Some people love hashtags [that # symbol placed before a key word], they shower their social media posts with them adding 10 random words that appear unconnected to the context of their tweet or post! But, used correctly, #hashtags can be a powerful way to increase your personal or business brand.

Social media provides a unique opportunity for brands to connect with fans on an individual level. Savvy use of the hashtag can help you achieve engagement that builds loyalty and brand advocates. 

Here are three simple tips for using hashtags for business effectively.

Pinterest’s image focused content makes it very attractive to many marketers, due to it’s widespread appeal to consumers.

If you’ve been living under a rock for the past few years and you don’t know what Pinterest is, here’s the Wikipedia definition:

“Pinterest is a pinboard-style photo-sharing website that allows users to create and manage theme-based image collections such as events, interests, and hobbies. Users can browse other pinboards for images, "re-pin" images to their own pinboards, or "like" photos.”

If you’re not using email as a marketing tool for your small business, you should be! Give me one good reason why you're not and I’ll give you 7 better reasons why you should be.

Email marketing is one of the best ways for small businesses to communicate with their customers. In years gone by, email marketing required specialised skills, a lot of time and plenty of money and was therefore only accessible to large businesses. But that's no longer the case. Here are 7 Reasons Why Your Small Business Should Use Email Marketing in 2014.

One of the most common questions my clients ask me is "what content should I be posting on social media?"

Creating engaging content can be a full time job and can be overwhelming to many small business owners.

It's important to remember that social media isn't about the tools – Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, Blogs – it's how you use those tools to connect with your customers. And it's the content that provides the connection.

Here are 3 simple content ideas to keep your social media efforts current, conversational and creative.

What Is Business Blogging?

“Blogging” really was the buzz word for 2013 and will continue to be an essential part of online marketing. So what is blogging? Simply put, it is short-form content you post to your website's "blog" – a part of your website where you publish all of your posts (you’re currently reading a blog post!).

2014 is going to be a great year for Social Media and Small Business. Social Media allows small businesses to leverage social media apps and tools to be competitive with their larger rivals brands and companies.

Remember, social media apps are just the tools, it’s how you use them to communicate with your customers, how you leverage relationships and of course how you share great content that is important. You’ve heard me say it before, but I’ll say it again… CONTENT IS KING!

Here are my pick for the Top 5 Web Marketing and Social Media Trends that will shape the way we do business (successfully!) in 2014.