Travel and Leisure Information

You've seen them, those technical looking badges that are appearing everywhere. They are called QR codes, QR stands for "quick response."  More than likely you are seeing at least one daily, perhaps in a magazine, on a billboard, flyer, business card or a sticker on a window.

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As consumers we love great deals, but do the social coupon offers  make sense for small businesses?

For most businesses they are tempted to buy into social coupon sites like Groupon and Living Social. I've seen so many small businesses walk away after they have bought into the "social coupon craze" realizing they may have not only lost money, but diluted their brand.

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Many businesses are trying to figure out how to use social media to grow their business and increase their revenue. The industries of restaurants and entertainment is no different.

I'm always surprised at how many of these businesses are not using social media marketing, but for most, it boils down to the lack of knowledge on how to use this new medium to create commerce in their businesses. Commerce won't come overnight; that I can guarantee you, but by getting involved and adopting social media as a way to engage and interact with your customers and patrons you will find that commerce will come sooner than later.

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Are you using content to market your business?

Content is king. I know, you've heard it and if you haven't I'm afraid you've had your head in the sand and it's time to dig it out. It's true content is very important when it comes to marketing and I'm going to show you why.

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Are you frustrated with the results that you are seeing from social media marketing? Did you ever stop to consider that maybe you are doing it wrong?

Over the last few years I've seen companies sign up for a Facebook account, a Twitter account, put their profile on LinkedIn and sign up for Google+ and they can't figure out why the sales are not pouring in.

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Are you ready for Google to bring Your World to your search results?

I hope so, because that's what they announced today. Your World marks the third major move toward social search. Google's goal is to transform the search engine into a tool that not only understand content, understands people and relationships.

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There are many things that go into a marketing campaign and it's important to make sure you have done your due diligence to ensure the campaign's success.

That due diligence includes identifying your target, conducting market research, and determining the best way to reach your target. In today's world planning a productive and successful promotional campaign is crucial, especially with the cut in marketing dollars that many of us are experiencing.

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I think the biggest mistake small businesses make in marketing is making everything so difficult for consumers to understand that they don't get it.

Small businesses often make the mistake of trying to compete with the "big dog" companies that have larger marketing budgets. I daily watch small businesses try to market like big companies, when in fact they've missed the core components that will get a person to buy their products or services. My first piece of advice is stop trying to compete with the "big dogs" - find your own niche and your own market and become one of the big dogs.

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I'm not psychic nor do I have a crystal ball, but I've made some marketing predictions I think you will not only find interesting, but you'll want to be aware of. I've been in marketing for the past decade and boy, have we seen some changes. We've gone from having our toe dipped into the interactive world while holding onto our traditional means of marketing with a death grip. I'm happy to say that is starting to change at a rapid pace.

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Google+ - What's the Big Deal?

Use it.
Don't use it.
Dump Facebook for it.
No one is going to use it.

Are these some of the comments you've heard? You are not alone.

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