Marketing 101: Your Guide to Effective Branding Techniques

Branding. Small business owners hear about it all the time, but many think it applies only to large corporations. But in reality, it does apply to your business too. The American Marketing Association defines a brand as the “name, term, design, symbol, or any other feature that identifies one seller’s goods or service as distinct […]
[Download] New Connectivity Guide to Online Listings

Online business listings are a cornerstone of any marketing strategy. Get the latest and best info from our new marketing resource: Connectivity’s Complete Guide to Online Listings. Add it to your marketing library now. Listings Are Humble, Powerful Workhorses Accurate online listings are always working on your behalf. By claiming your listings on directories and ensuring the information […]
Promotion vs. Advertising : What You Need to Know

If you use the words advertising and promotion interchangeably, you’re not alone. Many people think they’re exactly the same thing. But while there are similarities between them—both fall under the marketing umbrella—there are some differences you’ll want to keep in mind when creating a marketing strategy for your business. The Goals for Promotion vs. Advertising Advertising is […]
Branding vs. Advertising: What’s the Difference?

If you’ve started a business, you’ve probably thought about advertising. You may or may not have thought about your brand, perhaps because the line between advertising and branding isn’t always clear. Understanding the difference is important as it’ll help you develop relationships with your customers and boost the viability of your company. Let’s briefly examine […]
7 SEO Mistakes You Need to Avoid

Hey, we all make SEO mistakes. Sometimes we get overly enthusiastic and post an article that’s so keyword heavy it no longer uses proper sentences. Or we link to fantastic articles we love, but forget to check periodically to make sure the links still work. These mistakes might seem small, but they affect your credibility—and […]
Lip Service: How to Get Customers Bragging About You

You know your products and services rock. And, your customers absolutely love you. So, how can you put the two together to influence everyone else to check out your company? Easy! Turn your current customer base into a team of marketing mavens who sing your praises every chance they get. How to Get Customers to […]
You’re Invited to a Webinar: “How Data Aggregators Bring More Customers to Local Businesses”

What: Webinar with Joe Lazure, Vice President, Bulk Update – Listing Management Solutions for Infogroup and Josh Ades, Connectivity Content Marketing Manager Why: Because simply hanging out a “We’re Open!” sign won’t bring customers in the door. Working with a data aggregator is important if you want people to show up at your brick and […]
7 Ways to Legally Spy on Competitors in Your Vertical

The hottest new show of the summer is “Mr. Robot” on USA, and, while some credit goes to the production value, it’s the core story of corporate espionage that really hits the spot. Espionage has existed as long as society, and corporate espionage is a byproduct of corporations. Information is a form of power, and […]
5 Ways to Measure Customer Satisfaction

If you have a business, your business is probably mentioned somewhere online. Even if you don’t have a website or social media presence (though you should, and here’s one place to start) someone, somewhere, has most likely talked online about your business. You need to know what you’re doing well, where you could improve, and […]
Attack of the Machines: Tracking Sentiment with Automation

Did we just walk into a carnival? Nope. We’re actually in an energetic room full of entrepreneurs. Small business owners are around-the-clock jugglers. More than an artist or boutique manager, they are the budgeter, interior designer, cleaner and product manager. They pick up the phone, meet-and-greet customers, organize the schedule and fine-tune the recipes. But, […]
7 Key Components of a Basic Marketing Plan

If you have your own business, you need customers. To find customers, you have to get their attention, but that can be difficult to do in an age where many skip television commercials and use ad-blockers for websites. This is why a basic marketing plan is important. It helps you figure out who your customers […]
Webinar Recording & Takeaways: Optimizing Your Business’ Online Presence for Local Search

Today’s webinar dove into the technical side of SEO for local and enterprise businesses. We were fortunate to partner with Linkmedia 360’s Chad Luckie who shared his firm’s tested formula for getting great SEO: an emphasis on a list of third-party publisher strategies combined with top-notch location page construction. Check out the recorded presentation below […]
7 Ways to Help Google Track Your Local Business

Local businesses are the heart of a community’s economic success, but they often face similar issues online that they do at their storefront—getting the same attention as larger companies that have more financial resources. Small bookstores, for example, don’t get the same notice as Barnes & Noble or Amazon, and small business owners might wonder […]
Digital Marketing for Small Business: The Basics

If you’re like many small business owners, you rely on word-of-mouth referrals to drive business, and why not? You have a fantastic product or service, a high customer satisfaction rating, and many loyal customers. But even with amazing word-of-mouth, if you’re not using digital marketing as part of your overall marketing strategy, you’re probably missing […]
How to Make Your Influential Customers Work for You

Any time you talk to a DJ in the club, they’ll tell you all about how they’re the biggest and best rising star. It doesn’t take long before you develop a healthy level of skepticism. With millions of musicians claiming to be the best, but only a hundred dominating the radio waves and Billboard charts, […]