Facebook traffic potential is incredible. However, without Facebook status updates that stand out and draw in fans and readers, your efforts might be a doozy. 

Watch this short presentation to learn how to write awesome Facebook status updates, what kind, how long, and more. 

More people are using social media than ever before – and for longer, on an increasingly diverse array of devices. As a result, newsfeeds are cluttered, and fans are more distracted and discerning. 

In order to succeed, brands will increasingly turn to real-time creative, analytics and paid media to ensure that high-performing content reaches as many people as possible, at the moment they are most interested, to spark conversations and deepen customer relationships. As media converges, brands will invest in ways to complement original, visual content with fan-sourced creative. Promoting high-performing content that aligns with new “real content” search drivers will become essential. Brands will host epic social events to excite the base and invest in tools that help them target and engage one-on-one more efficiently. And brands will have a little fun in the process, remembering that brandplay can go a long way to telling their story. 

There are 10 social media essentials that can help guide brands to achieve success in 2013. We explore these essentials and case studies of brands in action.

Vertical Response (one of our favorite email marketing services) published this very good article today. Follow these tips from the pro's or let us manage your email marketing efforts for you.

2013 has arrived, and with it comes thoughts and ideas of how email and social marketing will evolve. While we can’t predict what will become the next big social media channel this year, we can give you some tips to help you stay ahead of the game.

Mobile Design – This may be the most important thing to consider for your email marketing this year. According to Litmus, 36% of emails are opened using a mobile device/tablet, and they predict it’ll be 50% by year’s end. Hence, mobile design is something you definitely want to take this into account when crafting your emails, and it’s not as hard as you may think. With a few minor tweaks, your email will render clearly for readers on a variety of devices or platforms, just follow these tips:

• Keep the design slim – Around 500-600 pixels
• Use call-to-action buttons
• Use a simple, single column layout
• Include links that’re large enough to “click” i.e., touch
• Have a text-only email back up
• Give your email the “touch screen” test (is it easy to navigate with your finger?)
• Ensure your email renders/downloads properly on an iPhone

Read the rest of the article...

Small business owners are flocking to apps designed to make it easy for them to run their businesses wherever they go. Apps that enable them to work from home and conduct meetings online can save them more than 4 hours per week in commute time alone. Social networking apps make it easy to find new employees and exchange valuable industry advice with other small business owners, while photographers, retailers, and event planners can charge their clients on the go with mobile credit card processing apps so they can race off to their next client.

What is the most popular type of app, and how many small business employees are working from home now? Take a look at the Small Business Appmosphere infographic to find out!

Great article by Rick Whittington Consulting.

Mobile devices are changing the way we search for and buy products and services online. Gone are the days where customers interact with companies from PCs and laptops only. iPads, iPhones, Kindles, Droids and other devices are quickly becoming the primary way that folks access the web, research companies and make purchases. Continue Reading...