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Why do people talk about it like it's OK? Unless you've been living under a rock since the day you were born, you are most likely aware that 90% of small businesses fail. This statistic is thrown around all the time like it's something that's a fact written in stone, it's like entrepreneurs and small business owners just accept it as a known truth and try to land in the 10%. What I don't hear often, is people talking about WHY 90% of small businesses fail, and I almost NEVER see anyone doing anything to help small business owners, marketers, and entrepreneurs like you do anything about it......


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As we continue to evolve and slingshot into the stratosphere of the digital age, people today are consuming more content than ever before. There are several reasons for this, the main reason being how readily accessible information is. This era that we are living in right now has also been dubbed the "Information Age"; with companies like Google, Expedia, Yahoo, and Facebook growing exponentially, becoming household names--seemingly overnight, and not to mention all of them being some of the largest companies in the world. The one thing that each of those companies has in common with one another...


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Business owners all the time ask me about Groupon and Living Social so I thought that you might have some questions about it too. One of my close friends was recruited to help a start-up daily deal site that was focused on stimulating the local economy here in Arizona.  My friend brought me and my marketing company in to develop a digital marketing strategy for the launch of this new website.  The owner’s business model was quite brilliant and very different than anything else out there.  About 3-4 weeks into our time working with this client, some very bad business decisions were made...


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The Value of Twitter for Business This blog post is an edited excerpt from a 68-page e-book titled: The Value of Social Media: A deep look inside social media for business by: Michael R. Hunter Many companies use Twitter for brand management and brand engagement. Twitter offers its users a unique capability of searching keywords within user-generated content. Meaning, you cans search what people are posting, or “tweeting” about throughout the entire “twittersphere”. This allows companies to see what people are saying about their brand. I know Comcast was utilizing Twitter very...


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As traditional media continues to become less and less effective, the importance of digital becomes more evident.   Everyone knows that the media landscape is becoming increasingly digital. People are now using computers, tablets, e-readers, and smartphones to browse, read, and consume media. One form of media that has been hit particularly hard in the last few months has been the newspaper industry. For example, advertising revenues from newspaper ads have declined over 44% from 2005-2009. This is due mainly to the fact that people are just not purchasing and reading newspapers anymore,...


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Facebook is causing a stir in the business world and has been for quite some time.  The one thing that boggles my mind is the fact that business owners still have no idea how to take advantage of the advertising platform that Facebook has to offer.  Facebook Advertising, is the most robust online advertising platform in the world.  The ability to get your ad seen, only by a specific segment of the market is unparalleled by any other ad vehicle. You have the ability to customize your message to the exact demographic you want to target, yet business owners are not using these social media platforms...


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America as a culture has a very misconstrued outlook on leadership.  We don’t value our elders, we let them work at Walmart or we put them into group homes.  We place too much importance on things that don’t matter: expensive cars, houses, planes, jewelry, etc.  We place ultimate importance on our job title and attach our self-worth to that title and what we do.  And, in general, we don’t know how to lead, how to follow, or when to lead, and when to follow. Every great leader was once a great follower. Inside every great follower, is a great leader. By this point, You might be asking,...


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If you were one of the billions of people in this world who go on the internet (obviously you are if you’re reading this) you heard about Mark Zuckerberg announcing Facebook’s 1 BILLION DOLLAR (in my Dr. Evil voice) acquisition of Instagram. That’s right, the photo sharing app. If you didn’t happen to notice the announcement taking the internet by storm, its ok, the effects are still lingering. From an outsider’s point-of-view, like most people in this world are, when you heard about the ‘Social Network’ dropping 10-figures, I’m sure it didn’t make sense. And I can understand...


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Last month Invisible Children, a San Diego non-profit group, released “Kony 2012: Beyond Famous” to raise awareness of Joseph Kony and the atrocities carried out by his Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) in central Africa. Once the video hit the internet, it became an overnight phenomena. The video reached an all time high receiving one million views per hour, and is now the most watched viral video with over 100 million hits. Through out the 29 minute video, Invisible Children stresses that Facebook is the ideal grounds to raise awareness of the issue. “Right now, there are more people on Facebook...


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If you’re a business owner reading this to learn how to maximize social media I want you to know, you might fail at it. Why? Maybe you don’t see how you have to apply the basics of an original marketing strategy? Or you won’t apply yourself to learning about social media like you should? Either way, business common sense is just not as sensible as it used to be. Doesn’t mean that can’t change. When has there been a time in business where you can find out what people really think about your business instantaneously? Your business’ reputation could be exposed or respected at the push...


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