We’ve Come a Long Way, Baby…or Have We? |  |
- We’ve Come a Long Way, Baby…or Have We?
- How to Choose the Right SEO Tactics for Your Small Business
- Facebook Launches SMB-Focused Webinar Series
- Demand for Video Among Small Businesses Continues to Grow
| We’ve Come a Long Way, Baby…or Have We? Posted: 09 May 2012 11:30 AM PDT Women have been a hot topic in the 2012 presidential campaign. Mashable recently put together a cool infographic that pulls together a lot of data about women in corporations, small businesses and different industries. Some of the information might be familiar to you; some might be new, but overall, it paints an encouraging picture of how far women in business have come…and how far we still have to go.
First, the good news. Women are starting businesses at 1.5 times the national average. This trend has been growing for a while; between 2002 and 2007, the number of women who own businesses increased by 20.1 percent, representing about 28 percent of all businesses. Nor are women stuck in traditionally "female" fields: Their industries vary widely, with the greatest representation in real estate, administrative and support, waste management and remediation, professional and technical services, retail, healthcare and other services. Then there's the "Hmm, well, OK" news. When it comes to the corporate world, 40 percent of large public companies have no women on their boards of directors. However, among S&P 500 companies ranked in the top 10 by Governance Metrics International, the figure is more promising; about 22 percent of their board members are women. In the U.S., about 16 percent of companies have women board members. These numbers are better than they used to be, but there's certainly room for improvement. Of course, one reason women start businesses is precisely to get out of the corporate world. But when they do, they're still not dealing with a level playing field. Only 3 to 5 percent of women-owned businesses get venture capital; just 10 percent of venture-funded startups are women-owned. About 10 percent of VCs are women, and 13 percent angel investors are women. Now there's the downright bad news. When it comes to technology—the hottest area for new startups and the most promising industry for business growth—women are woefully behind. Fewer than 5 percent of tech startups are women-owned, and even among employees, only 25 percent of the tech industry is female. Businesses owned by men get 95 percent of the VC money. There's no good reason for this. In fact, there are good reasons women should be getting more VC funding—not less. When women do get VC, their revenues average 12 percent higher than those of VC-backed companies owned by men. And when companies have more equal gender representation in their leadership and management, their IPOs get 30 percent better results. What needs to change? Well, some things are already changing. Women now earn 68 percent more bachelor's degrees than men and earn one-third of all MBAs. But there needs to be more change if women are to gain more success, more funding and more representation, particularly in the technology industry. What can we as women—and men—do to help? Be a role model. Mentor a school-age, teenage or young woman entrepreneur; take a leadership role in organizations for youth entrepreneurship like Junior Achievement; talk to girls and young women you know about the joys of being your own boss. Put your money where your mouth is. Consider investing in a woman-owned startup or existing business as a private or angel investor, or donating time to help a woman-owned company grow. Pipeline Fellowship is one organization working to encourage and train women angels. Speak up. When you hear people being condescending about women entrepreneurs, spreading stereotypes or otherwise putting us down, say something. Comment on offensive blog posts; correct misinformation. Work together. Get involved with networking groups where you can support and learn from other women in business. Check out Women in Technology International, for example. There's strength in numbers. From Small Business Trends |
| How to Choose the Right SEO Tactics for Your Small Business Posted: 09 May 2012 08:30 AM PDT When it comes to SEO, many business owners are overwhelmed. There's so much information out there, much of it conflicting, making it nearly impossible to drill down to the right strategies you should be employing. In this post I'll try to walk through several of the considerations you should be taking into account in determining which SEO tactics to prioritize for your business.
Different people often describe different SEO tactics in different ways, but at a high level we can think about SEO in two basic categories:
Choosing the right SEO strategies – those that make the most sense for your business — is the first step to a successful campaign. This is followed by the decision between managing these tasks in-house and outsourcing to an SEO agency. Here's a breakdown of the main strategies falling under each category and how to determine what tactics will make the most senseyou're your business. On-Site SEO On-site content: The content appearing on your Website is the foundation on which you can build the rest of your SEO strategy. Without a solid base of content, traffic-building efforts will produce lackluster results. If your business involves highly technical information, and you have someone on staff with both the bandwidth and the skills to produce quality content, it makes more sense to retain content production in-house. On the other hand, if your content needs exceed the capabilities of your staff, options include outsourcing to a content provider or hiring a dedicated staff writer. It's also possible to maintain production in-house and outsource to an editor to refine content before publishing. Blogs: Blogs alone can require a significant time commitment. But the nice thing about blogs is that having multiple voices is encouraged. In this case, multiple staff members can often contribute content, at least initially. But as your audience grows you may find that you need more frequent updates, so you may choose to outsource to an agency. Like on-site content, if the blog content is highly specialized, it's probably better to keep it in-house. Keywords, site structure, & technical SEO: Formatting the navigation and code of a website is one of the most technical aspects of SEO. This is one task not easily managed in-house, unless you're already employing an SEO specialist or developer knowledgeable in SEO best practices. That said, for many smaller content sites a periodic SEO audit can be effective in keeping your site up to date with best practices without having to retain an SEO on an on-going basis. Off-site SEO Overall link building strategy: There are a variety of methods that can be used to drive traffic and links. One of the most effective that is also highly useful for branding and thought leadership is content marketing. You'll want to spend some time thinking about the different types of content creation and promotion that will be the most efficient and effective for your business, and consider how best to use your resources to execute a content marketing strategy. This could be as simple as periodically publishing well-thought out articles and infographics, or it could be as complex as publishing multiple posts a day and adhering to a strict editorial calendar. Guest blogging: Guest blogging is a widely-used strategy for both networking and linkbuilding. The process involves outreach, pitching and producing content appropriate for placement on related websites. Guest blogs are often used as a way to establish thought leadership and brand awareness, so informative posts coming from a CEO or other high-level executive have a bigger impact. Still, it's possible to have posts ghostwritten if you don't have the capabilities to produce it in-house. Content creation and linkbait: This category includes case studies, white papers, list posts, edgy blog posts, infographics, webinars, and all the content pieces that can be used to grab attention and encourage social sharing. Infographics should almost always be outsourced unless you employ a skilled graphic designer, while the other tasks can be managed either in-house or via outsourcing depending on the skill level required and the technical level of the content. Before you determine whether your focus will be on on-page SEO or more on content creation think about some of the following questions:
Obviously in areas that are logical for you to focus on where you have adequate resources you can get those internal resources to work for you. If you're lacking in the areas that you'll want to dedicate the most attention to, however, (if your focus should be on technical SEO but you lack technical resources, for instance) those would be areas where you'd want to consider outsourcing.
From Small Business Trends |
| Facebook Launches SMB-Focused Webinar Series Posted: 09 May 2012 06:00 AM PDT The weather may be getting warmer but school will be in session all summer long. In fact, for some small business owners, Facebook University starts today! It was announced yesterday that Facebook will be rolling out two new webinar series aimed at the small to mid-sized business community. Both tracks will be held in the virtual Facebook Classroom and will be aimed at business owners with different skillsets.
Weekly Tuesday Webinars: Beginning on Tuesday, May 15 at 9:30 PDT, Facebook will being hosting weekly Tuesday webinars designed to introduce business owners to the Facebook advertising platform. These webinars are intended for newbies who don't yet have experience using Facebook ads. Bi-Weekly Wednesday Webinars: Starting Wednesday, May 9 at 9:30am PDT (that's today!), Facebook will host a bi-weekly Wednesday webinar series designed to educate small to mid-sized businesses and agencies on best practices and new ad products, such as Offers and real-time Page Insights. The schedule and themes for the Wednesday webinar series are listed below:
Facebook says that the goal of these webinars is to better arm businesses – those both new to Facebook and more experienced – with the latest tips and product information. These sessions will also take questions from viewers to address specific inquiries businesses may have, so if you've been having difficult wrapping your head around any of Facebook offerings, make sure you show up armed with questions. Good on Facebook for being proactive about educating small business owners on all the different options available to them through the Facebook platform. This announcement comes right on the heels of Facebook Offers being rolled out to Local US Businesses, so it's important that SMBs feel like Facebook understands their needs and shows how its products can help address them. Whether it's learning how to use Facebook Offers or still getting acquainted with the powerful targeting options through more traditional Facebook advertising, there's a great opportunity for small business owners to grow their businesses via Facebook. The more Facebook can step in and help educated its audience, the more everyone – Facebook, SMBs and customers – benefit. Whether you're totally unfamiliar with Facebook's ad platform or you've been waiting for the perfect excuse to give it a try, these webinars should serve as a great way to get your feet wet and learn a little bit about the opportunities that await for you on the site. Will you be tuning in? From Small Business Trends |
| Demand for Video Among Small Businesses Continues to Grow Posted: 09 May 2012 02:30 AM PDT Small businesses continue to jump on the video bandwagon. We’ll look at the trends for video marketing, examine the opportunities your small business has to shine with online video, and offer some tips and ideas you might consider to get started with video today. Read on: YouTube OpportunitiesTop small business uses of video. Video offers small businesses an inexpensive way to reach an ever larger audience. One post looks at the opportunity for video marketing, particularly on the popular video sharing site YouTube. What video message could you share? Startup Smart YouTube offers a new element to the AdSense mix. At the end of April, YouTube announced the opportunity to buy video ads on the popular video sharing site, similar to the way AdSense ads have traditionally been sold. YouTube seems certain the new opportunity will appeal to small businesses. What do you think? The New York Times Online Video SuccessSeeding and the future of video marketing. If the future of marketing is indeed online video, Josh Warner can be regarded as a prophet. Small businesses may have the edge in a field where the key component is simply creativity. How can you make your small business message go viral? ReelSeo Stats You Should KnowOther businesses are spending. Are you? Recent statistics suggest that video continues to be the fastest growing online ad format. Many businesses clearly understand the huge opportunities offered by this format. How will your business compete? eMarketer The future of display advertising. Not too surprisingly, two years ago Google predicted that by 2015, “50 percent of ad campaigns will include video ads bought on a cost-per-view basis.” Will your business’s ads be among them? Google Blog The Future of MarketingSmall businesses should tap into video consumption. The increase in curated video consumption offers a huge opportunity for small businesses. What are you doing to prepare for this trend and to position your small business to succeed? StreetFight Inside the Business of Hyperlocal Addressing myths in your online marketing. Many of these myths surround video in this great overview that tells you what you should be doing as much as what you shouldn’t. Online video presents real opportunities for your business. Don’t believe anything else. Search Engine Land Simple Tools & TipsTools you can use. Here’s a run down of eight video editing tools that should make creating your online video message a snap. Video can be a powerful marketing tool for your small business, so check out these tools that can help you create a video customers can’t ignore. Small Business Trends Don’t sweat that next online video. These simple tips should make online video production a breeze. If you are intimidated by the thought of creating quality video on your own, don’t be. The simple method in this article is great for beginners. Tweak Your Biz Trends to WatchDemand for video skills grows. Along with a growing interest in online video comes increased demand for skilled help to produce videos. Small businesses will face increased competition when hiring those who can produce video, as the demand for firms and freelancers having video skills is 68% higher in the first quarter of 2012. Check out this report based on recent Elance data. Small Business Trends From Small Business Trends |
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