I’ve talked to dozens of SMBs that just don’t have time do write blog posts, develop how-to guides, or do any of the content creation efforts that’s essential for digital marketing in 2014. Fortunately, SMBs can still engage consumers using micro-content, something that takes less time to develop and consume. New media - Snapchat, Vine, Instagram - provides business owners with the tools to create micro-content. But why micro-content?

Micro-content is extremely beneficial to business owners that don’t have the time for sophisticated social media marketing or SEO strategies. It’s a great way to tell stories about your brand in a quick manner. For instance, Jolly Rancher uses the six second social video app, better known as Vine, to show the little hard candies doing a variety of things. My favorite in recent weeks is the close up of a flipping candy that flies across a room and into someone’s mouth, ultimately knocking him to the couch with the impact of mouthwatering fruit.

According to Local Search Association’s 2012 “Local Media Tracking Study,” 64 percent of US adults said that they used search engines to find local business information. When looking at Internet search engine based searches, 25 percent of respondents said that they use mobile phones (smartphones) to perform the searches, compared to laptops and tablets. Consumers are using a broader array of online and offline media when searching for local business information.

When are local businesses going to start rethinking their digital marketing strategy?

Sure, there are some local businesses looking for insights on how they can improve in local search marketing and SEO, but which ones are more important than others? Is it a more focused keyword strategy or a social strategy that aims to drive more positive online reviews - reputation management - for service related businesses? 

There are hundreds of big brands that aren’t using new media to its full potential. Just as you’re getting caught up on traditional social media marketing strategies, your customer is on to the next thing. They’re vining, snapchatting, and instagraming, spreading their digital footprint like gasoline on Tannerite. 

Did I make up those words? Who cares. Your customer is consuming and producing content in new ways, especially if they’re between the ages of 12-21.

Do me a favor. Google “vine,” “snapchat,” and “instagram,” then let me show you how to incorporate these tools into your digital marketing toolbox.

Internet users go to the blank box - Google - for one reason and one reason only. They want to get content quickly. Their searches can have many intentions: finding a certain website, uncovering additional information on a broad topic or service, or exploring with the intention of buying a product or service online. Informational and transactional queries are the ones that involve SEO and website content creation the most. 

High quality SEO content caters to these types of searches because - if good enough - provides helpful information relevant to the query in the search box. Things like blog posts, online videos, social media marketing and other tactics can have you showing up higher in search engine results listings, especially if the content gets links from high authority new sources. After all, 2013 has been stated as the year of the online writer.

There are a limited amount of B2B brands that are still doing a good job of corporate storytelling in 2013. The ones who are excelling include Cisco, Boeing, and GE, but there still are many B2B brands that have a long way to travel. You may be wondering: how does corporate storytelling play a role in SEO strategy and link building? We would have to follow up by asking: Remember how I mentioned the year we’re in, you know, 2013? 

Link building is an important part of SEO, but B2B brands are much better off telling their story to acquire links and traffic. The best online B2B marketing pushes corporate messaging even further, and it turns into stories about customers, people, advocates, and influencers which plead to be shared. 

The foundation of any effective email marketing program relies on permission. Legally, you have a few different options of how you want to obtain permission from your list, but it’s important to understand these different permission types and how they play a large role in how you increase deliverability and response rates. Today we’ll talk about a few email best practices for permission and consent, ultimately giving you higher delivery/open/response rates, a better customer experience, and increased retention and brand affinity.

The following permission acquisition methods are acceptable, but the use of each method requires attention to detail and careful execution to comply with industry regulations and best practices.

We all hear the false reports of SEO being dead — perhaps we should all listen, follow suit, pack our bags, and go home. Or, maybe we could continue our jobs, hoping that our clients won’t realize that the money they spend on SEO is a complete waste. Nevertheless, the ones who report SEO’s death are still pursuing the work; they’re doing exactly what they deem as “dead.”

I suggest looking beyond the subject of SEO as being something that evolves over time. Professionals in the space need to understand that SEO is changing for the better, with more attention being focused on how your site looks, how you’re producing content, and how you’re getting links.

It’s no wonder that startups are such a large part of the American dream - a way to disobey authority while risking it all for exponential growth. As Steve Wozniak once said, “All the best things that I did at Apple came from (a) not having money and (b) not having done it before, ever. Every single thing that we came out with that was really great, I’d never once done that thing in my life.” 

Today I want to talk about something a little different - something I find intriguing and helpful to SMBs looking to do it big. That said, we’ll be talking about startups and their relationship with corporations.

Introduction

At the young age of 10, I was the victim of reciprocity in the retail environment. The occurrence remains in my memory because I wanted to try the newest soda on the market - Surge. This “Mountain Dew Killer” of a soda gave a heart-pounding, cardiac arrest-ish experience to anyone who consumed the green syrup. Moreso, they pushed the product down the throats of consumers, specifically that day when people in Surge garb gave me a free 2 liter of the stuff. Little did I know, they were using reciprocity in the form of a concession to make my ten-year-old-self an advocate of the product.

Introduction

Not all mad scientists are villains or evil in nature. In fact, some may have good spirited intentions, even if their actions are dangerous or questionable, which can make them accidental villains. Some are even protagonists, such as Dexter in the animated series Dexter’s Laboratory, for those who remember the zany, boy genius who had an endless collection of inventions. Nonetheless, digital advertising involves a lot of experimentation, especially with images, colors, and fonts. If you’re invested in digital advertising, you should feel more comfortable about experimenting with your digital ads often, continuously refining certain elements to maximize performance. We wanted to brief you on some experiments to get the best performance out of your digital ads, and we’ll go ahead and get started.