The key to being successful on Facebook is to keep it interesting for your fans and to encourage two-way communication. The types of posts you make and how often you post are extremely important.

The key to good content on your Facebook page is to make it interesting enough that your subscribers feel compelled to comment, and share. For a business consultant, this could be posting articles that you think are relevant to your clients or if you are a retail store, it might be a picture of a new product you are particularly excited about. Each business and organization is different and you’ll have to invest time and experiment to figure out what types of posts encourages the most engagement.

How often should you post? The answer depends on many things. Though it is important to be consistent and post at least a few times per week, it’s also important not to post too often. Even the best content, if posted too often can be viewed as spam.

The many successes of economic development in Louisiana in 2011 are highlighted in a report released by Louisiana Economic Development. Though traditionally the state has ranked near the bottom, since 2007 Louisiana has risen in every national business climate ranking and has gained recognition by many as being the most improved state in 2011. The state has outperformed the South and the United States in recent years, bucking national trends.

The report highlights several new business investments that have been committed to the state and breaks down achievements made by each of the state’s regions.

To download the full report, click here.

Lafayette was recently honored as a nominee for Southern Living’s Tastiest Town completion. Selected as one of 10 finalists, Lafayette represents the smallest market to make the finals. Louisiana was the only state honored with two cities nominated.

Though voting will continue through January 31, Lafayette has consistently held the top spot followed most closely by Louisville. New Orleans trails in third place with less than half the votes attained by Lafayette or Louisville.

The nomination is only one nod in a string of many recognizing Lafayette as both a leader in business and economic development and a cultural center with a strong creative class. In August, Lafayette was named by Rand McNally and USA today the best small town for food in America

Click here to vote on the Southern Living website.

Louisiana Small Business Development Center, the state’s largest and most accessible source of small business assistance, launched its new website. The website, www.lsbdc.org, features a new design and intuitive navigation giving small business owners quick and easy access to information and resources needed for starting, growing, and managing a business.

“Serving the needs of Louisiana’s small businesses is our top priority,” said LSBDC State Director Mary Lynn Wilkerson. “The new website is the latest example of our commitment to provide quality services and resources to help them grow and succeed.”

Visitors to the website can access up-to-date information with ease.   Dividing the website into two sections, “I Want to Start a Business” and “I Am a Business Owner” helps entrepreneurs easily identify information they need and want.

The website features a wide range of business topics, such as increasing sales, accessing capital and business planning. For easier navigation, users can find information, download tools and templates, and view upcoming training events related to a single business topic all on one page. This one-stop-shop approach provides users with quick access to topics that can help them with every aspect of their business.

Established in 1983, the LSBDC is the state’s premiere provider of small business assistance and the only statewide nationally accredited program that provides business consulting to entrepreneurs at no cost. Through a network of 10 centers, the LSBDC provides high quality one-on-one consulting, training and information resources to help new and existing businesses start, grow and succeed.

To contact the LSBDC located on the campus of UL Lafayette, call 337.262.5344. The center offers free counseling and education for small business owners.

Twitter is an amazing tool. It allows publishers to get their messages out quickly and allows the public to become publishers. Not familiar with twitter at all? It’s basically a service that allows you to update your status with short messages, of up to 140 characters.

Unfortunately, many people find the service entirely overwhelming and struggle to sift through the hundreds of short micro-blogs (messages or updates) that populate their feeds.

One way to sort out the madness is by creating lists. We’ve curated several lists that are specific to the Lafayette, LA area that twitter users (and non-users) can use to seek information that relates to our Lafayette area.

Lafayette Businesses on Twitter
Lafayette Non-profits on Twitter
Lafayette Media on Twitter