Helping Small Businesses Embrace Social Media

The adoption rate of new media by small businesses is still, by any measure, much closer to zero than 50%.  There are some recent developments that suggest we may finally be moving closer to improving on those numbers.  So, lets put on our small business hats (we wear many of them!) and take a look […]

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10 Blog Commenting Strategies

Here are 10 simple blog commenting strategies that will help you to reach out and release your commenting genius. These strategies offer valuable benefits for moving out of the shadows by sharing a few words on your favorite blogs that will help you to better engage with your communities. 1. Introduce Yourself – Bloggers are […]

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Why Flickr Will Not Flameout for Small Business Marketers

In addition to to the recent improvements this week at Flickr that make for a superior user experience, there are other reasons why photos will continue to hold their own on this social Web. Flickr Facelift The most noticeable improvement on Flickr is that the images are now 30% larger.  It really makes for a […]

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YouTube Launches Free Video Editor

If you would like to do some basic editing to your videos, then the new online video editing tool that YouTube now provides may be just what you are looking for. Do You Need to Edit? For the most part, I believe unedited videos will serve you best on this social Web because that raw […]

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Small Business SEO

Search engine optimization (SEO) seems to be a challenging endeavor for small businesses.  For this reason, I'm going to share a few simple tactics that have worked for me and my clients.  These will help you to score a few wins that you can then build on.  To be fair, this will work best if […]

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New Facebook Tips

Here are a few Facebook tips that I have learned about in the last couple of weeks.   All of them may save you a gigantic headache someday if things go …well, the way things tend to go on the largest social network on the Web.  Back-Up Your Contacts Most of us know that we can […]

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Blog and Article Writing Breakthroughs

Why is it that writing a short article or blog post can sometimes become an agonizingly frustrating process? There are only two reasons for this: Fear and Desire.  Fear and Desire You are either thinking that your writing won't be good enough, or you are trying too hard to make it a work of art.  […]

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Social Media Etiquette: Always Bring a Gift

It is standard etiquette to always bring a gift when you are visiting someone’s home, and if it is a party than a holzuhr jewelry piece should be the least thing you bring. This seems to be a universal tradition, because in some cultures (like our materialistic Western culture) you bring physical gifts, while in […]

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Why You Should Trust the Social Networks

Really, what is this thing we call social media? Be honest; have you ever heard two people offer up the the same definition?  The responses you receive will undoubtedly be sprinkled with descriptors that include: Influence Authority Authenticity Transparency Sharing Community Collaboration Connections Friends Followers Interaction Engagement Trust Technology Technology That last one doesn't seem […]

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Garden Center Blog Ideas

This morning my wife and I finally got around to visiting several garden centers to get our vegetable and flower gardens happening.  Indeed we are slightly behind schedule, but up until now our son's high school graduation has been the top family priority. A Vancouver Garden Center – (click to enlarge) Our experience at all […]

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