"Dang, yet another social networking tool to get addicted too!" That was my first thought when I started hearing about Pinterest. If you haven't heard by now, Pinterest is a visually stunning, cool image repository where you can create boards and "pin" images to your wall. It's fun and, dare I say, addicting!  Well, nowadays, with a small business, we have to use all tools necessary and available to us to grow and Pinterest is one of them. At first, I held out on joining because I thought: who has time for another tool? Aren't Facebook and Twitter enough? Well, it depends on your business and who your audience is. However, I'll venture to say that even if you don't think it's best for you yet, go ahead and get invited (if you need an invite, let me know!) and at ...

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First, let me say, there are two ways to get more Twitter followers - 1) a fast way and 2) a better way.

• The fast way is to buy them. Do I recommend that method? NO! Don't waste your money!
• The better (and to me the more enjoyable way) is to gain them over time through interactions, engagement, and meeting people.

Remember: it's not about the quantity but quality To help drill home the better method to get more twitter followers, I've snatched reused this infographic from Twiends who has offered some safe and ethical ways to get more twitter followers for free. They’ve broken these ideas up into methods you can use online, things you can do on Twitter itself, and offline, real-world methods too. Oh yeah, follow me (@xdwebsolutions) - I don't bite! Enjoy!  Click image for full size

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I was on Twitter one day chatting it up with The Cubicle Chick about quick breakfast options and I shared what I normally drink in the mornings - Myoplex protein shakes. Next thing I know, EAS Sports Nutrition, creator of Myoplex, tweeted me. Unexpectedly, I got offered a free sample of the shakes in my flavor, Chocolate Cream of course. : )   Lovely, right? Well, check out what I really received in the mail in this video! Thanks again EAS! I am set for months! Over to You... This is just one example of how a company uses Twitter for brand and reputation management. There are plenty more cases. I just want my entrepreneurs and small businesses to know not to be afraid ...

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If I had a dollar (nickels don't work anymore) for every time someone asked me about Facebook scammers or anything about how to protect their Facebook accounts from malicious activity, I might have enough to buy me that new MacBook Pro I want! LOL Well, lo and behold, Facebook has released an official Guide to Facebook Security and it's available for free to download:

• https://www.facebook.com/safety/attachment/Guide%20to%20Facebook%20Security.pdf

It's a short - 14 pages in all - guide written by former Senior Director of Internet Safety at Symantec, Linda McCarthy, security research engineer at Purdue University, Keith Watson, and teacher and editor, Denise Weldon-Siviy, so I'm inclined to trust what they say : ) The online guide explains how you can:

• Protect your Facebook account
• Avoid scammers
• Use advanced security settings
• Recover a hacked Facebook account
• Stop imposters

Top Tips for Staying Secure on Facebook Here is a quick snippet of info from the guide:

• Only

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With all of the social networks available to us today - Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Google Plus, and Foursquare, how do we keep up and stay engaged on each one? Well, cross-posting is one way to get a message across to each social network. But is that the best solution? I found this image below from Robin Dickinson's blog and thought it was too funny and most relevant to this topic. Pros of Cross-Posting

1. Saves time by posting once and publishing across multiple networks
2. Provides a large reach for your message to more than one audience

Cons of Cross-Posting

1. The biggest con is our followers are most likely following us on most, if not all, of our networks simultaneously and some people may consider it spamming to see the same message over and over again.
2. Followers may get bored with your messages when done indiscriminately and

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