Social media in 2025: what works for local businesses
In a small region, people like, share, and then visit in person. A realistic weekly social media plan for a small local business.
By Robert ScalesSocial media
53 posts in this category, newest first.
Threads, X and the scattering of social media
Twitter is now X, and Threads registered 100 million sign-ups within days. Where a small business should post as audiences divide across platforms.
By Robert ScalesApple's App Tracking Transparency and ad targeting
iOS 14.5 puts one question on every iPhone: allow this app to track you? Most users are expected to decline. Small advertisers need to prepare.
By Robert ScalesClubhouse and the audio moment
Clubhouse invites are in high demand. Before you rebuild your marketing around live audio rooms, a few points deserve careful thought.
By Robert ScalesSocial commerce: selling through Instagram and Facebook Shops
Facebook and Instagram want people to shop without leaving the app. A good opportunity for small brands, provided they remember they do not own the store.
By Robert ScalesTen years of social media: what lasted
From Facebook pages to TikTok, a decade of platforms rose and declined. What remained effective every year: real photos, email and reviews.
By Robert ScalesTikTok arrives, and followers matter less
TikTok is often dismissed as an app for teenagers. Its algorithm, however, has significant implications for small businesses.
By Robert ScalesCritical thinking in the age of algorithms
Feeds rank content according to how people react. Three straightforward questions to ask before sharing anything: the source, the date, and who benefits.
By Robert ScalesSocial media this year: a year of trust problems
This year, public trust in social media declined and platforms changed their rules with little notice. Here are the lessons for a small business.
By Robert ScalesFacebook's News Feed change and "meaningful interactions": what pages should do now
Facebook now places friends first and pages second, and business reach is already declining. Here are the changes we recommend for a small business page.
By Robert ScalesInstagram Stories changes the daily post
Instagram has adopted Snapchat's format, and it may allow small businesses to post more informally again. Our observations after three weeks of Stories.
By Robert ScalesPeriscope, Meerkat and the rush to go live
This spring, live streaming from phones became widespread. Is it useful for a small business preparing to open, or a distraction?
By Robert ScalesMexicombi: launching a food truck in Bali
Branding, social media and a website for a Mexican food truck in Bali, on a modest budget. What has proven effective so far.
By Robert ScalesManaging Facebook pages that work in the pay-to-play era
Facebook reach is now largely paid. The practices that keep small business pages effective, from boosting the right posts to responding promptly.
By Robert ScalesPaper from Facebook
Storytelling has never been easier. A first look at Paper, the new storytelling app from Facebook Creative Labs.
By Holistic HybridFacebook's organic reach drop: what pages can do now
Page posts that once reached thousands of people now reach a few hundred. Why Facebook organic reach is declining, and what a small business can do this month.
By Robert ScalesTop Technology Trends for 2014
Looking back at 2013’s tech trends and ahead to Juniper Research’s top 10 for 2014: smart cities, mobile money, wearables, 3D printing and more.
By Holistic HybridProduct Review: Yammer
Our review of Yammer, the freemium enterprise social network: features, cost, and how our clients use it for internal communication.
By Holistic HybridIncreasing Conversion Rate Strategies
How we reached an 8.9% conversion rate for an online retail client with Facebook, Pinterest, targeted email newsletters and clear calls to action.
By Holistic HybridSocial Media Predictions – Forward-thinking companies will empower their employees with social media
Hootsuite’s five social media predictions for 2014, and why the idea of empowering employees through social media stands out.
By Holistic HybridMeasuring social media: what to count
Most businesses know their like count, but few know what it earns. The few figures that connect social media to bookings.
By Robert ScalesHashtags, explained for business owners
Facebook made hashtags clickable in June, and many businesses now use far too many. What a hashtag does, and how to use a few effectively.
By Robert ScalesSocial Media Engagement
Social media is here to stay, and the conversation is happening with or without you. What engagement means and how to connect authentically.
By Holistic HybridThe Importance of #Hashtags
Facebook now supports #hashtags. What are they, where do they come from, and why do they matter for finding content and joining conversations?
By Holistic HybridTracking Facebook Ads in Google Analytics
Learn how to use Google Analytics to track your Facebook Ads’ performance so you can see what’s working well for you.
By Holistic HybridMeasure Your Social Media Marketing Success
Do you know the difference between social media monitoring and social media analytics? A look at the tools, from Google Analytics to Quintly.
By Holistic HybridManaging Successful Facebook Pages
Is your Facebook page yielding new leads and engaging your users? Managing a successful Facebook page takes time and effort. These tips will help.
By Holistic HybridSocial Media Marketing 101
Creating a basic social media presence is easy enough; getting your community to actually do something is more difficult. Strategies that can help.
By Holistic HybridSocial Media 101
What is social media? A short primer on how people create, share and exchange ideas online, with Robert Scales’s “Social media 101” slide deck.
By Holistic HybridVine and six-second stories
Vine offers six seconds and a loop. Many marketers dismiss it, yet it offers small businesses a useful lesson about short video.
By Robert ScalesInstagram for the dive industry
Instagram is making underwater photography social. What dive centres and small businesses can gain from it, without devoting the whole day to it.
By Robert ScalesCan you see the social bubble bursting soon?
Instagram, a photo sharing app created 2 years ago by Kevin Systrom, got sold to Facebook for $1 billion. Impressive! But why 1 billion dollar?
By ScalesPinterest for travel businesses
Pinterest is still invite-only and already appearing in travel sites' referral statistics. What a dive resort or a B&B should do with it.
By Robert ScalesSearch plus Your World: when Google got personal
Two weeks ago, Google began showing each signed-in user their own results. Page one is no longer the same for everyone.
By Robert ScalesGoogle+ launches: should your business care?
Google+ opened this week and invitations are in high demand. How a small business should test a new network, and why your mailing list matters more.
By Robert ScalesFacebook pages for small businesses: a field guide
This spring, every small business wants a Facebook page. What works: real photos, a steady rhythm, answered comments and a link back to your own site.
By Robert ScalesArt Media Crisis
Presentation at the BC Marine Museum on June 15th 2010 about the BP oil spill and how digital media can rally people to act for a cleaner, safer world.
By Holistic HybridFans treat their artists like they treat their lovers...
A report on nextMedia's Bands, Brands and Audiences in Vancouver, with keynotes from Warner Bros. Records' Ethan Kaplan and The Killers' manager.
By Jeff TraynorSocial Media and Playoff Fever in Vancouver
Dave Olson's Canucks Outsider podcast and live playoff broadcasts show fans talking to fans: an exciting application for social media.
By Jeff TraynorUsing Social Media to Gather Phones for Fearless City
We assembled a fast social media campaign with Fearless City to gather unused phones for Downtown Eastside artists and residents.
By Dave OlsonBlog in the place where you are - Placeblogger launches with News Challenge grant
Another Raincity Studios project released to the public: a location-based feed aggregator called Placeblogger.com.
By Dave OlsonSocial Tech Training in Toronto Teaches Web Tools for Change
Social Tech Training is geared towards training social change-minded organizations in using the web to activate, communicate and inspire.
By Smith MilnerChecking in with Kinzin's Facebook Forays for Kids
A hands-on look at Kinzin's Facebook app These are my Kids for private family sharing, with a test drive and feedback from a blogging Mom.
By Dave OlsonBig 'Lectronics Store working the Social Media
A big electronics retailer invites Vancouver's bloggers and podcasters to an in-store, live-to-web HDTV presentation.
By Dave OlsonDeveloping Facebook Apps with Drupal VIDEO - Vancouver Drupalers August 2007
What if a Drupal developer could easily develop Facebook apps the "Drupal way" without having to learn the "Facebook way"?
By Roland TanglaoFacebook Apps with Drupal
The Donat Group showed the Facebook API modules they are building to make it easier to build Facebook apps with Drupal.
By Boris MannSaskatchewan Interactive 2007 - EverythingCasting Presentation
Roland Tanglao's EverythingCasting talk at Saskatchewan Interactive 2007: Listen. Create Compelling Content Constantly. Repeat.
By Roland TanglaoSocial Media Club Vancouver Intro Roundtable Video
Video of the introductions at the Social Media Club Vancouver launch, and Roland Tanglao's reflections on how far social media still has to go.
By Roland TanglaoMATCHTAG!
Matchtag is the latest "match-up" site to hit the internet, but it's NOT a dating site: it's a place to find friends for any activity at any given time.
By Megan ColeJeremy Zawodny: Social Software and Social Media
Notes from Jeremy Zawodny's Gnomedex session: too much social software, not enough time — and a call to think about content and people.
By Megan ColeWeb 2.0 Social Software Lunch Session at Raincity Studios
On Friday I spent a couple hours at Raincity Studios chatting about social software and Web 2.0 tools with their design and development teams.
By Kris KrugWeb 2.0 Social Software Lunch Session at Raincity
Kris Krug of Bryght led a Raincity lunch session on social software and web 2.0 tools like Bloglines, del.icio.us, Technorati and Upcoming.
By Megan ColeThank You Flickr!
From a New Media BC blogging night to a paid Flickr account and Creative Commons: why Robert started sharing his 8,000-image library, and a thank-you to Flickr.
By Robert ScalesYour business deserves to be found.
Tell us about your project. We answer in English or French, and we travel anywhere in the MRC de Papineau.