*&^%in’ Problems

Today’s post is multi-purpose. It’s going to serve as a warning on CMS’s like Joomla and WordPress and why it’s best sometimes to use a good amount of old fashion HTML.
I did a site for a real estate development company called Coral Breeze Estates located in the Bahamas a while back and they finally needed to do some updates to the site.
The site was built on Joomla 1.5 with a GK Coffee template overlay from Gavick Pro and various plugins. I also had a slideshow powered by Cub3r.

When I logged into the site to edit the article with pricing information I was unable to save anything. Very puzzling….
As I tried to alter another page I realized that there was something very wrong. I couldn’t commit ANY CHANGES to ANY PAGES on the site.

DILEMMA!!!!

Sitting in an office with a client and not having a backup to upload and move forward from is very frustrating, embarrassing, etc. etc.
YOU GET THE JIST!

Finding a Solution

I took a second and weighed out my options.
Do I search for the answer to the question of why my pages weren’t saving?
I had no time for that, the client was looking me dead in the face.
Do I reinstall Joomla and start over from scratch?
That again would take TOO much time. Reinstallation would take a minute (very figurative) and then I had a weird hunch that even if I did reinstall Jooma the database would give me issues.
I had an “Aha Moment” I would copy all the HTML from the posts that were on the site and create a HTML and CSS version of the site.

For the sake of time and appeasing my now antsy client I typed away at my keyboard in Sublime Text 2 and put the code together.
It was a great help that I had some HTML from a previous project on hand which I quickly edited to my liking and the new (temporary) Coral Breeze Estates website was up.

Now that that was done I had a whole other set of problems. The main site was originally a slide show with music and the actual site was in a sub-directory /home.
All the old links had to be redirected now and the database had to be removed so that I wouldn’t get into any problems later.
After editing a few more files I finally got my 404 error page up so at least now the old search engine links will have a custom 404 error page.

Here is the finished site (for now) and here is an example of the 404 error page.

Lessons Learnt

Don’t rely too heavily on CMS’s, always stay sharp on your coding skills.
When you’re faced with a problem there is always more than one way to fix it. Google it if you’re not certain.
HTML is just as good as a CMS once you know what you’re doing!

It’s important that when you move pages or have a massive problem like I did that you make sure your visitors have the smoothest time possible when they visit your site. That includes redirects and 404 pages!!

Conclusion

If you would have handled it differently leave a comment and tell me what you would have done.
If you need some help with your social media or website please contact me! I’ll be glad to help.

Social media can be a powerful way to reach everyday customers and prospects. However, you can also show you a content with members of traditional media to create additional buzz. Public relations has been around for a long time, its value is just as strong today.

The first thing you might think of when you hear the term PR is writing press releases, but don’t assume because your company is just starting out that you don’t need to create any. Large or small, companies can benefit greatly from sharing official corporate information to press releases. Whether you have a new product announcement, business partnership, or other significant achievement, publishing this content through official channels means it can be shared by media sources across the web, thereby, improving your SEO and overall findability.

Reaching out to members of the media in your industry can lead to opportunities to share your work with them, or to perhaps be featured or reviewed in their publications. There are a number of online services that provide details on editorial calendars. They can tell you when certain media will be writing stories about specific subjects. If you see one that matches what your company does, this can be an opportunity to connect and get some exposure. While you’re at it, consider the value of reaching out to blogs and other industry sites that featured guest posts from industry professionals.

If there’s a site that features products and services similar to your own, offer to write a guest blog post giving your take on an issue or sharing your expertise. One great benefit of reaching out like this is connecting with their audience. They would certainly be relevant to your desired target market. So these opportunities can lead to many new leads.

Managing public relations is also about maintaining your reputation. It’s vital to monitor online content to know what people are saying about you
especially if anything negative comes up. Be sure to thank supportive users, but you must also address concerns quickly and honestly, providing as much information as possible while maintaining an official tone.

One way to monitor content about you and your company is to set up a system of alert.
For example, you can set up a Google alert to email you whenever your company name is mentioned online. You can also use various apps to monitor social platforms and set up automatic searches to identify any content that includes references to you and your products.

The idea is not to stamp out anything negative about you– it’s to respond swiftly and honestly, and showing again that you’re listening to the people.
Your public relations efforts can help you spread the word about your business and improve your reputation with influential members of the online community. So create content with these efforts in mind and be proactive
about promoting and protecting your brand.

Building a following from the ground up is a challenge when you first introduce yourself to the world.
Nobody knows who you are or what you do.
Your content and marketing should reflect your abilities and communicate your value.
But when it comes to gaining customers and followers, it helps to have some influence.

Consider the scenario when you need to find something online–
a new restaurant to try with a significant other or a new game to help you pass the time.
Today’s online world isn’t just a database of information, it’s a living,
breathing source of recommendations from the people and companies you connect with.
To you, they are trusted sources and they have a degree of influence over you
and the way you make decisions.

So, as you start your own business, you should consider your role as a potential influencer.
What kind would you like to be?
Do you want to be a thought leader that provides educated opinions and research
on industry issues and concepts.
Would you rather be a curator, seeking out and sharing the best content
from various sources online.

Maybe you’d rather be a follower, getting started by learning your trade
from the best in the business or perhaps a little bit of everything.

One way to get started is to take a page from the ones that influence you
as you use each social platform, you should seek out sources of information and content
that are meaningful to you and follow them.

Industry experts, trusted news sources, and different companies and organizations
can provide excellent information to you on a daily basis, so when you find them,
ask yourself, if they’re influential to you, who might influence them?
Platforms like Twitter can actually show you who these experts follow and checking out
those sources can often reveal new opportunities for information and networking.

Follow and make real connections with these influencers
and they may become important allies when starting to promote yourself.
Growing influence requires becoming an active participant online.

Creating and sharing great information, links, and other quality content
is appreciated by those with similar interests.
Utilizing helpful hash tags and other platforms specific codes
helps link your work to other related searchable content.

In addition, reaching out to others online and beginning or jumping into conversations
can allow you to share your expertise, interests, as well as your sense of humor.
Users want to follow real people with knowledge and personality, not faceless entities that are only concern with numbers.
Remember that influence is subjective and while some try to measure and put labels
on the kind of influence you might have, the most relevant effect of influence
is on the goals you have for your business.

If you send out a tweet asking your followers to check out a new product,
how many actually click through, how many shared that tweet to others,
and how many actually make the purchase?
Measuring conversations will give you an idea about what kind of social outreach is working
and how effective you are as an influencer?

When your amount of followers starts to rise on your blog/site and your social media profiles its important that you continue to find ways to keep them engaged.
Responding to posts and starting conversations are great ways
to share your information that relates directly to user needs.

While your main purpose is to be heard it is imperative that you also, in turn, listen to your fans and customers.
Social media is not a one way street. If you’re not listening you’ll just be carrying on a monologue and you’ll miss all kinds of valuable nuggets from your fans.

Today’s marketing strategies are dependent upon 2-way communication
between a company and its users.
If users believe a company is not listening, they may assume the company doesn’t care,
and the level of trust and faith that users have in the company, its products,
as well as its future may suffer.

A common mistake companies make is the push-only approach,
using social platform simply as another publishing channel.
Tweet after tweet of post after post of the same type of contents.
Avoid this approach at all cost.

Communities truly grow when you take the time to listen and respond
and foster an environment where users can speak amongst themselves.
And many social networks already provide this kind of open communication.
It’s important to allow different sides of an issue related to your company
to be heard and explored.

Remember, innovation is hardly every generated by keeping the status quo.
Customers and client who are truly passionate about what you do or provide
will share their thoughts and sometimes, they maybe critical of what you do,
but while these conversations may result in some awkward, perhaps contentious exchanges
in the short term, they can lead to a long term positive and welcome innovation for all.
Authenticity and transparency are key.

Clear messaging from people within the company will help communication and build trust.
But you don’t have to reveal all your secrets, you just have to be yourself
and listen well, be professional and open minded, and in return, your community of users
will become more connected and be willing to support you as you grow.

Now that you know some of the big social networks out there, how do you get started?
An important part of an effective online presence is consistency especially in branding.
So even if you don’t plan on using them right away, it’s advisable to create accounts
on the major social networks to keep others from grabbing your preferred user handle
especially if it’s a competitive one with commonly used words.

In the long run, this will help your messaging and help users find you more easily.
Beyond your brand name and image, ensure the voice of your content is consistent as well.
How you design your website and content can inform your initial ideas
about the content you’ll share across social networks.

Very often, you want to share links to newly published content
including blog posts, product announcements, and more.
Therefore, it’s wise to create a content calendar guiding you as to when and where
you should publish, ensuring you’ve cover everything you need to when you need to.

Social networks can help you extend the reach of your marketing well beyond your website
and at the same time generate traffic back to it.
The driving forces on social networks are users engaging in conversations,
and they will take every opportunity to share, comment on, recommend,
and even remix the content you produce.

Now each social network offers its own benefits.
Let’s discuss what’s happening on some of today’s most popular platforms
and what you might be able to accomplish on each one.

• Twitter is one of the biggest networks in the world.
  It provides a constant stream of short form content updates.
  Like other networks, it allows for users to communicate with each other
  while also tagging content for better findability.
  Twitter is especially good for sharing links back to your website
  when you have deals on your products, newly published content,
  and other important news to share.

• Facebook provides a lot of social interaction options,
  including pages you can devote to your products or company.
  Google Plus is very similar.
  Both platforms are appealing with large user bases and social features.
  One great advantage Facebook has, however, is that many website developers
  allow users on their sites to log in with their Facebook credentials.
  This provides immediate insight into who these users are
  because you can gain access to their info and demographics.

• YouTube and Vimeo are video sharing sites
  providing great options for video and podcast producers.
  However, companies that only publish video content occasionally
  should still consider getting involved there.

• LinkedIn is a site for professionals to share their career information and news.
  It’s often used for networking and job searching as well as sharing discussions on industry topics.
  If your business relies on networking and constantly finding new clients to work with, this is a network you should be on.

• Foursquare allows users to check in at places all around the world
  including stores, restaurants, historical locations, and just about anywhere else.
  Users can earn badges to reflect achievements, become the mayor of a location
  by checking in the most times, and businesses can offer deals to those who check in.

• Pinterest is a content-sharing network with a stylish visual interface that allows users to group their pins by topic. The key is that each pin links back to the source website
  and many online business have recorded a huge increase in hits to their site
  after posting on this network

While these are the highest profile networks right now, they should not be the extent of your social outreach. There are plenty of niche platforms, blogs, and forms that cater to users interested in specific subjects, from a certain location, or both. So seek out these networks to extend your reach and you may be able to create even stronger ties with followers already familiar with your area of expertise.

While some people try to run their entire business off of social media websites it takes more than a just great website or just social media alone to spread the word about your product or service.

A multi-platform approach using social media allows you to reach audiences across many channels where potential new customers and partners may be waiting to do business. If you need guidance you can always seek a social media manager.

Social networks can help you extend the reach of your marketing well beyond your website and at the same time generate traffic back to it. The driving forces on social networks are users engaging in conversations, and they will take every opportunity to share, comment on, recommend, and even remix the content you produce.

Getting started on the social networks is easy enough to do. Simply  sign up on any one of the free social media sites and start creating connections and sharing your content. If you’re already on Facebook a good place to start is with their free pages which you can customize yourself.

If you plan on using social networks you should have a clear strategy and goals
behind the effort and money that you put into your profiles and message.
It requires a process of planning, implementation, monitoring, analysis,
and making adjustments before you repeat the cycle again. Contact Social Media Bahamas today for a FREE Consultation.

Welcome to SocialMediaBahamas.com! Our aim is to help your company/brand manage all your social media profiles and get to what’s really important: SERVING YOUR CUSTOMERS and MAKING MORE MONEY!

Facebook, Twitter, Myspace, LinkedIn, they all are useful tools but we all know how one status update can turn into wasted hours. Let us make sure that your customer base is engaged while you provide them with great service!!