Just what you always wanted, right?

I thought so. Anyway, on to the links…

• Big news in the social media world this week: Facebook Timeline — you either love it or you hate it (I think it’s pretty swell) — is coming to select brand pages later this month. I think it’ll be a cool opportunity for brands to go more visual with their Facebook accounts.
• In other coming attractions, small business advertising is coming to Twitter.
• And one more on the social media front: Here’s an interesting look from Lifehacker on how they award verified accounts (for those celebrity types) on Facebook, Twitter and Google+.
• Are you putting together a style guide for your office or your clients? Hubspot has an easy-to-follow template you should look at.
• And one for Friday fun: What’s the best way to get the most out of your vacations? Keep ‘em short and sweet.

• Want to make your content go viral? Well, as Seinfeld would say, “Good luck with all that.” Truth is, there’s no secret formula for virality, says Gini Dietrich of SpinSucks.
• But that hasn’t stopped people from trying to come up with that exact formula, according to the Atlantic.
• What can you learn from these uber-successful Facebook pages? Lots, actually, says PR Daily.
• For our lovers out there (Valentine’s Day is Tuesday!): The most romantic smooching spots around the globe, per Conde Nast Traveler.

That’s all from P&BHQ today. Have a great weekend!

In any event, Link Friday is here whether winter lasts until June or not. On with the show:

• A new study says Facebook addiction is as strong as nicotine addiction. (Pardon me while I step outside for a status update break.)
• Continuing with Facebook, it turns out we get more friend requests, likes and messages than we send out. The world’s largest social media network isn’t exactly filled with givers, I guess.
• Here’s one for the sports fans, what with the Super Bowl coming up this weekend: Sports Illustrated’s Peter King says about 95 percent of the people in his industry are on Twitter, and he follows about 400 accounts.
• This is a couple weeks old, but michigan.org, the state of Michigan’s tourism website, was the most popular state tourism website in the country for the fifth straight year. They do a great job on social media, too, especially Facebook.
• And one just for fun: the world’s 20 most beautiful bookstores.

Happy Super Bowl weekend, everybody!

Anyway, on to the things we liked this week:

• Facebook rolled out its new Timeline look for all users this week. (I’ve had it for a while and like it, but don’t use as many of its features as I should/could.) Brand pages are still waiting for the new format, but PR Daily says Timeline could have a huge impact if it’s rolled out for businesses.
• Sticking with social media, here’s a list of 11 deadly social media “sins” put together by the folks over at ClickZ. (I’d like to say I’ve never done any of these, but I like to be up front with my readers…)
• Kindra put on her hipster glasses and let us know about this super-cool annual report from chic eyewear retailer Warby Parker.
• Ericka (aka E2) shared this infographic — in handy periodic table form — breaking down the do’s and don’ts of SEO (search engine optimization).
• And if you didn’t see it, we did a super-awesome infographic of our own this week.

That’s it from P&BHQ. Until next week!

Boulder Junction’s Facebook page is a dynamo. Fans are highly active, sharing photos of the community, as well as promoting upcoming events and commenting on our photos and links. Pilch & Barnet’s creative content, engaging promotions, solid cooperation from the client and consistent attention to fan interaction helps keep this page going strong.

Pilch & Barnet promoted the sweepstakes on social and conventional media and included a custom Facebook tab where fans could enter the giveaway. The campaign was a huge success, more than tripling the page’s fan base and dramatically increasing interactions on the page.

The photo-intensive efforts have worked: the Porcupine Mountains page added more than 400 fans in the last quarter of 2011, thanks to solid content and a strong Facebook advertising campaign. The page has grown to become the most popular Porcupine Mountains page on Facebook.

Starting just short of 600, Pilch & Barnet increased the fan base by 680 percent to a post-giveaway total of 4,600 fans. All those new fans weren’t just interested in the contest, either—interaction and engagement on the page skyrocketed after December. A year later, the page is still among Pilch & Barnet’s most successful Facebook accounts.

• The U.S. government this week made some important moves to bolster access to America’s tourist destinations, writes Pauline Frommer. (Yes, of the travel Frommers.)
• Do you like Pinterest but wish it had more mustaches? Then check out Gentlemint, which boasts a “a mint of manly things.” And hey, it’s even endorsed by the American Mustache Institute!
• Facebook’s launch of Open Graph could mean “a new era in social networking,” Shoutlet said earlier this week.
• Speaking of Facebook, it turns out pages shouldn’t post more than once every three hours, according to a recent study.
• Worried about dropping your iPhone in the lake when you’re on vacation? Why not waterproof your phone? (This is awesome.)
• Not really travel or social media related, but Sam Cooke would have turned 81 on Sunday. Everyone should own this album, and here’s the best version of this song ever:

Thanks for reading, everybody. Have a great weekend!

But while setting up your business’ Facebook page is easy and free, one of the advantages of using Facebook promote your business is its unique and inexpensive advertising.

Recent studies have shown that Facebook ads tend to be more engaging than ads on other websites. And the social aspect of Facebook – seeing that your friend likes a business or a product – can be a huge boon to advertisers. For instance, IBM Interactive Marketing says 51 percent of fans of a Facebook brand page are more likely to purchase from that brand, and 60 percent of those fans are more likely to recommend the brand to others.

Facebook provides a good overview and guide to using Facebook ads, and there are plenty of other useful resources online outlining best practices to help you run a successful Facebook ad campaign.

Here are a few quick tips and tricks to making the most of your campaign:

• Run a variety of ads. Facebook allows you to experiment with different types of ads, so take advantage of that. Experiment with Page Like ads (“Bill Smith likes Brand X”), Page Post ads (highlighting a timely or creative Wall post) or more traditional ads to see which one attracts the biggest audience.

• Monitor your ads’ performance. Is one type of ad performing better than another? Set a threshold for your ads – click-through rate (the percentage of fans who interacted with your ad), reaching a certain number of fans or some other metric – and check back on it frequently. You can also look at your Page Insights to target ads to your page’s key demographics.

• Keep your content creative. If you’re running a traditional ad, make sure you include eye-catching content. You’re trying to get people interested in your page, so use phrases that call people to action (For example, “Click here!” or “Book your flight today!”) Images attract people, but make sure your images are relevant to what you’re advertising.