Our "NEW" Place Day 1

I took a look at our new house today. Thought you'd like to see our new little beauty. 

Even though the house numbers are broken, the cops could always find the right place! :S

The house with our house to the left.  

The holes in the walls give the place a nice "out-doorsy" feel! 

Original Artwork on all the walls.

Anyone need some ranch or mayo? 

Ewwwh..... my own bathroom grosses me out. 

Exhibit A ? 

Nice wood floors and love the big arch doorway! 

Our new backyard, looking east.

New backyard facing the west.

Who wants to play "King of the Mountain" on these piles of junk? Does everyone have their tetanus shot up to date?

Can not wait to know this house down, move that fence, and have a wonderful big back yard! :) 

Where My Fans At?

With the new features in facebook insights, we seem to have lost our fans! No, they are still there, it is just more difficult to find a list of fans that like our page. Here is my famous HOW-TO guide for finding those fans. 

There are two ways to see who likes your page. 

When you click on the ### Like This, it will take you to your insights page.

IN insights you can click on See Likes link. 

This will give you the LIST of all of your fans:

You can also USE Facebook as the Page:

Then you will see new LIKES and NOTIFICATIONS, just as you see new friends from a personal profile. 

Did this "How-To" help you? Do you have a Facebook dilema that you need help with? I'd love to assist you! Post your questions, comments, or ideas here- or to our Facebook page. Don't forget to follow me on twitter- @mlcrittenden.

How Can I Post to My Facebook Fan Page as Myself?

You are the administrator of your facebook page and you do a great job of posting as the page. But what happens if you want to comment to your posts as yourself?

One of the great updates with the newer versions of facebook, is the ability to post as yourself to your page. With all of my how-to's, I'm going to assume you are already logged into facebook.

• Go to the page you wish to comment on as YOURSELF and click the "EDIT INFO" link at the top of the page.

 

• Click on "YOUR SETTING" on the left side of the page. UNCHECK the box at the top. This will allow you to post as YOURSELF on your Page. 
•  
• Click SAVE for this change to go into effect.

Every time you post to your page, it will show up as YOU and will have YOUR PROFILE PICTURE. If you want to post at the PAGE, you will need go back into the EDIT INFO, and click the tab to always post as the page!

Did this "How-To" help you? Do you have a Facebook dilema that you need help with? I'd love to assist you! Post your questions, comments, or ideas here- or to our Facebook page. Don't forget to follow me on twitter- @mlcrittenden.

Saturday Morning

Saturday mornings are for things we love. Today I love:

1. Brochure Revisions (on my favorite Macbook Pro)
2. Sunny D (in my favorite KSU Alumni Association Glass)
3. Coffee (in my favorite Penny's Diner Mug)

Life is good!

How do you like to spend your Saturday mornings? Comment here or join the conversations on our Facbook page! If you really want to know what goes on in my mind- follow me on twitter- @mlcrittenden

Enjoy the Fall- 

Developing Social Media

This is a slight revision of a presentation from April, but there are a few details that have changed.
1. The number of active users has jumped from 500 million to 800 million in six months.
2. I'm married and had to change my name and email address!

This presentation covers a lot of information, so take your time and break it down into small digestible portions. This presentation introduces you to social media. It takes an in-depth look at Facebook, and how to evaluate if Facebook is for you. It also takes you step-by-step into setting up your Facebook page, and helps you promote the page to your fans.

Are you concerned with policies and privacy? It covers that too!

Developing Social Media

View more presentations from Crittenden Graphic Design & Communications

I hope that you find the information helpful in this presentation. I love to hear feedback! Don't forget to follow Crittenden Graphic Design on Facebook for more ideas and trick to maximize your social media campaign!

Get Your Creative Juices Flowing

I'm honored to be asked to present to the Kansas School Public Relations Association on the topic of graphic design and creativity. I hope that you find some nugget of inspiration from the resources shown below. I'd love to hear if any of these resources help to get your juices flowing!

View more presentations from Crittenden Graphic Design & Communications

Download the pdf here! 
Contact me: CrittendenDesign@gmail.com
Be sure to visit my facebook page, for more tips and ideas for marketing your business!

This is the first post in a series: Are you looking for low cost ways to promote your business or organization on the web? I've got 5 things you should be doing to share your business with the world, and they are all FREE! Stay tuned...

1. WEBSITE

Your business or organization should have a standard website. A website will give you 24 hour customer service. If someone wants to know your hours, how to contact you, or store specials- your website will work for you, even while you are sleeping.

FREE OPTIONS:

One of the easiest ways to get a FREE website is to great a google site. If you go to: www.docs.google.com you will see a list of applications that google as available to you for free. "Sites" is the icon you will want to click on.

Google give you various categories for templates or the ability to create your own site from a blank template. You will also name your site, and select other themes and options.

Updating your page will be as easy as using your standard word processing program.

What's the Crazy Box Thing?

What in the heck is this crazy box?

This crazy box is a QR code, short for Quick Response code. When you scan this code with your smart phone, it will take you to a place on the internet! You can think of it as a link from a piece of paper to your website, Facebook page, blog, even to a single video about a product!

How does it work?

You will need to download a QR reader to your smart phone or device. I like QRReader. The two-dimensional code is made up of black squares on a white background, these carry data that, when scanned, will take you to the website that is set in the code.

What's the point?
There are two ways to look at QR codes.

• As the consumer, you simply scan the code to get more information about something that interests you!
• For the business owner, you want to give your customers, or potential customers the information they want. They take action by scanning a code, and they are instantly connected to your business!

Here are a few ideas to use QR Codes in your life!

• Scan the link to go to more information about a product! You can research the product and make an informed decision, or discuss with your spouse.
• Post a QR code on the front door of your business, that links to your store hours or contact information!
• Put a QR code on your billing statements that directs customers to their account to make online payments immediately!
  
• Put the code on your flyers- the link can take you directly to you contact information!
• If you want to share event list with your customers, set the code to your list of events so that they are getting the most up-to-date list of classes!
• The list goes on and on.
  

If you have a business, I would love to talk with you about how you can use QR codes to increase your business!

Contact me: CrittendenDesign@gmail.com
Be sure to visit my facebook page, for more tips and ideas for marketing your business!

To see a sample of my design work check- out my online portfolio!

Follow me on Twitter! @mlcrittenden

crittendendesign@gmail.com

Time to Renew KanSPRA Memberships

Step-by-Step guide to renewing your Kansas School Public Relations Association (KanSPRA) membership online!

Go to www.kanspra.org.

Click on LOGIN link on the black bar at the top of the homepage.

Enter your email and password. If you don't remember your password, click the "Forgot Password" button for help!

If you are not a registered KanSPRA member, you can join by clicking the blue link.

Click Join/Renew Link at the top of the page and you will get these options. Since you are already a member, click the RENEW Membership button. 

Double check your profile information and update any information that needs to be updated and save your changes.
When you are ready to proceed to the payment area, you will click "Time To Renew" button.

This page will show you the options for paying your membership dues. You may pay by check or pay online with credit card or with paypal. You may also request an invoice!

If you choose to pay online, please make sure the amount due is correct. You have to option of paying by credit card or with a paypal account. Please make sure that you complete the transaction through to the payment confirmation page.

If you have any snags along the way, please contact Michelle by phone at 620-584-3300, or via email: mherpich@sckesc.org. Thanks!

2011 Fall Dance Classes

** Registration --> Sat. 8/6, Mon. 8/8, and Wed. 8/10! **

Fall classes begin Sept. 1, 2011!

2011 Class Descriptions/Dress Code | Contact the Studio

** Please Note: Class schedule subject are to change. We reserve the right to cancel a class due to low enrollment, or close a class that is full. We reserve the right to change class times, and/or days. Classes must have a minimum of 2 students, maximum varies with class.**

Turning off Facebook Email Notification

To stop Facebook from emailing you EVERYTIME someone posts a t-shirt to you local Buy, Sell, Trade group you need to change your settings.


1. Go to Account in the top right corner of your facebook page, and select "Account Settings"

2. Select "Notifications" from the left side of the page.

3. In the area for "All Notifications" click on the word "Groups." This will open up an area for you to customize your notifications. Check the items that you would LIKE to get emails for. If you do not want to get emails, make sure the box is NOT checked.

4. If you would like to set specific email setting for individual groups you follow click the bottom like "Change email settings for individual groups."   This will take you to a list of groups- Only check the boxes fr the groups that you DO want to get emails for!

You can also adjust other notifications and emails in the All Notification Area. I hope this helps! :)

Happy Facebooking- Michelle

White City July 2 Celebration

White City is the place to be this weekend! This is an un-offical list of the events for Saturday, July 2, 2011.

For more information: Come to White City, KS and ask anyone! We'd be happy to have you join us.

8:00am: Flag Raising Ceremony
9:20am: Parade down Brick Main Street (Mackenzie Street)
Following Parade: Firefighter Challenge

All Day:

Vendors @ City Park all day
Jump House
Snow-cones
Cotton Candy
Turkey Legs
Funnel Cakes
Legion has Concession Stand
Scentsy
Jail House
Cowboy Wild-Wild West Show
Carriage Rides
Firework Stand
Co-ed Softball (Bring your glove- teams are always looking for more players!)

5:30pm: Kids & Adult Games with the Famous Turtle Races.
7:00pm: Little Apple Chorus
Dark: Finale 40 minute Fireworks Show!!!

For more information: Come to White City, KS and ask anyone! We will be happy to have you join us!

2010 Independence Day Fireworks Display - White City

Here is a sample of the amazing fireworks display in White City, Kansas. This clip is the finale of the show. I cannot express in words how proud I am of my hometown and everyone that works together to make things like this happen! Looking forward to July 2, 2011 celebration. Set to be bigger and better. A parade, coed softball tournament, kids games, food, and more!

My Two Cents- on Twitter

A school communication colleague of mine asked our group for the best way to use Twitter in their district. The following is my response, not necessarily an answer to her question. I just wanted to share with you. Please remember that every school district, business, and organization is different. You will need to clearly define your goals for using Twitter, or any social media, in your communication plan.

I am a huge fan of Twitter, but I have not had a lot of success with Twitter for organizations.

For me- Twitter by real people is the most authentic use of the tool. I, Michelle Herpich, post my views and questions to my circle of followers, who are, for the most part, real people.

I really feel that organizations/groups use Twitter as a way to "broadcast/bulletin board" information, not a "2-way method to communicate." This is fine to get your message out to people, but you are not necessarily maximizing the use of Twitter. Most of my "organization" interactions are very "shallow", but my personal interactions are deeper and are more about "relationship building."

I think that admins should be using a personal Twitter and staying connected with other educators and keep in the loop with technology. However- their posts will be their personal posts to their followers, not necessarily of interest to all district followers. This is for them to build relationships!

Options for Posting to a District/Organization/Business Page:

Twitter is great because one account (district/organization) can have any number of people that can post to it. You just have to share the login information with those in the "circle of trust!" (Yes, one person can have multiple Twitter accounts.)

The most simple method of posting is a Generic post from the page:
"Twitter Tip: Follow industry leaders for inspiration and you will learn so much"

If you want to add a little more "personalization" you could have each person could "sign" their tweet with their initials. (Maybe you could sign w/ location?)
"Twitter Tip: Follow industry leaders for inspiration and you will learn so much /mh"

If the district has a Twitter Account, the admins (or anyone) can RT the original tweet, therefore increasing the reach of your original tweet. THAT is what Twitter is all about! Example:
SCKESC posts: "Twitter Tip: Follow industry leaders for inspiration and you will learn so much"

Michelle Herpich ReTweets; "RT @SCKESC
Twitter Tip: Follow industry leaders for inspiration and you will learn so much"
(Now all of Michelle Herpich's followers see this and may click on @SCKESC and if they like what they see- they will click "FOLLOW" :)

Don't Forget: If you have several people posting from one Account you could become more of an annoyance to your followers.

You also want to make sure that people are not making duplicate posts, not realizing someone else had already posted that information.

Be sure that the content that your provide is more valuable than it is annoying or they will stop following you.

OK- I'm going to stop now. I could talk about this all day! :) Feel free to post your thought here or find me on my personal Twitter!

What did bitmaps do in 2008 to make me hate them so much?

I get so so sidetracked when I'm supposed to be cleaning. Flipping through 2008 planner I found this note! This is why I love good old fashioned planners!






- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Saddles

Here is a little glimpse into my life. Today's lunch convo:

Me: Have you ever seen a saddle?
Him: No, maybe just pictures or videos.
Me: You've seen videos of saddles?
(pause)
Me: Well if you ever get the chance, you've gotta touch one. The craftsmanship is exquisite!

All of this started over a jalapeño chip that looked like a Pringle.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Questions to Ask Before Setting Up Your Fan Page

50% of active users log-on to Facebook in a given day. *

Facebook should be a two-way communication tool, not a bulletin board. It can be a customer service tool. It can create trust. It can entertain. It can be a resource. It can create a sense of community. How you use facebook will depend on your communication goals.  –Michelle Herpich

The average facebook user is connected to 80 community pages, groups and events.* You know it is important to have a presence on facebook. But to get the most our of your efforts, you must go into this with a plan.

Here are a few questions to consider before you set up that facebook page for your business or organization. 

What are our goals for the page?
Why do we want a page?
Will this be company wide or by location?
Who is the primary audience of the page?

How will we know if we've met our goals?
Number of Fans?
Increase in sales?
Increase in traffic?
Interaction from the "facebook insights."

Who? How? When? What?
Who will set up our page?
Who will monitor the page?
How often will we make posts?
What type of information will we post?
What will your first 10 posts contain?

If you would like help answering these questions. I am available for a quick phone call or a face-to-face coaching session! Email me: michelleherpich@gmail.com.

For more tips and pointers follow this blog or visit  on Micklynn Graphic Design & Marketing facebook!

*Source: http://www.facebook.com/press/info.php?statistics#!/press/info.php?statistics

RV For Sale by Owner- South Central Kansas

1999 Itasca Winnebago 24,900 miles, 34 foot, 2 Slide-outs, Fully Loaded! Contact Danny at 620-326-2285 - For Sale By Owner - High Bid $20,000

I knew that work was killing me.

I found it a little funny that the ad for a virtual PR master class (held at “your desk”) was adjacent to an article telling us that sitting at our desks is slowly killing us.