tips-and-useful-things-to-get-you-organised

How to add a Facebook tab with a link to your website in 5 easy steps

Tue, 08 May 2012 03:27:54 +0100

Have you always wanted to know how the clever business owners add a Facebook tab with an automatic link to their website, all while still looking on their Facebook page AND without paying a social media guru a small fortune to do it for you? Here is the little secret....

Step 1. Add a static HTML tab to your Facebook page. If you don’t already have one set up here is the link to the one that I use and find the most reliable https://apps.facebook.com/static_html_plus/?ref=ts.

Step 2. Click on ADD STATIC HTML TO PAGE.

Step 3. Select your business page or the page that you want to add the tab to.
Step 4. Click on the NEW button.
Step 5. Copy and paste in the following HTML code.

Make sure that you change YOUR WEBSITE to your own website address and YOUR PREFERRED PAGE to the page you want people to land on.

Once you have entered the HTML code the page will automatically save. To view the page as your fans will see it, click on the PREVIEW TAB.

How easy was that!?

Note - Facebook apps occasionally might be down or it may not work the first time around. Unfortunately until the owner of the app fixes the problem there is not a lot that you can do to fix it. It is always a good idea to check that your links are working regularly.

Ten winning – and free – websites that will help you and your business

Fri, 20 Apr 2012 03:52:11 +0100

Working in a virtual world online and with businesses that are sometimes on a limited budget can mean finding alternative methods to ensure a successful collaboration and to achieve the desired outcome.

Three years of working as a full time virtual assistant has meant that I have found and relied on some expert websites to grow my business and skills on offer. These are the top ten sites that I regularly use for myself and my clients:

1. Dropbox –this free service lets you share your photos, documents and videos anywhere and it’s easy to use.

This is the perfect program because it allows you to share files instantly regardless of where you are located – which is what every virtual assistant needs. I use Dropbox to share large files with clients and my virtual assistant team. Sometimes it helps to have instant access once a file has been updated and linked and the best feature of all is the notification that appears when someone adds or replaces a file.

2. You Send it –already known as the leading provider of simple file sharing that allows users across an entire organisation to securely share content, sign documents and access files from any mobile device or PC.

Not everyone feels comfortable using programs in the “cloud” such as Dropbox. The free lite version of You Send It allows anyone to send large files up to 50MB in size and allows for 2GB of storage which is a handy back-up if an email bounces back due to exceeding an email size limit.

3. MailChimp – provides easy to follow steps to design email campaigns, share them on social networks and integrate with web services you already use as well as managing your subscribers and tracking results. MailChimp’s templates, features and integrations can be mixed and matched to suit your own specific needs — think of it as your own personal newsletter-publishing platform.

There are many different email-marketing platforms available on the internet, but MailChimp is universally used and is my favourite. For starters, it is completely free for the first 2,000 contacts and is so easy to use. MailChimp has features such as forms to link to your website so that your database automatically updates if someone subscribes to your newsletter and easy-to-understand report templates. While the initial set-up of your business template and first eNewsletter may take a little time, after it is completed you’ll have the content readily available the next time you want to send one out and the time it takes you will be drastically reduced.

4. Google Alerts - when Google finds new results such as web pages, newspaper articles, or blogs that match your search term, they’ll notify you via email.

This is the perfect tool to use to keep up to date with your interests such as industry trends, latest news articles and to monitor what is being said about your business.

My tip is that if you decide to use this tool with more than three updates on a daily basis, then either set up a separate Google alerts inbox or folder or your regular inbox could get swamped. Alternatively, arrange to receive just one email summary per day.

5. Skype – this is THE software application that allows users to make voice calls over the internet for free.

Not only can this be a useful program to catch up with friends and family but it can be also be used to keep in contact with clients. Skype also has a conference function where more than two callers can talk in a group and/or look at a shared powerpoint presentation, document or web page. Even better, it can now be used on your smart phone in Wi-Fi areas so you can stay completely mobile.

6. Lunapic – an open image free online photo editor with photographic, liquid and paint editing effects.

No need to spend big dollars on graphic design programs such as Photoshop when you have this website bookmarked in your list of favourites. The tool bar is easily navigable and allows you to do anything to your image including adding animation.

7. Photobucket – rapidly becoming the premier destination for uploading, downloading, sharing, linking and finding photos, videos and graphics. It hosts all your images and videos for free so that you can then share them by email or on social sites like Facebook and Twitter. Your account can store thousands of photos and hours of video.

It also has features like Lunapic that allows you to edit your images but the best thing is that you are able to host loads of images on there as well to link to other sites such as Facebook and eBay. So if you have limited space on your hosting account or want to share your images online then Photobucket is the perfect place.

8. Gmail - a free, advertising-supported email service provided by Google.Users may access Gmail as secure webmail or via POP3 or IMAP4 protocols.

While I would always recommend an email address with the same information as your website, this free email address is always handy for someone just starting out in business who does not yet have an established email address.
Creating a Bigpond or Optus email address can potentially cause problems down the track if you move to a different carrier. To look more professional I would always suggest using an email that matches your website.

9. Business.gov.au – this whole-of-government supported site offers you simple and convenient access to all the relevant information, forms and services you need to plan, run and develop a business in Australia.

My favourite resources here are the business plan and marketing plan templates. The information provided on how to start up a business and grow your business will give you the confidence and tools you need to achieve your goals. This site is crammed with so much relevant information and terrific resources.

10. PDF to Word - converts your PDF files back to editable Microsoft Word documents.

This site is perfect for anyone that needs to convert a PDF back into an editable word document. As with any conversion software, you’ll need to do some formatting so that it looks better. Note - this program does not convert scanned copies.

The world of virtual assistants and online tools is growing and improving rapidly, so be sure to bookmark these sites in your list of favourites and check out our free Business Tools page regularly, as there are plenty more resources you’ll be able to use.

Form a Solution

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 22:36:18 +0100

Whether we like it or not forms are a necessity and ensure business internal processes run smoothly (especially when human resources are involved). I have found that no matter what size your business is, you can be guaranteed that at some stage or another there will be a form to fill in or sign. While there are so many new apps and forms on websites there are still loads of forms out there in Word or PDF that are used everyday.

With so much technology and data collection here are seven tips that you can do to enhance your forms in PDF or Word to make them user friendly.

Keep the design and layout as simple and as clear as possible. You want to ensure that internal and external customers actually use them instead of being deterred by using them.
Add a save button. If the user of the form gets stuck or is unable to complete the form it is a quick reminder that they can save it and launch it again later.
Add a submit button to your form for a faster response. This way anyone filling it in can simply stay in the one place and simply click on the link to attach it and email it. This will save them time on saving it, opening a new email and not have to worry about having to save it, open a new email, find the address and attach it.
Add links to your form, including your website, payment links, social media links and your email address after all it is still a form of advertising.
Try including easy to use drop down boxes. For example Y/N responses. This is particularly useful for external order forms or registration forms and internal Human Resources forms.
Make the fields so that they are set in colour. This helps the user to automatically determine which fields on the form can be edited electronically and so they also know there is no need to print it.
Add easy to follow instructions on your form fields so that the user knows exactly what is required for each field.

Whatever your use these helpful little tips will make it so much easier for you to add the data into your CRM system and help you to get the response you are looking for.

At Absolute Assistance – Virtual Assistant we have had loads of experience in using and creating forms and an exclusive opportunity exists between now and until the end of January 2012! For the first 25 businesses to contact us, we are offering a special package to convert your old form's to an electronic PDF version with editable, user friendly fields for your customers. For only $50.00 (AUD) you can have one form (up to two pages in length) converted into an editable Word and PDF document.

Please contact us immediately using our form below if you would like us on to deliver this offer! Terms and Conditions apply.