Google+ Pages are brand new, so should Local Businesses create a Google+ Page now or wait? Considering Google.com has over 1 billion unique visitors per month and they are the undisputed “king of search” the answer is YES!

Google+ has finally launched Google+ Pages, an extension of the Google+ Social Platform Google is hoping will beat Facebook at it’s own game. ”So far Google+ has focused on connecting people with other people,” Google Senior Vice President of Engineering Vic Gundotra wrote in a blog post today. “But we want to make sure you can build relationships with all the things you care about–from local businesses to global brands–so today we’re rolling out Google+ Pages worldwide.”

On Google+ Pages, businesses can start sharing information about themselves, and invite customers to chat with them over the service’s and products they provide or sell, create “hangouts” that incorporate videoconferencing technology or begin conversations by simply asking questions seeking feedback. There are already many internet “heavyweights” that have deployed Google+ Pages such as Macy’s, Pepsi, Toyota, CNET and H&M. What’s more, Google is integrating Google+ Pages into its search results and if you are logged into your Google account those results will display across the top of the Google Search under “Google Personal Search”.

The first is step Google is taking is simply displaying Google+ Pages in search queries. Google is also adding a feature it calls Direct Connect that lets searchers quickly call up a Google+ page by adding a “+” before their query. So if car shoppers are interested in learning more about Toyota models from the company’s Google+ page, they can search “+Toyota” and be directed to the car maker’s Google+ page.

Can you customize your Google+ Business Pages as extensively as you can a Facebook Page? The answer is not yet. In the “coming days,” Google said it will introduce a Google+ badge that will let people add a company’s Google+ page to their circles, without having to leave the company’s site. Rumors and rumblings from around the internet have been mixed, some saying that Google+ and the Google Personal Search is eventually going to replaces Google Places! Do I see that coming? Not anytime in the very near future but why not start building your Google+ Page now?

Check out the Google+ Page for MacWin Local Mobile Marketing and you will see that there is a lot you can currently do with your Google+ Page like adding photos, links, videos and general information about your business. If the Google is the “king of search” and Local Small Businesses depend on Google for Local Marketing, don’t you think it would be a good idea to have a page on the Social Media Platform that Google owns and will more than likely index first?

If you are a local small business owner in the Litchfield Park, Goodyear, Avondale or Buckeye area and want to get started with a Google+ Page for your Business, gives MacWin Local Mobile Marketing a call and let us help you set it up the right way from the start!

MacWin Local Mobile Marketing specializes in using Local Mobile Marketing to help small businesses in the cities of Litchfield Park, Goodyear, Avondale and Buckeye gain more customers and keep them coming back! To find out more about how MacWin Local Mobile Marketing can help you and your small business, please fill out the form below and someone will contact you as soon as possible!

From Mashable.com: Microsoft’s Internet Explorer is still the world’s most popular browser, but it and Mozilla’s Firefox lost a lot of market share to Google’s Chrome in 2011, which is now firmly in second place.

According to StatCounter’s 2011 data, Internet Explorer currently has a 39% market share, Chrome is at 27%, while Firefox holds 25% of the market.

Safari and Opera follow with 6% and 2% market share, respectively.

These numbers alone don’t tell the whole story, however. Internet Explorer started 2011 with a 46% share of the market, and Firefox was over 30%. Both browsers steadily lost their share throughout the year, and almost all of it went to Chrome, which is clearly the year’s biggest gainer.

 

Net Applications’ numbers for 2011 are very different, with Internet Explorer having a much bigger lead (52%), but the trends are similar: Chrome was the only clear winner in 2011, having jumped from 10% to 19% market share.

Interestingly, Net Applications sees Firefox’ current market share almost exactly where it started 2011: at 22%.

Regardless of whose number you believe, it seems that Chrome is on a roll, and its steep upward trajectory shows that other browser makers should take notice. Otherwise, we may have a new king of the browser market in a year or two.

So were you one of the millions of people who got a Kindle Fire for Christmas? Want to use it as more than just an ebook reader? Cinda Rose, The West Valley Home Team and MacWin Local Mobile Marketing are going to spend the next month or so testing the Fire out and specifically using it for “Mobile Real Estate”. I am not suggesting that the Kindle Fire is an iPad replacement or “iPad killer” but at $199 for the Kindle Fire vs. $499 for the iPad2 I think we need to give it a shot! (Just a side note, I am an Apple guy, both The West Valley Home Team and MacWin Local Mobile Marketing are both run completely on Mac’s and “Once you go Mac you never go back!”)

The West Valley Home Team uses Google Apps for their email and calendaring (we are not using Google Docs as our sole document platform yet) and unfortunately eventhough the Kindle Fire is an Android OS device, strangely enough it does not support Google Sync out of the box. The Fire’s email app supports Google Apps Gmail accounts via IMAP/POP but if you’re looking for push notifications and Calendar/Contacts sync, you’ll need something more. There is a work around though! The  Amazon Appstore allows you to install a third-party app called Touchdown for sync. The apps free for 30 days in demo mode, but then costs $9.99 which is still acceptable to me.

Once Touchdown is installed it’s easy enough to setup sync. Just Tap Next to bypass the “Try Autodiscover” screen, enter your Google Apps email address as the User ID, your password, and then specify m.google.com as the server. On the next screen choose yes to SSL and leave everything else at the defaults. Now your Gmail, Calendar and Contacts will sync. One big problem I have with Touchdown is it only syncs your main Personal Google Calendar (or whatever you have renamed your main Google Calendar to). We have multiple Shared Calendars at The West Valley Home Team and not being able to see each other’s is a big drawback. I also seperate my Personal events from my West Valley Home Team events and my MacWin Local Mobile Marketing events by using different calendars for each. I have contacted NitroDesk and searched through their Google Group to see if there are any fixes for this or maybe a future feature but haven’t found anything.

If you want Google Talk, (which I don’t see us needing, this device will be more for showing and researching MLS listings in Litchfield Park, Goodyear and Avondale on the go, collecting email and signing documents) search the AppStore for IM+ or IMO for two good choices. Like the iPad, there’s no native Google Docs client for the Fire but you can login to docs.google.com with the Silk web browser for basic viewing and editing.

The next challenge and my next post is going to be finding an app that allows the Kindle Fire to accept signature on PDF files. More to come…

You’ve seen them, maybe you know what they are and maybe you have no idea. In a recent poll, 58% of users said they weren’t  familiar with them, so why should we care about using them? In the same way that websites, then MySpace URLs, and more recently Facebook pages started appearing in TV, magazine and newspapers ads, we’re starting to see more QR codes appear in traditional advertisements. Start now and get ahead of your competition!

What is a QR code?

A QR code is a 2-D barcode that can be scanned by a smart phone’s camera and transfer information. Based on the type of code it is, it might direct the viewer to a website, make a phone call, deliver a vCard or more.

Tracking QR Code Responses Using Google Analytics

If you have Google Analytics tracking set up on your website, using Google Analytics for tracking your QR Code visits will keep all of your data in one location, and allow you to track the online behaviors and conversion rates of your QR Code visitors.

Here’s how to set up QR Code tracking using Google Analytics:

• The first step is to add tracking code to the URL of your target response page. The target response page is simply the website or page on your website you are trying to get users to visit.
• Go to Google’s URL-Builder tool and load the target URL for your QR Code, your campaign Source, Medium, and Name. For example, let’s create a code with tracking for this post. I’ll use “facebook” as the Source, “status update” as the Medium and “trackable-qrcodes-post” as the Name.
• Click “Generate URL” and you’ll get a url with tracking code.
• With your new link in hand (or in your clipboard), it’s time to create your QR Code. Kaywa’s QR code generator is the simplest way to generate a QR code for a URL, text, phone number or SMS. Simply select your preference, enter the content, specify size and click “Generate.” Then, save the code to use elsewhere or grab the HTML to embed it online.

• You now have a QR Code; download it and apply it to your direct mail piece, business card, billboard, t-shirt, or whatever else. When someone scans the code and visits your site, Google Analytics will track the visit and the associated source, medium and name.
• After you’ve tested the QR Code,  go into Google Analytics and navigate to Traffic Sources > Campaigns. You can sort by “Medium” and search for “qrcode” to see your test visit (see below).

Using Bit.ly for Creating and Tracking QR Code

If you aren’t using Google Analytics, don’t know how to use Google Analytics or just need a simpler process, the url shortening application Bit.ly is another great tool for tracking web traffic it redirects to your QR Code landing pages.

Here’s how to create a trackable QR Code using Bit.ly:

Bit.ly QR Code

• Create an account at http://bit.ly/.
• Insert the target url into their url shortener. You’ll get a shortened url that looks something like: http://bit.ly/8AjVUt
• In your list of shortened urls, you’ll see the target url, with a link beside it for the “Info Page” for the url. Click on it, and you’ll see tracking information and a QR Code for the shortened url.
• Right click on the QR Code image to save it; you’re now ready to use it on whatever marketing piece you’d like.
• Now, whenever someone scans the generated QR Code, they’ll be directed to bit.ly, which will count the visit and automatically redirect the visitor to the target url. This will happen fast enough that users won’t even notice the redirect.
• You can then use the reporting tool on your Bit.ly account to track scans/visits via your QR Code

Bit.ly QR Code

• Here are a few ways that you can use QR codes to spruce up your small business marketing strategies.

• On business cards: A fast and simple way to use QR codes for your own professional purposes is to place them on business cards. Generate a barcode that directs scanners to your online resume, small business Facebook Page or your website to help new contacts find you or your business faster.
• On marketing materials: You’ve got fliers, brochures, programs, handouts, white papers and a myriad of other materials in your media kit. Add QR codes to direct viewers to a particular how-to video, send them to a Flickr photo set, get them to follow you on Twitter, or point them to a mobile-friendly landing page that promotes a new campaign. For inspiration, check out what the Detroid Red Wings did with QR codes in their arena programs.
• In storefront windows: Google is sending out QR code window decals to top local businesses with Google Place Pages. If they don’t send you one, steal the idea and generate your own QR code to place in your window. You can use this code to encourage Fousquare checkins, point scanners to your Yelp profile, or simply invite customers to share memories in photo, video or text form via Stickybits.
• For freebies: If you really want people to pay attention to your QR codes, make them good for something fun. Say you’ve placed a QR code decal in your storefront window, why not reward those who scan it with 10% off their purchase or a free pastry? Give them something small to thank them for their patronage. Simply create a custom QR code for the freebie you want to offer. You could even get creative and hide the QR code offers online, like on your Facebook page or website, or somewhere inside your store.

Things to Remember

• If you’re going to use QR codes for small business marketing, you’ll want to keep in mind that QR codes — and the apps that scan them — are still foreign to most people.
• Yes, more and more people are starting to associate the codes with action, but never assume your customers will know what to do. Make it a point to spell out how to scan the QR code, and help instruct customers on where they can grab scanner apps.
• Also, remember that QR codes should provide some kind of value to the scanner. It may be easiest to direct QR code scanners to your website, but that’s likely not the most engaging place to send people. Instead of having the QR Code directed to just http://macwinconsulting.com, try focusing the QR Code to one specific page within your site, one promotion/coupon or one service you offer.

Does your business or have you ever used QR Codes? Please take a moment to fill out the survey below and let us know:

Click here to take survey

Americans Spend 23% of Internet Time on Social Networks [STUDY]

Americans spend almost a quarter of their time online on social networking sites, says a Nielsen report released Monday.

According to the report — which combines data from Nielsen mobile and online meters, buzz data and a survey — Internet users spend more than twice as much time on social networks (including blogs) as they do on online games, the next top web destination by time.

The most popular social network as measured by Nielsen online meters is Facebook, followed by Blogger,Tumblr, Twitter and LinkedIn.

 

Nine of the 10 most popular social networks were dominated by women. Only LinkedIn had a percentage of men visiting the site that exceeds the percentage of men who are active Internet users. Women also watch more video content than men, although men watch longer videos.

Both genders are increasingly accessing social networks using mobile apps. Social networking app usage is up 30% from the same time last year. Social networking apps are the third most downloaded type of smartphone apps behind only games and weather apps. App growth has not affected the percentage of people who access social networks using mobile browsers. Mobile Internet users account for 47% more unique visits to social networks than they did last year.

“It’s the first time we looked at the data comprehensively,” says Nielsen’s SVP of Media & Advertising Insights and Analytics Radha Subramanyam. “[What is most surprising to us] is the rapid adoption, the measurable reach of social media. Four out of five Internet users. One of five minutes spent online. When you have those numbers and see their scale, it’s staggering.”

HootSuite is now even Facebookier

Enjoy updated Facebook functionality within HootSuite’s social media management system – now with support for Facebook Groups and Events, exclusive search streams, plus photo uploading direct to Facebook. We also refreshed the process for posting to Pages and Profiles, added a Profile Picker, and included more ways to monitor walls, news, events and comments in HootSuite streams.

Along with Facebook Insights analytics reports already available the social media management system, HootSuite users can now manage all campaign tasks – including scheduling and assignments – from within the dashboard. Also, Enterprise customers can geo-target campaigns by region or by language.

The new tools are ready to go next time you login to HootSuite. Thanks for sharing the news with your friends and fans ~ we look forward to hearing how the tools help your social media campaigns. 

More for Friends, Photos and Fans

Monitor Everything

Track content from Profiles, Pages and Groups from within HootSuite Facebook streams and customize your tabs with: news feeds, photos, videos, events, status updates, and wall posts. Become even more efficient by filtering Facebook Streams to view only selected users or posts.

Public Search

Over 20% of content on Facebook is public and now you can search it all in a HootSuite exclusive feature which is not available on Facebook.com. Track instances of your brand name, industry terms, executives etc. and then turn any comment into a stream to track conversations, even assign follow-ups, plus “Like” and comment directly in-stream.

Picture Posting

Images are a key part of any post and now your images are uploaded directly to Facebook (rather than linked) allowing you to add and schedule pictures to Profiles, Pages and Groups using the enhanced compose box functionality.

Geo-Campaigning

Enterprise customers can target messaging based on the language and location of their audience with new geo-targeting tools. Combined with scheduling, this feature will optimize campaign messaging so it reaches the most relevant audiences at the ideal times.

Other Like-able Additions

Facebook isn’t the only upgrade you’ll notice in the dashboard when you login. We’ve also included some polishes to existing features:

Compose box – Refreshed design makes adding photos, links and scheduling even more intuitive – plus add geo-location co-ordinates to Tweets on the go.

Profile Picker – Designed for users with dozens of profiles, use this auto-completing tool to set favorites and defaults for faster, more accurate selections. Note: you can choose to stay with the original-style if preferred.

Helpful Hoots

Questions about new or existing features? The answers you seek are just a short flight away. Visit the HootSuite Help Desk to find articles to address any query about using Facebook — and other social networks — in the dashboard.

For advanced education, sign up for HootSuite University. This social media certification program is revamped with new videos, content and a weekly #HSUchat to increase your industry knowledge and professional network. Sign up.

Now, get ready for full-fledged Facebook fun within your dashboard where you can now manage all your campaign activities within HootSuite. Tell your friends!

Yelp Inc., a website that collects local business reviews, is scaling back its year-old deal service, following Facebook Inc.’s retreat from a market where consumers and merchants say they’re becoming inundated.

Yelp will cut its sales staff dedicated to Yelp Deals by half, the company said yesterday. Facebook, the world’s largest social network, said on Aug. 26 it would shut down its Deals local-discount feature, decamping from a business it entered in April. Both services were started to compete with Groupon Inc.

As hundreds of companies jump into the online-coupon market, consumers and merchants may have begun to grow weary of offers. At the same time, increasing competition among websites threatens to squeeze margins, making it harder for them to earn a profit from the deals.

“The big players are exiting because the business is not making a dent in their revenue numbers,” said Sucharita Mulpuru, an analyst at Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Forrester Research Inc. “The space is not as large as everyone thought it was.”

In July, 38 daily-deal sites closed — more than the 36 that opened — while the industry experienced a 7 percent drop in revenue from the prior month in top North American markets, according to research firm Yipit Inc. Groupon and LivingSocial are the top two deal sites, which offer discounts on restaurants, hotels, events, and other goods and services.
‘Declining Quality’

At San Francisco-based Yelp, about 15 salespeople will be reassigned to other areas of the business, and the number of deals e-mailed to users is unlikely to grow, Vince Sollitto, vice president of corporate communications, said in an interview yesterday.

“Rather than offer more and more deals of inherently declining quality to more and more folks over time, we want to make sure we’re only providing good, quality opportunities,” Sollitto said. “While we think the deals business is a good one, it has never been a core focus of our offering.”

In August, Yelp has offered fewer than 30 deals, down from more than 60 per month in June and July, according to Yipit. Yelp has recently made about $10,000 per deal, compared with more than $30,000 at the beginning of the year.
‘Paring Down’

“Yelp has been paring down its deal frequency steadily over July and August,” Jim Moran, co-founder of Yipit, said in an e-mail.

More than half, or 52 percent, of U.S. consumers who use daily-deal services say they feel “overwhelmed” by the number of e-mails they receive about deals on a daily basis, according to a survey conducted earlier this year by PriceGrabber, a division of Experian Plc. About 60 percent of people surveyed said they feel the daily-deal industry is too crowded.

“While Groupon had first-mover advantage, many competitors followed suit, driving down prices and commoditizing the market,” said Jeremiah Owyang, an analyst at Altimeter Group in San Mateo, California.

Groupon Chief Executive Officer Andrew Mason said last week that Yelp hadn’t made major inroads into its business.

“Yelp is small and not growing,” he said in a memo to employees that was obtained by Bloomberg News. “In the 15 markets where we compete, our daily deals are 500 percent of their size.”
Full Inboxes

Facebook may have withdrawn from the market because the competition was too intense, said Greg Sterling, an analyst at Opus Research Inc. in San Francisco.

“There’s just too much competition out there,” Sterling said. “That manifests in too many e-mails in the inbox and too many salespeople calling merchants. There’s so much noise in the market that it’s hard for merchants and consumers to make sense of it all.”

Yelp began offering discounts from local merchants in San Diego in August 2010 and expanded to 20 cities this year. In June, it incorporated the service into its mobile applications for Apple Inc. (AAPL)’s iPhone and Google Inc. (GOOG)’s Android software.

The startup plans to double its sales staff to 700 in the next 18 months, including a new office in New York and the expansion of a Scottsdale, Arizona, site it opened in 2010. All salespeople are able to sell Yelp Deals, and vendors can sign up for the service on Yelp’s website, Sollitto said.

Merchants say that participating in the deals often leads to unsolicited calls from other coupon sites. After Kiebpoli Calnek ran a Yelp Deal advertising 50 percent off an aerial performance class in July, she began receiving calls from representatives of Groupon, LivingSocial and other deal sites every day.

“They send me e-mails, they call me, they call me again,” said Calnek, who is based in Brooklyn, New York. “I told them, ‘I’m burnt out from this deal. I have 500 new clients. Why would I want to do another one?’”

Founded in 2004, Yelp has raised more than $130 million in funding from Elevation Partners LP and other backers. Last month, the company hired a new chief financial officer, Rob Krolik, citing his experience at publicly held companies.

Facebook has greatly extended the length of names permitted for Page tab applications. While before names could only be 16 characters or less, they can now be up to 100 characters, though long names will cause fewer different tabs to be displayed above the fold.

The change will allow admins to more accurately and descriptively name their tabs, and use long names to draw attention to certain tabs. For instance, rather than naming a sweepstakes tab “Enter Contest”, it could be named “Enter to Win a 10-Day Vacation in Hawaii”.

When Facebook released the February 2011 Page redesign, Page tab apps moved from atop the wall to the navigation menu beneath the profile picture. While no longer front and center, this extended the permitted character length for tab app names to 16 and allowed more app to be displayed before a fold. Later Facebook increased the number of tabs visible above the fold and allowed reordering of apps.

However, even 16 characters wasn’t always enough to accurately describe a tab. Short, confusing names may have prevented users from knowing what they were missing by not clicking through to the tab app. For instance, MTV had to call one of its tabs “JS Game” instead of the more compelling “Jersey Shore Game” because of the character limit.

Now, with a maximum length of 100 characters, Page admins have much more flexibility with how they can use the navigation menu. They can list prizes or entry mechanism within the names of contest apps, for example “Subscribe to Emails to Win $10,000″. They can explain the function of utility apps for coupons or discounts, such as “Coupon Codes For Our Online Store”.

Admins could also get more creative, adding urgency to a tab name by listing an expiration date, such as “Only 10 More Hours To Enter Our Contest”. Or they could fill most of their navigation menu with a single tab name rather than try to drive clicks to several different tabs.

To edit Page tab app names, admins can click the Edit Page button on their own Page, then visit the Apps tab, then click “Edit Settings” on the tab they want to rename. To reorder tabs, visit the Page, and click the “Edit” link beneath the tab app navigation menu, or click “More” and then “Edit” button to drag-and-drop the tab apps.

Short, easy to read names are usually best, but when those don’t properly convey an app’s function, Page admins can rewrite them. We’ll watch and see what creative and effective uses are made of this newfound freedom, so check back for more ideas.

by Georgann Yara – Apr. 30, 2011 06:02 AM

When Dean Slover and his business partners were preparing to open RnR Restaurant and Bar, they debated over whether to hire someone to manage the business’ social-media aspect.