Facebook suggests that new company pages start with a minimum of 5 Milestones.  Whether real or fictitious, these milestones should reflect the company brand.

So what goes into a milestone?

• Every good milestone needs a descriptive name
• A date (to determine where it appears on your timeline)
• A high quality image (840 px x 400 px)
• A one-paragraph description
• and (if it serves your brand) a location

These milestones will appear as major landmarks on your Facebook timeline, cutting across both sides of the screen.

Our thoughts go out to everyone at Copley Square and the Boston Marathon.

If you have news that someone is safe, or are still waiting to hear for sure, both Google and the Red Cross have set up information sharing sites:

• http://google.org/personfinder/2013-boston-explosions/
• https://safeandwell-mobile.communityos.org/cms/

Both sites are operating under a heavy load, but are providing much needed information.

Are you having a hard time getting past a prospective clients’ objections? Does it feel like you pass one hurdle only to have another thrown in your way? Rather than getting worn down or giving up from running such a slalom, see if you can straighten the course a little.

The next time someone expresses a reservation, ask if they have any other concerns. After all, you can’t formulate a complete response when you don’t even know all the questions.

Once you have the full list, you can recast yourself from adversary to ally as you work with your prospect to help them find ways to overcome their objections. If it seems like some other vendor would help clear a gate on the way to making the sale, suggest them.

You’ll still be clearing the course for your own sale - but you’ll also have demonstrated that the prospects needs come first.

Looking for something to write this April Fools’ Day?  Try turning your product (or business model) on its head.

For example, if mb/i were in the business of making websites less attractive, we’d probably produce a geocities-izer of our own.

If you can get your audience to scratch their head and wonder if you’re serious - you’ve won!  Just remember to clear up any confusion on April 2.  Better still, schedule a clarification to launch at 12:01 a.m.

In January, Dale Riehart wrote a great list of ways to prepare for working with a professional writer. One of his suggestions is that business clients prepare a positioning statement.

Of course, a positioning statement isn’t just important for a professional writer. It’s a valuable tool to have whenever you want to talk about your product or company. Think of it like an elevator pitch for copy - short and to the point. So how do you prepare a positioning statement?

Dale offers a proven and elegant solution: ad-libs.

Just fill in the blanks appropriately and you’ll have your positioning statement.

For <<target audience>> who need <<unmet need>>, <<product name>> is the <<short product description>> that <<way product meets unmet need>> because <<reason to believe>>.

Did you find that helpful? Try reading Dale’s entire article.

We all know that I have a vested interest in promoting mb/i, that Tim Cook has an interest in promoting Apple, and that you are interested in the success of your own business endeavor.  So when you tell me how much better my life will be with your product, why should I believe you?

Wait!

Hold that thought, because you can’t.  However, independent research, competitive data, and honest testimonials can.  If you’re looking for something to write in your blog, tell me where I can find these things.  And if you’re so inclined, expand upon them.  Your readers will make up their own minds about what they chose to believe, but it never hurts to put the data you’re providing in context.

How do you measure success?

How about your website’s success?

Drawing a blank? Then maybe it’s time to figure out your website’s “finish line.”  I’d be willing to bet that you had some sort of a goal in mind when you first decided to build a website.  What were you trying to do?

• Make a sale online
• Grow your mailing list
• Initiate contact with potential clients
• Share critical information with the community
• Drive business to a brick and mortar location

Each of these suggests a different ‘finish line,’ and if you aren’t watching it you’ll never know how useful your website has been.  No time is better than the present to single out the objective you’re most interested in.  Once you know that, all you need to do is figure out a way to measure it (and mb/i would be more than happy to help).

Looking for something to blog about?  Try answering this question:

Who would have done your job in a different age?

There was a time when barbers handled dental care… as a side job.  Fire brigades were very different from the modern firefighters. Who handled your functions in the past, and what did they do differently?  Answering this question can highlight why your profession is valuable while pointing out the services you perform and traditions you uphold.  And besides, fun facts and historical trivia are a great way to hook readers.

In terms of online security a daisy chain is a collection of online accounts that interconnect, where each allows access to the next.  If you can log into your Pinterest account through your Facebook account, you’re building a diasy chain.  If you can reset your Facebook password from your GMail account, the daisy chain is even longer.  If a hacker compromises one link in your daisy chain, they can gain access to all the other accounts on that chain, no matter how secure your password are.

This week’s tip is to break the daisy chain.  Find an account that lets you “log in from Facebook” or “log in from Twitter” - change your settings so that you can no longer do so.

Take a status update from one month ago.  Incorporate the status into an image that highlights the point and post it to Facebook, Pinterest, Flickr, and Google+.

Don’t have a status update?  Look through your other business communications and pick out a single fact, question, or action item.

Give it the same treatment.