SmallBusinessNewz

Is Your Marketing Actually Working?

I’ve often noticed that when I talk to my clients about their products or services, they say the most amazing, engaging and interesting things. But when I read their marketing materials it usually sounds more like the teacher from the old Charlie Brown cartoons “wha wha, waa waa, waa whaaaa”. The great ad man David Ogilvy once said “You can never bore someone into buying from you.” And he was right. The last thing you want is for your marketing to be dry, boring and about as fun to read as a software manual, annual report or thesis statement.

Is Your Small Business Finding Value In Social Networks?

The online social conversations that have attracted the interest of corporations and nonprofits are proving to be just as useful to small businesses - social media workshops are popping in towns across the country. We’re in the age of constant connection, no matter the size of our business. For better or worse, our clients expect us to be available - right now.  If  they’re under 40, they definitely expect you to be online and participating in the new social channels and tools.

Are You Still Advertising In This Economy?

Because of the hard economic times, marketers everywhere are getting their budgets slashed. A lot of businesses think that they will make it through these hard economic times by not advertising. Something to think about, however, is the new trend in consumer spending. Consumers are looking for ways to save money, while maintaining the same level of product quality. Therefore, brand loyalty is not important anymore. What’s most important is finding a brand that caters to consumer wants, while satisfying needs.

Does Your Small Business Use Twitter?

Business Week recently provided this article, Twitter: Building Businesses Tweet by Tweet. I learned about it from Twitter via JaimeSF. It starts with a case from Chris Savage from Wistia. “Savage frequently trolls Twitter looking for sales leads for his five-person, $1 million company, which makes software that facilitates video sharing through a private network.

Do You Do Online Article Marketing?

Is online article marketing a good way to get customers or leads, and grow your small business? I get this question a lot from folks who read my articles on sites like Biznik  and EzineArticles. Often the question is followed by a comment like, "I’ve posted a couple articles, but have yet to generate any income from them".

Is Your Business Using Facebook?

I suspect that I may never fully understand Facebook. No big deal really. There are plenty of other ways to waste time in this world. I just don’t get the flow of it. I see people doing a lot of ‘stuff’ on it but I don’t get the point most of the time. I wonder if I am anti-social or just thick in the head but then I come to the conclusion that it really doesn’t matter in the end.

Don't Hide Behind A Mask

We buy products and services every day. Some we need, some we don’t. But we’ve heard good things about them so we buy them. Who have we heard good things from? Our friends. Our family. Our colleagues. People we trust.Why do we trust them? Because they’re not a mystery to us. They don’t wear masks. They don’t hide behind veils. They don’t try and full us with trickery. They simply are.

Developing A Small Business Isn't Easy

In the last couple years I've gotten really serious about growing my small business in new directions. Mainly because following the old pathways wasn't taking me where I wanted to go. In the past, all of my businesses had been service based, and I was the only one delivering the services.

Where Are You At In Your Internet Marketing Efforts?

I write daily for Andy Beal’s Marketing Pilgrim blog which is all about the Internet marketing industry and the applications of its various components. It covers the fast pace of innovation on the Internet. It examines the changes that are taking place in the search engines. There is now a significant shift to watching the impact of social media on how we do business. That is great stuff but only if you are a pure Internet company or a very large corporate entity and any of the various service providers attached to them.

SMB's Beware Of The Latest And Greatest Statistics

Yesterday I threw a few stats at you regarding small business and search. I am in Internet marketing so I obviously have a bias toward anything that is using the Internet to promote a business. In the past I have railed against the Yellow Pages and its continued slide into insignificance. I was surprised by some of the numbers of I saw yesterday that show that a pretty good chunk of people still turn to the Yellow Pages. I guess I am just not one of them.