The Internet has been buzzing about SOPA lately; how you can oppose it, how to sign the petition, what you should do about it. But what if you don’t know anything about it? I am without a doubt, opposed to the SOPA bill, but I don’t condone opposing anything if you don’t know the facts. You wouldn’t sign a petition if you didn’t know what it was for, would you?

I am not a politician or an expert on legal jargon, but I will try to break down the important points in the SOPA bill so that you will have a better understanding of what effect it will have on the Internet that we know and love.

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If you’re a business owner, and you’re interested in getting to know mobile marketing a little better, we are offering a great seminar this month for you!

Mobile Marketing Tips & Trends

What Every Business Should Know About Mobile Marketing

What Will I Learn?

Some mobile FAQ’s we will be answering: What is a mobile website? Who needs one? How can I use the surge in mobile phone usage to my advantage? And if Geofencing, Push Notifications and Near Field Communication all sound like Greek to you, then this seminar is your ticket to understanding mobile! Each seminar will cover the latest mobile marketing trends and technologies, prove just how important, powerful and widespread mobile usage really is, and offer tips on how to get a leg up on your competitors through mobile marketing.

There are 2 different dates and locations for this seminar, so you can register for whichever one is most convenient for you. All will cover the same topics. (more…)

Have you heard about Google+ Pages for Businesses yet? Google is continuing to move steadily into the social media realm! Similar to Facebook fan pages – you can now create a page on Google to help brand your business. Add photos, links, videos and more to help promote your products and services. Although it seemed to have gotten off to a slow start, more and more companies are getting on board – here’s an example of Pepsi’s page:

Whether you’re a mom and pop store or a Fortune 500 brand, we highly suggest getting one now (and do it quick before your competitors find out about it!)

Here are the Top 6 Reasons to Get Google Plus for Business Now:

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This Saturday, November 26^th is the Second Annual Small Business Saturday. This is a day dedicated to supporting small businesses during the unofficial launch to the holiday shopping season. The Saturday following Black Friday is, after all, one of the busiest shopping days of the year. So if you are a small business, you will want to do what you can to take advantage of this national campaign!

To help you promote your small business there is a website with some nice marketing tools. SmallBusinessSaturday.com has tools that may be of use to your business including:

• Printable signage to put in your store window
• An email you can send to your client list promoting the day
• Content for your Facebook Wall and Twitter Feed

The idea behind Small Business Saturday is that if each customer buys just 1 item from a small business, it will have an enormous impact on small business as a whole. And consumers do want to help small, local businesses for a number of reasons: local jobs, their local economy and the uniqueness of many local business products.

So take advantage of this nationally promoted day (you have seen the commercial, right?) and some of the promotional tools available to your small business to increase sales and traffic for your business. And once Saturday passes, start planning for next year’s Small Business Saturday to drive even more sales.

So…what about Google Wallet?  Is it creepy or cool? Is it the logical next step in the mobile march for dominance in the world of marketing, or is it just too far over the Google-wants-to-own-me line? We’re all comfortable with fun and useful mobile apps that give directions, tell us where to eat, shop, train for a marathon or count our calories.  We can be served all the information, ads, coupons and suggestions our battery will allow.  Now, with Google in our wallet, we can just give it over completely and surrender our personal and financial profiles to the internet giant. Really?

The recent video of the Google Bots (aka employees) filtering into stores wearing Google T-shirts and paying for customer purchases suggests a world of consumer ease…one tap shopping for everything from sodas to clothing. Too good to be true? It looks sort of like some strange sort of college sociology class doing an end of semester social experiment. (more…)