Google being crafty to push Google Plus

You have to give the folks over at Google credit. They might have been slow out of the blocks launching their social media site Google+, but they’re doing everything they can to make sure it takes off now – and not everyone is pleased about it.

On Thursday Google CEO Larry Page laid out his company’s earnings picture, and at the same time bragged that Google+ has more than 90 million registered users. That’s more than twice the 40 million users Google reported in October.

“We’re very excited about the growth we’ve had, and we’ve certainly seen a tremendous number of people added every day,” Page said during the presentation.

It took Facebook almost four years to reach the 90 million user mark, but at the same time Facebook now boasts over 800 regular users. So Google Plus has a long way to go to catch up – which is where the creative tactics come in. Continue reading

Blogging your way to improved sales: The top 10 tips for starting a small business blog

Small business blog success - top tips for business blogsSmall business owners have asked me many times over the years about how blogging might help their company. They’ve heard about the success of companies like Dell and Walt Disney and they wonder if there is some way blogs could have the same kind of impacts on their small or medium sized businesses. The improved client relationships these blogs build, and the way that translates into increased sales, can clearly help small businesses as much as it does big ones.

The only problem is that a bad blog can hurt your company, too.

Building a popular and successful blog isn’t rocket science, though, and it is a marketing tool that is accessible to even the smallest of companies. Following are these top 10 tips to help your small business use this powerful tool effectively will also help you avoid the potential pitfalls. Continue reading