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By  Andrea Vahl Published  July 29, 2013  Have you started using Facebook hashtags for your business? Are you wondering how to best use a Facebook hashtag? In this article, I’ll reveal four important benefits of using hashtags on Facebook. I’ll also explore important considerations when putting together your hashtag strategy. Why Facebook Hashtags? As you’ve undoubtedly seen,  hashtags  are now clickable and useable on Facebook. Using a hashtag # (or pound symbol) in front of a word or phrase turns the word into a clickable link. When you click on the link, you’ll see a feed of public posts (or posts that are visible to you due to a friend relationship on Facebook) that include that hashtag. Here’s how you can use Facebook hashtags: #1: Expand Your Reach As hashtags gain momentum on Facebook (they’ve been in use on other platforms such as  Twitter ,  Instagram ,  Pinterest  and  Google+ ), they’ll help you  expand ...

Calling All Fearmongers Let’s do a little experiment. Just for a moment, stop reading this post, turn on the television, and go to a major news channel. Watch it for five minutes, listening for the words below. Chances are, you’ll hear dozens of them. Here’s why: Fear is without a doubt the most powerful emotion for grabbing and keeping an audience’s attention. To make sure you don’t change the channel, news networks load up with fear words, making you worry you might miss something important. It’s effective. Granted, you can overdo it, but in my opinion, most writers don’t use these types of words nearly enough. They really do connect with people. Here’s a bunch to get you started: Agony Apocalypse Armageddon Assault Backlash Beating Beware Blinded Blood Bloodbath Bloodcurdling Bloody Bomb Buffoon Bumbling Cadaver Catastrophe Caution Collapse Corpse Crazy Cripple Crisis Danger Deadly Death Destroy Devastating Disastrous Drowning Dumb Embarrass Fail Feeble Fired Fool Fooled...

By   Leon Krishnayana   |  July 22, 2013 In this day and age,  every  business must have an internet presence. Whether you are a business owner who likes to undertake their own web development, a high level web dev working for a company or an agency, a freelancing gun for hire, or an enthusiastic amateur, you may fall prey to various mistakes when developing your web site. Mistakes do happen, errors can be corrected, false steps can be undone – but there some mistakes that could cause you considerable grief. It may surprise you to learn that these critical mistakes are quite common and yet easy to avoid. Here are five to watch out for. Reinventing the wheel Understandably, you want your site to be unique and different from your competitors. But you don’t need to reinvent  the wheel. Apple did not build  the iPhone from scratch. It was assembled from different microprocessors, a lithium battery, firmware, capacitive screens and all pack...

By  Patricia Redsicker Published  July 23, 2013  Are you looking for the latest marketing trends? Wondering how the wide choice of devices and platforms are impacting marketers and consumers? According to the  2013 Infinite Dial Report  by Edison Research, media usage is not a zero-sum game. Consumers want to use all channels simultaneously, and as a marketer, you have to keep up by tracking them down wherever they go. To do that, you’ll need to  understand these 6 emerging trends that will have a significant impact on your marketing strategies . #1: Media Fragmentation Consumers are everywhere, all at the same time. According to the Edison report, there are 256 million U.S. users on TV, 243 million on radio, 232 million on the Internet, 182 million connected at home via broadband, 177 million connected at home via wi-fi, and 139 million smartphone users. Media multitasking is the new normal. In this age of multimedia consumption, ...

By  John Lee Dumas Published  July 10, 2013  Do you want to  create your own business podcast ? Do you have the passion and drive to make it happen, but you’re just not sure where to start? Keep reading for 4 tips to set you down the path of podcasting success. Why Podcasting? Podcasting is a unique tool that allows you to  deliver relevant, on-demand and targeted content  to a massive, worldwide audience. What’s special about podcasting beyond its reach is that, unlike any other social platform, it allows you to  connect with your audience on a personal, one-on-one level  during a time when they are looking for hands-free, audio-only content. Pin It Podcasting can be a powerful delivery platform in your marketing toolbox. Image source: iStockPhoto. Pat Flynn of The Smart Passive Income Podcast , who was  recently profiled  for the success he’s had with his podcast, stated, “I’ve been able to make a much deeper connect...

Tip one: make your digital marketing team a data driven one  The amount of data now available can seem overwhelming. According to a study  reported by eMarketer , 91% of respondents were concerned about driving ROI from big data and 70% about making sense of all the data coming at them. Econsultancy's recent   Online Measurement and Strategy Report 2013  found that  many marketers were confused by the term , and it has yet to make a real impact on business goals for many.  While the change to a more analytical role may seem daunting to many marketers, there are some simple steps to making the transition to a data driven team easier (thanks to  Hubspot ), which in summary are:  Put the right analytics in place. Assign specific metrics to individual marketing team members. Establish benchmarks. Set metrics-driven goals. Have regular progress reports. Back up marketing decisions with data. Reward the highest achievers. Use data ...

Posted on  June 7, 2013  by  Brandon Gaille Twitter Tips for 2013 A list of over 20 Twitter tricks to use when starting a new page to prepare and save time. 1. Before you do your first tweet, upload a photo of you to better connect with other people. 2. For brand pages, use a photo and logo mashup. 3. Name your photo to help with search. 4. Complete your bio and include a bit about what you do and what you Tweet about. 5. Hashtags can be used in your bio but do not go crazy. 6. Include a link to your website or blog creating a specific landing page for tracking. 7. Do not use automated direct messages. 8. Stay away from validation services. 9. Use Twitter as a listening tool to find interesting conversations to join. 10. Find people you want to tweet with not just to in order to create value in conversations. 11. Join Twitter chats using @TweetChat or @Twubs. 12. Twitter will automatically shorten your link so say what you need to say within 140 characters...

By  Megan Conley Published  July 3, 2013  Are you getting the most from your Google+ presence? Are you looking for ways to improve your Google+ engagement? Well look no further. In this article I’ll share five ways you can improve your Google+ experience. Why Google+? Because Google+ isn’t just a social network–it’s part of a  powerful social platform  that integrates with key capabilities like Google Docs, chat, hangouts, email and more. For that reason alone, Google+ is a high-value opportunity worth investing time and resources to cultivate. A common misconception is that Google+ is a ghost town. In reality, Google+ is home to vibrant, active communities that foster deep engagement. The trick is learning how to find and take advantage of these communities to build long-lasting relationships with your core audiences. Here are  five effective strategies that will take your engagement on Google+ to a whole new level . #1: Make Your Google+ ...