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Showing posts from August, 2021

Twitter Beats Q2 Expectations

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WebProNews Twitter Beats Q2 Expectations Twitter posted its Q2 earnings, beating expectations on $1.19 billion in revenue. Once the darling of the social media market, Twitter has been surpassed in recent years by newer upstarts. The platform showed it still has room to grow in its latest report, however, posting $1.19 billion in revenue, an increase of 74% year-over-year. Advertising revenue came in at $1.05 billion, an 87% increase year-over-year. The company also posted an 11% year-over-year growth of the coveted Monetizable Daily Active Usage (mDAU). “As we enter the second half of 2021, we are shipping more, learning faster, and hiring remarkable talent,” said Jack Dorsey, Twitter’s CEO. “For example, our increased shipping cadence contributed to reaching 206 million average monetizable DAU (mDAU) in Q2, up 11% year over year and 3% quarter over quarter. There’s a tremendous opportunity to get the whole world to use Twitter.”  “We delivered better-than-expected

Zuck went full ‘murica for July 4

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It’s been nearly a year since that unfortunately unforgettable photo of Mark Zuckerberg surfing in Hawaii looking like a White Walker surfaced. And just so it doesn’t have the chance to completely fade from memory, ol’ Zuck‘s got your back with a little video of himself on the water again — and he looks more patriotic than you will ever be. In the clip captioned, “Happy July 4th!,” Zuckerberg is surfing while majestically holding up an American flag… and it’s set to John Denver’s ‘Take Me Home, Country Roads.’ View this post on Instagram A post shared by Mark Zuckerberg… This story continues at The Next Web * This article was originally published here

12 Pieces of Consumer Data Every Small Business Should Collect

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Businesses have access to a treasure trove of valuable customer data , from how their audience is engaging with a social media post to their feedback on a product or service. When properly collected and analyzed, this data is invaluable for improving the customer experience — but you need to be collecting the right data. Below, 12 members of Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) share their insights by responding to the following question: “What do you think is one piece of consumer data that’s most important for small businesses to collect, and why is it valuable for them?” Here’s what they recommend you start collecting now. 1. Email Addresses “You need to be sending out monthly emails to all your clients and potential clients. You can send out education materials, announcements, sales, etc. But the first step is making sure you have the email address of all your clients and potential clients.” ~ Peter Boyd , PaperStreet Web Design 2. Individual Interests “Learning about a person’

Go Beyond the Basics with These 10 Unique Online Marketing Tips

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Nearly every business today uses some form of online marketing . So if you want your company to stand out, you need to think a bit differently. New platforms like Clubhouse and TikTok may help. Or you could find new strategies within your tried and true methods like SEO and email marketing. These tips from members of the online small business community can help you go beyond the basics to improve your online marketing. Use Conversational Insights to Take the Guesswork Out of Marketing Lots of businesses use keywords for their online marketing. But if you want to take your efforts to the next level, it’s necessary to go beyond simple keywords. Learn how conversational insights can help you go deeper in this Search Engine Watch post by Jacqueline Dooley. Focus on Video in Your Online Marketing Video has been a popular promotional and communication method for years. But some business owners still resist the format. If you need more reasons to focus on video this year, read this SMB

Deja Vu: Twitter Shuts Offices Amid COVID Surge

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WebProNews Deja Vu: Twitter Shuts Offices Amid COVID Surge Twitter has closed its San Francisco and New York offices amid surging COVID cases. A return to the office will have to wait, at least for Twitter employees, as the company is shuttering offices and delaying any further openings. “After careful consideration of the CDC’s updated guidelines, and in light of current conditions, Twitter has made the decision to close our opened offices in New York and San Francisco as well as pause future office reopenings, effective immediately,” a Twitter spokesperson said, according to CNBC . Much of the blame lies with the Delta variant of COVID, which is far more contagious and has even been infecting some vaccinated individuals. As Twitter acknowledged, the CDC has been forced to update its guidelines in an effort to combat the aggressive variant. Deja Vu: Twitter Shuts Offices Amid COVID Surge Matt Milano * This article was originally published here

Why making Facebook follow the First Amendment would be catastrophic

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Former US president Donald Trump’s family businesses are in jeopardy. His financial future is in flux. And the entire world’s waiting to see if he or one of his children will be charged with a crime soon. It’s safe to say he isn’t having his best week. And, of course, that means he’s filed a frivolous lawsuit to rile up and distract his base of sycophants from the reality of his unfolding legal situation. As TNW’s Thomas Macaulay reported earlier today, Trump’s filed a class suit against the CEOs of Google, Facebook, and Twitter. He’s alleging they violated his Constitutional… This story continues at The Next Web Or just read more coverage about: Facebook * This article was originally published here

Big tech tries to derail EU AI policy with ‘warnings’ from US think tank

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EU policymakers recently proposed a sweeping set of regulations called the Artificial Intelligence Act (AIA). If made law, the AIA would offer European citizens the strictest, most comprehensive protections against predatory AI systems on the planet. And big tech is terrified. Up front: The Center for Data Innovation published a report on Sunday titled “How Much Will the AIA Cost Europe?” According to the organization’s research: The AIA will cost the European economy €31 billion over the next five years and reduce AI investments by almost 20 percent. A European SME that deploys a high-risk AI system will incur compliance… This story continues at The Next Web * This article was originally published here

Twitter Announces Shop Module, Its Foray Into E-Commerce

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WebProNews Twitter Announces Shop Module, Its Foray Into E-Commerce Twitter is looking to help businesses bring e-commerce to their Twitter profiles with a new feature called Shop Module. Shop Module is designed to let businesses showcase their products at the top of their profile page. Businesses will be able to use the feature to create a carousel of their products for people to browse. Bruce Falk, Product Lead, Goldbird, described the feature in a blog post : The Shop Module is a dedicated space at the top of a profile where businesses can showcase their products. When people visit a profile with the Shop Module enabled, they can scroll through the carousel of products and tap through on a single product to learn more and purchase — seamlessly in an in-app browser, without having to leave Twitter. We’re starting small with a handful of brands in the United States. People in the U.S. who use Twitter in English on iOS devices will be able to see the Shop Module. Some see Twitt

The Five-Minute Pity Party

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Do you ever get discouraged running your own creative business? Whether you’re a newbie freelancer or you’ve been self employed a while, it’s bound to happen, especially if you work mostly in isolation. But copywriter, Deidre Rienzo , has the solution: a 5 minute pity party -- but no more than 5 minutes! Then you have to go find a new prospect on LinkedIn as a reward -- to get you moving again. That’s just one of the things we talked about in Part 1 of my latest podcast episode with Deidre, based on her very popular blog post,  10 Tips to get your creative business off the ground now . So listen here (or below) and learn. (And watch for Part 2 coming soon)   Here are just a few of my favorite of Deidre's blog posts :  Checklist: Should I take that project? How I got 3 jobs from a boring newsletter My newsletter saved the day Deidre's Year-End Numbers (she does this every year) Check out  ALL of her past newsletters here  (and be sure to sign up for it here or

10 Ways to Step Up Your Marketing and Brand Building by Using the Best Tools Available

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Many small businesses utilize multiple tools for marketing and brand building, including email , CRM, and social media. But many of these tools can be used in different ways. And you may be overlooking some that could help your business. Here are insights from members of the online small business community for choosing the right platforms and software products. Find the Right CRM for Your Nonprofit Customer relationship management is an important concept for both businesses and nonprofits. Even if your goal isn’t to earn tons of revenue, the right tools can make a major impact on your mission. Learn about top CRMs for nonprofits in this DIY Marketers post by Ivana Taylor. ?? Consider Clubhouse for Building Your Brand Clubhouse is a relatively new social media platform that may interest those looking to position themselves as experts. It recently moved out of invite-only beta. So it’s widely available now. Learn more in this Social Media Today post by Andrew Hutchinson. Generate

Facebook’s Metaverse is just AOL for people who play Beat Saber during lunch

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One of the most iconic scenes of the Star Wars film franchise is the moment lovable droid R2D2 rolls up to Obi Wan Kenobi and offers him a virtual reality helmet. Oh you don’t remember that scene? It’s the one where Kenobi fiddles with the straps of his headset for three full minutes on screen before mumbling “hang on, it’s blurry. Wait. What am I supposed to be seeing? Is that Jabba the Hutt? Where’s the slider-thingy that makes the image clear? What side is it on? Oh. There it is. Ah! That’s Leia.” Then, inside the virtual Star Wars… This story continues at The Next Web Or just read more coverage about: AOL * This article was originally published here

One of your clients' biggest pain points is....

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Did you know that your clients are looking for you and can't find you?  That's what book designer, Lauren Wickware , learned when she attended a panel called "Working With or As a Freelancer" at the National Museum Publishing Conference -- that's where she finds her people! To her surprise, there were more clients than other freelancers on the Zoom and they were sharing their pain points, including the fact that they can't find you! In this video above , Lauren admits, "They were asking all sorts of questions that I found pretty surprising because I always thought all these huge institutions have the designers they work with set in stone. And that they didn't want to hear for me bugging them about work. But I was wrong. " Apparently, the majority of the people in the Zoom were people who hire designers and copywriters and other creative services and they were essentially complaining because they have a hard time finding these resources. Not

53 Ways to Give Your Salon Marketing a Makeover

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Whether you own a spa, a hair salon or a nail salon, marketing your business should be on top of your priority list to attract and retain customers. Wondering how to get started? Here is a definitive guide to the best salon marketing ideas. Why You Should Look Into New Salon Marketing Strategies When it comes to beauty services, customers are spoilt for choice. It’s therefore important to give them good reasons to choose you over your competition. This is where a solid salon marketing strategy can help. With the right strategy, you can differentiate your salon and ensure customers keep coming back. This makes sense from a profitability perspective as it costs 6 to 8 times more to gain a new customer. As a growth-driven business owner, you would want to focus on repeat business to get the most out of your investment. How Do Salons Attract New Clients? Drawing new clients is critical for a salon to sustain itself. But that’s also the tricky part. To start with, it’s not always easy