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<title>Loyalty Lab: Toolbox</title>
<link>http://www.loyaltylibrary.com/</link>
<description>A collection of articles to help marketers manage - their programs, their departments, their careers.</description>
<ttl>15</ttl>
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<title><![CDATA[24 Impressive Blog Plugins You Should Consider]]></title>
<link>http://www.loyaltylibrary.com/article.aspx?articleID=2383</link>
<guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.loyaltylibrary.com/article.aspx?articleID=2383</guid>
<description><![CDATA[[Editor's Note: Facebook fans suggest popular plugins.] Denise Wakeman - Social Media Examiner - 9/1/10 One of the great things about blogging is how easy it is to set up a blog on any of the multitude of blogging platforms. While there are many options for building your blog, one of the most popular platforms is WordPress.org.

However, what you get when you set up a WordPress blog can be pretty basic depending on the theme you choose. To make your new blog sing and work for you, it’s a good idea to install some key plugins. <a href="http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/24-impressive-blog-plugins/" target="_blank">Read the full story.</a>]]></description>
<pubDate>Sun, 05 Sep 2010 11:45:30 EST</pubDate>
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<title><![CDATA[Mzinga Adds Analytics and New Features to OmniSocial]]></title>
<link>http://www.loyaltylibrary.com/article.aspx?articleID=2382</link>
<guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.loyaltylibrary.com/article.aspx?articleID=2382</guid>
<description><![CDATA[[Editor's Note: Social solution provider adds new reporting dashboards, mobile applications, and social network interoperability.] Lauren McKay - Destination CRM - 8/31/10 Waltham, Mass.–based Mzinga provides social tools, solutions, and services for marketing, support, and sales professionals — and claims to have more than 40 million users and 15,000 communities already under management. With the latest release of its flagship platform OmniSocial, Mzinga has now introduced more analytics capabilities, greater interoperability with sites such as Facebook, and new mobile applications. <a href="http://www.destinationcrm.com/Articles/CRM-News/Daily-News/Mzinga-Adds-Analytics-and-New-Features-to-OmniSocial-68147.aspx?CategoryID=259" target="_blank">Read the full story.</a>]]></description>
<pubDate>Tue, 31 Aug 2010 15:14:19 EST</pubDate>
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<title><![CDATA[What the New Digg Means For Your Business]]></title>
<link>http://www.loyaltylibrary.com/article.aspx?articleID=2373</link>
<guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.loyaltylibrary.com/article.aspx?articleID=2373</guid>
<description><![CDATA[[Editor's Note: Digg can get you on customers My News page.] Neal Rodriguez - Social Media Examiner - 8/19/10 Digg has been notorious for driving a server-crashing influx of traffic to web properties worldwide. The social news site has been able to drive anywhere from 1,000 to over 1.3 million page views in mere days.

Reportedly 70% of Digg’s user base have blogs, which when promoted to popularity are picked up by other bloggers, driving additional traffic. This helps websites attain additional exposure. <a href="http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/new-digg/" target="_blank">Read the full story.</a>]]></description>
<pubDate>Wed, 25 Aug 2010 10:51:03 EST</pubDate>
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<title><![CDATA[Top 5 Most Indispensable Twitter Tools for Marketers]]></title>
<link>http://www.loyaltylibrary.com/article.aspx?articleID=2372</link>
<guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.loyaltylibrary.com/article.aspx?articleID=2372</guid>
<description><![CDATA[[Editor's Note: Twitter tools that will help you find and engage with quality Twitter followers.] Dino Dogan - Social Media Examiner - 8/23/10 What’s more important? The quantity of your Twitter following or the depth of your relationships with your followers?

The answer is BOTH! Having hundreds of thousands of followers must be nice. But we all know that the depth of the relationships you maintain with your tweeple is paramount.

This article will reveal five great Twitter tools that will help you find and engage with quality Twitter followers. <a href="http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/indispensable-twitter-tools/" target="_blank">Read the full story.</a>]]></description>
<pubDate>Mon, 23 Aug 2010 15:17:22 EST</pubDate>
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<title><![CDATA[US Postal Service Makes Products Available at Office Depot]]></title>
<link>http://www.loyaltylibrary.com/article.aspx?articleID=2365</link>
<guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.loyaltylibrary.com/article.aspx?articleID=2365</guid>
<description><![CDATA[[Editor's Note: U.S. Postal Service and Office Depot team up.] Frank Washkuch - DM News - 8/16/10 US Postal Service mailing and shipping services will be available at nearly 1,100 Office Depot stores, the two companies said August 16. Office Depot is the first national retailer to offer USPS shipping products and services.

The deal will give consumers access to Priority Mail Flat Rate boxes and envelopes, Priority Mail service, Express Mail service, Parcel Post, stamps, and delivery and signature confirmation services.

The agreement will help the financially struggling US Postal Service to reach consumers more conveniently, said Michael Plunkett, manager of retail partners at the USPS. <a href="http://www.dmnews.com/us-postal-service-makes-products-available-at-office-depot/article/176990/" target="_blank">Read the full story.</a>]]></description>
<pubDate>Mon, 16 Aug 2010 17:53:35 EST</pubDate>
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<title><![CDATA[Three Free Social Monitoring Tools Worth Exploration]]></title>
<link>http://www.loyaltylibrary.com/article.aspx?articleID=2364</link>
<guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.loyaltylibrary.com/article.aspx?articleID=2364</guid>
<description><![CDATA[[Editor's Note: Three free platforms that allow you to see what is being said about you.] Elijah Young - Social Media Examiner - 8/16/10 We live in a world where the entire globe can have access to your name, IP address, photo and all of your public information with a simple search.

Now social media takes it one step further. I not only can find your past exploits online, but I can hear the conversations that the entire globe is having about you, right now, with a simple click (and maybe some typing too).

Twazzup, Addict-o-matic and SocialMention are three free platforms that allow you to measure your social media mettle—or more simply put, see all of the buzz or conversations surrounding your brand online, at any time.  Never heard of these platforms?  No worries, I’ve got your back! <a href"http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/free-social-monitoring-tools/ target="_blank">Read the full story.</a>]]></description>
<pubDate>Mon, 16 Aug 2010 17:42:04 EST</pubDate>
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<title><![CDATA[Facebook Redesigns Event Pages]]></title>
<link>http://www.loyaltylibrary.com/article.aspx?articleID=2357</link>
<guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.loyaltylibrary.com/article.aspx?articleID=2357</guid>
<description><![CDATA[[Editor's Note: Facebook event pages get a facelift.] Jennifer Van Grove - Mashable - 7/16/10 Facebook has rolled out a redesign of its Events Pages. The company has yet to publicly announce the new design, but the alterations are drastic enough that any user who visits an Event Page would immediately notice the changes. <a href="http://mashable.com/2010/07/16/facebook-event-pages/" target="_blank">Read the full story.</a>]]></description>
<pubDate>Sat, 17 Jul 2010 12:34:24 EST</pubDate>
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<title><![CDATA[Becoming a Better Mobile Marketing Professional]]></title>
<link>http://www.loyaltylibrary.com/article.aspx?articleID=2352</link>
<guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.loyaltylibrary.com/article.aspx?articleID=2352</guid>
<description><![CDATA[[Editor's Note: Mobile marketing knowledge can be used by all.] Amy Muething - ClickZ - 7/8/10 As mobile has become a greater part of my day-to-day professional life, it's become more and more difficult to stay up to speed with an ever changing marketplace. As a digital professional, I often feel a greater comfort level with other digital media: online media, social, gaming, etc. I found that when a client came to me with a question, I didn't have the years of knowledge to draw from to form a quick point of view and to give them the advice they were seeking.

I took some basic steps to help myself become more knowledgeable and avoid these deer-in-headlight moments. For those not working with mobile on a daily basis and looking for ways to bring better mobile context to their clients, these can be useful steps to help you become a better mobile expert. <a href="http://www.clickz.com/3640871" target="_blank">Read the full story.</a>]]></description>
<pubDate>Fri, 09 Jul 2010 11:30:08 EST</pubDate>
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<title><![CDATA[SugarCRM for Small Business CRM]]></title>
<link>http://www.loyaltylibrary.com/article.aspx?articleID=2343</link>
<guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.loyaltylibrary.com/article.aspx?articleID=2343</guid>
<description><![CDATA[[Editor's Note: Check if this community small business CRM program can help you.] Joe Brockmeier - Small Business Computing - 6/28/10 SugarCRM is a Web-based CRM tool that provides pretty much all the functionality any small business will need. It's licensed under the GNU General Public License version 3 (GPLv3), meaning that the core of SugarCRM is entirely free software.

Employees only need a recent Web browser to access and work with SugarCRM. This makes life a lot easier, as SugarCRM management is centralized, and you don't need to worry about upgrading or maintaining each employee's computer. Note that SugarCRM comes in both a community edition and paid editions that have per-seat support fees.

Most small businesses can do just fine with Sugar Community Edition, which has most of the features you'll need. For advanced features like sales forecasts, advanced reporting and mobile device access, you may need to look at the professional or enterprise editions. <a href="http://www.smallbusinesscomputing.com/buyersguide/article.php/3890051" target="_blank">Read the full story.</a>]]></description>
<pubDate>Mon, 28 Jun 2010 12:36:31 EST</pubDate>
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<title><![CDATA[How to Make Twitter More Useful for Your Business]]></title>
<link>http://www.loyaltylibrary.com/article.aspx?articleID=2332</link>
<guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.loyaltylibrary.com/article.aspx?articleID=2332</guid>
<description><![CDATA[[Editor's Note: Site highlights Twitter apps.] Amy Porterfield - Social Media Examiner - 6/4/10 If you’ve been using Twitter, you’ve likely checked out an app or two to make your Twitter experience more robust, or even just a bit easier.  TweetDeck, Twitpic and Tweetie are all examples of Twitter apps.

What if I told you there was a magical place that could easily be your one-stop shop for all your Twitter needs? Yes, this place really does exist. It’s called OneForty.com, the Twitter equivalent of the Apple App Store.
Twitter Still Rocks for Businesses

Before I jump in to tell you about all the benefits of OneForty, I want to point out that in recent months two reports have surfaced that show Twitter being the #1 choice of all social sites for professionals. <a href="http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/how-to-make-twitter-more-useful-for-your-business/" target="_blank">Read the full story.</a>]]></description>
<pubDate>Tue, 15 Jun 2010 19:39:44 EST</pubDate>
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<title><![CDATA[Will HTML5 Boost Video Email Marketing?]]></title>
<link>http://www.loyaltylibrary.com/article.aspx?articleID=2331</link>
<guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.loyaltylibrary.com/article.aspx?articleID=2331</guid>
<description><![CDATA[[Editor's Note: A hybrid approach might be best.] Douglas Idugboe - SMEDIO - 6/4/10 Apple and Adobe – two of the greatest technology companies ever, have been in the news recently, albeit for all the wrong reasons. The debate is all about choosing a standard that’s best suited to define the future web. While Adobe’s lobbying for its proprietary Flash platform, Apple is a staunch supporter of the open HTML5 standard.

What is HTML5?

To put it in simple words, HTML5 is the next major version of HTML, the programming language used to run the web and build websites. With the advent of Web 2.0 and Rich Internet Applications, there’s a strong need to refine the current HTML standard in order to build websites which offer a enriched user experience and that’s precisely what HTML5 promises to deliver. <a href="http://smedio.com/2010/06/04/will-html5-boost-video-email-marketing/" target="_blank">Read the full story.</a>]]></description>
<pubDate>Tue, 15 Jun 2010 14:03:50 EST</pubDate>
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<title><![CDATA[Macy's Delivers Memorial Day Circular Through Yahoo Mail]]></title>
<link>http://www.loyaltylibrary.com/article.aspx?articleID=2328</link>
<guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.loyaltylibrary.com/article.aspx?articleID=2328</guid>
<description><![CDATA[[Editor's Note: Circular shopping experience goes online.] Dianna Dilworth - DM News - 5/28/10 Macy's delivered its 2010 Memorial Day sale book online using a Yahoo ad unit. The sale book ads use Yahoo's "Pullover" ad units in Yahoo Mail.

Yahoo created the ads for retailers with Internet advertising firm PointRoll.

“It is about taking that offline circular shopping experience and making it interactive online,” said Catherine Spurway, VP of strategy and marketing at PointRoll. “We replicated the Macy's Memorial Day circular and made it digital.” <a href="http://www.dmnews.com/macys-delivers-memorial-day-circular-through-yahoo-mail/article/171241/" target="_blank">Read the full story.</a>]]></description>
<pubDate>Mon, 14 Jun 2010 16:57:05 EST</pubDate>
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<title><![CDATA[5 Simple Steps to Getting Your Business on Twitter]]></title>
<link>http://www.loyaltylibrary.com/article.aspx?articleID=2322</link>
<guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.loyaltylibrary.com/article.aspx?articleID=2322</guid>
<description><![CDATA[[Editor's Note: Most business want to be on Twitter and here is how to make it happen.] Cindy King - Social Media Examiner - 5/26/10 According to the 2010 Social Media Marketing Industry Report, Twitter is one of the social media tools most businesses want to learn more about.

If your business is not yet on Twitter, this article is for you. Creating a Twitter profile is quick and easy to do; however, you want to make sure you take the right steps when setting up your Twitter accounts. <a href="http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/5-simple-steps-to-getting-your-business-on-twitter/" target="_blank">Read the full story.</a>]]></description>
<pubDate>Fri, 28 May 2010 12:11:06 EST</pubDate>
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<title><![CDATA[Emailvision to Unveil New E-mail Marketing Features]]></title>
<link>http://www.loyaltylibrary.com/article.aspx?articleID=2317</link>
<guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.loyaltylibrary.com/article.aspx?articleID=2317</guid>
<description><![CDATA[[Editor's Note: Spend less time on building campaigns and more on the strategy behind the campaign.] - PR-USA.NET - 5/25/10 Emailvision, the global leader in on demand software for email marketing, will unveil the new features of Campaign Commander(TM) v7.4 at two exhibitions next month.

The Emailvision US team will be at the Internet Retailer Conference in Chicago from June 8-11, then at Digital Marketing Days from June 14-16 in New York.

The latest version of Campaign Commander(TM) includes exciting new productivity enhancements to allow marketers to spend less time on building campaigns and more time optimizing strategy. <a href=" http://pr-usa.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=400479&Itemid=33" target="_blank">Read the full story.</a>]]></description>
<pubDate>Mon, 24 May 2010 21:25:15 EST</pubDate>
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<title><![CDATA[Facebook Now Serving More Than 50 Billion Banner Ads Per Month]]></title>
<link>http://www.loyaltylibrary.com/article.aspx?articleID=2312</link>
<guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.loyaltylibrary.com/article.aspx?articleID=2312</guid>
<description><![CDATA[[Editor's Note: Facebook has largest footprint in showing display ads.] Adam Ostrow - Mashable - 5/12/10 During the first quarter of 2010, Facebook served up more banner ads than any other website, according to new data from comScore published in The Wall Street Journal.

In total, the social networking site displayed 176.3 billion ads during the period, for an average of better than 50 billion ads each month. That total represents 16.2% of the total number of banner ads served across the entire web, and places the site ahead of the likes of Yahoo and Microsoft — the latter by nearly triple. <a href="http://mashable.com/2010/05/12/facebook-banner-ads/" target="_blank">Read the full story.</a>]]></description>
<pubDate>Tue, 18 May 2010 15:46:51 EST</pubDate>
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<title><![CDATA[Why Co-Working Makes Sense for Small Businesses]]></title>
<link>http://www.loyaltylibrary.com/article.aspx?articleID=2306</link>
<guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.loyaltylibrary.com/article.aspx?articleID=2306</guid>
<description><![CDATA[[Editor's Note: Sometimes you don't have to do everything yourself.] Joe Raby - Mashable - 5/12/10 Being the owner of a small business often means spending your time working on projects outside of your talent. While an owner should seek to understand all aspects of his business early in its development, spending too much time on the aspects he doesn’t excel at can be a massive inefficiency and stunt the business’ growth. By leveraging a community of business owners with similar issues, these inefficiencies can be minimized through collaboration. Making this collaboration efficient and easy will be the future of co-working. <a href="http://mashable.com/2010/05/12/co-working-small-business/" target="_blank">Read the full story.</a>]]></description>
<pubDate>Wed, 12 May 2010 17:29:11 EST</pubDate>
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<title><![CDATA[Expanding to New Heights, Online CRM Adds Partners]]></title>
<link>http://www.loyaltylibrary.com/article.aspx?articleID=2302</link>
<guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.loyaltylibrary.com/article.aspx?articleID=2302</guid>
<description><![CDATA[[Editor's Note: Resellers of online CRM software added.] Calvin Azuri - TMCnet - 5/10/10  Intelestream, Inc. is an open source and online CRM  consulting company and developers of intelecrm, the award winning small business on demand CRM solution. The company recently announced  the signing of six new partnership agreements in efforts to further strengthen its reseller partnerships.

Now, the company’s new authorized resellers of intelecrm are Max Communications based in Illinois, Contact Business Systems based in Colorado, Xtreme Solutions based in Florida, Asset Enterprise Technologies based in Delaware, and BootStrapper Ventures and INTAgLIO based in New York. <a href="http://www.tmcnet.com/channels/online-crm/articles/84604-expanding-new-heights-online-crm-adds-partners.htm" target="_blank">Read the full story.</a>]]></description>
<pubDate>Mon, 10 May 2010 12:03:31 EST</pubDate>
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<title><![CDATA[Unica Adds Social Media Marketing Capabilities to Its Interactive Marketing Offerings]]></title>
<link>http://www.loyaltylibrary.com/article.aspx?articleID=2286</link>
<guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.loyaltylibrary.com/article.aspx?articleID=2286</guid>
<description><![CDATA[[Editor's Note: New tools for social media marketing.] - Market Watch - 4/19/10 Unica Corporation, the recognized leader in marketing software solutions, today announced the availability of new "Solution Packs" -- innovative social media marketing, web personalization, and social sharing capabilities for users of its online marketing solutions. The two solution packs include Social Media Analytics for Unica NetInsight and Web Personalization and Social Sharing; each contains integration templates, sample code, and documentation for various social media channels including Facebook, Twitter, viral email, and blogs. <a href="http://www.marketwatch.com/story/unica-adds-social-media-marketing-capabilities-to-its-interactive-marketing-offerings-2010-04-19?reflink=MW_news_stmp" target="_blank">Read the full story.</a>]]></description>
<pubDate>Mon, 19 Apr 2010 18:19:07 EST</pubDate>
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<title><![CDATA[How Businesses can Harness the Power of Online Communities]]></title>
<link>http://www.loyaltylibrary.com/article.aspx?articleID=2285</link>
<guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.loyaltylibrary.com/article.aspx?articleID=2285</guid>
<description><![CDATA[[Editor's Note:  How to leverage online communities for your business.] Rob Howard - Mashable - 4/9/10 Today, everything is social -– social commerce, social business, social CRM. The list goes on and on. But are consumer technologies like Twitter and Facebook  strategic for implementing a social media business strategy? Can you measure the investment? What are the best options for getting tangible value?

Once you remove the shiny wrapper, there is an incredible amount of depth and value in using social technologies as a way to reach your customers. However, I personally find the word “social” to be a poor descriptor. Terms like community or collaboration tend to be more meaningful. Here are some ways that businesses can tap into the power of online community. <a href="http://mashable.com/2010/04/09/online-communities-business/" target="_blank">Read the full story.</a>]]></description>
<pubDate>Wed, 14 Apr 2010 16:49:26 EST</pubDate>
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<title><![CDATA[Why Foursquare Drives Business: What You Need to Know]]></title>
<link>http://www.loyaltylibrary.com/article.aspx?articleID=2281</link>
<guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.loyaltylibrary.com/article.aspx?articleID=2281</guid>
<description><![CDATA[[Editor's Note: Location-based services work for local business owners.] Conrad Hall - Social Media Examiner - 4/12/10 For the first time in history, the Internet is focusing in on local business in a major way. And Foursquare is leading the trend.

Instead of competing in a “global marketplace,” local business owners now have access to geotagging, local search, and location-based services. All of which make the Internet more useful to small business than it has ever been before. <a href="http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/why-foursquare-drives-business-what-you-need-to-know/#more-2741" target="_blank">Read the full story.</a>]]></description>
<pubDate>Tue, 13 Apr 2010 10:52:53 EST</pubDate>
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