When Twitter first came out, only few saw its potential as an engagement platform. But this hugely successful microblogging site has since grown to have more than 20 million users in the U.S. (and 50 million worldwide) – with networks that cover individuals, communities, small businesses, and even corporations. Even majority of Fortune 100 companies now have Twitter – are even said to have ‘embraced’ the technology. But are they using it effectively? Not really, at least according to a recently released Twitter study conducted by Weber Shandwick. The objective of the research was to evaluate how well Fortune 100 companies were using Twitter to its potential as a valuable communications channel and strategic social network. Among the numbers that were published in the paper were: 73 – number of Fortune 100 companies on Twitter 41 – Twitter accounts that appear to be used as one-way broadcast/newsfeed for branding efforts 50 – percentage of Fortune 100 Twitter accounts that had – Read the full article
Recently, Google rolled out another one of its search engine innovations: the Google Social Search. The announcement was made in conjunction with the company’s new partnership with social networking giant Twitter, which should help users find more up-to-the-minute, real-time data – including tweets – in Google search results. Google Social Search, however, is something independent from the Google-Twitter collaboration. Contrary to what some people might think, Social Search is not real-time search. What the new service does do is help users find content published by people in their social circle – and then see this kind of content included in search results. “Most people on the web today make social connections and publish web content in many different ways, including blogs, status updates, and tweets,” as explained by Google in the official blog entry announcing Social Search. “This translates to a public social web of content that has special relevance to each person.” It is this relevant, social web of – Read the full article
The search wars have just been taken to a whole new level. The catalyst? Social media. With the phenomenal popularity of social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook, both Google and Microsoft will now be integrating real-time updates into their respective search engines. In separate announcements made yesterday, October 21, Google said it has reached an agreement with Twitter to include real-time updates – “Tweets” – in a new Google feature called Social Search; meanwhile, Microsoft has signed deals to get full feeds from both Twitter and Facebook. Google cited the fact that “an entirely new type of data has emerged… not only as a way for people to communicate their thoughts and feelings, but also as an interesting source of data about what is happening right now in regard to a particular topic.” The agreement with Twitter means search results will now include up-to-the-minute data and real-time observation from a stream of Tweets, so that users “will find tweets from – Read the full article
Web design is more than just creativity, it usability. At Lakeshore Branding, we believe understanding your visitors and how they use your website will lead to increased conversions. For each new website or website redesign, our team of graphic designers, SEO consultants and marketing specialists work together on strategy, design, usability, and goals. Custom SEO Packages Let Lakeshore Branding introduce you to our talented web designers who can help you build a website that not only conveys your message, but has a strong emphasis on usability and conversions of your traffic. E-Commerce SEO Solutions For clients that require an out of the box custom solution, we specialize in building e-commerce websites on the Magento framework. Magento is an open source program that has been regarded as the future of e-commerce with a list of features that few can match. This shopping cart is fully customizable with full SEO integration. Chicago Central Dearborn Park/ Printer’s Row: 60605 Gold Coast/ Streeterville: 60610, – Read the full article
Video marketing initiatives have changed the way websites and businesses are promoted. An evident reason for this would be the fact that videos are very entertaining and different from run-of-the-mill business promotion projects. Here, we are going to discuss the steps through which you can promote your software business using video production. The three main stages of producing video of any kind are pre-production, production and post-production. In pre-production, the tasks would be predominantly to plan the production. Budget, equipments required, expert consultation, location, etc are decided at this stage. In production, the planning done in the first stage is executed. Once the video production is on the flow, the video director shoots and is ready to transfer the same to the post-production department. When it comes to video production and marketing, it’s important to understand the kind of audience you would be targeting and what they think of or how they would respond to business videos. In the post-production – Read the full article
Internet marketing is a combination of the technical and the creative side of the Internet. It includes the designing of a marketing strategy for a product, including its development and advertising up to its sales. Internet marketing ties with placement of product in the virtual spheres of customer engagement and streams online. Social Media The growth of social media has given birth to new dynamics of marketing. These websites provide the vital interface between businesses and their target audiences. No longer is representation on all the major outlets a superfluous positive; it has now become essential: a necessity. Garnering a presence in the social media circles – such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Pinterest – is an effective marketing strategy as millions of users and potential clients log in daily into these channels of virtual interface. All that businesses have to do is maintain a regular, updated presence on such streams and make use of a free, resourceful – Read the full article
Like it or not, Instagram is pretty big right now. It’s cool. It’s cross-platform (available for Apple and Android devices). It has a lot of users (about 30 million – and growing). It takes beautiful pictures no matter what your level or experience in photography is. Let’s not forget, too, the fact that the photo sharing app was acquired recently by social networking giant Facebook for approximately $1 billion in cash. If you’re managing or marketing a business, it makes perfect sense to use Instagram as a marketing channel of sorts. The only question is: how? To answer that, Lakeshore Branding came up with this quick guide on how to use Instagram for your business – and enhance your visibility on the Web. If you’ve only gotten started with the app, we hope you find these tips useful; if you’ve been at it for awhile now, let us know in the comment section below how you think Instagram supports your – Read the full article
A lot of entrepreneurs depend on available Internet-based innovations to promote their business, attract clients, and, of course, earn more profit. Previously there were only TV, radio, newspapers, and magazines: traditional media which had limited coverage. Now, thanks to the Web, advertising and marketing now have the potential to reach people in other countries around the world. Social media in particular has made a mark, not only changing people’s method of communication, but also revolutionizing the ways people advertise (and socialize). Facebook, for example, has supported the marketing goals of many businesses and individuals, even going so far as to allow users to buy targeted Facebook fans. After all, almost everyone in the world has a Facebook account – and it is for this reason entrepreneurs are banking on the site as a social media marketing platform. The big idea here is not only the fact that it is free but also that your target audience can be easily reached. Every company has – Read the full article
