With early signs of the stuttering economy slightly but surely improving, a large number of wary self-employed professionals are looking to get back to the chores of day-today work. To help boost their nascent visibility and credibility in the fragile job market, some of them returned to the basics to develop skills and expertise in social media. Read the rest of this entry »

What has the new year in store for marketers on SEO landscape that has undergone a dramatic change with the rising stature, power and reach of the social media. The search engine optimization techniques and strategies are bound to witness a further churning in 2012. What can one expect on this count? Are there any definitive trends to give us a clue? Let us try to find out as part of an academic exercise, which can also be handy in practical terms in setting the SEO agenda: Read the rest of this entry »

With the membership of Facebook now approaching almost 600 million, and more apps and features being added to it continually, it obviously remains the most preferred option for the networking purpose, apart from Twitter. So is there any space left for niche networking sites to leave their mark? Your answer may be a big NO, but that’s not the case, really! Today, I shall acquaint you with one emerging player in this space. I am referring to Instagram. Read the rest of this entry »

Restaurants, food joints and bars invariably thrive on increased quantum of repeat business. This is not getting easier, as customers now increasingly demand more than just satisfactory service, quality food and drinks. They are keen to be engaged and entertained. Businesses in a bid to reach out to food lovers are turning to social media. Many of them are employing location-based tools to win customers’ nod of approval and loyalty. Read the rest of this entry »

Beneath the smart technology, a location-based service is fundamentally social in nature. A network like Foursquare provides a wide array of badges users can earn just by doing activities or visiting certain locations. Businesses can make use of these to entice customers. It is important for any fledgling business to always look for an opportunity to drive sales and promotion initiatives at off hours. Read the rest of this entry »

In this post, we shall discuss how small businesses can gain further from location-based functions of networking platforms. You can employ them as able digital replacement for loyalty cards or coupons. Foursquare is intent on enhancing its user base, so it lets businesses offer deals via the ‘manage specials’ segment on venue page at no added cost. Read the rest of this entry »

Along with Facebook, more established players like Twitter, Yelp and even Google are also adding location-based functions. The growing importance of geolocation services is well underscored by the introduction of Facebook Places. Recently introduced, it lets users of the Facebook mobile application to check into locations and share their whereabouts with colleagues, friends and business acquaintances. Read the rest of this entry »