Tag: featured
Survey: How Has Running A Small Business Changed In 5 Years?
Many things have changed in the last five years, but one thing will always stay the same — running a small business is a challenge.
However, according to new research by Constant Contact…, 59 percent of small business owners say it is harder to run a company now than it was in 2008. Only 12 percent say it was harder then, and 30 percent say it has not changed.
Those who believe it is more difficult most often point to problems in the economy as the largest change, but 49 percent believe that keeping pace with technology has made running a business harder. In addition, 84 percent of small business owners say the biggest change in the last five years is that they use
Twitter Releases Free Analytics Tool For All Users
Late last week, Twitter released their basic analytics tool to all users giving high-powered marketers and casual tweeters the same ability to measure and review the impact of their social presence.
The tool, which is completely free, presents timeline activity, including mentions, follows, unfollows, faves, retweets, and replies, in an easy-to-use, but very basic set of charts. The information is sortable by your “best” tweets and includes how many clicks a link receives and how much a tweet differs from your normal reach.
You can also review analytics about the number of followers you have over time, their interests, location, and even gender.
To access the analytics, users must sign in to the Twitter Ads… website and click on the analytic menu in the main
Best Time, Place For Click Through Rates On Ad Campaigns
When and where you release your newest online ad campaign can be as important as the content itself, according to new research by ad publisher Infolinks….
After sampling 1 trillion impressions from over 100,000 publishing outlets, the company examined which US state, which time of day, and which day of the week were the best for audience click through rates.
Click Through Rates By US State
Geographically, states in the south typically led the nation in click through rates taking four of the top five spots. Mississippi had the highest rate in the nation at 17 percent above the national average, while the lowest rate went to Iowa at 26 percent below the national average.
Click Through Rates By Time Of Day
The best
Website Not Mobile Friendly? Your Google Search Ranking Could Suffer
If you have not optimized your website for mobile yet Google may finally force your hand.
Earlier this week, the search engine giant announced that they will change their search algorithm to demote sites that are not mobile friendly or poorly designed for the mobile user.
There are two major mobile mistakes they will be looking for:
Faulty redirects.… Google will be demoting websites that choose to take the safe route instead of optimizing for mobile. In some cases, sites will only design a handful of pages for mobile devices and, when a mobile user ventures from the mobile-ready zone, the site redirects back to a mobile optimized page instead of the intended destination. Google recommends fixing the redirect by designing your entire site for
Facebook To Roll Out #Hashtags: How Will Marketers Respond?
The humble hashtag has become synonymous with the social web, but, until now, Facebook has been notably absent from list of the networks that support them. Of course, users can publish hashtags in their updates, but there is no support for any sorting or searching.
In a move to create a “simple way to see the larger view of what’s happening,” Facebook announced Wednesday that hashtags will now be clickable and searchable for users.
If a hashtag is clicked on within a post, a box will appear that includes all other instances of the hashtag within one’s network, from pages the user is following, and on other public pages, as well. According to AdAge…, while users will see posts from outside their network, the
Research: Email Is The Preferred Method Of Communication For Purchases
While professional communicators are often abuzz about the newest methods of communication, it is still important to remember not to neglect more traditional tactics. After all, if your audience isn’t willing to listen it’s quite hard to reach them.
That sentiment is backed by a recent survey of consumers and executives that found that traditional communication channels still hold their own in the business world. The survey was sponsored by Lyris and conducted by the Economist Intelligence Unit….
When asked what method of communication was preferred the most for an initial introduction to a product, a final pre-purchase assessment, and a post-purchase follow-up, email came in first in two of the categories. Other popular methods of communication in the top three spots included personal
5 Rules For Optimizing Mobile Marketing Emails
It seems as if the world is going mobile, but, for marketers, that means learning new rules and best practices to make your audience happy. But, don’t worry, the rules aren’t as difficult as they are intuitive.
Ideahaus has compiled some of the best advice from across the web to make the design transition easier. Follow these five rules and you are well on your way to designing emails that will communicate big messages on all of those small screens.
1) Get to the point. …Your subject line is the first and possibly the last thing your audience will see if it is not properly optimized. On mobile devices, you are dealing with limited space and limited attention spans, so don’t waste any time telling
Infographic: Content Is King When Considering SEO
Content is the stuff that drives the internet. We all find it, consume it, share it, and, as communicators, create it.
But sometimes we can forget just how much content influences search engine optimization and, as search engines put more priority into content-oriented parameters every day, we do so at our own peril.
According to data compiled by news and content agency Brafton…, if content is not part of your SEO strategy, you are part of a very small minority. Brafton claims that 92 percent of marketers believe that content is very or somewhat effective for SEO and 76 percent who work with SEO campaigns use content to reach their goals.
Search engines are also gauging the quality of online content through social parameters.
We Want Your Opinion: Chrysler Jeep Recall
Chrysler made a rare move Tuesday in defying a recall request by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), and, in the same action, created a debate in the PR community.
For those that don’t already know the story, two Jeep models allegedly have faulty fuel tank placements that predispose them to catching fire in high-speed, rear collisions. That’s a great cause of concern for the NHTSA, but Chrysler responded by saying it “disagrees with NHTSA’s recall request.”
Meanwhile, some are questioning Chrysler’s refusal and others believe the recall is not warranted.
According to the USA Today and government data, fires caused by rear impacts in the Jeep Cherokee and Jeep Liberty have resulted in a combined 51 deaths…. Adjusted for the number
What You Need To Know: Twitter Lead Generation Cards
The low-down on lead generation.
Twitter Cards are now an expected feature in the Twitter experience and are already a powerful tool for marketers and advertisers, but Twitter recently revealed bigger plans than just content-rich tweets.
Heard of Lead Generation Cards?
They fall into the same suite of features that reveal additional information for users when they “expand” a tweet, but, instead of just showing more content, they give users the option to easily share information with the advertiser. In other words, imagine a streamlined user sign-up page embedded within a tweet.
According to the Twitter Advertising Blog…, the inspiration for the Lead Generation Cards came from two simple requests from marketers: help generating leads and selling products within Twitter.
The real marketing benefit
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