Congratulations on your engagement! Now what? This is a question businesses face after they have worked so hard to attract customers and engage with them via social media platforms and websites. Businesses need to keep that engagement strong and growing.

Twitter is just one of the many social media channels businesses and individuals use to connect and create leads. As a business, Twitter is used to share the latest news and product with customers, as well as sharing content of other businesses to generate leads. For an individual looking to make it in the world, using Twitter helps to connect with leaders in their industry of interest and learn from them. Using Twitter properly and effectively is another story and does not happen over night. Here are some articles that teach the proper way to use Twitter to benefit you and your business.

Last week, I had the opportunity to attend the PR + Social Media Summit hosted by Hanson Dodge Creative at Marquette University, downtown Milwaukee.

Google+ was created to make web sharing simple. But is it really that simple? I have heard both positives and negatives about this new sharing network. Granted they are still in the beginning phases and have kinks to work out.

This is a formal warning to all parents with young children: iPads, smartphones and technology will turn your kids into freaks. They will no longer want to press buttons and will think that all devices function via touchscreen technology.

Earlier this week The Bartolotta Restaurants opened their 10th restaurant here in the Greater Milwaukee area, called The Rumpus Room.  This new Gastropub is a bit of a departure for Bartolottas in that their targeting a younger demographic than they currently entertain at their other fine dining establishments.  With this change, Bartolottas implemented a highly successful social media plan targeting 28-40 year olds.  Below are some of the key areas they focused on.

Quick Response (QR) codes are being used in businesses to expand their reach. It seems like you can't go anywhere without seeing a QR code on a label, wall, or even on t-shirts. I've even seen QR codes on ketchup bottles, telling you about the product and business. The reason QR codes are so effective is because they are able to hold information and are easy to use. They connect people to other people, businesses, and online content. Here are this week's QR code articles, explaining how to use QR codes for all types of businesses.

Building your website is a big step toward getting found online. To have an effective and useful website, you must go through steps of testing, add valuable content, and make adjustments as feedback comes in so you can watch your business grow! Here are some articles that offer advice and tips for testing your website and using landing pages to capture more leads and customers.

In this day and age, most communication happens online via Twitter, Email, Facebook, Skype, etc. Using these channels as means of communicating with clients and other businesses needs to be done right in order for it to be effective.

The following is a guest post from Frank Belzer, a sales development expert and Senior Sales Strategist and VP of Corporate Training at Kurlan and Associates. Frank is a regular contributor to the sales and sales management training curriculum at Kurlan and Associates and is the host of the weekly Internet Radio Show, Sales Talk Live.