This is an update to "3 Tips for DIY Webmasters" dated 08/08/2011.

User-friendly content management websites and email services have been around quite a while now and it’s never been simpler. So you’ve just been “volunteered” to do it at your organization. How hard can it be? Maybe harder than you expected!

RIP to organic reach for businesses on Facebook. It is true that, if you want your content to be seen by customers, you’re going to have to pay to play. Even though social media marketing hasn’t been around all that long (if you consider roughly a decade a short amount of time), this is still a very hard pill to swallow for most marketers and businesses alike. Change is hard. The algorithm has changed already though. Now it’s time for the rest of us to catch up.

In any given business, there are common keyword phrases. Local bakeries pop up for “cakes” or “cookies”. Real estate agents will pop up for “real estate agent” or “home selling”. As a small business owner, it’s essential to brainstorm the search terms that will lead people to you. But when there is a lack of search results on a specific topic, can you jump in?

I saw an interesting graphic recently that outlined how long content lasts. It broke down several of the top online marketing avenues: a blog post, Pinterest, YouTube, LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. What did it find? That each of these marketing platforms have a different expiration date for content.

Do you have big plans for your business in 2017? In January lots of folks plan to launch new blogs that they swear to keep updated this time around. One great incentive for writing posts is having readers, so here are three tips for creating a better blog.

Yes, it’s still summertime, but after Labor Day folks shake off their vacation mindset and reapply themselves at the office. They get busy and before they know it, 2016 is over. Take some time now to plan the rest of the year’s content for your blog and social media.

While we can all agree that social media marketing is important to every business, the return on investment for individual industries varies and the “investment” itself ranges from free to thousands of dollars a month. So how does the smaller business owner figure it all out?

This month we’re celebrating a few things here.  Here at Sprocket Websites we’re celebrating our 6 year anniversary! We’re also celebrating a great first half of 2016.  To end the first half of 2016, we’d like to take a look back at our most popular articles so far this year.  These are the articles that viewers have read and interacted with the most in the last 6 months.  We love seeing the topics that interest you, so we can give you more of what you’re interested in.  Happy Anniversary!

Experts emphasize the importance of graphics in your blog and social media posts and many options are available just for the googling. But where can you find images that won’t land you in intellectual property trouble?

Running social media for your small business is no small task, but it also doesn’t have to be overwhelming. If you’re looking for some free, and reliable, tools to help you along the way – look no further. Once you decide who your audience is, what platforms you should be on, and what content you’ll be posting –you will need a little assistance putting your plans into action. Here are 5 free social media marketing tools for small businesses to execute their marketing campaigns.