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...

Bee, bee bumble bee, I see something you don’t see and the image is ... all about your business. 

In today’s culture consumers expect visual communication and therefore small- and medium-sized businesses must follow suit. With the announcement last week of the release of the new look for Facebook Timeline, users will have the option to filter and see only photos from friends and pages they like. Visual marketing is more important now than ever before.

Wikipedia refers to the concept of “visual...

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...

While many SMB owners watched the Super Bowl and ate their share of the billion plus wings consumed annually, they probably did not spend millions trying to wow people with advertising. However, beyond the talking babies, car and beer commercials, are concepts from Super Bowl ads that a business could use year-round without paying $3.8M for 30 seconds. There are three that stuck out to me this year.

1. Resonate with Audience

​For Super Bowl viewers more interested in the ads than the game, no one...

By Shayla Rammel

Do you want 2013 to be a breakout year for your business? If so, you need to get a jump start on the New Year, so our holiday gift to you is some hot Internet Marketing tips to get your new year started with a bang.  

Growing a small business takes time. It’s not an overnight success. It takes a long-term, comprehensive marketing approach to build your leads, your sales, and ultimately, your bottom line.

Most small business can’t afford a highly specialized marketing staff to run...

It has been a busy year at Berry as we focused on becoming a one-stop provider of digital advertising solutions. Our Berry Blog launched this year as a means to share our knowledge on small business marketing. In case you missed them, here are our top posts of 2012.

1. The Power of Pinterest Part I: Have You Gotten Hooked Yet? and The Power of Pinterest Part II: Drive Leads to Your Business

Pinterest has exploded this year and the interest in it is evident by the views of our blog posts. Did you...

What’s your company’s brand? Have you ever really thought about that?

Branding is an essential element of your business

Did you know that everything you do as a business represents your brand?

At all times you are either building or deteriorating your brand in the marketplace.

A little over a week ago I had an opportunity to attend a business owner’s conference that had a couple of incredible business and entrepreneurship speakers. One of them in particular resonated with me because she delivered a...

In my 11 years in advertising I have never met a small business owner that has had enough time or resources to dedicate to online marketing. Most agree that marketing in this day and age can be complex and time consuming for small businesses so anything that simplifies the approach is embraced with open arms (and sometimes a hug).   

In 2012 you have to choose from an overwhelming number of options from traditional media like television, radio and yellow pages to online media like SEM, online...

Most of us are familiar with the term outsourcing which involves using a workforce outside of your company. Usually people associate outsourcing with overseas manual labor or call centers, but it can also mean bringing in local contractors or assigning particular tasks to companies that specialize in them. Well, sometimes the job can't be done inhouse, but it's not exactly cost effective to try to outsouce it either. That's where crowdsourcing comes in.

First, let's define crowdsourcing (not to...

“The purpose of business is to create a customer.” – Peter Drucker 

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...

What the heck is pre-roll video advertising? It is the diamond in the rough in online marketing. Pre-roll video advertising is defined by the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) as an in-stream video ad that occurs before the video content the user has requested. Simply put, pre-roll video is the advertisement you see before the video you have chosen to watch, it is either 15 or 30 seconds long and it is similar to television commercials. 

You don't typically turn on the television to watch...

If you are like me you spent a good part of the last two weeks glued to the TV watching the Olympics. There were great moments ranging from the U.S. women’s gymnastics team winning gold for the first time since 1996 to Michael Phelps retiring with a record setting 22 medals. In between all of the great displays of athleticism and sportsmanship you may have noticed something else – amazing marketing campaigns. The opening ceremony alone drew an average of 40 million viewers giving big brands an...

Last time we talked, I told you all about my introduction to Pinterest. This time I will explain how you can get the most out of Pinterest, the newest social media craze. Pinterest may seem like it's only for big brands, but it's a great way for your small business to get exposure. Read on for tips on how to make the most out of the newest platform for online marketing.

First, let me sum up Pinterest for those who haven't checked it out yet. Pinterest is basically a wall of visual bookmarks of...

We are excited to be part of an effort that the Local Search Association (LSA) launched last week called Local Pays Off that encourages consumers to buy locally. As a partner with thousands of small businesses, Berry is a strong supporter of the local shopping movement. The advertising solutions that we offer, including websites, online video, SEO, YP.com and yellow pages are all designed to help connect consumers with local businesses.

As part of Local Pays Off, LSA has outlined some...

Social media has spread rapidly and more and more companies are promoting their products and services through digital marketing on social networks. Social media marketing is a tactic that many small businesses have added to their marketing arsenal due to its effectiveness at sharing information and building relationships. There are plenty of things to consider before venturing into the deep sea of ​​social media. Although it can have tremendous benefts, a misstep could have a negative impact on...

About six months ago, I was searching online for a flooring company to refinish my hardwood floors. I did the customary Google search and up popped a video describing the refinishing process by someone who appeared to be very knowledgeable as well as professional. I quickly called and scheduled an estimate with this local small business and eventually chose them to do the work. I didn’t know if they were the best choice, but his video was enough to convince me to give them a call.

In the...

Word of mouth has always been an important means for small businesses to gain new customers. Good word of mouth can bring in referrals and new business while negative word of mouth can damage your reputation.

Traditional word of mouth has gone digital based on a recent study which found that 72% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations. Social media has given all consumers the ability to easily share feedback about businesses with their friends and family. This is why...