Graphite: A New Social Commerce Platform

Yesterday brought the arrival of a new social platform for S-Commerce or what most refer to as Social Commerce. This new platform is called Graphite and is being brought to us by the 8^thBridge Technology Company under the direction of Wade Gerten. Graphite, in its simplest form is a monthly fee based Suite of plug-ins, built for the new coming Social Commerce, which enables brands to leverage social media without giving up any sort of brand control.  By using Graphite, Brands can better tailor their content to create Shoppable stories, promotions, and Ads for particular products on Facebook. (more…)

Why Page Load Times Matter So Much and How You Can Reduce Them

How fast a website loads is one of the first impressions you can give your visitors and potential customers. Make a bad first impression and things can start going wrong fast. Page load time is important for a number of reasons but the user experience is one of the most important. If people are frustrated that your site is slow for them they are much less likely to buy from you or trust your site in general. Its a hard thing to measure but it is something that is very real. A couple stats from kissmetrics blog puts some perspective on just how important it can be:

“A 1 second delay in page response can result in a 7% reduction in conversions.”

“If an e-commerce site is making $100,000 per day, a 1 second page delay could potentially cost you $2.5 million in lost sales every year.”

Not everyone has an e-commerce site making $100k a day but it does help put things in a different light. For some people 7% can make or break your business and even if that is not the case most everyone would agree that improving your conversions by ANY amount is a positive thing. (more…)

OH CANADA! How our neighbors to the north feel about Social Media!

Looking to expand your business “near shore”? Canada is a great market to start. Our neighbors to the North are more like us Americans then many think. Here’s the run down – InternetWorldStats.com estimated Canada’s total population in 2011 at 34,030,589 million and about 79% of those Canadians are Internet users (26,960,000 million internet users). Canada’s high online activity, cultural similarities to the U.S., and close location make it a great market for your business to connect with Canadian consumers, but that’s just it. A recent report by Edelman.ca shows us that although trust in social media has increased in Canada, it is still low. Companies should use Social Media as a way to bring Canadians together around a common interest and not a channel to implement traditional marketing campaigns. (more…)

Why Using Social Media Is Essential for Today’s Business

In the ever-increasing age of Information Technology (IT), using social media for business has become a quintessential part of marketing products and services. According to an estimate, only a couple of popular social media sites have as much as 800 million users. Facebook alone has this many! So, you can imagine the extent to which you can reach customers in a quick and cost efficient manner through social media. I recently came across somebody that very beautifully compared social media with a shopping mall. A social media site is just like a virtual mall and if you are present in that mall with your products and services then obviously you are making your presence felt amongst your potential buyers. (more…)

Instasuccess? What Instagram Brings to Facebook

(Is a Picture worth a $1,000,000,000? Facebook Thinks So!)

Photo Curtsey of http://instagr.am/

A week ago today, Facebook brokered a deal to buy Instagram, a 2-year-old company comprised of 13 employees, for a whopping $1 Billion in cash and stock options. With no revenue model and still in the start-up stage, why would Facebook drop a cool $1 Billion to purchase Instagram? Great question! Lets take a look at what made Instagram an Instasuccess! (more…)

Connecting Australia: Social Media “Down Under”

Australia is a great emerging market for businesses who are looking to expand globally.  According to InternetWorldStats.com, Australia has an overall population of approximately 21,766,711 people with about 19,554,832 of them being Internet users. This means that nearly 89.8% of Aussies are connected online. With these numbers, Australia ranks 5^th on the list of top Internet penetrating countries. For this reason, marketing online and through social media would be a brands best bet to connect with Australian consumers. (more…)

5 Do’s And Don’ts For SEO In 2012

Search engine optimization should not just be a task, but an ambition. Everyone want’s their website to get on top of the search engine results page or SERP, but in 2012 you really need to put in the work to see these kind of results. In this blog post I’m going to cover some of the right things to do for your SEO initiatives, and some of the wrongs things that you mustn’t do! Let’s jump right into it and discuss the top points below. (more…)

Facebook: What Are People Talking About?

In the past, many people would judge a Facebook page based on the number of likes that it had. This is still sort of true today, but the fact of the matter is that likes alone doesn’t make your page successful. What makes your page successful is having an engaging fan base. What constitutes an engaging fan base you ask? Don’t worry you came to the right place to learn more about it. I will go over what Facebook analyzes to come up with that pesky # of people talking about number! (more…)

Use Social Media to connect with your audience in Singapore

Singapore is an international hub for businesses. Singapore is a prime location that has attracted many foreigners and expats – making this city a melting pot of cultures, ideas, and much more. This melting pot made Singapore into one of the most technologically advanced countries in Asia. Singapore is one of the most “evolved” social media markets around the world because of the technology infrastructure in place; how people use Internet for daily activities; and a population that stays globally connected. These factors have driven Singapore to evolve so quickly into the most online active markets in South East Asia.

Singapore has the highest level of Internet penetration in Southeastern Asia, as   consumers in Singapore are frequently accessing the Internet more than any other of the Southeast Asian countries and through various channels. The use of social media and online interaction is increasing, Singaporeans trust consumer opinions posted online very high. Online product reviews and discussion forums are one of the most trusted sources of recommendations in purchase decision making, second to recommendations from family and friends. As its very easy to publish and read customer opinions about your products, it is important that companies are present, active, and sensitive to what their buyers are saying about their products.

Social media plays big part in Singaporeans lifes

Social media has become an important part of the new Singaporean lifestyle. Singaporeans discuss social issues, gather news, share family memories, organize social events, express creativity,  create professional networks, do comparison shopping and find places to eat, and things to buy.

Here are some statistics from the Nielsen’s 2011 report about digital consumers in Singapore:

• 45% have an active YouTube profile
• 77% maintain an active Facebook profile
• 85% an internet capable phone
• 23% now have a tablet computer in their homes
• 70% use a smart phone
• 69% of Internet users connect with brands via social networks. Singaporeans are becoming increasingly “connected” through pc and mobile devices.
• 5.9% of all Internet traffic in Singapore is now coming from non-computer devices.

This active audience on social media is huge for brands and businesses that are looking to enter and connect with a Singaporean market. It is important for companies to create an online presence that their target audience can connect with. Creating an online identity through social media channels will increase your company’s brand awareness and engage consumers to become loyal brand ambassadors. With Social media, companies  put a face and a personality to their brand, they humanize it and give consumers a real personal relationship. Social media is an influential and important channel of communication for consumers in Singapore and around the world.

Google Places: What It Can Do For Your Business

The importance of using Google Places should never be overlooked. Do you have yours yet? Why do you need a Google Places page? These are legitimate questions and the answers, plus helpful hints will be addressed below. In addition to simply having a Google Place page it is important to keep that place ranked high in order to see the benefits of taking the time to claim your place. A Google Places page puts a concrete location to your business. Chances are your business is not yet a household name, by utilizing Google places you can change that. (more…)