Find the Perfect Bite For Customers’ Mobile Appetite

mobile appetite

Mobile web site up and running. Check. Reading latest trends on marketing for smartphones and tablets. Double Check. Wondering what to serve up next to your mobile audience. Triple Check. Now is the time to…pause between courses. First off, congratulations on making the jump to mobile. Next up:  Step back and look at your business big … [Read more]

The Mobile Majority Wants Your Small Business

mobile small business

Remember when mobile phones used to be about..making a call? Neither do I. The explosive growth of smartphones, tablets, and other mobile devices over the past few years has drastically and permanently changed the way we socialize, work, and do business. The net-net? It’s imperative to travel with your customers and prospects wherever they go. In … [Read more]

The Unintentional Thought Leader: Seven Steps For Small Business Blogging

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When I launched Marketing Sparks three years ago, “thought leadership” was not a goal. Discuss issues I care about? Yes. Stoke my desire to write? Absolutely. Maybe even attract new business as a bonus? Of course. Over time, though, I discovered that a certain style of writing could help position my small business blog as an authority and go-to expert. … [Read more]

Ramon Ray’s Five Steps for Personal Branding

As many of you may have heard, NMX (BlogWorld) recently purchased a new conference: Ramon Ray’s Small Business Summit. We’re super excited to work with Ramon, who is an absolute firecracker. Ramon was actually a speaker at NMX 2013, where he talked about personal branding and how this affects your company’s growth. Knowing Ramon on … [Read more]

2012 Social Sharing Trends [Infographic]

2012 Trends

With each passing year, we share more, invest in new tech toys, and the way we get the news of the day evolves. Information is everywhere and all of us are a part of shaping the social sphere around us. As we get ready to wrap up 2012, what will the year be known for? … [Read more]

Telling Instead of Selling: How Smart Brands are Using Social for the Holiday Season

With all of the banner ads out there promoting holiday shopping, how do businesses stand out online? How do they get their products under the tree? Smart businesses are finding new ways to reach consumers without distracting them from content they enjoy. They’re becoming a seamless part of the online conversation and, as a result, … [Read more]

How To Inspire Customers And Build Brand Advocacy

There is no simple formula for inspiration. There isn’t a single process or “8 simple steps” that will help you change customer behavior. Everyone is different. We are all inspired by different things and at different stages of our lives. As a boy, I was so inspired when Daniel-san “laid the smack down” on Johnny … [Read more]

The Photography Wars Heat Up

CC

My entire life I’ve enjoyed taking photos. Follow me on Instagram and you’ll see that I’m constantly capturing moments from my life and sharing them with the world. This allows people to connect with me in a way that my blog, podcast or other mediums have never allowed. Most of us leave the house every … [Read more]

Consumers Are Connected: Are You?

cell phones

Just the other day, I went shopping with a friend of mine who is obsessed with her phone. She checked into the mall via Foursquare, telling others exactly where she intended to shop. We found some cute shoes, which prompted her to like the brand on Facebook, and before leaving the store, she double-checked movie … [Read more]

The Top 20 Most Social CMOs in the Fortune 100

This fall, Mark Fidelman, our Conference Director of BusinessNext Social, set out to find the most socially active group of CMOs in the Fortune 100.  Surprisingly, the group is overall not on the early adopter end of the social media spectrum. Only one in five CMOs or top-level marketing / communications executives from the Fortune … [Read more]