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By Vlad Vidaeff   The importance of Google advertising is unquestioned.  Whether you’re a start-up or a well-established corporation, paid ads are a necessity for continued success.  With that being said, consumer habits are changing as desktop usage is falling while mobile usage is rising.  This blog will touch on Google’s decision to increase the size of its ads and the reason for this development. (more…) (more…)

By Vlad Vidaeff   Content creation is an increasingly important part of the marketer’s toolbox.  Whether it’s social media, e-mail marketing, or blogs, consumers have come to expect visually appealing and substantive content.  This blog will analyze the breadth of blog services that The REFUGE Group provides. (more…) (more…)

By Vlad Vidaeff   Twitter has been a frequent subject of our weekly blog and this comes as no surprise due to the frequent changes and additions the social media giant has been making in hopes of turning the company around.  One of the most frustrating aspects of composing a tweet has been the effect that links, photos, videos, and GIFs have on the character limit.  Previously, adding multimedia content took a chunk out of your 140-character limit which made it more difficult to get your message across even though your tweet would be more visually appealing.  This blog will (more…)

By Vlad Vidaeff   Content creation is becoming an increasingly important part of a marketer’s toolkit.  Rather than simply sharing content, marketers are now expected to create visually appealing photos and videos on social media.  User-generated content, live streaming, and streaming services are popular with YouTube, Periscope, Facebook Live, Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, and Vimeo being some of the major players.  This blog will discuss Amazon’s announcement to launch the company into the user-generated video market. (more…) (more…)

By Vlad Vidaeff   As of late, it seems like everyone is trying to establish itself as a potential player in live streaming and the future of television.  Facebook, Twitter, Apple, Amazon, and now Google are just a sample of some of the larger players who have begun to make moves.  As millennials have made it clear that they see no value in paying for cable television when they are only interested in watching a handful of channels, media companies have become more flexible in considering new solutions to attract this generation of consumers.  This blog will discuss YouTube Unplugged, (more…)

By Vlad Vidaeff   Twitter has been a prime focus of our weekly blog due to the frequency of new features that the social media network has introduced over the past couple months.  Some new features were only discussed, such as eliminating the 140-character limit, while others have been finalized, such as Twitter’s deal with the NFL to live stream Thursday night football games.  This blog will discuss another new feature that was recently implemented by Twitter, the Connect tab. (more…) (more…)

By Vlad Vidaeff   Do you not have the time to maintain active social media profiles?  Are you overwhelmed by the seemingly endless list of social media platforms?  Are you unsure about how to tailor your content to each platform and how to increase your following as well as the effectiveness of your posts?  The REFUGE Group offers advanced social media services customized to your specific business.  This blog will explore some of REFUGE’s offerings which fall under the social media umbrella. (more…) (more…)

By Vlad Vidaeff   For the generation that grew up with AOL Instant Messenger, you are likely already familiar with bots.  In an era where boredom as a child was a common occurrence (something that has disappeared these days with advancements in technology and limitless entertainment options), “IM’ing” your friends was a popular activity for children and teens.  In addition to your real friends, there were several bots you could chat with such as SmarterChild.  While they were not especially useful in any way, bots were a way to pass the time.  Most of us would make fun of bots (more…)

By Vlad Vidaeff   When a new project doesn’t even have a name yet, it makes it that much cooler.  When it’s coming from Google, you have the attention of the general public.  This blog will explore the innovative new project by Google which blends Google search results and elements of a social media network. (more…) (more…)

By Vlad Vidaeff   Promoted posts are an essential part of a company’s social media strategy on a variety of platforms.  Facebook’s algorithm has pressured brands to promote their posts to reach a large number of segments.  Other prime time players, including Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn also offer robust advertising platforms.  Until now, Promoted Pins on Pinterest were limited to large corporations such as Macy’s and Walgreens.  Small-and-medium sized businesses rejoice, Pinterest has announced that it has opened up Promoted Pins to all businesses on the network.  This blog will discuss the advertising options available to businesses, with a focus (more…)