Two easy ways to get Facebook Likes, comments & shares

Having a tough time eliciting any reaction from your Facebook community?

Fret no more - here are two easy peasy ways to get more Likes, comments and shares on your Facebook page.

1. Post a picture.  A picture says a thousand words and with Facebook this couldn't be more true.  And no not a thumbnail tiny picture from a blog post - but an actual picture.  Even better would be to snap a shot from Instagram, DipTic or any of the other cool Smartphone camera apps out there.
2. Ask your community to LIKE your post.  While it's not OK to be that person on the street corner begging for spare change it is OK to ask your Facebook community to LIKE your post.  Don't believe me? Check out the Visit Pine Island Facebook post as a perfect example.  When this picture was posted there were only slightly more than 400 Facebook LIKES, yet...59 folks Liked that one little ole post, 2 people commented and better still 2 more folks shared it on their wall.  Not bad interaction for a page with under 500 Facebook Likes.

Check out this recent Mashable Infographic "How to Get More Likes, Shares on Facebook."


READERS: How to you engage your community?

About Karen Moran
Like her love for adventure travel, Karen Moran's 15 year advertising career has been quite a journey.

She launched her ad career at iconic Leo Burnett. From there she went on to BBDO, Publicis & Hal Riney, West Wayne and others.



With an equally diverse client roster, Karen has managed multi-million dollar ad campaigns for Dodge, Toyota, Oldsmobile, Sealy, OfficeMax, Time Warner Cable, Disney Cruise Line, Canyon Ranch, the Kissimmee Convention & Visitors Bureau and even worked on post-Hurricane Katrina marketing efforts for the Mississippi Gulf Coast Convention & Visitors Bureau.

Karen has since given up big ad agency life to go off on her own.  She is now Chief Mischief Maker (aka Head Cheese) at Magnet Social Media When not diligently working to help small brands ignite and foster social dialogue, Karen enjoys her time being out on the water.  After all her company is  located on a tiny palm-tree laden, stop-light free island called Matlacha off Fort Myers, Florida.  Population less than 800.  No really, it is. 

And, if ya every get a chance to speak with Karen, be sure to ask her how she got a Major League Baseball player...to tweet.

Magnet Social Media
Fort Myers, Florida
Phone: (239) 314-4778

Contact Magnet Social Media Agency to turn your brand into a social media magnet.

Smartphone apps for dog lovers

The dog lover in me is perpetually on the hunt for the perfect puppy friendly hotel, restaurant, bar, beach and the list continues.  But where to turn?  Look no further than these fab-u-luss dog loving smartphone apps. 

Dogbook
Think of this like Facebook for dogs.  With 3 million pups online, Dogbook is a purr-fect way to connect with locals of the same breed or age.  To create a free Dogbook profile page head on over to Dogbook's Facebook page here. You can upload pictures, enter doggy contests and quizzes and find all the local things you and Fefe love to do together.

Petfinder
Browse close to 300,000 pets from more than 13,000 shelters and rescue group to find your new best friend.

Map My Dogwalk
Consider this the canine version of Map My Run, this dog-friendly smartphone app finds or creates fitness routes for you and your pet worldwide.

Dog Park Finder
Dog Park Finder lets you locate more than 2,700 off-leash dog friendly parks.

Pet Service Finder
For pups on the go - this dog-friendly app finds doggy day care centers, vets and pet-friendly parks and hotels.

Fido Factor
Fido Factor is a free website and mobile iPhone app that allows dog owners to find dog friendly hotels, camp grounds, vacations rentals and more.  at home or on the go.

READERS: What dog-friendly smartphone apps do you use?

About Karen Moran
Like her love for adventure travel, Karen Moran's 15 year advertising career has been quite a journey.

She launched her ad career at iconic Leo Burnett. From there she went on to BBDO, Publicis & Hal Riney, West Wayne and others.



With an equally diverse client roster, Karen has managed multi-million dollar ad campaigns for Dodge, Toyota, Oldsmobile, Sealy, OfficeMax, Time Warner Cable, Disney Cruise Line, Canyon Ranch, the Kissimmee Convention & Visitors Bureau and even worked on post-Hurricane Katrina marketing efforts for the Mississippi Gulf Coast Convention & Visitors Bureau.

Karen has since given up big ad agency life to go off on her own.  She is now Chief Mischief Maker (aka Head Cheese) at Magnet Social Media When not diligently working to help small brands ignite and foster social dialogue, Karen enjoys her time being out on the water.  After all her company is  located on a tiny palm-tree laden, stop-light free island called Matlacha off Fort Myers, Florida.  Population less than 800.  No really, it is. 

And, if ya every get a chance to speak with Karen, be sure to ask her how she got a Major League Baseball player...to tweet.


Magnet Social Media
Fort Myers, Florida
Phone: (239) 314-4778

Contact Magnet Social Media to turn your brand into a social media magnet.

I love photography. If I could do it all over again — I'd be a photographer. There's just something about capturing a moment in time, and seeing an image through a different lens, that just always makes me stop and appreciate it a little more. And with today's technology — you really don't need a fancy-schmancy (and through-the-roof expensive) camera to take some great shots. You'd be amazed at not only the quality of close-up shots from your phone, but also the fun and inexpensive or free apps to edit pictures.

Here are three must-have apps to really make the pictures on your blog sing:

Photoshop has a mobile app called Photoshop Express. The same photo editing tool you know and love for your desktop pictures is also available in a free and easy-to-use mobile app.

Instagram is a hot new free app to take and upload pictures and then edit them using a variety of filters. It also has a social media aspect to it. Other users can follow you and like your pictures. Brands are now joining and what's more, Klout has added Instagram as one of the tools to help increase your Klout score. It's become my new addiction — all the pictures in this post are from Instagram.

Diptic is another fun app to use in conjunction with Instagram. It's a whopping $0.99 to buy this app. You merely pick which of the 19 layouts to choose from and just start dropping in your pictures. From there, you play with borders and then upload your new Diptic picture to Instagram and use one of the filters for an even more fun picture. This is what I did with the top picture.

READERS: Have you ever tried any of these? What are some of your favorite picture apps?

About Karen Moran
Like her love for adventure travel, Karen Moran's 15 year advertising career has been quite a journey.

She launched her ad career at iconic Leo Burnett. From there she went on to BBDO, Publicis & Hal Riney, West Wayne and others.



With an equally diverse client roster, Karen has managed multi-million dollar ad campaigns for Dodge, Toyota, Oldsmobile, Sealy, OfficeMax, Time Warner Cable, Disney Cruise Line, Canyon Ranch, the Kissimmee Convention & Visitors Bureau and even worked on post-Hurricane Katrina marketing efforts for the Mississippi Gulf Coast Convention & Visitors Bureau.

Karen has since given up big ad agency life to go off on her own.  She is now Chief Mischief Maker (aka Head Cheese) at Magnet Social Media When not diligently working to help small brands ignite and foster social dialogue, Karen enjoys her time being out on the water.  After all her company is  located on a tiny palm-tree laden, stop-light free island called Matlacha off Fort Myers, Florida.  Population less than 800.  No really, it is. 

And, if ya every get a chance to speak with Karen, be sure to ask her how she got a Major League Baseball player...to tweet.


Magnet Social Media
Fort Myers, Florida
Phone: (239) 314-4778

Contact Magnet Social Media to turn your brand into a social media magnet.