Are you planning to welcome neighborhood trick-or-treaters with scary monsters, ghosts and tombstones? Scaring kids who come to your front door on Halloween night can be fun. Scaring away customers, however, is never fun. If you’re committing one of the following five common mistakes, your customers are likely to run away screaming—forever haunting you with […]
The post Boo! Why You Could Be Scaring Your Customers Away appeared first on SF Gazette.
Supernatural-loving tourists from around the country and world have made “ghost tourism” a lucrative business in many cities and towns in the United States. In Estes Park, Colorado, visitors flock to the Stanley Hotel to learn about the making of the famous 1970s film “The Shining.” The hotel offers guests a “Ghost Adventure Package” that […]
The post ‘Ghost Tourism’ Makes Spooky a Year-Round Business appeared first on SF Gazette.
It’s no secret that people are going to like things that seem more human and less robotic. However, making a blog seem more “human” can be a difficult task (especially if you’re an eCommerce company). It sounds funny that making something “human” would be hard for, well you know – humans. But the truth is ...
The post Man or Machine? Tactics to Humanize Your Website appeared first on Small Business Trends.
Are you looking for ways to make money with your professional blog? Do you want to know how to leverage your content to monetize your site? To learn how to make more money with your blog, I interview Leslie Samuel. More About This Show The Social Media Marketing podcast is an on-demand talk radio show from [...]
This post Blog Monetization: How You Can Make More Money With Your Blog first appeared on Social Media Examiner.
Social Media Examiner - Your Guide to the Social Media Jungle
As a marketer, there are a lot of things you can do right to build brand awareness, but there are just as many things you can do wrong. Below are 3 brand-damaging mistakes you might be making. Not Monitoring What Employees Say Online While watching to see what your employees or others associated with your company can ...
The post 3 Brand Damaging Mistakes Too Many Marketers Keep Making appeared first on Small Business Trends.
The United States Postal Service, UPS and FedEx expect a collective 14-percent jump in parcel deliveries this holiday season. It’s just one more sign that online holiday shopping will be huge this year. For small retailers, it’s also a wake-up call: You must ensure your e-commerce operations are ready for a potential big uptick in […]
The post Online Shopping Will Be Red-Hot This Holiday Season. Is Your Business Ready? appeared first on SF Gazette.
Global social media facts are often so large they are hard to wrap our neurons around. One billion today and 10 billion next year. Facebook doesn’t disappoint. It turned in another strong quarter with some surprising statistics, such as a 247% increase in ad prices, hints at Facebook groups spinning out into their own app [...]
The post 22 Facebook Facts and Statistics You Need To Know Right Now appeared first on Jeffbullas's Blog.
Sponsored Post You probably already know that surveys can be beneficial to your business. But did you know that there are different types of surveys you can use to gather useful data? The type of survey you need will depend on the type of data your business wants to collect and from whom. Below are several your ...
The post Surveys: The Swiss Army Knife of Feedback appeared first on Small Business Trends.
Are you concerned about your online privacy? Have you checked the privacy settings for all of your social media platforms? Personal social media management is now more important than ever. As marketers, we’re usually out there promoting our business, yet we still need to be conscious of our privacy. In this article you’ll discover how [...]
This post How to Check Social Media Privacy Settings first appeared on Social Media Examiner.
Social Media Examiner - Your Guide to the Social Media Jungle
Cultivating a wide professional network is great for business. However, the real key is keeping these relationships alive beyond the first meeting and connecting on LinkedIn. But how do you keep track of everyone in your network when you’re busy with your business? With this question in mind, we asked 10 entrepreneurs from YEC the ...
The post 10 Ways to Keep Up With Your Professional Network Online appeared first on Small Business Trends.
Your picture can be worth so much more than a thousand words. In fact, it has the potential to be worth thousands or even millions of dollars in contacts and contracts. That’s all due to the nature of doing business these days. While deals used to be sealed with a handshake, they’re now often worked […]
The post Picture Perfect: Photographers Reveal How to Look Better Online appeared first on SF Gazette.
Writers of fiction and indeed all artists are creative but most importantly, they are natural born leaders. If they were not leaders, they would not start creating in the first place. The mark of a great artist is that he or she continuously improves and gains vitality with each new creation. A true artist never [...]
The post 7 Steps to Becoming a Rockstar at Social Media Marketing appeared first on Jeffbullas's Blog.
Is Instagram part of your social media marketing? Do you want to run contests on Instagram? Adding Instagram contests to your social media mix can quickly expand your reach. In this article I’ll explain the different types, as well as how to create and run a successful Instagram contest for your brand or business. Types [...]
This post How to Run a Successful Instagram Contest first appeared on Social Media Examiner.
Social Media Examiner - Your Guide to the Social Media Jungle
For those who have done research or work with SEO themselves, you may already be familiar with Alex Becker and his site Source Wave. Source Wave is an unbelievable resource for those learning about SEO, beginners and experienced users alike. Following Source Wave has come a new and exciting product: Source Phoenix. Alex Becker is […]
The post Source Phoenix Review: Should You Invest? appeared first on Ryan Shaw - Your Online Marketing Coach.
Major corporations have changed the dynamic of shopping in the United States over the past few decades, with many big-box stores driving out small, local retailers by undercutting their prices and building mammoth operations. But in cities and towns all across America, locally owned businesses are finally making a comeback—and it’s making a difference. Local […]
The post The Crucial Role Small Businesses Play in Their Communities appeared first on SF Gazette.
Major corporations have changed the dynamic of shopping in the United States over the past few decades, with many big-box stores driving out small, local retailers by undercutting their prices and building mammoth operations. But in cities and towns all across America, locally owned businesses are finally making a comeback—and it’s making a difference. Local […]
The post The Crucial Role Small Businesses Play in Their Communities appeared first on SF Gazette.
You know your stuff. You’re an expert. How do you turn that into revenue? There is a huge demand for tutorials on how to do anything on almost any subject. From learning digital art techniques taught by industry pros to learning to play a musical instrument like the double bass. Just look at the success [...]
The post How to Turn Your Blogging Passion Into Profit in 5 Steps appeared first on Jeffbullas's Blog.
If your small business wants more customer conversions (i.e. sales), then learning when and how to use autoresponders is a step in the right direction. These pre-scheduled emails, usually one or more in a series, are triggered by customer behavior and can be used to target, engage and convert prospects to buyers. An individual autoresponder ...
The post When and How to Use Autoresponders appeared first on Small Business Trends.
Do you need ideas for blog topics? Do you know what content performs best for your competitors? When you know what content works for your competitors, you can use those topics to brainstorm ideas for your own blog articles. In this article I’ll share five ways to research your competitors’ content and tools to help [...]
This post How Researching Competitors Can Improve Your Blog Content first appeared on Social Media Examiner.
Social Media Examiner - Your Guide to the Social Media Jungle
Do you need ideas for blog topics? Do you know what content performs best for your competitors? When you know what content works for your competitors, you can use those topics to brainstorm ideas for your own blog articles. In this article I’ll share five ways to research your competitors’ content and tools to help [...]
This post How Researching Competitors Can Improve Your Blog Content first appeared on Social Media Examiner.
Social Media Examiner - Your Guide to the Social Media Jungle
If your small business wants more customer conversions (i.e. sales), then learning when and how to use autoresponders is a step in the right direction. These pre-scheduled emails, usually one or more in a series, are triggered by customer behavior and can be used to target, engage and convert prospects to buyers. An individual autoresponder ...
The post When and How to Use Autoresponders appeared first on Small Business Trends.
Content marketing is officially on the radar of practically every business. According to a recent report from the Content Marketing Institute, nine out of 10 B2C companies are investing in content marketing. But in a sea of content that grows larger each day, it’s hard to fight through the noise to get your message heard. […]
The post 8 Ideas to Supercharge Your Content Marketing Efforts appeared first on SF Gazette.
With Small Business Saturday just around the corner, you should be ready to join your fellow small-business owners for a big day serving the people you love most: your customers and community. But let’s be honest—it would be nice to stand out from the crowd. You can get that edge by dressing up your digital […]
The post How to Enhance Your Online Presence for Small Business Saturday appeared first on SF Gazette.
With Small Business Saturday just around the corner, you should be ready to join your fellow small-business owners for a big day serving the people you love most: your customers and community. But let’s be honest—it would be nice to stand out from the crowd. You can get that edge by dressing up your digital […]
The post How to Enhance Your Online Presence for Small Business Saturday appeared first on SF Gazette.
Content marketing is officially on the radar of practically every business. According to a recent report from the Content Marketing Institute, nine out of 10 B2C companies are investing in content marketing. But in a sea of content that grows larger each day, it’s hard to fight through the noise to get your message heard. […]
The post 8 Ideas to Supercharge Your Content Marketing Efforts appeared first on SF Gazette.
Do you sometimes feel like you’re trying to do too much? Often we tend to try doing many things at a time without getting the expected results. Even though we’re 100% sure that everything is going as planned, time passes and our expectations are not fulfilled. Do you also sometimes feel that nothing is progressing? [...]
The post The Top 3 Hacks to Grow Blog Subscribers appeared first on Jeffbullas's Blog.
Local businesses don’t always utilize online marketing tools as much as online businesses do. But in some ways, it can be just as important for local businesses to take advantage of technology in their marketing efforts. A report from Google suggests just how important mobile technology has made concepts like SEO for local businesses too. ...
The post Why Your Local Business Really Needs to Focus on SEO appeared first on Small Business Trends.
Local businesses don’t always utilize online marketing tools as much as online businesses do. But in some ways, it can be just as important for local businesses to take advantage of technology in their marketing efforts. A report from Google suggests just how important mobile technology has made concepts like SEO for local businesses too. ...
The post Why Your Local Business Really Needs to Focus on SEO appeared first on Small Business Trends.
Do you want to know what content performs best on your website? Have you heard of Behavior reports in Google Analytics? Knowing how visitors move through your website and interact with your content lets you optimize your website performance and conversions. In this article I’ll share how Google Analytics Behavior reports let you assess the [...]
This post How to Use Google Analytics Behavior Reports to Optimize Your Content first appeared on Social Media Examiner.
Social Media Examiner - Your Guide to the Social Media Jungle
Do you want to know what content performs best on your website? Have you heard of Behavior reports in Google Analytics? Knowing how visitors move through your website and interact with your content lets you optimize your website performance and conversions. In this article I’ll share how Google Analytics Behavior reports let you assess the [...]
This post How to Use Google Analytics Behavior Reports to Optimize Your Content first appeared on Social Media Examiner.
Social Media Examiner - Your Guide to the Social Media Jungle
Does your business get Facebook reviews? Are you concerned about the effect of poor reviews on your business? Facebook has a star rating system that lets your customers share their experience (whether positive or negative) with others. In this article I’ll share everything you need to know about Facebook star reviews, including what they are [...]
This post Facebook Reviews: What Marketers Need to Know first appeared on Social Media Examiner.
Social Media Examiner - Your Guide to the Social Media Jungle
Does your business get Facebook reviews? Are you concerned about the effect of poor reviews on your business? Facebook has a star rating system that lets your customers share their experience (whether positive or negative) with others. In this article I’ll share everything you need to know about Facebook star reviews, including what they are [...]
This post Facebook Reviews: What Marketers Need to Know first appeared on Social Media Examiner.
Social Media Examiner - Your Guide to the Social Media Jungle
Signs both inside and outside your small business could mean the difference between a customer making a purchase or just walking away. Here are five things to keep in mind when you’re creating an effective sign from BusinessNewsDaily.com. The post 5 Ways to Create Signs That Your Customers Will Notice appeared first on OPEN Forum. […]
The post 5 Ways to Create Signs That Your Customers Will Notice appeared first on SF Gazette.
Signs both inside and outside your small business could mean the difference between a customer making a purchase or just walking away. Here are five things to keep in mind when you’re creating an effective sign from BusinessNewsDaily.com. The post 5 Ways to Create Signs That Your Customers Will Notice appeared first on OPEN Forum. […]
The post 5 Ways to Create Signs That Your Customers Will Notice appeared first on SF Gazette.
It can be difficult to know whether or not your marketing campaigns are actually bringing in a profit. Tracking ROI on Facebook Ads can be tricky—was it actually your ad that brought customers to your site or encouraged that purchase, or was it some other factor? Maybe they stumbled upon your site some other way. […]
The post 4 Best Tools to Track ROI on Facebook Ads appeared first on Ryan Shaw - Your Online Marketing Coach.
It can be difficult to know whether or not your marketing campaigns are actually bringing in a profit. Tracking ROI on Facebook Ads can be tricky—was it actually your ad that brought customers to your site or encouraged that purchase, or was it some other factor? Maybe they stumbled upon your site some other way. […]
The post 4 Best Tools to Track ROI on Facebook Ads appeared first on Ryan Shaw - Your Online Marketing Coach.
Welcome to our weekly edition of what’s hot in social media news. To help you stay up to date with social media, here are some of the news items that caught our attention. What’s New This Week? Facebook Introduces Rooms: Rooms is “a new app that lets you create places for the things you’re into, [...]
This post Facebook Rooms: This Week in Social Media first appeared on Social Media Examiner.
Social Media Examiner - Your Guide to the Social Media Jungle
Welcome to our weekly edition of what’s hot in social media news. To help you stay up to date with social media, here are some of the news items that caught our attention. What’s New This Week? Facebook Introduces Rooms: Rooms is “a new app that lets you create places for the things you’re into, [...]
This post Facebook Rooms: This Week in Social Media first appeared on Social Media Examiner.
Social Media Examiner - Your Guide to the Social Media Jungle
Barnard is one of those picturesque towns you associate with Vermont. Tucked up in the middle of the state beside the sparkling waters of Silver Lake, Barnard is a small town—there are just 1,000 full-time residents—but it’s a vibrant one all the same. The town has even become increasingly popular with younger folks who’ve moved […]
The post Heart and Soul: The Emotional Ties Between Small Businesses and Customers appeared first on SF Gazette.
Barnard is one of those picturesque towns you associate with Vermont. Tucked up in the middle of the state beside the sparkling waters of Silver Lake, Barnard is a small town—there are just 1,000 full-time residents—but it’s a vibrant one all the same. The town has even become increasingly popular with younger folks who’ve moved […]
The post Heart and Soul: The Emotional Ties Between Small Businesses and Customers appeared first on SF Gazette.
It’s been nearly one year since Google has launched a Penguin update. So many saw this highly anticipated change coming. Officially announced Friday by Google on Search Engine Land, Penguin 3.0 is in full swing and has gotten us all talking. Penguin updates always aim to eliminate spam on the Web, so we should see ...
The post The Flightless Bird Sets Sail, Google Penguin 3.0 Update Launched appeared first on Small Business Trends.
It’s been nearly one year since Google has launched a Penguin update. So many saw this highly anticipated change coming. Officially announced Friday by Google on Search Engine Land, Penguin 3.0 is in full swing and has gotten us all talking. Penguin updates always aim to eliminate spam on the Web, so we should see ...
The post The Flightless Bird Sets Sail, Google Penguin 3.0 Update Launched appeared first on Small Business Trends.
Do you use LinkedIn as a networking tool? Are you looking for ways to use LinkedIn to attract more business for your company or brand? To learn how to optimize your LinkedIn profile as a marketer, I interview Ron Nash, the “LinkedIn Whisperer,” for this episode of the Social Media Marketing podcast. More About This Show [...]
This post Your LinkedIn Profile: Why You Need to Revisit How You Look on LinkedIn first appeared on Social Media Examiner.
Social Media Examiner - Your Guide to the Social Media Jungle
Do you use LinkedIn as a networking tool? Are you looking for ways to use LinkedIn to attract more business for your company or brand? To learn how to optimize your LinkedIn profile as a marketer, I interview Ron Nash, the “LinkedIn Whisperer,” for this episode of the Social Media Marketing podcast. More About This Show [...]
This post Your LinkedIn Profile: Why You Need to Revisit How You Look on LinkedIn first appeared on Social Media Examiner.
Social Media Examiner - Your Guide to the Social Media Jungle
Let me illustrate a problem that many small businesses can relate to. When we were just starting out as a “little-tech-company-that-could,” we struggled to properly market ourselves right out of the gate. For example, we once had a customer tell us, “If your company designed a Coca-Cola can, it would be a white can with ...
The post Economics of Emotions: The Vital Role They Play In Business appeared first on Small Business Trends.
This summer, employees and patrons of Market Basket, a New England supermarket chain, banded together to thwart the ousting of beloved CEO Arthur T. Demoulas. In doing so, Market Basket turned every corporate cliché on its head. While money might be able to buy out business partners, it can’t buy out love. The campaign to […]
The post 6 Steps to Turn Your Local Business Into a Local Institution appeared first on SF Gazette.
This summer, employees and patrons of Market Basket, a New England supermarket chain, banded together to thwart the ousting of beloved CEO Arthur T. Demoulas. In doing so, Market Basket turned every corporate cliché on its head. While money might be able to buy out business partners, it can’t buy out love. The campaign to […]
The post 6 Steps to Turn Your Local Business Into a Local Institution appeared first on SF Gazette.
Let me illustrate a problem that many small businesses can relate to. When we were just starting out as a “little-tech-company-that-could,” we struggled to properly market ourselves right out of the gate. For example, we once had a customer tell us, “If your company designed a Coca-Cola can, it would be a white can with ...
The post Economics of Emotions: The Vital Role They Play In Business appeared first on Small Business Trends.
Social media marketing is in essence just two things. Distribution (social networks) and content (media). Get them right and the rest follows. Increased traffic, brand awareness and sales. But creating the content is one thing but making it move is another. That is why growing your social networks is so important. It puts the power [...]
The post 34 Tips and Tactics to Rapidly Grow Your Social Networks appeared first on Jeffbullas's Blog.
Groupon seems to be taking a page from the Yelp playbook introducing Groupon Pages. The new feature is another effort by the company to move away from its online coupon origins by providing more comprehensive services to small businesses. New Groupon Pages do bear a superficial resemblance to online review site Yelp with basic information ...
The post Groupon Introduces “Pages” Similar To Yelp – Sort Of appeared first on Small Business Trends.
Groupon seems to be taking a page from the Yelp playbook introducing Groupon Pages. The new feature is another effort by the company to move away from its online coupon origins by providing more comprehensive services to small businesses. New Groupon Pages do bear a superficial resemblance to online review site Yelp with basic information ...
The post Groupon Introduces “Pages” Similar To Yelp – Sort Of appeared first on Small Business Trends.
Social media marketing is in essence just two things. Distribution (social networks) and content (media). Get them right and the rest follows. Increased traffic, brand awareness and sales. But creating the content is one thing but making it move is another. That is why growing your social networks is so important. It puts the power [...]
The post 34 Tips and Tactics to Rapidly Grow Your Social Networks appeared first on Jeffbullas's Blog.
Want new ways to benefit from Google+? Have you shared rich media on Google+? When you provide rich media within Google+, you maximize the reach and engagement of each piece of content and make it easy for visitors to consume. Here are eight types of rich media content to share on Google+. Why Rich Media [...]
This post 8 Types of Rich Media to Share on Google+ first appeared on Social Media Examiner.
Social Media Examiner - Your Guide to the Social Media Jungle
Want new ways to benefit from Google+? Have you shared rich media on Google+? When you provide rich media within Google+, you maximize the reach and engagement of each piece of content and make it easy for visitors to consume. Here are eight types of rich media content to share on Google+. Why Rich Media [...]
This post 8 Types of Rich Media to Share on Google+ first appeared on Social Media Examiner.
Social Media Examiner - Your Guide to the Social Media Jungle
For many small-business owners, Small Business Saturday is the perfect time to throw a party. It can be a thank-you party for your existing customers, a welcome party to attract new clients or a neighborhood party to celebrate and show appreciation for area support. Last year, for her second year in business, Mindy Ortiz threw […]
The post How to Throw an Unforgettable Small Business Saturday Event appeared first on SF Gazette.
For many small-business owners, Small Business Saturday is the perfect time to throw a party. It can be a thank-you party for your existing customers, a welcome party to attract new clients or a neighborhood party to celebrate and show appreciation for area support. Last year, for her second year in business, Mindy Ortiz threw […]
The post How to Throw an Unforgettable Small Business Saturday Event appeared first on SF Gazette.
When hashtags first emerged they were seen as only for geeks. The rumblings and rumours suggested that they would never catch on. But they did. Twitter was the first social network that adopted this strange habit in 2007. Today the hashtag is used almost everywhere. They are even now appearing on TV, billboards and on [...]
The post Confused by Hashtags. 5 Expert Tips for Marketing with Hashtags appeared first on Jeffbullas's Blog.
Sponsored Post Brand advocates are three times more trusted and influential than ads or other forms of media, according to brand advocacy solution Zuberance. That means that people who review your business online or talk to others about you are more likely to influence others’ buying decisions. There are many simple actionable techniques your business can use ...
The post How to Encourage Positive Reviews From Customers (Advanced Strategies) appeared first on Small Business Trends.
Sisters Yarden and Oren are the creative founders of the Los Angeles-based fine jewelry brand, Carbon & Hyde. As they enter the next phase in their business, these sisters are looking to bring their jewelry to retail stores all across the world – but making it happen will be no easy task. The information in […]
The post Thriving in the Business of Jewelry Making appeared first on SF Gazette.
The owners of an Italian restaurant frustrated by being unable to get Yelp to take down the page for their business, have turned the tables. They’re asking customers to post negative reviews instead, with sometimes hilarious results. Botto Bistro, of Richmond, Cal. first got involved with Yelp a couple of years ago, when owners Davide ...
The post Why Did Botto Bistro Ask for Negative Yelp Reviews? appeared first on Small Business Trends.
Developers of the app “Disconnect Mobile” have made big news lately, and not in the usual way. Google banned the app — twice — from the Google Play app store. (Though at last glance, it seems to have been reinstated again.) Disconnect Mobile prevents anyone from tracking or putting malware on a user’s device. And ...
The post 16 Killer Places to Market Your App Besides Google appeared first on Small Business Trends.
Anton Cura is the owner of Attention to Detail, a full-service barbershop located in the heart of San Francisco. Anton’s business offers a different kind of experience from your typical barbershop, and, as Anton plans to open new locations and a barber school, there are a lot of moving parts to consider. The information in […]
The post Expanding Beyond the Flagship Location appeared first on SF Gazette.
Search engines on average will drive 300% more traffic than social media. So how do you let Google know you exist? One tactic is to put more focus on quality content. But content on its own can’t make you rank in “Top 10″ search results. You should also take into account the importance of link [...]
The post 10 Smart Search Engine Marketing Tactics To Get Free Google Traffic appeared first on Jeffbullas's Blog.
Do you want to analyze your past interactions on LinkedIn? Do you want information that could help you understand your LinkedIn behavior? The LinkedIn Data Export tool offers deeper insight into your LinkedIn activity. In this article I’ll share the seven export files you can use to target ads, build keyword lists, create a list of connections [...]
This post How to Use the LinkedIn Data Export Tool to Improve Your Marketing first appeared on Social Media Examiner.
Social Media Examiner - Your Guide to the Social Media Jungle
Google AdWords is a powerful way for businesses, big and small, to cost-effectively advertise online. Despite the ease of basic use, we know there is a chance your ROI may not be as high as your competitor, or at least as high as it once used to be. If this is you, don’t worry because […]
The post AdWords – 5 Things You’re Probably Doing Wrong appeared first on Ryan Shaw - Your Online Marketing Coach.
Google AdWords is a powerful way for businesses, big and small, to cost-effectively advertise online. Despite the ease of basic use, we know there is a chance your ROI may not be as high as your competitor, or at least as high as it once used to be. If this is you, don’t worry because […]
The post AdWords – 5 Things You’re Probably Doing Wrong appeared first on Ryan Shaw - Your Online Marketing Coach.
Do you want to analyze your past interactions on LinkedIn? Do you want information that could help you understand your LinkedIn behavior? The LinkedIn Data Export tool offers deeper insight into your LinkedIn activity. In this article I’ll share the seven export files you can use to target ads, build keyword lists, create a list of connections [...]
This post How to Use the LinkedIn Data Export Tool to Improve Your Marketing first appeared on Social Media Examiner.
Social Media Examiner - Your Guide to the Social Media Jungle
Search engines on average will drive 300% more traffic than social media. So how do you let Google know you exist? One tactic is to put more focus on quality content. But content on its own can’t make you rank in “Top 10″ search results. You should also take into account the importance of link [...]
The post 10 Smart Search Engine Marketing Tactics To Get Free Google Traffic appeared first on Jeffbullas's Blog.
Small Business Saturday—November 29 this year—is an annual chance for small businesses to engage their customers and local communities around the benefits of supporting locally owned businesses. But it’s also a great opportunity for small businesses to draw in more foot traffic and rev up sales. Across the nation, consumers will be looking to spend […]
The post 3 Ways to Make the Most of Small Business Saturday appeared first on SF Gazette.
You have a brand new idea for a small business and the funds to start it off right. Good for you! The next step is to cultivate your brand from which all other decisions will flow. Brand consistency, brand identity, and brand persona or personality are all terms we hear being thrown around, but what ...
The post 7 Strategies to Help You Cultivate Your Brand appeared first on Small Business Trends.
Have you created a niche for yourself on Google+? Are you ready to engage with other leaders in your space? Part of building a strong community of people around you on Google+ is forming alliances with other leaders whose work is similar to but not the same as yours. In this article you’ll discover how [...]
This post How to Build Powerful Alliances on Google+ first appeared on Social Media Examiner.
Social Media Examiner - Your Guide to the Social Media Jungle
Want to get more out of Yelp for your brick-and-mortar business? Below are five tips on how to get the most out of Yelp that will help you get started. 1. Verify Your Business Profile If you haven’t verified your Yelp profile, this should definitely be your first priority. In order to verify your profile, find your listing on ...
The post 5 Things You Can Do To Get The Most Out of Yelp appeared first on Small Business Trends.
The owners of an Italian restaurant frustrated by being unable to get Yelp to take down the page for their business, have turned the tables. They’re asking customers to post negative reviews instead, with sometimes hilarious results. Botto Bistro, of Richmond, Cal. first got involved with Yelp a couple of years ago, when owners Davide ...
The post Why Did Botto Bistro Ask for Negative Yelp Reviews? appeared first on Small Business Trends.
Facebook has over 30 million businesses with Facebook pages which are both Fortune 500 companies and small businesses trying to reach new customers. Jeff Bullas has built his email list using Facebook with over 30,000 fans engaging with his content. Running a contest on Facebook has helped him build his email list and reach new [...]
The post How to Double Your Email List With Facebook in 4 Simple Steps appeared first on Jeffbullas's Blog.
I started this digital platform built on passion, purpose and the beckoning of exciting new frontiers. It was invigorating. This portal to the world gave me a voice I didn’t know existed. It was a journey into the unknown. I created and crafted content, built connections on Twitter and published. I signed up for learning. [...]
The post What Most Bloggers Don’t Want to Hear appeared first on Jeffbullas's Blog.
Are you tired of your Facebook posts getting buried in the news feed? Want to get your Facebook posts seen? Facebook algorithms dictate how many people see your updates. Two recent changes should help you get more organic reach and lower your frustration level. In this article, I’ll share how you can adjust your Facebook [...]
This post How to Improve Your Facebook News Feed Visibility first appeared on Social Media Examiner.
Social Media Examiner - Your Guide to the Social Media Jungle
Do you need to bump up your conversion rate? Have you put social media front and center to help you do that? The underlying power of increasing your conversion rate is targeting the right kind of traffic. Where does the right kind of traffic come from? It comes from social. In this article you’ll discover [...]
This post How to Increase Your Conversion Rate With Social Media first appeared on Social Media Examiner.
Social Media Examiner - Your Guide to the Social Media Jungle
For years, people have wondered—and made wild guesses about—what’s really in a McDonald’s cheeseburger and those all-too-perfectly golden Chicken McNuggets. (The “pink slime” debacle of 2012 certainly didn’t ease anyone’s stomachs.) Now McDonald’s is revealing its food production secrets—and wants its customers to ask questions. The fast-food giant just launched a social media campaign called […]
The post McDonald’s Reveals What’s In That Cheeseburger appeared first on SF Gazette.
When Fan Bi and Danny Wong launched their business, Blank Label, in 2010, they thought they’d found an untapped niche. Their idea was to offer young urbanites like themselves the ability to buy on-trend, affordable, custom-fit clothing through their website. Customers could plug in their measurements and receive a tailor-fit shirt, for instance, for less […]
The post Go to the Source: How Customers Can Change Your Business for the Better appeared first on SF Gazette.
Facebook recently updated their campaign structure again in September (which finalized in October), and we’ve been keeping an eye on those adjustments in structure to see how it would affect our campaigns overall. With changes making a definitive, all around appearance in the beginning of this month, we now have those answers. This is especially […]
The post Facebook’s New Ads Campaign Structure appeared first on Ryan Shaw - Your Online Marketing Coach.
Do you want to grow your Facebook audience? Have you thought about using giveaways to educate your customers? Great Lakes, a student loan service, used a Facebook giveaway to educate borrowers and open the lines of communication on a topic they suspected was confusing for their customers. In this article you’ll discover how they increased their [...]
This post How One Business Increased Facebook Fans by 200 Percent first appeared on Social Media Examiner.
Social Media Examiner - Your Guide to the Social Media Jungle
Facebook has over 800 million daily users. As an entrepreneur, you have a fantastic opportunity to leverage it by sharing your story, building business, and having fun keeping up with friends and family – all in one place! You visit Facebook before you go to meet, hire, or date someone, so it is pretty safe [...]
The post 11 Power Tips To Increase Your Facebook Engagement appeared first on Jeffbullas's Blog.
It’s no secret that many small-business owners have a love/hate relationship with Facebook. As the Big Daddy of social media with a huge number of users, tapping into that resource for your business could bring in more customers and boost your cash flow. But over the 10 years Facebook has been in business, it’s become […]
The post 3 Ways to Get More Likes on Facebook appeared first on SF Gazette.
Are you trying to improve your content marketing? Wondering how to connect the dots between content and customers? In this article you’ll find important best practices, backed by research, to help improve your social media marketing. Brand new research from Content Marketing Institute and MarketingProfs shows that while there are universal challenges in content marketing [...]
This post How to Achieve Content Marketing Success: New Research first appeared on Social Media Examiner.
Social Media Examiner - Your Guide to the Social Media Jungle
Google versus Facebook? Industry thought leaders in the search marketing space have long speculated about how Facebook can compete with Google in terms of its lucrative advertising business. Well, according to recent reports, Facebook could soon surpass Google in terms of its remarketing capabilities with the launch of its Facebook Atlas advertising platform. Facebook Putting ...
The post Google Versus Facebook Advertising: A Power Play With Atlas appeared first on Small Business Trends.
All You Need to Know about AdWords Callouts Adwords has recently introduced callout extensions. Just like the other Ad Extensions that Adwords offers, there are huge advantages when you ad the Callout extensions to your ads. What Are Callouts? The Adwords Callouts added feature is helpful for Adwords users in order to give their visitors […]
The post Google Adwords Callout Extensions appeared first on Ryan Shaw - Your Online Marketing Coach.
Your’re a blogger, maybe it’s time to get serious. A blog is one of the best ways of driving regular, ongoing, free traffic to your website. To be successful you need a good strategy and to support this strategy you need good blogging tools. In this article we discuss 6 powerful tools that help you become [...]
The post 6 Irresistible Blogging Tools to Increase Your Productivity and Traffic appeared first on Jeffbullas's Blog.
Linda Rottenberg, the CEO and co-founder of Endeavor, and best-selling author Guy Kawasaki, the chief evangelist for Canva, answer viewer questions about whether to bootstrap your business or take on investors and how to maintain your small business brand strength when you start to grow. The post Strategic Ways To Fund Your Business and Staying […]
The post Strategic Ways To Fund Your Business and Staying True To Your Brand appeared first on SF Gazette.
Kimpton Hotels and Restaurants is the largest boutique hotel chain in the country. The company now has 61 locations in 27 cities with new hotels in the works. Despite its growth, Kimpton remains privately owned. CEO Mike Depatie joined the business in 2003 and he has been leading the brand since 2006. He spoke with […]
The post Lessons From Kimpton Hotels and Restaurants appeared first on SF Gazette.
One aspect of Facebook ads that can be especially confusing—especially for beginners—is the concept of bidding strategies. It can be difficult to grasp exactly what you’re paying for, and how much you’re paying for it, leading to advertisers quickly skyrocketing past their budgets without even reaching their advertising goals. When choosing your bidding strategies (your […]
The post CPM vs CPC: What Facebook Bidding Strategy Works Best? appeared first on Ryan Shaw - Your Online Marketing Coach.
Welcome to our weekly edition of what’s hot in social media news. To help you stay up to date with social media, here are some of the news items that caught our attention. What’s New This Week? Social Media Examiner Turns Five Years Old: Five years ago today, we started Social Media Examiner. Wow, how [...]
This post Social Media Examiner Turns 5 Years Old: This Week in Social Media first appeared on Social Media Examiner.
Social Media Examiner - Your Guide to the Social Media Jungle
Marketing automation tools are widely touted as incredible time-savers, particularly for time-strapped small-business owners. After all, with all the tasks your busy days require, who has time to monitor Facebook or Twitter all day long? But if the idea of automating your customer communications seems impersonal, maybe it would help to think of it as […]
The post The One Marketing Tool That Can Boost Your Brand Identity appeared first on SF Gazette.
Have you ever wondered how Social Media Examiner started? Do you want to know the strategy behind this large online publishing platform? For this episode of the Social Media Marketing podcast I’ll share how we built Social Media Examiner into what it is today. More About This Show The Social Media Marketing podcast is a [...]
This post Online Publishing: Lessons From Five Years at Social Media Examiner first appeared on Social Media Examiner.
Social Media Examiner - Your Guide to the Social Media Jungle
AdWords advertisers struggle constantly to keep pace in an ever-changing industry, where Google likes to switch things up with hundreds of changes to the platform each year. What if you could cut through all the noise, seriously reduce your learning curve, and cut straight to the heart of the most effective and impactful PPC marketing ...
The post Ten of the Best PPC Hacks Out There appeared first on Small Business Trends.
It’s not just large companies that can benefit from hiring a celebrity spokesperson: Small businesses can, too. In fact, hiring a celebrity spokesperson can get your small business noticed in a big way. “Taking advantage of a celebrity spokesperson can be a game changer for a small business,” says Shawn Prez, president and CEO of […]
The post How a Celebrity Spokesperson Can Help Your Business Score appeared first on SF Gazette.
Content marketing is fun but it often feels overwhelming. It’s about inspiration, perspiration (doing the work) and good luck. Making that content move on a social web is sometimes more about having your content in the right place at the right time! But despite the frustrations the only way to succeed in content marketing is [...]
The post 5 Tips on How to Be Effective at Content Marketing appeared first on Jeffbullas's Blog.
You might not think a brand that prides itself on being creepy could find broad-based success. But in Philadelphia, there’s actually an ice cream company that specializes in testing the boundaries of normal. It may not be the ice cream itself that makes Little Baby’s Ice Cream famous for its creep factor. But the company has ...
The post Little Baby’s Ice Cream Shop Prides Itself on Being Creepy appeared first on Small Business Trends.
Has your retail business been around for a long time? Whether you’ve been in business 10 or 20 years, or whether you’re helming a family-owned business that’s been around for generations, these days there’s lots of value in marketing your history. Consumers are showing new interest in longtime businesses and brands for several reasons: With ...
The post How to Capitalize on the History of Your Store appeared first on Small Business Trends.
Are your Twitter ad campaigns giving you the results you expect? Are you using Twitter’s advertising and remarketing options? Twitter ads allow you to reach a highly targeted audience so you can recapture lost sales, improve newsletter open rates, find qualified leads and more. In this article you’ll discover five Twitter advertising tactics to help [...]
This post 5 Unusual Ways to Benefit from Twitter Ads first appeared on Social Media Examiner.
Social Media Examiner - Your Guide to the Social Media Jungle
Not too long ago, TINYpulse released an entire eGuide on how to build a killer employee engagement survey. We publicly laid out exactly what we do, how we do it and how others can do it, too. And no, we’re not nuts. Actually, it’s quite the opposite: Spilling our secrets was part of a larger […]
The post Why You Should Give Away Your Product Secrets for Free appeared first on SF Gazette.
We are spending 2 hours 51 minutes a day on our mobile devices. The only other media we spend more time on is TV at 4 hours and 21 minutes. This amount of increasing attention for mobiles has some big implications for advertising and marketing budgets. This mobile momentum is also partly driven by two [...]
The post Here are the Latest Facts on Mobile Marketing. They Will Surprise You appeared first on Jeffbullas's Blog.
Do you want to reach more people on Google+? Are you using Google+ hashtags? Google+ hashtags make it easier for people to discover your content, even if they’re outside your circles. That added visibility gives you greater overall reach. In this article you’ll discover how to find hashtags to reach the right people on Google+. [...]
This post How to Use Google+ Hashtags for More Exposure first appeared on Social Media Examiner.
Social Media Examiner - Your Guide to the Social Media Jungle
An active content marketing strategy will always generate sales. According to recent research from Ipsos MediaCT, millennials trust and remember user-generated content more than content from traditional media. They also spend 30 percent of their media time, or five hours per day, engaged with it. One of the biggest marketing challenges most small businesses face […]
The post 6 Ways to Get Fresh Website Content From Users appeared first on SF Gazette.
Most businesses claim to provide great customer service, but in the real world, their customers probably aren’t nearly as satisfied as they think. In fact, they could be downright angry. A 2013 “Customer Rage” study by Arizona State University’s W.P. Carey School of Business found that 50 percent of American households had a bad customer […]
The post 7 Customer Service Lessons From the Companies That Do It Best appeared first on SF Gazette.
You might not think a brand that prides itself on being creepy could find broad-based success. But in Philadelphia, there’s actually an ice cream company that specializes in testing the boundaries of normal. It may not be the ice cream itself that makes Little Baby’s Ice Cream famous for its creep factor. But the company has ...
The post Little Baby’s Ice Cream Shop Prides Itself on Being Creepy appeared first on Small Business Trends.
Has your retail business been around for a long time? Whether you’ve been in business 10 or 20 years, or whether you’re helming a family-owned business that’s been around for generations, these days there’s lots of value in marketing your history. Consumers are showing new interest in longtime businesses and brands for several reasons: With ...
The post How to Capitalize on the History of Your Store appeared first on Small Business Trends.
Sponsored Post Want to know the fastest way to get your website online? Use a free website builder tool. Oh the price is right, of course. Prices start at free. (And for just a little extra you can add on bells and whistles if you want to — although you can have a professional-looking website without add-ons ...
The post 3 Essential Things to Do When Building A Free Website appeared first on Small Business Trends.
Can’t keep up with all the changes on Facebook? We wanted to help out a bit and create a simple way for you to see the latest Facebook Image Dimensions by giving you this cool visual cheat sheet. Whether its a FB Ad, a profile page, or fan page, this are the most updated dimensions […]
The post Facebook Image Dimensions appeared first on Ryan Shaw - Your Online Marketing Coach.
It is hard to believe that 2015 is right around the corner. As the weather starts to cool down, digital marketers’ brains just begin to warm up and think about the budget for the New Year. The million-dollar question is what are the best digital networks to invest into and what platforms should receive more [...]
The post 15 Step Guideline To Create Your Perfect 2015 Digital Marketing Strategy appeared first on Jeffbullas's Blog.
Looking for proven ways to improve your social media marketing? Wondering what resources you should read to boost your social efforts? We’ve compiled a list of our top ten articles from the recent past, each focused on a different social network. You’ll discover proven techniques to get your marketing on the fast-track to success. Why [...]
This post Top 10 Ways to Improve Your Social Media Marketing first appeared on Social Media Examiner.
Social Media Examiner - Your Guide to the Social Media Jungle
You did it: You got your website built, and it’s up and running. Even the colors are all matchy-matchy with your logo. And your friends? Well, they think it’s just snazzy-tastic. But … where are the customers? Why isn’t anyone clicking? You thought there would be more clicking. If this sounds familiar, it’s entirely possible […]
The post 4 Reasons Your Website Might Be Killing Your Conversions appeared first on SF Gazette.
Please refer above as a visual guide to facebook page dimensions.
The post Facebook Page Dimensions appeared first on Ryan Shaw - Your Online Marketing Coach.
A few days ago I started reading Dr. Robert Anthony’s “Magic Power of Super Persuasion” and surprisingly, I found out something really useful that can be applied online. Let me explain. People who listen to others and show an interest in their stories tend to attract more friends. These kind of people are also perceived [...]
The post This is a Big Problem on Many Websites. Here Are 6 Simple Ways to Fix It appeared first on Jeffbullas's Blog.
This morning Infusionsoft, makers of marketing automation software serving the small business sector, announced a new $55 million round of funding headed by the likes of Bain Capital and Goldman Sachs. This brings Infusionsoft’s total of funding raised to over $125 million, since its founding in 2001. According to Infusionsoft CEO Clate Mask, the new round ...
The post Infusionsoft Gets More Funding – Latest Sign of Marketing Automation’s Importance appeared first on Small Business Trends.
Do you use Pinterest in your social media strategy? Want a way to give extra exposure to certain pins? Now you can do just that with promoted pins, Pinterest’s answer to advertising. In this article I’ll explain what promoted pins are, and share tips on how, when and why to use them. What Are Promoted [...]
This post How to Use Pinterest Promoted Pins first appeared on Social Media Examiner.
Social Media Examiner - Your Guide to the Social Media Jungle
Do you review your website’s metrics on a regular basis? Are you struggling to figure out how you can better use the data? To know which of your marketing efforts are most successful, you need to look beyond the numbers. Explore what they mean and figure out what parts of your strategy need to be [...]
This post 5 Ways to Use Metrics to Improve Your Social Media Marketing first appeared on Social Media Examiner.
Social Media Examiner - Your Guide to the Social Media Jungle
Mobile isn’t just one of the most important channels for marketers to utilize, it is becoming THE most important channel. Blogs are read, emails are consumed and purchases are made via mobile devices. And that is just the tip of the iceberg of the mobile moments in our everyday lives. The impact is extending even [...]
The post 5 Mobile Marketing Trends to Watch appeared first on Jeffbullas's Blog.
Have your sales hit a slump? Are you wondering what you can do to improve your numbers? Here are five tips for getting your sales back on track from Under30CEO.com. The post 5 Ways To Get Your Sales Back on Track appeared first on OPEN Forum. Via: Open Forum – Marketing
The post 5 Ways To Get Your Sales Back on Track appeared first on SF Gazette.
We get asked a lot of questions about Facebook’s Ad approval process, likely because it seems there aren’t many reliable answers to be found. Even those experienced in running Ad campaigns sometimes face confusion when the approval process doesn’t go quite as it had in the past for them. Some of the most frequently asked […]
The post Facebook’s Ad Approval Process and How it Works appeared first on Ryan Shaw - Your Online Marketing Coach.
Some 10-year-olds bake cookies with their parents for fun. But Cory Nieves bakes cookies to build an empire. The fifth grader is the founder, CEO and head of distribution for Mr. Cory’s Cookies. Every Saturday, he takes to the streets of his home in Englewood, New Jersey to sell his homemade creations. He uses a wagon ...
The post 10-Year-Old Builds Business on These Yummy Treats appeared first on Small Business Trends.
Welcome to our weekly edition of what’s hot in social media news. To help you stay up to date with social media, here are some of the news items that caught our attention. What’s New This Week? Facebook Relaunches Atlas: It has been built ”from the ground up to tackle today’s marketing challenges, like reaching people [...]
This post Facebook Relaunches Atlas: This Week in Social Media first appeared on Social Media Examiner.
Social Media Examiner - Your Guide to the Social Media Jungle
When we started Modify Watches in 2010, our dream was to combine customization with outstanding customer service in order to produce products that customers love. We had grand ambitions of being a purely direct-to-consumer (B2C) company—we were going to earn our way by delighting thousands of individuals who would tell their communities about our product. […]
The post The Secret to Scaling Your Product Fast appeared first on SF Gazette.
Do you post videos on YouTube? Are you looking for ways to increase your traffic and subscribers? To explore how to grow your YouTube audience, I interview Steve Dotto for this episode of the Social Media Marketing podcast. More About This Show The Social Media Marketing podcast is a show from Social Media Examiner. It’s [...]
This post YouTube Growth: How to Grow Your YouTube Channel first appeared on Social Media Examiner.
Social Media Examiner - Your Guide to the Social Media Jungle
As your company’s virtual headquarters or storefront, your website should be immaculate, effective and easy to use. If it fails to provide visitors with reasons to stick around, you’re shortchanging your company, missing out on potential sales and possibly even setting your business up for failure. Could it be time to overhaul your company website? […]
The post Fall Overhaul: 4 Reasons Your Website Needs an Update appeared first on SF Gazette.
Why did I start distance running when I was only twelve. As a lean and almost teenager I decided to crawl out of bed at 6.00 am to start a running regime! I don’t know what possessed me! Since early childhood I had suffered asthma and maybe I was looking for a way to remove the [...]
The post I’ve Seen the Future of Blogging. And I’m Inspired appeared first on Jeffbullas's Blog.
AdWords Quality Scores 101 Quality scores dramatically impact ad effectiveness and their cost per click. If you’re trying to get the most out of your pay per click (PPC) ads, understanding the value of your quality score is essential. Basically, it has nearly the same power as your credit score; it is the determining factor […]
The post Adwords Quality Scores 101 appeared first on Ryan Shaw - Your Online Marketing Coach.
What tactics are you using to grow your Facebook Page? Is like-gating a key part of your Facebook marketing? Facebook announced they’ll ban like-gating in November. An end to like-gating doesn’t have to be the end of the world–or your Facebook marketing. In this article I’ll share four tactics marketers can use in place of [...]
This post Four Alternatives to Like-Gating on Facebook first appeared on Social Media Examiner.
Social Media Examiner - Your Guide to the Social Media Jungle
Text messaging is now one of the most common types of communication among Americans, particularly among the younger set. Yet, many local businesses haven’t found an easy or compelling way to use texting to engage their customers. A popular app wants to change that. Path Talk, a private messaging and social networking app, added a […]
The post App Connects Customers With Local Businesses Via Texting appeared first on SF Gazette.
Search engines will drive more traffic than social and email if you get it right. When you start your blog or website that will not be the case. You will need to earn that authority from Google, Bing and the other search engines over time. It takes persistence and patience. To provide some perspective on [...]
The post 5 Outdated Search Engine Tactics You Need to Stop appeared first on Jeffbullas's Blog.
Mike Michalowicz, CEO of Provendus Group, swears by the importance of the cloud and writes that there’s virtually no limit to what the cloud can do for businesses. While there are tons of ways that the cloud can be used to your advantage. The availability of smashing web-based tools is a true blessing. These awesome business ...
The post 7 Awesome Business Tools and How They Can Help You appeared first on Small Business Trends.
Are you using Google Hangouts on Air? Do you want your Twitter and Facebook followers to join in? By sharing the YouTube link of your Google Hangout to Twitter and Facebook, you can stream the live event to reach more viewers. In this article you’ll discover how to stream your next Google Hangout On Air [...]
This post How to Stream Google Hangouts On Air to Twitter and Facebook first appeared on Social Media Examiner.
Social Media Examiner - Your Guide to the Social Media Jungle
Have you ever had trouble correctly labeling certain colors? Well, you won’t have that problem again, thanks to writer and children’s book illustrator Ingrid Sundberg, who cleverly created a color thesaurus to help you name any color imaginable. Sundberg’s color thesaurus is comprised of a series of charts containing several variations of common colors like white, ...
The post Name Any Color Imaginable With This Color Thesaurus Created by Writer appeared first on Small Business Trends.
