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Social Media
Using Vine Videos for your Ecommerce Business
May 8, 2013 • Paul Chaney
Vine is a new iOS app that allows users to record six-second, looping videos — called "vines" — on their iPhones, iPod Touches, or iPads. The videos can then be shared with followers on Twitter and Facebook. Users can shoot very short clips, then edit them together to create stop-motion...
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Social Media
Understanding YouTube’s Redesign of Channels
May 2, 2013 • Paul Chaney
YouTube recently announced major design changes to its channel interface. YouTube cited three reasons for the changes: Increase the number of channel subscribers; Ensure branding works across all devices — desktops, tablets, smartphones and television; Show more content to draw viewer...
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Social Media
Facebook Changes Layout of Mobile App
April 29, 2013 • Paul Chaney
Facebook recently changed the Pages layout in its Apple iOS mobile app. The reason for the change, according to Facebook, is that roughly 50 percent of Page visits come from mobile devices. A new Android version is coming soon, Facebook announced. "We've developed a new mobile Pages l...
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Social Media
10 Ideas for Facebook’s New Cover Images
April 23, 2013 • Paul Chaney
Facebook recently changed its policy on cover images for business pages. The 20 percent text overlay rule is still in effect, but other restrictions have been dismissed. The new guidelines provide much greater flexibility in what owners can do with their pages, stating, "All covers ar...
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Social Media
25 Tips for Successful Twitter Engagement
April 22, 2013 • Paul Chaney
Many ecommerce merchants use Twitter to connect with customers, build personal relationships, and influence conversations to meet business objectives. Merchants can learn what customers have to say about their brands and products, provide proactive customer service, and create promoti...
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Social Media
Using Twitter Hashtags for Ecommerce Marketing
April 17, 2013 • Paul Chaney
By some accounts, as many as 75 percent of Twitter users include hashtags in their tweets. While hashtags are popular, from a marketing perspective it helps to understand why and how to use them. This article outlines 10 ways merchants can use hashtags, along with guidelines for their u...
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Social Media
Facebook Changes Ads Manager to Improve Tracking
April 12, 2013 • Paul Chaney
Facebook recently made several changes to Ads Manager to make it easier for advertisers to track performance against goals and to better measure the return on investment. Ads Manager Changes Advertising goals highlighted. Ads Manager now shows the most relevant actions for your adver...
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Social Media
Buffer: Timesaving Social Sharing and Management Application
April 8, 2013 • Paul Chaney
Sharing content to social networks typically happens in one of two ways: by clicking a social sharing button found on many blogs and websites, or by using a social media management platform such as HootSuite. Buffer, a new social sharing application, combines both of these functions. ...
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Social Media
5 Social Marketplaces for Merchants and Shoppers
April 2, 2013 • Paul Chaney
Social marketplaces promote interaction between merchants and their customers, and enable product discovery in a social environment where shoppers can rely on the influence of friends to help them make informed shopping decisions. One successful social commerce model is bazaar-style ma...
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3 Changes to Facebook Pages: Replies, Cover Photos, Hashtags
March 28, 2013 • Paul Chaney
Facebook made two recent changes that affect Pages and is considering another. The two recent changes are the addition of threaded replies in comments and a change to the cover photo policy. The anticipated change is the use of Twitter-style hashtags. 1. Replies and Threaded Comments ...
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Social Media
4 Tools to Simplify the Blogging Process
March 27, 2013 • Paul Chaney
Bloggers can spend a lot of time selecting topics and researching and writing the posts. Here are four tools I use to speed up the research process. Used in the ...
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Social Media
Pinterest Adds Analytics Component
March 20, 2013 • Paul Chaney
Pinterest launched business pages a few months ago, which allow companies to create accounts specifically related to their websites. Last week, Pinterest took another step toward increasing the value it provides businesses by adding an analytics component. "Bloggers, businesses, and...
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Social Media
6 Alternatives to Google Reader
March 19, 2013 • Paul Chaney
Google announced last week that it is retiring Google Reader, its longstanding RSS feed reader application, citing a decrease in use. The announcement created a furor across the Internet. Deliberating Google’s ...
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Social Media
Facebook Changes News Feed; Implications for Merchants
March 14, 2013 • Paul Chaney
Facebook announced in a press conference last Thursday that it has drastically revamped the all-important News Feed, turning it into a “personalized newspaper” that emphasizes what friends are sharing.
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Social Media
Understanding Google+ Design Changes
March 11, 2013 • Paul Chaney
Google+ recently made several design changes. The most prominent is to the cover image, which is now much larger. Google+ also changed the "About" page, and a "Local" tab was added to the left-column menu. The About page now consists of separate "cards" — such as Story, Places, Work, an...
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Social Media
How to Use Google+ Hangouts; Benefits to Merchants
March 6, 2013 • Paul Chaney
Hangouts is a popular component in the Google+ platform. Hangouts enables live video chats with up to 10 people using Google+, your website, and mobile apps for Android and iPhone. With Hangouts you can: Host live, face-to-face conference calls with customers, suppliers, affiliates ...
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Social Media
6 Key Twitter Practices for Smaller Businesses
February 26, 2013 • Paul Chaney
Many small business owners have told me they understand how Facebook is a good fit for business, but have difficulty drawing a similar conclusion when it comes to Twitter. According to a report from GlobalWebIndex, an analysis firm, Twitter increased its user base by more than 288 mil...
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Customer Retention
5 Social CRM Tools for Small Business
February 25, 2013 • Paul Chaney
Customer relationship management tools have existed for years. Businesses use them to manage customer interactions across channels and departments, including marketing, sales, customer service, and technical support. One area where traditional CRM systems fall short is their inability...
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Social Media
10 Blog Topics for Online Retailers
February 22, 2013 • Paul Chaney
One of the best ways for an ecommerce site to rank highly in Google search results is through blogging. Most blog platforms are search engine friendly, and easy to use. But merchants sometimes struggle with what topics to write about. Here are 10 post types to spark writing ideas that...
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Social Media
Facebook Power Editor: Time-saving Ad Management Tool
February 19, 2013 • Paul Chaney
Facebook’s Power Editor can help administrators manage multiple ad campaigns and Pages with greater efficiency. Facebook created it primarily for agencies with multiple client accounts. But Power Editor offers benefits ...
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Social Media
10 Google Chrome Social Media Apps
February 14, 2013 • Paul Chaney
Google's Chrome Web Store offers many applications for that browser. These include apps for businesses — to help with accounting, invoicing, creating documents, setting appointments, logging phone calls, and performing other critical business functions. They also include sales and marke...
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Social Media
Facebook ‘Nearby’ Increases Mobile Search Capability
February 12, 2013 • Paul Chaney
Facebook knows a lot about what its users like. Thanks to a recent upgrade of its mobile app, a feature called Nearby turns that information into meaningful search data that local businesses with a Facebook Page and physical location can turn to their advantage. Considering that more th...
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Social Media
6 Twitter Marketing Lessons from the Super Bowl Blackout
February 7, 2013 • Paul Chaney
Several large brands — including Oreo and Tide — took advantage of Super Bowl 47's blackout to quickly create Twitter ads. Oreo's ad reminded followers that "You can still dunk in the dark," while Tide declared "We can't get your blackout. But we can get your stains out." Other brands...
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Social Media
2 Ways to Create Facebook Ads
February 5, 2013 • Paul Chaney
A number of changes have taken place at Facebook with regard to how businesses use the platform. I will be reporting on these over the next few weeks. In this article, I discuss changes made to Facebook Ads. Recently, Facebook revised its advertising platform to make it easier for bu...
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Social Media
Can New Myspace Help Ecommerce Businesses?
February 2, 2013 • Paul Chaney
Myspace is one social network I thought I would never address again, especially in a business context. The site became the most popular social network in 2005 and surpassed Google as the most visited website in 2006. In later years, use of the site quickly declined due to the growing ...
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Social Media
10 Ways Merchants Can Use Google+
January 30, 2013 • Paul Chaney
The continued growth of Google+, along with an increased understanding of the nature of the platform, has caused many companies to establish a presence there. Google has also positioned Google+ as a channel businesses can use. With that in mind, here are 10 ways you can take advantage...
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Marketing & Advertising
7 Keys to Ecommerce Blogging Success
January 22, 2013 • Paul Chaney
Business blogs serve many functions. They can inform consumers of news about your company, highlight upcoming events, promote products and services, or demonstrate expertise and thought-leadership. However, a successful blog requires careful planning. These seven keys will help you be...
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Social Media
10 Tips for Syndicating Blog Content
January 16, 2013 • Paul Chaney
Blogging is hard work. It takes much time to research a topic, write copy, and find useful images, videos, and infographics. But writing a post is only the first step. For ...
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Social Media
8 Instagram Photo-Sharing Alternatives
January 8, 2013 • Paul Chaney
Photo-sharing site Instagram created a controversy recently when it proposed a change in its terms of service that would have allowed the company to incorporate user generated images in ads without users' permission. The company has since reconsidered its decision. Having written "10 W...
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Social Media
Using Instagram for your Ecommerce Business
January 2, 2013 • Paul Chaney
Popular photo-sharing app Instagram — which Facebook acquired earlier this year — is now used by businesses. Of 100 leading brands, 54 have incorporated Instagram, according to Simply Measured, an analytics firm. Here is how you can start using Instagram to market your products and ser...