Stop me when I’ve gone too far. You wake up in the morning, grab a shower, maybe a coffee, have a quick bite to eat, read a few articles in the paper, and begin your daily commute. You may be unique, but most people would’ve stopped me at the reading part. You get your headlines and go. After a certain point in a news story, when you’ve gotten the facts, you lose interest. Talk about less is more, look at Twitter, it’s become a phenomenon by making you fit everything you want to say into 140 characters. That is hardly even a full sentence’s worth, but the social media outlet has become a widespread source for breaking news and information. » Read entire post «

We’ve all been to seminars and conferences where the “hype and promise” exceeded the actual delivery. Being the owner of a marketing firm should have prepared me to set my expectations lower but I still get caught up in the stellar line-ups and lofty agendas that some morsel of knowledge will drop in my lap and revolutionize my way of thinking. The unconference has come about as the new way in which to conduct meetings. » Read entire post «

According to a study conducted in October 2009, more than 55% of retailers stated that their holiday advertising budget is remaining flat this year, up from 43% of retailers at the same time last year. However, the most interesting statistic is that 51% of retailers plan to incorporate social media into their marketing campaigns, a stark contrast from 4% of retailers who utilized social media last year. » Read entire post «

“Net Neutrality” is a controversial subject that is being discussed more every day. Wikipedia defines network neutrality as a “principle that all Internet traffic should be treated equally.” At first glance, supporting Net Neutrality may be a no-brainer; however, taking a second look and digging a bit deeper may stir up different feelings.

Consider the people that rarely access the internet; the people that only go on to pay a few bills or to buy airline tickets. These people pay the same amount that heavy users of the internet pay. This same price applies to once a week users, and the users that play online games and those that download music along with other content 24/7. This begs the question, should carriers be able to sell multi-tiered access to heavy users?

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The ability to quantify how much occurs online has become much easier with the likes of Google Analytics, Urchin, GoStats.com or OneStat.com. There are others, but Verge180 uses Google as its core resource for analyzing movement – and the best part is that it’s free. Because pictures and videos will always command greater attention than the written word alone, we have included videos in our two latest issues of Vergology. Our tracking has shown definitively why it is important for us as a business to employ this technique to reach more prospective clients in the future. » Read entire post «

When it comes to increasing a website’s ability to be noticed more often by visitors, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) strategies will maximize successful access. Here are five techniques to help move you toward more effective results. » Read entire post «

Do you need to give something away to get business today? It is likely that you and your team have kicked this question around the boardroom at least a few times especially when times are tough and business is more scarce. The notion that you have to give a little to get a little is not exactly new and honestly is a no brainer when it comes to reeling in low hanging fruit. The real question is how far do you want to go to expose your products, talents and services to attract big fish. » Read entire post «

Social media has taken on a whole new role in people’s lives worldwide. One social media network called “Twitter” is the current hot spot for social networking users. Twitter allows people to post anything within a 140 character limit answering the question, “What are you doing?” These posts are referred to as “tweets” or updates. These quick, frequent updates can be seen by people around the world, opening the door for global connections, interactive comments and dynamic conversations. Most of all, this network allows users to know what’s current in other people’s lives in real-time, no matter where the users are located. With millions of people surfing and posting on the site, there is constant interaction between people of all different walks of life. This makes Twitter an incredibly strong Public Relations platform where an identity can be built or destroyed in one “tweet.” » Read entire post «

Are blogs and social networking the best way to carve out a relationship with new customers? It’s a question Verge180 hears frequently as the world appears consumed with online sites that cater to building friends, contacts or partnerships. Despite the presumptive reasons given for turning to Twitter, frequenting Facebook or latching on to LinkedIn, the fact remains clear, they won’t be going away any time soon! » Read entire post «

Transforming the User Experience

When should you admit that your seemingly good results are not as good as you expect and need them to be? Or, how can you make changes to generate better results without upsetting everything you have in motion? In the case of The Penn Fund, they realized that their results were flat. As a result, they wisely took the initiative to address upgrading their web presence and called Verge180. » Read entire post «