In both my work and personal life I am very active in the digital world. Digital advertising can be a very powerful tool if managed properly and there are many benefits that a properly managed digital advertising program can yield. Like it or not, potential customers are using the internet and making decisions based on digital advertising. Yes, even the ones that already know you are shopping online and checking to see if you have a website. Below I've outlined some great digital marketing...

Burst Media recently released new research that digs into the effectiveness of social media by various forms of advertising and related engagement factors entitled Expanding the Conversation: Leveraging Social Media for Brand Interaction.

I am sharing the infographic and survey because there are several points that can be taken away from the research. Here are a few that stuck out to me:

• The majority of web users have a personal account for social media and use between desktop/laptop computers and...

It’s been just a month since our last update on new Facebook features and they’ve already made more changes. While it’s really great that Facebook continues to improve, it can be a little hard to keep up with everything they are up to. In case you missed the updates, here’s an overview of the latest Facebook release and features and how they will impact your small business.

Facebook Replies

The Facebook replies feature is a simple change, but one of the best ones that I’ve seen in a long time. At...

According to Twitter, there are 400 million Tweets a day and 200 million active users. But to those not utilizing it, the question is often how or why would it help a business. As Twitter continues to be a main platform for social media, the objective of today’s blog is to educate you about some of the compelling small business uses of Twitter. To get started with an account, I would recommend spending some time on Twitter’s support page to learn how to use it and the important terms and policies...

If you've ever voted on American Idol or received special offers from Redbox on your mobile phone, then you're already familiar with short codes. Short codes are special telephone numbers that can be used to address SMS (text) and MMS (multimedia) messages. Often times you are instructed a to text a command word to the short code which is then handled by an automated program. This program can do things like record your votes, sign you up for special deals, or collect your donation to a charity.

N...

YP.com publishes a great Local Insights digital report each quarter that is full of valuable stats on how consumers are searching for small businesses across the YP.com network. The report is focused on identifying emerging trends in local advertising by analyzing YP.com's vast search database.

The quarterly report highlights the performance of the YP.com ad network, top search categories, top growth categories, local search by U.S. geography and detailed search data for featured...

Courtesy of InternetServiceProviders.org, the following graphic is a not-so-subtle reminder that the web is an enormous universe that dominates personal interaction and makes businesses hum. We all know it is big, but when quantified like this, it is mind-boggling. Here are a few noteworthy stats of what is occurring right now on the Internet.

• 1,622 tweets per second
• 694,445 Google searches per minute
• 99 years worth of YouTube videos posted each day

Specifically, when looking at implications for...

It has become popular to refer to the Yellow Pages as a relic of the past, but do you know the facts? In this three part series we’ll de-bunk three commons myths about the Yellow Pages.

Myth #1 – Consumers Only Use the Internet to Find Local Businesses

Myth #2  – Only “Older People” use the Yellow Pages

Myth #3 – Yellow Pages Advertising Won’t Make Your Phone Ring

Given the common misconception that very few people use the Yellow Pages, it’s easy to understand why a small business owner might...

It has become popular to refer to the Yellow Pages as a relic of the past, but do you know the facts? In this three part series we’ll de-bunk three commons myths about the Yellow Pages.

Myth #1 – Consumers Only Use the Internet to Find Local Businesses

Times have certainly changed since the first Yellow Pages directory was printed in the late 1800s. For many years phone books were the only available source for finding local business information. In the last decade the search engines, social...

As you entered the new year you probably put together a marketing and advertising plan for your business based on what you've had success with in the past. You may have even decided that this was the year to mix things up a little bit and test out some new ways to promote your products and services. As you thought about your advertising plans did you ever wonder what other small businesses were planning to do with their advertising budgets this year? 

While every business is unique it can be...

By now you’ve probably heard of the hottest new social media network – Pinterest. Pinterest showed up in a big way in 2012 when it made the comScore list of the top 50 websites with 25.3 million unique visitors.

In case you aren’t familiar with Pinterest, the site is essentially one big online cork board. It allows users to “pin” images that they find online, which then link back to the original website. Pins are really just visual bookmarks, which are organized by “pinboards” that typically have...

What is Facebook Nearby?

Have you ever traveled to a new city and wondered where you could go, near your hotel, to get a good cup of coffee? Or maybe you’ve been at work and when it was time for lunch you wanted to try something other than your usual sandwich shop? There are a lot of great mobile apps – including Yelp, FourSquare, and TripAdvisor – that could help you find the perfect local business, but up until recently Facebook did not have much to offer. That all changed when Facebook rolled...

Besides money, time is the resource that we never seem to have enough of. Just like the saying, "time is money." As a small business owner, you understand this better than anyone! You are working 24/7 to build a business to support you and your family - you buy the toilet paper for the restrooms, you hire the receptionist, you pay the bills, you meet with customers and in your free time you eat. You need to figure out how to get more done in less time (and preferably for less money). 

And I...

After the amount of holiday shopping that took place via mobile devices in 2011, nearly half of businesses have attempted to keep up this year by increasing mobile budgets, ramping up website optimization activity, and developing apps. For businesses yet to be convinced about the need for a mobile presence, this holiday shopping season may prove to be the tipping point. 

As expected for 2012, mobile is becoming an increasing;y important cog in the consumer buying process that is a blend between...

If you're locked out of your house, chances are you won't have your laptop with you to search for a locksmith, but you probably will have the key to your house right in your pocket - your smartphone. And instead of surfing the web for fun this time, you'll need to get right down to business, find the closest locksmith and get in touch with them, by phone, NOW! No looking for the best price, best reviewed, best website - you just need to get inside your house and as quickly as possible. THAT'S...

We are excited to unveil our website at TheBerryCompany.com. The new site has not only been given a fresh look, but has added content and functionality to show you the advertising solutions we offer to help your small business grow and succeed. Here’s an overview of what you can now expect when you visit our website.

1. More information on our advertising solutions and expanded digital marketing options

Berry offers a suite of digital advertising solutions to help small businesses connect with...

The majority of the content on this blog focuses on online marketing for small businesses. While Berry has a wealth of digital advertising expertise, it's important that from time to time we touch on the advertising platform that has played a key role in our 100 year history - the yellow pages.

Many people view yellow pages as a thing of the past, but in reality they remain a strong advertising medium. This is especially true now that advertising has become increasingly fragmented....

Berry has just released the results of our annual Think Yellow, Go Green recycling program in the Lincoln, NE area. As a resident of Lincoln and long time employee of The Berry Company, I couldn't be happier with the community support for this wonderful initiative.

Berry has once again partnered with the Cornhusker Council Boy Scouts in collecting outdated phone directories. The Boy Scouts worked door-to-door in many neighborhoods throughout Lincoln to collect the directories. There were also...

In today's cyber world, small businesses need a website - that is a given. But a website isn't enough - you also need viable sources to drive traffic to your website or it is like building a house in the middle of a cornfield without a road to reach it.  

Online directories are a great way to drive traffic to your website and ensure that consumers can find you. With over 38 billion annual searches and 76 million monthly visitors, YP.com is ranked the 34th most used Internet site. There are many...

I had the pleasure of attending the 2012 LSA industry conference - Search Starts Here in Boca Raton, FL earlier this week. Several members from Berry were in attendance to network with our peers in the industry and to learn about new trends and best practices. I had three main takeaways from the event:  

1. Yellow Pages companies of today are much more than just print publishers and are well-positioned for growth in the digital space.

I listened to Charles Laughlin and Matt Booth from BIA/Kelsey gi...