By Jamie Fernandez

Google launched a new program in January 2011 aimed at helping digital agencies, webmasters, web designers, SEO experts, and marketing consultants maximize their returns on Google AdWords.  This resource–rich program is named Google Engage. Google has always been proactive about providing training on how to use their various web applications and products through online tutorials, web forums, and webinars. Now Google Engage takes these efforts offline, bringing a rare human element to the world of Google platforms and digital advertising.

Always a step ahead of the curve, the Blue Water Media Marketing team was able to grab passes to a Google Engage Master Class held in New York City.

By Jamie Fernandez

Money and its progression has always shaped our consumer-based world.  First there was barter, then coins, paper, plastic, PayPal, and now, phones? NFC, or Near Field Communication, is the new revolution in mobile, and ultimately, offline commerce. Devices with NFC chips completely replace your credit cards and lighten your wallet. These NFC devices have a sensor that only activates within 4 centimeters, so we’ll be waving our magic mobiles at something to buy groceries by year’s end.

Google Wallet is a mobile payment system that was released on September 19, 2011, which will make use of NFC to make payments at stores, and is sure to be a game-changer. Simply put, Google Wallet uses Near Field Communication to “make secure payments fast and convenient by simply tapping the phone on any PayPass-enabled terminal at checkout.” Inside the app are virtual replicas of your physical credit cards, so the card information will be stored in the app and will be used to make the transactions.

By: Rebecca Rubin

1)      Define your purpose

Think deeply about why people should want to read your blog.  What about it is unique, relevant, and compelling?

2)      Put your best foot forward

Reading your blog should be an enjoyable and stimulating experience!  Engage readers with compelling imagery, employ bullets, lists, and short paragraphs to avoid visual overwhelm and never forget to check grammar and spelling.  Nothing reduces credibility faster than a post peppered with typos!

3)      Use Social Media

Cross promotion through social media is key to growing your following! Make “I’m tweeting to tell you I blogged” your new mantra and diversify the ways you reach your audience.  If you traditionally stick to blogging, consider uploading videos onto a branded YouTube channel, putting out a podcast, or sending readers a monthly e-newsletter.

4)      Encourage audience interaction

By: Abigail Katz

Remember when you were a kid and saw a new toy on television and knew you had to have it because all your friends would? This is similar to what those in the Internet marketing industry refer to as “shiny new object syndrome.” All too often companies invest in products that are new, just because everyone else is doing it and they feel it is necessary to keep up.

This goes double for the use of social media. As social media sites continue to grow more popular and more in depth, companies are looking to develop marketing strategies around the virtual community. It is clear that most companies need some form of online platform to maintain, promote and grow their businesses, but with the oversaturation in today’s social media landscape, when does it become too much? Sure, it is recommended that a company has a website, Facebook page and Twitter, but sometimes we forget to look at the consumer. If your target audience is unlikely to have a smart phone, does your company really need to develop an iPhone app?

By: Rebecca Rubin

Just an hour after phone lines went down during Japan’s recent tsunami and quake, tweets coming from Tokyo topped 1,200 per minute.  A day later more than 9,000 quake-related videos and 7,000 tsunami-related videos were uploaded to YouTube, and over 7,000 records were entered into Google’s “Person Finder”.  A message from The U.S. Embassy in Tokyo urging U.S. citizens in Japan “to continue efforts to be in contact with loved one(s) using SMS texting and other social media” makes 2 things very clear:

1) Social media has become a powerful communication tool in times of crisis and;

2) Most of that power lies in the hands of average camera phone wielding tweet-happy citizens like you and me.