3 Ways to Use Online Video in Small Business Marketing

3 Ways to Use Online Video in Small Business Marketing
Profit Sharing Surprise: Lenovo CEO Shares Bonus with Employees
12 Ideas for a Better Business Meetup
New Biz Ideas Site, a Startup Wiki, and More
On the Long Road to Economic Recovery? You Decide

Posted: 02 Sep 2013 04:30 PM PDT

online video

If you're not using online video content to draw in traffic and new customers for your small business, you're behind the online marketing curve. Video is a huge platform in the online world—a 2013 survey from consulting firm Accenture finds that 90 percent of global consumers watch video content online.

The major video hosting websites are boasting some pretty impressive numbers, too. There are 13 million Vine users on Twitter, social video platform Vimeo has just announced 14 million members, and video giant YouTube has a viewership in the billions.

How can your small business tap in to the power of online video content?

3 Ways Your Small Business Can Use Online Video

Educate Beyond Your Brand

A lot of companies create educational videos that show how to use their products, or portray their services in action. It's good to have this type of content, but there are a few problems with limiting educational videos to your business offerings.

First, you're going to run out of content fairly quickly. Second, your videos will all look like what they are: Advertisements.

It's important to remember that when online consumers look for video content, they're not looking to be marketed to. They want something that adds value. So instead of focusing on education for your brand, think about any complementary ideas or services you can illustrate on video for your visitors. For example, a restaurant might offer cooking tips videos.

If your small business designs websites, put together a video on color theory to inform your audience. There are plenty of possibilities.

Go Behind the Scenes

Online video content is an opportunity to put a human face on your brand. When you show consumers what happens behind the scenes at your business, you help them realize that you're offering more than just a product or service—there are real people they can relate to behind it all.

There are many different ways to present behind-the-scenes video. You can create a series of staff interviews, create a day-in-the-life scenario, do a walk-through of your office, production floor or warehouse and more.

Showing what your customers don't usually see is a great way to generate interest in your small business through online video content.

Don't Speak for Yourself

Your online audience trusts consumer reviews over any other form of marketing or advertising—so why not translate that trusted source to video?

Testimonials and customer interviews make for an interesting and convincing form of video content that goes over well with Internet viewers.

There are a few ways to go about getting video testimonials. You can put out a call on your website, through email marketing, or on social media and ask your customers to send in video clips—either talking about or using your products or services. If you have a retail location, you can record testimonials on-site (be sure to get your customers' permission to use the video for marketing, of course).

How will you use video for your online marketing strategy?

Watching Video Photo via Shutterstock

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Profit Sharing Surprise: Lenovo CEO Shares Bonus with Employees

Posted: 02 Sep 2013 01:45 PM PDT

Yang Yuanqing - profit sharing

Chinese computer maker Lenovo announced that its CEO, Yang Yuanqing, will share $3+ million of his personal bonus with employees. This is the second year he has done that.

About 10,000 manufacturing employees will each get a payment of around $325. Bloomberg News points out the amount is almost equal to a month’s pay for a typical city worker in China.

Mr. Yang (pictured) won’t go hungry, however. Last year he was paid $14.6 million. He’ll have plenty of other non-bonus compensation.

Yang appears to be bringing results for Lenovo. Lenovo has taken over the top PC manufacturer spot, with sales topping $34 billion. He’s also led the company to become a smartphone maker. Lenovo is also rumored to be considering a buyout of BlackBerry, which put itself up for sale last month.

Some observers point out his motives are not completely altruistic – or the payment wouldn’t have been announced so publicly.

Still, the move is remarkable in an age when CEOs get multimillion dollar bonuses even when their companies post losses — or worse, as they are headed out the door after being fired.

Perhaps Mr. Yang simply knows a thing or two about employee motivation. The reality is, he stands to make a lot more later if employees feel a part of the company’s success. Giving up his bonus today is a brilliant investment in the future — Lenovo’s, employees, and his own. It builds good will and a desire to do more among employees who see tangible rewards aligned with the company’s successes.

Small Business Owners Know Why He Did It

It’s fairly common for small businesses to share profits — even though they do not have to.

According to the National Center for Employee Ownership (NCEO), small business owners implement profit sharing for a number of reasons:

To attract and retain good employees.
To make the business perform better. (“Several reliable studies indicate that, on average, employee-owned firms perform substantially better than non-employee owned firms when ownership is combined with employee participation in decisions affecting their work,” the NCEO site points out.)
To buy out an owner. (It can be hard to sell a business, so one way to get value out of the business is to “sell” it to employees.)
To raise capital.
For tax benefits.
Because small business owners believe it’s the right thing to do. (For intangible moral and spiritual rewards.)

Running a successful business always rests on an interrelated web of benefits for all involved: the business itself, owners, and employees. There has to be a benefit for every constituency. In other words, when you share profits, there are reasons it helps the business, reasons it helps the owners/shareholders, and reasons it helps employees.

Does it help Yang and Lenovo? Of course it does. But don’t overlook the benefits shared by all involved.

Some entrepreneurs and small business owners understand this instinctively. To them, the Lenovo’s chief’s motives will seem perfectly aligned.

CC photo by Natalie Behring, World Economic Forum

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12 Ideas for a Better Business Meetup

Posted: 02 Sep 2013 11:30 AM PDT

business meetup

Being a top entrepreneur means taking the lead. When you provide opportunities for other entrepreneurs to connect with each other, you gain not only trust (and needed support), but pull within your local community too. So how do you make sure that your business meetup events are successful, and not just another boring cocktail hour?

To find out, we asked members of the Young Entrepreneur Council, an invitation-only organization comprised of successful entrepreneurs, the following question:

“What’s one best practice for running a successful business meetup group for entrepreneurs?”

Here's what YEC community members had to say:

1. Plan in Advance

“The best practice to run a successful business meetup group for entrepreneurs is taking time to plan the event in advance. I've found that it is best to plan at least three to four weeks in advance so there is enough time to work out all of the details, find a venue and ensure every entrepreneur attending the meetup-style group is able to make arrangements for the day.” ~ Jay Wu, A Forever Recovery

2. Get to Your Venue Early

“Get to your venue early, and make sure everything is in order. This includes making sure enough seating is available and ensuring that all audio/visual equipment works properly. One of your goals in running a business meetup is to impress, and if the meeting encounters a hitch, you’re unlikely to achieve that goal.” ~ Andrew Schrage, Money Crashers Personal Finance

3. Get Startups to Demo

“It’s the best way to invite someone to see what your meetup is all about. Plus, it’s a nearly instant way to make it valuable for them. The audience hears what they’re working on, wants to hear more, and suddenly, there’s a family of people there every time.” ~ Derek Flanzraich, Greatist

4. Give Everyone a Name Tag

“I love meeting people, but I’m horrible at remembering names. If everyone has a name tag, then it’s much easier to make introductions and build relationships. Bonus points if you encourage everyone to include his or her Twitter handle, business name or “I’m interested in…” as well. “ ~ Kelly Azevedo, She’s Got Systems

5. Create Clear Goals and Expectations

“Many people join communities because they attend an event from that community. Once they do, the organizer needs to work to keep them there. Providing a clear mission statement and adhering to it is essential in growing and maintaining the community. If the goal is education events, don’t just do happy hours. People join because of what you offer up front, and keeping that as a baseline is key. “ ~ Aron Schoenfeld, Do It In Person LLC

6. Organize Specific Discussion Topics

“There’s nothing worse than having a business meetup with no direction. Groups that don’t have focus will fizzle and die very quickly. This can be through the form of talks, events, etc. If you give everyone something to talk about, it creates an environment of learning and meaningful connections, which is ultimately the purpose of a meetup.” ~ James Simpson, GoldFire Studios

7. Be Confidential

“Start every business meetup with an explicit statement that everything shared within the group should stay within the group. Knowing that the discussions are confidential can help founders open up and share their real problems, such as running out of cash or dealing with a difficult employee. And they can learn from the entrepreneurs who have gone through these situations before.” ~ Bhavin Parikh, Magoosh Test Prep

8. Set the Tone Immediately

“Create the culture you’re hoping to have for your group at the first event. Do this by stacking the room with your contacts who know what you have in mind, and let the word spread from there. I run several such events, and by doing this very thing, I’ve been able to grow them exponentially both locally and around the country — all true to the same values and mission. “ ~ Darrah Brustein

9. Focus on Relationships

“Entrepreneurs are excited to be part of something that is growing and becoming grand, so tap in to those desires by helping us create relationships with other dreamers, people we can share with, learn from and with whom we can explore new possibilities. Focus less on being cool and more on being human.” ~ Corey Blake, Round Table Companies

10. Make It Exclusive

“Make your group invite-only so it’s more exclusive and to ensure quality control. Many of the best entrepreneurs I know in London don’t bother with general business meetups anymore, and by creating an invite-only group with a strong core, you will generate a lot of interest from those aspiring membership. Plus, knowing your niche is very important in today’s crowded landscape.” ~ Christopher Pruijsen, StartupBus Africa

11. Build a Supportive Community

“The biggest value of a meetup group is the people. From my experience, running a 500-plus developer group (Seattle Unity3D User Group) and building a supportive community is key to getting more people involved and teamed up to create bigger and better things. Help people get to know one another on a personal level with social hangouts and set a casual yet supportive tone for the group. “ ~ Brandon Wu, Studio Pepwuper

12. Lay out Helpful Assignments

“The hardest part of a business meetup is the first 15 minutes. You want to balance structure with freedom so that people don’t run to the bathroom to avoid the exercise. Lay out a couple challenges that have clear personal benefits for attendees but no deadline. A goal could be to learn about three new valuable apps or find two people for whom you can make introductions. Make it about helping one another. “ ~ Heidi Allstop, Spill

Business Meetup Concept Photo via Shutterstock

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New Biz Ideas Site, a Startup Wiki, and More

Posted: 02 Sep 2013 08:30 AM PDT

Community insights

We’re back with another community news and announcements roundup, to get a bead on what’s on the minds of entrepreneurs and small business owners. We plan to get back to doing these roundups on a regular basis, once again. Whether it’s a fascinating insight from a small business blog, a new site launch we think you’ll be interested in, we aim to keep you up to date.

Let’s dive right in:

A new website makes business ideas easy to share. From the flashing “cereal box” to the “photo booth bird feeder,” you’ll find unique and interesting ideas for new businesses, featured on a new site called Bizopy. The site bills itself as the home of “shareable business ideas.” You can sign up to have the latest posts delivered via Facebook update, tweet or email. The site comes to you from Dane Carlson, founder of Dane Carlson’s Business Opportunities Weblog. Bizopy

Have you checked out The Great Startup Wiki? Lucas Greene, founder of the site, dropped us an email this week. And we’re glad he did. The site brings together how-to articles for business owners and other resources in a unique wiki format that Greene says is also mobile friendly. Content is still sparse and the site is still in beta. Bookmark it and watch as it develops. The Great Startup Wiki

Hyperlocal advertising is not a good bet. After the recent downsizing at Patch, we’ve seen some postmortems on why such business models don’t work. Sean Barkulis, co-founder of UPlanMe, explains why hyperlocal businesses dependent on advertising aimed at local users are a bad idea. He also has an alternative. Street Fight

The art of playing hard to get. Art can be a business like any other. But success in this business isn’t about the professional artist selling a million copies of his or her work. And it also isn’t about trying to sell work for a lower price than competitors. (Perish the thought!) Instead, artist Naomi Novella suggests a strategy aimed at making art worth more to buyers. Artbiz Rx: Creative Business Ideas

A list of inspiring women entrepreneurs. Chandra Clarke, founder of Scribendi.com has collected an impressive list of names from her fellow entrepreneurs. You’ll probably recognize some of them too. Be sure and tell us which are your favorites. Never Pink

Happy Birthday “hat tip” to this social media site. We love to celebrate milestones with others in the extended small business community. So it’s great to send a shout out to Mike Allton of Social Media Hat. His site shares tips on blogging, social media and marketing for small business and reached the one-year mark this week. He’s already made a name for the site, in just one year — proving what hard work and persistence can accomplish. Mike reckons he has published 400 posts and 50 guest posts on blogging and social media so far. Social Media Hat

Decide between a development firm and an independent developer. When you build your first business site or a replacement for your existing site, you will need a good software developer. But you will also need the right kind. Tim Jahn takes us through the process of deciding between the two major types of developer and pros and cons of each. Don’t make a move before reading his post in full. Matchist

The day of the solopreneur has dawned. Since 2010, Larry Keltto has been monitoring tweets using the hashtag #solopreneurs. At the same time, he has been tirelessly promoting awareness of the more than 20 million solopreneurs in the United States alone. Lately, Larry says he can tell this awareness is at an all time high. Just look at all the spamming the hashtag now receives! The Solopreneur Life

A franchise workers’ strike shouldn’t cause panic. Franchise King Joel Libava urges calm with threats that many workers may be walking off the job in protest of wages. Libava gives some advice on handling what could be difficult days ahead. He also encourages prospective franchise owners not to give up on their franchise dream. The Franchise King

We hope you’ve enjoyed this small biz community insights roundup.

1) Please leave a comment below. Tell us what other kinds of news and announcements you’d like us to cover in these weekly updates.

2) Send us your news or best articles, and if we think they are interesting and newsworthy, we’ll try to cover them. Email to: sbtips@gmail.com. Or share it over at our sister site, BizSugar — we often scout for gems there.

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On the Long Road to Economic Recovery? You Decide

Posted: 02 Sep 2013 05:00 AM PDT

road to recovery

It's been nearly six years since the Great Recession began and four years since the current economic recovery started, making it a good time to take stock of where small business stands.

The National Federation of Independent Business's (NFIB)'s Small Business Economic Trends survey provides some clues. The overall message from the data is this: Small business is doing better than it was at the start of the economic recovery, but has not yet returned to pre-recession conditions.

The NFIB's effort is the longest-running survey of small business owners. While it is not a representative sample – it covers only members of the NFIB – the number of topics it includes, and the length of the series, make it a valuable source of information about small business owners' opinions.

I looked at responses to 21 questions that I think are most indicative of small business economic conditions. I focused on data gathered during three July surveys (to avoid issues of seasonality): in 2007 (before the Great Recession), in 2009 (when the recovery was just beginning) and in 2013 (now). I divided the questions into three categories – the current situation, access to credit, and views of the future.

Some of the measures are now close to 2007 levels, but not a single one has returned completely to prerecession levels. Most, but not all, are more positive than they were when the economic recovery began.

Table 1. Current Situation

Source: Created from data from Small Business Economic Trends

Consider the numbers in Table 1, which includes questions that assess the current situation of small businesses. The net percentage of businesses that reported having higher sales three months earlier was -1 in July of 2007. That is, one percent more businesses reported lower sales than higher sales for the April to June 2007 period than for the January to March 2007.

By contrast, when the recovery was just beginning in July 2009 the net percentage was -34. That is, 34 percent more companies reported lower sales than higher sales over the three months from April to June 2009 than for January to March 2009. This July, the net percentage was -7: a better situation than in 2009, but worse than in 2007.

Or consider the data on job openings at small businesses. In July 2007, 23 percent of companies had unfilled positions. In July 2009, that fraction was down to 9 percent. In July of 2013, the number was back to 20 percent – an improvement on 2009 but worse than in 2007.

Table 2. Credit Conditions

Source: Created from data from Small Business Economic Trends

Table 2 shows the responses to questions about access to credit. While a greater fraction of businesses reported having their credit needs satisfied in July 2013 than in July 2009 – 30 percent versus 28 percent – the more recent fraction remains lower than in July 2007 when it was 37 percent.

By contrast, the percentage of regular borrowers does not appear to have recovered at all. The share of companies borrowing at least once every three months fell from 36 percent in July 2007 to 33 percent in July 2009 and then fell again to 31 percent in July 2013.

Table 3. Views of the Future

Source: Created from data from Small Business Economic Trends

Table 3 shows small business owners' views of the future. Responses to most of the outlook questions were more negative this July than in July 2007, though they are largely more positive than in July 2009. For instance, when asked if the next three months are a "good time to expand" only 9 percent said "yes" in July, compared to 16 percent in July of 2007 and 5 percent in July of 2009.

Similarly, back in July 2007, 23 percent more small business owners planned to increase hiring than decrease it. That number was much lower in July 2009 when 3 percent more small business owners planned to cut hiring than to expand it. In July 2013, the number was again positive – 9 percent more owners planned to add workers than lay them off – but it remained lower than in 2007.

In short, the NFIB data show that small business is doing better than it was when the recovery first began. The data also show that small business is not doing as well as before the Great Recession.

What the data don't tell us is whether the recovery for small business is just painfully slow or whether small business will never again do as well as it did in 2007.

Road to Recovery Photo via Shutterstock

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Tuesday, September 3, 2013