It's no secret that Twitter has not caught up in rural areas...especially in Pennsylvania. If you have ever been around PA you'll know that much of it is rural, and depending on your interests that is either a pro or a con.
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We talk a lot about how important developing a social media strategy is for small businesses as an invaluable inbound marketing platform, but have you considered using an internal social media solution to boost communication and information flow throughout your organization? It's a lot easier to do than you'd expect. More and more businesses are integrating a social element into their company's intranet, allowing employees to interact with each other like never before via blogs, RSS and even podcasting. Below you'll find some free and easy-to-use ideas for starting your own internal social network.
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Video is probably the most under-utilized media when it comes to small businesses attempting to reach new customers online, however it might be the most compelling route to take from a consumer's standpoint. There's no better way to highlight a product or service than with video, and although there is a little more work involved than with writing a blog post or recording an audio podcast, ultimately your potential return is huge. Of course everyone knows about the power of websites like YouTube, but there are some other great free video sharing services that add even more functionality that you might not have considered! In this blog post I'm going to run down a few of my favorites, including what makes each of them attractive from a small business standpoint.
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For years we have been working hard to get the best Google Page Rank possible so that our products and services appear when a prospect is looking for our offerings. It's time to add Facebook's EdgeRank to our efforts.
Read moreLast week Walmart, who needs no introduction, purchased a mobile-social commerce firm called Kosmix, further legitimizing the importance of both mobile and social media marketing.
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Any serious Twitter user, whether for personal or business-oriented, knows all about the search for the perfect Twitter client. At protocol 80 we've tried our fair share, whether it be the official Twitter client, Seesmic, Hootsuite or Socialite. More often than not though we've come back to the mainstay of social dashboards applications - Tweetdeck.
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It can certainly be frustrating to get excited about bringing social media to your business and have it take off slow. You hear over and over how fast word travels on Facebook and Twitter, but word is still not travelling about your business. Your message is being sent into space and you are getting really good at one-sided conversations. I am sure you have asked these questions to yourself...how long does it take before I start seeing the fruits of my labor, when do I know it's working, and am I even doing this right??? Don't get frustrated just yet, it takes time and patience.
Read moreThis probably comes as no surprise, but as the title indicates, most marketers are increasing the social media spending this year according to Effie Worldwide and Mashable. More specifically, 70% of the marketers surveyed intend to increase their social media investment by 10% or more.
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If you aren't a brick and mortar establishment, you can ignore this post for the most part. If you are...do you urge people to check in at your location? Do you understand the power? The risks?
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If you have an internet connection, you have heard of Amazon.com. Haven't heard of them? Close your web browser. For those of you still with me, you probably now the ginormity (yup, I made that word up) of Amazon. They have products in every category imaginable, sell apps for smartphones, have movie rentals, MP3 downloads, and even offer staple grocery buying. Whats more, they have the cheapest prices the vast majority of the time, ship their products at the speed of light and have been around since the birth of the net for commercial use. When you think of ecommerce, you should think of Amazon.
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If you are executing digital marketing, congratulations! You are most likely already one step ahead of your competition, and making strides to meaningfully connect with prospects online. But, how do you know if you’re seeing continual success year over year, and improving your metrics?
Without the tools in place to analyze and benchmark your efforts, it is impossible to scale your online marketing and ensure continuous success.
