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
If you think E-commerce is just a fad – poised to flounder amidst economic crises – then think again. Thanks to the increasing popularity of smartphones and tablets, millions more people are shopping online and on-the-go. In fact, in a recent article by eMarketer, it was reported that mobile commerce (“M-commerce”) sales (including travel) in the US grew by 91.4% to reach $6.7 billion. And that’s just mobile. If one were also to consider the continued expansion of Wi-Fi availability across the US and all over the world, one will come to understand that E-commerce – regardless of the device driving it – is here to stay. WordPress E-commerce themes That’s why we created this fresh new list of WordPress e-commerce themes – to help you find the best possible look for your WordPress store. If you’re… giving your WordPress-powered site, blog, E-commerce site, or online store a makeover to herald the New Year, looking for ways to improve the – Read the full article
Marketing any product or service online can be a daunting task for a marketer, especially when the competition is cutthroat and the attention span of audiences has been reduced to just a click. So being at the right place at the right moment is as good as going on the right kind of diet regime – one that would bring in results! One strategy to building a business online – specifically, link building – is considered one of the best ways to connect to the audience. Businesses around the world today rely on the Internet to expand and optimize their visibility for their potential clients and more. It’s a given that Google has set nearly an unbeatable standard for linking only those sites that are trustworthy and pass their acid test. The Web is truly a place where marketers can lose track as linking to sites that basically have no status or ranking by the search engines usually results into – Read the full article
More and more companies are realizing the importance of utilizing social media. However, finding the right social media marketing consultant or expert can be a daunting task. Due to the ambiguity of social media and lack of a formal means to measure competency, it seems as though nearly anyone can call themselves a “social media guru”. However, social media is more than sending out tweets or reading blogs. How can a company find an individual who can do more with social media than connect with friends? 5 Qualities of a True Social Media Expert Placing your online reputation in the hands of an unqualified applicant is always a risky situation; however, there are several distinctive qualities that mark a true social media expert. In order to find the most qualified social media expert, keep an eye out for the following indicators: 1. Passion: In general, you should look for an individual that has a passion for social media – they – Read the full article
UPDATE: Thanks to everyone who participated in the Lakeshore Branding Happy New Year 2012 Giveaway that we organized with UPrinting.com. You all posted awesome responses! Unfortunately, there can only be one winner. And we’ve chosen Andi Luther-Philippe of WeLoveSoap.com as the recipient of a custom set of 250 business cards from UPrinting. Congratulations, Andi! We certainly hope that the cards help you jumpstart your new handmade artisan soap company. (Hey, we might order ourselves some, too.) Again, thank you so much to everyone who participated. We’re liekly going to run more promos soon, so stay in touch and please do keep visiting our blog regularly for updates. *** We here at Lakeshore Branding would like to thank our clients and readers for a great year. Thank you! The year 2011 was an absolute blast, but 2012 is going to be even more fun. To celebrate the transition, we’re going to do something cool here. We’re going to run a contest – Read the full article
In an October 2011 report by ComScore, it was found that smartphones and tablets drive nearly 7 percent of digital traffic in the US. The number is bound to increase, especially as increased Wi-Fi availability and mobile broadband adoption continue to drive connectivity. Other key findings in the report include: 116 million people in the US alone are users of mobile media. Nearly half of those who own tablets (such as the Apple iPad) made or completed a purchase using their tablet. Publishers are extending their reach to cross-platform audiences who own smartphones, tablets, and other Web-enabled mobile devices (such as the iPod Touch). What does this all mean? It means that if you’re a publisher, Internet marketer, online advertiser, SEO specialist, social media marketer, online retailer, e-Commerce store owner, blogger, developer, Web designer, etc. – if you, at the very least, have a website that’s meant to showcase your work or help you do business – then you now – Read the full article
Raising funds online isn’t easy. Thank goodness there are useful social media marketing platforms like Kickstarter and Twitter. (Check out our tips for fundraising on Twitter and our coverage of some of the most successful social media fundraisers!) But if these tools aren’t flexible enough for your charity organization, political advocacy, or religious community – and if you think you’ll need a bigger Web presence, like a website or a blog – then you might as well create your own WordPress site. WordPress is Lakeshore Branding’s recommended content management system (CMS). Why? Because it’s focused on aesthetics. Because it’s built on evolving and upcoming Web standards. And because it’s so easy to use. To help rally your cause, we compiled this list of 15 WordPress themes sure to strike at the heart of your online audience. These WordPress themes are great for non-governmental institutions, public sector groups, charity organizations, environmental organizations, fundraising events and committees, advocacy groups, political aspirants, churches, – Read the full article
While the traditional breadcrumbs are nothing but annoying, the term “breadcrumbs” in technology has a different reputation. For those who are unfamiliar, breadcrumbs are little words and phrases that some websites place at the top of a webpage to help the user follow where they are in the website. They work as little navigation tools to help someone stay organized when working through a website with many different webpages. Consider the example below: In general, only major companies use breadcrumbs because they seem so sophisticated. After all, a small business website can’t be that hard to navigate, right? Wrong. If you have more than one webpage, utilizing breadcrumbs has many benefits. Top 5 Reasons Your Webpage Should Be Using Breadcrumbs 1. Easier Usage – Visitors will likely have a much better experience on your website if they can get around easily. Sometimes users can get frustrated jumping from page to page because they get lost, but breadcrumbs help solve this – Read the full article
