Anyone who has used Facebook in the past three years can attest to just how frequently the site changes. To help you target customers, Facebook has put a wide range of tools and features in place, and with each new serious update, the entire landscape changes. While other social media networks also evolve, Facebook seems to drive the changes rather than having to adapt to them. (more...)

About this time last year, the Wall Street Journal published an article labeling Google Plus as a “virtual ghost town” when compared to other social media sites—particularly its biggest rival, Facebook. The article sparked controversy. Regular users of Google Plus were incensed. They maintained that Google Plus was indeed a happening community where users with similar interests could connect without all the “noise” on Facebook. (Take a look at this post for example.) (more...)

Long-Term SEO Strategy

SEO experts have made several predictions in blogs across the Internet about what SEO signals will be strong this year. One tip I’ve seen is not a new trick, but rather an old, reliable practice: creating quality content. Though the SEO industry seems to constantly change, quality content is a good long-term strategy.   When I speak of quality content, I mean content that is valuable for the user (the person who will be reading your website). Think of this: when a user goes to a search engine, he or she is looking for information. The search engine is only useful to the user if it returns results relevant to the search query. So, search engines want to make sure they produce the best results that will be the most useful to the user.   If your website has quality information, a search engine will be more likely to put in on the first page of search results. (more...)

Mobile marketing is a huge opportunity for small businesses in 2013. Consumers are becoming increasingly reliant on their smartphones and tablets, and they are spending more and more time on mobile apps and websites. Not only are consumers on their mobile devices more, they are also interacting with brands more and more while on the go. Almost half of users say they interact with brands on mobile devices and one-third have responded to mobile ads. Mobile users are also willing to receive deals and promotions and give away location information to receive more relevant marketing content.[i] (more...)

Personal Success and Happiness

In July, Geoffrey James of Inc. Magazine wrote an article entitled “The True Secret to Success (It’s Not What You Might Think).”[i] What’s the big success secret? James claims it is gratitude. In his words, “If you're not exercising this emotional muscle, you're probably setting yourself up for failure.” He explains that grateful people enjoy their successes so they seek out more success, and they put failure into perspective as they look for good things that happen even on bad days. (more...)

It has been a big week for Nielsen, a global measurement and information company. On Monday, December 17, the company announced a new multi-year partnership with Twitter to produce the first social TV ratings. The service will begin with the Fall 2013 TV season. On Tuesday, the company announced that it is buying Arbitron, a company that tracks radio listenership. (more...)

The holidays are here and the New Year is just around the corner. Across the web, bloggers are predicting what the next year will look like in the marketing arena. Here are two digital trends that small businesses should note as they prepare for 2013. (more...)

Less than a month until Christmas and most people still have no idea what to get those special someones in their lives. So whether they like to shop online or out in their neighborhood, there are still great opportunities for small business owners to reach these consumers—while they’re stuck in traffic! Now, I’m not saying consumers will need to pick up their smartphone or tablet right during rush hour. (You could get a ticket for that in some areas.) Rather, small businesses can reach consumers through the radio traffic reports they are already listening to. (more...)

Small Business Saturday was a big success this year, soliciting $5.5 billion in sales. The Small Business Saturday Consumer Insights Survey reports that consumer awareness of this event has increased from 34 percent to 67 percent in the last two weeks. This increased awareness led to higher spending, with nearly half of those aware turning out to shop at local businesses on November 24th. (more...)

Each month, Radiate Media’s very own SEO Squad will be posting an SEO update telling you on what has happened in the SEO world over that month, and how those changes will affect Radiate Media’s Storefront and Marketplace sites.   To begin, we have delved back two months and have found three substantial SEO updates. (more...)

Online video is an excellent (and affordable) way to advertise your business. There are many benefits from creating and sharing your own marketing videos. For instance, posting videos on Facebook can improve your Edgerank. Adding a video to a website landing page can also help with Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and make that page more likely to show up on the first page of a Google search.[i] (more...)

Social TV is a term that has been trending throughout this year. It describes the phenomenon of online conversations (particularly on social media) that take place around watching television. Typically, social TV conversations accompany big events like the GRAMMY Awards and the Super Bowl.[i] Social media conversation surrounding the Olympics exploded this year, inspiring 99% of all social TV conversation during prime time television.[ii] (more...)

Analytics are key to a successful social media campaign. However, it isn’t always feasible to subscribe to an expensive social analytics service, especially when you are just getting started on social media. When there’s a budget crunch, here are a few free tools you can use to manage your Twitter account. (more...)

Perhaps you’ve heard the media and business soothsayers forecasting the demise of print advertising. “Newspapers are out! Online advertising is the only place to be!” The Internet seems shiny and new compared to newspapers, and a clarion call like this can be compelling. This kind of blanket statement, however, is inaccurate and can lead to missed opportunities. (more...)

A billboard in a desert. We’ve all heard this cliché before, but how does it apply to today’s online marketing world? I have spent several years talking with small business owners, and I have found the majority of them fall into one of two categories:  

1. They were told they needed a website, but they haven’t bothered to get one yet.
2. They were told they needed a website, so they spent a lot of money to have one built, but it’s not doing them any good.

Let’s concentrate on the second group. (more...)

Online Marketing has become an essential part of marketing for small businesses. But how does your business use online marketing tools? We’re curious about how small businesses promote their products and services. We ask all small businesses to fill out this five-minute survey so we can understand your marketing needs. (more...)

As Shakespeare’s Hamlet said, “To Pinterest or not to Pinterest. . .that is the question.”   Ok, so maybe he didn’t say that exactly, but I bet if Hamlet were a business owner in 2012, that would be the true question on his mind.  With so many social media choices, can business owners take the time to use Pinterest on top of Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+ and YouTube? (By the way, this is the short list!)  The best thing to remember is that each service accomplishes a different goal.  Here is the low-down on Pinterest to help you evaluate the ROT (Return On Time) it can give you. (more...)

A cavalcade of the Radio and Internet industry’s best minds converged on Dallas this week in advance of the semi-annual National Association of Broadcasters’ convention for “RAIN Summit Dallas 2012”. RAIN (The Radio and Internet Newsletter) is an on-line publication which has become the industry’s go-to site for insight and direction in the world of Internet radio.   I’ve been to multiple RAIN Summits – each one more stimulating than the one before – and this year’s event was no different. (more...)

If you’ve been in business long enough, you’ve most likely met with or gotten a call from every media sales rep and advertising agency in your area. Each one of them probably assured you that its service, product, program, media or company would bring you more customers and grow your business.   It all sounds great, so you invest your hard-earned money in advertising. Soon after, you look at your monthly gross revenue, and it’s not what you had hoped or planned for based on what your company just spent in advertising. It then becomes a natural reaction to be cynical or mistrustful of advertising since so much of it is not tangible and, based on your experience, it “didn’t work.” (more...)

Advertising is a powerful way to grow your business revenue. However, consumers have become moving targets. How do you reach them while they are on the go? This is where short-form advertising comes in.

What is Short-Form Advertising?

Short-form advertising is designed to be a quick and informative reminder that your product is out there, ready to be purchased. On radio and television, a short form ad is one that lasts ten to fifteen seconds and usually occurs directly before or after a specific piece of content. These ads work best when the messaging is concise and when it is attached to content like traffic, weather, or news. (more...)

Have you ever read a lengthy article written by an “expert” on a topic, only to conclude that the advice was all just…uh…common sense? An expert working in radio unearths a groundbreaking insight like “people want fewer commercials and more music,” or some political pollster finds that “voters prefer lower taxes and more services.” As a business owner, you’ll find no shortage of such “advice” or of experts willing to dole it out at the drop of a hat.   So what exactly makes an expert? And how can you identify real experts when you need them?   While I cannot speak for every element of business, I have learned that the best way to identify true expertise in the sales process is by finding sales partners who focus on your business and not just the product you’re selling. (more...)

As reported by Nielsen last September, social media reaches approximately 80 percent of all U.S. Internet users, and 53 percent of these adult users follow a brand online. What’s more, a whopping 63 percent of social media users are more likely to use the services a local business if it has a presence on a social network.   It makes sense for your business to tap into this great marketing resource. This infographic made by our marketing team shows you some key ways social media can be a “superhero” for your small business. (more...)

On May 30, 2012, Google rolled out Google+ Local, which integrated Google Places with the social network Google+. Immediately, the Internet was abuzz with discussion of the changes. This article gives you a brief review of the biggest changes, criticisms, and conclusions about Google+ Local since the May 30 release.

The Main Changes from Google Places to Google+ Local

• The generic five stars ratings are out to make way for more sophisticated Zagat Ratings.
• Reviews appear in Google web searches and Map searches. Searchers can filter reviews by category: Top Reviewers, People Like Me, Just for You, Your Circles.
• Google indexes all Google+ Local pages.
• Google+ Local pages have a new, sleek design. (more...)

What is Big Data?

Approximately 90% of the data in the world has been created in the last two years alone, and it’s getting bigger as more and more people go online. Big data includes social media updates, pictures and videos, credit card purchase records, cellphone GPS signals, click streams, log files, audio files, and sensor data, to name a few.[i] Any time a person tweets or posts a review on Yelp, he or she is creating a data point. (more...)