CityVoter Blog

Facebook announced on Tuesday that Timeline will roll out to all users in the upcoming weeks. We posted on our contests’ Facebook pages about this mandatory change, and the feedback that we received was very mixed. There were numerous comments from Facebook users (and our voters) voicing their dislike for the new Facebook Timeline. Most were upset because they do not like the layout and want a choice on whether or not they enable Timeline. Others thought it looks too much like MySpace and even said they would “quit” Facebook and make the shift to Google+.

Although Timeline will become mandatory for everyone, the good news is that once it is enabled, you will have seven days to clean up your Timeline before it goes live. We thought it would be helpful to give a few tips to make the most of your transition to Timeline.

1. Add a cover photo. The cover photo is prominent enough that it is usually the first thing people notice when visiting your profile. Add a picture that represents you, whether it’s of your wedding day, your dog or a relaxing scenic picture from you last vacation.
2. Fill in events on your Timeline. You are able to fill in as much or as little on your Timeline as you want. If you do choose to fill in important life events, there are many to kinds to choose from. Timeline allows you to add Work and Education, Family and Relationships, Milestones and Experiences, Vacations as well as many others. Keep in mind that events automatically default to public view, so if you only want them visible to your friends make sure you adjust the settings.
3. Hide unwanted past content. We all  have a few embarrassing posts and pictures from the past. If you are fearful about the oversharing aspect of Timeline, there are steps you can take to avoid any potential blunders. Simply go through your Activity Log or a specific month/year and hide or delete the posts. Below is an image of the icon you click on in order to take these actions.

We are still waiting to see if brand pages will get the new Timeline treatment, and if so it would be a great way to showcase products and other aspects of your local business through the prominence of pictures on the main page.

Have you switched over to Timeline yet? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!

Even as 2011 was winding down, things were still in full swing at CityVoter with 3 big contests! Voting closed just before the New Year for Cleveland’s FOX 8 HOT LIST, WMBF’s Best of the Grand Strand in Myrtle Beach and the A-List on WISN.com in Milwaukee. WMBF’s Best of the Grand Strand and Cleveland’s FOX 8 HOT LIST winners have officially been announced, and the last batch of winners for the A-List on WISN.com were announced today!

The 2011 WMBF Best of the Grand strand contest received just fewer than 40,000 votes. That is over 6,000 more than the 2010 contest, and we believe part of the success can be attributed to how social the contest was this year. The businesses really engaged with their social networks! Voters in the FOX 8 HOT LIST cast almost 130,000 votes during the course of the 8 week long contest.

The clear stand out contest of the year is the A-List on WISN.com, which garnered over 116,000 votes in just 3 short weeks! That is 31,000 more than 2010’s 8 week long contest. We couldn’t have had such a successful contest without the help of all of our passionate local business owners and voters. With their support the contest received an average of over 5,500 votes per day!

The 2011 contests ended on a great note with a vote total of 2,134,454. We are excited for what’s to come in 2012. Stay tuned!

The 2011 A-List on WISN.com contest in Milwaukee was our biggest year yet with over 116,000 votes in only 3 short weeks! The sandwich market in Milwaukee is saturated with many tasty shops as evidenced by the 39 nominees this year. We decided to find out how with all this competition Rochester Deli, Inc. was able to win the category in 2011 for the third year in a row.

It probably starts with the fact that Rochester Deli, Inc. is family owned and operated since 2004. The deli is not shy when it comes to social media and is very active on Facebook and Twitter. They focus most of their social media efforts on Facebook and post daily specials and the occasional picture to really make your mouth water. Their consistent presence on Facebook throughout the year makes it easier to engage with customers during the contest as they have come to expect updates and even look forward to them.

Chef and owner Dan Strackbein shows off his culinary talents with the traditional Friday fish fry, “We Cook to Hook”. The fish fry features breaded cod, baked cod and pan-fried pike which is topped with a sun dried tomato beurre blanc. Rochester Deli is known for their Reuben and our voters rave about their chocolate dipped peanut butter cookie. They also do other promotions to foster brand loyalty such as LMDO (Laugh My Dentures Off) which is an on-going special on Thursdays for 15% off entire order for seniors 59+. The youngsters get some love, too with 15% off the entire order every Saturday for Carroll University faculty and students with a valid ID.

The Rochester Deli, Inc. website is very interactive and even includes some of chef Dan’s recipes such as their raspberry vinaigrette dressing and snowman soup (cream of potato). Our voters can’t get enough of the chicken dumpling soup, sandwiches and sweet treats. “The food doesn’t get any fresher, and the soup is AWESOME…and save room for dessert…Chef Dan rocks!” – Laurie B. We even heard a rumor that their salads are tasty.

It is clear that chef Dan and his family have found the recipe for success for a New York style deli in the heart downtown Waukesha. The combination of an active social media presence, weekly promotions and having an interactive website are key takeaways that any business can implement to help improve their customer base and keep them coming back for more!