Home Wealth Project
Extensive Research On How To Build Wealth From The Comfort Of Your Own Home.
6 Ways SMBs Can Benefit From LinkedIn
Nov 9th
We talk a lot about how small business owners can use blogs, Facebook and Twitter to aid in lead generation, build awareness and grow their audiences. But one social network that doesn’t get quite the same love or attention is LinkedIn. Because of that, you may be surprised to know that LinkedIn has more than 1 million members, according to TalentHQ. Combine those numbers with LinkedIn’s reputation for being the ultimate professional social search engine, and suddenly SMBs start looking at LinkedIn the way they should be – like a social media goldmine.
How can you use LinkedIn to grow your SMB? Here are just a few neat ways.
1. Dramatically Grow Your Network
Unlike the other social networks, people swarm to LinkedIn for one reason – to connect with others for business-related reasons. They’re looking for future vendors or job prospects or a way to build a resume they can cash in on later. Because the mindset of a typical LinkedIn user is much more focused than, say, that of a Twitter user, LinkedIn is the perfect platform to reach out and connect for business reasons. As a small business owner, you can use LinkedIn to find vendors you can outsource things to, connect with others in your industry you can partner with down the road, and more. People are on LinkedIn with the sole purpose of connecting for business reasons. Take advantage of it.
2. Do Market Research
One reason to focus on building your network is so that you’re able to leverage it in the future for tasks just like this. Instead of spending the time and money to poll your customers or organize an in-person focus group, do it online. Poll your audience via LinkedIn Q&As to get their opinion on new product ideas, your current offerings, what they like about your brand, where you could use some improvement, etc. By taking advantage of LinkedIn Q&A or even posing questions via your LinkedIn status message, you’re able to pick your audience’s brain without spending a lot of money to do it.
3. Find New Hires
While you’re keeping tabs on people in your industry and using LinkedIn’s Advanced Search to track down people with the skills and experience of interest to you, keep your eyes open for potential new teammates and hires. I’m a really big fan of using LinkedIn to find hot local talent. If you haven’t used LinkedIn’s Advanced Search functionality before, you may be surprised to know that you’re able to search a number of criteria like keyword, years of experience, previous employers, etc, and then narrow that down by just a few miles from your location. Because of that, LinkedIn becomes the ultimate recruiting tool for business owners. If you have a position you’re looking to hire for, give LinkedIn a try.
4. Check In On Your Competitors
You’re looking into LinkedIn because you’re trying to build your network and keep potential prospects updated on what your business is up to. Guess what? So are your competitors! By keeping an eye on who they’re connecting with, who they’re leaving recommendations for and the projects they keep talking about in their status updates, you can actually learn a lot about what they’re working on and where their focus may be. You can also watch your competitors’ LinkedIn Company Page to stay updated on who’s been hired, who’s been fired and what job openings they’re currently showing.
5. Spot Industry Trends
Though it doesn’t get much attention, the Skills & Expertise search function on LinkedIn can help bloggers and business owners stay up to date on trends that may be happening in their market.
For example, by doing a search for [SEO], you can see who LinkedIn views as relevant to this niche, but you can also find interesting demographic and growth information located in the graph on the right side of the screen. You can see how quickly the area is growing compared to related fields, the average age of someone in that field, and how large it is. As a blogger, this helps me find noteworthy topics to blog about, but for business owners, this may alert you to changes in the market or new areas you may want to look into.
6. Build Your Online Reviews
You know how important it is to build up reviews of your business to show authority and relevance in the eyes of users and the search engines. But are you taking advantage of LinkedIn reviews? Because of how well LinkedIn pages rank, it’s likely that users are finding your LinkedIn profile when they do a search for your brand. And when they do, they’re looking for referrals and recommendations from people who have worked with you. What are you doing to make sure they’re finding the right information? Use the network you’re building to help create those positive referrals. Ask customers, vendors, partners, previous employers, etc., to recommend your business and share their experience with others.
Though LinkedIn may not be seen as the belle of the social media ball, it still provides some huge benefits for small business owners who take the time to explore it. Are you using LinkedIn as part of your social media campaign?
6 Ways SMBs Can Benefit From LinkedIn
View full post on Small Business News, Tips, Advice – Small Business Trends
Branding and Web Marketing For SMBs
Oct 14th
Branding and Web marketing go hand in hand these days. Are you using both for your small business. Below you’ll find resources in these topics and a variety of other issues for SMBs.
Web Basics
The simple way to avoid social media failures. With all the new emerging technology especially in the area of social media, it has become difficult not to make mistakes and have those mistakes exposed. The only real way to avoid failure in your social media exposure is to openly admit you mistakes. In the end you and your business will be judged by your transparency, honest, and credibility. Harvard Business Review
Plan Website improvements for the holidays now. With the holiday season rapidly approaching, your website will experience far more traffic which can translate into higher sales volume. The secret is in keeping you website up to date. The small business owner must recognize the seasonal changes in shopping patterns and also the changes in interests as customers begin their search for gifts. This article attempts to organize steps for the small business owner to take. Bloomberg BusinessWeek
Branding & SEO
Base your brand storytelling on perceived benefits. In marketing there is an old saying, “facts tell, stories tell.” This is just as true today as it was years ago. Customers do not purchase your products or services based on all the figures and facts you throw at them. What sells them on your product is being to identify with the product. You accomplish this by getting the person to see themselves using and enjoying the product through a story. Marketing Zeus
The 9 best SEO tools for small businesses. To drive traffic to your site, you must find a way to get to the top of the search engine results page. When operating on a tight budget, you don’t have the money to spend on the best SEO tools. There are good offsite and on site optimization tools that can be utilized within budget restraints. Small Biz Bee
Innovation & Influence
Overcome fear of failure and spark innovation. Do you recognize the fear of failure? Do you see it in yourself? Have you allowed it to become prevalent in your small business? Are your people too afraid of failure that they fail to take any risk that might lead to innovation? Cultivation, even at the risk of failure, must be cultivated for an organization to grow and prosper. Corp!
6 tips to build inbound links. A website may be simply to create an online presence or its use may be to build a small online business. Regardless of its desired use, it must be found before it serves any purpose. to accomplish this goal, you must have a sound SEO plan. The use of off-page SEO , attracting inbound links to your site, can yield benefits, but it is difficult since to a large degree it is out of your control. The article presents six tips on building inbound links. Technorati
Leads & Engagement
6 lead generation strategies for local businesses. Many small businesses mistakenly believe they can rely on their reputation and referrals for their local market sales. In today’s marketplace, with Internet sales, good marketing, and people no longer putting loyalty and service ahead of price, small businesses that fail to take a new approach to marketing will not grow. There are ways for local small businesses to increase their leads and sales without spending a lot of money on marketing. Small Business Trends
Navigating the best path of success in engaging customers. To attract customers and then to hold on to them under these economic conditions and with all the new social media options can be challenging. Communications must be user-friendly and be flexible enough to satisfy the individual needs of each customer as well as being informative for the entire customer base. Corp!
Closing Thoughts
Information overload: what do you really need to measure? In today’s small business world with all the available technology, we have been able to provide more information and statistics about the business than ever before. This presents a difficulty in deciding which information you need or don’t need, and which information needs to be looked at in more depth. Three tips are provided to help you analyze the data. Open Forum
Is e-mail marketing still better than social media? Social media is the most popular online marketing tool these days, but is it really the best. Some out this post about wy e-mail marketing may still belong in your small business tool box. What do you think? Are you still a big e-mail user when it comes to spreading the word. FixCourse
Branding and Web Marketing For SMBs
View full post on Small Business News, Tips, Advice – Small Business Trends
The SBA Reports Record Lending Volume, So Why Are SMBs Having A Hard Time Securing Loans?
Oct 12th
The Wall Street Journal reported in a widely read article that a number of banks used Small Business Lending Fund disbursements not for lending to entrepreneurs, but rather to repay TARP loans.
The story also includes findings that lending at local banks is up, but large banks are approving fewer loans than they have in years. Small banks approved 45.1 percent of loans for small companies in September. (In August, the figure was 43.8 percent and at the beginning of 2011 it was 43.5 percent.)
Meanwhile, big banks approved only 9.2 percent of small business loans, down from 9.35 percent in August. (In January, big banks approved 12.8 percent of small business loans.)
Additionally, the Small Business Administration (SBA) reported record loan approval volume in fiscal year 2011, spurred in part by the disbursement of money from the Small Business Lending Fund. Small business loans backed by the SBA reached the highest mark in the agency’s history: $30.5 billion (61,689 loans) to small businesses and startups. The FY 2011 figure surpasses the $28.5 billion mark established in FY 2007 before the recession and represents an increase from the $22.6 billion (60,771 loans) in FY 2010 and $17.9 billion (50,830 loans) in FY 2009.
The first quarter of 2011 was the most active single quarter ever ($12 billion) for SBA-backed loans — more than four times the dollar volume of Q1 2009 and more than double the volume of any quarter over the past four years. The catalysts were the loan enhancements provided under the Small Business Jobs Act, which allowed SBA to raise the guarantee on its 7(a) loans to 90 percent and waive fees on both of its popular 7(a) and 504 loans.
So if SBA lending has been so plentiful, why are there gaps in the marketplace and entrepreneurs who still desperately need access to capital?
1.) Big banks have tightened credit because they are more influenced by the weak global economy (while smaller banks think on a more local level and have increased their approval rates).
2.) Some Small Business Administration (SBA) figures are deceiving:
- The robust lending amounts represent a backlog. Banks had up to one year to close on SBA loans. They applied for fee-waivered funding with 90 percent loan guarantees for applications, but naturally some loans did not close. Banks’ figures were approved and they continued to grant loans under the SBA 7(a) program after the expiration date of March 31, 2011 (extended from Dec. 31, 2010). In essence, they stockpiled and are continuing to grant SBA loans (with fee waivers and 90 percent guarantees) well after the deadline.
- Big banks are misleading regulators. The larger banks are under pressure from the government to grant small business loans. They are counting renewals of lines of credit as new loans, but they are not giving money to startups. Since lines of credit often go unused, banks haven’t made much outlay at all! Banks are earning renewal fees, however. This is income with very little risk.
- Banks categorized loans of $2 million to $5 million under the SBA rubric. Meanwhile, small loans (under $250,000) have been hard to get. The smaller figures are likely being requested by startups. This explains why loan amounts are up, yet entrepreneurs still maintain that it is very difficult to get loans.
There are several lessons to be learned:
1.) The record volume of SBA loans illustrates a government program that is actually working. Although there are some issues, overall the agency is effective in getting funding into the hands of entrepreneurs.
2.) While it is always tempting for politicians to want to create new programs that they can call their own — President Obama’s so-called Infrastructure Bank, for example — we are better off encouraging and renewing initiatives that have proven to work, namely the fee waivers and the 90 percent loan guarantees.
3.) If you are a small business owner seeking capital, you are much more likely to receive funding from local or regional banks or alternative lenders such as credit unions, Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) such as Seedco Financial, and nonprofit microlenders, such as ACCION.
As we approach 2012 and the upcoming presidential election, expect to hear a lot more about the topic of small business lending in the news. Just how important is small business to the U.S. economy?
According to the SBA Office of Advocacy’s Research and Statistics, firms with fewer than 500 employees:
- represent 99 percent of all employer firms and provide jobs for over half of the nation’s private workforce;
- have generated nearly two-thirds of the new jobs over the past 15 years;
- pay 44 percent of total U.S. private payroll;
- hire 40 percent of high-tech workers (scientists, engineers, computer programmers, etc.);
- comprise 97 percent of all U.S. exporters; and
- produce 13 times more patents per employee than large firms.
The SBA Reports Record Lending Volume, So Why Are SMBs Having A Hard Time Securing Loans?
View full post on Small Business News, Tips, Advice – Small Business Trends
Should SMBs Blog to Customers or Colleagues?
Oct 6th
It’s a question that I’ve seen come up a lot: When you’re blogging for SEO, who are you writing for? Should you be aiming your content at your colleagues in the industry, or are you blogging for your customers? Obviously, both are worthy approaches, but which gets the best results?
Over at GeoLocalSEO, Steve Hatcher recently offered a strong opinion for why SMBs should be blogging for their peers, not for their customers. Today I thought I’d bring the other side of the argument, because I do think it’s a worthy discussion.
That said, I respectfully disagree with Steve. For a small business owner, I think your blogging investment is far better spent producing content for your customers, not for your colleagues in the industry.
Why? Below are a few reasons.
Your customers are performing searches.
When we encourage small business owners to start blogging, we talk to them about keyword research. We offer them advice on how to find out what types of queries their customers are entering as a way to understand what they want, what they’re looking for, and what types of needs the business can fill. Once you know what your customers need and what they’re looking for, you can make yourself the answer to their problem. For example, if you know that 300 potential customers a month are searching for [product name battery life], you can create content that addresses that concern or problem. You make it so that when they’re looking for authoritative content, they find you. That’s not keyword stuffing. That’s solving a problem.
You need to build authority with customers, not colleagues.
We know that there are more businesses blogging today than there are businesses not blogging today. And one of the main reasons so many companies have made the leap is because they know with more competitors, more noise and a tougher fight for visibility, small businesses need to differentiate themselves by establishing an authoritative voice in their market. While people looking for a locksmith may not spend all day trolling blogs about locksmiths or hanging out in locksmith forums (those exist, right?), they are going to do their due diligence before hiring someone. When they get a recommendation from a friend or when Google shows them the nearest locksmiths in their area, you’d better believe that user is going to do their homework and check the company website, the blog, the Twitter account, etc. This happens. This is how we vet companies now. And by creating that authority via your blog, you put yourself in a better position to get that customer.
You want to start conversations with customers, not colleagues.
Steve makes a worthy point in his post when he says that the people who comment on his SEO blog are other SEO experts, not people looking for services. And that’s often the case in the world of SEO and Internet marketing, but when you venture away from this circle I’d argue that it changes.
- Do you know who comments on blogs related to cooking and recipes? People who are interested in cooking and possibly buying your cookbook.
- Do you know who comments on active lifestyle blogs? People who may be in the market for a new kayak or a six-person tent.
- Who comments on blogs about cars and automotive issues? People who love cars and often spend their weekends working on theirs.
Those of us in the marketing world live in a very incestuous bubble. But “normal people” do not.
Your customers are checking for your pulse, no one else.
The Web is changing customer buying behaviors. Today customers go online to research companies on their own before they ever attempt to contact them about their product or service. They’re looking for signs of a pulse when they do this–signs that you can give them what they need but also that your company is human and relatable. One of the great things SMBs have been able to do through their blogs is to tell their stories and show their human side to an audience that’s waiting for it. They’ve been able to talk about how they got started, share what drives their passion, and introduce their customers to people on their team. This has helped them find customers and differentiate themselves from everyone else in your industry. Your colleagues probably don’t care why you love what you do or what drives you to get up every day. Your customers absolutely do.
As a small business owner, there are many different approaches to blogging that you can take. You can blog for your customers, the people you’re trying to attract to your website. Or you can blog to your colleagues. In my opinion, your time is better spent appealing to the first group. They’re the people searching for you, evaluating you, and coming to your site (and the search result pages) looking for helping solving problems. Speak to them.
What about you? Who is your blog content aimed at?
Should SMBs Blog to Customers or Colleagues?
View full post on Small Business News, Tips, Advice – Small Business Trends
More Events for SMBs and Entrepreneurs
Sep 11th
Every other week we compile a list of great events to help you with your business. The following Small Business Events Guide is worth a close look:
******
Small Business Influencer 2011 Awards
September 13, 2011, New York City
Please join us as we celebrate the top 100 Small Business Influencers of 2011 at the official awards ceremony and reception on September 13, 2011 in New York City, brought to you by BlackBerry, Infusionsoft and Sage.
Don’t miss this fun, high energy evening as we recognize some of the most influential people and companies in the small business community. You’ll have the opportunity to meet Small Business Influencer nominees and judges, network with other small business owners, and win some fabulous prizes. Space is limited so register early!
25th Anniversary Entrepreneurial Woman’s Conference, Women’s Business & Buyers Mart
September 14, 2011, Chicago
The oldest conference and business opportunities fair for women in business in the country, this is the premier event for women business owners in the Midwest.
This year’s conference offers women business owners solutions to the current problems they are facing and the opportunity to increase the profitability of their businesses by building relationships with corporate and government buyers, business experts and other women business owners.
What Small Businesses MUST Know About Their Website Analytics
September 14, 2011, Webinar
Our guest expert this month is Pierre DeBois of Zimana. In this live session Pierre will discuss the importance of tracking website analytics for small business owners, and attendees will walk away with tips and tools that they can implement immediately. We’ll discuss:
- Why small businesses must know their website analytics
- How to get started
- Which data are the most important to track and what they tell you
- What are some best practices and tools to use
- Where social media fits in and more
This live webinar will be recorded and available afterward to all registered attendees.
September 15-16, 2011, Salt Lake City
Touchpoint is the premiere event for women entrepreneurs, where practical planning meets sky-high inspiration, networking fuels momentum, and high impact strategies are the most coveted party favor.
The 5th Annual event features two days of keynote speakers and panels, as well as plenty of opportunities to network. Topics range from “Making Meaning in Your Business and Contributing to the World,” to how to bootstrap your startup, to how to crush QVC. Enjoy a concert by Jessie Clark Funk, and a Sparkle & Shine Spa Party, featuring manicures and massages. For $25 off, use the following code when registering: ANITA.
Brooklyn Business Expo 2011
September 20, 2011, Brooklyn
The Brooklyn Business Expo will bring together the brightest business leaders from the most dynamic companies throughout Brooklyn and the adjoining counties. The Brooklyn Business Expo provides an environment for businesses to enhance their relationships, research the market for the leading products and services, and learn about the latest best business practices. This will be the largest business-to-business expo in Brooklyn.
Superhero Business Summit
September 20-21, 2011, Albuquerque, NM
Two day, intensive executive training programs that will arm you with the tools to develop and run an efficient and successful small business. Get the tools to defeat the common villains that run businesses into the ground and arm you with the knowledge to soar above the competition.
The New York Enterprise Report Small Business Awards
September 21, 2011, New York City
The New York Enterprise Report Small Business Awards is the annual awards program honoring the achievements and accomplishments of the 500,000-plus small businesses throughout the tri-state area. In its sixth year, the Awards Gala–which sold out in 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010–attracts more than 400 business owners and executives and is often referred to as “the networking event of the year.” Don’t miss the chance to do business with the “who’s who” of the New York small business community.
Winning Strategies
September 21, 2011, Miami Beach
This full-day conference event will show you how with proven tactics to impact virtually every aspect of your business. From start to finish, discover insightful ideas, straightforward solutions and fresh perspectives with over half-a-dozen business strategists and experts leading the way.
2011 Internet Marketing Association Awards Event
Thursday September 22, 2011
The IMA’s annual Internet Marketing Awards event will spotlight top industry work, along with world-class speakers who will address cutting edge trends and contemporary topics.
How Small Businesses Can Do Very Big Things With Technology
September 22, 2011, New York City
If you’re looking for help in using technology in your business join us as the next Taste of Technology Series.
In this 2 hour session, YOU are the focus. We’ll spend 2 hours (from 6 – 8pm) hearing your questions and providing answers. There is no agenda but YOUR business. Frustrated with email? Scared about hackers stealing your data? Clueless about Twitter? We’ll help.
Join Ramon Ray, Editor & Technology Evangelist of Smallbiztechnology.com as he helps your business use technology as a tool to further grow your business.
Inc. 500/5000 Conference & Awards Ceremony
September 22-24, 2011, National Harbor, MD
The Inc. 500 | 5000 Conference and Awards Ceremony celebrates the revered Inc. ranking of the fastest-growing privately held companies in America. The momentous event brings together current Inc. 5000 honorees and alumni of the list, along with the greater business community, to recognize the remarkable achievements of these companies and the great contributions they have made to the global economy.
Small Business Technology Tour
September 27 – Mountain View, CA
October 12 – Salt Lake City
October 18 – Boston
November 2 – Atlanta
November 10 – Chicago
Smallbiztechnology.com is excited to bring you the second annual Small Biz Tech Tour. This event is a full day of information, insight, energy and fun.
- Attendees will learn:
- How to boost sales with website analytics
- How smart companies are using mobile technology to be more productive
- Why many small businesses are not getting results with social media and what you must do
- How to stop selling and start publishing content for more sales
- Why websites and email marketing are not dead, and how to get the most out of yours
- How local companies are getting more local customers using technology
- How to increase sales by segmenting your customers
The Summit for Women in Business
October 6-9, 2011, Pigeon Forge, TN
The Summit for Women in Business is providing and showing you how to implement the needed strategies and tools to remain competitive and current within today’s evolving business climate. Created by women business owners for women business owners, this Summit is designed for SOHO (Small Office/Home Office) entrepreneurs, independent and self-employed professionals.
Western Mass Business Expo
October 18, 2011, Springfield, MA
As the region’s business publication, The Business Journal of Western Massachusetts believes the businesses and communities that comprise Western Massachusetts should be represented at a region-wide trade show to better promote buying and doing business locally. The day begins with breakfast at 7:30 followed by the Expo’s official opening at 9 a.m. and will feature seminars, speakers, lunch and a high-energy, end-of-day networking event featuring music, food and drink.
Media and Entertainment Investing Conference
October 27, 2011, Coral Gables, FL
Sponsored by The Launch Pad at the University of Miami, this conference will cover trends in early-stage investing, the factors that are most important to Investors when they are considering an investment, the best and worst things an entrepreneur can do to get investors’ attention, strategies to grow their businesses, additional advice for entrepreneurs and, of course, the best ways to reach these and other investors.
Fast Company Innovation Uncensored
November 2, 2011, San Francisco
A mixed agenda format will offer attendees a variety of ways to engage with and employ the innovative ideas that come from the scintillating content and unexpected environment.
The event content is aimed toward anyone who thinks of themselves as an innovative business leader including but not limited to the fields of technology, design, marketing, entertainment, venture capitalism, energy, infrastructure, non-
BlogWorld & New Media Expo
November 3-5, 2011, Los Angeles
BlogWorld & New Media Expo is the first and only industry-wide conference, tradeshow and media event dedicated to blogging, podcasting, social media, social networking, online video, music, Internet TV and radio. BlogWorld conference attendees enjoy more than 120 cutting-edge educational sessions presented by leading bloggers, podcasters and content creators, while the New Media Expo provides the only industry-wide new media marketplace for networking, online business and marketing resources.
Register with the promo code SBTVIP20 to save 20% off any conference pass, or use code SBTVIP50 to save 50% off Expo Passes (which include access to the Exhibit hall as well as all keynotes and parties, just like the conference passes).
Recession Proof Sales Training Seminar
November 7, 2011, Woodridge, Ontario
Recession proof your career with this sales training seminar. You will learn how to increase sales, effective communication, customer retention, marketing strategies and how to attract new customers. Location: Paramount Conference and Event Venue, in Vaughan – minutes north of Toronto, Ontario.
Social Media Makeover Forum at Digital Atlanta 2011
November 8, 2011, Atlanta
This half-day, innovative business conference will take place during Digital Atlanta 2011 – a week-long (November 7-11) calendar of events that will focus on the digital and social media scene in Atlanta. The SMB Social Media Makeover Forum will feature three panels of social media experts from leading brands and agencies. These experts will provide advice to three small and mid-sized businesses who will be selected for social media makeovers.
America’s Small Business Summit 2012
May 21-23, 2012, Washington, DC
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s annual event—America’s Small Business Summit—unites small business owners, managers, and entrepreneurs from across the country to learn, network, and discuss common legislative and management concerns. Past speakers include former President George W. Bush, former General Stanley McCrystal, Small Business Editor of the WSJ Colleen DeBaise, and many more. Attendees help influence our nation’s economic and political agenda by advocating for pro-business policies through the Rally on the Hill portion of the program. The event will take place at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, D.C., on May 21-23, 2012. For more information and important dates, check the Summit website, www.uschambersummit.com.
To find more small business events, contests and awards, visit the Small Business Events Calendar.
If you are putting on a small business event or contest, and want to get the word out, please submit it through our Events & Contests Submission Form (it’s free). Only events of interest to small business people, freelancers and entrepreneurs will be included.
Brought to you as a community service by Small Business Trends and Smallbiztechnology.com.
More Events for SMBs and Entrepreneurs
View full post on Small Business News, Tips, Advice – Small Business Trends
47 Percent of SMBs Still Not Using Social Media. Oy.
Aug 25th
Hiscox, a small business insurance company, recently published a survey of 304 small business leaders to find out more about their social media use. Somewhat shockingly (at least to me), only 12 percent of respondents described social media promotion as a “must” for their businesses, with 47 percent of SMBs admitting that they still don’t use social media at all for business purposes. However, they are still hooked on word of mouth marketing, with 50 percent of SMBs saying they couldn’t live without it.
Hmm, I guess social media, that place where people sign on to talk about your business, doesn’t count as “word of mouth marketing.”
For those who do use social media, 19 percent say Facebook is their platform of choice, 15 percent prefer LinkedIn and just 4 percent are hooked on Twitter.
Buy why aren’t more business owners hopping on the social media bandwagon? When asked how they felt about social media, 24 percent said they simply didn’t have time to participate, while another 14 percent admitted they don’t know enough about it to get started.
That sound you just heard? That was my heart breaking.
While the education component acknowledges a natural learning curve, it is one that small business owners will need to overcome and tackle if they want to compete in the digital age. With more than 100 million users on LinkedIn, 500+ million users on Facebook and 200+ million users on Twitter, your audience is waiting for you to get involved. Your customers are on social media, which means you need to be, as well. And though the tools are new and can be intimidating until you find your legs, the core of social media isn’t much more than just talking to people. More specifically, social media is about talking to your customers. You need to make time to do that
And that really is the most important component – making time.
While speaking at the Hudson Valley 140 conference yesterday, I was asked how it is I have time to tweet and engage in social media, while still finding time to run a business. The answer is both easy and incredibly difficult:
I plan for it and I schedule it in my day.
I asked other small business owners (via Twitter) how they’re able to make it work, and their answers weren’t too different from my own:
- They schedule it in.
- They multitask, talking to people on social media while they watch television or perform other tasks.
- They use tools like Seesmic and Hootsuite to make their social interactions more productive.
- Bottom line: Social media is now part of everything they do.
Whether you realize it or not, social media is important to your small business. It’s giving you the opportunity to maximize the same word of mouth marketing that SMBs have relied on for years and that 50 percent of respondents said they couldn’t live without. It gives you the opportunity to grow bigger wings by making your brand more accessible, more visible and more authoritative simply by showing up and engaging. For SMBs who are often on a tight budget, the cost-effective tools associated with social media often provide an opportunity they can’t get elsewhere.
But that does take a time investment.
What do you think? Are you surprised that just 12 percent of SMB owners view social media as vital to their business? What social media tools do you most often rely on to do your SMB marketing? Conversely, what’s stopped you from getting involved in social media and what would make you change your mind?
47 Percent of SMBs Still Not Using Social Media. Oy.
View full post on Small Business News, Tips, Advice – Small Business Trends
4 Big Social Media Mistakes SMBs Make
Jul 28th
When a small business owner comes to me experiencing frustration with social media, I admit, I’m a little confused. Why? Because I can’t help but think that small business owners are the segment of the business population that is most suited for social media success. I mean, who knows how to talk to their audience better than a small business owner? Who understands customers’ needs better than a small business owner? Who lives and breathes the same everyday struggles? No one.
But then I realize that that’s not where small business owners find themselves in trouble. The trouble spots for SMBs are much different. Often they’re in the implementation of social media.
Below are four social media mistakes common to small business owners and how you can maneuver around them. Because once you do, you’ve got this social media thing down.
1. They don’t build a unified presence.
Social media doesn’t work when it exists as its own island or when it’s fragmented from everything else you’re doing. In order to truly benefit, your marketing campaigns should work together. For example, your website should support what you’re doing on Twitter, which should support what you’re doing on YouTube, which should support what you’re doing on your website. Creating a unified presence helps customers to trust your brand, to find the information they’re looking for, and to pick the form of engagement that makes most sense for them. If you’re using Twitter but not connecting it to anything else you’re doing, you may be causing your customers to question if that account really belongs to you or if they’re supposed to be engaging with you there. Customers want to get the same “feeling” from all your touch points. If your presence isn’t unified, you may be sending them mixed signals.
2. They’re not connecting with customers.
I don’t mean emotionally, I mean physically. One of the biggest mistake I see small business owners make with social media is that they log on to talk to people, to share what they’re doing, to gripe about something that ruined their day, but they’re not proactively connecting with potential customers. They’re not taking advantage of Twitter’s Advanced Search features that allow you to search by ZIP code, hashtag, sentiment or combination of keywords. They’re not getting more out of their Facebook status updates by targeting content to a particular area or interest group.
If you’re a pizzeria located in Columbus, Ohio, you should be using Twitter’s Advanced Search to find people in your area talking about how they want pizza for dinner. When you find them, invite them to come try your pizzeria instead of spending another boring night ordering in from one of the larger chains. There are ways to be a proactive business in social media. These are the opportunities SMBs should be seeking out.
3. They don’t use tools.
No. I am not suggesting that you automate your social media presence, but there are tools out there that you can use to make social media more manageable and to help it fit into your day.
For example, a tool like HootSuite can help you schedule tweets in advance so that you can share posts without being present. It will also allow you to manage multiple accounts (personal + professional) and sync your Twitter and Facebook updates so you can post at both locations with one button.
Creating Saved Searches on Twitter can help you find quick brand or keyword mentions that you should be watching and responding to so you don’t miss any important conversations. It can also help you find users in your area who tweet about topics you’re interested in.
Services like Tweepz or Twitter Grader are also good platforms for finding relevant users to follow and start conversations with.
Using these tools can help small business owners do more, faster, by putting them in touch with the users they want to connect with and helping them quickly find conversations to participate in.
4. They don’t empower employees.
I see a lot of small business owners experimenting with social media. However, I don’t see that many small business employees participating in social media. I’m not sure whether their bosses are discouraging it or whether they just don’t think to encourage it. However, as the owner of a business of any size, it’s up to you to empower your employees to use social media. Your customers want to hear from them. They want to hear their stories, learn their names, and get to know their voices. If this is done correctly, your employees can become great advocates for your company and help you build awareness and trust among a larger audience. But first you have to let them. That means teaching employees how to properly engage, giving them guidelines for that interaction, and then trusting them to represent your brand properly.
Those are four mistakes I see common to social media. What am I missing or where do you find yourself struggling?
4 Big Social Media Mistakes SMBs Make
View full post on Small Business News, Tips, Advice – Small Business Trends
New List of Contests and Awards for SMBs
Jul 10th
This list of contests, competitions and awards for small businesses is brought to you every other week as a community service by Small Business Trends and Smallbiztechnology.com.
If you’ve entered and won a contest or award listed here, let me know so we can share your news.
-
* * * * *
HP Smart Color Sweepstakes
Enter by July 13, 2011
HP is giving away an HP Printer each day until July 13th, and one grand prize winner will win $10,000. Answer the question “What would your business do with $10,000?”
See website for entry details.
Flights. Camera. Action. Video Upload Contest
Enter by July 15, 2011
Success is in the air! Upload a short video about how flying benefits your business – and you could win up to 50 tickets for your company and exposure to thousands of potential customers. The first 200 businesses to upload a video online will also receive 300 Business ExtrAA points. See website for entry rules and details. Sponsored by American Airlines and SCORE.
Forbes List of America’s Most Promising Companies
Enter by July 15, 2011
For the second year Forbes is assembling a list of dynamic, privately held businesses with truly scintillating growth prospects—the kind of companies investors love to bet on, customers love to buy from, and talented employees love to work for. All industries and geographies are welcome. The best will earn a spot on Forbes’ ranking of America’s Most Promising Companies. That means serious exposure—to customers, investors and talented job applicants. Enter by completing this survey.
pbSmart Connections Small Business Makeover Contest
Enter by July 19, 2011
Pitney Bowes wants to give your business a communications makeover. This national contest was designed to help small businesses improve customer communications to better position themselves for growth. Five Grand Prize winners will receive a customer communications plan makeover, valued at $10,000. The Grand Prize winners will receive a full-day consultation and planning session with renowned small business experts. Together with a team of Pitney Bowes communication specialists, the experts will assess each Grand Prize winner’s existing communications and provide custom coaching to develop a program that suits their unique needs. They will also receive one year of free access to the pbSmart suite of customer communications tools, including pbSmartPostage, cloud-based postage for shipping and mailing, and pbSmart Connections for email marketing. In addition, 20 First Prize winners will receive one year of free access to the pbSmart suite of products, valued at $2,500, and have their businesses featured as part of the pbSmart Essentials online community.
Make Your Small Business Fly Contest
Enter by July 20, 2011
Join Virgin America’s free corporate rewards program, Elevate, Inc., and enter to win 2 free roundtrip tickets to any Virgin America destination and a Samsonite luggage set.
10th Annual Chicago Innovation Awards
Enter by July 31, 2011
To be eligible for a Chicago Innovation Award, the product, service or company nominated must be:
- Introduced within the past three years, and
- Headquartered in the greater Chicago region, including the northern half of Illinois, southern Wisconsin, and northwest Indiana.
Through many events occurring throughout the year, the Chicago Innovation Awards not only recognize nominees and winners, but also provide valuable business networking and development opportunities; learning experiences through mentoring, scholarships and panel discussions; and educational courses in innovation.
Recycle Your Business Cell Phone Apple iPad2 Giveaway
Enter by July 31, 2011
e-Cycle’s Apple iPad2 Earth Day Giveaway was such a success, we are giving companies another opportunity to win simply by recycling your company cell phones. Businesses and organizations that recycle and/or sell their used mobile devices and cell phones through e-Cycle from now through July 31 will be entered into a random drawing for the chance to win one of four Apple iPad2s.
The Conway Center for Family Business Awards
Enter by August 4, 2011
The Conway Center for Family Business Awards Program was established in 1998 to recognize excellence in family business and has honored more than 115 Central Ohio family businesses.
The program honors recipients in categories consistent with the success and longevity of a family business: leadership, planning, communication, support and community service. For more details, see the website.
Avaya Small Business Innovators Contest
Enter by August 30, 2011
Do you have an idea that will change the way your business serves your customers? Innovation is the engine that makes every business more productive and helps it to grow. To enter Avaya’s Small Business Innovators contest, fill out their ROI tool and send them the results. Include how you would spend the savings over the next five years to innovate new ways to serve your customers, staff and suppliers. Grand prize of $50,000 worth of IP Office equipment and software and $5,000 cash. Five runner up prizes of $10,000 worth of IP Office equipment and software.
Supreme Studio Makeover Contest
Enter by August 31, 2011
MacMall’s second annual Supreme Studio Makeover Contest features $26K in total tech prizes for small businesses and creative studios, including highly sought after products such as: Maya 2012, Adobe CS5.5, HP Designjet large format printers, an HP 24″ DreamColor monitor, Microsoft Office for Mac and Apple Time Capsule storage units.
Cleantech Open Idea Competition
Enter by September 12, 2011
The Cleantech Open runs the world’s largest clean technology business competition, and they’re looking for the best clean technology ideas from around the world.
Enter to win a prize package of services worth $100,000 to help you start a business to grow your idea. If your idea beats out the competition in the National Competition, you get to represent your country as a Global Ideas finalist at the annual Cleantech Open Awards Gala on November 17, 2010 in San Francisco. There, your idea will be presented in a five-minute pitch in front of a crowd of 2,500 investors, entrepreneurs, sponsoring companies, corporations, members of academia, press, and others interested in hearing your ideas and getting involved. The crowd will vote via text message for the “People’s Choice” winner.
Women Who Mean Business 2011
Enter by September 16, 2011
The Washington Business Journal announces the eighth annual Women Who Mean Business awards program. This award is designed to honor the region’s most influential business women. We’re looking for women from every industry and profession; women who’ve made a difference in their communities, blazed a trail for the rest of us and are leaving a mark on the Washington-area community.
Nominees must be female residents of the Washington area who are employed in the region.
A nominee should be an established business leader with a strong record of innovation in her field, outstanding performance in her business and/or a clear track record of meaningful community involvement.
To find more small business events, contests and awards, visit our Small Business Events Calendar.
If you are putting on a small business contest, award or competition, and want to get the word out to the community, please submit it through our Small Business Event and Contests Form (it’s free).
Please note: The descriptions provided here are for convenience only and are NOT the official rules. ALWAYS read official rules carefully at the site holding the competition, contest or award.
New List of Contests and Awards for SMBs
View full post on Small Business News, Tips, Advice – Small Business Trends
5 More SEO Strategies for SMBs to Avoid
Jun 8th
Toward the end of last year I shared six common SEO mistakes that small business often fall victim to and how they could avoid them. As there are obviously more than six mistakes that often plague our websites, I thought today we’d dig into a few more. I mean, sure, let your competitors keep making the same old mistakes, but let’s make you better, right?
Right.
Below are five more search engine optimization strategies for small business owners to be aware of and avoid.
Targeting the keywords your competitors are: For a small business owner unsure of which keywords are important to their business or what phrases they should be optimizing their content for, it makes sense to go into your competitor’s Keyword tag and raid whatever they’ve got in there. And, to some degree, it’s not a bad idea. Being aware of what terms your competitors are going after can alert you to phrases you may not have considered or give you insight into their marketing strategy. However, that’s differently than blindly targeting all of their keywords you see. Just because someone in the same field is going after a particular term, doesn’t mean it will convert for you or that it makes sense to your business. It also doesn’t mean that term is working for them. Definitely do some competitive intelligence to see what they’re doing, but know why it is you’re targeting the terms you select. You can’t simply pick up someone’s SEO strategy just like you can’t copy their entire marketing plan.
Building links only to the homepage: When you’re thinking up link building strategies for your Web site, consider your whole Web site, not just your homepage. When a user does a Web search, you want them to find the most relevant page on your site. As your home page will tend to focus on more general topics and keywords that may not be the page you want a searcher to land on. If they’re looking for knee-high boots, you want them to land on your page specifically about knee-high boots, not a page that talks about boots, tops, accessories and luggage. In order for that to happen you need to build keyword-targeted links to that page so that Google knows that’s the most relevant page on your site for that search.
Reciprocal linking: I’m surprised this is still an issue in 2011, but I still see it getting small business owners in trouble. All those emails you receive as a business owner that go something like, “I’ll link to you if you link to me” should be immediately deleted. Right now. Reciprocal linking is not something your small business should get involved with – it’s detectable to the search engines and it’s often not going to provide a good user experience for your audience. It’s worth noting that linking to someone who also links to you, is not a bad practice. But participating in schemes for links is.
The index with useless pages: When you were a kid, you couldn’t wait to be a grown up. And when you’re a scrappy startup, you can’t wait to become a big brand. One way some small business owners will attempt to appear bigger is to create bigger sites by writing endless amounts of shallow content. This has never been a good strategy, however, with the release of Google’s Panda update, it’s an even worse idea. The Panda update released by Google did not take too kindly on sites that either have a large number of low quality pages or that had too many duplicate pages. When it comes to creating content, it’s really important to remember that it’s quality, not quantity that both users and Google are looking for. Do keyword research to find what users are looking for and then craft content that addresses those concerns in a thought-out and knowledgeable way. Don’t create pages just for the sake of it. Before it was just bad practice, now it can actually hurt your site.
Splitting your SEO efforts among multiple domains: As a small business owner, you’re typically going to be better served keeping all of your SEO efforts onto one domain. If you’re creating an event, a training seminar or some type of course, you don’t need to create another site to showcase those efforts. Instead, create a separate section on your existing site for that content to rest. Splitting up your efforts too much can distract from your ranking goals, diluting your link popularity, your focus, and your users.
Above are five more SEO mistakes small business owners should be on the lookout for to prevent making them on their own sites. What mistakes have you learned and grown for? You can share. This is a safe zone.
5 More SEO Strategies for SMBs to Avoid
View full post on Small Business News, Tips, Advice – Small Business Trends
How Social Media Lets SMBs Work Faster
May 19th
When talking to small business owners about social media, the argument I hear most often for their lack of involvement is they “don’t have time.” SMB owners are notoriously busy, known for wearing multiple hats, juggling responsibilities and working long hours. I understand that. And that’s exactly why you should be investing in social media. Because social media can help you perform tasks vital to the growth and success of your business faster and better than traditional means.
What am I talking about? Below are five common stressors for SMBs that they can accomplish faster and better through social media than without it.
1. Building Awareness
Everything starts here for a small business. Bigger brands already have this. People know they exist. Sometimes their names are even synonymous with the product they sell (right, Kleenex?). But that’s not the case for a small business owner. We have to build awareness before we can cash in on it. In the past, that meant running a lot of expensive promotions, it meant giving away a lot of free products and, even worse, it meant a lot of time being ignored. With social media, the playing field gets just a bit more level. Armed with tools like Twitter Search, Twellow, We Follow, Tweepz and others, you can find your audience without waiting for them to find you. You can be proactive about your marketing, connect with the people who should know about your business, and put yourself on their radar. Now the ball is firmly in your court.
2. Customer Support
When you have your ear to the ground it allows you to react quickly, and nowhere is this more important than in customer service. Business owners spend a lot of time on the phone or in email responding to disgruntled customers and dealing with support issues — often the same issues over and over. By engaging in social media you give yourself the opportunity to react faster, before a small problem becomes a big one, and to easily point people to resources designed to quickly resolve their problems. Social media also puts you into the conversation at an earlier stage and lets others see how committed you are to making things right.
3. Staying Top of Mind
Businesses are always trying to stay top of mind for customers. We want them to remember us when they’re on the hunt for services. And that’s where social media comes in. Interacting with customers via social media helps them remember you exist. It doesn’t matter if you’re specifically talking about a deal you’re running or if you’re just sharing what you’re up to. Seeing your face, your product or your logo keeps your brand in the forefront of their brains and helps them remember it’s been too long since they visited your restaurant for dinner. The simple act of engaging, regardless of what you’re saying, can give customers a reason to come check you out.
4. Competitor Research
To stay competitive, small business owners need to always keep an eye on what their competitors are doing. Staying abreast of the competition’s movements will help you spot trends, pinpoint new opportunities and clue you in to what other people in your industry are doing or looking at. In the past, this required a lot of listening in, eavesdropping and guesswork. Now? Now it means doing some twit-stalking, blog-stalking and monitoring conversations about your industry and your biggest competition. By following conversations happening about your competitors, you can put down that rusty tin can on a string and listen from the comfort of your own home.
5. Networking With Colleagues
If it takes a village to raise a child, it at least takes a small town to grow a business. And social media makes that town seem just a bit more intimate by connecting you with the people who can really help your business. Through my own personal social media use, I’ve interacted with future business partners, found guest blogging opportunities, and been introduced to some really interesting people and companies. This connection is something many small business owners never had before. They’re not left feeling as fragmented and disconnected as they once were, thanks to not only places like Twitter, but also communities like BizSugar.
If you’re a business owner who has always felt like you didn’t have time for social media, I’d ask you to turn that statement around. It’s not about finding the time to add something else into your day, it’s about using a new tool to do what you’ve always done, only faster.
How Social Media Lets SMBs Work Faster
View full post on Small Business News, Tips, Advice – Small Business Trends
