The consumer journey was never a predictable path a marketer could anticipate. There were as many ways to approach consumerism as people are out there. Yet, in spite of that variety, there were some patterns in that consumerism that made it easier for marketers to identify key moments and engagement opportunities. There were “moments of truth” – stages that any consumer would go through in his transactions, which provided a basic layout for marketing opportunities.

Then came mobile. And all of the above exploded in literally millions of pieces. The rise of powerful smartphones change the way people consume media in a profound way. Those stages so neatly arranged in theory turned into millions of fragmented interactions that happen anytime, anywhere and, intertwined between them, are the marketing opportunities we all seek for our businesses.

The marketing scenario has thus changed and it’s up to the marketers to pick up the pieces and make sense out of them in a context where short attention span is the rule and ruler. Fortunately, Google has already shed some light in that chaotic path and found an interesting notion that some are calling “game changer”. We’re talking about micro-moments.

Having understood that owning a website is a must for any business, it’s now time to learn another almost-mandatory thing about websites – they need to be updated fairly regularly. And we aren’t talking about content, mind you. Uploading a couple of blogposts a week is OK to keep it updated for a while, but once enough time has passed, some of its functionalities and the design choices you’ve made will be outdated and in need of a refresh.

Though there aren’t specific rules to how often do you have to update your site, there are some indicators you can search for in your site that will point towards an urgent revamp. Want to know which are they? Answer these questions and you’ll find out soon enough.

As weeks go by, more and more companies are starting to understand what Periscope and Meerkat actually are in the grand marketing scheme – the soon-to-be major players in digital and social marketing. It isn’t that live streaming is something new (from YouTube and Twitch to cable companies streaming) but apps like those two have put it in the spotlight in today’s marketing landscape.

As with all the tools and apps that promise to be the future of anything, everyone is jumping on board. But unlike many, oh so many others that have failed to live up to their promises, Periscope (and Meerkat, to a lesser extent) are actually showing how any business can benefit from its potential. The great thing about those services is that your business can also use them to rock the marketing world. You just have to learn what you’re doing and put that big brain of yours into action. Here are some suggestions.

There are three things that define millennials. The most obvious one is that they are the generation born between 1980 and 2000. Keeping with the obvious stuff, the second one is that they LOVE technology in all of its forms. The third one isn’t a secret, really, but big companies are perhaps the only ones that have understood it and taken advantage of it – millennials are incredible spenders.

A quick Google search should bring tons of articles taking about that last characteristic and how businesses can make the most out of it. Yet, even with that widespread attention, small businesses aren’t marketing to millennials at all. At least that’s what a recent survey conducted by Manta has revealed. According to it, only 15% of small businesses across all industries are marketing to millennials which, of course, means that most of them are missing out on perhaps the most important consumer demographic today.

Having influential people talk good stuff about your brand, company or service isn’t a new marketing strategy. We’ve seen actors, actresses, athletes, TV personalities and many other famous people speak on behalf of some product. The idea is obvious – the product wants to reach that famous person’s fanbase and appeals to his or her influence to do so. Basically, it’ trying to look cool just by hanging around the cool kids – being cool by association.

But with the Internet swooping into the marketing scene and changing everything forever, this kind of influence took an unexpected turn. Sure, famous people are still great to market product and services but the Web has empowered “regular” people to a point where they too can become influencers, albeit in the digital world. Thus, people with enough followers and leverage in social media are now being seen as key for marketing. That’s what influencer marketing is all about.

Does your site still has that Flash intro you devised to wow your visitors? Does it still have all kinds of tables and fonts all over the place? There are blocks of text in all of its pages? Then perhaps, my friend, you should consider tossing it out and starting a new one. A lot has changed in the Internet in recent years – and a lot  is still changing. And if you fail to adapt to the flow, you’ll definitely drown.

That’s why you should refresh your site once in a while to make it look modern, up to date and, of course, active. People won’t spend much time on your site if it looks like it was developed in 1999 or isn’t easy enough to navigate. So, if you feel like that’s your case, then it’s time for a major makeover. There are lots of things to consider when creating a new site for your small business but, to us, there are 3 crucial stages that will make or break your project.

Small businesses looking to get their marketing efforts in order surely have come across the harsh reality sooner rather than later – most of the time, you’ll have to spend money to get your strategy going. That’s what keeping many small companies back, since not many of them have their own budget exclusively for marketing. In fact, most of them surely work their campaigns with very few resources.

Money shouldn’t be an obstacle on your way up, nonetheless. You can always use your brains to make up for the lack of funding. It’s just a matter of putting your mind to work to come up with some ideas that can attract your audience – and keep it engaged. Can’t think of any? Here are some to get you started.

We’ve heard a lot about marketing automation in the first half of 2015. In fact, some are calling this the year of marketing automation, marking it as THE way to go for marketers everywhere. But even with all the talk that has been making the rounds about this trend, there are lots of people that are missing it out and are now asking what the heck everybody else is talking about.

Are you among them? Don’t sweat it. You still have time to catch on and reap all the benefits of marketing automation. But first things first – you have to learn the basics about it and understand how you can turn this automation in your favor. Thus, we’ve prepared a brief 5-question questionnaire that should solve any doubt you might have. You’re welcome!

Email marketing is often counted as one of the victims of the social media marketing rise. It’s perceived as old fashioned and obsolete, with people even claiming “why the hell would you spend even the slightest part of your budget in it?”. Well, though certainly it isn’t as popular as it once was, email marketing is still a great and (dare I say it) safe bet and you should consider using it for your overall online marketing strategy.

We can all agree that marketing is a very complex topic, right? When it comes down to managing a business, developing a successful marketing strategy requires a lot of knowledge, a lot of research and a lot of work. Without any of that three key points, no marketer or company can achieve anything. There are no tricks, there are no formulas, there are no universal rules to apply: only guidelines, suggestions and lots of effort.