Have you seen MTV's show "Pimp Your Ride?"  On the show they take a vehicle and customize it, often beyond the dreams of the owner, and create a vehicle that really gets noticed!

You can do the same thing with your Facebook Fan page.  How?  We'll walk you through it . . .

1 - Go to Facebook.com and after signing in to your personal profile create a Fan Page (if you are simply interested in pimping your personal Facebook page you can skip this step)

2 - Use your favorite graphics program, I use Photoshop Elements, and create a banner image to use as your Fan Page profile picture.

• the image should be approximately 200 x 600 (pixels)
• use your picture(s), logo and text to create a banner image that shares valuable information with your potential fans
• save the banner image as a web optimzed JPG or PNG image

3 - Return to your newly created Facebook Fan page and move your mouse over your existing profile picture.  You should see a button appear in the upper right hand corner of your profile image that says "Change Picture."  Click on this button, choose UPLOAD A PICTURE and upload the image you just created.

4 - After the image is uploaded and set as your new profile picture, move your mouse back over the image and click on "Change Picture" again and choose EDIT THUMBNAIL from the menu that pops up.

5 - In the window that comes up, drag the banner image to the desired location to set your thumbnail picture.  The thumbnail picture will be displayed next to your posts and updates.

Congratulations!  You have just completed the first phase of pimping your Facebook profile.  We will talk about how to set up your own personalized Welcome page for fans in an upcoming blog post.  Stay tuned!

Need some assistance?  Call us at 616.457.0300 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Another store location? I must be kidding, right?

Not at all. E-commerce is a wonderful extension for many businesses; for some businesses it is their only location (think Amazon.com). One of the first key things that your business needs to understand is that an e-commerce presence is an additional location for your business; it is much more than just an extension of your website. An e-commerce site should be treated as if it is a distinct location for your business.

Whether you are looking to sell your entire range of products or simply trying to promote a few of your “hottest” items, treating your e-commerce site as if it were a separate physical location for your business will aid you in achieving the success you desire. Think of it this way, if you decide to add another location to your business, you also consider things such as staffing, marketing, procedures, inventory management, logistics and a host of additional things. When you open an e-commerce location it is much more than a simple addition to your existing website; it is a distinct location for your business.

Last week I was talking to a small business owner who wanted to add e-commerce functionality to his site. On the surface, this is a relatively straight forward process and we began discussing various aspects of the addition such as:

• What products should I sell?

• Will we have “web only” specials?

• Who will manage the specials?

• Can people buy online and pick-up at our location?

As the conversation continued, it became clear to the small business owner that there are a number of things that need to be considered as you plan for your e-commerce site. “I guess it is almost like opening another store” he commented.

Yes, opening another store – whether a physical location or online – requires some planning to succeed.

What questions do you need to ask in order to maximize the success of your e-commerce site?

I was at a business networking event the other day and one of the resounding comments I heard from my associates was “Twitter? I just do not get it.” This is a common chorus among small business owners and one that I myself was signing in the past.

Do you want to understand Twitter? Follow these steps:

1 – Setup a Twitter account

2 – Follow some people you know

3 – Go to Twellow and search Twitter for some people interested in the same things you are and follow a handful of them (start out with 20 or less)

4 – Download TweetDeck and use it to “watch” the tweets of the people you follow on Twitter

5 – “Listen” - simply read the tweets from the people you are following and get a feel for how they are using Twitter and how it works.

After a week of “listening” begin posting your own tweets – a few a day is a good place to start. Remember, it all begins with one step.

Tell me about your favorite tweets and feel free to follow us.

Click here to follow MMJ Technology on Twitter

Click here to follow Jonathan Mast on Twitter

"My target market is anyone who wants my product or service."

You've probably heard that . . . maybe even thought it yourself. After all, we want to reach anyone who wants to buy from us, right?  We do want to reach the people that want to buy from us.  The question we need to ask ourselves with social media, as with any other form of marketing, is "who are we trying to reach?"

Studies show that over 70% of the people go online to research a product, service or company before making a purchase decision. That means that you have the opportunity, through the effective use of social media, to positively influence the majority of your potential customers.

Did you know that the fastest growing segment on the Facebook are users between 38 and 50?  Is this a market you would like to reach?

You need to understand your target market so you can "aim" your marketing efforts directly at them.  Obviously, you are going to use different tools and styles to reach "young marrieds" as opposed to "baby boomers."

Follow these four steps to help you reach your market more effectively:

1. Determine who is most likely to be positively influenced by your social media campaign.
2. Find out where that group spends most of their time online.
3. Establish a presence where your market "hangs out" online.
4. Track the response to your online marketing efforts.

Meet your customers where they are.

Create content that they will be interested in.

Provide them value on your website, Facebook fan page, blog, Linkedin page and Twitter page.

Most importantly; start today.

Where are you meeting your customers?