It’s January again, the holiday spending spree is over for most people, and it’s time for marketers to do some re-evaluation as we start gearing up for the spring. In the midst of the holiday hullabaloo, it can be easy to lose sight of the bigger picture in terms of branding and purposeful marketing. So now is the time to take a deep breath, look at your brand image, and determine where you need to step up your game. If you’re ready to kick off 2014 with a smarter branding strategy, start with these five resolutions:

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Do you have a LinkedIn account? If the answer is yes, continue on. If no, stop what you’re doing (presumably reading this blog post), and take 5 minutes to create an account – trust me – you’ll thank me in the future.

Now, safely assuming everyone reading this has a LinkedIn account, the question remains: “How can I make the most out of my time on it?” It doesn’t have the entertainment appeal of Facebook or Twitter, it doesn’t have the visual appeal of Instagram or Pinterest. Truth be told, it might not be the social media site you spend hours a day on. But that being said, the value you get out of 30 minutes on LinkedIn may be far greater than the 2 hours you spend mindlessly scrolling through your Instagram feed.

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It’s no secret the web has grown – but just like it’s hard to see change in yourself, it’s hard to see it online until you really look at the big picture.  From 1984-2013, the web saw huge changes in terms of users, as well as socially and technologically speaking. Just to see how much it’s really changed, take a look at the infographic below hostgator coupon , thanks to whoishostingthis.com. From 1984 to 1998, the Internet had grown to 50 million users. Since then, it’s grown to 2.7 billion users (39% of the world’s population) and counting. The implications of this, as well as the rapid increase in mobile use, are overwhelming. And let’s not forget about the growth of social media – Facebook, since its launch in 2004, has since grown to over 1 billion users. These numbers should speak for themselves – take advantage of them, and make the most out of your online presence, because people do notice. Some experts even say that by 2020, everyone will be online. Prepare yourselves.

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Social media marketers spend their time studying sites like Facebook to determine how the content they post can garner the most visibility. So when Facebook announces a major rollout to the news feed algorithm, the social media marketing world gets turned upside down, especially when those changes mean the current way of doing things has to be drastically altered.

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We all know the seven deadly sins, but did you know there are sins of the social sphere, too? Keep in mind that while there are many tips for what to do on social media, there are also just as many things you shouldn’t be doing. Don’t let yourself become a victim of these seven sins. If you do fall victim, don’t worry—you can always change your behavior and improve.

Let’s take a look at seven social media sins that could wind up damaging your online presence if left uncorrected.

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As ubiquitous as the Internet is, there are still many people who do local SEO company marketing that don’t realize how important having a good web presence really is. Or a website at that. When was the last time you searched in the Yellow Pages for a plumber or that new restaurant your friends are talking about…’99? I thought so. But nowadays, having the courage to just start a website isn’t good enough – anyone can have that since it’s not 2004 either. The key is to have, as the title says, a good web presence.

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What comes to mind when you think of brands? Probably your favorite one—whether it’s Starbucks, Apple jailbreak iPhone 4 , Nike or something else, we each have personal brand preferences that we identify with.  The aforementioned brands are highly recognized not just because they produce great products, but also because they exemplify stellar branding. There’s a reason why when someone says, “Just do it,” most people think of Nike.

Interning for an Austin, Texas based creative agency with a solid repertoire of branding experience, I can attest to the value of having a strong brand. What many of us don’t realize, though, is that people are brands, too. It’s crucial to establish a personal brand for yourself so that you stand out in an increasingly competitive environment. Here are some tips I’ve compiled to help you get started on creating your own personal brand.

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Maybe you stumbled upon this post because you check the HMG blog regularly (if so, kudos!). But most likely, you saw one of our posts on either our Facebook or our Twitter linking you here directly—the effects of social media are everywhere. A couple of months ago, we posted a blog post about the importance of having a good web presence. To expand on this, having an online presence across a multitude of social media platforms enables us to have greater reach, interaction and overall engagement. Here are a few brief tips to consider when establishing and maintaining your online social media presence:

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Black Friday is less than two weeks away, and if you haven’t prepped your website for the influx of visitors and sales, now is the time. It’s just not enough to post your deals and special offers and then wait for the dollars to roll in. Your website itself is going to need a little extra TLC to make sure it can give shoppers a smooth, frictionless experience. Let’s take a look at six ways to un-suck your eCommerce website for the holidays:

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You put a lot of effort into building your Facebook page, so it can be discouraging when people “unlike” you. Strange as it may seem, people take their Facebook pages super seriously. So seriously, in fact, that unliking is often viewed as the ultimate way to show disapproval, even more than negative comments or reviews. What’s the main reason people unlike a brand? Simple, you annoy them.

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