Happy New Year’s Eve, world! We hope your year is seeing its way out in good health and spirit. This will be our last roundup of 2010, but we’ve got 52 more to look forward to next year. So stay tuned and we’ll keep rounding up the top stories in the social media world to help you stay up to speed with trends and developments that will enhance your online marketing strategy and experience.

This week we take out our crystal ball and talk 2011. What can we expect or hope to see in the coming year? This year brought surprises, and we can only expect more in the coming months, so we look at what people are saying about digital advertising, news media, small business, and lastly, of course, social media. Needless to say, there are a lot of exciting prospects, so we’ll be interested to see how it all pans out.

Be on the lookout every week in 2011 for news, tips from pros, reviews, emerging technology, and a whole bundle of thought-provoking articles on this ever-developing, exciting world of social media. Have a safe, fantastic holiday.

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10 Predictions For the News Media in 2011: Predictions galore, including some of the following—social media optimization will challenge SEO, mobile-first news organizations will emerge, interactive tv will rise up, and more niche content news sites will develop.

5 Predictions for Small Business in 2011: social media will get focused in the new year, smartphones usage—already owned by 48% of business owners—will go up, and cloud computing—are you into it?

6 Predictions for Digital Advertising in 2011: social web influencers will become celebrities; smaller, more intimate social connections will rise up; and brands will become more like media companies.

10 Ways Social Media Will Change in 2011: video will be everywhere, companies will integrate social feedback into decision-making, ROI will be redefined, and some musings on the Next Big Social Network.

Email, Social Media to See More Marketing Dollars in 2011: “According to a November 2010 survey of business executives around the globe by StrongMail, nearly two-thirds of companies will increase spending on email marketing, and 57% will put more dollars toward social media marketing. Search took a distant third place with 41% of respondents indicating they would spend more.”

Holly's "chocolate-chocolate-cherry" cookies

Good tidings of joy, everyone! And a happy holiday season. So you know the rules: you can open one gift on Christmas Eve. But hey, we’re hip! And who are we kidding, you guys are great! So we think we can make an exception–just this year—because we’ve got five gifts for you. And unlike that houndstooth sweater, you can totally regift this.

This Christmas dinner, you’re a social media hotshot. You just checked in at “Granpappy’s House”, on FourSquare, Facebook Places, and Twitter Places (not even integrated) and you tell Aunt Maude: “It’s all about the fans” and grab some casserole. So we take a look at how to get more fans on Facebook and how to be good to them. Then we give you some information that will help you address user-end Facebook concerns with the newsfeed filter and instant personalization.

Be on the lookout every week for news, tips from pros, reviews, emerging technology, and a whole bundle of thought-provoking articles on this ever-developing, exciting world of social media.

Your biggest fan,

Neovia

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Surefire Way to Get More Facebook Fans: If you’re like most of us (everyone but the Glee fan page), you’ve faced some difficulty getting people to “like” your page. Why is that? It’s an art, and in this article from Guy Kawasaki, he recommends incentivizing your fan page content in creative ways. Read on for details.

How to Convert Email Contacts to Facebook Fans Using “Tell Your Friends”: In early December, Facebook threw fan page admins a bone and released an incredibly helpful tool that tells you which of your email contacts aren’t currently liking your page, allowing you to message them. So, tell your friends.

6 Surefire Ways to Piss Off Your Facebook Fans: You just got Facebook fans with the above surefire methods. Now, avoid surefire pissing them off. Facebook fans are your friends. So be good to them, particularly by avoiding the herein-contained activities.

Facebook Creates Page Explaining Instant Personalization: Speaking of pissing off fans, privacy has been and always will be a concern for Facebook users and fans on your page, so it would do you well to be in the know in this department. Facebook released a video showing how they use information to create Instant Personalization and how to turn that off.

Facebook Newsfeed Filtering: Facebook has given the user more control in deciding what goes on their feed. Which means “liking” a page isn’t enough anymore. How will you stay in the feed?

Since Facebook has updated the Sharing options on profiles and fan pages, we’ve updated our popular how-to video on optimizing links in Facebook.

Life has a tendency to get in the way.  You may have an incredible business idea carefully crafted in your mind and when you go to implement it, Ted from accounting is intent on walking all over it or your boss dumps more work on your desk or you sit down on your couch one day to find that you haven’t had a date in three years.

Or something like that.

Sometimes we can’t go out and leave our vibrant, colorful marks on the world if our personal/work lives are keeping us from reaching our full potential.  Sometimes the stress from navigating our relationships in and out of the office can leave us feeling drained and mired down in the usual routine.  We have to be our own advocates and de-clutter our  lives before we make that big breakthrough in our careers.

Learning how to take care of ourselves is first and foremost and we have a couple of articles that will teach you how to do just that.

Be sure to meet us here every Friday for the latest and greatest in the ever evolving world of social media!

No Stress = Success

Life Planning: What Should You Do With Your Life? It all begins with a plan and that plan needs to be your main focus.  When life begins to blur your goals it’s time to reevaluate and determine if your plan is changing.  What a person wanted five years ago is usually not what they want five years from now so taking the time to fully develop a current life plan will keep you driven even if you’re dealing with life’s lemons.

How to Delete the Drama from Your Life No matter what you, your life will always be surrounded by drama.  The key is to keep that drama from contaminating the inner you.  Read this article by Scott Ginsberg and learn how to keep the crazy contained.

Please and No Thank You Okay, here’s the deal: life often has a way of trampling all over us is if we’re a little too nice.  It’s perfectly okay to say no in certain situations.  In fact, doing so may just save your sanity!

10 Ways to Pay it Forward What goes around comes around. Being a big believer in karma, I feel that you can only feel peace in your life when you are willing to give it to others. Hold open the door for someone, smile and wave “hello.” You don’t have to give up everything you own to make someone’s world a little brighter, and in turn, your own. All you have to do is care.

Photo Credit:

Image: Filomena Scalise / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Image: jscreationzs / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Neovia Solutions is excited to announce our new online training course, Social Media Loser to Power User. Do you feel you’re falling behind in the new world of social media? Are you starting to notice your co-workers talking about Twitter and connecting on Linkedin? Are you afraid of becoming a dinosaur in the workforce? Never fear. In four weeks, we can can transform you from social media loser to power user. An essential course for anyone who wants to master social media.

We’re bringing the expertise you’ve seen in our free how-to videos to a thorough tutorial on all the major social media platforms and sites. We’ve teamed up with Imagine More to bring ease and flexibility to our training course.

Here’s a free peek at the first video in the series:

What is Social Media Loser to Power User?

Over the course of a month, you’ll learn all about Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, blogs, email marketing, and YouTube, through a series of twenty 5-to-10-minute videos that take you through each platform and site, exposing you to the tools that the power users employ to make their social media use more effective and efficient.

Social Media Loser to Power User Lessons

Week One

• Lesson One: Debunking Social Media Myths – Click here to see a sample lesson.
• Lesson Two: Cracking Spacebook: Intro to Facebook
• Lesson Three:  Facebook and You: Facebook Basics
• Lesson Four: Finding Privacy on Facebook: Exploring Privacy Settings
• Lesson Five: So Many Friends, So Little Time: Creating Lists & Blocking Applications

Week Two

• Lesson Six: A Place for Fans: Creating a Fan Page for Business
• Lesson Seven: Measuring Facebook: A Look at Insights
• Lesson Eight: Whatʼs a Tweeter? Intro to Twitter
• Lesson Nine: Finding Your Way Around the Twittersphere: Twitter Basics
• Lesson Ten: I Donʼt Care What You Had For Lunch: Hashtags, Filters, and Lists

Week Three

• Lesson Eleven: Big Kid Social Networks: Intro to LinkedIn
• Lesson Twelve: CluedIn: LinkedIn Basics
• Lesson Thirteen: Are You Referring To Me? Getting LinkedIn Recommendations
• Lesson Fourteen: You Know A Lot: Using Answers to Spread Your Good Name
• Lesson Fifteen: One Application to Rule Them All: Third-Party Applications & Cross-Posting

Week Four

• Lesson Sixteen: Getting Bloggy With It: Intro to Thought Leadership (i.e., Blogs)
• Lesson Seventeen: The Facebook of Blog Platforms: A Tour of WordPress
• Lesson Eighteen: The Holy Grail of Online Marketing: Intro to Email Marketing
• Lesson Nineteen: Everyone Deserves a Banana: Meet MailChimp
• Lesson Twenty: YourTube: Intro to YouTube

How does Social Media Loser to Power User work?

New enrollments are available to start on Mondays. Once you enroll, you’ll be sent the first video via email on the Monday start date you selected, as well as your login for the Imagine More site so you can view your video. For the next 20 business days, you’ll receive an email from us letting you know that your next video is ready to view.

You can choose to watch your video once a day, at any time that is convenient for you, or you can watch a week’s worth in one sitting if you’d like. The team at Imagine More has purposely made it flexible to fit anyone’s schedule.

How much is Social Media Loser to Power User?

Just $99. To sign up or for more information, visit the course site here.

Removing admins from your Facebook fan page is simple.  We promise!

Remember the guy or gal who always had the right answer, always raised his or hand, always seemed to trail your teacher like a lovelorn Yorkie?  Back in the day you may have teased the head honcho of your class but if you’re a business owner, there are a few things you can learn from your former classmate besides the proper way to shine an apple.

This week’s social media roundup shines the spotlight on ways to make your company stand out in a sea of small business.  From offering impeccable customer service to getting crafty with Christmas, there is a countless number of ways to grab your customers’ attentions and exceed their expectations.  No need for the dunce’s cap, my friend.

Be sure to meet us back here every Friday to learn the latest and greatest in ever evolving world of Social Media.

Sometimes It’s Okay to be a Yorkie

“Best Social Media Customer Service” Finalists Discuss Their Success Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, is it not?  Read this Mashable article to learn what works and what doesn’t when working with your customers.

The Most Important Question to Ask Yourself Before Posting Content Content is king in the world of social media.  Even if you have the skills to set up a Facebook page, a Twitter account and a blog, nobody cares unless you offer them something substantial.  If you want your business to deliver killer content, you need to figure out what you stand for because if you don’t know, no one else does either.

Barcode Hero Lets Kids Send Wish Lists to “Santa” I’m not saying you have to create a crazy cool app that lets kids scan the toys they’d like for Christmas so their parents know what Santa should get them like Barcode Hero did, but it would help.  Okay, all kidding aside, this article teaches us an important lesson.  Thinking outside the box especially around the holidays can get more customers in the door and/or purchasing your product.  And that my friends puts the “merry” in “Merry Christmas!”.

10 Burning Questions About Why Some Entrepreneurs Fail and Others Succeed Time for a pop quiz!  I’ll wait out the collective groan.  Are we good?  Great!  Now let’s get cracking.  This article from Business Insider asks the questions (and gives the answers so put away that cheat sheet) to why some businesses fail and why others stay solid as a rock.  If that’s not a test worth taking I don’t know what is.

Photo Credit:

Image: jscreationzs / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

I was thinking about architects the other day, about how much responsibility they assume in their work. People live in their work. People walk all around and in it. People work in it. They drive through it, around it, and sometimes on top it. Hundreds and thousands and even tens of thousands people.

Architects can’t cut corners. They can’t make assumptions about what their clients want, what they need. And they realize that they aren’t just working for their clients. They are working for their clients’ clients, their employees, visitors, shoppers, vendors, and people completely unrelated to their clients, like people walking next to the building or in the building next to it.

Because if one thing is overlooked, mis-measured, or mistaken, the whole building could go down.

I wondered, what if my business’s product or service was a building? What processes would I have in place to ensure that people could live in it? What systems of checks and balances would I install to ensure that people could drive on it?

What would I need to change to make my clients feel safe enough to put all of their employees inside of my work?

Essentially, this is what we all as business owners do every day with our customers. We ask them to trust our product or service enough to live in it and work in it, and in some instances to trust their entire business with ours.

When we’re inside what we believe is a solidly constructed building, we don’t question whether it will fall down or not. The thought never even enters our minds.

Is your business so thorough and trustworthy that your customers don’t even question it?

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Christmas bells are ringing with holiday cheer and so is the online world.  It’s amazing how social media comes alive especially at times when people are remembering their loved ones and celebrating the season.  What better way to connect nowadays than through an online network?  Airline tickets are astronomical, traveling in general can get expensive so sometimes the holidays are spent at home.  But that’s not all bad considering everyone can keep in touch with family and friends through various social networks.

Gift giving is also becoming more of an online activity considering this past Cyber Monday consumers spent more than $1 billion dollars buying online!  There are amazing deals to be had on the worldwide web, but there are also other advantages to shopping from the screen.  Sometimes it’s nice to buy gifts from the comfort of your own home especially if you’re short on time and have a couple of little ones who aren’t keen on standing in line.

It seems the online world has a little something for everyone this holiday season and we’ve added links that won’t disappoint.  Be sure to check out the article about the Santa Tracker!

And remember to visit us here every Friday at the Neovia Solutions Blog to read the latest and greatest in social media.

A Very Social Season

Top 10 Gadgets Mashable Readers Want This Holiday Season Trying to find the perfect gift for that very special techie person in your life?  Browse these gadgets and find the one that will make this season incredibly memorable.

Holiday Marketing, A Few Favorite Things The holiday season isn’t just for consumers, it’s a happy time of year for businesses too.  This article from Small Business Trends shows ways businesses can connect with their costumers.  From Christmas cards to coupons, there’s a way to keep your company cheerful all season long!

Got Stress?  Here’s a Holiday Tip The holiday season can be merry but as everyone knows it can also be stressful, especially if you’re a business owner.  Read this article to find reasons to be thankful and ways to ease seasonal tension.

Track Santa in Real-Time With Google Maps This Holiday Face it, you want to know where he is as much as we do!  Check out this Mashable article and video on Google partnering with NORAD to see where Santa is every second.

Photo Credit:

Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net