Welcome to the team Russ!

Nutcracker would like to give a warm welcome to the newest member of our team, Russ!

Hi, I'm Russ - web designer, graphic designer, nerd, musician and general big, friendly type. I'm one of the company's techie go-to people, and (apart from a short absence) part of the purple furniture. Out-of-hours I can mostly be found plucking a large, stringed-wardrobe (double bass) and writing/performing original music.

I'm 44, married to Jayne and live in Dudley - a stone's throw from Nutcracker. I originally hail from Wolverhampton but moved to Dudley when I got married, almost 20 years ago.

In my spare time I'm a musician (bassist and multi-instrumentalist). I often use live looping and effects to create layered music - sometimes with multiple instruments but mostly only using a bass guitar. My music has been described as, "subtle layers of sound that emerge gracefully like cinematic soundtracks". Visit my website to listen - http://www.russsargeant.co.uk

I'm currently involved in lots of different musical projects ranging from forming a jazz duo with a local saxophonist to writing and recording with ambient and progressive artists in the USA.

Right... back to work... ttfn.

Russ

Nutcracker Sponsor Miss Birmingham Hopeful

Nutcracker were proud to be the official sponsor of Miss Emily Wilson who recently competed in the Miss Birmingham 2012 final, which was a direct heat into the Miss England 2012 final.

Here is a bit of background information about Emily;

“It is fabulous that nutcracker design and marketing have chosen to sponsor me in my venture to become Miss Birmingham 2012. I won a local beauty pageant and am the face of Miss Full Length and Fabulous. 

I am currently studying for my A levels and have future aspirations to become a doctor. I like to stay in top shape by using the gym and competing as a top British amateur in classical sequence ballroom dancing. 

I would like to enter the promotional model world to help fund my way through university. I have entered Miss Birmingham 2012 to prove to people that in the beauty world there is intelligence and not just pretty faces.
I believe we get out of life what we put in and it is also important to me that I use my talents for the benefit of others whether it be my future work or fundraising for charity.” 

With the support of Nutcracker, friends, family and voters Emily came within the top 10 finalists for Miss Birmingham 2012. All at Nutcracker would like to congratulate Emily and wish her every success for the future. And we are sure that you will all agree it looks very bright. Well done Emily!

Top Tips - Things you really MUST know about your Facebook Business Page Timeline

If you have just logged onto your Facebook Business Page you may have had a bit of a shock. It's not quite as you remembered it is it?

Don't panic! Below are a few things you really MUST know about the new features available to you and the huge benefits and opportunities that are now available for your brand.

1. You now have a 'cover photo'. The cover photo dimensions are 851 x 315 pixels. The image that you choose for this section must represent your brand and be attractive to your target audience. You may be thinking that this is a little bit more complicated than you first imagined. So let us do the hard work for you. We can design a cover photo in line with your corporate identity and create a page truly representative of your brand. See our cover photo below or click here to visit our Page.

REMEMBER: Facebook's new policies state that a cover photo must not include price or purchase information, your company contact details, calls to action or references to Facebook features or actions. If you get stuck at any point or would like more information then give Nutcracker a call on 01384 455 141 or to send us an email click HERE.

2. Set your 'profile picture'. This picture is the image that will get shown next to each of your status updates on your wall and within other users' news feeds. The image that you use should be 180 x 180 pixels but remember that this image scales down to a thumbnail size of 32 x 32 pixels. Using a logo here really is a great choice! Below is our new profile picture.

3. Organise your 'Apps and Views' Facebook's new Timeline design features your photos, likes and apps at the top of the page just below the cover photo. Photos are set by Facebook to automatically feature as the first element. However page administrators can rearrange the following apps to feature as they please. A total of 12 apps can be shown on your page. Here is how ours appears below.

HINT: there are some amazing apps that can be created for organisations to showcase their services and expertise. To take a look at Nutcracker's click here or if you would like more information give us a call 01384 455 141 

4. New icons...'star, hide and pin'. You will notice that when you place the cursor over individual stories that you can make them wider or use the pencil icon to hide things from your Timeline. Important posts can be highlighted using the star icon - great for pointing out special offers or company successes. To 'pin' a specific story means that a chosen post can be placed at the top of your Timeline for up to 7 days. Specific posts which you feel are important wont therefore get lost amongst more recent updates.

5. Displaying your company 'Milestones'.  This new feature allows page administrators to display some of their organisations biggest accomplishments such as the year their company began, acquisitions, awards, product releases, etc. The milestone images are 843 x430 pixels. Milestones are created by using the status update box where you are prompted for information.

For more information on what packages are available from Nutcracker for the customisation of you Facebook Page click HERE.