For small businesses, looking "big" online isn't so much about appearing as a large company when they're not. Its about being a big resource for prospects and customers. As the popularity of content marketing and brands as publishers heats up with large companies, many small businesses still have the advantage of being nimble and adaptive to new ways of engaging customers. That ability to experiment and implement quickly as well as creatively can be a big advantage.

A while back I created a list of SEO blogs and continued to review and add a handful of blogs every week for about 2 years. I use "SEO" somewhat loosely, since most search marketers are adept at a variety of online marketing tactics including social, PPC, email and content. With a trip to London coming up soon and plenty of great online marketing advice being published by UK internet marketing bloggers,

Beautiful sunrise Lake Minnetonka. But COLD! One of the greatest things about a good old fashioned, cold and snowy Winter in Minnesota is leaving for a few weeks to warmer weather. Add to that the opportunity to spend time meeting smart online marketers from around the world and it's an even better season. The next 30 days will be a whirlwind with speaking events in San Diego, London, Barcelona and Austin Texas. Interestingly,

Read predictions about the future of Online Marketing over the past 3-4 years and you'll undoubtedly find mobile mentioned in each one. With smart phones sales to pass personal computers and the smart phone race between AT&T and Verizon iPhones, Droid powered phones and everyone else has elevated the impact of mobile devices to unprecedented levels. 2011 may finally prove to be a breakout year for mobile marketing and mobile commerce .

LinkedIn officially launched on May 5, 2003 with a total of 4,500 members in the first month. Known mostly as a business social network, LinkedIn has been adopted globally with nearly 2 billion people searches in 2010 and over 90 million users in January 2011. To top it off, a forthcoming IPO will raise even more money for expansion. Yet amongst many business professionals, LinkedIn seems to fight perception that it is strictly a site to visit when you need a job.

Social media marketing presents challenges for every company in defining the appropriate voice for the brand and how to engage. However, some companies are forced to work within much stricter guidelines such as those in heavily regulated industries. Does that mean social media shouldn't be part of the marketing and communications mix? No.

For companies trying to make sense of social media and online marketing, it's important to take a step back from all the "TwitFaceBlogTubeIn" mania for a second and look at the nature of how these things are going to work for the overall business. There are many questions that need answers: "Should we develop a strategy first before engaging?", "Should we experiment and develop a strategy as we go?",

Numerous companies start blogs to better connect with customers )but often through a narcissistic lens (. In most cases, Public Relations departments manage social media and blogging for companies which is great for promoting key messages and distributing information. That's the Push side of PR. But the Pull is often overlooked. Most corporate blogs are not only boring , but they're disappointingly difficult to locate on search engines. Key messages,

Alright, you've just come up with a brilliant and revolutionary idea that will forever change the face of your industry. So what do you do now? Well, if you're like a lot of people, you run to Facebook and share it with your friends, colleagues, and anyone that will listen. Is that a bad strategy? Not necessarily, as Facebook and Twitter can be great places to reach large audiences. In fact, Facebook continued to grow even stronger in its use as a sharing site in 2010.

One of the most common questions small business marketers are seeking to answer is, "How can I really benefit from social media?" Social media has certainly changed and improved how small to mid-size businesses can carve out space and connect in an extremely crowded marketplace. When companies participate on the social web in a meaningful way, it helps create a personal connection between customers and the brand.

Content Marketing is a hot, hot topic right now as are social media, mobile and local. Along with being a popular focus for marketers, there's really a deluge of information being published and it's not always clear what the best advice is. The recent kudos for TopRank's Online Marketing blog in the areas of Content Marketing ) #1 on Junta42 list ( and Social Media Marketing ) #2 on Social Media Examiner list (, made me remember what a great network of smart,

This morning I received a pleasant surprise email from the folks at Junta42 with congratulations to Brian Solis , Brian Clark , David Meerman Scott , Jay Baer and TopRank's Online Marketing Blog on making the opt of the first Junta42 Top Content Marketing Blog s in 2011. It it more than a little humbling to be included amongst such talented and respected industry veterans.

Last night I had the privilege of being the guest on #seochat - a fairly new but very active Twitter Chat that happens on Thursday nights at 8pm CT. Twitter chats are familiar territory and can be very engaging, especially when they're as well run as #seochat. Thanks to @DanPatterson for inviting me. You can read the whole transcript of our discussion on SEO and Content Marketing here. Besides the host being organized,

The onslaught of new social media sites has fundamentally changed the role of any marketing or communications professional. Every day millions of users are spending significant periods of time on social networks. In 2010, social media use represented 22 percent of the time spent online by users. The impact of social media on business cannot be ignored but how much is too much? For many organizations,

Marketing efficiency is always a good thing. I mean, who has an unlimited marketing budget? Well, maybe some companies do, but for the most part, being able to get far more value out of a marketing investment than projected is cause to celebrate. For example, events. In the digital marketing world, the number of online and real world events has exploded. Despite many options to choose from,

Do you use Quora? Should you use Quora? As we begin the new year, I felt like it makes sense to set aside some time each week to take a look at technology that is new, generating interest, or represents a step forward in the online world. In the last couple weeks Quora has become the trendy pick as a breakout site for 2011.

Companies that seek to expand their market reach to growing populations of customers spending time online have turned in significant numbers to search and social media as marketing channels. The world of search and social as an intersection with content marketing is quickly emerging as well. The pro of all that attention and budget is that companies are finding increasingly effective ways to engage with customers and grow business revenue.

One of the essential hires for companies that want to affect real change as a social media savvy organization connecting with people and communities is a Community Manager. During the discovery and initial learning phase the addition of a dedicated person is often unlikely, so the tasks a Community Manager would handle can be performed by a combination of a truly competent outside agency and moreso by multiple people within the company.

Monday I shared tips on how to leverage Google to find disparate, useful resources for use with sourcing content on blog posts. Working with my new blogging partner in crime, @DFolkens , this post is an output from following that advice. In many companies, social media efforts are managed by those in Public Relations. While social technology reaches across all communication channels in all departments, there's an inherent fit between PR and "being social.

"To be a good search marketer, you must be a good searcher." That's sage advice for SEO and it's also pretty handy for any kind of content marketing. Recently I've found myself offering more advice on content creation by showing some of Google's Advanced search features in combination with other content sourcing "tricks".