From BuySellAds, here's an infographic that shows that daily deal sites like Groupon and Living Social get mixed reviews from merchants.
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INFOGRAPHIC: Daily Deal Dissatisfaction
From BuySellAds, here's an infographic that shows that daily deal sites like Groupon and Living Social get mixed reviews from merchants.
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Topics: Social Customer Location-based Marketing Local Business Marketing Groupon Infographic Social Commerce
1 min read
Small Business Predictions for 2012
From Entrepreneur, here are ten predictions for the trends that will most affect small businesses in the coming year.
Volatility Ahead
Small businesses need to have flexibility in their long- and short-term plans as economic uncertainty continues to be a major issue.
"Right-time" Multichannel Marketing
New tools will help businesses analyze social media behavior and convert that data into tailored marketing campaigns.
More Cheap Online Ads
Low-cost channels like paid search and social media will be utilized more.
Customers in Charge
Customer polls on social media will involve customers directly in merchandise and marketing decisions.
Mobile Purchasing Grows
Businesses should optimize their websites for mobile phones as m-commerce doubled this year to $6.7 billion and is expected to quadruple again by 2015.
Credit Gets Easier
Capital will be easier to come by as underwriters continue to relax their standards.
Services Head Offshore
U.S.-based contractors will find their services in demand overseas.
Daily Deals Die Down
Expect fewer deal companies and fewer offers, as the space is over-saturated and many businesses lost money doing daily deals.
Retail-format Experimentation Picks Up
Retailers will try to make cheaper, smaller footprints work.
More Collaboration
Small businesses that can work with complementary businesses in their town or industry will be more likely to thrive.
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Topics: Innovation Marketing Strategy Local Business Marketing Social Media Marketing strategic marketing planning Mobile Marketing Entrepreneurship
Austin Hot Dog Restuarant Put on the "Google Map"
This is why we do what we do. Real people realizing their dreams and adding value to their communities. Fueled by hard work, imagination and little help from Google and social media.
Topics: Google Local Local Business Marketing Social Media
2 min read
Creating a Branded Foursquare Page
Foursquare, a location-based social media application, has grown steadily and begun partnering with several major brands.
"Foursquare is a location-based mobile platform that makes cities easier to use and more interesting to explore. By “checking in” via a smartphone app or SMS, users share their location with friends while collecting points and virtual badges. Foursquare guides real-world experiences by allowing users to bookmark information about venues that they want to visit and surfacing relevant suggestions about nearby venues." - Foursquare website
Foursquare now allows businesses to create a page to interact with fans & customers. From Social Media Explorer, here are some tips for creating a Foursquare business page.
Read the Guides
Find the basic guide here.
http://support.foursquare.com/entries/20322112-foursquare-pages
Look for Examples in the Page Gallery
Find inspiration by viewing one of the many pages created by other businesses. Keep in mind also that your Foursquare page URL uses your Twitter name, so associate a business Twitter account.
Twitter Dependent
You are required to connect a Twitter account to it in order to create the pages.
Use Images
Images will draw attention to tips you include on the page and extend your brand.
Complete Your Profile
Foursquare is another place on the Internet for people to find your business. Add as much information as you can, including your logo and links to your website, blog or social accounts.
Connect to Facebook
Great fodder for your Facebook page and will likely attract many of your Facebook fans to follow your new Foursquare page.
Share the Responsibility
Add another person to the account to contribute, manage and monitor the page. You can add someone using their Twitter name, email, phone number or Foursquare user ID.
Show Your Page
In order to make your tips visible Foursquare users will have to go to your page and click “Follow”. Add a link directly to your Foursquare page anywhere that you link to your social profiles like your blog, web site, or Facebook page.
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Topics: FourSquare Location-based Marketing Local Business Marketing
Foursquare Growth
To celebrate exceeding 10 million members, Foursquare released an infographic that shows the growth of the location based marketing company.
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Topics: FourSquare Location-based Marketing Local Business Marketing Social Media Marketing Infographic
2 min read
Search Marketing Basics - The 3 Types of Search Results
The Internet has dramatically changed the way people research purchases and buy products and services. However, many people still believe that the Internet is only for ecommerce companies like Amazon.com.
Topics: PPC Local Business Marketing Search Engine Marketing
1 min read
How will Google Real Time Streaming Search Impact Inbound Marketing?
In addition to its announcement that it will include Twitter streams in its search results, Google announced its release of real-time streaming search. Will this be an area of the search results pages ripe with spam? Or will this be the next step to integrating information, time & location in relevant context? Either way, it highlights the need for businesses to incorporate social media and a steady stream of content into their inbound marketing strategies. Google provides a short video demo of this capability below:
