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Issue 27: March 21, 2012

By the Numbers

20

The percentage newspapers have declined since 2007, making it the fastest shrinking industry in the U.S.

Newspapers are America's Fastest Shrinking Industry


WEBINAR

  

Build the Perfect Web Marketing Storm 

 

Tomorrow

March 22

11:00 a.m. CT  

 Want to learn how to combine blogging, email marketing, search engine optimization, social promotion, and writing in order to "outpace business capacity?"

 

Andy Crestodina, the strategic director of Orbit Media, a Chicago web development firm, shows you how to do it with simple, yet effective, tips, tools, and links.

 

Need more information? Visit Spin Sucks and read the blog post that describes some of his recommendations.

 

Spin Sucks: Five Ways to Build the Perfect Web Marketing Storm.

 

Or...register now!

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Keeping It Fresh: iPad Tips for Travel

While we're not completely laptop-less when we travel, the iPad is becoming the mobile computer to client meetings, candidate interviews, and speaking engagements.

  

If you're interested in traveling with only your laptop, we have a few tips.

  

  1. Consider Your Office Suite. For some, a good writing app, such as CleanWriter is enough. But, if you do more heavy lifting writing that includes photo placement and some basic design, you should splurge and get Pages (for writing), Numbers (to replace your Excel), and Keynote (especially if you do any presentations). The package of the three are just less than $30.   
  2. Work Offline. If you have a WiFi-enabled iPad only, it can be frustrating to try to work when you don't have Internet access. Look at apps, such as Instapaper. You drag the bookmarklet to your Internet browser toolbar. Then, when you're online and find something you want to go back to or read later, you click Instapaper and it saves it so you can view even if you're offline. It's great for airplane time, cab time, or shuttling back and forth to meetings.  
  3. Get In the Cloud Already. Your iPad already has iCloud that will give you access to files on your Mac products. But we really love Dropbox. You get up to 5 GB for free, then pay $9.99 per month for 50 GB. You have access to files, both offline and on, which is great if you've forgotten to download something to your desktop or a client asks for some information you don't have on your hard drive. You can access it from any computer, anywhere in the world, at any time. It's worth the investment, if only for peace of mind.  
  4. Get a Magazine App. There are plenty of magazine apps to choose from, but we really love Zite. It provides you content customized to what you like, your interests, and the types of surfing you do. You can tell it whether or not you liked a certain article and, based on that, it will send you more content. 

It's probably still smart to carry along your laptop if you're on the road for several days at a time, but the iPad is great for quick overnight trips!

 
Quick Tip: Facebook Timeline 

 

The rumors were true and Timeline is now available for Facebook business pages. In fact, all business pages are switching over to the Timeline on March 30, so it's time to be thinking about how to tell your story through photos and historical information.

 

For instance, client Frank & Eileen tells a brand story of how the company's namesakes were married in 1947. By adding their wedding date to the Timeline, owner Audrey McLoghlin can tell their entire love story.

 

The New York Times is doing a phenomenal job with their Timeline, by adding history and photos for the 166 Grey Lady's history, which you can see by the dates on the right-hand side of their page.

 

As well, the University of Southern California tells a story of the professional athletes the school has turned out since its inception in 1888.

 

It's required you use Timeline by March 30 so start thinking about how you'll tell your company's story in visual, fun, and interesting ways. 

  

Marketing in the Round 
 
Have you pre-ordered Marketing in the Round, the forthcoming book by our own Gini Dietrich and Geoff Livingston? 

May 14 is the official launch date!

 

Digital Marketing In Practice 

Gini is an entrepreneur blogger for Crain's Chicago Business, where you can find her every Friday. Read her latest article, "Cash Is King."

You can also find her blogging at:

We are on the road speaking at industry conferences and CEO groups, hosting workshops, and doing digital marketing consulting. If you'd like to have us visit you, please contact Patti Knight at 312 787-7249 or [email protected].