Top 10 Marketing Books for Small Business Owners

Unlike big business owners, small business owners have the burden of taking care of every single aspect of their business - recruitment, marketing, finance, accounts, managing employees to managing vendors, and so forth. But here we focused only on books that can help you gain marketing knowledge and skills. Here are the top 10 books on marketing which we believe are helpful for new as well as established small business owners.

Book # 1: The New Rules of Marketing & PR - David Meerman Scott

In the new marketing scenario, the methods such as ad copy, etc. do not bring results for your business. With the popularity of smartphones and other devices and proliferation of the Internet, new methods, rules, etc. of marketing have evolved. This book discusses the importance and benefits of using such techniques.

David M Scott provides fresh examples of success from various industries and businesses across the world. He highlights the new tools and techniques that marketers should use to communicate with their buyers directly - Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and YouTube. In short, this book is a guide that offers actionable strategies and insider tips that can be implemented immediately.

Book # 2: Word of Mouth Marketing: How Smart Companies Get People Talking - Andy Sernovitz

This book by Andy Sernovitz emphasizes the use of word of mouth marketing for businesses. The book elaborates purpose of blogs, social media, viral emails, etc. - when to use them and how to make them work.

Word of mouth is an effective tool to share information quickly and easily to promote businesses. It is an effective tool that can promote your business via your customers, friends and relations.

Book # 3: Guerrilla Marketing: Easy and Inexpensive Strategies for Making Big Profits from Your Small Business - Jay Conrad Levinson

This book furnishes strategies for Internet marketing, tips on using technology like pod-casting and automated marketing, programs for targeting prospects, cultivating repeat, referral business, management lessons in the age of telecommuting and freelance employees, etc. - exclusively for small businesses.

Book # 4: Duct Tape Marketing: The World's Most Practical Small Business Marketing Guide - John Jantsch

John Jantsch is a well-known expert in small business marketing. In the book, he discusses all the proven tools and tactics together in a step-by-step marketing system. This road map helps small business owners in knowing what they need to do to market their businesses.

Book # 5: Smarter, Faster, Cheaper: Non-Boring, Fluff-Free Strategies for Marketing and Promoting Your Business - David Siteman Garland

This book provides strategies for building, marketing and promoting businesses. These techniques are smarter, faster, cheaper and therefore save your time and money. The book is equally helpful for start-ups as well as those who are already in the market for sometime.

Book # 6: Marketing Shortcuts for the Self-Employed: Leverage Resources, Establish Online Credibility and Crush Your Competition - Patrick Schwerdtfeger

This book provides effective practical strategies and tactics - a complete tool kit to use resources sensibly, to establish online credibility. If you apply these strategies, you can get good results for your business within a brief span of time.

Book # 7: Ultimate Small Business Marketing Guide - James Stephenson

This book is an essential guide for every business owner. James Stephenson presents in this book 1500 great marketing ideas that are sure to boost your sales revenue, profits and customer loyalty and also to help you stay ahead of your competitors.

Book # 8: Web Marketing for Small Businesses: 7 Steps to Explosive Business Growth - Stephanie Diamond

Marketing for small businesses was difficult in the past. But today, it is not the case. Web marketing enables small businesses to take advantage of marketing opportunities and win new customers.

The book 'Web Marketing for Small Businesses: 7 Steps to Explosive Business Growth' focuses on different ways of marketing with a detailed strategy to put them into action. The main content of the book comprises checklists - niche, brand, story, search, content, social media tactics, traditional tactics and results. This book helps you implement web marketing strategies.

Book # 9: Likeable Social Media: How to Delight Your Customers, Create an Irresistible Brand, and Be Generally Amazing on Facebook - Dave Kerpen

This book is a key to unlock the door to new opportunities. It tells you about how to build brand awareness by engaging customers in social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter and other social media networking sites.

Book # 10: 500 Social Media Marketing Tips: Essential Advice, Hints and Strategy for Business: Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google+, YouTube, Instagram, LinkedIn, and More!

Business Intelligence, The Key To Company Success

Business Intelligence (BI) is the ability to transform data into information and information into knowledge, so as to optimize the business decision-making process. A set of strategies and tools focused on knowledge creation and management through the analysis of existing data from an organization or business.

From the point of view of information technology, we can say that BI is a set of methodologies, applications and technologies that allow a business to the group and transform the data obtained from structured information systems to do analysis and information generation and improving the process decision-making of the business. It covers both current understanding of the functioning of the business as well as an anticipation of future events, in order to provide a body of knowledge to support business decisions.

Referring to business intelligence, we can differentiate the concepts of data, information and knowledge. Data is something that is vague, for example, the number 10, while the information is more accurate, such as April sales were 10. Finally, knowledge is obtained by analyzing the information.

Data are the minimum semantic unit and are the primary elements of information. These alone are irrelevant to the decision-making process. A phone number or a name of a person are examples of data.

The data can come from external or internal company sources, can be objective or subjective, qualitative or quantitative.

Moreover, the information can be defined as a set of processed data, which are relevant and have a purpose and context. The information is useful for decision-making, as it allows reducing uncertainty. The data is transformed into information to add value.

The information is capable of changing the way the receiver perceives something, impacting on their value judgments and behaviors.

Information = Data + Context (value added) + Utility (reduce uncertainty)

Knowledge can be defined as a mixture of experience, values, information and know-how, that form a framework to incorporate new experiences. The knowledge derived from the information and information from data. In order that information becomes knowledge is necessary to perform actions such as:

· Comparison with other elements.

· Prediction of consequences.

· Searching for connections.

· Talk with other carriers of information.

By gaining knowledge of the business once the information is captured from all areas in the business, you can set strategies and define what are the strengths and weaknesses of the business.

Business Intelligence is the broader concept of the use of intelligence in organizations. This has emerged from the contributions of the various areas of information such as market intelligence, competitive intelligence and business intelligence.

Market Intelligence corresponds to the strategic management discipline within companies that allow a more deeply know of the market and the company's performance within it, through a constant flow of information.

Competitive Intelligence is defined as the process of collecting and analyzing information on the activities of competitors, so as to support the achievement of the goals of the business. Through a continuous flow of information, allows a business to know what the competitors are doing in the commercial, financial, and organizational aspects.

Finally, Business Intelligence refers to the set of tools to extract business experience. A set of systems to delineate dynamic customer base, such as sales trends, niche value, customer churn, profitability segments.

Intelligence tools are based on the use of information systems that bring together data from production processes, information relating to the business and economic data.

Using the techniques to extract, transform and load (ETL), data extracts from different sources, are purified and prepared for a load them into a data repository.

This toolkit has the following features:

• Access to information. The data are the primary source of this process. Systems have to ensure user access to data regardless of the source of these.

• Support the decision making process. Beyond the presentation of information, users need access to analysis tools, and select the data that interest them.

• Orientation to the end user. Independent expertise of users, these systems, must provide facilities that allow users to use these tools.

Business intelligence acts as a strategic factor for a business to build competitive advantage, by providing privileged information to respond to business problems: entering new markets, product promotions or offers, eliminating islands of information, control finances, cost optimization, production planning, customer profiling analysis, profitability of a particular product.

The main business intelligence products that exist in the market are:

• Balanced Scorecards (BSC) are tools to establish and monitor the objectives of the business and its different areas or units.

• Systems Decision Support (DSS) corresponds to interactive information systems that help companies make decisions, using data and models to solve unstructured or semi-structured decision. Supports decision making by generating a systematic evaluation of different alternatives or scenarios for decision.

• Executive Information Systems (EIS), are systems that provide top executives easy access to internal and external information that is relevant to their critical success factors. The Executive Information Systems support the decision making process of senior executives of an organization, presenting relevant information and using visual aids and easy to interpret, in order to keep them informed.

In reference to the origin of the data, existing components are: Datamart and Datawarehouse.

A Datamart is a departmental database, especially in storing the data that is specific to the business area. It is characterized by having an optimal data structure, to analyze information from all perspectives that affect the department.

Moreover, a data warehouse is a corporate database, characterized by integrating and debug information from one or more sources in order to allow analysis from many perspectives.

On the other hand, a Business Intelligence solution establishes a cycle from the following activities:

• Observe: what happens?

• Understand: Why is it?

• Predict: what will happen?

• Collaborate: what actions you should take the team?

• Decide: which way forward?

Why is it so important Business Intelligence?

For a business to be successful, it is very important the ability to make accurate and quick business decisions. Traditional information systems tend to be inflexible structures, making it difficult to adapt to the data capture processes of the business, and rapid generation of information for decision-making.

To overcome the limitations of these systems, business intelligence relies on a set of tools that facilitate the processes of extraction, purification, analysis and storage of data, with appropriate speed in order to support the decision making process of the business.

We cannot say that BI products are better than traditional applications, but they are developed for a different purpose, and therefore are more efficient for the decision-making process.

Business Intelligence solutions enable companies to:

• Process requirements quickly, intelligently and efficiently.

• Respond quickly and efficiently to changing conditions affecting the company.

• Establish information as the main asset of the business.

• Transform business data in intuitive graphical reports that can be analyzed quickly and easily.

Intelligence is the Key to Success. The Business Intelligence systems are now available to everyone. The well-designed BI applications can offer employees the ability to make better business decisions quickly, understand the various "information assets" in their business and how they interact.

Use Business Blogging to Build Your Business Brand

Every business should always be looking for ways to promote their products, and keep their business in the public eye. One area that is often neglected is the area of blogging. A blog can be very useful as a means of maintaining communication with your customers.

Blogging about your business is a very effective marketing tool

You can use a blog to introduce your products to customers. Share company news, announce new product launches or whatever you would like your customers to know about your business. It provides a fast, low-cost way of promoting your business.

Blogging about your business will increase your sales

Your company blog will act like an online salesman. Business blogs are a great way to showcase your company products or services. A blog article provides a way to tell customers all the benefits your product offers them. You could also use your blog to feed your customers news and offers relating to your existing products. Blogs are popular with customers because they provide them with the feeling of being in possession of 'inside information' about your business.

Blogging about your business will increase customer satisfaction

Business blogging is a great way of establishing a conversation with your customers. Customers enjoy reading and commenting on the blog posts about your business. Blogs provide an opportunity to create a sense of community around your business. If customers feel that their opinions are valued, and their concerns are listened to then they are more likely to develop an emotional attachment to your business that leads to a long term business relationship.

Blogging about your business helps to build your business brand

Blogging helps you to communicate your business brand to your current and future customer base. A business blog is your opportunity to tell people what your business is doing, and present your business to the world.

Presenting a consistent, branded approach to your customers encourages them to feel more trusting and loyal towards your business brand, and produces a sense of security for them.

Isn't business blogging really difficult?

Maintaining a blog for your business requires a regular flow of information from your business. You need to aim to post updates for your blog two or three times a week at least. Once a day would be even better.

You can make your blog updates as long as you wish. If you have lots of information to convey then it may be better to break the information down into several smaller posts. This has the advantages of allowing customers to more easily find information that they are interested in, and providing you with topics to blog about on several different days.

What if I don't have the time to maintain a regular business blog?

It is always possible to pay a professional blogger to write blog posts for your business. This approach will obviously involve a you explaining to the blogger the subjects you wish to covered in the blog, and you will need to be available to answer any company specific company feedback that your business blog may attract, but this approach can work well for smaller businesses seeking to enter the world of business blogging.

The Main Reasons For The Growth Of The Home Based Business Industry

"Opportunity does not knock, it presents itself when you beat down the door." - Kyle Chandler

What is the Home Based Business Industry?

An entrepreneurial business is mainly operated from home, mostly by the business owner himself. Some people refer to it as micro enterprises, working online, or small businesses. A small or micro business may not necessarily be a home based business.

It is important for the development of our home business opportunity to achieve financial independence in the global economy of the 21st century, to have a view of the total size of this industry and some views on possible future development and growth. This evaluation of the trends of the industry will help to dream-it-plan-it-do-it.

Very reliable statistical information is not freely available because these businesses are not well defined and are not part of governmental statistical planning and strategic information data. Some research and other information are available and will help us to get a broad view of the importance and trends of this industry.

Some general trends of and comments on the Business Industry:

The prospect of working from home has gained credibility over the years. It is no longer seen as a kind of part time job that the wife is doing from home while caring for her children. Take into account that most companies, about two-thirds of all companies, begin at home. That includes big companies like Apple Computer, Baskin-Robbins ice cream, Electronic Data Systems, Hallmark cards, the Lillian Vernon catalogue, and Purex.

In the USA, the average income generated by the home based business is substantial, as indicated by the following:

"Plus many home businesses do generate substantial revenue. About 35% have revenues of more than $125,000 and 8% more than $500,000. The median household income is $50,233 for households in general and roughly $75,000 for home entrepreneurs. The income for home based business owner is thus substantially higher than it is for the population as a whole."

The home entrepreneurs business employs about 13.2 million people in the USA. It is estimated that about 50% of these are home based businesses. The assumption is that the home based businesses employs about 6.6 million people in the USA.

The home business industry is developing fast and becomes more important due to the following:

• The growth in the internet and the people connected to the internet. Two billion people are connected via the internet and this number grows by 200 million each year.

• Growth in the availability and lowering of the costs of broadband communication and connections worldwide has a positive influence on people connecting to the internet.

• The internet, increased online purchasing, money transfer mechanisms (notably PayPal), reliable global shipping, the decline in informal trade barriers and networks created through immigration have all made it easier for small businesses to serve global markets. The internet has been particularly important in enabling small businesses to cost effectively serve small market niches (the 'long tail' phenomenon).

• The development of computer technology, software, printers, dedicated telephone lines, and mobile phones creates new opportunities for the home based business and makes it more viable to operate a business from home. Affordable and powerful new technologies will continue to create new opportunities for the home based business. These technological developments will help to keep this industry growing.

• New innovations like:

o Express parcel delivery, distribution, cloud based IT services.

o Outsourcing, freelancing, communication technology, and the availability of skilled people in foreign countries makes it possible to not to have to perform all tasks at the premise of the home based business. It is easier to operate from a small premise at home.

o New business models have created new job opportunities for the development of home based business. Two examples are the network marketing industry, or multilevel marketing, and franchising.

• The growth of the knowledge and service based industries requires little office or working space and economies of scale does not apply.

• People are making lifestyle changes and prefer to work from home as it gives them flexibility, it saves time, and it eliminates commuting costs.

• The computer home business is not exclusively dependent on the local market to generate income, or for its financial existence; that makes this kind of business less vulnerable to economic cycles.

• Many people do need an extra source of income due to debt or other financial reasons and start their own home based business part time to generate a second income stream.

• With employer benefit packages being cut and the chances of losing a corporate job increasing, many view starting a home based business as no more risky than traditional employment. Job and income security drives people to start looking for and to develop an extra source of income for them.

• Due to demographic and social shifts. Aging baby boomers, women, Gen Y and others are all seeing home based business ownership as an increasingly viable work option. An interest in achieving work/life balance, flexibility, the opportunity to pursue a passion and working for your self are some of the reasons given for starting a home based business.

• There is a lack of corporate jobs. Large corporations have been battered by the recession. Even if the economic recovery is strong, it is unlikely that these companies will dramatically increase hiring. Instead of hiring full-time staff, they will stay flexible and lean through the increased use of technology, contractors, partnerships, and outsourcing. As a result, starting a home based business will be the best, and in many cases, the only option for corporate refugees.

"Nevertheless, owners are much more satisfied with their quality of life than other small business owners. However, the majority of owners do not appear to have made a financial trade-off in order to secure this quality of life."

The number of people connected to the internet is growing very fast. Broadband is becoming more available in the world. The internet support technology and mobile applications of communication is growing at an astronomical rate. These developments create new opportunities for the internet related businesses.

Registering Your Business Name and Registering Your Brand Name

When Are You Required to Register Your Business Name?

You are obligated to register your business name with the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC), so long as you:

Include other words in your business name besides your own. For example, Graham Jones Pool Cleaning or Henderson & Sons would both require registration.

Are trading under a name that is anything but your own

If you are operating a company (including legalities Pty Ltd) and you want to trade under a name that is not your company name.

The only exemption to registration is if you are trading under your own name: that being your given name or initials, followed by your surname.

You are not permitted to use an unregistered business name, or a name that is not either your own name, or your corporation's name.

The Rights of a Registered Business Name Owner

Business name registration is not the same as trademark registration, and does not come with the same rights and powers. If you want to reserve your business name for your own exclusive use, you must apply separately for trademark registration, as the searches, applications, and application processes are entirely different from one another. Business name registration does not:

Grant you exclusive rights over the business name

Stop others from registering a confusingly similar name

Stop another party from using your business name as a trademark

Stop a pre-existing trademark holder from using your business name (in fact, you will likely be infringing on their rights)

Prevent another party taking legal action against you if you infringe on their rights

Choosing Your Business Name

A uniquely identifiable business name, along with the goodwill that comes with the name, is an important asset to have when you're dealing with consumers, lenders, and competitors. It is worth investing time in coming up with a clever business name because this name could in fact add value to your business. Your business name is central to both your image and branding.

Your business name must reflect the nature of your business. It should help consumers understand what types of goods and services you provide.

Make sure that your business name or brand name is:

Short and sweet

Simple to pronounce and spell

Memorable

Timeless

Logical

Inoffensive

Not misleading

When you're trading internationally, check the appropriateness of your business name in other cultures.

Applying for Registration

Once you have decided on a name for your business, you should contact ASIC to determine whether your business name is still available for registration, and to register your business name.

The application can be done online. You will need to provide the following information:

Your Australian Business Number (ABN) or, in the least, an ABN application reference number

Your preferred business name and the time period you want to register for, be that either one year or three.

The location or locations of your business

The full names and the addresses of each owner

Registering your business name is affordable. It will cost you approx. $35 to register for one year, upwards of $76 for three years. Once you have registered, you are required to meet a number of legal obligations. If you fail to comply with these obligations, you risk being fined or losing your trade name.

Display your business name or your brand name: It is essential that you display your business name outside of all of your business locations so long as the business is open to the public.

Additionally, all of your correspondence and documents need be monogrammed with your business name. These documents include letters, invoices, statements, publications, notices, orders, and receipts.

Once your business name is registered, you will receive a record of this. It is recommended that you display this record in your place of business, although this is not enforced.

Renew your registration: In order to use the same business name indefinitely, you are required to renew your registration. If you neglect to renew your registration, your business name is removed from the ASIC register and another party can apply to register it as their own. If this happens, you will be required to cease operating under that business name.

Update your details: All changes to business ownership need be reported to ASIC within 28 days of occurring, including the names of owners or a change in address. Similarly, if you decide to change your business name or if you find that you have misspelled the name in your application, contact ASIC.

Shutting down your business: If you want to cease trading, you need to send a request to ASIC at least 28 days before you close down your business. ASIC will subsequently notify all of the other people recorded on your business name's register, along with the business name holder. This check is performed to stop unlawful attempts to cancel out a business name.

If you plan to close your business, you must send ASIC a request to cancel your business name at least 28 days beforehand. ASIC will then notify the business name holder (and any other people recorded in the business names register). This prevents unauthorised attempts to cancel a business name.

Trademarking Your Business Name

When you're choosing your business name, you might want to choose something that will also be suitable for trademark registration. If you register your business name as a trademark as well as a trade name, you can protect your identity from competitors. Trademark registration gives you unique and exclusive rights to your business name, including singular ownership and protection against unlawful usage.

Why Should Businesses Use Twitter?

If you do not yet have an account on Twitter, you must. It is the most growing and widely visited networking site and is becoming more famous as the days are going by. According to a research conducted by StatisticBrain.com, Twitter has 135,000 fresh sign-ups everyday while more than 9000 tweets are made each second. Currently, Twitter has more than 554,750,000 users.

Why should you follow statistics like these? That is because it could be of a real advantage to your business and besides Twitter is absolutely free!

Businesses can use Twitter as a very effective social media tool for marketing. These days, businesses are beginning to realize the importance of Twitter and its true potential.

Businesses can use it to:

• Talk to clients

• Introduce new services or products

• Advertise existing products

• Keep a check on competitors

• Do brand building

• Gain new clients

• Improve and develop the business

The Benefits Of Using Twitter For Businesses

Twitter is an amazing platform and everyone should be making use of it. The following are the reasons why businesses must be Twitter friendly:

No Monetary Investment

It only costs effort and time with Twitter. It is absolutely free and anyone can sign up for it, let it be a business or an individual. Business owners must not miss the chance to create a Twitter account.

Information

All networking sites are well known for information they provide to their users. They keep users up to date with all, which is going around in the world. The same goes for Twitter. Businesses can keep their clients updated about business events, offers and any other information, which the clients need, through Twitter.

Customer care can also be ensured through Twitter. Businesses can reply to the issues faced by clients and their solutions. Clients always appreciate recognition and after sales service.

Create Stronger Bonds With Clients

Businesses can use Twitter to create a much more personal bond with customers, which is important in developing brand loyalty amongst clients. This enables customers to have a bond of trust with the company, which is a long-term investment towards gaining more customers.

Gaining New Clients

Along with communicating with the existing customers, Twitter can also help businesses to gain new clients. This article would further explain how that would be possible.

Link To Other Websites

Online marketing consists of several channels. Twitter is the choice of many businesses for their online promotion because they can redirect their followers to the host website of the company, Facebook profiles, YouTube channels and blogs. This creates a chain of clients going over different platforms resulting in more effective promotion of the business.

Keeping A Check On The Competitors

It is more important for a business to have a Twitter account because its competitor might already be using it. If businesses do not avail this opportunity, it means they are giving their competitors the chance to grab their potential and existing clients. So, you really need to keep a check on your competitors and it is really possible through Twitter.

You can also get information about your competitors through twitter. For example, your competitor's marketing strategies, upcoming events and special offers. Your business can position itself according to this information and plan on making a successful counter attack.

Targeting The Tweets

Businesses must know their target audience and hence, their tweets must not be for everyone. They should be targeted towards the people the business is catering. You simply cannot target everyone so do not commit that mistake.

Businesses must have client centric marketing strategies and they must focus on their target audience or the people who are most likely to buy their products or services.

For instance, if you sell cosmetics then you should market to the audience who will be interested to buy your product. Promoting it to the people who do not belong to your target audience will be an utter waste of time and hard work.

Once you know who your target audience is you must know how to create and structure tweets in order to target and engage with the audience you are catering.

Marketing Strategies To Get More Sales On Twitter

There are several marketing strategies that a business can use. The main incentive is to get users to your corporate website through Twitter. The following are some strategies that a business can use.

Using Hashtags

This is very important to give a popular tag to your tweet so that more and more people can view it. Hashtags are really helpful to get potential clients to view your tweet. They basically use a keyword through which the users of Twitter search. Hence, people looking for similar keywords can end up at your tweet and you can promote your products and services to them.

Building Up A Following

When you set up your Twitter account, your first aim would be to get the maximum number of followers. Keep in the mind the advice given to you earlier in this article; only focus on getting your potential clients as followers and do not waste your time attracting people who will not be interested in what you have to offer. Your basic aim of creating a Twitter account should be to have a following, which represents a certain segment of your buyers. If you need any kind of assistance or additional help in this matter, you can get in touch with us and we will offer our help to you.

Inviting Fans From Other Channels

If you have accounts and fans from other networking websites such as YouTube, Facebook or Pinterest you can invite them to your Twitter page in order to increase your followers. Inviting your current fan base to an additional networking site will increase your hold on your current customers and will enable you to get a hold of newer ones as well.

Stalk The Pages Your Followers Like

This is probably one of the finest promotion strategies that any company can follow. Following pages and accounts that serve your target segment will keep you updated with the happenings of your niche and then you can adapt your promotional activities accordingly. For that a bit of stalking is required on your part. You can keep a check on the pages your followers are following and keep yourself updated with the likes and dislikes of your target audience.

Re-tweet Request

Many businesses might feel shy or embarrassed to ask their followers to forward their tweet to their friends and family by re-tweeting. They do not need to be shy anymore because everyone is doing it on Twitter and now it is totally acceptable. However, you need to know how and when to do it. If you start doing it too often you might seem desperate for re-tweets, so do not do it every now and then. Also, do not ask your followers for a re-tweet in a cheesy manner.

How to ask them for a re-tweet depends on what kind of people you are serving and having an understanding of your target audience will help you out in this. Ask for re-tweets for specific reasons, for example if you have a 50% off sale coming up, you can ask your followers to re-tweet that to create awareness among people. If your tweet is providing some useful information, your followers will not have problem re-tweeting it. The power of this function is immense. Let us say for an example, that you manage to get 300 re-tweets and each of your followers have 80 followers then you can imagine the number of people your tweet could get across to.

External Links

You can do marketing on Twitter through both internally and externally. For instance, you can use Twitter to target your followers and talk to them directly. However, you can also redirect your twitter followers to external pages like your Facebook profile, YouTube channel, corporate website, Pinterest account etc.

Having A Twitter Schedule

No one likes a boring page and that is probably the last thing you would want on Twitter. What you post on your Twitter account is extremely important and will have a lot of influence of the popularity of your page. Businesses should schedule and plan their tweets. You can take inspiration of big brands in the management of their Twitter accounts and try to duplicate those strategies. The research would definitely require some patience and hard work but it would be worthwhile. Having a good visibility to your twitter followers is extremely essential. If you over flood your followers with meaningless tweets which do not provide value nor information, your twitter page will definitely be a failure. You do not want that to happen to your page and hence you need to keep your tweets as interesting and engaging to your target audience as you possibly could.

Focusing On Quality While Tweeting

If your tweets will not interest your followers, your page would lose attention. If your tweets are nonsensical and pointless, or if you over flood your followers with too much posts, your page will most likely be un-followed and you will start losing customers.

As mentioned in this article earlier, creating tweets for special sales and offers to keep your clients informed is great, but that is not the only topic you can make tweets about. There are more things you can tweet about other than discounts.

Your Business Can Navigate The Social Media Minefield

Social Media! It's all around us. Everywhere you look it's: 'Like Us On Facebook' here and 'Tweet Us' there. We are surrounded by social media networks, and new ones are springing up all the time. Even though some businesses have seen the value of social media, many more have failed to grasp the effect social media is having on the way businesses need to market themselves.

Effective marketing relies on being able to target and reach the greatest possible number of potential customers. If traditional marketing methods become ineffective or outdated, what should a business do?

In the past, most people would read a newspaper daily. So when a business took out an advert, it was seen by most people. Today, many people catch up with current events either through news apps or from the latest hot topics circulating around in social media conversations, many of which don't use adverts. Where does this leave the small business?

If you can't get your marketing materials seen by your target audience, then not only will you be wasting your money, but you will see a big fall in your revenue, and no business can sustain that for long. Your only option is to go where the people are - and that is on Social media.

The time people spend on social media networks is growing, almost on a daily basis. They interact with people globally, make friends there, ask others for advice there, even shop there. Because of the options given to people within the social network communities, people are much more savvy about the products and services they want to buy. How do you get YOUR business voice heard among the literally millions of other voices that are talking daily on social media?

There is no such thing as a 'captive audience' within these social networks. Businesses need to relearn how to reach out and engage with their potential customers but they need to approach it in the right way. People need a good reason to investigate a business page on social media and an even better one to come back for more!

You don't need to make mistakes to learn... you can benefit from looking at the mistakes people have made in the past so you don't repeat them. Here are some lessons others before you have learned the hard way.

THE OSTRICH

There are 2 main reasons for ignoring social media - Businesses either think it to be a fad that only kids use to chat on and pass funny photos around, or they don't take it seriously as an option, thinking that there are better ways to spend their marketing time than talking to teenagers.

The facts show social media IS here to stay:

August 2013, ExportedRamblings.com reported Facebook had clocked up 1.15 BILLION active users

21st March 2013, on its 7th Birthday, Twitter announced that it had over 200 million active users creating over 400 million tweets daily.

In July 2013, Semiocast revealed Pinterest had over 70 million users

What's more, the user figures for each of these, and other, social media networks show no sign of waning. Social media networks continue to grow month on month. Every business should ask itself the serious question 'Can my business afford NOT to be using social media?' (The answer, by the way, should be NO!)

You have to be in it to win it.

JUMP ON IN... THE WATER'S FINE

So that's it... You've decided to take the plunge into the pool of social media. So you're going to tell people about your vacation and then WHAM! Hit them with your sales pitch! Smooth! Not really. That would be like jumping into a swimming pool when you can't swim - you would just sink without a trace.

Each social media network is different. They have their own individual user profile, their own way for users to interact with each other, their own communities, their own rules and social etiquette, and their own way of getting users to engage with one another. Unless you investigate each network, you can't be sure which ones are going to be the best fit for your company. As we said before, you need to market directly to potential customers in order to promote more sales, so you need to be sure your customers are actually there BEFORE you start.

IS IT THE ONE FOR ME?

People will tell you that you should be on this social network or that social network. Really? You need a presence on EVERY network going? Considering the growing number of social networks out there, you would need days and days worth of time to keep each one of your accounts active, engaging and ticking over. So unless you have an army of employees to do it for you, you would have to choose between running your business or running your social media empire.

We all know that time is money. So rather than trying to be a Jack-of-all-Trades, start off with a manageable number of social networks that have a broader user profile. The popular networks of Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest are a good place to begin. There is much advice available to businesses on how to use these networks to good effect. We can also help you work out a good, effective marketing strategy to promote your business on these platforms.

Once you are comfortable with the weekly routine of keeping these running, you can then take the time to look at other social networks to see if there are any other networks that offer your business the chance to make contact with other sections of your potential customer base.

AIMLESS PARTICIPATION

Social media is a vast digital landscape that is easy to get lost in if you don't have a map or purpose for being there. You need to have a good individual marketing strategy for whatever platform you are on, as well as knowing the best way of engaging users in that network. That way, you will always be focused on what you want to achieve, as well as how you are going to achieve it.

IT'S NOT JUST BUSINESS...

Imagine you met someone that you really clicked with as a friend. You spend 2 weeks together, speaking all the time and you build up a really good rapport. Then, without any warning, they disappear. One month passes without a word, then another and another. 6 months later, they get back in touch as if nothing has happened and try to pick up where they left off. How would you feel? What if they tried to sell you something in that first conversation with you? How would you feel then? Used? Misled? Could you really see them as a friend or would you see someone who was just pretending to be friendly to get money out of you?

This is how social media differs from regular marketing. Before you can start to benefit from the connections you are making to people on each network, you need to build up a trust and rapport with them. This means being a regular part of the network community, something that can't be done by dipping in and out every 3-4 months. The connections your business makes on these social networks need tending just like any other offline customer relationship.

The clue's in the name - SOCIAL media. These networks aren't somewhere people come to shop. There are shopping malls and digital department stores offline for that. People come to social media to engage with and socialise with other like-minded people. Being social, you find fun things to look at, interesting people to chat with, amusing anecdotes and videos, and a peek into the lives of others around the world. So if you are all stiff and business-like, you are going to stick out like a sore thumb. And if you are dull and stiff and business-like, and just in it for the sales, then people will avoid you like the plague.

As a business, you need to strike a happy medium between staying professional and letting your potential clients see the human side of your business. So don't be afraid to share some of your personal side with other users. Letting your personality out gives others something about your business they can relate to and want to do business with.

By posting daily, commenting and contributing to the social fabric of the social media networks your business is a part of, it keeps you and your business visible to others and builds up their trust in you as someone more than just another company trying to sell them something.

KEEPING IT REAL... just not too real

There are horror stories galore about companies who have either pretended to be a customer to leave themselves a glowing testimonial or have paid people to put their name to a glowing review the company has actually written itself. These types of deceptive actions shatter the confidence or trust customers may have in any business caught doing it.

So the best advice for any small business owner is to keep all the information in your posts as genuine and reliable as possible. Talk about your day (but try to make it interesting), or maybe a new product launch but intersperse it with some lighter, more personal details - a vacation maybe, or something that happened while driving.

There is a fine line between personal and too much information, especially as what you post reflects on your business. Try to stay away from details of your life that reveal too much about your life, such as a messy relationship breakup, but also from details of your business relationships that may show you in a negative light. If people see you representing your customers in a bad light, for example if you perceived them to be a bad or rude customer, they may assume the issue lies with your attitude, which ultimately is damaging to your reputation.

So be honest when you post, just not too honest.

SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING - IT COSTS!

Social media networks cost nothing to join, so businesses think that they are just a free outlet to rake sales in from without having to spend a penny doing it. Well let me ask you... How are they going to find your business in amongst all the other thousand of businesses?

For any marketing campaign to be successful, there needs to be a well thought out, focused strategy targeting who it is aimed at, where those prospective customers are located and how to build up communication through social media that will result in them becoming one of your customers. You also need to know how much time and effort you need to set aside not only to implement the campaign but also to oversee it and analyse the results, and if you can use any other resources to increase the effectiveness of your posts on each of the social media networks you are using.

So while the initial cost of social media is free, there is a time and energy cost to the individuals who need to spend time cultivating and developing online relationships inside each network.

WE CAN HELP

We know just how busy the life of a small business owner is. It can take a lot of time and effort just to keep the business running from week to week, and you just may not have enough time to sit down and plan out which of the social media networks will benefit your business the most and then work out how to use each one.

How To Protect Your Online Reputation for Your Business

Your company's reputation is its most valuable asset. If it's tarnished, you could lose customers and sales. This article shows how negative reviews are not always what they seem and what you can do about it.

In business, as in life, we stand or fall on the status of our reputation. Companies spend many years, and much money, building up a positive reputation through staff training, customer service policies, listening to customer feedback and more.

Despite everything a business can do, a reputation is a delicate object that can easily be smashed into a thousand pieces by a few ill placed words. Never has this been more true than in this modern technological world of internet review sites and mobile digital technology, where a damaging review against a business can be published to the entire world in a matter of minutes.

But is one review really going to have an impact on the way people view your business? After all, if they look around they can find other good reviews about you. But if this is the first contact a potential new customer has with your company, how is it going to look to them? Is that really the first (and most lasting) impression you want to give someone who hasn't yet done business with you? How much harder will it be to overcome that negative awareness of your brand, especially at the start of your business relationship with that person?

Managing how your business is represented online is very important, especially as 89% of consumers around the world start to look for a product by doing a search on the internet before buying. And given the amount of competition every business has out there, if a customer encounters a bad business review about your business, the likelihood is they will simply move on to the next business down the search list rather than look for a more positive review about you.

Online Reputation Management really matters to any business. Why is it necessary to manage how your company's business reputation is portrayed online? It is all to do with the manner in which people shop today.

It used to be that if someone wanted to buy a new product, say a washing machine, they would go into a bricks and mortar store and browse through the range they had to offer, as well as asking friends and family for advice on the best choice to make.

Today the internet has opened up not just thousands but millions of opinions that can be accessed and read in seconds from online review sites, social media chat topics and buyer reviews. An incredible 89% of global consumers will begin by making an online search to help them in their quest to decide on a purchase decision. So what other people have to say about your business, product or services will count in a big way towards them making a purchase from you or not.

So in order to keep your Online Reputation a positive aspect to your business, you should jealously guard it and take proactive steps to repair any damage you may find.

WHO MIGHT DAMAGE YOUR ONLINE REPUTATION?

There are a number of occasions when someone might be prompted to publish a bad review of your business, and it would be very dangerous just to dismiss one because you know or think it to be untrue or unfair.

You need to ask yourself 'Why did this person feel forced to say these things?'

Whether there is any actual truth in the comment or not, clearly that person believed the reason was real to them and was compelled to let you (and consequently the rest of the internet) know how strongly they felt. So while the negative comments may not be valid, you need to remember at all times there is a real person behind them.

Customers

People love to tell businesses 'The customer is always right', regardless of whether they are being unreasonable, over demanding or have expectations that are greater than the promised services. They have grown up with this 'I am right' culture. So when things do not go to plan, they feel they have the right to say something.

While customers are not ALWAYS right, they are not always WRONG either. You need to look at the customer's experience on an individual basis to see whether they have a genuine complaint before you decide to take any action.

Competitors

Unfortunately, it is true that some unscrupulous businesses can employ dirty tricks by deliberately writing and publishing fake negative reviews under a false name about their fellow competitors. It can be very difficult to prove that a review is not real. Sites like YELP, which actively target false positive reviews, are starting to try to identify and remove these false negative ones, but until it is shown to be a fake review, you must deal with each one as if it were a real customer regardless of any suspicions you may have.

Employees

Whether they are current or past employees, if one of your workers has a grudge or is unhappy, they can end up putting out a load of negative comments or reviews. But it isn't always those with a grudge who cause a problem.

Everyone within your company, from the top executives down to the shop floor sales staff, has the potential to cause your business to get some negative press. It could be that someone makes a statement that is very controversial; rowdy or criminal behaviour of staff connected back to your business; controversial photographs involving members of your staff could be published on social media, reflecting badly on your business.

It is important to treat any breech by staff, or any of the other situations, in the right way. As tempting as it may be to terminate staff employments or launch a counter attack on the competitor you think is bad mouthing you, that type of action will only lead to bigger problems.

What can you do if you do come across negative comments in social media, on a blog, on a review site, or even within the comments sections on your own website?

You need to find ways of healing the wounds to your online reputation. Look calmly and rationally for a means to resolve things in a way that reflects well on you and your business. If not, you will only succeed in scarring your Online Reputation even further.

AVOID DAMAGING YOUR ONLINE REPUTATION FURTHER

Although it is perfectly normal to feel angry or upset about negative comments others may be saying about your business, you need to avoid doing any of these things at all cost...

1. Don't Try To Erase All Trace

Many businesses have been caught out by thinking the best way to deal with a negative comment storm is to delete out all trace of the bad ones and then it will just go away. The unfortunate truth is that once you have published something into cyberspace, it is very difficult to remove it completely, as some businesses have found out to their cost. An incident involving one company was played out before 1.4 million views - that is a lot of customers!

Deleting comments tells potential customers you have something to hide or that there is something wrong with your business. It shatters any trust they may have in you. If you have made a mistake, don't be afraid to own up and then take positive public steps to make it right. People respect the fact that you have owned up and are committed to getting it right. It builds confidence in your business motives and ethics.

2. Don't Lash Out

We often take these negative comments as an attack on us personally. The human thing to do is to (over)react and send a stinging barrage of words back at the offending reviewer. These are not the actions that will lead a happy outcome in any situation.

As a business, you can easily be put under public examination by the way you react to negative comments. So you need to think before you speak. We said earlier that nothing ever truly disappears off the internet. Do you really want to publish something written in haste and in the heat of the moment that will come back to bite you again and again?

It is much better to write out a first draft, then leave it for a few hours until you can review it in a more composed frame of mind, and soften any overly harsh words.

3. Don't Put Good Words In Someone Else's Mouth

You may think 'If they can write a bad review about me, then I can write a good one!' It may SOUND like a good idea, but a lie is a lie. You may be saying truthful things about your company, but by pretending to be someone else, or by getting someone else to leave a good review written or prompted by you, you ARE being deceitful.

How could you ever trust someone again if you found that out? Deception causes even less trust in a business than reading a negative review or two. All businesses get bad reviews. Not all businesses lie to their customers, and those that do fair very badly when it is discovered.

Review sites like YELP and search engines like Google realise that fake good reviews are being placed on sites. If they even suspect that to be the case, not only will they remove the offending review but they will lower or even remove the ranking of the offending business so that they don't show up in searches.

HOW CAN MY BUSINESS BE PROACTIVE WITH OUR ONLINE REPUTATION MANAGEMENT?

Reputation management isn't just about responding when a problem arises, but involves building up a strong foundation in the minds and trust of potential customers. The best way is to get out there and start building up relationships with your potential new customers on social media, forums and other places you can be an active participant.

By building up a strong positive reputation, you will be better equipped to weather any negative comments that come your way. If you become a business voice that is respected and well thought of, then people will be less likely to be swayed by one negative opinion and more probable to listen to your explanation, as well as spring to your defence.

The Energy of Busy

Got a minute?

Just about any human being I work with or have in one of my classes tells me that "busyness" and lack of time are to blame for much of their internal stress and churn.

Not. So. Fast.

I'm not going to spend a ton of time on this. You and I both know better than that. Let's do this instead...

"Busy" has an energy about it.

Try it on. "I'm so busy." "I'm so busy." "OMG, I'm soooo busy." Feel it. Say it. Be it. Notice what happens in your body. Ugh.

Of course, you can insert any energy that doesn't serve you here: "It's hard" or "It won't work" are two of my favorites for sabotage, letting ourselves off the hook, and/or retreating when we're scared.

Now take that energy to your colleague. To your kids. To your partner. Helpful?

Probably not.

It's not your "fault". It's a default. A great place to rest. Awesome place to "check out". But, back to busy...

Busy is a farce.

It makes us feel good. Important.

It gives us an excuse to say "no".

It can hide our fear of confrontation or disappointing someone else.

It is a hiding place. A cop out. A scape goat. A self-fulfilling energetic prophecy. A reflection of our inability to say "yes" and "no" to the right things.

Busy is stressful. And it's contagious.

Try it on for yourself. Think of your version of "busy". Think of the story you tell about it. How often you tell that story. Who you tell it to.

The most dangerous person to tell that story to is of course... ourselves. The more we tell it, the more we believe it, the more we embody it. We become "busy". Welcome to the swirl.

I watch this time and time again. I get to witness people say that the thing between them and their dreams is "busy". The thing between them and being a good leader, getting more sleep, working out, taking care of their body, even eating good food, having a better marriage, giving feedback that could change a life, bringing in new business, whatever... is busy.

Busy has a lot of power. And what's worst is that we feed it. We are our own worst enemies when it comes to "busy".

What if it's simpler than that? What if we could make busy our... friend?

What if busy was just a lack of presence, intention, and prioritization?

What if, you're not actually busy? But rather missing presence, right here, right now, in the moment.

And what if this busyness and lack of presence is simply shading your clarity and wisdom for the right "yes's" and "no's"?

Breathe and think about it.

Presence and intention are the antidotes to busy.

Breathing heals busy.

A solid "yes" or "no" is worth a hundred foggy "yes's".

Perspective, priorities, and values clarify and tame "busy".

When we actually befriend busy, we can take it apart and make it work for us.

"Busy" and "lack of time" are here to stay. We have to get better at leading our energy through them, telling the truth, valuing our time, and partnering with them. We have to get better at being present and intentional in our lives. And we have to listen.

I had a client years ago who was busy, busy, busy. So busy, people found it nerve racking to be around her. They didn't want to engage with her. And they'd never ask her for direction or support - she had an energetic force field around her that said "Back off, I'm busy".

When we drilled down to what her relationship was with "busy" - she found it was a protector for her. Being busy all the time kept her off the hook for having to say "no" and disappoint people who she didn't want to hang out with or work with. It also made her feel important in her job. The problem was that she so bought into her story that she had fully embodied it. She spoke faster, wasn't fully present with people, was experienced as unapproachable, and she didn't feel good. Busy actually manifested itself in her physiology.

Once she got honest and clear about what busy was about for her, she was able to partner with it, instead of resisting it or using it as a "bat". She did 3 things:

She made a conscious effort to breathe in the moment and pay attention to her physical body. This was key. She also, in the moment, checked in with the truth... Was she going to die? Was she truly running out of time? Was a tiger going to get her if she didn't get it done? (Ironically, these are often the physiological responses we have to the story of busy.)

She made a conscious effort to be fully with someone when they were talking to her. Ironically it took the same amount of time, but without the resistance and internal chatter, it was easier and more enjoyable.

She made a conscious (though difficult) decision to say NO to people when she didn't want to do something. She held it as a YES to herself. Ironically, as hard as it was, it was so much cleaner to navigate it this way, that she felt physically and mentally better. The mental energy she'd spent, holding busy to avoid disappointed, was hers again. For the better.

For you...

What is your relationship with busy? Be honest here. No one's looking. This is for you.

What does it give you? What does it keep you from?

What are the three things - or even one - that you sense would help you create more space? (Intuition is good here, use it.)

What are the, unnecessary - even draining, things that you participate in that contribute to your energy of busy? (Gossip, not telling the truth, avoiding conflict, working around people, television, procrastination, and not taking care of ourselves are just a few common ones.)

Find a word that means something to your soul... If you were to replace the word or feeling of "busy" with this new word, how might that change things? For example: If you were "on purpose" instead of "busy" what would you do differently? If you were "engaged" instead of "busy" what would that do? There is gold in this question. Dig in.

What if you could tame your busy with some presence and intention? What if taking a step back, breathing, and being incredibly intentional with how you use your energy and time, were the solution to busy?

What if? What might you lose?

I'm not gonna lie and say that "busy" never creeps in for me, it does. But in those moments, when I get that visceral reaction, I'm quicker to turn to it, love on it a bit, get present, nurture what needs to be nurtured, say "no" where I need to say "no", and step into intentional, delightful, full, and on purpose. By choice.

What Are Small Business Administration Loans and What You Need to Know

A small business administration loan or SBA loan is a loan offered by banks and various lenders in the US. These loans are easily accessible for small business owners, especially those looking to start up a new business and they need the financial backing that an extra sum of cash would provide.

The small business administration loan is easier to access than a regular business loan because it comes with a government guarantee. This is a plan by the government to encourage new businesses and assist current businesses expand and grow.

The advantage to this is that these are often available with longer repayment periods and those with poor credit scores are still able to qualify, growing their business to the next level.

The loan guarantee program is the ideal opportunity for small business start-ups and expansions, but as with any loan amount, being unable to repay the amount can be detrimental to your business.

Many business owners choose the small business administration loan because they know the chances of them being accepted is high. It's difficult to start a new business in the current economic market, so that additional boost of cash can be used to purchase stock, necessary business machinery and tools and give the business the cash flow it needs.

The problem comes in that many business owners in a new business don't understand how difficult the market is right now. They will use the cash they receive to design the perfect website, get their office up and running and produce quality marketing material. But if the customers don't come flooding through the door, they do not receive the cash they need to repay the loan in a timely manner.

Before applying for any financing, whether you choose the government guarantee program or not, you must be sure that you will be able to make timely payments. The last thing you want to do is dig yourself deep in debt, before your business has a chance to grow.

Every business owner should put a business plan in place to not only help them run their business, but also assist them in achieving their goals. For those who choose to take out a small business administration loan, their business plan can ensure they stay on track and will also ensure they are able to make the timely payments to reduce financial difficulty before their business has a chance to really take off.

Working on a projected income and knowing what you can expect in sales turnover each month is another way to know whether taking out a loan is the right choice for your business.

If you have struggled with finances in the past and your credit score isn't stellar, then you need to take special care. As you will probably be awarded a small business administration loan with a poor credit history, you need to have every step planned to ensure your business isn't too deep in debt before you begin.

Remember that with this type of financing, you are often able to take the loan over a longer period, but with every month you owe on the loan, you have interest to pay. Paying late or not paying at all will incur penalties and leave your business in serious financial distress.

Before applying for a small business administration loan, take the time to work out your monthly expenditure and your expected monthly income. Ensure you have enough to pay your mortgage or rent, your basic costs and then take the financing repayments into consideration. If you strongly believe your income will cover everything and still offer you a monthly salary, then this is the right choice for you.