You may have heard of the hottest new social media tool, Pinterest.  Pinterest is like a virtual bulletin board that allows users to find and curate images and videos. Unlike other photo sharing sites, Pinterest is focused much more on the discovery and curation of other people’s content, not storing your own. That’s why it’s caught the attention of so many organizations—big and small. It’s helping them spread brand awareness and is driving lots of web traffic.

Here are the three of the top questions I’ve heard from small businesses looking to get started:

1.“What are the differences between Pinterest, Facebook, and Twitter?”

Pinterest is not an entirely different world of social media marketing- it uses a language that most social media users already know. Often, people are intimidated when they hear terms like “pin” or “repin,” but put them in the context of “tweet” or “retweet,” and finally they make sense. And when it comes to liking, commenting, and sharing—these are things you’re probably doing every day on other sites. (more…)

Let’s face it: people don’t usually get too excited about the idea of taking an online survey. They may not have the time, they’re distracted by their to-do list, or they simply don’t see it in their inbox. But for a small business, there is no better way to improve your products, services, customer satisfaction—and your business as a whole—than by getting feedback directly from the source.

Here are 6 easy-to-implement tips to entice your customers and members to improve your survey response rate.

1. Make your survey as short as possible

Think through your survey carefully. Only include the questions you absolutely must have the answers to—5-10 questions is the sweet spot. One way to do this is to choose a specific survey topic, like a particular event or promotion, and focus on that.

2. Tell recipients upfront how many questions are on your survey

If you tell the recipients how many questions there are, they know what to expect. Adding questions causes the completion rate to drop. By being upfront, you’re reassuring recipients your survey won’t take up too much of their time. (more…)

Getting new customer leads is a common problem that many new and existing businesses face. They may have a great product or service, but not the right marketing plan and process in place. There are many different ways to generate leads. The most notable ways include word of mouth referrals, advertising, forming alliances, networking, public relations, social media to some extent and then good old direct sales (i.e. cold calling). The method that’s most appropriate for your business will depend on the size of your company, your industry, budget and specific goals.

Online PPC Advertising Campaigns

The quickest method by far will be advertising through Google in a pay per click (PPC) campaign. With the Google Adwords platform, advertisers are able to market to customers through sponsored text listings that are triggered by targeted keywords. For instance, a mobile application development company may target a phrase such as, “find a mobile application development company in Los Angeles.” When searches for that keyword phrase are entered, the web development company’s ad may appear below the search box or to the right of the organic listings (non-paid). (more…)