Apple iPads and mobile devices have become essential business tools across the globe since their release in the late 2000s.

Now ingrained into the very fabric of our culture is social media; there’s no escaping it. And in the workplace? It’s just the same. Social media has become a valuable business tool to connect with customers, promote your brand, and expand on your online marketing voice. It can even be fun! 

We meet with marketing professionals frequently and many are solely responsible for creating content for email, social media, blog and inbound marketing strategies. When we ask who and what departments these individuals work with to help generate ideas and stories for their channels, we oftentimes hear that the task never moves outside the marketing department or if it’s a one-person role, the marketing manager’s personal day-to-day responsibilities.  Our question is always the same: If you don’t step outside your silo, how can you avoid quality and consistency issues, burnout or most importantly, tell the full story?

Do you have a LinkedIn Company page? Do you know what should be included in a company page? Do you know how to successfully use a LinkedIn page?

Once upon a time there was a small business that started blogging in hopes to increase its website traffic. After spending many hours, months, and even years of consistent blogging, the business grew. The blog turned into a great marketing tool for the business. It became a marketing machine, generating leads, setting the small business apart as an industry leader.  

One of the most overused and misapplied phrases in internet marketing history was stated in a 1996 speech given by Bill Gates.  That phrase?  “Content is King.”  Using content in your website makes sense.  It's been proven that the search engines love certain kinds of content creation, however, what many website owners don't realize is that the search engines will also penalize sites if they use the wrong kind of content. 

Most people know and understand traditional or outbound marketing -- after all, we're inundated with it in the form of radio and television commercials, print advertising, billboards and constant online advertising.  But how many companies really know what inbound marketing is, and have a deep understanding of how to effectively generate loyal customers and convert "lookers" into buyers? 

Traditionally, small and medium sized businesses have been placed at a marketing disadvantage. Television, radio, and even print advertising, can often be too expensive for most locally owned businesses, therefore making any kind of traditional advertising out of reach. However, with the popularity of inbound marketing teaming up with online marketing, now small and medium sized businesses have discovered that it's a game changer.

I applaud companies and inbound marketers for taking a chance and testing new technologies such as QR codes (abbreviated from Quick Response Codes). After all, an important part of inbound marketing is testing and measuring. But the excitement of new technology can sometimes cause marketers to use tactics that leave me asking the question, "I wonder what they were thinking?"