Join us for a Twitter Chat On Brand and Marketing on a Budget

Join us for a Twitter Chat On Brand and Marketing on a Budget
Startup Makes Wearable Tech to Monitor Vitals, Head Trauma
What Is HTML5? Do I Need It For My Business Website?
3 Champion Design Strategies The Winter Olympics Can Teach Your Website
Are You Ready to Bare it All and “Tweet Naked”?

Posted: 10 Feb 2014 02:00 AM PST

We’re going to have a great discussion and some awesome networking at our upcoming Twitter Chat this Thursday, February 13, 2014. We hope you’ll join us. Everyone is welcome!

We will be discussing how to brand your business and create marketing materials — all on a budget. Small Business Trends will be hosting the chat, and we’ve invited a representative from Brother to be on hand, too, to share expert pointers. We also want to hear your tips and experiences when it comes to marketing on a budget, as well as your questions. We will be covering such topics as how to create a consistent brand identity; creative ideas for “leave behind” materials; and how to develop a terrific presence for your business.

The occasion is to also celebrate the Brother CreativeCenter Back to Business Contest over on our sister site, BizSugar. This is the second year we’ve held this contest with Brother as the sponsor. We’ll tell you what that’s all about, too.

We’ll have giveaways to make the chat even more fun.

To join in, all you do is log on to Twitter at the appointed time.

We’ll be using the hashtag #BrotherBackToBiz. That means, to participate in the chat you simply include that hashtag somewhere in your tweets during the hour. To follow what other participants are saying and to network with them, just use the search box on Twitter for that hashtag during the hour.

Then bring your best ideas and join in! Oh, and be sure to follow the Twitter handles for @SmallBizTrends and @BrotherOffice.

Details:

When: Thursday, February 13, 2014, from 2 pm to 3 pm ET (New York time zone)

Where: On Twitter.com

Who: All the cool entrepreneurs and business people – like you

Why: Because it’s fun and educational. Giveaways, too!

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Startup Makes Wearable Tech to Monitor Vitals, Head Trauma

Posted: 09 Feb 2014 02:00 PM PST

mc10b

Believe it or not, there are some tech companies that aren’t interested in smartglasses or smartwatches. MC10′s approach to wearable technology has been to completely re-imagine how that technology can be used to monitor and improve a person’s health. It’s technology that can take your vitals, monitor for possible trauma, and even improve the outcome of surgical procedures.

This is accomplished by inventions such as an ultra-thin, skin-like tattoo with tiny dots, called a bio-stamp. The stamp is worn on the surface of the skin to monitor body vitals. A head impact indicator has also been developed with backing from Reebok to detect danger of concussion and other head injuries.

The technology can be used inside the human body as well, with the company also developing an “intelligent catheter.” This has nanometer-thin sensors, and can be inserted into the body giving doctors real-time feedback during a procedure.

These inventions have the potential to revolutionize medicine, representatives from the company say. No longer would a patient be confined to a bed with wires attached. Now they could just wear the thin patch, with a small radio transmitter sending vitals back to the doctors. The patch weighs only three-thousandths of an ounce, so the patient wouldn’t even feel a thing.

The hat, which monitors the head for impact injuries – called “Checklight” – looks like a normal everyday hat – not one which would stand out in any way. If you don’t include the glowing Reebok sensor at the back, that is.

This is all part of what is becoming known in the industry as wireless sensor technology” or “epidermal electronics” and it is taking off fast.

Carmichael Roberts, co-founder and chairman of MC10 told Fox News recently:

“If you think about the evolution of electronics, to the point where your cellphone is such an important device….it’s not something you feel like you’re wearing. We have a product where you don’t even know you have it on.”

Some inventions, such as the Hydration Sensor, send those vital stats back to the person’s smartphone, as you can see in the following video.

David Icke, CEO of MC10tells Reuters:

“You can’t improve what you can’t measure, so if you could instead have a body measurement that happens in an innocuous way, you can then start to measure and track things, and work on improving them.”

Images: MC10

The post Startup Makes Wearable Tech to Monitor Vitals, Head Trauma appeared first on Small Business Trends.

What Is HTML5? Do I Need It For My Business Website?

Posted: 09 Feb 2014 12:00 PM PST

what is html5

By now you may have heard the term HTML5 in your online travels. But do you know what HTML5 really is?

It’s important to know because HTML5 gives you more choices for a richer website, along with additional features. You’re likely to be hearing more about it.

In fact, your next website may be written in HTML5. So you’ll want to be informed so you know enough to communicate properly with your Web developer, and consider your options for your website.

So, What Is HTML5?

HTML has been around since the beginning of the Internet. It is a language that serves as the building blocks for websites. HTML is the code that makes the images appear on the page, aligns those images, makes the text normal or bold, specifies what font the text should be, and much more.

Since the 1990s, there have been 4 versions of HTML. We are now transitioning to version 5, which is what we are here to talk about today.

Planning for HTML5 started back in 2004 by the World Wide Web Consortium, and a decade later, a relatively small number of websites use HTML5. This just goes to show that this process of upgrading HTML versions is not an overnight thing. It takes years (not to mention some controversy and a breakaway group of dissenters).

But when HTML5 starts to become more widely used, HTML4 won’t be pensioned off to a sunny island. HTML5 and HTML4 are built on top of one another and each will peacefully co-exist with one another, bringing their own set of features.

HTML4 and HTML5 are co-existing right now. Some older browsers can’t read HTML5, though. (To test if your browser is HTML5 compatible, visit this site.)

HTML5 Benefits

So you’re probably already asking what the benefits of the new HTML5 will be. Let’s take a look at some key benefits.

Addressing The Flash Problem

If you have an iOS device, then you will already know that the device is not able to use Flash. Android has its own Flash issues too. With Android you may need workarounds to see Flash elements of a site or a flash video. This is disruptive to the user experience if parts of a website remain off-limits due to a software incompatibility.

HTML5 allows you to make fancier effects and animation, and fancier webpages, without the need for Flash. HTML5 can be seen as an alternative to Flash, not a replacement.

Richer Websites

HTML5 will have the potential of making websites faster and more interactive. Examples of this include playing streaming video on a website MUCH faster. Sites such as YouTube are already offering HTML5 video players. (However, you must switch it on yourself as it’s not a default setting).

Or it may mean playing audio on a website without plugins, using code to draw on a website (with your finger or a stylus pen), or dragging and dropping files onto a website (such as the uploading feature on WordPress).

A great example of HTML5 is Chrome Experiments, a website run by Google, which shows some of the things that HTML5 is capable of. The examples on this site are made with something called WebGL, and this is a HTML5-related technology which creates 3D objects and animations.

Better Semantic Markup

Semantic markup is not a creation of HTML5 – it has been around for a while now – but HTML5 improves upon it.

What is semantic markup? Let’s try to break it down without getting too technical and getting lost in the details. In the old days, a website had information but there was no way for a search engine to make sense of that information. It merely indexed what it found but there was no context attached to give that information any meaning. A phone number was just a string of random numbers.

With semantic markup however, data is interpreted in its proper context, so a phone number is identified as a phone number, the opening times of shops are identified as shop opening times, and so on. This makes search engines able to better understand your queries and deliver more accurate information. So you could ask Google when Walmart in your area closes, and it will bring up the times.

Perhaps the most well known semantic markup example is Google authorship. Whenever you search for something on Google, blog posts and articles often come up with the photo of the author to the left.

Also, say you’re looking for a law firm in New York? Semantic markup on search engines now has the contact details, along with a marker leading you to a Google map for directions. You can even read reviews, and view the company’s Google Plus page.

So semantic markup has the potential to make the web much more useful. Semantic markup can also include video, testimonials, and details of products for sale.

And remember, adding Google Authorship to get your picture next to your articles in the search results is easy. Google explains it all step-by-step here.

To get some other things into your site, Search Engine Land has a great outline which details features such as marking up the address, contact details, payment types accepted, and hours of operation, on your site. That gives a taste of what kind of data you can make show up in the search results about your business.

How Can Businesses Get Started With HTML5?

So the question you’re probably now asking is “what do I need to do?”. The first thing to stress is that you don’t have to do anything right now. Your website may go along perfectly fine without HTML5.

But if you have a business which heavily relies on an online or mobile presence, it won’t hurt to start planning and going over options with your Web developer.

Consider what features you need and how they could help your business. HTML5 may or may not be the right choice to bring those features to your online presence.

But keep in mind that it might be counterproductive to be cutting edge if your customers aren’t there yet. The CTO of Small Business Trends, Leland McFarland, has some advice on the whole HTML5 issue:

“Remember, your customers may be using old browsers. It’s not just a matter of what you or your developer want. A goal should be to make your site accessible to as many readers or viewers as possible. If some of your audience won’t be able to see that cute animation because of an older browser, do you still have an alternative they can see? Perhaps a page with text and a few image captures? Ask your developer to build that alternative in so that everyone can have a good experience on the site.”

Your Analytics data for your website (such as Google Analytics) should be able to tell you the kinds of browsers and devices your audience primarily uses. That should give some idea of what your audience’s needs are. One of your first considerations should be delivering what they want and need. But also consider the kind of new audience you’d like to attract. For example, HTML5 might be able to draw in and retain more people using Apple devices.

HTML5 is the future, and has the power to add additional functions to your online presence. As a small business owner or manager, it will help if you get ahead of the curve, learn more about HTML5, and start planning for how to use it.

HTML image via Shutterstock; screenshots

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3 Champion Design Strategies The Winter Olympics Can Teach Your Website

Posted: 09 Feb 2014 09:00 AM PST

champion web design strategies

Without a moment to spare, NBC News revealed a complete relaunch of NBCNews.com – a dynamic, responsive website retooled to deliver the glory of the XXII Olympic Winter Games with vibrant visuals and compelling content to smartphones, tablets and desktops around today's very mobile world.

The new and mobile-friendly NBCNews.com, in development for more than a year, is an exceptional example of a visually engaging, content-rich platform built to be viewed by any mobile device, anywhere in the world.

What champion web design strategies does the new site geared towards Winter Olympics coverage demonstrate for today's businesses?

Empowered by a savvy, sleek responsive design, the site is loaded with layers of storytelling, connected with continuous consumption page design allowing for viewers, through infinite scroll, to see related stories and reports. Plus, the newly designed site is bursting with visual content, laden with videos and inspiring images that tell epic stories in seconds.

3 Champion Web Design Strategies

Gold Medal Strategy – Responsive Design

Without question, the highlight of NBC's Sochi Olympics site is its responsive nature. Elegant and very mobile, the site delivers all of the intuitive grace of responsive design – creating a window for the world to view the Sochi Olympics on any mobile device.

Responsive websites started gaining traction during 2012, when more businesses realized that mobile engagement was critical. By January 2014, responsive designs were a mandate. Mobile device usage is surging, and with it the need for mobile-friendly websites designed to engage viewers and deliver an SEO boost in the process.

Responsive websites allow users to enjoy a website utilizing any mobile device – a seamless, visually appealing platform to engage and retain visitors.

Silver Medal Strategy – Brand Storytelling

A major trend in content marketing is brand journalism – the art of brand storytelling. In its coverage of the Sochi Olympics, NBC will be presenting epic stories of athletes, historical vignettes of the Sochi region and anecdotes from Winter Olympics of yesteryear.

The push for creative, robust content on the site will include powerful stories reflecting not only the historic relevance of the Sochi Olympics, but the brand that is the Winter Olympics itself. A business can, likewise, maximize the content of its site by taking a journalistic approach to its content.

Brand storytelling enables a business to share its philosophy, mission, accomplishments, services and spirit.

Bronze Medal Strategy – Vibrant, Visual Content

NBCNews.com has announced that visitors to its responsive site will be greeted by a masonry-style layout of large, visual blogs featuring imagery taken from NBC news video. This very bold visual design is a key strategy in presentation and viewer engagement – one the network hopes to use to showcase the powerful visuals of the Winter Olympics.

For businesses, visual content sharing, featuring spectacular imagery, is a particularly smart tactic for welcoming visitors to a vivid homepage. A business can intensify its messaging by presenting imagery ideally suited to convey its services, expertise and corporate philosophy.

Visual content – including videos and infographics – allows a website to truly capture, entertain and engage visitors of Olympic proportions.

Launching a new website is a herculean undertaking for many companies. However, it is one well worth the effort. NBC realized its existing website lacked many critical amenities and was not suitable for embracing, and conveying, the spirit, stories and images of the Winter Olympics to a mobile audience.

By revealing a responsive design, rich with visual content and layers of storytelling, NBC is appropriately engaging a mobile audience – one that may very well be visiting your website one day.

Olympics Photo via Shutterstock

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Are You Ready to Bare it All and “Tweet Naked”?

Posted: 09 Feb 2014 06:00 AM PST

tweet naked Let's face it – Twitter is no longer new. But as I work with small business owners, I still am amazed at those who do not appreciate Twitter — oOr any social media, for that matter. To correct that under appreciation, I keep a list of reading material available that can tie some of the loose ends of social media together.

One book that can be a part of your list is Tweet Naked: A Bare-All Social Media Strategy for Boosting Your Brand and Your Business by Scott Levy (@FuelOnline). Founder of Fuel Online, Levy has offered SEO and social media insights since 1998. I discovered the book via NetGallery, and felt Levy adds a good resource for those who are still trying to tie loose ends of social media together.

Exposure In More Ways Than One

The book's title almost misleads – The word "Tweet" implies that the book content covers better Twitter usage. Well, it does, as well as details for Facebook, Google Plus and Pinterest. To his credit, Levy does state that he has a preference for Twitter, he has over 364,000 followers, more than the 250,000 followers quoted in the book – and he uses Facebook heavily.

To the point of the book, the chapters do reflect the author's preference, but they also do well to organize some details about social media usage in general.

In covering the platforms, Levy offers the right ideas for developing a basic social media strategy while offering a new spin or reminder on some tips that the reader may have seen before. For example, check out this tip about the ampersand character in Twitter, a note to deepen your tweets beyond mere retweeting:

"Lose the ampersand in both your profile and your tweets. For whatever reason, Twitter does not display the “&” sign correctly, so save your followers the trouble of figuring out what its says…"

There's also the warning about "crying wolf:"

"One of the most important aspects of using social media is having something meaningful to say. Don't be the boy who cried wolf – the boy who always sought attention for insignificant reasons but was then ignored when he really needed help. If you keep crying out for people to follow you, or you are tweeting or posting unimportant meaningless dribble about your every activity and thought, you minimize the value of your tweets or posts and hurt your brand building."

A few social media basics applicable across platforms are examined with a slight SEO (search engine optimization) or analytics touch, such as a conversion rate. From the topics raised in the book, I got an impression of how much Levy connected social media strategy with some SEO aspects. Thus the value the book brings is a sensibility of organizing all those details, a good guide in summarizing what can be cross promoted consistently without overworking your small business resources.

Moreover, while explaining the ins and outs of using social media, Levy does raise great questions that do not appear in many social media books. In the chapter, "How To Build A Following," he asks the question, "How many followers should you seek?" His insights into how he managed 250,000 Twitter followers in his own following infuses his advice on the degree of scale:

"How broad a following you want to build when your goal is to boost brand awareness of growth, or revitalize a struggling company, depends on the breadth of your brand …. Keep in mind that a larger following means you'll need to spend more time –and resources – responding to them. So engaging with people 5,000 miles away who'll never visit your local spa or use your plumbing service may be a waste of their time and yours. But if damage control is your priority, it doesn't hurt to build a large following just on the chance that whoever you are engaging with has heard something negative about your business and/or industry."

I felt a few details about measurement could have been addressed differently. The section on analytics provides a few great examples for how measurement can be effective – for customer service, for example – but tools were listed without deeply elaborating on distinguishing details between a Web analytics tool and a social media dashboard. More detail would make this segment a standout against other books on the subject.

You'll weigh how this book aids your firm's social media objectives. But overall give this book a try to grow your initial social media campaigns successfully. Combine this title with some other books we've reviewed (top social media books from 2013) and you certainly will be covered.

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