There's no debate that social media (also known as new media and digital media) is accelerating and growing by leaps and bounds. People gather their information, share opinions and experiences about a company or a product through forums, social networks and websites.

I recently read a report that said that 80%

of consumers are using the internet to find and learn more about businesses and/or products. The report also said that most consumers prefer to shop within a 5 mile radius of where they live.

Since research

is providing this information, it is imperative that you take the internet and social media seriously.

Here's your Tip of the Day...

Local search is here and is not letting up. Even Facebook is leaving clues that they are about to get involved in local search in a major way.

Fact: Studies have shown that 25% of searched keyword phrases have local intent? (a keyword phrase is a group of words typed into a search engine search bar. i.e. Plumbers, Denver)

Fact: 80% of all purchases are made within a 15 mile radius of where people live.

Fact: 97% of all US consumers use the internet to shop locally. Stat Provided by the prestigious BIS/Kelsey Group

It is important that you get your business listed on the top 4 giants - Google Places, Yahoo Local, Bing Local and Yelp.

Here are 10 tips to help improve your local listings

Until now, business owners who had their business listed on Google Places (also known as Google Maps), could not respond to customer reviews. Now they can.

In order to leave a response, owners first need to verify their identity by claiming their listing. Once you have claimed your listing, follow these instructions.

As a verified Google Places business owner, you can publicly respond to maps.google.com reviews on the Place Page. First, we’d recommend reading our handy tips on how to respond to reviewers. Then take a stab at responding, by following the instructions below.

Did you forget your jump drive? Have you ever needed to send a file, but the file was to big? Or how about, you were out somewhere and needed access to a file but did not have your computer?

Then I recommend Dropbox and I give it

Dropbox is a hosted file storage service. The service is free up to 2Gb of storage. This is a great tool for synchronizing files between different computers. Another great feature I love is the ability to share files and folders with other people.

I personally have been using Dropbox for a long time and love it. I use it to share documents and images to my clients, my family and also my team.

Learn more about Dropbox and sign up for your free account at: Dropbox