If you're a fan of AMC's hit drama "Mad Men," you might have an understanding of how the balance of power worked for advertising in the '60s. The biggest companies with the deepest marketing budgets ruled the advertising space across all mediums. Because that space — television, radio, print — was controlled by so few, Main Street just couldn't possibly compete with Wall Street.

Today, however, businesses have far more tools at their disposal. Not only do these tools give smaller businesses more access to a broader audience, but the methods are infinitely more affordable, as well.

Every small business owner wants to grow their businesses, but it isn't always easy to identify the right opportunity. Before a large corporation makes any sort of decision, they spend numerous hours and thousands of dollars on market research. Don't let that scare you off though, as having a small budget doesn't mean you have to skip the research phase altogether.

With a wide variety of inexpensive primary research tools available online, it is simple conduct your own survey. Done correctly, sending out a survey to current and potential customers can be a great way to unlock insights and determine a path for your business. While you may think you know what your customers really want, you may be surprised by what you can find out if you give them a chance to provide their input.

With the proliferation of social networks and profiles, comment systems and discussion forums, and other online services, creating an account for ourselves is now second-nature. What is not yet second-nature is an understanding of just how important your profile pic really is. If you're using a website or service for personal use, you can certainly feel free to upload whatever image you want and go about your day. If you're there for business though, think again.

Daughters, sons and husbands spent about $18 billion on Mother's Day gifts in 2012, and a quarter of them shopped online, according to MSN Money. Needless to say, merchants are doing everything they can this year, too, to get a piece of this pie. Many gift sellers have implemented digital marketing campaigns to target online audiences in particular. Here are some highlights:

Zales

The jewelry giant is using a multi-pronged approach for its electronic marketing campaign. Zales' website and social media outlets are all being used to direct customers to buy at Zales, according to Adweek. Facebook is the anchor for the campaign this year, but changes have been made. Now, the Facebook page is positioned as a destination instead of merely redirecting viewers to Zales' main site.

We all know that a picture is worth a thousand words. Businesses have been advised for a long time now to include images of their business on their various profiles, including Google+ Local. That's the profile that interested customers see when they look up your business using Google Maps. What, then, is a complete Virtual Tour worth to a business? Two thousand words? A million?

Google Maps now lets businesses create their own virtual tours right through the site. Google has established relationships with photographers in your area that will come in and work with you to photograph and create the entire experience. The virtual tours work much the same way Google Maps Street View works, allowing the viewer to pan and zoom at will. Read more »

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After working really hard to get your business up and running, the last thing you need is to lose money. Whether you own a new business or are already established, you are always trying to attract new customers. There are many ways in which you can attempt to boost your sales but unfortunately many of the most successful methods are expensive and still don’t guarantee a good income.