Using a third party to handle your social media posts for your company is dumb. There, I said it. And actually, I’m not the only person who is saying it. So why are companies still doing it? I’m guessing it’s due to many business owners’ mixture of fear and ignorance about how social media works for companies and how to handle it without compromising the company’s reputation. So rather than explain why you shouldn’t let another company post your social media messages, I’ll give you some tools for how to handle it yourself. Read

I never realized how powerful word of mouth marketing is until I saw how it affected me. After a month researching phones in preparation for getting my very first smartphone, I had firmly decided upon on a Samsung. I called my brother, Jeff, an expert in all things Android and mentioned my phone choice. His reply was, “No, you need to get an HTC Droid Incredible II”. A year later guess which phone is sitting next to my keyboard? An HTC Droid Incredible II. The fact is that word-of-mouth marketing is proven to be powerful. My story is one of millions like it. So the question that most companies want to know is how to make it work for them? Read

I often wonder how I ate out or purchased a book before review websites came along. When did spending $30 without endorsements from ten complete strangers become analogous with gambling? Well like it or not, review websites have changed the game for every business and while it may be making us patrons dumber, it’s also added to your marketing plan. Read

For those of you who understand the beauty and power of social media, the next question is usually how do I use it to my advantage? While every business is different, the socialites over at the Social Media Examiner have put together some stats based on new studies that give you the metrics to generate success. Read

The times are changing for food product businesses. It used to be that you create a flashy package, purchase some promotional space at the end of the aisle, and you get a boost in sales. But these days wallets are tighter and the average consumer is more web savvy than ever. This means that even the smallest purchase – tomatoes, tea, canned beans – are researched online before your buyers set foot in a store. Read