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When your Facebook fan page is new it can be challenging to figure out what to post. Here are 11 easy ideas to help you get started and generate content to interact with your fans.

Business News: Share any news related to your business. For example, upcoming events, a new location, new staff, changes to your website, appearances at local events, etc.

New Blog Posts: Use the NetworkedBlogs application to connect your website’s blog with your Facebook fan page and each time you post to your blog it will show up on your fan page as well.

New Products: Be sure to let your fans know when you’re introducing new products. Build anticipating by letting them know new products are coming, then announce when they’re ready for sale along with a link to the product on your website.

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Do you ever wonder why some tweets get noticed and retweeted dozens or hundreds of times while others get lots in the noise?

Here are some tips to help you post retweetable tweets that get noticed.

Make your tweet short enough to be retweeted

You’ve got 140 characters to send out a tweet. But if I retweet that tweet, I’ve got to have room to add RT @yourusername.

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I thought Twitter sounded pretty crazy when I first heard about it a couple of years ago.  140 characters to tell other random people what I’m doing?  Turns out I love Twitter and it’s pretty cool once you get it figured out.

The analogy I like best is the water cooler comparison — Twitter is like the office water cooler where people pop in to chat during little breaks in their day.

I enjoy Twitter because of it’s simplicity.  Short messages.  Nothing complicated.  It’s simple and easy.  You can tweet from the website at www.twitter.com or you can use a program like HootSuite or Tweetie (iPod Touch/iPhone app).  You can also tweet from various smart phones.

So, what’s it good for?  Twitter’s a free way you can:
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One of the strategies I use to build a following on Twitter is to share helpful tips and articles as often as possible. If you’re doing the same, consider using this strategy to take your tips to the next level.

1. Start by compiling a list of 30 short tips on a specific topic. Remember they need to be under 140 characters. And if you want to encourage others to re-tweet them for you, keep them even shorter (around 100 characters or so).

2. If some of the tips you want to share are too long, write a blog post or article explaining it, then add the URL to the tip. Use a URL shortener like Bit.ly to make sure it’s not too long.

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Since we got several questions about how to use a Twitter #hashtag for the Ultimate Blog Challenge, I created a video to show you how it works.

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How many visitors did you get to your website or blog last month? Want more? Not sure how to get more traffic?

Join Michele Scism of Decisive Minds, LLC, and me tomorrow as we share what’s working for us to generate more traffic to our blogs.

We’ll be focusing on blogging but many of the tips will apply to any website. And I’ll be sharing my favorite “set it and forget” type of tips (because who’s got time to add more things to their to do list?). So come listen in!

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I’ve invited Traci Hayner Vanover to share a post today.  I connected with her through social media and our mutual love of caffeine and animals.  A fantastic resource for all things related to social media – and small business in general.  Check out her sites at the end of this post, lots of resources to learn from.

My husband and I share our home and life with three spoiled rotten Yorkshire terriers.

Anyone that’s known me longer than five minutes will surely tell you that I love to share stories about my canine kids, and how there’s scarcely a dull moment at our house. I’m one of “those” dog owners that dresses her dogs — and photos of the furry trio often grace my Facebook page.

Yes, I’m crazy about my dogs. But, I was just as surprised as anyone when I realized how much they could teach me about social media. Dogs have a zest and appreciation for life that we could all do well to adopt. On any given day, they’d easily be social media icons (save for that pesky typing issue).

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