I first saw a nonprofit using the valuable cover picture real estate with striking images from The Ocean Conservancy. Check it out here.
http://www.oceanconservancy.org/ecards-wallpaper/facebook-covers.html

While my nonprofit doesn’t have photos of sea animals, Mad Cow Theatre has produced over a hundred plays and musicals in the last 15 years, offering theatrical experiences to over 11,000 Central Florida residents and visitors each year. Many of our patrons come to the theatre several times a year, allowing us to develop an offline relationship with them. We give them experiences that they want to take online and share with their networks.

A Mad Cow Theatre cover photo on my Timeline

Due to the nature of our work, we cannot allow users to take photos and generate their own content. By being generous and setting up these images for our patrons, we are giving them eye-catching content for their Timeline and the opportunity to support the theatre.

This solution isn’t just for nonprofits. Any brand with strong social media advocates can use this same idea to get a position front and center on your consumer’s timeline. People for whom your brand is part of their identity will jump at the opportunity to brand their timeline with your image – here are a couple tips for creating Timeline covers.

1) Be iconic. Use images that represent your brand experience. A photo is worth a thousand logos.
2) Be striking. People want to share Awesomeness, not mediocrity.
3) Offer variety. Giving several choices will allow more patrons to find something that resonates with them.

This is just the beginning of brand-placement opportunities on Timeline. As we watch users embrace this idea, it will be interesting to see how we benefit from the institutional marketing these provide, and how we can continue to develop this relationship with our brand advocates.

Download the Mad Cow Theatre Covers on their Facebook Page

http://www.facebook.com/MadCowTheatre

As a Realtor attempting to stay on top of the latest tech and gadgets, it’s only natural that I end up with a smart phone. I chose Android to begin with, and so far I’m very pleased. When using the Android device, I found I could easily take advantage of it’s convenience being right in my hand at all times. Now, after using it for most of the year, I’ve decided to offer my favorite Android Apps for Real Estate Agents. Take a look!

Realtor.com Real Estate Search

By far one of the most basic but useful Real Estate Android apps available today, the Realtor.com RES Android app features Robust search & mapping capabilities with Area Highlighter (draw your search), Nearby Homes for Sale widget, Street View integration, and Area Scout updates the listings on the map as you move.

View Realtor.com Real Estate Search App on the Android Market:
http://goo.gl/Ghd9C

iHandy Carpenter

Get the prettiest and most handy carpenter toolkit in the world right on your Android!
5 professional tools in this toolkit:
- Spirit Level
- Surface Level
- Plumb Bob
- Steel Ruler
- Steel Protractor

View iHandy Carpenter on the Android Market:
http://goo.gl/hSojj

Zillow Real Estate & Rentals

If you’re out and about with your client and need to know what’s for sale, this is the app for you. This app allows you to see Zestimate home values, local real estate including homes for sale, rentals, and more. Use voice search, plus GPS, to search for homes as you talk, walk or drive. Filter real estate by home type, price, beds, and more. Save searches and favorite homes. On top of that, full-screen color photos!

View Zillow Real Estate & Rentals App on the Android Market:
http://goo.gl/NGS9T

Real Estate Dictionary of Terms

A comprehensive app of Real Estate Terms for when you or your client has no idea what that other agent said! It provides a convenient and user-friendly reference tool that will be as invaluable to real estate professionals as it is for current and prospective home buyers.

View the Real Estate Dictionary of Terms on the Android Market:
http://goo.gl/cHx34

Karl’s Mortgage Calculator

Mortgage calculator with graphs & charts. Calculate mortgage payments given principal, interest & term. Reverse calculate for any one given the other three. Pay off mortgage early with bi-weekly or extra payments. Supports interest-only & Canadian mortgages.

View Karl’s Mortgage Calculator on the Android Market:
http://goo.gl/J8Lpk

Safe Neighborhood

This is definitely one of the more controversial apps; however, many of your clients have these concerns. Get Safe Neighborhood and see if registered sex offenders are living near you, your friends, or any area that you want to check. Search by your address or current location to see if any sex offenders are registered in the area. View on a map and see their personal info + photos.

View Safe Neighborhood App on the Android Market:
http://goo.gl/wkFrD

HotPads

This is the go-to app for real estate rental searching. If you’re wanting to know what the rents are going for in an area or just needed to help a client find a rental, give this app a go!

View HotPads on the Android Market:
http://goo.gl/nI4xT

Did I miss an App? Leave me a comment below and let me know why it should be on this list!

So how do you get more likes, follows, stumbles or subscribes?

Make It Prominent on Your Website

By default, Facebook has a very small “Like” button. The same is true for the default “retweet” buttons. In fact, each social network generally doesn’t have buttons that are very well optimized for conversions.

Did you know that you can actually create much bigger buttons? Depending on the service, you might need to use a program or just get someone to do a tiny bit of code for you ($5 to $10 outsourced), but you can really make your “Like” or “retweet” buttons look any way you want.

The same is true for subscribes. Make sure it’s large and prominent on your website. Don’t just put your opt-in box in the upper right corner of your website and hope someone opts in.

Use Social Proof

Another powerful element you can use to get more likes, stumbles, follows or subscriptions is to post how many other people have already done the same.

Are you more likely to “Like” something if nobody’s liked it, or if a hundred of your friends already have?

There are many ways to take advantage of this principle. For example, for StumbleUpon, you can display the number of stumbles you’ve already gotten on your website. For RSS subscriptions, you can display the number of existing subscribers.

Ask for It in Your Content

One overlooked technique is to simply ask. Want more follows on your Twitter? Ask! The call to action is so intuitive that some people leave it out. Yet the simple act of asking for it can make a big difference.

An even more effective way to ask for actions is to give some sort of incentive for it. For example, tell people to “Like” your page, then post on your wall if they want to enter a contest. Since there’s such a strong incentive, they’re much more likely to do so than if it were free.

Give People Options

Some people will prefer to “Like” you on Facebook. Others prefer to follow you on Twitter. Others prefer subscribing by RSS or by email. Still others want to “Thumbs Up” you on StumbleUpon and so on.

Give people the option of interacting with your website in whatever way they like. If you only have the “Like” option, you’ll miss out on all the RSS users. The opposite is also true.

If you use social proof, make your buttons prominent, ask for the action in your content and give people options, you’ll have a very high visitor-to-action ratio at the end of the day.

Photo Credit: itsyouforme

Check this out. I’m not going to say Spotify isn’t going to make you better looking, but it’s also NOT going to NOT make you any worse looking either.

Jus Sayin’

Anyway, I listen to music a lot. I don’t run, and if I did, I’d listen to music all the time. I can’t really decide yet whether or not I hear music in my sleep.

I hate downloading music. Why? Because I’m lazy. Some use iTunes, some buy CD’s, some Mp3′s online, but me? I use Spotify. And whether you like it or not, I’m about to explain 4 reasons why I think Spotify is the SHIT, and why you should be using it.

What is Spotify?

Spotify is a Swedish-founded, UK-headquartered DRM-based music streaming service offering streaming of selected music from a range of major and independent record labels, including Sony, EMI, Warner Music Group, and Universal. Launched in October 2008 by Swedish startup Spotify AB, the service had approximately ten million users as of 15 September 2010; about 1 million of whom were paying members. The service is, as of October 2011, only available in Finland, France, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom, the United States and Denmark.

From Wikipedia

Reason #1

Spotify really doesn’t market this, but it’s really unlimited. Seriously. To test this, I had a friend ask his awesome-ass moustache wearing Dad for some hard-to-find tunes from the past. He hit me with “Goats Head Soup” by the Rolling Stones. (Note: if you’re not aware of the Rolling Stones, hit Alt F4 now.)

Obviously I found it, or I would have to use a different example. Sure as shit! The entire album in what I feel is of the highest quality. Bitchin’

Reason #2

Spotify works well on Windows. It doesn’t seem to take up as much resources as Winamp, or the ol’ shoot me in the face always wants to open everything Windows Media Player. I found on multiple types of broadband connections, and over T-Mobile’s 3G connection, that I was able to play the music in the higher quality setting without delay. Another plus.

Reason #3

You don’t have to store a damn thing if you don’t want to! Sure, you might have that sought after mixtape, or the exclusive lossless tracks to some indie album I’ve never heard of, but for the average music enthusiast, Spotify has everything you need, no download required.

Reason #4

It’s a damn music player, that plays music. Spotify has a nice way of letting you see new music, and then get on with your tunes. Similar to iTunes and the like, Spotify offers playlists (offline for premium members), album art, links to the artist, and of course simple to use volume controls.

Not convinced? I don’t care. I’m writing this stuff for search engines, so I can ranking online for a term I feel is valuable.

And skins or a minimal mode for the Desktop version would be nice.

If you’re already using Spotify, then I really don’t know why you read this article. You could have easily just read a chapter in your favorite book, or had a midnight stroll.

But thanks anyway, and tell your friends.