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Inspiration for this post came about the other day when I caught myself on a bit of a rampage, explaining to a friend the difference between a Facebook profile and a Facebook Page. Sadly yes, this is a true story.

I have to admit, I do love when I receive a Facebook notification for a new friend request but, receiving a friend request from a business drives me absolutely batty.  I refuse to accept a friend request from a business, but I’ll hit that Like button all day.

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As technology continues to become fancier and fancier, no longer must social media addicts be glued to the computer chair at a cubicle to engage online. Thanks to the mobile age and smartphones, social media marketers, networkers, and enthusiasts can access umpteen apps with just a tap of a button. continue

Did you know that the percentage of companies in the United States that blog for marketing purposes will rise to 43% in 2012, from 34% in 2010? Business blogging can be extremely rewarding, especially when done correctly. With a good plan and plenty of time, energy, and resources, a blog can be successful and bring attention to your business, attract new customers, and turn customers into loyal fans. continue

So, not only do we have to read and share content on the web, but we have to write it too? With so many things to get done in one business day including, reading, sharing, liking, friending, following, unfollowing, tweeting, digging, connecting and more, it’s almost impossible to save time to be original and publish your own content. Anything that can help save time brainstorming, researching, drafting, editing, and posting is an A+ in my book. Well no worries, Google Chrome just might be able to save the day, once again. continue

Reading and Sharing Content Simplified

Google Chrome is one of my favorite web browsers. Its sleek design, serious speed, and abundant library of extensions, Google Chrome is my go-to browser.

The Google Chrome Extensions library is filled with extensions for everyone and everything. From news, social media, and SEO, to productivity, blogging, and sports, Extensions allow you to customize your web browser to suit your every day needs. As an inbound marketing professional and social media addict, the performance of your web browser is critical so, it’s important to have a web browser that can keep up with the pace. continue

What would you do without Google? I recently tweeted this question and found out I am not the only hardcore Googler out there. One person said they’d cry, I said I’d melt, and someone else said they would do both, cry and melt.

Google offers more than just a great search engine; it also offers a ton of free tools that can help to make our work lives more efficient. In this series of posts written by myself and Patti Fousek, we will cover our favorite Google tools. From brainstorming and blogging, to SEO and social media, we’ll cover the top Google tools that assist us in our everyday tasks. continue

I’ve tried out many social media tools both free and paid. There’s one tool that I’ve been using for the past several months that’s so great I just have to share.

So about five months ago, Mashable introduced me to a Twitter analytics tool called Crowdbooster. The post was so intriguing that I went to the Crowdbooster website and signed up for the private beta. Lucky for me, within a few weeks I had been accepted. continue

It’s hard to believe that the holiday season is already here and it’s almost time to kick-off the Thanksgiving festivities. For most of us, Thanksgiving means family, friends, football, food, time away from the office, shopping, and of course, more food. Most importantly, Thanksgiving is about reflecting on everything that you are Thankful for. What better time than Thanksgiving day to share with you some of the things that CreativeMind Search Marketing is thankful for?

As digitally savvy marketing professionals living in a social world, us “Creative Minds” are thankful for:

• A good internet connection
• Wifi
• Smartphones with apps- iPhone, Android, Blackberry thank you for always keeping us connected.
• Google in General (Analytics, Adwords, Reader, Alerts, News, Blog Search, Local Search, Keyword tool..the list goes on)
• RSS feeds
• Technorati
• Twitter, Facebook, & Linkedin
• JitterJam & Hootsuite (We couldn’t manage our schedules without you)
• Hubspot
• Wordpress
• The array of Keyword tools, softwares, programs, and plugins we use daily.
• Percent-change.com – you rock
• Our Clients
• Aspen the Nerdy Dog for always wagging her tail even when times get rough.
• Andy Boy and Zuess- CMSM’s biggest feline supporters
• Snack time and lunch time- We literally couldn’t live without you.
• Long walks around the block with Aspen on Sunny afternoons
• Hot coffee, cold coffee, and the Keurig
• Holiday shopping & deals
• and Patti! Chief CreativeMind- Who makes this agency awesome.

Everyone have a wonderful Thanksgiving! Don’t eat too much (I know I will).

I’ll admit, I’m a loyal and dedicated Foursquare user. As a slightly competitive person, it’s fun to check-in to Foursquare multiple times per day, rack up weekly points, unlock new badges, and of course, earn mayorships. The “real” benefits are even more fun. As mayor of Starbucks, I received a free tall skinny vanilla latte. Driving past the mall the other day, I noticed Express had a Foursquare special: Check-in to receive $30 off a $75 purchase. You guessed it – I totally went shopping. And last but not least, I found a faster route to take to work in the morning, thanks to an awesome Foursquare Tip. Foursquare is just one, of the many cool Location-Based Services (LBS) available.

Last weekend after attending PodCamp New Hampshire (PCNH) in downtown Portsmouth, I realized I had a quite a few new applications to play with on my iPhone; all of them Location-Based Services (LBS). What had inspired me to go into such an app downloading frenzy? A great presentation: Winning the Location-Based Services Game with Walter Elly, Director of Emerging Technology at Microarts.

During his presentation, Walter Elly shared some of his LBS knowledge with us, exploring some of the different ways to become winners of the Location-Based Services game, from  both consumer and business marketing perspectives. From driving conditions, restaurant meal photos, and customer reviews, to businesses claiming their profiles and honoring frequent customers, there are many different ways for us all to win. By the end of the session, I had been inspired to download some of the services I just learned about so I could try them out later. Maybe you’ll be inspired too! Here are some of the cool Location-Based Services Walter Elly inspired me to try:

Waze: How did I not know about this application before? Waze is a a social driving and navigation app providing free turn-by-turn navigation based on the live conditions of the road. You connect to other drivers to get real-time road information you need.

Scvngr: The fastest growing LBS, with 500,000 users since it’s launch in May. Scvngr is a location-based game, like Foursquare and Gowalla, with an intense game experience. Go places, do challenges, earn points, and get rewards like free coffee. Lots of fun for the competitive types.

Yelp!: Yelp! isn’t on my list of newly downloaded apps, but I wanted to include it on this list. Yelp! is an amazing place to find a restaurant and is a widely popular resource to find information about a business. Their tag-line, “Real People. Real Reviews.” is a great summary of what they do. Many people turn to Yelp! to inform their decisions on where to go to eat. If you own a restaurant you need to claim your listing and monitor the reviews. Also, take advantage of the free tools Yelp! offers.

Foodspotting: Foodspotting helps you find dishes, rather than restaurants. Take a picture of your meal and share it using Foodspotting. See what your ordering and help others see before they or. I’ve always been a fan of menus with pictures and this is the real-deal. Definitely try this one out the next time you go to dinner.

These are my favorite Location-Based Services so far, but there are plenty more out there, trust me. Some of the other LBS Walter explored include, Google Latitude, BrightKite, Red Laser, FourSquare, Gowalla, and more. If you want to learn more about Winning the Location-Based Services Game, or to check out Uncle Sam with an iPhone, you can do that here.

What other LBS have you tried out for either personal use or as a business? Please share!