OpenTable Seated 15.4 Million Diners in Q3 2010

Image via CrunchBase Online and mobile reservation service OpenTable released its third quarter financial results, which showed significant year-over-year gains in revenue, restaurant installations and total seated diners. Most notably, the publicly traded company posted $24.5 million in total revenues for Q3 2010, a 44% increase over the same quarter last year. OpenTable is also … Continue reading OpenTable Seated 15.4 Million Diners in Q3 2010

What companies need to ask when hiring a social-media consultant

Letting an outsider influence your brand’s social-media presence can be a scary thing. You’re giving a consultant or an agency an enormous amount of power over your brand — and probably paying them a pretty penny. You know you need help to make your social-media efforts bear fruit. But how can you be sure you’re … Continue reading What companies need to ask when hiring a social-media consultant

Social Media Marketing Bootcamp – Green Bay, December 3

I'm really excited that Dana VanDen Heuvel of MarketingSavant has asked me to join him in team teaching this Social Media Marketing Bootcamp in December. Dana's brilliant when it comes to social media strategy and I'm not so bad at practical, tactical social media tools... Nearly every local business can benefit from social media in … Continue reading Social Media Marketing Bootcamp – Green Bay, December 3

6 Easy Ways to Get More Visitors to Your Blog

Image via CrunchBase A blog is an important asset to any business. It allows you to gain visibility as a thought leader, engages your audience in conversation, and acts as link bait. But you can only reap these benefits if you can actually get visitors to your blog. By now, we all know that content … Continue reading 6 Easy Ways to Get More Visitors to Your Blog

6 Ways to Optimize Your Blog for Search Engines

Image via Wikipedia In an earlier article, I talked about the importance of blogging and search engine rankings. However, once you’ve got the blog up and running, the next thing to do is to start optimizing your posts for the search engines. Although search engine optimization (SEO) can be overwhelming to the newcomer, once you … Continue reading 6 Ways to Optimize Your Blog for Search Engines

49% of Small Business Owners use a Smartphone

"Over the past few years, it seems that a few mobile devices — laptops, Bluetooth headsets, and increasingly, smartphones — have become ubiquitous among business people. The days of the pager are gone. Small business owners seem to be outpacing the rest of America in smartphone adoption, according to a recent survey of nearly 10,000 … Continue reading 49% of Small Business Owners use a Smartphone

Answered: 10 Questions About Website Redesign

Image by mikevolpe.com via CrunchBase Website redesign can be lethal or liberating for your business. Know what you are getting into before you sign the contract. Most recently, we covered the website redesign topic in a webinar with HubSpot’s VP of Marketing, Mike Volpe. We received nearly 400 questions during the live session and wanted … Continue reading Answered: 10 Questions About Website Redesign

Social Media for Farmers…

Image by barockschloss via Flickr Social media is not just for the kids, the young, hip and aware. It’s also for ag producers. I’m David Sparks and I’ll be right back to tell you why. My kids can’t wait to get on Facebook to tell everybody, that has committed to being their “friend”, everything they … Continue reading Social Media for Farmers…

What Companies Want in a Social Media Intern

As well as looking good on your resume and netting you college credit, interning in social media can offer you incredibly valuable experience in the world of work, where social media experience is becoming ever-more important. However, competition for good placements can be fierce, so it’s good to know what companies look for in a … Continue reading What Companies Want in a Social Media Intern

Stop Phoning It In

Image via CrunchBase If you’re responsible for your company’s newsletter ['or blog or any other outward facing communication' ed. note], stop looking at it as a burden. Ask yourself this question: “What would be MOST useful to the people getting this newsletter?” And then ask yourself this question: “What else besides my company’s pitch can … Continue reading Stop Phoning It In