Bizapalooza: An Online Event to Crank Up Your Bottom Line |  |
- Bizapalooza: An Online Event to Crank Up Your Bottom Line
- Google AdWords Image Extensions Coming Soon
- 5 Ways Business Intelligence and Online Marketing Can Work Together
- Best Small Business Use of Facebook Graph Search: Local Businesses
- 4 Ways To Make Your Trade Show Booth More Social
| Bizapalooza: An Online Event to Crank Up Your Bottom Line Posted: 10 Jul 2013 04:00 PM PDT
Find it hard to get away from your business to attend conferences in person? Air flights and hotel charges just not in your budget? But still hunger for valuable resources? We’ve got the answer. The first ever Bizapalooza virtual conference aims to provide just as much content and information as an in-person event, but without the inconvenience or cost. The event, which will be held online July 16-18, 2013, will include presentations from well-known small business experts like Anum Hussain of Hubspot; Bridget Weston Pollack, Marketing Director of SCORE; Jim Kukral; and Sabrina Parsons, CEO of Palo Alto Software. There are more than 20 speakers who will present at the event. Inspiration in NumbersIt's a well-documented fact that there are some 28 million small businesses in the US alone. Bizapalooza Founder, Ivana Taylor, (you might know her as Small Business Trends' Book Editor) thought, what if every one of those businesses — and from other countries, too — had the resources and knowledge to grow their businesses enough to hire just one more person? What sort of impact could that have on our economy? Creating 28 million new jobs is no easy task, but Taylor understood the power of the individual business owner in making that happen. She looked at the reach she had as a blogger, author and social media user, and realized she just might be able to reach millions of small business owners through her network. ”If I could reach a sizable number of those business owners, then I could provide them with a useful resource, like a virtual event, that could help them create just one more job,” Taylor noted. From there, Taylor decided to create a virtual event that brings the fun and energy of the rock concert experience to building and growing a business. She considers Bizapalooza the business version of the 1990′s Lollapalooza music events. But instead of grunge-wearing teens, the attendees would be committed business owners. There would still be a killer soundtrack, of course. Bizapalooza DetailsThe topics will be as varied as the diverse group of speakers Taylor has organized. Some topics slated for the agenda include:
And that soundtrack? Not a joke. Taylor compiled a playlist of all the presenters' favorite rock songs to inspire the rock n' roll theme for the event. The virtual conference is free to attend. Register here: http://smallbizapalooza.com/ The post Bizapalooza: An Online Event to Crank Up Your Bottom Line appeared first on Small Business Trends. |
| Google AdWords Image Extensions Coming Soon Posted: 10 Jul 2013 01:30 PM PDT
Soon you will be able to add images to your search ads on Google. The company announced the beta launch of image extensions to AdWords on its official Inside AdWords blog last month. But it may be a little while before most advertisers can take advantage. In the post, Awaneesh Verma, Product Manager for Google Ad Formats explained:
The addition of images to AdWords will give more visual appeal to search results pages on Google. One example of the format for the new image extensions shows three images presented horizontally across the column above the first hyperlinked text for the ad (pictured above). Google estimates that currently more than one in six searches return results with visual content. Search ads with image extensions will be more likely to be displayed on pages that include these kinds of results. Eventually, any business that takes advantage of Google AdWords will be able to choose whether to include images with an ad campaign. However, AdWords image extensions is currently in beta test stage and Google says the current service is for English language only. The number of advertisers able to participate will be very limited while Google is experimenting with setup, reporting and performance for the new ads. Google is asking small business owners and other advertisers to fill out an image extensions interest form if they’d like to participate in the beta. The company said it hopes to bring all interested AdWords advertisers that want the photo accompaniment online with the official introduction of image extensions later this year. Image: Adwords Blogspot The post Google AdWords Image Extensions Coming Soon appeared first on Small Business Trends. |
| 5 Ways Business Intelligence and Online Marketing Can Work Together Posted: 10 Jul 2013 11:00 AM PDT
When you really think about it, online marketing and business intelligence were born to work with each other. Both fields are built on utilizing data to make decisions in order to improve processes and optimize ROI (return on investment). However, for many companies, business intelligence continues to be an elusive concept that never quite finds its way to the top of the priority list. In my experience, once you learn how synergistic these two disciplines can be, it makes sense to prioritize their integration. From advertising to audience research, below are five great ways that business intelligence and online marketing can work together. Business Intelligence and Online Marketing Can Work TogetherAdvertisingProviding comprehensive target audience data across offline and online platforms can help campaigns be more targeted. Business intelligence allows companies to craft their ideal audience behavior patterns across multiple forms of media — including television, radio, print and online. This type of research often translates into a starting point for building an online advertising campaign. Along the same lines, online advertising can usually generate faster results reports because they are commonly based on impressions, clicks and online purchases. Instant data can benefit offline advertising campaigns by offering an initial glimpse into the effectiveness of a seasonal campaign, branding colors or new product ads. Demographic & Behavioral AnalysisBusiness intelligence firms like Domo already offer real-time analytics based on online marketing efforts, so it makes sense for Web analytics to have more a presence here. Both social media and search engine marketing campaigns can benefit from the structured analysis that business intelligence experts are already using. Search engine marketing is slowly becoming more of an analytical position, as many analytics platforms (like Google Analytics) now provide a large depth of data that includes basic demographics as well as user search behavior. For instance, if 90% of all American visitors to your website go to a specific product or services page, then it would make sense to further develop marketing and advertising for that product in the United States. A 2011 article in Search Engine Land highlights that slow shift in emphasis in data analysis for many available search engine marketing positions. By placing a bigger emphasis on the data behind online marketing campaigns, traditional business intelligence reports can translate how online marketing efforts are (positively or negatively) affecting the bottom line. Additionally, social media engagement data is a great way to get a good glimpse at the overall demographics (age, gender, location) of users that are engaging most with the company online. The raw data from social media is definitely overwhelming at first. Fortunately, key metrics and formulas that business intelligence analyzers normally use can help filter and make sense of the key information social media can provide. Besides demographic data (IQ), social media also provides emotional pattern data, as social media comments and behavior is an indicator of brand sentiment. This can help businesses see how their customers feel about their brand, as it’s not always about the numbers. Event Research and AnalysisWhen offline events are promoted online, it can give good insight into overall customer patterns, thus helping to increase event marketing effectiveness. By learning the time, location and ways that customers interact with event ticketing, event planners can learn when the best time is to promote events, what types of events do well and adjust ticket prices optimize sales. A proper online event marketing campaign can track a customer’s interaction from start to finish. This includes tracking how they found out about the event through metrics such as entrance pages, referral sites and custom promo codes. The chance to combine real world events and promotions with online marketing campaigns is one of the best ways business intelligence and online marketing can work together. Content StrategyIf big data from business intelligence is giving online marketers a good idea of their target audience, then marketers can understand what type of online content results in the most traffic and conversions. This gives the company a good idea as to what their target audience is most interested in, allowing the company to modify its content strategy going forward. For instance, e-books and white papers take quite a bit of effort to create, but if they result in a higher conversion rate, then it might be worthwhile to focus on them more than infographics or daily blog posts. Overall Marketing StrategyAccording to digital marketing agency AccuraCast, business intelligence can give marketers a better view of how to effectively interact with their customers online:
It's much more accurate and efficient to combine existing website knowledge with proven customer behavior patterns to create actionable marketing goals. Any marketing campaign, online or off, needs set goals to track progress. ConclusionOverall, when it comes to business intelligence and online marketing, taking big data, forming it into goals and then translating it back into actionable insight is one of the best ways to craft a marketing and advertising strategy that works and is continually optimized. Business Analytics Photo via Shutterstock The post 5 Ways Business Intelligence and Online Marketing Can Work Together appeared first on Small Business Trends. |
| Best Small Business Use of Facebook Graph Search: Local Businesses Posted: 10 Jul 2013 08:07 AM PDT
Back in January, Facebook announced a new search feature called Graph Search, which you may have heard about. According to Facebook, “tens of millions of people” used it, and gave feedback. And this week the social media site says it tweaked Graph Search and rolled it out to all U.S. Facebook users. The extent to which Graph Search will benefit businesses, however, remains to be seen. Back in January some observers were underwhelmed and/or put off by invasion of privacy implications. Techcrunch”s Natasha Lomas pronounced Graph Search “humorless, creepy and doomed to disappoint.” Sam Biddle at Gizmodo pointed out how individuals may reveal information they might not want the world to know. And while I haven’t revealed anything on my personal Facebook profile or business Pages that I don’t want the world to know, some others have. For instance, I was shocked to discover almost 10 people I’ve never heard of claiming to work for Small Business Trends! That’s something I learned by searching on our trademarked brand name. See screenshot above of the employees I never knew we had. Aside from that little tidbit – which I still am not sure what to do about — it’s hard for me to see how Graph Search will be of much value to my business. But there is one type of business I can see immediately getting some value from Graph Search: local businesses. Let me give you a quick look of what Graph Search can do for your business (or not). Searchers Have to “Activate” Graph SearchThe first thing you should know about Graph Search is that users may still have to “activate” it if they haven’t used it yet. Luckily that’s a simple process. Go to the Facebook Graph Search page. Scroll down until you see the large button that says “Try Graph Search” and click on that. If you’re not able to click on that button, it means Graph Search is already available to you. In my case, I had to click that button, log out of Facebook, and immediately log back in, before I could use Graph Search. Next, to use Graph Search, you simply insert a search phrase in the recently-enlarged search box that now appears in the top left corner of Facebook. When you do that, you will see many new searching options, presented in the drop-down. For instance, let’s say you are looking for blue widgets. When you search, the first item to come up likely is the Facebook Page for Blue Widgets. But if Graph Search is enabled, most likely you will also see some new search options, such as:
See the screenshot below showing some of these new search options. If you can see those sorts of search options, you know that you have Graph Search enabled.
Which Small Businesses Will Find Graph Search Useful?Whether small businesses will get value out of Graph Search — at least in its current form — all depends. It depends on the type of business you have, and your needs. Getting Your Business Discovered: Local BusinessesOne benefit of Facebook Graph Search is that it may make some businesses easier to get discovered. That’s not true for a business like ours, Small Business Trends. We’re not a local business. Not many people will be searching for our type of business by location. Nor will they be searching by, say, type of product to find us. Local businesses or retailers that sell particular types of products, is a different story. Graph Search may be more helpful to them, to get discovered. For example, let’s say you run a pizza restaurant. If someone is searching for pizza that their friends like, in their local town, your pizza place may get discovered that way. And for a local business, that could be valuable. For example, I searched for pizza places my friends visited in Cleveland, Ohio, and got a nice list with reviews.
If you are a local business, make sure your location is spelled out clearly on your Facebook Page. Take the time to describe your business — the products you sell and services you provide. The more detail on your Facebook Page, the more that can show up in a search. Also, the bigger your following or fan network, the more benefit you get out of Graph Search. Facebook Graph Search is really about search at the intersection of word of mouth. Graph Search is very good for helping someone find out what their friends like. The more people who Like your business, the more chances of your business appearing in the Graph Search results when users search for what their friends like. So keep growing that fan base. Ask satisfied customers to leave reviews of your business, also. Using Graph Search for Marketing and AdvertisingAnother use of Graph Search could be for prospecting for new customers and connections based on very specific interests, i.e., microtargeting. It can help you identify specific people who like something. Of course, reaching out to them directly might seem intrusive, and backfire. Some Wall Street analysts have talked about the power of upcoming Graph Search ads. While that makes for a good investor theme (Facebook is under pressure to increase ad revenues, after all), some of the analysts making those assertions appear not to know much about advertising on Facebook. For instance, you can already slice and dice your ad targets on Facebook. Facebook ads excel at their ability to target people with certain interests. True, those ads don’t appear in search results. But Facebook’s search results are not Google’s search results. Unlike when people search in a search engine, they are not usually searching with buying intent when using Facebook Graph Search. As Eoin Keenan of Silicon Cloud points out, in Facebook “… most searches will have nothing to do with brands. Searches are designed to find content, like photos or posts that are specified by locations, friends or another identifier.” Besides, Graph Search ads are experimental and something for the future. You still can’t search through Facebook posts and comments, either, although Facebook is reportedly working on those. Bottom line: don’t expect too much out of Graph Search when it comes to your marketing – at least in its current iteration. Aside from helping local businesses get discovered more/better, it may not provide much value to your business. For Those Concerned About Privacy on FacebookFinally, if you get alarmed at the idea of others being able to search so easily for everything you’ve personally ever shared on Facebook, go to the Graph Search Privacy page. You will find instructions to control what you share publicly. The post Best Small Business Use of Facebook Graph Search: Local Businesses appeared first on Small Business Trends. |
| 4 Ways To Make Your Trade Show Booth More Social Posted: 10 Jul 2013 05:00 AM PDT Trade shows are both fun and lucrative, especially when you’re trying to bring in a bigger customer base. The problem is that some of those booths look the same. After a while, they all start to blend together. With everyone on social media these days, you can actually make your trade show booth space much more dynamic by playing up its social reach—just turn your booth into the proverbial social butterfly. Get Cute with a QR Code
QR codes are the next big thing, and they’re only getting bigger. You see them in stores, restaurants, and even dry cleaning businesses, plus they’re on business cards, in magazines, and all kinds of other ads. Including a big, bold QR code on your trade show booth offers several benefits, all of which can pull people in and make them eager to try your product or service:
Set Up Networking Pages for Your Booth
Having a Facebook and Twitter account for your business is great, but why not piggyback on those pages and increase your reach? One fun, helpful way to make your trade show booth more social is to make other pages specifically for the booth or the events you’re attending. You might go for an informative angle or a humorous one. If you’re not keen on creating all new pages on Facebook or Google+, set up events on those sites and invite your fans. Then think outside the box and start a fun but informative Tumblr page for your booth. It’s a new twist, which promises to grab attention. Invite Interaction with Cell Phone Integration
With so many people using smartphones and tablets, you have a fantastic opportunity to promote your booth. Make sure you’re signed up on sites such as Yelp and Foursquare, so visitors can rate your booth or business and check in while they’re there. You can take things a step further and offer a giveaway or prize that people enter by either checking in at your booth or leaving a comment on your Facebook or website. You can then do a random drawing. This gets people to check out your booth, plus it gives them incentive. Once you draw them in, they’re far more likely to come back. How About an App for That?
If you don’t already have an app, now’s the time to start thinking about it. It could either be tailored to your business or strictly for trade show events. You can create an app that lets users see where you are at the show, or at all the shows you plan to work in the future. If it works for what you offer, any sorts of games or coupon codes are sure to go over big. It’s a social world out there, even if a lot of it gets done over phones, tablets, and computers, so use it to your advantage. How do you make your booth social? The post 4 Ways To Make Your Trade Show Booth More Social appeared first on Small Business Trends. |
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