2008 NOV 24 - (VerticalNews.com) -- To help small businesses prioritize and navigate the social media landscape, marketing expert John Jantsch and Microsoft Office Live Small Business (http://www.smallbusiness.officelive.com/) have created a free eBook titled "Let's Talk: Social Media for Small Businesses," available for download at http://smallbusiness.officelive.com/socialmedia/.

  Determining what new social media tools should be used by small businesses can be a daunting task for time-strapped entrepreneurs. However, as millions of consumers continue to incorporate these tools into their daily lives, it's clear that social media is no passing fad. In fact, as individuals are embracing social media more than ever, so too are small businesses. According to the latest study by New York-based Access Markets International (AMI) Partners Inc., over the next 12 months about 500,000 small businesses will use social networking as a resource for advertising and promotional activities.(1 ...read more

  2008 NOV 24 - (VerticalNews.com) -- Microsoft Corp. announced that since its launch in May, Microsoft Live Search cashback has seen positive traction in all three of the key metrics on which the company said it would report: number of offers in the system, advertiser return on investment (ROI), and percentage of commercial search queries as measured by comScore Inc. The company also announced that 20 of the top 50 online retailers in the U.S. and 140 of Internet Retailer's Top 500 are now participating in the program, including new advertisers AT&T, Drugstore.com Inc., FTD, Gap Inc. properties (including Banana Republic and Old Navy), Kmart, RedEnvelope and Saks Fifth Avenue ...read more

  2008 OCT 6 - (VerticalNews.com) -- As the economic climate gets stormier every day, many small-businesses owners are facing mounting pressures. During such uncertain times, entrepreneurs often choose to cut back, hunker down and ride it out. However, experts warn against exercising too much caution -- especially when it comes to marketing.

  According to Rieva Lesonsky, former editor of Entrepreneur and blogger for Microsoft Office Live Small Business (http://smallbusiness.officelive.com/), entrepreneurs can use this time to cut back in certain areas and strategically invest in other areas, such as marketing. "It may seem counterintuitive, but increased marketing and sales activity can be an effective way to bolster your business and weather economic storms," Lesonsky said. "In fact, marketing is a key component to your small business' survival. ...read more