Scotty Spielman

Looking back: Facebook changes in 2018

Last year was a year of turmoil for Facebook. The social media giant was forced to respond to several critical news stories alleging bias, misinformation campaigns as well as general concerns over user privacy and proprietary data. In the wake of growing customer backlash, Facebook made several changes to its business and advertising policies designed... Read More

Are you using the right platform?

With so many different social media platforms to choose from, it’s difficult to know the right one for your business. A study released by the Pew Research Center, this year can help you find your way. The study looked at social media use across all demographics–from age and ethnicity to income–to determine which platform was... Read More

How to help your business show up in Google’s Local Pack

In the vast world of cyberspace, there’s nothing more important to a business than keeping it local. When you advertise on any digital medium, you’re looking for customers near you. That also holds true when customers are searching for you—you want your business to be visible when customers are searching for your services. To do... Read More

How to master Messenger

As the digital age picks up speed, so has the expectations of your customers. Most people expect fast communications and nearly instant service, whether they’re asking a question or voicing a complaint and it’s up to you to provide it to them. More and more often, that means some form of messenger. As many as... Read More

Facebook helps provide Inspiration

It can be difficult to come up with great creative content for your Facebook advertising. Just because you own or operate a business, doesn’t mean you are a marketer or advertising guru. Fortunately, Facebook has tools to help get you started or show you how to improve. With its new Inspiration section, you can find... Read More

The benefits of Google My Business App

Whether or not you advertise your business, you still recognize how important Google is to attracting new customers. According to the search engine’s own statistics, one in three consumers who use its search feature is searching with local intent. That is, they have something in mind and they want to find it nearby, whether it’s... Read More

How to get reviews (without bribing your customers)

Customer reviews are vital to the success of your small business. The more you have, the better you’ll look, both in terms of the quality of service you provide and the loyalty of your customer base. Not only that, but they will lead to new customers and, hopefully, increased reviews. Consider that 90 percent of... Read More

How important is your email list?

Recent security issues with Facebook and other social media challenge present a double-edged sword for marketers. On the one hand, news that data had been compromised is a reminder of why it is important for businesses to own their communication platforms—as if dwindling organic reach figures and constantly-changing news feed algorithms weren’t enough. It also... Read More

Facebook page feature gives info on competitors

Efforts to promote transparency in advertising on Facebook have given business owners an additional tool to use to scope out the competition. You probably already know how important it is to do a competitive analysis of your business competition: you need to know how they are marketing themselves to consumers in order to do it... Read More

Facebook addresses recent security breach

Facebook announced recently that as many as 50 million users could have been hacked, user a feature that allowed the hackers to use Facebook access tokens and potentially get into their accounts. The problem, Facebook said, has been fixed and reported to the proper authorities and no malicious activity was found from any of the... Read More

Facebook business page redesign is on the way

Your Facebook business page may soon have a new look and new features. Facebook announced recently that they would be rolling out changes to the mobile versions of business pages to help consumers connect to the services and products they’re looking for. “Over 1.6 billion people around the world are connected to a small business... Read More

Facebook is changing ratings to recommendations

Facebook is changing the way people will review your business page. The social media giant is rolling out a plan to all business pages that would replace the rating system to recommendations in an attempt to generate more authentic information about the quality of business you operate. “Local business pages have always features ratings and... Read More

Are Google searches rigged?

Are Google search results rigged against you? The obvious answer to this question is ‘no,’ but many people are still asking it after President Donald Trump’s latest unsubstantiated claim. For those that missed it, the president recently called Google’s search results “rigged,” in a tweet, claiming that searches of “Trump news” only showed reporting by... Read More

Eight things about your website that may irritate customers

Your website is the foundation of your online presence. It is the main place you will direct customers to, either though your online advertising or your social media feeds. Of course, you want it to be engaging, concise and informative. The last thing you want is for it to irritate potential customers. Here are eight... Read More

Facebook adds features to Mobile Ads app

Facebook is now allowing user to create and modify their ads where their customers are: on mobile devices. The social media giant unveiled additional tools for its Ad Manager app recently, putting more flexibility, literally, into the hands of marketers. “As more and more business gets done on mobile, business owners and marketers need tools... Read More

7 Simple rules of email etiquette

When you’re asking for your customer’s attention, you have to do it in the right way. That goes with any kind of solicitation and it is particularly true with marketing email. Email can get a bad rap because there’s a tendency to overuse it, but it’s still one of the best ways to get your... Read More

Facebook adds Stories Archive feature

Facebook stories may be around for a while, after all. The feature, launched by Facebook in Ireland in 2017, was designed to compete with Instagram or Snapchat. It essentially allowed users to add photos and videos to a story for their friends to tap through. Like with Instagram or Snapchat, there are different effects you... Read More

Email marketing trends for 2018

There have been many changes in digital marketing trends through the years, and email marketing is no different. Email marketing is still one of the preferred ways for marketers to get their messages to consumers—it remains the best way to ensure your message gets exactly where you want it to go at the exact time... Read More

Three ways to increase Facebook engagement

It’s difficult to run a Facebook business page these days—or at least an active one. Organic reach has been dropping steadily for several years, and Facebook is continually altering its algorithm to place more emphasis—and show more users—content from their friends, family and outer circle. That’s understandable, given that it was created to be a... Read More

It’s beginning to look a lot like…Christmas?

We know what you’re thinking. Please! I’ve barely warmed up! I can’t be thinking about Christmas! True, the year is barely six months old and, while we don’t want to hasten its departure any more than the next full-service marketing firm, it’s time to start thinking about your holiday marketing campaign—or, at the very least,... Read More