Are you using the same marketing tactics you were using five years ago? They probably won't work well with today's shifting demographics and preferences. The U.S. population is older, more multicultural, more time-pressed and more jaded toward overt sales pitches than ever before. And your marketing strategy should be built accordingly.

"Think globally, act locally" is the theme for entrepreneurs who are advertising online. Online ad spending is up as much as 33 percent over last year, according to marketing experts in the tri-state area.  Earlier this year, Google announced a new local advertising program linked to its map service and AdWords program, allowing businesses to drive some of Google's traffic to their brick-and-mortar locations.

Business owners should pay attention to any targeting that allows them to increase advertising efficiency by reaching users in their particular geographic area. Web sites utilizing multimedia such as videos, animated presentations and podcasts are essential elements in a web site to help advertisers reach very specific niche audiences. And with increased access to broadband and the falling cost of video production, Duet Productions, LTD highly recommends these features to its clients.