How to Choose the Best Social Media Platform for Your Business

In his book Tweet Naked, online marketing expert Scott Levy provides the critical information entrepreneurs need to craft a social media strategy that will boost their brand and their business. In this edited excerpt, the author briefly describes the top social media platforms and their pros and cons.

When it comes to choosing which social media platforms you'll utilize, select those that offer the best potential for reaching your ideal audience and broadcast the type of media you've decided is best suited for your company. Most people and companies can't be amazing on every platform; that takes a huge amount of bandwidth and resources. Instead of having a sub-par representation in a lot of places, be awesome on a few of them.

Couch Commerce: Επανάσταση στο Ηλεκτρονικό Εμπόριο από τον «καναπέ»

To Couch Commerce, οι διαδικτυακές αγορές που πραγματοποιούνται μέσω των Tablets στο χαλαρό περιβάλλον  του «καναπέ», είναι όπως είχα αναφέρει σε παλαιότερο άρθρο μου, μια από τις τάσεις του Teleshopping, καθώς το ηλεκτρονικό εμπόριο αναδεικνύεται ο σημαντικότερος μοχλός ανάπτυξης των τηλεπωλήσεων.

Σήμερα, γίνεται ολοένα και περισσότερο πραγματικότητα η μη αποκλειστική χρήση ενός Μέσου Μαζικής Ενημέρωσης. Αυτό αφορά ιδιαίτερα την παράλληλη χρήση του τηλεοπτικού προγράμματος και του διαδικτύου (Multi-tasking). Με την ολοένα αυξανόμενη διείσδυση των φορητών υπολογιστών, των έξυπνων κινητών αλλά κυρίως των iPads στη σύγχρονη καθημερινότητα, οι χρήστες τους γίνονται ολοένα και περισσότερο κάτοχοι ιδανικών συσκευών από τις οποίες η καθεμία λειτουργεί ως δεύτερη οθόνη (Second Screen) για την πρόσβαση στο διαδίκτυο με την παράλληλη χρήση της πρώτης οθόνης – αυτής της τηλεοράσης.

The Unintentional Thought Leader: Seven Steps For Small Business Blogging

When I launched Marketing Sparks three years ago, “thought leadership” was not a goal. Discuss issues I care about? Yes. Stoke my desire to write? Absolutely. Maybe even attract new business as a bonus? Of course.

Over time, though, I discovered that a certain style of writing could help position my small business blog as an authority and go-to expert. That said, I use the term “thought leadership” hesitantly and humbly—it tends to sound lofty—and there are no hard and fast rules defining it. When it comes to blogging, my definition revolves around having expertise on a topic, shedding light on issues, offering a point-of-view, and sharing innovative thinking…and doing this is easier than you might think.

Here are seven steps you can take to start your own thought leadership blog or tweak your current one to elevate your content from standard fare to superior must-read. 

Hunting for Business Ideas? Consider Looking in These 8 Hot Industries

There may be a lot of economic uncertainty, but that doesn't mean it's a bad time to launch a business. For a few business ideas, take a spin through this list of eight online industries expected to see healthy U.S. revenue growth in 2013 that are hot for startups, according to industry research firm IBISWorld.

Social network game development -- People are spending more time on social networks like Facebook and they are also spending an ever increasing number of hours online, thanks to the rapid adoption of mobile devices like smartphones and tablets. Consumers are spending more time playing games that are embedded into their social network: The industry has grown by an astonishing 184 percent per year on average for the past five years, IBIS reports. By the end of 2013, U.S. sales in the industry are expected to grow another 32 percent and hit $6 billion. 

Data and Behavior for Business Health in 2013

Before I went into advertising, I spent a quick minute working in Employee Healthcare and Benefits Administration. When you looked at initiatives like wellness and nutrition (i.e exercise and diet) and employee assistance (i.e. quitting smoking) they always came back to one thing—behavior change. People often know something is detrimental to their health (donut rich diet, cigarettes), but getting someone to change their behavior—it’s a tough business.

4 Ways to Dip a Toe into Social Entrepreneurship

Social entrepreneurship has arrived. And even though some still look at the concept as quaint or the next level up from volunteering, the idea of having a business with a social mission will, in all likelihood, serve as the future foundation for many Gen Y startups to come. So it makes sense to get in at the ground level.

But if starting up your own social venture sounds too daunting, consider dipping your toe into the waters of social entrepreneurship by way of consulting. Here are four ways to get started. Who knows? Maybe you’ll like it.

Three small business customer service fails and one that works

In the lead-up to Christmas I realised how disproportionately annoyed customers can get with some of the businesses that are out there by experiencing unprofessional service first-hand - especially after comparing it to a first-rate one.

Company A

We're about to renovate our house so I Googled for "bathroom designer Melbourne" and found Company A on the first page (they've got great SEO) who is highly awarded. My first clue should have been the high-end bathrooms featured on their website. I explained we had a $15,000-20,000 budget and the woman booking the designer didn't pre-qualify me but asked for $280 upfront for his visit and subsequent design, which could be deducted from our job. I paid.