   I tried to just use the form on the site, but it took longer than when I asked Beth to just send me one.  So, feel free to email me if you need a Pinterest Invite.

And, if you are already using Pinterest and want to share your page, comment below and include a link.  We’d love to see what you are up to!

That’s right, I’d like to encourage you to review what you have been saying about yourself, your company, your products… on social media sites and elsewhere online (as well as offline: i.e.print ads, brochures, and business cards).

Here is my February Marketing Tip: Update Your Online Presence (NOW)

• How old is that profile picture? And does it reflect your biz well? (Yes, my sister – in the background – and I are adorable at the local kid’s pool, but does this make sense to use for my Business Profile image?  OK, that is a little extreme, because I never really used this image, but let me ask you how current is your business head shot?)
• When was the last time you reviewed your bio?
• Are there still sites that have your old logo?

These are some of the questions you should be asking yourself. It’s time to get things in order.

If you want to know what other people are saying or thinking about you, remember, you can control some of that by making sure your own message is clear, current and there is continuity across the web.

There are plenty of places where you can’t control what is said about you, but there are also lots of places where YOU get to control the message.

Take action and make sure your message meets with your current objectives:

1. Think about all the places you have posted profile content and go back to each of them, now
2. Make sure your message and imagery are up to date
3. Create a spreadsheet: List everywhere you have used your head shot, bio, logo, product shot(s), tagline and other marketing materials

Why create a spreadsheet about your online presence?

• Keep your online presence consistent
• Know where you have changed things, when you last changed them and what changes were made
• It will also help you to delegate this task to someone else (if not now, in the near future)!

Start with the obvious, such as your own website, Facebook (both profile and business pages), LinkedIn, Twitter, Google + and Google Places.  And, while you are at it, if you haven’t already, set up an account on the current social media must be present on site: Pinterest (if you need an invite, email me for one).

Then, think about places you are listed in: Like industry directories!!!

True Story: One of the reasons I did this for myself was I found an old directory listing that was 5 YEARS out dated.  It was so out of date that it didn’t reflect my current goals and services at all!  I had to change it immediately.

What if you can’t remember where you’ve been?

Don’t worry if you can’t remember all the directories and social media sites you’ve signed up for, there are ways to try to find them.

First: Do a Google Search for yourself.

This is a great place to start, because if they are ranking you well with an out dated profile, that is the first place you want to update!

How to Get Them All?

Let’s face it, you may not get to everyone of them this week, but you can always add more later. For instance, I just remembered that there is a page on Constant Contact that still has my old logo!

Now I can add it to my list of changes I need to make, and have it noted for the next time I change everything.  Actually, this is a good example, too, because in this case, I have to have Constant Contact make this particular change for me.  So, that info will go into my notes, as well!

Are there other sites that have put up your logo?  Don’t forget about them, too.

Oh, and remember to review your offline marketing material, too!

Do you have a suggestion on how to find, organize or update profiles?  Come on, I bet you do!  Share it with us all, please, by commenting below!

Offline it may happen like this: Someone accidentally bumps into you and, the next thing you know, your wallet is missing.

Online you may not even know it is happening, but if someone does find out your password (for your website, your email account, your Facebook account or worse…), they can cause lots of damage:

• They could steal your money or personal, private information
• They could pull down your website, put up bad code (that collects your visitor’s info), or send your visitors to an inappropriate site
• They could email annoying spam to all your contacts (friends, family, business associates) disguised as your email address

Whatever they do, the result is similar to being mugged or pick pocketed: You may be left scared, waiting for them to come back and wondering, “Why me?“

Typically, hackers (like muggers and pickpocketers) aren’t after you personally, though try telling that to someone who has just encountered one.  It probably has nothing to do with you…other than you were the easiest target around them at that moment.

Are you making yourself an easy target? Are you doing any of the following:

• Using the same password everywhere
• Using a common word, like your dog’s name, for your password

You probably thought it was just easier to use the same password everywhere. Nowadays, we have to remember so many passwords. It just makes sense to make it easy on ourselves, right? Well, not with cyber pickpocketers (better known as Hackers) around.

Let’s look at what is known about how some of these Hackers work (there are a lot of other ways, but these are two of the more common types):

1. The Repeat Offender: Let’s say you use that same password everywhere. A hacker figures it out in one place, do you think he/she is going to stop there? It doesn’t matter how obscure the word is, if you use that password everywhere and someone figures it out in one place, they have then figured it out for all your accounts. And think about it this way:

• If they have access to your email account, they probably have access to more info about you than they need
• Just getting into your Facebook account could eventually lead them to where you bank, and they are banking on you using that same password everywhere
• Do yourself a favor, if you do nothing else right now, make your bank password really secure… now!
• AND AS A BUSINESS OWNER: Do your customers/clients’ a favor – make sure their info is safe, by creating unique, secure passwords for your site and email address (wherever they share info with you!)

2. The Dictionary Thief: These guys aren’t stealing dictionaries, but they are making an educated guess you are using a common name or a word found in the dictionary.These guys/gals have done their research, they also know the most common words people use as passwords. Here are a few (not in any particular order) of the Top 25 worse Internet passwords:

• password
• 123456
• 12345678
• abc123
• monkey
• letmein
• dragon
• superman

If you are using any of these most commonly used passwords, PLEASE change them immediately.

Those dictionary thieves create computer programs to run a script that goes through every common word and name. The computer script does the work for them, they just let the program run – any time of day or night – until it finds the password that gets them logged in!

Again, in most cases, they aren’t going after you personally, they are just looking for an easy password to gain access. So, with a little work you can save yourself a lot of trouble!

These are just two of many examples! I’m not trying to make you feel helpless, it’s the opposite, I want you to take control. Maybe I am trying to scare you a little…though just enough to make you take action!

So, what actions can make you more secure right now?

I’ll make suggestions in a moment, but first want to state that a quick and easy thing to do is get 1Password and start using this powerful tool immediately!  I highly recommend it to create and manage all your passwords.  I have been using it myself since April of 2010 and can’t believe I ever existed without it.  There are a ton of reasons I use it, but the top ones are:

• You create 1 Master Password to log into this password management tool (don’t get confused, this is the password to unlock 1Password).  Think of it like an apartment manager being able to unlock any door, even though all the individual doors have their own keys. This means you only have to remember your Master Password to get access to all your other really long, secure passwords
• It has a password generator tool built in, so you can easily make a strong password that automatically gets saved in this software
• It is encrypted, so it keeps everything secure
• It has a browser add-on: If you are online and need to log into any online site (Facebook, Gmail, your bank, anything…) you just click the 1P icon and it fills in the password for you!

What are the best practices for creating user names and passwords?

Below are a few of the top ones I like to share with my clients, but there are always more things you can do:

• Create unique user names and passwords for each account (DO NOT use the same user name and password on everything from your email account to your bank account! This is critical and can’t be stressed enough!)
• Keep passwords in a secure place, like a tool specifically encrypted for password storage.
  I recommend 1Password: 
https://bit.ly/rememberyourpasswords

  This helps you to not have to remember multiple passwords, because it remembers them for you, then protects the various ones you have created.
• Either use a password generating too (included in 1Password) or make sure the password contains a mixture of upper and lower case letters, numbers and special characters. Do not use a common word that is in the dictionary and then throw a # or two at the end. Break up the letters with characters and #, the longer the better.
  Here is an example of a secure password: h*#3Tma4pP7j2$*8
  (I know, you are thinking, “Who can remember that!?” Don’t worry, 1Password will make it so you don’t have to remember this password, just one master one!)
• Do not provide your passwords to others – even your staff.  If you have to give someone a password, create separate ones for each staff member or intern who might be helping you out. That way, should they leave, you can delete that password and create a new one for the person who is taking over.  And, did I mention, you can manage them all within 1Password.

OK, I’m not saying this is the only password tool out there.  I used to use one called DataGuardian, that worked well. And there are free ones out there, as well.  I’d rather you use one of those than have you keep using the same common word as your password for everything!  However, the reason I fell in love with 1Password was because it is so simple to use.  And, 1Password works for Mac, PC, iPhone, iPad, Android…It can also sync across multiple devices.

So, now you have no excuse not to have a secure password.  Please do take this seriously and change your passwords to something more secure now, before the cyber pick pocketer happens upon your website, email account, Facebook account or worse!

Keep it secure!  And, if any of your account should get hacked, change the password immediately, along with any other accounts that share it!