<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?><rss version="2.0" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"><channel><atom:link href="http://www.gcds.com.au/RSSRetrieve.aspx?ID=8651&amp;Type=RSS20" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" /><title>Blog</title><description>Blog</description><link>http://www.gcds.com.au/</link><lastBuildDate>Sat, 18 May 2013 19:46:40 GMT</lastBuildDate><docs>http://backend.userland.com/rss</docs><generator>RSS.NET: http://www.rssdotnet.com/</generator><item><title>How to save iPhone 5 Battery</title><description>&lt;p&gt;Yep, you've all heard about it. The iPhone 5 really sucks when it comes to battery - quite literally. I have one and it barely lasts a day from 100% - until I did some research and found a way for my phone to actually survive over 12 hours. The biggest problem is that the iPhone 5 has all of these things that you have no idea is running in the background, and they are very energy hungry! So here are some tips for those who are having the unfortunate iPhone 5 Battery problem:&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;h2&gt;Location Services&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;img alt="" src="/images/blog/ip5-blog/settings.jpg" style="border: 0px solid; width: 100px; height: 101px;" /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;img alt="" src="/images/blog/ip5-blog/main2.png" style="border: 0px;" /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;img alt="" src="/images/blog/ip5-blog/privacy.png" style="border: 0px;" /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;img alt="" src="/images/blog/ip5-blog/location.png" style="border: 0px;" /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
Go to Settings &amp;gt; Privacy &amp;gt; Location Services. &lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
This is one of the main battery suckers on your phone. Here, you will see all the apps that are using the location services which are constantly sending out signals to determine your location. Some of these are important when in use (ie Maps or Google Maps) and others are just for posting purposes (ie Facebook or Photos). Turn off all the ones you do not use like games or rarely used apps. Alternatively, you can just turn it off completely if you don't want to use it at all. This will help your battery drain greatly.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;h2&gt;Bluetooth&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;img alt="" src="/images/blog/ip5-blog/settings.jpg" style="border: 0px;" /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;img alt="" src="/images/blog/ip5-blog/main1.png" style="border: 0px;" /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
Go to Settings &amp;gt; Bluetooth&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
Unless you're using this heavily, it doesn't need to be on the entire time. Turn it off and turn it back on when you need to use it.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;h2&gt;Notifications&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;Go to Settings &amp;gt; Notifications&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
This is a big battery drainer because there can be so many things that are constantly working behind the scenes to give you updates and notifications on things you probably don't care about that much.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;h2&gt;Wi-Fi&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;img alt="" src="/images/blog/ip5-blog/settings.jpg" style="border: 0px;" /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;img alt="" src="/images/blog/ip5-blog/main1.png" style="border: 0px;" /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
Go to Settings &amp;gt; Wi-Fi&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
If you are out and about, unless you are carrying your own modem or are in an area with Wi-Fi, then off it goes. It's obviously not in use, and if it's on, it's going to constantly look for wifi using up battery power that you could be saving.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;h2&gt;Cellular&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;img alt="" src="/images/blog/ip5-blog/settings.jpg" style="border: 0px;" /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;img alt="" src="/images/blog/ip5-blog/main2.png" style="border: 0px;" /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;img alt="" src="/images/blog/ip5-blog/general.png" style="border: 0px;" /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;img alt="" src="/images/blog/ip5-blog/cellular.png" style="border: 0px;" /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;img alt="" src="/images/blog/ip5-blog/cellular2.png" style="border: 0px;" /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
Go to Settings &amp;gt; General &amp;gt; Cellular&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
Now this is where your iPhone uses internet from your mobile plan or pre-paid credit. You do not have to turn off Cellular, though it will definitely save your battery power by quite a bit. Having said that, there is another setting under Cellular called &lt;strong&gt;"Enable 3G"&lt;/strong&gt; or &lt;strong&gt;"Enable 4G"&lt;/strong&gt; or &lt;strong&gt;"Enable LTE"&lt;/strong&gt; depending on your phone carrier. This makes you transfer data faster but if it's not something you're really concerned about, you can keep it off or just turn it on when you really need to use it. Also scroll down and turn off anywhere that you do not really need to use cellular data to prevent your phone from constantly loading data.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;h2&gt;Sounds and Vibrate&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;img alt="" src="/images/blog/ip5-blog/settings.jpg" style="border: 0px;" /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;img alt="" src="/images/blog/ip5-blog/main2.png" style="border: 0px;" /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;img alt="" src="/images/blog/ip5-blog/sounds.png" style="border: 0px;" /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;img alt="" src="/images/blog/ip5-blog/sounds2.png" style="border: 0px;" /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
Go to Settings &amp;gt; Sounds&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
It makes sense that every time the phone makes a sound, it uses up battery. Every time the phone vibrates, it uses up battery. Now a phone is supposed to ring so obviously you want to keep that, however you don't necessarily need to have it vibrate, so unless you want it, turn it off. Same with Keyboard clicks and Lock Sounds. If you don't use mail, Twitter, Facebook much or need noises for alerts, don't give sounds for it.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;h2&gt;Mail Push&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;img alt="" src="/images/blog/ip5-blog/settings.jpg" style="border: 0px;" /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;img alt="" src="/images/blog/ip5-blog/main2.png" style="border: 0px;" /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;img alt="" src="/images/blog/ip5-blog/mail-contacts.png" style="border: 0px;" /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;img alt="" src="/images/blog/ip5-blog/fetch.png" style="border: 0px;" /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
Go to Settings &amp;gt; Mail, Contacts, Calendars &amp;gt; Fetch New Data&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
If you are not using the Mail app heavily (or at all), then you do not need to Push. Set all your e-mails to Fetch and choose to Fetch less frequently or just manually.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;h2&gt;Brightness&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;img alt="" src="/images/blog/ip5-blog/settings.jpg" style="border: 0px;" /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;img alt="" src="/images/blog/ip5-blog/main2.png" style="border: 0px;" /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;
Go to Settings &amp;gt; Brightness&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
Choose a mid to low brightness. If you have anti-glare, this maybe too dark outdoors so you have to adjust accordingly.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;h2&gt;Auto Lock Sooner&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;img alt="" src="/images/blog/ip5-blog/settings.jpg" style="border: 0px;" /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;img alt="" src="/images/blog/ip5-blog/main2.png" style="border: 0px;" /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;img alt="" src="/images/blog/ip5-blog/general2.png" style="border: 0px;" /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
Go to Settings &amp;gt; General &amp;gt; Auto Lock&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
The longer you leave the light on your phone, the more juice it uses. So, let it lock itself after 1-2 minutes at least. There shouldn't be anything happening on your phone over 2 minutes that doesn't require interaction - and further more it's easy to unlock however this is to your own preference.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;h2&gt;Turn Off Unused Apps&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;img alt="" src="/images/blog/ip5-blog/home1.png" style="border: 0px;" /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&lt;img alt="" src="/images/blog/ip5-blog/home3.png" style="border: 0px;" /&gt;&lt;img alt="" src="/images/blog/ip5-blog/home2.png" style="border: 0px;" /&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Double press the Main Button at the bottom of your phone and your apps in use will appear at the bottom bar of the screen. Press and hold your finger on top of any of those icons for 2 seconds and the icons will begin to shake allowing you to see a red circle on the top left. This red circle allows you to close the app so that it doesn't run in the background. Turn off all the apps that you are not using so it doesn't take up your phone battery!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;h2&gt;Siri&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;img alt="" src="/images/blog/ip5-blog/settings.jpg" style="border: 0px;" /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;img alt="" src="/images/blog/ip5-blog/general.png" style="border: 0px;" /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;
Go to Settings &amp;gt; General &amp;gt; Siri&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
Do you seriously use Siri? Let's be honest, on a daily basis, even a weekly basis - have you ever used Siri to be helpful? Siri in my opinion is one of those features you just show off to your friends because the new iPhone 5 came out and it's fun to see what it can do. After 15 mins of fun, it's never heard from again. So, turn it off.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;h2&gt;Time Zone&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;img alt="" src="/images/blog/ip5-blog/settings.jpg" style="border: 0px;" /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;img alt="" src="/images/blog/ip5-blog/general2.png" style="border: 0px;" /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;img alt="" src="/images/blog/ip5-blog/date-time.png" style="border: 0px;" /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
Go to Settings &amp;gt; General &amp;gt; Date &amp;amp; Time&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
You don't necessarily need to have it set to automatic - turn it off and select your timezone manually. This will prevent it from always trying to connect to the internet to ensure your time is correct.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;h2&gt;Download the App Battery Doctor&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;
&lt;img alt="" src="/images/blog/ip5-blog/battery-doctor.jpg" style="border: 0px;" /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
Go to App Store &amp;gt; Search "Battery Doctor" &amp;gt; Download and Install&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
This app is really really handy - I find anyway. Battery Doctor is a great app to tell you just how many hours / minutes you have left on your battery, and the things you can do to improve it. It gives you details on what you can turn off and how much that will extend your phones battery. It's quite useful so &lt;a href="https://itunes.apple.com/au/app/battery-doctor-battery-saver/id446751279?mt=8" target="_blank"&gt;view it here&lt;/a&gt; or find it on the &lt;strong&gt;App Store&lt;/strong&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;h2&gt;Conclusion&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Iphone 5 battery just sucks in general. Not a bad phone, but crappy battery life span. It seems that Apple have gone backwards in their way of evolving, especially changing to the "lightning" charger without giving cheap converters from the old ports... really unfortunate - but these techniques above should help your phone preserve at least 40% more battery.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Until next time.&lt;/p&gt;
</description><link>http://www.gcds.com.au/RSSRetrieve.aspx?ID=8651&amp;A=Link&amp;ObjectID=338234&amp;ObjectType=56&amp;O=http%253a%252f%252fwww.gcds.com.au%252fblog%252fhow-to-save-iphone-5-battery</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.gcds.com.au/blog/how-to-save-iphone-5-battery</guid><pubDate>Sat, 18 May 2013 08:01:00 GMT</pubDate></item><item><title>GCDS to attend Google Engage master class!</title><description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;img alt="" src="/images/blog/20130513-google-engage.jpg" style="border: 0px;" /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
We are excited to inform you that the GCDS team are attending the latest "Google Engage" master class in June this year (2013)!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;World renowned AdWords trainer David Booth is making a come back sharing his experiences and expertise, as seminar leader for the class - which will no doubt be full of useful information and great strategies and lead generation from using Google Adwords for businesses. Keep an eye out during then for more information!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;We are also providing a free $100.00 voucher to get you started if you spend at least $25.00 on your first AdWords campaign  (only applicable to new accounts).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;For businesses looking to advertise on Google Adwords, contact us on (07) 5538 3060 or send us an &lt;a href="mailto:enquire@gcds.com.au"&gt;e-mail&lt;/a&gt; and see how we can help you! &lt;/p&gt;
</description><link>http://www.gcds.com.au/RSSRetrieve.aspx?ID=8651&amp;A=Link&amp;ObjectID=338121&amp;ObjectType=56&amp;O=http%253a%252f%252fwww.gcds.com.au%252fblog%252fgcds-to-attend-google-engage-master-class</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.gcds.com.au/blog/gcds-to-attend-google-engage-master-class</guid><pubDate>Tue, 14 May 2013 04:50:00 GMT</pubDate></item><item><title>The Do's and Don'ts of Facebook Competitions!</title><description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="/blog/the-dos-and-donts-of-facebook-competitions"&gt;&lt;img alt="" src="/images/blog/20130513-dos-donts-fb.jpg" style="border: 0px;" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
And here it is! My 'little' guide at helping business owners (small or big) to promote themselves better with Facebook competitions. If you're on Facebook (and you probably are), you will have seen many companies using competitions to promote their products or services - and by all means it's great running competitions on a platform that millions and millions of users use on an hourly basis. The trick is, you have to do it the right way. If you don't do it correctly, you could be wasting your time, efforts, money and possibly lose your Facebook page which is a big no-no! So, without further ado, observe!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2&gt;&lt;img alt="" src="/images/blog/fb-like-up.png" style="border: 0px;" /&gt;&amp;nbsp;What you SHOULD do on Facebook Competitions!&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;h3&gt;Have a goal!&lt;/h3&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Having a competition is all good, but above all of that, you must first decide what you want to achieve with this competition. Awareness? Collecting e-mails? To entice people to come in to your store? Increase the 'Likes' on your Facebook page? This in turn will then drive on how the competition should be run to be effective to your goal.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h3&gt;Give Incentives!&lt;/h3&gt;
&lt;p&gt;So, obviously the word competition implies that there must be a winner or winners. Will the prize that they receive be useful and something that is related to your industry? It could be that if you're a coffee shop, you can decide to give away a free coffee, or voucher. If you're a beauty salon, you could provide a free pamper package or a 50% discount off the next hair treatment. Ensure your prizes are related and also depending on the intensity of the competition, you want your fans to think that it's worth their time and effort to enter this competition.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h3&gt;Be creative and simple!&lt;/h3&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The most common type of competition is a sweepstake / raffle type of competition, where you have a group of entrants where a winner or winners are drawn at random. There are other types of competitions you can think of - for example a submission based competition where entrants provide their most creative cake, or scariest costume, or most impressive skateboard trick video on youtube (providing youtube link). Remember that you do these competitions on a separate canvas page or app rather than Facebook itself (see the don'ts below). Don't go being too over creative that you make your competition complex - it still has to be simple enough that people who may not be so computer literate can enter. People will get put off if it's to hard or to troubling to enter.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h3&gt;Research and Analyze!&lt;/h3&gt;
&lt;p&gt;There is no stock standard formula! Facebook Competitions can be held in numerous ways and depending on your demography, certain competition styles may not be suitable for your industry. You will have to think about who is more likely to compete in your competition and then target them. Then once the campaign is over, check to see how successful your results were. It's all about trying and testing so do not be afraid to fail because that's part of the research!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h3&gt;Spread the word!&lt;/h3&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Encourage your fans to share the competition, or even the page so you may obtain more submissions - however don't limit yourself to just rely on your current fanbase. Facebook advertising is a great way to target specific locations and interests or even age groups and genders. Sure it may cost but that's part of advertising - you don't get store banners for free, or billboard signage.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;h2&gt;&lt;img alt="" src="/images/blog/fb-like-down.png" style="border: 0px;" /&gt;&amp;nbsp;What you SHOULDN'T do on Facebook Competitions!&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;h3&gt;Leave your Facebook stagnant or bombard your fans!&lt;/h3&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Facebook is social media, and a lot of things get posted up every single second. With this in mind, it is important that you remind your fans of your competition. Just gentle reminders every now and again, enough to be in the back of people's minds but not too much to annoy the crap out of them. You can be inviting but not too much that it does the exact opposite and repels your audience making them skip your posts instead (depending on your demographic)&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h3&gt;Ignore the Facebook Terms and Conditions!&lt;/h3&gt;
&lt;p&gt;This is somewhat confusing and a very commonly overlooked mistake a lot of Facebook pages make - which sometimes results in major consequences (social media wise anyway). Just so everyone is on the same page, here is a link to that page:
&lt;a href="https://www.facebook.com/page_guidelines.php" target="_blank"&gt;https://www.facebook.com/page_guidelines.php&lt;/a&gt;. Scroll right to the bottom and read the promotions area (Section E). Note this was based off the terms and conditions as of *13 May, 2013*.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Tips: You may think "well, how am I going to hold a Facebook Competition if Facebook's terms are making it this hard". Check below:&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
    &lt;li&gt;
    &lt;h4&gt;Section E, i.&lt;/h4&gt;
    &lt;p&gt;Promotions on Facebook must be administered within Apps on Facebook, or a canvas page or a page app. One of such is Woobox. It's a useful app that you can put up images or even content from a separate page. You can use this to host your competition / promotion.&lt;/p&gt;
    &lt;/li&gt;
    &lt;li&gt;
    &lt;h4&gt;Section E, ii.&lt;/h4&gt;
    &lt;p&gt;Pretty much have your own terms and conditions including these terms.&lt;/p&gt;
    &lt;/li&gt;
    &lt;li&gt;
    &lt;h4&gt;Section E, iii.&lt;/h4&gt;
    &lt;p&gt;Don't force your participants to &lt;strong&gt;'Like'&lt;/strong&gt;, &lt;strong&gt;'Share'&lt;/strong&gt;, &lt;strong&gt;'Comment'&lt;/strong&gt; or &lt;strong&gt;'Upload / Tag' a photo&lt;/strong&gt; on your Facebook Timeline. In which case, ignore the use of your Timeline page apart from promoting your competition - use other methods to let them register. You can make them &lt;strong&gt;'Like'&lt;/strong&gt; or &lt;strong&gt;'Check in'&lt;/strong&gt; to your page as part of the conditions (see below).&lt;/p&gt;
    &lt;/li&gt;
    &lt;li&gt;
    &lt;h4&gt;Section E, iv.&lt;/h4&gt;
    &lt;p&gt;A lot of people get this mixed up - so here it is. You &lt;strong&gt;CAN&lt;/strong&gt; use the 'Like' and 'Check-in' feature on Facebook to &lt;strong&gt;ACCOMPANY&lt;/strong&gt; your competition's registration method for your customers. You &lt;strong&gt;CANNOT&lt;/strong&gt; use the 'Like' and 'Check-in' feature &lt;strong&gt;SOLELY&lt;/strong&gt; as the only method of entry for your competition. E.g.&lt;/p&gt;
    &lt;p&gt;'Like' our page to go into a draw - NOT OK&lt;br /&gt;
    'Like' our page, fill in your details in the form and submit for a chance to win - OK&lt;/p&gt;
    &lt;p&gt;This is where it's best to use a canvas page which could have a form that people register through, to enter the competition IN ADDITION to 'Liking' your page.&lt;/p&gt;
    &lt;/li&gt;
    &lt;li&gt;
    &lt;h4&gt;Section E, v.&lt;/h4&gt;
    &lt;p&gt;Pretty much similar to Section E, iii. Don't make people vote on your Facebook Timeline - rather use an app that doesn't use the Facebook features (E.g 'Like' or 'Comments' on the wall post)&lt;/p&gt;
    &lt;/li&gt;
    &lt;li&gt;
    &lt;h4&gt;Section E, vi.&lt;/h4&gt;
    &lt;p&gt;Seems strange but you cannot actually notify the winner on Facebook for the competition. Which isn't the best way to promote it anyways because it's hard to be able to communicate with a specific fan due to privacy settings they may have. Rather opt them in to obtain their e-mail address and notify the person through here. This way, they have a better chance that they see it.&lt;/p&gt;
    &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;h3&gt;Pick your friends/family as winners!&lt;/h3&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Be fair to the people who have actually done their best to enter the competition. Reward your fans and give them hope that they have a chance to win so that they may return for later competitions if they don't succeed in this one. Don't fool your customers because they will not like you for it.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h3&gt;Give up!&lt;/h3&gt;
&lt;p&gt;If you are serious about your Facebook marketing and social media awareness, you have to know that not everyone is successful every time. There will be times where you will have maybe very little feedback or your competition isn't working. Analyze as said before why it didn't work. If you have tried again and again with little results, are you making the same mistake? Is it to the right target market? Is it too complex of a competition? is it engaging/interesting/enticing enough that people would want to enter? For all you know your industry/business might not even be well suited to have competition. If you find yourself in that situation then look for other means of marketing/promotion.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;h2&gt;Last Words&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p&gt;These are not the rules (except the Terms and Conditions) but more my guidelines and pretty much what I try to stick to if possible. Remember that these are only guaranteed successful based on how smartly you market and the effort you put into it. So give it a go and enjoy marketing it!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h4&gt;References:&lt;/h4&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/facebook-contests/" target="_blank"&gt;http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/facebook-contests&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;a href="http://allfacebook.com/4-mistakes-that-will-get-your-facebook-contest-shut-down_b111212" target="_blank"&gt;http://allfacebook.com/4-mistakes-that-will-get-your-facebook-contest-shut-down_b111212&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;a href="https://www.facebook.com/page_guidelines.php" target="_blank"&gt;https://www.facebook.com/page_guidelines.php&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
</description><link>http://www.gcds.com.au/RSSRetrieve.aspx?ID=8651&amp;A=Link&amp;ObjectID=338072&amp;ObjectType=56&amp;O=http%253a%252f%252fwww.gcds.com.au%252fblog%252fthe-dos-and-donts-of-facebook-competitions</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.gcds.com.au/blog/the-dos-and-donts-of-facebook-competitions</guid><pubDate>Tue, 14 May 2013 03:58:00 GMT</pubDate></item><item><title>Business Catalyst Data Center Migration</title><description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;img alt="" style="border: 0px none;" src="/images/blog/amazon_web_services.jpg" /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
We are pleased to inform that Adobe BC are migrating all sites and Business Catalyst application infrastructure to the Amazon Web Services platform, one of the world's best cloud hosting providers in the World.
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Benefits of migrating to Amazon Web Services&lt;/strong&gt;
    &lt;li&gt;Clients will experience improved performance and reliability&lt;/li&gt;
    &lt;li&gt;Pages will take less time to load which improves the browsing experience for site visitors&lt;/li&gt;
    &lt;li&gt;Admin Console access will also be faster improving the experience for site owners and partners working on the migrated sites&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;p&gt;We hope that our new clients will enjoy their new home and the benefits that come with it.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;For new clients who would like more information on cloud hosting and how it can affect your business in a positive direction, please contact our team on 07 5538 3060.&lt;/p&gt;
</description><link>http://www.gcds.com.au/RSSRetrieve.aspx?ID=8651&amp;A=Link&amp;ObjectID=337757&amp;ObjectType=56&amp;O=http%253a%252f%252fwww.gcds.com.au%252fblog%252fbusiness-catalyst-data-center-migration</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.gcds.com.au/blog/business-catalyst-data-center-migration</guid><pubDate>Thu, 09 May 2013 03:28:00 GMT</pubDate></item><item><title>Building Your Retail Business in an Online World - Seminar</title><description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;img alt="" src="/images/blog/20130417-tonyseminarjpg.jpg" style="border: 0px none;" /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The team at GCDS worked with &lt;a href="http://www.smallbusinessmarketingresults.com.au/" target="_blank"&gt;Small Business Marketing Results&lt;/a&gt; to deliver a power packed workshop for our attendees at the Watermark Hotel and Spa. &lt;/p&gt;
Web design, digital strategy, e-commerce and social media were all discussed at the workshop. Covering an enriching workshop for our participants. You can check out our photos from the event below.&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
{module_photogallery,28623,5,,20,80,80}&lt;br /&gt;
If you are keen to be involved in any of our future events like this one, please &lt;a href="http://www.gcds.com.au/contact-website-designers" target="_self"&gt;contact us&lt;/a&gt; and we will keep you posted.
</description><link>http://www.gcds.com.au/RSSRetrieve.aspx?ID=8651&amp;A=Link&amp;ObjectID=335537&amp;ObjectType=56&amp;O=http%253a%252f%252fwww.gcds.com.au%252fblog%252fbuilding_your_retail_business_in_an_online_world_seminar</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.gcds.com.au/blog/building_your_retail_business_in_an_online_world_seminar</guid><pubDate>Wed, 17 Apr 2013 06:50:00 GMT</pubDate></item><item><title>HPC On Board</title><description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;img src="/images/blog/2013.04.15.HPConBoard.jpg" /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

It has been an interesting month for GCDS through end of March until early April. With our Project Manager, Jeff missing for three weeks on holiday to the States, we were short one person in the office. However, we were not messing around as we are pleased to announce that &lt;b&gt;HPC (Human Performance Centre) - Australia's Premier Provider of Fitness Qualifications&lt;/b&gt; has gone on board to work with us!&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;So keep an eye out on our Facebook page and blog to see progress on the new up and coming HPC website.&lt;/p&gt;
</description><link>http://www.gcds.com.au/RSSRetrieve.aspx?ID=8651&amp;A=Link&amp;ObjectID=334405&amp;ObjectType=56&amp;O=http%253a%252f%252fwww.gcds.com.au%252fblog%252fhpc-on-board</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.gcds.com.au/blog/hpc-on-board</guid><pubDate>Sun, 14 Apr 2013 23:43:00 GMT</pubDate></item><item><title>The Importance of Social Media and How It Can Help Your Business</title><description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;img src="/images/blog/2013.04.03.infographic_socialmedia.jpg" /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

We've realized that Social Media has become such a big impact in our daily lives. Whether you check your Facebook everyday, tweet every hour or post your lunch on Instagram, you notice that Social Media is everywhere. But have you thought about how it can help your business? There&amp;rsquo;s a thin line between using Social Media blindly and profitably.&#x3;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;We have made an info graphic to show you tips on how Social Media can help your business. We hope that you enjoy it and that it will make a difference to your business. &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;img alt="" style="border: 0px none;" src="/images/blog/GCDS_SocialMedia_InfoGraphic.jpg" /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
</description><link>http://www.gcds.com.au/RSSRetrieve.aspx?ID=8651&amp;A=Link&amp;ObjectID=333166&amp;ObjectType=56&amp;O=http%253a%252f%252fwww.gcds.com.au%252fblog%252fthe-importance-of-social-media-and-how-it-can-help-your-business</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.gcds.com.au/blog/the-importance-of-social-media-and-how-it-can-help-your-business</guid><pubDate>Wed, 03 Apr 2013 02:31:00 GMT</pubDate></item><item><title>Happy Easter!!</title><description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;img alt="" src="/images/blog/2013.03.22.easter.jpg" /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
We just want to wish all of our clients and friends a very Happy Easter from the team at GCDS. We hope that you get to eat lots of chocolate and spend the Easter holiday with your loved ones. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;We've also prepared a little something for all of you in our &lt;a target="_self" href="/_blog/Media_Downloads"&gt;Media Downloads&lt;/a&gt;. We think these bunnies will definitely complete your Easter celebration! Click &lt;a target="_blank" href="_blog/Media_Downloads/post/Easter_Goodies/"&gt;here&lt;/a&gt; for more information. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Keep an eye out for more updates from GCDS soon!&lt;/p&gt;
</description><link>http://www.gcds.com.au/RSSRetrieve.aspx?ID=8651&amp;A=Link&amp;ObjectID=331200&amp;ObjectType=56&amp;O=http%253a%252f%252fwww.gcds.com.au%252fblog%252fhappy-easter</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.gcds.com.au/blog/happy-easter</guid><pubDate>Fri, 29 Mar 2013 14:00:00 GMT</pubDate></item><item><title>Website Launch For Dynasty Equine</title><description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;img alt="" src="/images/blog/2013.03.19.dynastyequine.jpg" style="border: 0px none;" /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
We are pleased to announce the launch for our client, &lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.dynastyequineaustralia.com/"&gt;Dynasty Equine&lt;/a&gt;. They supply pedigree horses from around the world, particularly from Australia and New Zealand to countries such as China, Hong Kong, Macau, South Korea, Mongolia and Taiwan.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;In this site, you are able to view all the horses under Thoroughbred, information on Equestrian, Recruitment, Stud &amp;amp; Stable Design as well as Seminars. All of these information can also be viewed in the &lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.dynastyequineaustralia.com/chinese/index"&gt;Chinese&lt;/a&gt; language. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Our team is passionate about developing effective website design and development that delivers an effective user experience for our clients. If you are interested in getting more information on how to leverage the Internet to sell your products and turn users into loyal buyers, &lt;strong&gt;please contact our team on 07 5538 3060&lt;/strong&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
</description><link>http://www.gcds.com.au/RSSRetrieve.aspx?ID=8651&amp;A=Link&amp;ObjectID=330906&amp;ObjectType=56&amp;O=http%253a%252f%252fwww.gcds.com.au%252fblog%252fwebsite-launch-for-dynasty-equine</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.gcds.com.au/blog/website-launch-for-dynasty-equine</guid><pubDate>Tue, 19 Mar 2013 00:02:00 GMT</pubDate></item><item><title>GCDS Attempts the Harlem Shake </title><description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;img alt="" src="/images/blog/20130313gcdsblogharlemshake.jpg" /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In case you haven't already seen the famous &lt;a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harlem_Shake_%28meme%29" target="_blank"&gt;Harlem Shake&lt;/a&gt; on YouTube, it is an internet meme where a group of people would do a comedic dance for approximately 20 seconds to the song "&lt;em&gt;Harlem Shake&lt;/em&gt;" by Baauer.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Last week, Jeff our Project Manager planned for the GCDS team to do our very own version of Harlem Shake, but well... some things don't always go to plan.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Watch the video below and let us know what you think! &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;iframe width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/7v_jbOwBDIY"&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Read our previous blog post on &lt;a href="http://www.gcds.com.au/_blog/Blog/post/How_to_use_Memes_to_drive_Social_Enagement/" target="_blank"&gt;How to use Memes to Drive Social Engagement&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
</description><link>http://www.gcds.com.au/RSSRetrieve.aspx?ID=8651&amp;A=Link&amp;ObjectID=330044&amp;ObjectType=56&amp;O=http%253a%252f%252fwww.gcds.com.au%252fblog%252fGCDS_Attempts_the_Harlem_Shake_</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.gcds.com.au/blog/GCDS_Attempts_the_Harlem_Shake_</guid><pubDate>Tue, 12 Mar 2013 14:00:00 GMT</pubDate></item><item><title>Facebook News Feed Redesign</title><description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;img alt="" src="/images/blog/20130311gcdsblogmarchfacebook.jpg" /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
How do you feel about a Facebook redesign? That's exactly what is coming up for the social network giant. Facebook News Feed is used everyday by billions of users around the world to see updates from their circle of friends such as photos, videos, status, check ins and many more. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;
This year, the Facebook headquarters have decided to do a redesign on their News Feed interface and how it works. Survey's says that Facebook users prefers a News Feed that is less cluttered and more organized. The News Feed has been used for eight years now and their last redesign was in 2006. Their way of looking at this is that Facebook is doing a spring cleaning on their site. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;
The redesign promises bigger pictures and content, giving Facebook users the ability to view more on their News Feed. You can also choose what sort of feed you would like to view such as feeds from just your "Friends" or if you would prefer to see feeds specifically on "Photos" etc. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;
The web is not the only interface that is getting redesigned for the News Feed, infact they are redesigning their interface on all the other platforms such as Mobile and Tablet. Facebook mentioned that they are "&lt;em&gt;Unifying the experience across all our devices and across the website for users to see the same clean look wherever they use Facebook&lt;/em&gt;". &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;
They have also released a waiting list on their Facebook page for you to be notified when the new platform is released. You can sign up to that on the link below: &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.facebook.com/about/newsfeed "&gt;
www.facebook.com/about/newsfeed
&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;What do you think? Pro for it or against the redesign?
</description><link>http://www.gcds.com.au/RSSRetrieve.aspx?ID=8651&amp;A=Link&amp;ObjectID=329896&amp;ObjectType=56&amp;O=http%253a%252f%252fwww.gcds.com.au%252fblog%252ffacebook-news-feed-redesign</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.gcds.com.au/blog/facebook-news-feed-redesign</guid><pubDate>Mon, 11 Mar 2013 05:47:00 GMT</pubDate></item><item><title>GCDS joins Google Engage Program for Agencies</title><description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;img alt="google engage program" src="/images/blog/google_engage_program.jpg" /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Today we are pleased to inform that we have joined Google Engage to help small business owners succeed online. Forget Yellow pages and save thousands of dollars of your annual advertising budget. With dedicated support and help from Google team, we will be able to get you access to exclusive benefits to increase qualified traffic to your business at a fraction of the cost.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h3&gt;Benefits for small business owners to take advantage of Google Engage Program&lt;/h3&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
    &lt;li&gt;Local Heroic Support&lt;/li&gt;
    &lt;li&gt;Improvement in traffic&lt;/li&gt;
    &lt;li&gt;Better conversions, leading to qualified leads&lt;/li&gt;
    &lt;li&gt;100% Transparency&lt;/li&gt;
    &lt;li&gt;Free Promotional vouchers to get you started&lt;/li&gt;
    &lt;li&gt;Extremely affordable monthly monitoring packages&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;h2&gt;More information on Google Engage Program&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;iframe width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Co-Uk-rRwgQ"&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;
&lt;p&gt;If you have any question on the Google Engage program and how you can leverage the benefits for your business, please give us a call on 5538 3060.&lt;/p&gt;
</description><link>http://www.gcds.com.au/RSSRetrieve.aspx?ID=8651&amp;A=Link&amp;ObjectID=322258&amp;ObjectType=56&amp;O=http%253a%252f%252fwww.gcds.com.au%252fblog%252fgcds_becomes_a_partner_in_google_engage_program</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.gcds.com.au/blog/gcds_becomes_a_partner_in_google_engage_program</guid><pubDate>Mon, 11 Feb 2013 02:53:00 GMT</pubDate></item><item><title>Cloud Hosted CMS vs Open Source CMS</title><description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;img src="/images/blog/business_catalyst_cloud_hosting.jpg" alt="business catalyst cloud hosting" /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
A cloud hosted CMS such as &lt;a href="/business-catalyst/business-catalyst-solutions"&gt;Business Catalyst&lt;/a&gt; is a platform where the features of a CMS is hosted on one central server belonging to a private organization. For example, Business Catalyst(BC) is owned by Adobe and if you create a website with BC web partner, your hosting comes automatically with BC.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Open Source CMS such as Wordpress and Joomla are platforms created by the public and available for download by anyone. It is the responsibility of business owner like yourself to find a hosting company and install the CMS or see the expertise of a web designer to install on your behalf. There are many benefits when using a cloud hosted CMS over an open source one. Let's cover these points more in detail.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h3&gt;1. One centralised support and point of contact.&lt;/h3&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Since BC is a product of Adobe and BC partners or resellers provide BC solutions direct to their clients. If you encounter issues, you either communicate with their local BC partner. Migrating from one BC partner or another is also a hasslefree process and keeps your website hosting on the Adobe cloud server.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;On the other hand, Wordpress or Joomla is owned by the public. If your website is created with Wordpress or Joomla, you not have a centralized point of contact, credentials are different for each disparate system, therefore security might be compromised and complexity becomes inevitably an issue.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h3&gt;2. Less prone to hacks, increasing overall server security&lt;/h3&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Business Catalyst is an integrated digital marketing system created by Adobe. As a Fortune 500 company, it provides SLAs (Service Level Agreements) second to none, this is specially important in a world where automatic bots created everyday to hack into Wordpress and Joomla create massive headaches for webmasters due to the readily available information. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Wordpress and Jooomla do not have SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) support by default, this security protocol is a requirement for e-commerce ventures because connections and sensitive data are protected by default. Open source systems are more prone to hacks due to the sum of these missing out of the box features.Your data should be protected at all costs and should become important criteria when choosing a CMS.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h3&gt;3. Scalability maintenance is convenient and time saving. One upgrade applies to all accounts.&lt;/h3&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Business Catalyst lives on the cloud. The cloud itself have inherent benefits over DIY (Do It Yourself) solutions since it frees time to focus on money making activities to the individual, shop or customer. Handling one or fifty websites with different sizes each becomes a relatively easy task with Adobe's integrated solution. Hasslefree maintenance becomes a reality by taking advantage of the system.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h3&gt;4. BC is all in one under one roof. With open source CMS, you may need to install plugins to make it work according to your needs.&lt;/h3&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Integration is a hot topic among open source projects because it is akin to stitching different technologies. One problem often found in integration is keeping up to date with patches and new versions. Often the whole funnel is paralyzed while these updates are being made. Server software, main systems, plugins, integration code and APIs need to be checked on a daily basis to keep these open source CMS running smoothly.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h3&gt;5. Cost is lower as infrastructure is provided by the cloud provider and pricing is usage-based&lt;/h3&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Cost is lower as infrastructure is provided by the cloud provider and pricing is usage-based The Pay As You Go business models made possible by the cloud are an efficient cost saving solution because there is no spending on idle resources. So the bottomline is, you will only pay for what you use and need.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h3&gt;Overall Conclusion&lt;/h3&gt;
&lt;p&gt;You don't have to mess with hosting issues. With Adobe BC, the functionality you need is built right in so you will save thousands of dollars in development costs. There is no doubt complexity adds costs to any individual or shop, therefore a simple yet powerful solution being constantly improved by an established brand such as Adobe with usage based pricing is the way to go. If you are interested to test drive Adobe BC, &lt;a href="/contact-website-designers"&gt;contact our local BC partner team&lt;/a&gt; to discuss your business and website needs. Or call us directly on &lt;strong&gt;07 55383060&lt;/strong&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
</description><link>http://www.gcds.com.au/RSSRetrieve.aspx?ID=8651&amp;A=Link&amp;ObjectID=326264&amp;ObjectType=56&amp;O=http%253a%252f%252fwww.gcds.com.au%252fblog%252fadobe_business_catalyst_vs_open_source_cms</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.gcds.com.au/blog/adobe_business_catalyst_vs_open_source_cms</guid><pubDate>Fri, 08 Feb 2013 06:47:00 GMT</pubDate></item><item><title>First Website Launches in 2013</title><description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;img src="/images/blog/20130202_feb_new_clients.jpg" alt="website launches in 2013" /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Here we are back again with some brand new designs that we have been working on the past month! We are proud to release 2 new websites, the first ones to be launched in 2013!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h3&gt;Everest Business Solutions&lt;/h3&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Everest Business Solutions are the leading MYOB, Xero and QuickBooks setup specialist and leading Bookkeeping and Business Consultancy firm in Australia. We have revamped their older website to now make it easier to navigate, and more aesthetically pleasing. We had also done some tidying up in the backend for their members section dashboard.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Visit the website here: &lt;a href="http://www.everestsolutions.com.au" target="_blank"&gt;www.everestsolutions.com.au&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h3&gt;TK's Lashes&lt;/h3&gt;
&lt;p&gt;TK's Lashes can extend your eyelashes by up to 300%! TK's Lashes can open up your eyes to make you look younger and sexier, and they are the perfect accessory for a night out - for all you ladies out there wanting that glamourous look! The TK's Lashes website was also revamped from an older site. Now on Business Catalyst, we are able to build for them a Stockist locator using Web Apps. Check it out!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Visit the website here: &lt;a href="http://www.tkslashes.com" target="_blank"&gt;www.tkslashes.com&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;If you have any questions, check out our &lt;a href="/solutions/web-design"&gt;web design solutions&lt;/a&gt; or the &lt;a href="/business-catalyst/business-catalyst-solutions"&gt;Adobe Business Catalyst&lt;/a&gt; platform we use to build our web solutions.&lt;/p&gt;
</description><link>http://www.gcds.com.au/RSSRetrieve.aspx?ID=8651&amp;A=Link&amp;ObjectID=326072&amp;ObjectType=56&amp;O=http%253a%252f%252fwww.gcds.com.au%252fblog%252ffirst-website-launches-in-2013</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.gcds.com.au/blog/first-website-launches-in-2013</guid><pubDate>Sun, 03 Feb 2013 14:00:00 GMT</pubDate></item><item><title>How to use Memes to Drive Social Engagement?</title><description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;img src="/images/blog/20120130-memes.jpg" alt="memes viral marketing" /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
With a rapid growth of social media platforms, there&amp;rsquo;s been an equally as rapid growth in the creation of memes. While memes &amp;mdash; highly viral niche content with fast burnout rates &amp;mdash; have existed for some time, they are currently the internet&amp;rsquo;s favorite phenomena.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2&gt;What is a Meme?&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p&gt;A meme is a concept in popular culture that has been spread virally from person to person through the internet. These internet meme's could be a particular image, video, website or even intentionally misspelt words - eg dude = "dood". These are spread through social media applications such as Facebook or Pinterest where people can share. They are also used in Blogs and e-mails. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;An example of a Meme?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
A good example of a internet meme are the Grumpy Cats images. You would have noticed some images being shared on Facebook or other blogs of a grumpy looking cat, with white bold text depicting a grumpy notion that the cat could be thinking.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Here is an example that our GCDS team have created below.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;img src="/images/blog/meme_composition.jpg" alt="memes composition of grumpy cat and puss in boots" /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;img src="/images/blog/gcds_puss_in_boots.jpg" alt="memes grumpy cat in the boots" /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;h2&gt;So why should I know this?&lt;/h2&gt;
These meme's are often shared through the internet, and thus become widely popular, though the punchline has to be good, treatable or humorous. Meme's are a good way to obtain viral marketing. For example, take this cat and create a meme that could be related to your industry, or make something funny with a great one-liner.
&lt;p&gt;Marketers use internet memes as a way to get social reaction from their fans and awareness - it is a good tool to use in your campaigns and marketing efforts including social media. And it clearly works because you are reading up to this far already. So if you would like to use memes, here's a few tips you should consider when sharing or making one of your own:&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
    &lt;li&gt;Understand your audience, what they like, how they talk, and what makes them laugh before spreading something that could be meaningless and wasted.&lt;/li&gt;
    &lt;li&gt; Ensure your meme is shareworthy. You would want people to share it because it's so funny, or so true that your audience would want to show this to their friends.&lt;/li&gt;
    &lt;li&gt;Memes are short lived. Not everyone likes/understands them, and they are just one of those "Oh that's funny, I have to share that" type of things. A meme is only another way to reach your audience, however do not overdose on it. It can get old if used too many times.&lt;/li&gt;
    &lt;li&gt;Meme's are not normally used to say "Hey, buy this product". It is solely for viral purposes, and that is all. If you are using memes to give that buy this product effect, it will need to be done creatively.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Here is another example of Meme featuring Jennifer Aniston in a sex tape(no it is what you think!)&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;iframe width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" class="video-container-blog" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/kgX_IJPOifs"&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;h2&gt;Conclusion&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Well we hope you learned a few things about Memes and how you can use it creatively in your marketing initiatives. We would love to hear your feedback on the use of Memes and what our readers think of it! Keep the comments rolling...&lt;/p&gt;
</description><link>http://www.gcds.com.au/RSSRetrieve.aspx?ID=8651&amp;A=Link&amp;ObjectID=324791&amp;ObjectType=56&amp;O=http%253a%252f%252fwww.gcds.com.au%252fblog%252fhow_to_use_memes_to_drive_social_enagement</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.gcds.com.au/blog/how_to_use_memes_to_drive_social_enagement</guid><pubDate>Wed, 30 Jan 2013 14:00:00 GMT</pubDate></item></channel></rss>