Social media and the Super Bowl go hand in hand. So, of course before the big game day has even arrived people are already sharing their favorite leaked Super Bowl commercials via Facebook, Twitter, Google+, you name it. Continue reading to view some of the best Super Bowl commercials of 2014 and the companies behind them who understand why social media is important.

Do you know the usernames and passwords for your Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Google+, and other social media accounts? If not, who does? As a business owner or marketing officer it is important that you keep tabs on social media logins and access levels. If you don’t, it’s only a matter of time before you face a password recovery beast. Some of you may have already experienced recovering a Facebook account, and if so, then you know exactly what I’m talking about. It’s a pain, and downright evil process to recover passwords. Which is why here at Half a Bubble Out we have created a simple downloadable template to keep track of your business' password information.

So we have had people ask, “What’s that Inbound Marketing thing you are doing?” and, “What’s the difference between inbound marketing and traditional marketing lead generation techniques?”

I’ll start with a disclaimer: this blog will be part working through my thoughts, part venting, and part offering you some internet marketing tips. Bear with the back story – I’ll pull it together. Here goes.

A new year brings new things to expect for how SEO services for small business will affect you. Here are three things you need to be aware of to keep your business website up to date with the new SEO trends. 

Why blog? How often should I blog? What should I blog about? How do I know what my potential customers are looking for? These are questions we are asking and answering every day as we work with clients in their internet marketing. The first step of any internet marketing campaign is generating traffic to your website. A solid inbound strategy is founded on writing good content and writing it consistently and in a compelling way.

Wouldn’t it be amazing if my website generated qualified leads for my sales people while they slept?

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if there was information available to my website visitors that helped them sort out ahead of time whether my services were truly a good fit?

Wouldn’t it be amazing if someone coming to my site believed that I am really an expert at what I do (because of course you are!!)?

These questions are all areas that are on the table when it comes to discussions of lead generation techniques in the world of online marketing.

Yesterday marketers and bloggers all over the internet had a mild freak out. Why? All because Matt Cutts, head of Google’s web spam team, announced that guest blogging was dead and you would no longer benefit from having them, in fact you may even be punished by Google.

Blogging can be your best friend or your worst nightmare. As an inbound marketing agency we are always trying to set the right expectations for our clients. Especially when it comes to blogging. If you're starting to ask the question, "why blog?" don't give up yet. First identify your frustration, which may be coming from one (or all!) of the reasons below.

"Hello. My name is Paige and I’m an internet marketer who values relationship, organization, and checking off my to-do list while quickly sipping a cup of coffee, chasing a toddler, and checking Facebook…all while enjoying life’s demands as a writer, wife, and mom."

Wouldn’t it be great if when we met each other we’d have thought bubbles like this above our heads? We would know so much more about each other from our initial interactions. It would make our jobs easier too. How? Keep reading today’s internet marketing tips to find out. But first, answer this question:

You come in contact with a variety of people day in and day out, would you know your buyer personas if you met them? 

Whether it is your own personal reputation or the reputation of your business, social media is an important aspect of monitoring and maintaining it in the online world. When someone hears of a business or a brand and wants to know more or connect with them they search in the various social networks. So, why is social media important for your online reputation? Keep reading to find out.

Having landing pages on your website is crucial to generating new leads and growing your business clientele. However, having an effective landing page requires knowing what to put on the page and what to not put on the page. The debate about leaving or removing the navigation on your landing page has been an ongoing one—so let’s settle it.

Are you busy running your small business and managing day to day operations? Bogged down with meetings, phone calls and responding to emails? Not able to focus on overhauling your marketing strategy, but want to increase lead conversion on your website?

“The Cloud” has become somewhat of a household term over the course of just the past few years, and for good reason - it has changed everything. The way we store, share and access data today is remarkably different than it was years ago, thanks in large part to cloud computing, a term first coined by executives at Compaq in 1996. It wasn’t until 2006, however, when Google and Amazon began to use the term frequently and the technology became a huge part of how the Internet operates.

Here’s a one question quiz for you:

What is content marketing?

a.) a blog article

b.) an episode of The Bachelor

c.) a Facebook post

d.) a YouTube video of dancing cats

e.) all of the above

Adding keywords to a website can be difficult and frustrating, especially when you want them to naturally flow with your content. However, you must always remember that you are adding those keywords for good reason. Without them no one would be able to find your website and what good would that do for you? This blog will give tips on how to add keywords to a website without looking like a robot.

In today’s world social media marketing is extremely important for your business. We know you’ve heard this before, it’s no secret. However, the most difficult part is knowing what social networks your business should actually be on. This blog will help you to decide if Pinterest is the right social network for you to promote your business on and if so, how to go about doing it.

Why should I use landing pages on my website?

Did you know that up to 98% of your website visitors will never come back to your site once they visited for the first time? Wow! So if you don’t have either really great addictive content, or a way to connect with your visitors, you will never see them again.

We LOVE to brag on our clients. Sometimes we get to brag about work we have done with them, and sometimes we just get to brag on the incredible stuff they are doing! Today is such a day. The Hignell Companies have been a client for nearly seven years and we love who they are and what they do. We talk often with them about the Chico community and the involvement that businesses get to have in making our community a better place. We are proud to tell you that The Hignell Companies is doing more than just talking about corporate giving! We wanted to tell you about this. This blog is the press release announcement so you can see what they are up to!

Are you one of those skeptical but curious business owners who can't seem to grasp why social media is important for your business? You post once in awhile on Facebook, but deep down you know you're not using social media to its fullest potential. This is precisely where most of our customers start. They know enough to get by, but social media really is this black hole that they can't put their finger on. Last week we had a meeting with one of our clients and her questions lead to a great discussion about why is social media important. 

You already experience native advertising, you just don’t know it. If you’ve been researching this whole internet marketing thing for your small business you might have come across the term “native advertising.” It’s what we like to call a “fuzzy” term, meaning it’s used a lot, but the true meaning is not always fully known or understood. Today’s internet marketing tips will help explain native advertising and why it may or may not be a good advertising source for your small business.

What is Native Advertising?

We would like to congratulate one of our clients on her start-up business Hot Flash Wines. After months of hard work Mollie Macarthy-Openshaw the owner of Hot Flash Wines, finally has some wine in those bottles! This is also a big moment for us here at Half a Bubble Out because it’s our first wine label that we have created!

Choosing an email marketing consultant to manage your email marketing campaign is a very smart decision as a business, but finding a good one can be tricky. This blog will go through five questions you should ask before choosing an email marketing consultant. 

Twitter is continuing to be a necessary social media network to be on if you own a business or are an industry influencer. Twitter is a great way to promote your content, connect with others in your industry and gain leads.

If you are considering creating a website for your small business this year, or even giving your current website a makeover, then this is the time to do it! According to AT&T Small Business Technology Poll 2013, 67% of small businesses are marketing their products or services by using a website. Furthermore, Google data shows small businesses with websites grow 40% faster than those without.