When content includes visuals, readers are more likely to both read that content and understand it.

According to Pew Research Center, 65% of all adults use social media. Social media usage isn't just for young internet denizens anymore - everyone uses it. It's not an exaggeration to say that social media has changed the way businesses market themselves and interact with their customers. More than that, it's given businesses of all sizes a powerful marketing tool that they can use to grow a loyal online audience and attract more customers. 

By the end of 2016, 60% of businesses will have appointed an executive who is directly responsible for the company’s content strategy.  Additionally, "76% of B2B marketers say they plan to increase the amount of content they produce in 2016 compared to 2015". These statistics all point to the same thing: when done right, content marketing works.

Google Analytics is one of the most useful tools currently available to website owners and business owners especially. They can use Analytics to keep tabs on web traffic, customer engagement and ROI for online marketing campaigns. That's not even all. You can find many other bits of useful information all on one free platform.

In our last blog post, we walked readers through the process of setting up a Google Analytics account. Now that the account setup has been taken care of, we’ll be providing readers with a very basic introduction to the kind of info business owners can find using Analytics, and what all that information means.

Social media can be an incredibly powerful networking and marketing tool for businesses, if you know how to use it correctly. The key to unlocking social media’s potential is understanding the strengths and weaknesses of each of the major platforms (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.) and how they can be used to meet your business’ specific goals. If you’re new to social media or are having trouble understanding how the different platforms are best used, we’ve put together a basic overview of the five biggest social media sites and how they are best used.

Most Facebook “how to” guides for small business focus on the site’s effectiveness as a marketing tool. And while the site’s potential as a lead generator and marketing platform is important, it's only one part of the story. More than being just a marketing tool, Facebook is an integral part of the modern business-customer relationship.