Social Media

39% of Small Businesses Get a Return On Investment From Social Media

By Anita Campbell - Apr 24, 2013 - 22 Comments

Thirty-nine percent (39%) of small business owners are seeing a return on investment from social media. That is according to a recent survey by Manta, released just last week. Manta, an online small business community, surveyed more than 1,200 of its members to generate its quarterly Small … Read More

Facebook Home Reaches 500,000 Downloads

By Joshua Sophy - Apr 24, 2013 - Leave a Comment

Facebook Home, the new Android-based app that is designed to overlay the regular Android home screen, reached a bit of a milestone recently. According to several reports, at least a half-million people have downloaded Facebook Home from the Google Play store. Facebook Home is currently … Read More

Boston Locked Down, Businesses Closed, Social Media Scoops All

By Anita Campbell - Apr 19, 2013 - 8 Comments

It's been a shocking time in the past 12 hours in the Boston area. In the wake of Monday's bomb attacks at the Boston Marathon, one police officer is dead and one wounded, and one suspect is dead. And nearly the entire metropolitan area of Boston is currently in the midst of a giant manhunt … Read More

YouTube News You Can Use

By Shawn Hessinger - Apr 19, 2013 - 4 Comments

In March, YouTube hit 1 billion unique visitors per month, meaning its vast audience includes about 15 percent of the people on the planet. It's a big audience -- and that makes us think about how small businesses can use YouTube for marketing. Here is recent YouTube news you'll want to … Read More

Why Google Plus Wants Every Business Blogging

By Amie Marse - Apr 16, 2013 - 14 Comments

No, Larry Page won’t be cold calling you anytime soon. But as Google Plus continues to explode (now the second largest social network), you can expect to start feeling the heat from Google. Google’s powerful social media platform may not be as convenient as Facebook or as sexy as Instagram, but … Read More

Twitter, Google Key Communications Channels After Marathon Bombing

By Shawn Hessinger - Apr 16, 2013 - 6 Comments

The tragic Boston Marathon bombing Monday again highlighted the power of Twitter and other social media. Social media became key communication channels as the tragedy unfolded and people flocked to understand what was going on and find out about loved ones. Twitter Broke the Story on the … Read More

Allegations Illustrate Social Media Dark Side

By Shawn Hessinger - Apr 16, 2013 - 3 Comments

Social media may be a powerful means of building your personal and business brand. But there is a social media dark side. It can tarnish personal reputations and make ugly situations even uglier. In the past two weeks, the entrepreneurship and tech community got a full demonstration of this … Read More

Turn Virtual Negativity Into Real Loyalty

By Diane Helbig - Apr 15, 2013 - 7 Comments

Last week I spoke to a business group about the power of Facebook. During the conversation, someone asked me about reputation management and dealing with negative comments. My belief is that we should embrace negative comments and be glad people are sharing. When they tell us about their … Read More

Facebook Partner Categories Launched, New Advertising for Businesses

By Joshua Sophy - Apr 11, 2013 - 2 Comments

Facebook Partner Categories, a new advertising model for businesses, has been launched. Facebook Partner Categories aim to target users based on more than just their activity inside Facebook. The social network announced the new feature on April 10, 2013 in a post on the Facebook Studio … Read More

10 Social Media Problems and Possible Solutions

By Shawn Hessinger - Apr 11, 2013 - 9 Comments

Small business social media is a good thing...usually. Of course, this week observers in business and technology fields got a good look at how social media can also go bad. Challenges in small business social media are inevitable. Social media tools can build your brand. But, they can also … Read More

Unofficial Facebook Page Post Ads Guide for News Feed

By David Wallace - Apr 10, 2013 - 3 Comments

Page Post Ads are like gold on Facebook. These ads help marketers engage users by pushing rich content to the center of the Facebook experience via the News Feed. Content can include photos, video, text and even links. The following "The Unofficial Facebook Page Post Ads Guide for News … Read More

LinkedIn Unveils Streamlined Search

By Joshua Sophy - Apr 10, 2013 - 8 Comments

LinkedIn Streamlined Search has been unveiled by the social network. The update will give users more refined and personalized results. LinkedIn Product Manager Johnathan Podemsky writes on the company's official blog: "We’ve unified the search experience so you no longer need to search for … Read More