Many businesses still feel that use of social media is unnecessary, dismissing the use of social networks as a passing fad. However, recent statistics which highlight the increasing relevance of social media in popular culture render disregard of social media’s essentiality to commerce out-dated to say the least.

Online selling has become a major part of global commerce, offering many businesses access to huge new markets with customers they would be unable to reach from traditional brick and mortar platforms.

These days web presence to a pop star is equally if not more important than artistic talent and good looks (don’t believe me? Google Rebecca Black!) Our Social networking crazy age has made it imperative for performers to showcase their material on the World Wide Web. The result has been that artists established and let’s say ‘not so established,’ scramble to monopolise the social media domain.  An Official Facebook Fan page, Youtube Channel, Twitter account, and the dependably music artist-orientated Myspace are probably the minimum requirements for an active artist in the 21st century.  Sounds tricky right? Well it is! And as fans, followers, bloggers and tabloid newspapers will surely inform you...not everyone negotiates the minefield of social media successfully.

The connotation of the term ‘e-Commerce’ is that a retailer has launched their own website off which to trade. However, the set-up and launch of a website requires a fair bit of housekeeping...before you can get up and running and making money! Domain names, hosting, site design, and tests must all be sorted before your website can begin to reap the vast rewards available from successful online business.

Have you heard of StumbleUpon? Well, if not, let me introduce you to the self proclaimed ‘discovery engine’ and why although it does not seem to assert equal or greater web presence as some other social media platforms, it can be considered to be a certified social media powerhouse.

The late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs steered the company into becoming the most valuable technology corporation in the world. Referred to as “the entrepreneur’s entrepreneur,” Jobs’ 35 year career is highly esteemed and he certainly had a wealth of experience and key attributes beneficial for successful enterprise. We’ll run a few by you...

YouTube is a staple of social media marketing. The video sharing service founded in 2005 attracts a fifth of all social media traffic, while a third of companies use YouTube for their businesses. The viral nature of video sharing renders the service a popular promotional platform, with the most popular YouTube video gaining over 370 million views. If you’re not utilising YouTube for your business what are you waiting for? Here are some tips to help maximise your effectiveness on the service.

The increasing relevance which social media has on branding and marketing has made it essential for brands to maintain a presence across a variety of social media platforms. No doubt managing various accounts in-line with your brands identity and ensuring the effective use of the key social media platforms can be a difficult task.

Pay per Click advertising is typically associated with Google Adwords as well as Yahoo! Search marketing and Microsoft adCenter. The advertising model is used to direct traffic to websites, with the advertisers paying the host for clicks on the advert. Traditionally, adverts were placed search engines, appearing on search page results that displayed keywords associated with their website, product or target demographic.