Planes, Trains or Automobiles: What’s Greener? |  |
- Planes, Trains or Automobiles: What’s Greener?
- Why Twitter Should Be Your Best Friend at a Trade Show
- Blog With Purpose: 3 Tips to Start
- Mystery Millionaire Marketing Tips
- Report Says Businesses Are Still Cautious on Borrowing
| Planes, Trains or Automobiles: What’s Greener? Posted: 09 Jan 2013 01:00 PM PST
Business travel is a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. According to a 2008 World Economic Forum report, travel accounts for an average 15% to 20% of a business's total emissions, reaching as high as 80% for service businesses. Businesses that want to truly embrace environmental sustainability need to understand the toll that travel takes on their environmental footprint and aim to reduce that toll. The mode of transport that employees use to get from point A to point B makes a big difference. Air travel, especially "short-haul" regional flights of less than 300 miles, create the most carbon emissions per passenger mile of any mass transit option because of the high fuel consumption during takeoffs and landings. Planes also emit carbon dioxide directly into the earth's upper atmosphere, making it especially harmful. By comparison, trains can use 50% less fuel per passenger than planes for the same trips, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Bus travel is an even eco-friendlier alternative, emitting even less carbon dioxide than trains on short and long trips, according to the EPA. Interestingly, on longer trips of more than 700 miles, train and plane emissions per passenger are comparable, the EPA found. Bus travel is still the greenest option. (Read this EPA report for a full comparison of emissions among various transportation options.) Solo car travel is the biggest culprit when it comes to emissions, producing nearly twice that per passenger of trains and three to four times that of buses. Of course, auto emissions depend on the fuel efficiency of the vehicle. And the emissions efficiency of planes, trains and buses depend on ridership numbers and other factors. So, how can a business rein in the environmental toll of travel? Here are four tips: 1. Steer clear of solo auto travel. It produces the most emissions per passenger mile than any transportation option. If unavoidable, at least make sure employees travel in fuel-efficient vehicles. (Check out FuelEconomy.gov for auto fuel efficiency ratings.) Many rental agencies now offer hybrids and electric cars. 2. Use trains and buses, when viable. Especially for trips of less than 700 miles, buses and trains produce far less emissions per passenger mile than airplanes and cars. 3. Reduce mileage. Though in-person meetings are still necessary in some cases, many businesses have successfully cut down on the number of trips using video conferencing and by combining trips to cut down on total mileage. 4. Track your travel footprint. Keeping tabs on your travel and the carbon emissions it creates can help you better control it. The Business Calculator on Carbonfund.org can help you quantify travel-based emissions. You might also consider buying offsets, which invest in projects such as tree planting that take carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere. Does your business take steps to reduce the environmental impact of travel? If so, what do you do? Bus Photo via Shutterstock The post Planes, Trains or Automobiles: What’s Greener? appeared first on Small Business Trends. |
| Why Twitter Should Be Your Best Friend at a Trade Show Posted: 09 Jan 2013 11:00 AM PST Trade shows and expos build customer relationships, introduce potential new customers to your business and give your company a real face, along with names, which customers can relate to. Twitter is literally a zero cost way to make your trade show appearance a resounding success. Below are seven steps to take on Twitter to make your appearance everything it can be: 1. Announce Your Trade Show on TweVite
A successful trade show is like any other marketing campaign – it’s important to build interest before the event, during it and afterwards. As soon as you book your booth, send out TweVites to your customers and let them know what booth you’ll be in and what you’re offering there. 2. Network With Others in the Show
Don’t just depend on TweVites to bring customers in. Take the extra step and begin networking with others involved in the trade show. Be willing to get out interesting information on the other vendors and they’ll think of you when someone comes by their booth or business in need of something you have to offer. 3. Host a Retweet Contest
Offer a price or discount for the Twitter follower who retweets your posts about the trade show the most times. This gives them an incentive to do your advertising for you, and allows your message to reach hundreds or thousands more people than your tweets alone could reach. 4. Post TwitPics
Today’s consumer is more visual than ever before. If you have photos of the trade show or event from last year, post them on TwitPics before the event to build interest and excitement. Continue to post pictures during the event, so people can see what great fun they’re missing. Attendees are likely to retweet these pictures (because they’re part of the action), giving you even more exposure. 5. Post Twitter Updates During the Show
Continuing to post updates does two things: it generates interest in people who haven’t attended the show yet. It also attracts others at the show who haven’t visited your booth. If trade show organizers have established a Twitter hashtag for the event, such as #OurTradeShow, be sure to include this in your tweet to draw in more new faces. 6.Tweet a Secret Password
People love to be “in the know.” A secret password they can use and pass around to get a special discount, sign up for a drawing or get free goodies is a great way to create interest and get people buzzing about your booth. Knock, knock, let me in. What’s the secret password? 7. Don’t Stop After the Show
If you’ve done everything else, you’ll likely gain a whole new following during the show. You’ll want to build relationships with these new contacts and keep in touch. Successful Twitter marketing means you’re always tweeting relevant industry information, news about your sales and new product offerings and recognizing your customer base. Social media is the ideal way to keep people on your mind when they aren’t making purchase decisions, because that means you’ll be the first one they think of when they are ready to buy. Be sure to thank people who went out of their way to make the show (and your booth) a success. Keep tweeting throughout the year to assure your booth a super turnout at the trade show next year. The post Why Twitter Should Be Your Best Friend at a Trade Show appeared first on Small Business Trends. |
| Blog With Purpose: 3 Tips to Start Posted: 09 Jan 2013 08:00 AM PST
I know most businesses understand that blogging can be very helpful, but they are not sure what they should be blogging about. I am going to give you some ideas that can be helpful. I would also consider making a rule for your writing staff that there will be no blog posts published that do not have a defined purpose and the purpose should in some way help your business. Here are three ways you can blog with purpose: 1). Create TrustYou can begin to create trust with potential clients by making it very clear that your business is great at what it does (but without bragging or selling). I always tell businesses to offer “What to do” and “What to avoid” posts to their readers. Most people today are researching what they need to know before hiring a business to perform a particular service. Tell them what to look for, what not do and which companies to avoid. By giving the reader helpful information that can help them avoid a costly mistake, you create trust. Readers that are looking to hire often look at company blogs, website pages and additional information almost like an interview process. Use blog posts to sell your knowledge and expertise and grab a new client. Some readers may not live close to you, but are researching. They may or may not become a future client or customer, but when trust is created information is shared and shared information can very easily bring you business. 2). Breakdown Each Service You OfferEach service you offer should be explained in an easy-to-understand manner. Educate your readers on each aspect of the services you offer, one-by-one. A service may be complex and need more than one blog post to explain it, so break it down into parts and label each post with “Part 1″, “Part 2″, etc. Also, make sure that you link to each part of the series in each article so readers can read all parts of the series. Explain why each service is important, why the reader could benefit from it and how to choose the right company for the job. You don’t have to say “hire me” to sell your services; you just need to make them trust that you know what you are doing. And when discussing a service always link to the service page on your website in the first paragraph. When you take the time to explain the services you offer you are educating the reader. This creates trust and also sells the services you offer. Service blog posts can also inform current clients of services they were not even aware you offered. 3). Answer QuestionsOne of the easiest kinds of blog posts to do is Q&A. Take common questions you hear from potential and current clients and answer them, one-by-one. Answering questions serves multiple purposes:
It is always good to essentially say the same thing at the end of these posts, but change up the verbage a bit – tell the reader that if they have any additional questions to please leave a comment or contact you for more information. Last Tip: Don’t Forget To LinkWhether you are creating trust, explaining services or even answering questions, it is important to link to related pages and helpful blog posts. There are several purposes for this, but I will touch on three: One People are click happy. They like to click. The search engines monitor how long people stay on your site and how many pages they visit. The more pages people view, the better. So give the visitor more pages to visit. Two People will not work hard to find what they need. If they can’t quickly find a service on your site, they will just back out and leave and find a site that makes things easy for them. Always link to the service(s) you are discussing and make it easy for the visitor. Three Always link to related services or blog articles. If you offer carpet cleaning services and grout cleaning services as well, let people know that. At the bottom of the post have a “Related” area and link to other blog posts that could be helpful or related service pages. Blogging Photo via Shutterstock The post Blog With Purpose: 3 Tips to Start appeared first on Small Business Trends. |
| Mystery Millionaire Marketing Tips Posted: 09 Jan 2013 05:00 AM PST
Highlighted in the "mystery millionaire" portion of the program Debbie Wiener, mom and millionaire, fired off a few marketing tips to another small business owner in efforts to help them grow their company. It's the kind of advice that could make a big difference in establishing any small business brand. Below are two of her suggestions. Add A TaglineWhen potential customers visit your website or see the packaging for your product, it should be easy to figure out the core benefit of what you're offering. They shouldn't have to guess or take a long time digging through your content in order to discover what you can do for them. Let your visitors know up front with a tagline. In offering a little friendly advice to another small business owner Wiener said:
That's the key for all of us: make it easy for your future clients to understand what you're offering without having to talk to you. The tool that helps you make your message simple and clear up front is the tagline. You may want to check out The Artist and The Message — 6 Steps To A Better Tagline to help update yours. Think Globally, Act LocallyEven though you may take full advantage of the fact that the internet makes it easier to reach the world, always start where you are. The first steps to marketing your small business are often taken in your own back yard. Yes. Set up your website, so that you can reach the world. Put scalable systems in place, so that your company is ready to grow. But when it comes to publicity, Wiener suggests that you:
Action StepsIf you've never done it before, why not write your first press release this week. And then circulate it to the newspapers in your area. If they cover the story, then add the press clip (the article they published) to your website. Plus you can turn around — with new confidence — update your press release and then submit it to the local television and radio stations in the area. Keep in mind, journalists are looking for news, not an ad. Your release needs to have the tone of "this is interesting local information" instead of "buy my product now." Janet Meiners Thaeler offers Five Killer Press Release Tips for Small Businesses, in an earlier article. Marketing is a process, you don't have to do everything at once. But you do need to do something every month. Millionaire Photo via Shutterstock The post Mystery Millionaire Marketing Tips appeared first on Small Business Trends. |
| Report Says Businesses Are Still Cautious on Borrowing Posted: 09 Jan 2013 02:30 AM PST Small businesses are still the best hope for economic recovery and job creation, but if 2013 is the year, it may be without traditional financing. Entrepreneurs know borrowing isn’t the only way to fund business startup and growth. Today’s roundup has more about the state of small business financing and other tips on where to get the money you need to grow. Don’t Borrow TroubleA different one percent. We’re not talking about millionaires here, but the percentage U.S. small business lending rose in November, the last month for which small business credit rating company PayNet has data. The numbers suggest small businesses are still shy about borrowing. Concern over the economy, taxes, and the fiscal cliff only recently averted by Congress, are probably reasons. On the plus side, the report also shows companies have been paying down on debt. The Huffington Post Draw us a picture. It’s difficult to get a good picture of the lending situation with small business, says Ami Kassar, founder of MultiFunding, a Philadelphia-based firm that helps small companies find financing. That’s because various reports tell different and incomplete stories. For example, Small Business Administration data is limited to businesses receiving SBA funding, while information coming from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation includes credit card loans. The New York Times Other OptionsTurn on the juice. Ray Li and John Vitug founded Heart Juice, a healthy beverage brand now finding its way into grocery stores after winning a business plan competition. Instead of seeking out a business loan or other financing, Li and Vitug funded their startup with money from family and friends. Their success story is a great reminder that there are many ways to bring in the money needed to start up or expand an existing business. When seeking money for your company, consider all the possible sources available. CareerFuel Money tree. The U.K. government is looking to fund entrepreneurs to the tune of £2,500 a piece at a very low interest rate. The idea is to help young entrepreneurs obtain financing for startups. Prime Minister David Cameron recently announced changes in the eligibility criteria for the program. At first, the loans were available only to applicants between 18 and 24 years of age, but the age limit has now been raised to 30. More money will soon be available overall for loans, too, with an addition £30 million being added to the program over the next three years. bOnline Blog Up to the ChallengeKnow what you’re in for. Even with funding available, getting it for your business idea isn’t easy. Odds are stacked against you, says small business adviser Ian Smith. Even big name entrepreneurs like Dharmesh Shah, founder of HubSpot, have faced trouble getting financing. Knowing the challenge ahead, an entrepreneur seeking financing for a startup should go though what Smith calls “exceptional preparation.” Get ready for your next fundraising effort with this simple checklist. The Smith Report Elevate your pitch. The elevator pitch, an effort to convince a potential investor of the value of your idea in the few minutes it takes to share an elevator ride, is practically a rite of passage among certain entrepreneurial groups. The challenge is to convince a potential investor of the value of your business idea and get them to finance it in the shortest time possible. Here are some important tips from Noah Parsons, COO of Palo Alto Software, to help make your pitch the best. bPlans Find a following. The first thing investors like Reid Hoffman, co-founder of LinkedIn, look for in an opportunity is the ability to attract a massive audience. When you think about it, the ability to draw in a huge number of customers is the best way to insure your business idea will receive funding. Developing a solid customer base, or at least knowing how you will go about it, is the key to building a strong business anyway, so make this first on your list of priorities. Urooj Kazi The post Report Says Businesses Are Still Cautious on Borrowing appeared first on Small Business Trends. |
One of the biggest mistakes businesses make is creating articles of no value for their blog.
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