Twitter Ads API Gives You More Advertising Options

Twitter Ads API Gives You More Advertising Options
Sound Secrets for Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) Success
Don’t Miss These Favorite Small Business Books From 2012

Posted: 24 Feb 2013 02:00 PM PST

Twitter recently announced the launch of its advertising API, a move that will allow marketers to create more sophisticated ad campaigns and integrate Twitter advertising into their broader marketing plans rather than simply purchasing ads directly through Twitter.

Previously, businesses that advertised on Twitter could only upload one individual ad at a time, and they had to do so through Twitter itself rather than using their marketing agency or ad management platform.

With this latest change, businesses will be able to work with Twitter's partner companies to create more in-depth and targeted ad campaigns to run on Twitter, as well as integrate Twitter advertising into broader marketing strategies across a variety of sites and platforms.

Twitter's API launch partners include Adobe, Hootsuite, Salesforce, SHIFT, and TGB Digital, which have built on the platform and will begin offering new Twitter advertising options to a limited number of their clients. The company said that it has been testing the ads API with its partners since January. In addition, Twitter is accepting applications for more companies interested in using the API in the future.

Aside from creating a larger revenue base for Twitter, the release of its API could also lead to an influx of ads on the site and apps, which has some users worried. However, Facebook has been giving marketers access to its API for years and hasn't reported many ill effects.

Facebook first began testing its own advertising API in 2009 and has since allowed marketers to create automated ad campaigns that integrate a number of different advertising products. It has also given marketers the ability to create tools for measuring the impact of certain ads, when the best time to run ads might be, and what groups are the best fit to target.

Overall, this is good news for advertisers, as they will have more options to reach consumers on Twitter and they could also save time in managing their overall ad campaigns as they will no longer have to manage Twitter ads separately and manually.

The post Twitter Ads API Gives You More Advertising Options appeared first on Small Business Trends.

Sound Secrets for Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) Success

Posted: 24 Feb 2013 10:00 AM PST

sme success It's not an easy time to be a small or medium sized enterprise (SME) owner at the moment. The cost of living is high, people aren't spending their money and investors are becoming increasingly conservative.

If you're an entrepreneur, you may have even found yourself worrying about your cash flow management leaving you in financial hot water last year. But with help, you should be able to achieve your aims and get ahead of your rivals.

Secrets for SME Success

Look

For trouble down the line. In times of financial strife, preservation ought to be the watchword for any entrepreneur or SME owner. Just keeping afloat can be taxing and if you don't prepare for potentially choppy waters down the line, you can find yourself inundated in no time.

What if your clients are late with an invoice payment? What if you lose a lucrative contract?

Invoice finance can act as the life preserver you need to stave off disaster.

Listen

To what your customers have to say. No business can achieve success without giving its customers what they want.

Before you can look for new customers, you need to ensure you retain those you already have. Identify customer trends and changes in the market and respond to them before your customers go looking elsewhere.

Feel

The winds of change in the air. To be a successful business, you need to be able to change and adapt your products and services as situations dictate. What was successful last year may not work for you this year.

Be ready to try new ideas, expand your business and bring in new people. In order to fuel such radical changes, you may well need to consider exploring new avenues of funding in order to enable your growth. A measured risk often pays off in business growth.

Taste

The exotic fruit of unexplored markets. If you are looking to grow and expand your business, you may not find enough clients with money to spare in your existing markets.

This could be the year in which you reach out to new markets, bringing in eager new clients and taking your goods and services into territories you'd never considered before. Consider expanding geographically as well as into new niche areas of business.

Scent

The aromas of stagnation and fecundity. If things are going okay for your business, it can be difficult to tell that it's stuck in a rut and in need of some added vitality. Conversely, it's often tricky to know when your company's prosperous enough to embrace growth and make a change for the better.

Keep your nose to the ground and a finger on the pulse of your business – who's to say when you might need an injection of ledger finance to jump start your company or reach for the stars?

This could be a formative year for your business in any number of ways. But you're going to need to keep your wits about you and your options open if you are to embrace whatever opportunities may come your way.

SME Photo via Shutterstock

The post Sound Secrets for Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) Success appeared first on Small Business Trends.

Don’t Miss These Favorite Small Business Books From 2012

Posted: 24 Feb 2013 06:00 AM PST

With the 2013 Small Business Book Awards underway, I could not help but reminisce about my favorite small business books. I thought about the ones that made an impact on my way of thinking moving forward. I felt these books also impacted how small businesses can make a difference in their operations as well as in their community.

Without further adieu, I present my favorite small business books from 2012. I hope these inspire your thoughts for nominating your favorite small business books in this year's awards.

No You Can't Pick My Brain by Adrienne Graham

small business books This book should be every consultant's first book to read before going into business. It gives the best reminders of why you are in business – to make money.

Her quote, "There are no amount of pleasantries, well meaning deeds, gestures or sandwiches that will pay your bills" remains etched in my mind as a favorite.

Yet the writing goes beyond quips to valid arguments and solid analysis – a lesson for authors who think they can write any old article and attract a solid audience.

Data Driven Marketing by Mark Jeffery

small business books This textbook-in-disguise gets it right when it comes to envisioning metrics worth exploring.

Its value is in transforming surveyed responses into the top marketing metrics that can influence operations and ultimately make analytics everyone's business.

You will want to keep data driven marketing at your side. It is a solid book that sets a marketing context against other operations in your business. Business owners who like to learn will be in for a treat.

Our Black Year by Maggie Anderson with Ted Gregory

small business books I loved that the authors personalize the challenges facing black communities.

The concerns of racism and economic struggle have changed over time into critical questions on class and where meaningful dollars are being spent.

The text speaks sharply to the post civil-rights African American middle class. The resources offered are really good and the book will fascinate people who have an interest in community development.

Small Town Rules by Becky McCray and Barry Moltz

small business books Both authors Becky McCray and Barry Moltz have had plenty of success on their own, but this book should be considered a masterwork from them both.

Big and small companies are returning to the values of small towns and the 7 small town rules that they outline come from their real world experiences with large corporations and small business.

It's an excellent blended overview of the impact of technology as well as the impact on community as Our Black Year also outlines.

The Start Up of You co-authored by LinkedIn Co-founder/Chairman, Reid Hoffman, and Entrepreneur Ben Casnocha

small business books I liked how Reid Hoffman balanced the importance of team and individualism in his view on networking and the book offers actionable concepts to go along with the philosophical notions.

It is this kind of thinking that I easily imagine as an influence to LinkedIn's success.

Before you develop that earth-shattering app, read this book to gain a sense of proper value your startup should be bringing to the world.

What are some of your favorite small business books from 2012? Feel free to share them here in the comments. Or even better, consider nominating them for the 2013 Small Business Book Awards:

Nomination FAQs

(1) There is no nomination fee. That’s right, it costs nothing to nominate a book – zero.

(2) How can Small Business Trends afford to run awards without fees, you ask? It's thanks to the generous support of Namecheap, an ICANN-accredited domain registrar. Presenting this year's awards is yet one more way that Namecheap is supporting the small business community. So if you want to thank anyone for this awesome opportunity to discover new books and share your favorites, be sure to thank Namecheap.

(3) Can I nominate my own book or book app? (Remember, there's a "resources" category this year, too.) Yes, anyone can nominate a book – it doesn’t matter who submits the nomination. The idea behind community awards is that the entire community receives an opportunity to participate.

Book lovers, authors, publishers, book app developers, fans — head over to the 2013 Small Business Book Awards site, and — nominate away!

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