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What the New Google+ Mobile App Additions Mean to Small Business Owners

Keep Calm and Plus One - the G+ mobile updates just made it much easier to use for small business ownersGoogle+ just won’t sit still. If you haven’t taken advantage of the platform yet, now is definitely a good time to start. With today’s relaunch of the Google+ mobile apps for iPhone and Android, it’s gotten even easier to let customers and clients keep tabs on your day to day, and give them a glimpse of the faces that make your company work.

While the redesigned apps actually cover a lot of ground, there are four updates in particular that Google wants to you know about. Here’s what they mean for you.

Photo editing within the Google+ app itself just got a lot easier. With instagram style options, plus basic crop, rotate and contrast tools, it’s easy to turn a quick snapshot into something worth sharing.

New photo editing options
So what?

Encourage your employees to ‘brag’ in pictures about their accomplishments, even if it takes a minute out of the workflow. If your electricians replace an electrical panel, turn it into a before & after. If your chef comes up with an awesome special of the day, get a picture online. If you take pride in your work, let it show.Read More »What the New Google+ Mobile App Additions Mean to Small Business Owners

Mockup of a mobile website for Stellar Plumbing

Why Your Business Presence Has To Be Mobile Ready

Mockup of a mobile website for Stellar PlumbingNo one is going to argue that the internet hasn’t fundamentally changed the way that people experience the world. Ten years ago, they might have, but not anymore. Now, mobile technology is doing it again. The smartphone has taken the internet and made it available to anyone, anywhere, at anytime. The way in which today’s consumer uses the internet is fundamentally different than it was even five years ago.

So, when you first put up your website it was geared for the Internet user of 2010, 2008, or even earlier. If you are a local business owner looking to connect with customers in your home town, the internet user of 2010 is no longer the target that your business is after. That’s because, for the first time in history, over half of all local searches are done from a smartphone or tablet. There are three main reasons people do mobile searches on these devices: to find entertainment, to engage others on a social network, and to find an immediate solution to a problem.

Mobile Market Watch, an industry leader in mobile tracking, estimates that 94% of the U.S. population between the ages of 18 and 44 own, and use, at least one mobile internet

 

device, like a smartphone or tablet. Of these users, 39% use them to contact businesses for more information about their products and 11% shop directly from them. This is only going to get bigger with the addition of more entry-level android devices, cheaper iPads, mobile Windows 8 devices, and many other mobile options. According to a research study of the leading search indicators by Morgan Stanley, mobile internet searches will surpass traditional desktop and laptop searches by 2015. Other estimates say it may happen even sooner, perhaps even by early summer in 2014.

Read More »Why Your Business Presence Has To Be Mobile Ready