GoWrench Auto is a Hamilton company that’s disrupting the auto repair industry. They’re expanding to other cities and building an app. Referrals, content and digital marketing power their expansion. Getting your car serviced is like going to the doctors. You need to take time off work or out of your family life to get it done. You’re either sitting in a waiting room for 45 minutes or driving to the shop, getting a shuttle back to work, then getting a shuttle back to the shop, and driving home or back to work. Inconvenient. But that’s how it is.

Influencers are millennials trying to cash in on their social media followers. Twitter wants you to believe that influencers drive purchase decisions. This social media exec says otherwise.

Have you seen the links on Facebook with the little lightning bolt icon in the top right corner yet? Tap the link and, woosh, the article swoops in from the right. It was quick and you didn’t have to leave the Facebook app. Scrolling is smooth, images, videos and ads fit perfectly, and liking or sharing is only tap away. This is a Facebook Instant Article. Last year Facebook invited a handful of publishers to test Instant Articles. Today (Tuesday, April 12th, 2016) Facebook is opening the platform up to everyone.

If you’re going to publish content for customers or readers, make reading an inspiring experience. Just like the sales process, you want as little friction as possible when people encounter your content. Providing an enjoyable reading environment makes your message memorable, holds readers to the content longer, promotes sharing, and could even lead to inspired action.

“Do you think car engines are better quality now than they were 20 years ago?” “In general, yes. But not better than 40 years ago.” I asked my best friend this question because he is currently rebuilding his 1974 El Camino. He is a car nut and mechanical genius. His answer caught me off guard, so I dug for clarity. “What made cars that much better 40 years ago?” His reply made me think of the current state of marketing.

Magazine advertising is not what it used to be. Ads are so visually focused, it seems like graphic designers control the advertising industry now. I’m not complaining. There are some incredible designs that can say a lot with colours and contours. But when someone discovers a new product, they have hesitations and insecurities that need to be addressed. Even a two page fold out graphic can’t help prospective customers through purchase fears. Mind you, illustrations are smart along side technical ad copy, in brochures, or on landing pages. Readers, who are interested in the details about function and process, love illustrations. But graphic ads won’t answer questions or qualify a…

You used to have to pay a little if you wanted to get your posts in front of new Facebook audiences. Now you’ll have to pay a little to get posts in front of your established followers. Once you make the decision to pay for promotion on Facebook, one of your first questions is, “Do I boost a post or create a new ad?” If you have the budget for it, do both. Design a campaign where the ads and boosted posts compliment each other. But when you’re starting out with advertising on Facebook, it’s best to take it one step at a time.

Here is a no-nonsense guide to creating Facebook ads. Answer the questions, follow the action steps, pay attention to each image and you’ll be ready to start marketing on Facebook in minutes. To advertise on Facebook, you have to set up a company Page for your business. Once that’s complete, you’ll be able to start advertising your business. The first decision you have to make is if you want to boost a post or create a separate ad. Boosting a post is paying to promote something you’ve already posted to your Facebook Page. This post will focus on creating an advertisement for a specific offer, but boosted posts are effective…

The old saying, “the money is in the list” holds true for your social media audience. If you have an audience, you have a list of interested prospects. On social media, your customers become your audience. Small businesses thrive on the personal interaction they can give their customers. Social media enhances your ability as a small business owner to interact, nurture, and build an audience that trusts you enough to give you money when you offer solutions they are interested in. As a small business owner, you’ve become adept at packaging your solutions in attractive print and web-banner ads. But social media is a different animal; ads share the same…

To prove social media is a global experience, the first post of 2015 is a feature interview with the wonderful Amar Majali, a digital media expert from one of the largest telecom companies in the United Arab Emirates. The advice and insight Amar provides comes from years of experience in Arabic and English marketing. She graduated from the University of Jordan with and B.A. in Languages – English / Italian. Now she is the Digital Communications Manager at du, a massive telecom company based in Dubai. You’ll find that even though her experience is with big corporations, Amar has a practical grasp on social media for every business owner. First I asked…