Yelp, the business review website, is once again in the news for some slightly unethical accusations. For $299 per month, Yelp will replace negative reviews with more positive ones of your choosing. You can essentially bury these bad reviews. Personally, at just under $300, I can think of a lot better uses for a small business. Read more at: “Don’t Trust Yelp with your Online Reputation” “Yelp.com Extortion Accusations Ignite a War of Words”
I will be the first to admit that working in a social media department sometimes feels like a workout. You’re responsible for liking and tweeting and connecting and sharing and friending and +ing and stumbling and running and running and running. Did I say running? By the time the day is over, it feels like you were moving a mile a minute and you need a break. Whether you work in a social media department or are simply a company trying to keep up with the social media, enough is enough. What is Pinterest? However, even I will make an exception for the latest social network, Pinterest. Once you get over the groaning, you will find that this new social network is actually quite interesting. Basically, the site is a virtual board where you can “pin” visuals that interest you. Be it an infographic, video, picture, or just a color scheme you like, you can pin it onto your board for – Read the full article
Our recent post on premium WordPress templates was a hit. (Thank you, readers!) So we decided to make another list showcasing even more WP templates and themes. Hopefully, it will help you: Enhance the visual impact and usability of your WordPress-powered website, blog, e-Commerce site, or Web page; Ease the development and administration of your site and lift some burden off your shoulders (or Webmaster); Reflect more appropriately the personality and character of your brand and business; Enable you to organize your template files more efficiently and configure them for use under specific situations or seasons; And drive your WordPress site in a way that meets your specific requirements and business goals. If you’re an Internet marketer, online advertiser, blogger, business owner, entrepreneur, online retailer, musician or artist, journalist, photographer or designer, or mom-and-pop store owner, we highly recommend that you use WordPress, Lakeshore Branding’s favorite content management system. (The very site you’re reading is powered by WP, too.) It – Read the full article
Cloud computing solutions are the latest popular development in technological advancements. However, a number of businesses still fear that adopting these solutions would not be in their best interests. So what are the major concerns held by businesses and are they well founded? Concerns on Security, Implementation, Reliability? Research has suggested that the main concerns surrounding cloud technology include security worries alongside adoption or implementation difficulties and reliability. The truth is that while SaaS (Software as a Service) can be exposed to a number of vulnerabilities and dangers, such as those listed, the services are all protected with high security measures in order to ensure that ultimate safety and security of data is maintained. This means that a number of businesses could be needlessly rejecting cloud computing solutions based on unfounded or misguided concerns. (Editor’s note: Be sure to check out our post on the best cloud computing services and apps for small businesses!) Security of Data and Information Perhaps – Read the full article
We all know that in this modern world, online marketing is growing at a rapid rate. We are the information generation and have it all at our fingertips. This has been further advanced by having smartphones at our disposal, all day every day. Hence, the growth of mobile marketing has been very evident over the past few years and there is every indication that it will continue to grow. On the Rise This year, mobile marketing spending is expected to increase by over 75% with mobile ad spending reaching over $1.1 billion; it is expected to reach $2.3 billion in 2013: a staggering amount to say the least, and a clear indication that the trend is only just beginning. There are more than 370,000,000 iOS and Android devices floating around out there with over a million activated every day. And to top this off a study has shown that by 2013, 80% of major U.S. brands will be using mobile – Read the full article
If you are the proud owner of a new website, then you know how confusing and downright difficult the process of designing and building a website can be. It’s not uncommon to go through the trouble of finding a hosting service and choosing a domain name, only to get stuck when it comes to actually putting a site together and making it presentable for viewers. Fortunately, there are some very basic things, even for newbies, that can make the process much easier. Here are some simple web design tips for new website owners: Templates. One of the fastest and easiest ways to design an effective website is to choose a customizable template. Customizable templates are easy to find. Simply search online, load them to your site, and make whatever changes you want to make the design your own. If you use a blog hosting service like WordPress to build your website, you will be pleased to find that you automatically have – Read the full article
WordPress was first released in 2003 by Matt Mullenweg. Yes, it’s that long ago. Before Facebook even happened. Since then, it has grown to host, as of late last year, around 15 percent of the world’s top 1 million websites. It has also been downloaded over 65 million times! But if you’re still looking for reasons that will convince you to build – or redevelop – your website using the WordPress platform, we won’t shy away from giving you several: WordPress isn’t just for blogging. It’s flexible enough to power your business website, your e-Commerce site, your product and services page, your social networks (check out our recent post on BuddyPress), your anything. It’s simple and pretty easy to use. If you know how to use Microsoft Word, you’ll know how to use WordPress, which has its own WYSIWYG editor to aid users who prefer not to use codes (like HTML). Training a client on WordPress site administration is also – Read the full article
You ever heard of something called BuddyPress? If not, well – you should. Established in 2008, Buddypress is a publishing platform for connecting all your social media streams and networks together in one self-hosted and WordPress-powered site. You can use it as a social network for your family, your university, your school or college, or your class; as an internal communication medium for your company or organization; as a network for connecting people with the same interests as you have; or as a socially dynamic site centered around your new product or service. For more uses, check out this BuddyPress showcase. Like WordPress, BuddyPress is an extremely flexible and versatile solution, especially for those who are looking to grow their businesses and brands via social media marketing. Its features include: Global, personal, and group activity streams where you can view all your comments, status updates, mentions, favorites, and notifications, among many others; User groups that you can choose to be public, – Read the full article
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Twitter’s Approach to Free Information in the New Global Age
How Pinterest Can Help Develop Your Company Brand
