The header gives Twitter profiles a look and feel that is quite similar to Facebook’s timeline cover photo, allowing users the ability to further customise their Twitter personalities.

Twitter users will find the option to switch to the header option and upload a photo in their Settings, under the Design tab. Twitter recommends dimensions of 1200×600 for the header, and allows for a file upload of up to 5MB in size.

The header includes the original description and web link, as per the old profile design, as a white text overlay. It’s best to keep this in mind and to pick an image which supports white text towards the bottom of the header.

For more information about how The Squashed Tomato can help your brand to get the most out of social media, please contact me today. 

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David Walters is a Franschhoek-based studio potter renowned for his exquisitely thrown white porcelain ware and reduction fired ceramics. David has been potting for over thirty five years and his previous studios were at Caversham Mill, in the Natal Midlands and the Particular Pottery, Kenninghall, Norfolk, England.

David’s wheel throwing skills are legendary and his bespoke porcelain dinnerware sets, designed in consultation with chefs or private clients, can be found in top restaurants – such as The Squashed Tomato’s clients Reuben’s Franschhoek and Ryan’s Kitchen – and private homes around the world. He also makes stand-alone porcelain, white stoneware, Raku and pit-fired pieces. He has exhibited all over South Africa and the UK, and his works are no stranger to the pages of many glossy design, food, and home magazines, as well as other publications and coffee table books.

David comes from an exceptionally talented family, too! He and wife Michelle were responsible for the concept and formation of the Kwazulu Natal Midlands Meander in the early 1980’s, while David’s sister, Jenny Hobbs, came up with the name. His daughter, Sarah Walters, studied Sculpture in the UK and today creates beautiful ceramics alongside her father in Franschhoek. David’s niece is popular South African food blogger and cookbook author, Jane-Anne Hobbs.

I am delighted to welcome the incredibly talented David Walters to my full-time client portfolio! I strongly recommend a visit to his exquisite Franschhoek gallery: David Walters and daughter Sarah Walters’ work can be found at The Ceramics Gallery , 24 Dirkie Uys Street, Franschhoek – visitors are welcome all year round!

Find David Walters: www.davidwalters.co.za
Like David Walters: www.facebook.com/DavidWaltersFranschhoek
Follow David Walters: www.twitter.com/DavidWaltersSA

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In this follow-up to last week’s “Tips for Securing Your Social Media Accounts“, I look at a few examples of what can go wrong when businesses don’t take their security seriously, and primary methods for ensuring that your business’ social profiles aren’t at risk.

One of the most recent and certainly most talked about cases of a lapse in social media security was that of Burger King’s Twitter account being hacked. As Mashable reports: “The cyber tricksters changed the fast food company’s avatar and name to “McDonalds” and sent a McFlurry of questionable and offensive tweets.”

Closer to home, an ongoing case of both hacking and brand sabotage can be witnessed with popular Cape Town restaurant Beluga. There are two entirely separate Facebook business pages available for this eatery. One has been misappropriated (see the hacked page here), leading to Beluga’s staff having to create another page (see the authentic page here).

Authentic Beluga Facebook Page

While the hacked page has fewer followers and less activity than the authentic one, it still has over 1,000 fans nonetheless and – at first glance – appears to be an authentic brand page. The problem, however, lies in the management of the page, which has clearly fallen into the wrong hands.

Hacked Beluga Facebook Page

On March 3, a decidedly unsavoury post was published, leading to a barrage of comments which made it clear that those interacting with the page assumed it to be authentic, and that they were highly unimpressed with Beluga as a result. The restaurant’s own management commented to apologise and direct people to the authentic page, but the damage had been done – and continues to be, I’d imagine, whilst that page is still active.

Beluga’s Management Response

Beluga’s management admitted to originally starting the now-hacked page, but that the issue arose as a result of losing control of the page’s password through staff turnover. Essentially, too many people in the company were given access to the page, someone was fired (or quit), and sought revenge through sabotaging the company’s Facebook page.

So, how do you lower the risks of your business social media accounts falling into disrepute? The first and most obvious step is to create a secure password, using a mix of numbers, letters, characters and cases – both for your business Twitter account (and any other platforms such as Pinterest) and your personal Facebook profile login, used to access your managed pages.

The second is to pay very close attention to who is given access to each account – whether it’s internal staff or an external agency. The fewer people with access, the better – and ensure that the admin roles are correctly assigned to the level of involvement that each administrator should be allowed to have. Too many cooks spoil the broth, and too many social media managers can ruin a brand’s reputation.

For an assessment of your brand’s social media risks, please contact me today. 

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I am often surprised to hear how many people still make comments such as “I don’t really care who gets access to my social media accounts, I don’t put anything personal up at all.” That may be so – and while I certainly hope that people aren’t using their accounts to store (or share!) information such as banking details, identity numbers or even physical addresses – there’s a lot more that someone can do with your account than posting a joke status or simply gaining access to photos of your cat.

Spam attacks, such as those prolific across Twitter and to a lesser extent on Facebook, generally result from a lack of user knowledge as opposed to poor security, but can nonetheless annoy and frustrate your contacts if not managed correctly. Identity theft and hacking are more serious. Imagine, for example, if you tried to log into your Facebook account this morning, only to find that your password no longer works – and yet your account is still active, uploading unsavoury content, thanks to someone having gained access and changing your own password. It’s a very real risk associated with creating digital personas and, in this instance, treatment is far better than cure.

Here are my tips for securing your social media accounts:

Pick a strong password

If you’re not using a combination of letters, numbers, characters and a mix of cases, then your password is likely  weak. Create a new, secure one and then memorise it or write it down to store somewhere safely.

Remember me

Wait! Before you tick the “remember me” box out of habit when logging in, take a moment to think: Is this your device you’re logging in with? Is it a friend’s computer? Is it in an internet café? One of the easiest ways for someone to gain access to your accounts is by simply giving them access in this manner!

Secure your Facebook

If you’re using social media, chances are that the majority of your personal information is stored in your Facebook account. Facebook offers a number of voluntary security options, including login notifications and a robust two-factor authentication system. I especially find the latter essential, as it requires you to enter a pin (sent to your cellphone) when logging in from unrecognised devices. This effectively removes the risk of someone gaining access to your account from another location, as you set the devices you wish Facebook to remember and an attempted login from any other will prompt the authentication system.

To tighten your Facebook security, go to the “Security” tab in your account settings.

Log out

Another sure-fire way to give someone access to your accounts is to forget to log out. Make logging out a habit when using any device other than your own, and ensure that all you leave behind is a blinking, empty login screen.

Using social media for business? Make sure to check back next week for my feature on social media security for companies!

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The Greenleaf Olive Company prides themselves in producing purely South African extra virgin olive oil of the finest quality at affordable prices. The family-run olive estate is situated near Malgas, Swellendam in the Western Cape. They currently have 330 hectres of olive trees planted, comprising of nine cultivars.

The well-known brand name Saint Sebastian Bay was inspired by the beautiful bay adjacent to Cape Agulhas, where the Greenleaf farm is situated. It is blessed with a temperate Mediterranean climate proving exceptional growing conditions for olives.

The Greenleaf team have travelled the world in search of the most suitable cultivars, production methods and world-class innovation to provide South Africans with premium quality, home-grown extra virgin olive oil. Their award-winning olive oils and balsamic vinegars take pride of place in top restaurants and home kitchens across the country, and can be found at stockists nationwide.

I am thrilled to welcome this prestigious South African food brand onboard at The Squashed Tomato. Make sure to follow along for the latest delicious news and developments:

Like The Greenleaf Olive Company
Follow The Greenleaf Olive Company
Find The Greenleaf Olive Company

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I’d like to say a huge thank you to my clients, both full-time and consulting, for your continued support of The Squashed Tomato throughout the past two years. I look forward to what we will achieve together in the future!

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Source: http://tomfishburne.com

Back to the drawing board

How would you rate your understanding of the hashtag on a scale of “I haven’t the foggiest” to “Just call me the Hashtag Whisperer”? If you’re leaning more towards the former, I suggest you do your research. By knowing exactly what it is and what it does, you’ll be far better equipped to use hashtags effectively in your posts. Twitter offers an easy-to-grasp overview here.

Be fussy

Hashtags can often be difficult to read, especially when you’re creating a tag made up of different words bunched together. Whilst social media searches are generally not case sensitive, make your tag easier to read by using capitals where needed.

Example:

NO: #southafrica #wineclubsa #brendayout
YES: #SouthAfrica #WineClubSA #BrenDayOut

Recently, news of Margaret Thatcher’s death spread like viral wildfire across Twitter, but a certain hashtag #nowthatchersdead reporting this sad occasion unwittingly caused many to believe that singer-actress Cher had died – all thanks to the ambiguity involved with not making the tag easier to read!

Resist the urge to tag

Spend five minutes reading through your latest Twitter timeline and you’re sure to notice a trend #where #everyone #tags #every #word and seemingly feels the need to create superfluous tags – not only does this dilute the hashtag effect entirely, it also serves to annoy and may even give the impression that your business doesn’t know how to use social media. Yes, the intent is to have your posts picked up in a hashtag search, but including as many hashtags as possible around the topic is not the answer.

The secret is to use them sparingly, only for relevant topics and only when necessary. More importantly, you don’t need to have a tag in every tweet!

Example:

NO: Just finished our #harvest2013 today! Great #vintage for us #excited #wine #winemaking #vineyards #Stellenbosch #harvest
YES: Just finished #harvest2013 today! Great vintage for us in the #Stellenbosch valley
Note: This tweet would be just as well off without any tags, as the topic is a broad one and the information provided – whilst of interest for fans – doesn’t offer much by way of value/uniqueness.

Take ownership

Creating your own unique hashtag for a series of topics, specific events or even a company catch phrase is the best way to ensure that not only all posts regarding your subjects are grouped together accordingly, but that all of the information in the search is relevant. A custom tag offers a great way of telling a story when used in your own updates, and is essential for events, giveaways and campaigns.

The golden rule when creating your own unique hashtag? Keep it simple, short, relevant and as easy to remember as possible. Do a quick search of your intended tag, just to ensure that no one else has used it before.

Example:

NO: #JoesWinesTastingRoomLaunch
YES: #JoesWinesLaunch

The hashtag effect

Remember, the purpose of a hashtag is not to provide emphasis to certain words and terms. It’s to group specific posts together, which has a benefit for businesses in that their tweets may be picked up in searches. This doesn’t mean, however, that you should now change your strategy to become “hashtag happy” and get bogged down in using the perfect tags at the ideal time.

Your focus should remain on providing rich, interesting content – enhanced with custom, creative tags and supported by generic tags, where relevant – which excites users and motivates them to interact with and share your posts.

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Waterkloof has been a treasured full-time social media management client of mine for well over a year, and I thoroughly enjoy working with them on each issue of this publication. I research and write all of the copy for each issue, and am involved with the initial conceptualisation, planning and final editing processes. We have watched each issue grow in popularity and distribution, and I am very proud of Issue 4!

Waterkloof – The News is your guide to the wonderful world of this beautiful, biodynamic wine estate. Each issue is themed, with Issue 4 focusing on the current harvest season and, in particular, Waterkloof’s biodynamic harvest. You can also discover more about the exciting activities on offer for exploring the estate, salivate over The Restaurant at Waterkloof’s unique Degustation Menu, learn about how the farm’s famed team of horses take part in the harvest activities, and find out more about the highly-anticipated release of the farm’s flagship wine, the Waterkloof Sauvignon Blanc 2012.

To view the digital edition of Issue 4, or to view our previous issues, please click here.

Waterkloof – The News is designed and published by Pure Publishing.

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The world of social media is a very busy place indeed. The number of businesses making their digital debut continues to grow at a rapid rate, with the number of new agencies and experts in the market following close behind. There’s a bustling, noisy marketplace happening right there in social media land, with every business trying to stand out and make a great impression. 

Scheduling and strategising

As if ensuring the profitability of a business wasn’t already fraught with enough obstacles and challenges, companies now need to add managing a successful social media presence to the mix. Whether handling the task internally or outsourcing, planning needs to occur. Enter the boardroom table, whiteboard and spreadsheets. Before you know it, you’ve mapped out your targets, key performance indicators and budgets, and your brainstorm session has transformed reams of blank paper into 6 months of planned posts, all working in perfect harmony with your traditional marketing agendas. Whew. Maybe this social media stuff isn’t as tough as they all say after all.

Time for a coffee break, right?

Well, perhaps don’t skip over to the expresso machine too quickly. Yes, you’re going to be promoting and marketing your business on social media, but that’s pretty much where the similarities between social and traditional marketing methods part ways. The power of social media thrives on the very name itself: social. Take away the computer screens and platforms, and you’re left with people interacting with people. Would you plan your every sentence and conversation topic for a dinner party in 2 months time? I doubt it.

Source: http://quotes.prowritingaid.com

All spontaneity and no planning?

Am I saying you don’t need a strategy? Absolutely not. A strategy is essential for social media success, but so is spontaneity. Planning to promote your appearance at next month’s exhibition is a sound idea, but don’t sit back and feel confident that next month’s posts are taken care of. A lot can happen between now and then, both within your own company and in the industry, and it’s the exciting, in-the-moment topics that really grab a customer’s attention. Facebook’s new newsfeed design, providing prime feed real-estate to page posts about tending topics, is a great example of this.

So, don’t limit yourself to a post schedule. Use it as your guideline, but keep your eyes and ears open for all that’s going on around you. You know the spontaneity saying about how great things often happen when you least expect them? Make sure your social strategy is flexible enough to allow your business to take advantage.

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Is common courtesy a foreign concept in the world of social media?

A brief Friday thought spurred by the apparent tendency of people to leave their manners at the door when it comes to promoting their brands and agendas in the social media sphere. 

This morning, I noticed an image uploaded to a Facebook business page (not an original image belonging to the business itself, but one which they had creatively altered for their own use), paired with a humorous post about this weekend’s Cape Argus Cycle Tour – a hot topic on South African social media at the moment. Just moments later, I watched another business page post the exact same image, but without sharing or crediting the original page that posted it first. To do this, they would have had to download the image and then upload it to their page.

Now, the power of social networking lies in sharing messages far and wide, and these messages are often bound to change along the line, but surely the common courtesy would be to either click share or to at least credit the source? This isn’t necessary in every situation, but I certainly feel it should be when the image has been altered specifically and uploaded for a certain purpose by another page. In essence, the second page is riding off another business’ creative idea.

I’ve long maintained that innovation, and not imitation, should be the over-arching goal of businesses when using social media to promote their offerings. If you’re impressed by and attracted to a certain post, then by all means use it as inspiration for your own activities – but don’t just copy and paste. Rather find a way in which to take the essence of the idea and turn it into something unique for your own use.

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