Latest List of Small Business Events and Awards |  |
- Latest List of Small Business Events and Awards
- Facebook’s Cult Status, Cause Marketing and More
- How Do You Use Hashtags?
- Raise Your Pay with “How to Negotiate A Killer Job Offer”
| Latest List of Small Business Events and Awards Posted: 12 Oct 2013 06:03 PM PDT Welcome to our latest curated list of events, contests and awards for small businesses, solo entrepreneurs and growing companies. To see a full list or to submit your own event, contest or award listing, visit the Small Business Events Calendar. Featured Events, Contests and AwardsTwitter Chat Hosted by HP – #NewStyleIT
At the appointed time, just go to Twitter.com, and search on the hashtag #NewStyleIT to see who is participating and follow the discussion. And to join in, just start tweeting with the hashtag #NewStyleIT in your tweets. See you there! Twitter hashtag: #NEWStyleIT. Small Business Influencer Awards Gala 2013 The 2013 Small Business Influencer Awards recognize the apps, organizations and people who have a strong impact on small businesses in North America. Now its 3rd year, the Awards are a coveted recognition for those who serve small businesses. Join us in New York City on the evening of October 17th for a night of networking with movers and shakers in the small business and entrepreneurial world. We will be handing out Awards and recognizing the winners, too. But you don’t need to be an Award winner to participate — just join in for the fun and to make important connections. Twitter hashtag: #SMBinfluencer. More Events
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This weekly listing of small business events, contests and awards is provided as a community service by Small Business Trends and SmallBizTechnology. The post Latest List of Small Business Events and Awards appeared first on Small Business Trends. |
| Facebook’s Cult Status, Cause Marketing and More Posted: 12 Oct 2013 12:30 PM PDT
Yes, it’s that time again. Another week has come and gone and it’s time for another community news and information roundup. If you’re new to this feature, it’s time for the Small Business Trends team to take a survey of news, tips and new things to announce from our small business community. Please drop by these sites and, if you can, tell them you heard about them here! Let’s get started. Is Facebook a Modern Day Cult? (Sensei Marketing) Marketers and small business owners alike use the platform regularly to build brand and connect with customers. But Sam Fiorella, a partner at Sensei Marketing, has these thoughts about the social platform’s other characteristics. Of course, there is a marketing lesson to be learned. Check Out the Power of Cause Marketing. (Vertical Measures) If you could combine your marketing efforts with efforts to raise awareness for a worthwhile cause, just imagine how your customers would feel. Just imagine the good you could do. Laura Holloway explains the basics of cause marketing. 10 Things Not to Do in Your Content Marketing. (SteamFeed) Please don’t let your content fall into one of the 10 worst offender categories. Jennifer Kane shares things she says no one wants to see on your website. From poor photos to too many hashtags to too much “bloated and meandering” prose. This is the stuff that will turn your visitors off. We’re Glad to be in Great Company! (Davpack) A big congratulations to Sian Phillips, editor of our sister site, TweakYourBiz.com, on being named to the list of “Top 20 Blogs that will Help your Business.” Small Business Trends was also named to the list, and we couldn’t be more pleased. There are some great sites listed on here so be sure to check it out. Don’t Forget the Power of the Press Release. (Entrepreneurs Club Radio) In this day and age of social media sites and blogging, it’s easy to forget about the simple yet powerful press release. It’s an important way to get the media to tell your story, says small business marketing consultant Dianne Myers. Learning From the Big Brands. (Stacy Shanks) You may have a small business, but there’s still plenty you can learn from the big brands. (Are they doing it right?) Stacy Shanks has these examples you don’t want to miss. She also takes a look at integrated marketing and what it takes to pull it off effectively. More Case Studies on Social Media Marketing. (Amanda Scheffer Cavanagh) There’s a lot to learn from brands of all sizes when it comes to using social media. Here’s another great couple of case studies we found recently from blogger Amanda Scheffer Cavanagh. Amanda also took time to select brands with which she’s familiar hopefully providing even greater insight. An Interesting Take on Twitter. (Leverage) There’s frequently debate in the social media marketing world about how to determine the most effective channel for your company’s message. But this post makes an argument for Twitter as the uber channel from which all other marketing can spring. What Can Tina Fey Teach You About Product Development? (Luxr) If this sounds like the setup for a Saturday Night Live routine, don’t worry. It’s not. Instead, here’s a simple look at the importance of collaboration in your process. How are you coming up with that next great idea? Head Off Customer Complaints at the Pass. (Robin) OK. It’s probably unrealistic to hope you won’t get any of these. But there are some steps your ecommerce business in particular could take to try to catch these problems before they start. Michiel Gaasterland, marketing director at Robin, has more. Well, that’s another wrap for our weekly community news and information roundup. Don’t forget that you can help us make this feature even better each week just by sharing some of your news with us. Email us at sbtips@gmail.com or share it at the BizSugar community. If we think it’s something that will benefit our small business community, we’ll be sure to pass it on. Thanks again for reading! Reading Photo via Shutterstock The post Facebook’s Cult Status, Cause Marketing and More appeared first on Small Business Trends. |
| Posted: 12 Oct 2013 09:00 AM PDT
If you use social media, there's a good chance you use hashtags or you’ve seen hashtags used to increase visibility and categorize posts. But you've probably also seen people use hashtags excessively and without any real purpose or value. In fact, the hashtag has become so much a part of pop culture that comedian Jimmy Fallon and singer Justin Timberlake recently created a comedy skit mocking their overuse. Here’s a clip: So How DO You Use Hashtags?#HistoryYou might already be asking, “What is a hashtag and how do you use one?” Well, hashtags originated on Internet chat networks before becoming more widely used on microblogging sites like Twitter. Hashtags consist of a word or phrase preceded by a # symbol. This allows users to group posts into categories and easily search for other posts that use the same hashtags. Since those early days, hashtags have been introduced on a number of other sites, including Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr, Pinterest, Google+ and Flickr. They serve roughly the same purpose on each of these sites, but the way they are perceived can be very different.
A recent study by EdgeRank Checker found Facebook posts with hashtags actually have far less viral reach and engagement per fan, on average, than those without. But the study also found that when you use hashtags in tweets, those tweets are almost twice as likely to be retweeted. On both sites, you can search or click on a hashtag to view real-time results. But on Twitter, a popular hashtag might yield constantly updating results, whereas the same topic on Facebook often doesn't yield nearly as many. Part of the reason is likely that Twitter has used hashtags for a longer period of time and they are more popular there. But another reason may have to do with the format of each site. On Twitter, users create their own posts to respond to other users. On Facebook, if people have a response, they simply comment on the original post. This creates fewer posts within the same conversation and less necessity for hashtag to designate a shared topic or discussion.
Twitter was one of the first sites to use hashtags. And as stated earlier, studies have shown Twitter hashtags to be effective for engagement purposes. But there are still guidelines to consider. For example, the overuse of hashtags can turn off some users, says Ken Mueller at Social Media Today. He explains:
Mueller suggests doing some research prior to choosing hashtags to see which ones garner the types of quality interactions you're looking for. He also suggests choosing just one or two relevant hashtags per post. Singapore-based blogger Jiong Hong of SMM Insight agrees. He says not enough marketers consider the consumer side of hashtags, adding:
Hong says marketers on Twitter need to consider things like whether or not the search results from a certain hashtag are relevant and helpful, the dates of the results, and whether or not the results might overwhelm consumers.
But not all sites experience the same trends when it comes to hashtags. A study by Dan Zarella of Hubspot found Instagram posts using hashtags had a much higher like-to-follower ratio than those that did not. However, the same study found some of the most effective hashtags in terms of likes were things like #followforfollow and #likeforlike. So these may not garner the type of quality interactions that business and professional users often seek.
Hashtags in pin descriptions on Pinterest can be clicked to reveal a search of that phrase. But hashtag searches can also reveal pins that include similar words or phrases in the description or link sans hashtag. So is there any real benefit if you use hashtags on Pinterest? Kate Dunham of The uberVU Blog thinks so, but not for the simple purpose of gaining followers and visibility. Instead, she suggests using Pinterest hashtags more for monitoring brand engagement:
#Google+
Google has even begun including hashtags in search results. Zaheed Sabur of Google shared the announcement in a Google+ post recently. Entering a hashtag into the main Google search bar reveals related Google+ posts to the right of regular results, Sabur explains. You may also see links to searches for those hashtags on other social media sites. #StrategySo now that we've delved into the pros and cons of hashtags on many different social channels, what does all of it mean for your business? Krista Bunskoek of Wishpond suggests using hashtags for branding or campaign purposes across all of your social accounts. She explains:
What about hashtags for large events like the Super Bowl? Many people tweet or post about these events over social media, so joining in the conversation might increase your reach, right? Maybe not, says Daniel Victor at Nieman Journalism Lab, adding:
In fact, Charlie Warzel of BuzzFeed thinks hashtags might simply no longer serve a real purpose:
Do you use hashtags for your marketing efforts? Hashtag Photo via Shutterstock The post How Do You Use Hashtags? appeared first on Small Business Trends. |
| Raise Your Pay with “How to Negotiate A Killer Job Offer” Posted: 12 Oct 2013 06:00 AM PDT
“Life is a series of negotiations. There is no getting around it. None of us is "too good" to negotiate. In fact, convincing other people to give us what we want is an integral part of every aspect of our daily lives and affects every relationship.” Bond knows this perspective well. She is the Principal and Founder of Transition Strategies, LLC, an employment law firm near Philadelphia. For over 15 years, she has represented clients in a number of claims regarding civil rights discrimination, non-compete disputes, breach of contracts and compensation matters. She is also a contributing legal analyst and commentator for the CNN and FOX television networks. A Twitter contact, PR expert Cathy Larkin alerted me to the book – Bond is one of her clients – and I was very delighted to read a solid book that made contract basics so clear. Understand What a Contract is Without Becoming Ironside in the ProcessIn explaining contract basics in the first chapter, Bond creates a straightforward equation for what a contract should be:
Bond then notes how each part of the equation should be generally structured. In the following quote, she explains the importance of consideration – the "quid pro quo" that occurs and is of value to the parties involved:
I admired how direct Bond's writing style is, detailing the thought process behind what is acceptable protocol and what is potentially fraudulent. Bond has crafted one of the best legal books for non-legal minds. Her insights will redirect your efforts to understand strategic legal risks. I was up at 6 AM on a Sunday morning reading this, and after reviewing technical details for an analytics assignment, I felt I could get the gist of this book without a mental burnout. It inspired thought-starters for my contract needs. I think any business owner reading this book will feel equally inspired. The middle chapters address the bulk of what an offer should look like and associated options: One chapter compares "Long Term Incentives" while another shows how to "Create Your Wish List." Bond also sets the expectation behind the choices, like this comment about being a "change agent:"
Learning What to Expect from a Great NegotiatorBond covers great specifics without the legalese – expected, given the small business reader audience for this book. But what she excels at with this terrific book is how she lays out clear options regarding offers, acceptances and other details. Readers ultimately get a sense of what the choice can potentially cost. Clearly her experience plays well in this book – she is used to clients who ask if a contact is legally sound, but really wants know if the offer match their dealmakers. She advise these first steps:
How to Negotiate a Killer Job Offer is the first book in Bond's Job "Secret Agent" series on how to succeed in the working world. If she continues her series with the quality and excellence she displayed in this first outing, professionals will have the right library for doing a little legal homework. I'll add this great quote that captures the sentiment better than I can write it:
The post Raise Your Pay with “How to Negotiate A Killer Job Offer” appeared first on Small Business Trends. |
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