http://www.blastmedia.com.au/ Thu, 23 Feb 2012 03:49:27 Blastmedia Articles http://www.blastmedia.com.au/?process=views/article.php&articleId=17633 http://www.blastmedia.com.au/articles/Blastmedia-Security-Whitepaper.html The recent malicious hacking of a well-known Australian online services provider, that has affected some 5000 companies, has raised some questions with some of our existing clients in relation to how we deal with security and disaster recovery. In response we have prepared a whitepaper that discusses the methods and policies we employ to minimise the possibilities of these attacks occuring to our system. You can download the... http://www.blastmedia.com.au/?process=views/article.php&articleId=11717 http://www.blastmedia.com.au/articles/Database-Marketing-Software-Update.html Email Marketing Software Update Register now for Free Trial In addition to the new interface improvements and the extra features, the main improvement we are committing to is 'one database for everything'. We want you to have a system where the contact in your shopping cart is the same one that attended your event - where you can track all your interactions with a contact from the moment they enter your site, to 10 years down the track. A... http://www.blastmedia.com.au/?process=views/article.php&articleId=16625 http://www.blastmedia.com.au/articles/Google-+1-Button,-Shopping-Cart-improvements-and-changes-to-the-Settings.html We’ve just released another update that will significantly improve your experience with us, particularly if you use the Article Library, Blog, Shopping Cart, or use your website to link to your social media accounts. Social Media Buttons added You may have heard the buzz around the new Google +1 button (released yesterday) and the Twitter Tweet Button that can be added to your website. Because of our commitment to being... http://www.blastmedia.com.au/?process=views/article.php&articleId=15441 http://www.blastmedia.com.au/articles/What-Businesses-Need-to-Know-about-the-New-Facebook-'Send'-Button.html Facebook has announced the launch of the new “Send” button, which joins the “Like” button as a social utility across the web. Right on the heels of the 1 year anniversary of the “Like” button, which has been integrated into over 2.5 million websites to date, the “Send” button will enable sharing content from the web with specific sets of people. What is the... http://www.blastmedia.com.au/?process=views/article.php&articleId=13657 http://www.blastmedia.com.au/articles/50-Percent-Off-Blastmedia-Shopping-Cart.html In 2010, Australians made $26.8 billion worth of online sales and this is forcasted to reach $33.3 billion in 2015, according to new data from Forrester Research. So we would like to help you get a cut of this massively growing industry by giving away our Shopping Cart Tool half price until the end of February. That's a massive saving of over $1000. Our Shopping Cart cart is an add-on tool to your Blastmedia 3G Website and is... http://www.blastmedia.com.au/?process=views/article.php&articleId=13253 http://www.blastmedia.com.au/articles/Blocking-'Negative-Speak'-In-Business-Is-A-'Natural-Born-Business-Killer'.html Do we block 'negative speak?' I have no argument I wish to take up here with the positive thinking, positive speaking, positive dreaming/visualising teachers and followers. But! There does need to be an intelligent line drawn in the sand when it comes to our own particular personal development theories - and our business planning, development and management strategies. Last week I had an astounding conversation... http://www.blastmedia.com.au/?process=views/article.php&articleId=13077 http://www.blastmedia.com.au/articles/5-ways-to-build-buzz-around-your-business-in-2011.html Looking for new ways to build buzz around your business in 2011? Then here’s five easy-to-keep resolutions that will get you started. 1. I WILL start a blog on my website Blogs are a fantastic way to spend your marketing time. Not only are they great for your SEO, but they keep your website visitors on your site for longer. It only takes 30 minutes to write a quick and informative blog, and once you get started,... http://www.blastmedia.com.au/?process=views/article.php&articleId=13073 http://www.blastmedia.com.au/articles/How-to-make-sure-you're-not-spamming.html We’ve all had it, and just like its namesake, it’s very unpleasant. I’m talking about Spam of course - the digital kind - and as an email marketer it’s important that you understand what is (and isn’t) considered spam in Australia. So, to help you out, I’ve gone through the Spam Act 2003 and rewritten the bits that are relevant for you in plain English. Please remember, this is... http://www.blastmedia.com.au/?process=views/article.php&articleId=12969 http://www.blastmedia.com.au/articles/Top-Ten-Marketing-Mistakes.html It’s imperative for a start-up to get its message out there. You may have a stunningly brilliant range of products or offer clients the best service in town, but if no one knows about it, your personal pride in your firm won’t prevent it leaking money like a sieve. Unfortunately, there are many pitfalls when it comes to marketing your business. This list doesn’t cover all of them, but here are 10 reasons... http://www.blastmedia.com.au/?process=views/article.php&articleId=12780 http://www.blastmedia.com.au/articles/Extra-security-measures-for-your-account.html Here at Blastmedia, we understand that we look after some of your most valuable data, and it’s a responsibility that we take very seriously. In our latest updates, we added new security measures to protect your privacy and data with even more diligence. Restrict login to IP address Tell our system what IP addresses are safe or “whitelisted” for your account to increase your security measures. If... http://www.blastmedia.com.au/?process=views/article.php&articleId=12781 http://www.blastmedia.com.au/articles/Writing-Good-Ad-Copy.html Getting to know your Adwords and how to use it properly is only half the battle, when deciding to go forward with Adwords. There are courses, books, videos and more to advise you on the best way to write our ad copy but my number one rule is to always: appeal to a searcher’s emotional side. Some may prefer to stick to the facts, keep it clear and clean, but simple human nature is to have thoughts and feelings about what they... http://www.blastmedia.com.au/?process=views/article.php&articleId=12710 http://www.blastmedia.com.au/articles/The-Digital-Story-of-the-Nativity.html How social media, web and mobile tell the story of the Nativity. Watch the Christmas story told through Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Google, Wikipedia, Google Maps, GMail, Foursquare, Amazon... Times change, the feeling remains the same. http://www.blastmedia.com.au/?process=views/article.php&articleId=12671 http://www.blastmedia.com.au/articles/5-Likely-Reasons-Your-AdWords-Ads-Aren't-Appearing.html You’ve reached your daily budget. This is the number one reason that our clients find that their ads are not showing. Once you reach your allocated budget for the day, your ads will not appear until the next day. If your AdWords campaign is providing a positive return, you should strongly consider increasing your budget to ensure that your ads appear all day. Daily budget is not high enough to show ads all the... http://www.blastmedia.com.au/?process=views/article.php&articleId=12672 http://www.blastmedia.com.au/articles/150+-B2B-Negative-Keywords.html It’s easy enough to pick the keywords that you do want to appear for on Google, but have you thought about the ones you need to make sure to not appear for? When somebody is shopping around for a product or service online, the searches they type into Google will evolve over time as their level of knowledge increases, a.k.a. the buying cycle. The important part of this is to focus your campaign budget on those customers who... http://www.blastmedia.com.au/?process=views/article.php&articleId=12614 http://www.blastmedia.com.au/articles/Need-an-online-marketing-plan-for-2011?.html Need an online marketing plan for 2011? If you’ve not started planning your 2011 online marketing yet, then this could be the perfect offer for start-ups and SME's! More and more we’re finding people who want to do their own online marketing, but aren’t really sure where to start – and that’s where we can help! If you want to do everything yourself, but need a bit of a helping hand,then... http://www.blastmedia.com.au/?process=views/article.php&articleId=12525 http://www.blastmedia.com.au/articles/So-what-is-Cloud-Computing?.html Cloud computing, what is it? chances are you have used a cloud but have not realised it. What is cloud computing? Every business bigger than one person needs somewhere to store its data and run its business applications and communications, including email. In a nutshell its is the same business model as people using Gmail or Yahoo mail services, except that cloud computing goes much further. Cloud computing is where entire... http://www.blastmedia.com.au/?process=views/article.php&articleId=12383 http://www.blastmedia.com.au/articles/Google's-shaking-SEO-and-Web-Design-up-Forever.html Instant previews are being rolled out in the next few days. No longer do you have to click to go into the website, leaving Google to check out if it's the result you want. Instead of leaving Google to browse the web - you'll be previewing results. All you do is click on a magnifying glass icon, and you get a preview of all the sites. Google states "Instant Previews provides a graphic overview of a search... http://www.blastmedia.com.au/?process=views/article.php&articleId=12373 http://www.blastmedia.com.au/articles/New-Google-Search-Results-Layout-Rolling-out-Now.html Google recently introduced its new search feature called 'Place Search' which will affect searches for local businesses. Google is becoming more local with their search results and realising the importance of local search in their search results page. If you haven't yet observed the change, pay attention because it can dramatically affect your ability to rank competitively for geo-targeted keywords. Google is... http://www.blastmedia.com.au/?process=views/article.php&articleId=12263 http://www.blastmedia.com.au/articles/Online-Business-Strategies.html Would you start a business without a business plan? Would you place your yellow pages ad in an irrelevant category just to see if anyone would call? Would you pay thousands of dollars to have a billboard ad created and placed where there is no traffic? An Internet Marketing Strategy is just as important as a business plan. In fact, any business, whether small or large, needs to begin developing an Internet marketing strategy just to... http://www.blastmedia.com.au/?process=views/article.php&articleId=12254 http://www.blastmedia.com.au/articles/Smell-like-a-Monster.html Why smell like Old Spice when you can smell like Grover! http://www.blastmedia.com.au/?process=views/article.php&articleId=12253 http://www.blastmedia.com.au/articles/Old-Spice-Case-Study.html In case you were living under a rock, the Old Spice commercial was first a YouTube success, followed by a TV ad, followed by a massive social media response campaign that got the whole world talking. The great thing about this case study, unlike many, is it highlights the impact on the bottom line. Here’s the Old Spice campaign by the numbers, watch the video below for the background. On day 1 the campaign... http://www.blastmedia.com.au/?process=views/article.php&articleId=12204 http://www.blastmedia.com.au/articles/One-Database-for-Everything.html Blastmedias new 4.0 Database Marketing system was realeased on the 9th of August. The new Database Marketing system is built to be faster, smarter and more easier to use than ever. Blastmedia utilises a boutique software development company located in Australia that has been developing online tools for businesses since 2004. They are passionate about developing online tools specifically designed for small to medium businesses and have... http://www.blastmedia.com.au/?process=views/article.php&articleId=12093 http://www.blastmedia.com.au/articles/Google-Instant:-Search-now-faster-than-the-speed-of-type.html On Wednesday 8 September, Google launched its newest search innovation called Instant, which is said to be “faster than the speed of type“. Search as you type. It’s a simple and straightforward idea—people can get results as they type their queries. Imagining the future of search, the idea of being able to search for partial queries or provide some interactive feedback while searching has come... http://www.blastmedia.com.au/?process=views/article.php&articleId=11712 http://www.blastmedia.com.au/articles/Getting-Database-Marketing-Right.html The Internet is an integral part of business today – we reach our customers through our websites, research other companies online and stay in contact with business associates using email. 86% of people use the internet to search for a business, product or service before they purchase. However most businesses are yet to tap into the real Internet goldmine – Database Marketing. Blastmedias Database Marketing System, the Ezy... http://www.blastmedia.com.au/?process=views/article.php&articleId=11570 http://www.blastmedia.com.au/articles/How-to-engage-with-your-customers-online.html Millions of Australians are using social media platforms to air their views in forums where personal opinion rules and professional objectivity is not required. SMEs need to get wise to it. Small-to-medium businesses (SMEs) cannot ignore social media. Statistics show that Australians are the world’s most active social networkers, almost doubling the amount of time they spent on social media sites in the last year. With so much of... http://www.blastmedia.com.au/?process=views/article.php&articleId=11345 http://www.blastmedia.com.au/articles/Online-retail-to-grow-40-percent-by-2012.html Online retail is expected to grow by 40 percent by 2012 according to research released alongside the Online Retailer Expo and Conference in Sydney. The ecommerce industry in Australia has seen rapid growth over the last year and is forecast to reach $33.8 billion by 2012 up from $AU24 billion last year. In the last six months alone, traditional bricks and mortar retailers in Australia such as BigW have extended their presence online,... http://www.blastmedia.com.au/?process=views/article.php&articleId=11235 http://www.blastmedia.com.au/articles/Essential-Tips-for-Blastmedia-Clients.html Sign up for Google Analytics Within your current website, you have some basic statistics showing in the 'thewebconsole.com' (the backend to your website). To really test and measure to get the best results from your online presence you need to go the next step. And that is with Google Analytics - a FREE traffic monitoring and analysis service, this is an awesome tool that enables you to track visitors, page views, referral sources and... http://www.blastmedia.com.au/?process=views/article.php&articleId=11206 http://www.blastmedia.com.au/articles/Support-Shelly-&-Rosie-100km-hike-of-the-Great-Wall-of-China.html Shelly & Rosie have pledged to raise $13000 for Variety the Childrens Charity, by hiking 100km of the great wall of china in order to create awareness for this amazing cause! Variety provides grants to individuals and organisations for a great number of items such as special wheelchairs, vocal output speech devices, prosthetic limbs, special play equipment and liberty swings.They give grants to hospitals, provide Sunshine Coaches to... http://www.blastmedia.com.au/?process=views/article.php&articleId=11128 http://www.blastmedia.com.au/articles/Win-an-iPad.html We'd like to ask for your opinion on our new Blastmedia website and gain some feedback. Simply browse our website, answer 10 questions and you're in with a chance to win this awesome prize. Survey closes 30th June, 2010. Prize drawn at Blastmedia's Meetup 7pm Tuesday 27th July 2010 http://www.blastmedia.com.au/?process=views/article.php&articleId=11044 http://www.blastmedia.com.au/articles/Local-Hosting-Vital-for-SEO.html The main thing to be aware of when choosing a hosting company is that it is located in the country your business operates. Choosing a managed hosting service provider which is based abroad can impact on the amount of traffic a business's website receives. According to a new report in the Search Engine Journal, making sure virtual private servers and data storage facilities are located in the country a business operates in is vital for a... http://www.blastmedia.com.au/?process=views/article.php&articleId=10866 http://www.blastmedia.com.au/articles/Social-Media-Tips.html Tips for small-business owners new to social media: Add new information frequently. Blog, write or post visuals about your company's projects, speaking events, etc. Make the content authentic, reachable, lively. Control how your company is being portrayed. Be aware of comments or visuals posted by Facebook friends — those who have a presence on your page. Develop a goal-based strategy and use... http://www.blastmedia.com.au/?process=views/article.php&articleId=10859 http://www.blastmedia.com.au/articles/Social-Media---Is-it-a-Fad-or-Revolution-2.html So many people are questioning whether social media will stay and its value to society. For those that say social media is a fad, keep in mind that society can update anywhere and anytime thanks to social media. Just imagine what that means for bad customer service. Social media is a fundamental shift in the way we communicate. Watch the video below - amazing stats to help you make this decision.