To find out more, I turned to one of my favourite sources of news, Mashable - who seem to be saying that it’s not so much the app itself that has a virus, but the emails and sites claiming to be able to fix it. Confused yet?

All I know is that until I removed the app, de-fanned it and detagged myself from all photos I was in, my Facebook friends feed was back to normal. Prior to that it was only showing old updates, and people were in the wrong categories.

So, I would suggest that if your feed is going screwy, you:

• Block the Facebook Fan Check application – you should be able to find it by searching for ‘fan check’ in the search box on your profile (or use this link http://www.facebook.com/fancheck?v=feed&story_fbid=231758205581&ref=mf )
• Remove yourself from the page’s fans list
• Visit any pictures that have tagged you and detag yourself
• Log out of Facebook
• Log back in

This worked for us, and the handful of clients who have asked for our help.

So, does the Facebook Fan Check application contain a virus? I honestly don’t know – I can’t see that it would have been accepted by Facebook if it had, but I guess stranger things have happened. All I know is that it does seem to affect the feed of people using it (unless the timing is a massive coincidence!) and removing it fixes that problem.

I’ll err on the safe side and stay away from it

UPDATE: It appears that people who have had nothing to do with Fan Check have had Facebook feed problems too, so the plot thickens – I’m keeping it blocked though

UPDATE 2: Here’s Snopes’ take on it: http://urbanlegends.about.com/b/2009/09/14/about-that-alleged-fan-check-application-virus-on-facebook.htm

Today I’ll share with you my ‘newsletter signup strategy’.

I get about 20-30 newsletter signups per day. They all get a lovely little ‘thanks’ message from the Aweber system that I use, which is clearly automated. In 4 years or so of using Aweber, I’ve never yet had one person come back to one of those automated thank yous with a response.

So, over the last couple of months I’ve set aside a little time to email new subscribers and thank them for signing up. I also ask if there’s anything I can help with. It takes me little time (yes it’s a cut and paste email, but personalised with their name) and has proved well worth it.

In that time I’ve had about 30 emails back that have resulted in dialogue, 6 people asking for more info on specifics of my service, and 2 people have become clients. When I asked the clients what tipped it for them, both said that the fact I’d bothered to email them when they signed up to my newsletter led them to believe I was more interested in them, and led them to finding out more bout me rather than just waiting for my newsletter.

So, why not pay more attention to your newsletter subscribers? It only takes a little time, but you could be reaping the rewards.

It’s a short explanation of the features and benefits of Social Bookmarking sites like Delicious.com.

I used Freemind, which is .. er, free, so if you want the mindmap and don’t have software to read it, download it and you can!

The MM has the steps from the original checklist included, as well as a couple of miscellaneous ones that weren’t on the original. It also has links included where you see the red arrows.

If anyone wants to tidy it up and make it look better, I’m happy to cobrand it with them

Click here for the mindmap

THE PDF DOWNLOAD IS HERE

Please feel free to share this list, as long as you give it away for free and keep both mine and Chris’s details intact.

You can download the social-media-marketing-checklist if you’re impatient – the rather long blog post below simply explains my reasonings behind each item. (Please note, these are MY thoughts, not Chris’s, so we might not 100% agree on the whys, even if we agree on some of the whats…)

Daily Social Media Marketing Checklist

Twitter

1. Retweet 7 things – to my mind, retweeting is the life blood of Twitter, and sharing of information is key. But let’s not forget, retweeting someone’s tweets instils a sense of loyalty too, and they’re more likely to retweet your items in return. DON’T retweet willy nilly – before doing so think “Are my followers going to be interested in this?”
2. Reply to at least 5 people, with FULL replies – Twitter should be a 2 way thing – use it to build relationships, not as a broadcast medium. Don’t just reply with a ‘I agree’ or ‘Thanks’ – take the time to reply with a full message, a thought, a question.
3. Recommend 1 person you admire – bring their tweets to the attention of your followers – you’ve found your followers someone new to follow, and you never know, it might catch on and you’ll be the focus of the next recommendation. People like to be appreciated – if someone’s done something good for you, let the Twitterverse know!
4. Follow back at least 10 people - not following for the sake of following, but check out your new followers and see who’s worth following back. Chris and I both use an autofollow system (I cull the spammers, broadcasters and people of no interest to me regularly), but you could do this by hand if you have the time.
5. 10 minutes of polite chit chat goes far – it’s easy to ignore people who send you messages if you don’t know them, but spending a few minutes chatting might be the difference between them remembering and recommending you or just dumping you for being rude
6. Tweet 3 business related Tweets – these could be related to your industry, or links to your own blogs or products / services – people seeing your tweets will begin to align you with that industry in their mind. After all, a lot of us are using Twitter to promote our business.
7. Tweet 2 personally related Tweets – let people see the person behind the Twitter account. I’m not talking about ‘I had a cheese sandwich for lunch’, but the more people feel they know about you, the more they feel they’ve built up a relationship with you.
8. Ask at least one question that requires answers - asking questions and discussing the answers moves Twitter back into that 2 way medium, and who knows what nuggets of info you’ll find out? My favourite is to ask people what 3 words they think of when they see my name – the answers are illuminating (and sometimes a little bit odd!)

Facebook

1. Check in on Birthdays on the homepage - it takes 2 seconds to post a Happy Birthday message on someone’s wall, or drop them a Facebook message. Posting on someone’s wall means that all their friends get to see your message too. Chris recommends sending the Birthday Wishes by email for the surprise factor, which is also cool and maybe a little more personal!
2. Respond to any comments on your wall - it’s polite to respond to any comments on your wall, if they warrant a reply, so get into the habit of doing so before you forget!
3. Post at least one status message daily – keep people updated and keep you in their minds – don’t get over eager though and post all of your Twitter updates (including retweets and @ messages) into your Facebook status feed – it’s one of the quickest ways to find yourself ‘hidden’! Use the different parts of the status update – make a comment, share a video, share a link – promote conversation where possible!
4. Share at least 3 interesting updates you find - if someone posts an update you like, use the ’share’ button to post it to your profile – much like retweeting on Twitter it promotes the originator and allows you to share new things with your contacts.
5. Comment on at least 7 updates or status messages – it doesn’t take long to put a quick comment or ‘like’ on the status updates on your feed page – and people like to have comments; who knows, they may reciprocate Also remember that comments you post on people’s links or updates are available for all of their contacts to view.
6. Leave a message on 2 fan pages – spend a few seconds posting on a fan page – not only will you help the page out, you’ll reach people you’re not connected to
7. Leave a message on the walls of 2 people – not been in touch with someone for a while? A simple ‘hey, how are you doing’ message on their wall shows them you’re thinking of them and keeps you in touch without taking up loads of yours or their time.
8. Respond to event invitations – I respond to all event invitations by posting on their wall, whether I can attend or not. If I can’t I wish them well and apologise for not being able to make it. A link to my website mens they can find my details if they want to, and I’ve made many new contacts this way.
9. Recommend at least one person to your contacts – OK, you might not want to do this every day, but in the same way as you’d recommend someone on twitter, why not do the same on Facebook  you can do this in your status update and it doesn’t take long. I sometimes post details of pages I’ve become a fan of here.
10. Add at least one update to your group / fan page - I’m as guilty as anyone of not always doing this, but the worst thing you can do with a group / fan page / business page is leave it stagnant – update it daily even if you think no-one is reading!

LinkedIn

1. Accept any invitations it makes sense to accept – a minute or so each day accepting invitations means they don’t pile up and become unmanageable. If you don’t think it’s sensible to be connected, then by all means don’t accept.
2. Enter any business cards to invite them to LinkedIn – if you network offline it makes sense to connect to the people you’ve met on LinkedIn (and any other online networks they’re a part of)
3. Drop into Q&A and see if you can volunteer answers - showcase your expertise with a quick answer or two – I’ve gained business from this, and you neverknow what opportunities may arise.
4. Provide 1 recommendation every few days – if you’ve worked with someone or are happy to recommend them, then write an honest recommendation -  people like to be appreciated, and you’ll find that you get honest recommendations in return.
5. Update your status at least once a day – people seem to forget that there’s a status update facility on LinkedIn too, and it feeds into an ‘activity feed’ that is shown on your contacts’ LinkedIn home page.
6. Make at least one introduction - again this doesn’t need to be every day, but if you see someone needs or wants something and you know someone who can help – introduce them – it makes sense and makes all three of you happy!

Blogs

1. Reply to at least 5 comments on your blogs – if people have taken the time to comment on your blog, it’s polite to reply to at least a few of them where possible. It makes them more likely to reply again in future, and stimulates conversation on your blog.
2. Comment on a couple of your commentators’ blogs – follow the links your commentators leave, and have a quick read of their blogs. Repay their comments by leaving a few of your own. You get to make them happy and leave a link to your site. Win/win I say!
3. Stumble or Socially Bookmark your commenters’ blogs – if you like what they write, give them a bit of a traffic boost by Stumbling them – they might do the same for you.
4. Write the occasional blog post promoting another blog – not only is it an easy blog post to write, new content foryour blog / site, but it helps your readers find new blogs (so they love you) and the owner of the blog you’ve recommended will love you for ever more. (This may be a slight exaggeration).
5. Email a synopsis of recent posts at least once a month – I have to admit I’m a bit lax on this, but when I have done it regularly (to members of an opt in list of course) it has resulted inmore traffic, more comments, and ultimately more enquiries.
6. Find 2 new blogs to comment on every day – it’s easy to stick with the blogs you know, but new blogs are cropping up all the time – take a few minutes to find them and leave a couple of comments. You get to read new things, leave your ‘brand’ in new places, and help out a blog that might need comments.

Forums

I’ve generalised here as you could be a member of many forums, and they’re not all the same.

1. Reply to at least 2 threads every day – it’s easy to let your forums go when you’rebusy, but it really takes no time at all to scan through recent threads and drop in a couple of replies. You’re helping to keep the forum going, making sure people don’t forget about you, and people love people who reply to their threads.
2. Post one new thread – I admit this one sounds easier than it is, and it’s not great t post for posting’s sake – but if you have news, have read something in the news, or simply want to raise an issue, don’t wait for someone else to do it – start a thread yourself!
3. Make a point of thanking people who reply to you – a takes seconds to drop someone a line to say thanks – they’ll appreciate it more than you imagine.
4. Accept any connections that make sense – lots of forums allow you to ‘connect’ with other members – it’s worth accepting any connections that make sense to you, and maybe initiating a few too.
5. Recommend a member’s blog or website and say why – in the same way as you’d recommend someone on Twitter etc, a quick post saying why you like someone’s blog or website, especially if they’ve done work for you, goes a long way. Some forums have specific groups for this, so make sure you’re witin the rules. And granted, you wouldn’t do this every day, but there’s nothing to stop you from replying to someone’s posts on a thread with a quick ‘love your blog’ message.

I’ve left the Misc space for you to fill in yourselves – you’ll probably have your own ideas, and places that you go to that I haven’t mentioned, so feel free to mention anything you add in the comments below!

DID YOU MISS THE PDF CHECKLIST DOWNLOAD?

If you’ve read this far, award yourself a fun sized Mars Bar, and take with you my thanks

Also, a massive thank you to Chris Brogan for kicking me into finally putting this checklist together – it’s been on my to do list for months and without his blog post I wouldn’t have gotten around to it at all!

And don’t panic that all of the stuff on the checklist will take ages – you’ll soon have it down to the time it takes you to have a coffee and file your email on a morning!

When I launched 299 Steps to Website Heaven, I chose to release a tip per day in the run up to the launch of the book, and indeed afterwards, in order to create discussion and sales. It worked (thankfully!) and the ebook sold beyond my expectations.

This year I launched Tweetmentor, a day by day email course aimed at helping you to make the most of Twitter. I priced it at £50, with a prelaunch offer of £20 – so far, so dull

After a while, I started running Friday offers – so one Friday I’d offer it for a tenner, the next I’d pick a random figure out of the air (26 people bought it for 13.o9!), the next I’d let people pay what they thought it was worth.

And then people started tweeting about how helpful they’d found it, how much they liked it, and started recommeding it to others.

So I took what I consider to be a bit of a bold move and decided that for the whole of summer, people can pay what they think it is worth.

That’s right – there’s no fixed fee, people can pay as little as £1 or as much as they like, via the Paypal ‘donate’ system.

Some people said I was mad (I probably am, as it happens, but for far crazier reasons than this!) and that ‘everyone would pay £1′.

Do you know what happened? Over 500 people have bought Tweetmentor. And guess how many have paid £1?

4. (edited) 6

That’s right – 4.(edited) 6 And of those 4 (edited) 6, one came back on the 5th day and donated more as it had ‘proved it’s worth in the first few days’.

On average people pay around £18 – some more, some less. Everyone is treated the same, no matter how much they pay, and I’m on the end of an email for any queries.

Did my ‘gamble’ work? Yes, I think it did – I’m happy with it, people say nice things about Tweetmentor, and people’s worst fears of everyone paying the minimum haven’t materialised.

I like the fact that I’ve used something a little different to promote it, and it encourages people to tell others about it, which is great!

The lesson to be learned here? Think differently and take a chance – you don’t HAVE to use the same channels to market things, or the same ‘incentives’ that others use. Sometimes being a bit different pays off

Drop me a line on Twitter, or comment below, if you’ve taken a marketing gamble that’s paid off.

It’s easy to forget, with everyone jumping on the bandwagon, that Social Media has been around a while, and it’s not as complicated as it may seem. Not only that, but you don’t necessarily need someone else to do it for you – the tools and help are there for you to do it yourself; and the great thing about Social Media Marketing is that it’s trackable and measurable pretty much immediately, allowing you to see what is and isn’t working, and adjust accordingly.

So, without further ado, here is a quick guide to three of the aspects of Social Media you might be hearing about, with links to places that will help you to ‘do it yourself’ , and details of how we can help you if you need it.

Twitter

Let’s get this one out of the way first – it’s everywhere

What is it?
A ‘Microblogging’ site that alows you to tell the world (or your followers) ‘what you are doing’ in 140 characters or less. Allows you to interact with clients and potential clients, and push your message out to people who choose to folow you, thus reaching a new audience.

Can I do it on my own?
Without a doubt, yes – it costs nothing to sign up to Twitter, and you can be up and running in less than 5 minutes.

Pros?
It’s quick and easy, followers tend to be loyal and pass on (or ‘retweet’) things they like, great for getting traffic to a site or bog

Cons?
Easy to get wrong, time consuming if you let it be, building up ‘followers’ isn’t always easy

Links to look at:

• 10 Irritating Mistakes That People Make With Twitter
• Twitter Checklist for Businesses
• Twitter is easier with Tweetdeck
• What is Twitter? In Plain English

Can you help me?
Yes, if you want to run your Twitter account yourself, then consider our Tweetmentor program, a daily email to help you make the most of Twitter – our current promotion means you can pay as much or as little as you want to sign up.

If you want someone to run your whole Twitter promotion and account for you, then we offer this service too, from £150 per month – contact nikki@nikkipilkington.com for more info.

–oOo–

Article Marketing / Blogging

You can’t fail to have noticed the amount of people talking about blogging and article marketing recently, and that’s because it’s a great way to promote yourself.

What is it?
By writing and distributing articles and bog posts on your area of expertise, you become synonymous with your area of expertise, and gain credibility and referrals.

Can I do it myself?
Absolutely! If you are able to write convincingly on your area of expertise, then setting up a blog and writing regularly costs nothing but your time. Similarly, most article websites charge nothing to list your article, which links back to your website.

Pros:
Costs nothing but time, develops brand and credibility, sets you out as ‘the expert’

Cons:
Can take time, you may not like / be good at writing, ideas hard to come by at times and needs regular upkeep

Links to check out:

• Wordpress.org – set up a blog for no cost
• Become an Expert
• Top 10 Tips To Make Article Marketing Work For You
• Ezine Articles – a great place to submit articles
• What is Article Marketing?

Can you help me?
Yes, we can help in many ways, whether you need a bespoke blog site setting up and / or managing, or just article writing and submissions. See our Article Marketing Packages for more info, and ask about our Blogger Specials.

–oOo–

Facebook

Once seen as a place only for teenagers, this site has come into it’s own in the last 2 years as a great place to promote your products and services.

What is it?
Facebook is a social networking site that allows businesses to connect with customers and potential clients through the use of fan pages, business pages, groups and more.

Can I do it myself?
Yes! It’s free to open up an account, either as a person or as a business, and you can set up fan pages, groups and blog pages without paying too.

Pros:
Huge potential client base, easy to manage / update, for some people easier than updating their own website!

Cons:
Can be time consuming, easy to miss out on opportunities, needs to be ‘kept alive’

Links to check out:

• Facebook
• Creating a Facebook fan page for your business
• Promoting your business on Facebook
• How to promote your business on Facebook
• Nikki Pilkington on Facebook (let’s connect!)

Can you help me?
Yes, we have set up many Facebook pages, groups, fan pages and ad campaigns for clients, and can help you to get the most out of Facebook for your business. Whwther you just need setup and then left to run it yourself, or you need complete management, we can help – drop us an email if you want to know more.

–oOo–

So there you have it, just 3 aspects of Social Media Marketing that you can try yourself, and have up and running in less time than it took you to read this newsletter!

Hopefully this has taken a little of the mystery out of SMM, and given you a few ideas. As always, if we can help, please let us know.

Next time we’ll cover Online Business Networking, talk about Blogging in more detail, and touch on the use of multimedia in promoting your business.

Until then, thanks for reading

All the best

Nikki Pilkington
NikkiPilkington.com

http://www.nikkipilkington.com
nikki@nikkipilkington.com

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/NikkiPilkington
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/nikkipilkington
Skype: nikkipilkington
MSN: nikkipilkington@hotmail.com
ICQ: 9330127

You can find more plain English videos on their website.

Someone asked me the other day how I became a Social Media Marketing Expert, and when I’d stopped laughing, I told them that I didn’t class myself as an expert as such; all I do is take common sense marketing techniques and transfer them to the Social Media arena. Social Media Marketing as we know it is so new that there really aren’t as many experts out there as you would think.

Of course, there are people who have done well at it, both for themselves and/ or their clients, and there are people that are seen as ‘gurus’ but let’s be honest here, most small businesses are still trying to find their way through the ‘Web 2.0′ maze.

It’s a lot of trial and error in a lot of cases – but the problem with that is that the error is being done very publicly. The GOOD thing about that is that those still feeling their way gently in Social Media can use the public mistakes to learn.

iMedia has published a great post today on 3 social media nightmares

The post focuses on the following:

• A blogger who caused an ethical uproar
• How one man’s tweet became his agency’s nightmare
• What happened when traditional journalism and new media collide

It’s a great read, and if it helps you to avoid some pitfalls and think more about your ’strategy’ then all the better!

So it was lovely to wake up on Sunday morning to a stream of emails about the web marketing feature in the Sunday Times. It’s already resulted in business, and we think we’re going to be in the second part next Sunday too!

An extract from the article, which you can read in full here:

A common mistake many firms make is creating a website and expecting visitors to come to it, said web-marketing expert Nikki Pilkington. “A lot of people still expect visitors just to find their website. Making your site visible to search engines is vital if you want to attract traffic.”

Before you spend money paying search-engine-optimisation (SEO) experts to get your site high on search-engine listings, there are simple things you can do yourself, free of charge, said Pilkington.