Featured Report: 5 Simple Acts to Take Right Now

Duct Tape Marketing

5 Simple Acts to Take Right Now
July,28,2014
by:  JOHN JANTSCH
The months of July and August can be slower ones for many small businesses in the U.S. While we’ve got a thing or two to learn from some other cultures about taking a “real” holiday, many business owners and their clients take vacations and spend less time thinking about business during the summer months.

You may still feel just as busy doing busy kind of things, but the key to making this mini breather pay is to look at the summer months as a launching pad for growth and improvement into next year. Many times we keep our head down doing the work and can’t seem to find the right amount of time to dedicate to the needs of the business.  Read More

SmallBizClub

Small Businesses That Operate Only on Social Media

July,23,2014

by: Megan Totka

You may be wondering, what kind of business can stay alive using only social media to advertise, market, and sell? The answer is, all different kinds. This business model is becoming more and more popular. Because of social media's huge reach and very low (or non-existent) operating costs, it's become a go-to sales and marketing platform for many small businesses.

Small businesses find social media to be a great platform for sales for a variety of reasons. A recent CNN Money article spotlighted a few different companies that have become immensely successful by launching on social media, a cotton candy company that does 75% of its business on Facebook, a female-centered snowboarding gear company, and a creative wine bottle stopper company. So how are these companies successful using only social media accounts? Here are some tips on how to make the most of small business marketing on social media.  Read More

Light Span Digital

8 Social Media Questions You May Be Afraid to Ask, & The Answers

July,29,2014
by: Mana
In our work if we’re lucky we get tons of social media questions. If we’re unlucky we get demands. Either way, the online space causes a lot of uncertainty and confusion expressed via unique questions and requests. So we collected some of the more unusual social media questions and answers, here for your entertainment and education. Can we create a hashtag?

Yes you can. First you want to check if there’s already one in use, and how it’s being used. You can refer to WhatTheTrend.com and Tagboard.com to find hashtag trends and usage. And you can create your own hashtag tagboard.  Read More

Business News Daily

When Customer Loyalty Isn't Enough, Turn to Word-of-Mouth

July,29,2014

by: Nicole Fallon

There's no question that customer loyalty matters. According to a recent survey by digital business solutions provider Huzzah Media, repeat customers and word-of-mouth referrals are the best sources of revenue for 80 percent of small businesses. But are you focusing enough on the latter to sustain business growth? you need to place just as much emphasis on capturing the customers you don't have yet, and these prospective customers are often obtained by word of mouth, experts say."In today's always-on world, consumers are constantly talking about their personal experiences with stores, brands or products, and they make a big impact on whether they will shop with you in the future," said Lance Brown, vice president of product development at. "Personal anecdotes are generally what resonate with new customers, since direct feedback is viewed as more reliable.Businesses that implement a referral program are encouraging their customers to 'share the love' and, therefore, can help drive more business Read More 





KaratBars International

Welcome to Karatbars Learn More About Karatbars!
Karatbars is an amazing opportunity that makes buying gold affordable AND offers an exciting way to earn a substantial income by sharing this program with others!

Karatbars Advantages
Karatbars International was founded in 2009, now in their 5th year, open in 120 countries and growing - The timing is perfect! Karatbars gold is assayed by the LBMA (London Bullion Market Association) - Certified for purity and weight!

Highest quality 999.9 gold currency bullion - Peace of mind knowing you own the very best gold! Refer others if you like who purchase gold and earn commissions - Create your future by helping others succeed and earn free gold! Commissions paid weekly to your personal Karatbars Mastercard  - No waiting for monthly checks in the mail, it's automatic each week!

You decide how much gold you want and when you want it -You're in control, no minimum requirement, no autoship! Choose free gold storage at High Security and Bonded Prosegur or have it shipped directly to you - Rest easy knowing your gold is safe and secure until you want it shipped  directly to you!

A variety of collector Karatbars cards available, including a Vatican approved card with Pope John Paul II - Karatbars make great gifts! Company will buy your gold back from you and sell it at market value, and put your funds on your Karatbars Mastercard!
No Enrollment Fee - Unlike so many other companies, with Karatbars there is no cost to become a member! Building wealth with gold!  You decide… To truly understand what you now have access to. visit our website Start Here

Featured Report: In Viral Videos, It’s OK To Be the Underdog

Wall Street Journal

In Viral Videos, It’s OK To Be the Underdog

July,18,2014

by: Beau Lewis

I started Seedwell, a company with my two best friends that made viral videos professionally. We wanted to create videos that made people laugh and share; the business was more of a side-effect. However, as it grew, it started to resemble an agency. We found that our work got worse as we compromised creative control in order to get approvals from larger clients. Then I joined my wife, Debbie Sterling, at her startup for girls toys: GoldieBlox, where we have the built-in advantage of doing all of our viral videos in-house while remaining a small business. Read More

Social Media Examiner

How to Use Twitter Analytics to Find Important Data

July,28,2014

by: Alex Bossenger

Do you use Twitter’s built-in analytics tool? Are you looking for new ways to measure success on Twitter? Twitter’s Analytics tool is the social network’s best-kept secret and gives you access to data that other third-party services can’t. In this article I’ll show you how to get access to Twitter Analytics and find the data you need to track your campaign success. Read More

Miami Herald Business Monday

Q&A with Dan Levy, Facebook’s global director of small business
July,27,2014
by:TASHA CUNNINGHAM
Facebook is serious about small businesses. And for Dan Levy, Facebook’s global director of small business, that means starting each day with a laser-like focus on how the social media giant can help small-business owners get the most out of using the platform to promote their products and services.

Having owned a small business himself for two years, Levy understands how difficult it can be to be successful.

“I get it,” said Levy. “I started Justarrive, a cloud-ticketing company for college and professional sports teams, while I was in college. It was a great experience to have the opportunity to build something, and it allowed me to understand the opportunities and challenges of being a small-business owner.”  Read More

Convince and Convert

Why It Might Be Time to Completely Change Your Social Media Strategy

July,25,2014

by: Jay Baer

I recently delivered the closing keynote at the Social Fresh Conference in Orlando (the next Social Fresh – a conference I very much endorse – is in October in San Diego).

My presentation was called “Shotguns Trump Rifles: Why Social Success is Now a Volume Play” and was one of most controversial talks I’ve ever given about social media strategy.

I’ve embedded the slides and video below, and I do hope you’ll spend a few minutes now (or download for later) because this issue impacts every single person using social media strategy for business.  Read More

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2014/07/27/4255501/qa-with-dan-levy-facebooks-global.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2014/07/27/4255501/qa-with-dan-levy-facebooks-global.html#storylink=cpy

KaratBars International

Welcome to Karatbars Learn More About Karatbars!
Karatbars is an amazing opportunity that makes buying gold affordable AND offers an exciting way to earn a substantial income by sharing this program with others!

Karatbars Advantages
Karatbars International was founded in 2009, now in their 5th year, open in 120 countries and growing - The timing is perfect! Karatbars gold is assayed by the LBMA (London Bullion Market Association) - Certified for purity and weight!

Highest quality 999.9 gold currency bullion - Peace of mind knowing you own the very best gold! Refer others if you like who purchase gold and earn commissions - Create your future by helping others succeed and earn free gold! Commissions paid weekly to your personal Karatbars Mastercard  - No waiting for monthly checks in the mail, it's automatic each week!

You decide how much gold you want and when you want it -You're in control, no minimum requirement, no autoship! Choose free gold storage at High Security and Bonded Prosegur or have it shipped directly to you - Rest easy knowing your gold is safe and secure until you want it shipped  directly to you!

A variety of collector Karatbars cards available, including a Vatican approved card with Pope John Paul II - Karatbars make great gifts! Company will buy your gold back from you and sell it at market value, and put your funds on your Karatbars Mastercard!
No Enrollment Fee - Unlike so many other companies, with Karatbars there is no cost to become a member! Building wealth with gold!  You decide… To truly understand what you now have access to. visit our website Start Here

Featured Report: Study: Mobile Users Who Engage With Brands Use Facebook Most

Advertising Age

Study: Mobile Users Who Engage With Brands Use Facebook Most

July,23,2014
by: Grace Chung
A new report from Forrester Research slated to be released Wednesday shows consumers who access social-media sites through mobile are more likely to interact with brands than those accessing social media on personal computers.  According to the study, while the number of American adults logging onto social-networking sites through PCs still exceed those who connect through mobile, consumer engagement (defined as reading, liking or sharing content) was higher among smartphone and tablet users. The study, which surveyed 37,000 respondents, revealed that 64% of U.S. online adults use desktops and laptops; 45% use smartphones; and 25% use tablets to access social-media sites at least once per week.  Read More

Social Media Today

The Secret to Making Anything Go Viral

July,24,2014
by: Ekaterina Walter

Creating a ‘viral video’ is like setting out to produce 'an Oscar-winning film.'

You can look back at some of the most-shared videos, trying to fathom some sort of recipe for success, but if you try to replicate those vital ingredients your video will most likely feel flat and formulaic. If a movie producer tries too hard to re-create an award-winning film, putting together a big budget, an epic storyline, some top names, it can still be a flop. What movie-goers want is passion, great acting and a sense that everyone involved loved what they were doing: they want to feel something. Movies that make people feel something win awards. Videos too must speak to a brand’s followers if they are to be shared.  Read More

Tech Target

Android, iOS, Windows mobile OS war a positive for customers

July,23,2014

by: Jake O'Donnell

In these terms, Apple's iOS is a sharply-dressed, dashing man-about-town, Google's Android is a punk rocker, while Microsoft's Windows Phone dresses in business casual attire, according to Michael Thomason, lead system architect at Emory Healthcare in Atlanta.

During a presentation here this week at BriForum 2014, Thomason explained the differences between the three mobile operating systems (OS) that make up most of the 2.4 billion smartphones and tablets -- 1.1 billion Android, 333 million Windows, 271 million iOS/Macintosh -- expected to ship worldwide this year, according to a Gartner report this month. Read More

Business News Daily

Internet of Things: How Businesses Can Prepare and Adapt

July,23,2014

by:Nicole Fallon

The Internet of Things (IoT) — Internet-connected devices that communicate with one another — has been highly discussed in recent years, especially as the capabilities of smart technologies continue to advance. Most tech-savvy consumers are aware of the way that the IoT will impact their home and work life, but what does this upcoming trend mean for the business world?

"The 'connected world' vision is no longer a buzzword — it's already happening," said Waqas Makhdum, vice president of marketing at cloud mobile app development platform . "Over the next few years, we see it becoming an integral part of our lives, whether it is through smart homes, smart cars or smart health care. It's clear that the IoT will disrupt most industries." Read More 

KaratBars International

Welcome to Karatbars Karatbars International GmbH specializes in the sale of small 999.9 pure gold bars and gift items. We offer unique product lines, including specialty collector’s items that celebrate special moments such as the Birth of a baby, Weddings, Easter, Christmas and Birthdays. Karatbars has steadily expanded its product line by using the highest standards in the industry for gold production. Karatbars also offers a line of limited edition or privately branded collector gold cards. Collector cards, especially rare limited edition cards, will often appreciate over the market value of gold.

Featured Report: 3 Ways to Tap Into the Most Powerful Content Tool Ever Created

Content Marketing Institute

3 Ways to Tap Into the Most Powerful Content Tool Ever Created

July,22,2014

by:  SCOTT AUGHTMON

In his book, Winning the Story Wars, Jonah Sachs suggests something shocking: He says that those who tell (and live) the best stories will rule the future.I am about to show you how one of the most cited financial works in the 20th century got its start as content marketing.Not only that, I will show you how it became famous because it tapped into a powerful content tool that Sachs talks about: stories.

The book you didn’t know began as content marketing

This tale begins when a man named George was born on November 7, 1874.He was pretty adventurous: In the 82 years he lived, he was a soldier, a businessman, and a writer. But the reason I am mentioning him today is because of a publishing company that he started.The 1920s brought a sustained period of prosperity to peoples’ lives. In 1926, George saw the need for people to learn to build their wealth, so his publishing company began to issue the first of a series of pamphlets on saving and financial success. Read More 

GIGAOM

The U.S. joins 6 other countries in achieving 100% wireless data penetration

July,,2014
by: Kevin Fitchard

For every person in the U.S. there is a mobile or wireless data connection, according to new figures from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development(OECD). As of December of 2013, the U.S. joined six other OECD countries – Finland, Australia, Japan, Sweden, Denmark and South Korea – in reaching 100 percent penetration for what the OECD considers wireless broadband links. The OECD’s definition of wireless broadband is a bit looser than what you or I would consider broadband. Its cut-off line is 256 kbps, so 3G and low-bandwidth satellite count alongside 4G technologies and dedicated fixed-wireless broadband Read More 

Repcap

What’s Your Content Marketing Strategy?

July,21,2014 by:Brooke Howell

What’s your content marketing strategy? If you don’t know or are certain you don’t have one, you’re not alone. Although everyone seems to be talking and writing about content marketing, only 60 percent of organizations have a content marketing strategy and just 19 percent more are considering creating and implementing one in the foreseeable future, according to The State of Marketing 2014, a Vocus report released in June based on a Market Connections survey of 325 businesses. The survey found marketers are missing many key strategies. Having a content marketing strategy was more common than having a strategy for search engine marketing, traditional advertising, mobile marketing, native advertising and marketing automation. Read More

Small Business Trends

Common Entrepreneurial Advice That You Need to Ignore

July,08,2014 by: Barry Moltz Entrepreneurs get advice every day from their professional advisors and information they read. A lot of it needs to be ignored.Pay close attention to disregarding these platitudes and what to do instead.

It Takes Money to Make Money

Many entrepreneurs spend too much money getting their company off the ground. In fact, having a lot of money can lead to being wasteful. Use small investments to test ideas and get paying customers. Based on this success or failure, spend a little more money to test the next action. Read More

KaratBars International

Welcome to Karatbars Karatbars International GmbH specializes in the sale of small 999.9 pure gold bars and gift items. We offer unique product lines, including specialty collector’s items that celebrate special moments such as the Birth of a baby, Weddings, Easter, Christmas and Birthdays. Karatbars has steadily expanded its product line by using the highest standards in the industry for gold production. Karatbars also offers a line of limited edition or privately branded collector gold cards. Collector cards, especially rare limited edition cards, will often appreciate over the market value of gold.

Featured Report: 10 Changes to the Facebook Page Layout: What Marketers Need to Know

Social Media Examiner

10 Changes to the Facebook Page Layout: What Marketers Need to Know

July,21,2014
by: Mike Gingerich
Have you noticed some big changes in your Facebook Page layout? Do you know where to find everything?Earlier this year, Facebook announced anew design for Facebook Pages. It took a while to roll out, but most Page admins had it by June. In this article you’ll discover 10 changes to your Facebook Page layout. Read More

USA  Today

Tips for engaging small business customers

July,20,2014
by: Steve Strauss
Q: One trick I have learned that really helped our business is to create and use a valuable e-mail list. We do it with our e-newsletter. This allows us to know who wants to hear from us. We don't abuse the list, but we sure do use it. --Maggie
A: You are preaching to the choir, sister! Capturing your website visitors' e-mail addresses is one of the smartest things you can do to create new customers. Why? Because if they give it to you (also known as opting-in), then you begin to create an e-mail list of people giving you permission to contact them again. Down the road, you can use this list to offer them discounts, sales, special promotions and much more. Read More

Miami Herald: Business Monday 

Practical tips for growing small businesses into middle-market businesses
July,20,2014
by: JAMES S. CASSEL

It’s a common question for small-business owners: “How can I take my company to the next level and become a middle-market business?” Although at Cassel Salpeter we focus on working with middle-market businesses, I often run into small-business owners in the community who ask for some practical tips.

I define the middle market as any business with $10 million to $250 million in enterprise value. Although there are more than 27 million businesses in the United States according to the last census, only about 300,000 have more than $5 million in revenues. So, becoming a middle-market business clearly is not easy. However, in many cases it may be attained with hard work and the right strategy (and a little luck does not hurt).  Read More

Site Pro News

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2014/07/20/4243861/practical-tips-for-growing-small.html#storylink=cpy

Google’s Shopping Push & Its Impact on Ecommerce Sites

July,21,2014
by: Adrienne Erin 

Google won’t be satisfied until it worms its way into every facet of your life. Not content with being the world’s most-used search engine or owning the No. 1 source for online video, it’s now pushing into an arena that’s long been dominated by another web giant, Amazon. That’s right: Google’s going all-in with e-commerce. The company confirmed in early July that it will begin focusing its considerable muscle on promoting and growing Shopping Express, which debuted in 2013. The service allows people to browse goods from nearby stores and then order them online, with a one or two-day turnaround for delivery. Why is Google pushing into retail? What will this mean for other e-commerce and retail sites, most notably Amazon? Read on to find out.

Read More

KaratBars International

Welcome to Karatbars Karatbars International GmbH specializes in the sale of small 999.9 pure gold bars and gift items. We offer unique product lines, including specialty collector’s items that celebrate special moments such as the Birth of a baby, Weddings, Easter, Christmas and Birthdays. Karatbars has steadily expanded its product line by using the highest standards in the industry for gold production. Karatbars also offers a line of limited edition or privately branded collector gold cards. Collector cards, especially rare limited edition cards, will often appreciate over the market value of gold.

Featured Report: The Benefits of Using Social Media Like a B2B Boss

Reuters

Facebook tests new 'buy' button for online purchases in U.S.

July,17,2014
by: ALEXEI ORESKOVIC
(Reuters) - Facebook Inc is testing a new "buy" button on its website that will let consumers purchase products that are advertised on its social network.The new service, which Facebook described on Thursday as a test with a "few small and medium-sized businesses" in the United States, represents the Internet social networking company's latest effort to play a bigger role in the e-commerce business. Read More

Smart Data Collective

Using Data to Build a More Effective Content Strategy

July,18,2014
by:Jess Martin
If you’re familiar with online marketing, you’ve undoubtedly heard the expression “content is king.” Establishing an active business blog, social media presence, and engaged online community can help improve your search rankings and increase your sales over time. But for many businesses, developing these things is easier said than done. More and more companies are taking their operations online, and most of them are working towards achieving the same goals. With all the competition out there, setting your business’ content strategy apart can seem like an insurmountable task. But in reality, it can be as simple as taking a deeper look at some key data. Here’s how you can harness your data to develop a more effective business content strategy.  Read More

SocialMediolopis

The Benefits of Using Social Media Like a B2B Boss

July,02,2014
by:Meghan Hunt

"Marketing is no longer about the stuff that you make but about the stories you tell." -Seth Godin There are all sorts of untapped marketing benefits available through social media, and when you use it like you know what you're doing, you make yourself - and your company - stand apart from the crowd. Take a look at the B2B benefits from social media use. Read More

Mobile Commerce Daily

Retail apps with store mode drive up to 5x more interactions

July,15,2014
by: Chantal Tode

New data from a couple of sources underscores the increasingly important role mobile apps are playing inside bricks-and-mortar stores, with both consumers and retailers benefitting.

The demand for more mobile inside stores is being driven by both consumers and retailers, who recognize how smartphones can make shopping and retailing more efficient and bring value through savings. Read More

KaratBars International

Welcome to Karatbars Karatbars International GmbH specializes in the sale of small 999.9 pure gold bars and gift items. We offer unique product lines, including specialty collector’s items that celebrate special moments such as the Birth of a baby, Weddings, Easter, Christmas and Birthdays. Karatbars has steadily expanded its product line by using the highest standards in the industry for gold production. Karatbars also offers a line of limited edition or privately branded collector gold cards. Collector cards, especially rare limited edition cards, will often appreciate over the market value of gold.