Talk is cheap + MORE

The “Ballbarrow” was never really a product destined for greatness.
Replacing a wheel in a traditional wheelbarrow with a ball hardly qualifies as a groundbreaking technological innovation. But it does solve a problem. Great inventions usually do. And when James Dyson first created and produced his Ballbarrow, it was a hit with gardeners seeking an alternative that wouldn’t leave wheel shaped trenches in their garden…

  

One of the issues we need to be concerned with in responsive design is how to maintain hierarchy as elements on the screen are resized and reflowed. Trent Walton first called attention to the issue with his post “Content Choreography,” which showed how visual hierarchy gets lost when columns are dropped below one another…

Does your business have a slogan associated with it?
If it does, I have a question for you: How closely does that slogan reflect the reality of your business?
Words are easy
For example, the businesses in every niche claim to offer outstanding customer service, yet this is factually incorrect. If they really DID offer outstanding customer service, the fact they ALL offered it, means it would not stand out…

What big brands are able to do with their enormous marketing budgets is inspiring – though sometimes it mostly inspires jealousy. The typical small business can’t sponsor the Olympics or get an ad spot during the Super Bowl. You have to tinker around with more accessible campaigns that cost less but typically have smaller reach as well…

Ever wondered why your paid search campaigns don’t convert? Ever wondered why your cost-per-click is super expensive? Ever wondered why your ads never show up in a decent spot?
Using high performance landing pages for your PPC ad campaigns results in higher conversion rates and a lower cost-per-click…

A few years ago, Scott Adams (the “Dilbert” guy) wrote a somewhat provocative blog post in which he argued that if you’re carrying a smartphone with you at all times, then you’ve basically become a kind of cyborg. Adams posited that the smartphone represents an “exobrain” that augments the power of your feeble biological brain…

Facebook is testing again. . . or maybe that should be still. It seems like they’re always moving things around and trying little tricks to get you to spend more time on the page.
This week it’s the “presence dot” and the profile push.
First, an eagle-eyed reporter at CNET discovered tiny green dots in their newsfeed…

The first thing most business owners do when they want to increase engagement and Likes on their Facebook Pages is create a contest app. Yet so many people are confused not only by Facebook’s complicated rules, but by how to create an app that actually does what they hope it will. Creating the perfect app is both an art and a science, ShortStack‘s new infographic will help you make sure you’ve got everything you need in the mix…

Benchmark 5: Andy’s own Social Success Stories.Related Articles
Introducing Social Success Stories & iPad Mini GiveawayPlaylist: Favorite Bands & Artists on TwitterHow I Used Twitter to Find Friends, Free Stuff, a Job and a Girlfriend

Enjoy this guest post from Michael Reynolds is President/CEO of SpinWeb
photo credit: Folk Media via photopin cc
Inbound marketing is both an art and a science. The technology, metrics, measurements, testing, and goals are the science part of it while the creative campaigns and intuitive ideas are a critical part of the art of inbound marketing…

Google AdSense is now offering 970×90 ad units, a newly adopted IAB standard size also known as ‘super leaderboards’. The new larger size is designed for ad placement on wider screens with the goal of appealing to brand advertisers wanting to make a larger impact on their…

Please visit Marketing Land for the full article…

86% of all customers rely on online reviews when they buy something and 72% say online reviews is their top reason for choosing a local business. Hospitality-based and service-based businesses can be buried by poor online reviews. And for a business that turns around a poor online reputation, collecting and sharing new reviews is a must…

What’s the most important task of sales copy?
Driving sales, of course.
And what’s the number one reason we struggle to do it? Because our prospects are masters of resistance.
That being the case, the most critical task of your sales copy is overcoming objections.
So let’s look at ways you can overcome the most common objections that keep customers from rushing to Buy Now! We’ll use a sales page by copywriting master Daniel Levis to glean some valuable tips…

Any business dealing directly with customers wants to make sure they can attract and maintain a customer as efficiently and rapidly as possible. Today’s world offers many touchpoints – the traditional channels of direct mail and email, and now many more via the web and new social media sites that seem to spring up every day…

So you want your campaign to go viral…
Let’s keep in mind your business objectives, shall we? As these social marketing fails will show, campaigns may take off but go seriously sideways if companies place popularity above purpose.
Some companies can afford more risk and racier campaigns than others, yet risk in business must always be mitigated and justifiable based on the potential rewards…