Twitter Tests Survey Feature for Advertisers |  |
- Twitter Tests Survey Feature for Advertisers
- The Deal Maker In Every Business: Are You Ignoring It?
- How To Start A Business and Structure Your Business
- Green Cleaning The Office Makes Sense
- Mobile Presence Deemed “Critical” By Users
- U.S. Jobless Rate Declines to 7.8 Percent
| Twitter Tests Survey Feature for Advertisers Posted: 09 Oct 2012 01:00 PM PDT Twitter has just announced a partnership with Nielsen to offer brands the ability to perform studies about brand awareness and the effectiveness of Twitter ads. The partnership will allow advertisers to create brief native surveys to distribute to targeted users in their Twitter network. Brand impact measurement for Twitter is designed to help give brands insights and analytics data about its engagement with users on the site that dive deeper than normal Twitter metrics like number of followers, likes and retweets. Brand surveys will appear as tweets from @TwitterSurveys within a user's timeline on both desktop and mobile versions of Twitter, similar to how Promoted Tweets appear. The tweets invite users to take a short survey, which can be filled out within the tweet itself, so users don't have to go to a new page to give answers. Brands can use this feature to measure things like brand awareness, purchase intent, or the effectiveness of their advertising or marketing campaigns. In addition, surveys can be targeted to particular types of Twitter users in the same ways that Promoted Tweets are targeted, so that brands can reach out to the customers most likely to give helpful insights about their industry. This initiative is aimed at helping brands that use Twitter to engage with customers by offering a more substantial method of market research, without making consumers jump through hoops to offer insights. Though brands have always been able to easily ask questions to those in their network, as well as measure impact through Twitter specific metrics like retweets and likes, these quick surveys may make it easier for brands to calculate and quantify results into actual usable data. Twitter is currently working with a small group of advertisers to test the survey feature, which it plans to make more widely available to advertisers in 2013. The post Twitter Tests Survey Feature for Advertisers appeared first on Small Business Trends.      |
| The Deal Maker In Every Business: Are You Ignoring It? Posted: 09 Oct 2012 11:00 AM PDT Business is full of edits and adjustments. Sometimes our target market is too large, so we adjust to focus in on the people we understand the best and can help the most. For example, Starbucks' primary audience is coffee drinkers. While Teavana's products are for the serious tea lovers or new converts. It’s Not Just About The Product Your team also gets edited and adjusted. Every person that looks great on paper isn't always a match for your company. That's what the interview, testing and trial periods are about — finding the best fit given the environment. But what about us? How Often Do We Edit Ourselves? There's a difference between protecting our personal style and the type of communication that breaks teams down. On Top Chef Masters, the reality cooking series on Bravo TV, one of the contestants, Chris Cosentino, said:
The same is true for any business. The ability to educate our team is directly related to how we talk to them. It's a deal maker. What If You Worked With Children? And no I don't mean that 45 year old team member that kinda acts like a child — I mean a staff of teenagers. How would that affect your communication style? In this same episode of Top Chef Masters, each chef had to train a team of high school students. In fact, everything that came out of the kitchen had to be prepared by the students, but it carried the Top Chef's name (talk about putting your reputation — and ego — in the hands of babes). As Curtis Stone, MC and fellow chef, put it:
They couldn't rest on their style or technique. All they had in that particular challenge was their ability to teach. Ultimately, the better we communicate, the more our team reflects our values. The winner of that particular challenge, Kerry Heffernan, did — or stumbled upon, however you want to put it — three things that any small business owner can imitate. 1) Connect Find out a little bit about your team — why they're here, relevant experiences in their past and what they hope to get out of this opportunity. Tell them a little bit about you — why you're here, what you're passionate about and what you expect from them. Have a little fun with this part. Keep it natural and easy going. 2) Push As Heffernan, said:
Your team has to do the work without you at some point. But first, let them get their hands dirty under your watchful eye. Don't grab the phone, take over the computer screen or flat out fix the problems that you see them making. Teach. This step will raise your communication skill as well as their level of execution. And it'll prepare them for your absence. You do need a vacation from time to time, don't you? 3) Close They have to complete the work in order to feel the success. So don't cut the challenge off early. Don't lower the standards for your business and don't give up on your team. Praise them for their successes. Give your team the chance and the responsibility of correcting their mistakes. You're building something that lasts and that type of success doesn't happen overnight. But with consistency and effective communication it happens. The post The Deal Maker In Every Business: Are You Ignoring It? appeared first on Small Business Trends.     |
| How To Start A Business and Structure Your Business Posted: 09 Oct 2012 09:30 AM PDT Are you the kind of person who has always wanted to start a business, and are ready to take the leap into entrepreneurship for the first time? Or has a tough job market prompted you to re-evaluate your goals and try to create something new? Wherever you stand on the spectrum of entrepreneurship, congratulations on deciding to start a business and create new opportunities for yourself and others. Ready To Start A Business?If so, you’ve come to the right place. Over the next several weeks here on Small Business Trends, we’re kicking off a series of articles in our guide about starting a business and choosing the right structure. We will tell you what you need to know about how to incorporate a business, how to form an LLC, and how to navigate the complexities of managing the business filings along the way. But we won’t stop there. We will help you learn more about how to start a business:
We will also will also help you:
Our guide will provide you with tips and advice on hiring and managing your employees, as well as getting to know employment laws and regulations. In this series, we will lead you through the process of how to start a business as well as incorporating and launching your own business – one of the most important endeavors of your life. So let’s get started to help make your dreams come true to start a business. All About Incorporating A BusinessWhen you start a business, many entrepreneurs choose to incorporate as a legal entity. Incorporating a business is a step that goes beyond simply filing a DBA. One of the best ways you can establish your credibility, make your business a legal "entity" beyond your identity as the business owner, and protect your personal assets is to incorporate your business. Incorporating gives you the ability to protect your personal assets from those of the company, which keeps your personal finances safe from the "worst-case scenarios" of doing business. There are several options for incorporating your business, including forming an LLC, or incorporating as an S Corporation or C Corporation. The chart below compares business structures. It provides a high-level comparison of the most popular business forms across important attributes to consider when forming your business: If you want to incorporate your business, the most popular choices are the LLC (limited liability company), S Corporation and C Corporation. Each of these options has its own unique advantages and complications, depending on your type of business and your overall goals. No matter which type of incorporation option or business structure you choose, incorporating your business will keep your personal assets safe from lawsuits or judgments against your company. Depending on your tax filing status and which business structure you choose, there can also be significant tax benefits to incorporating your business; instead of paying self-employment taxes as a sole proprietor, incorporating a business can help change the tax treatment of part of your income, leading to more money in your pocket at the end of the year. In the next article in our series, you’ll learn more about the specifics of each option for incorporating a business: the LLC, the C-Corporation and the S-Corporation. Each of these business structures offers unique advantages depending on your business goals.
The post How To Start A Business and Structure Your Business appeared first on Small Business Trends.     |
| Green Cleaning The Office Makes Sense Posted: 09 Oct 2012 08:00 AM PDT Cleaning practices are an afterthought for many business owners. Sure, you want your offices and facilities to look tidy and presentable. But perhaps you don't pay much attention to the products or procedures that make it that way. Spending money on environmentally friendly cleaning products – or a professional "green" cleaning service – may not seem worth it. However, consider this: Green cleaning offers many benefits beyond just being environmentally friendly — and it's not as price prohibitive as it used to be. Not only are eco-friendlier cleaning practices good for the Earth, they are less toxic to the indoor air that you, your employees or clients breathe every day. Standard cleaning products emit gases (called volatile organic compounds, or VOCs) and odors that can aggravate breathing problems, skin allergies and other health concerns. In fact, the Environmental Protection Agency says that cleaning agents are among the main contributors to poor indoor air quality. If you haven't already, it's a good time to consider making the switch. Many businesses and consumers have been deterred because of the higher costs of buying green products or services. But those cost premiums have come down significantly in recent years, as green cleaning becomes more commonplace. Many commercial and industrial green cleaning services, as well as residential ones, now claim to charge the same price, or slightly more, for using green cleaning products. Moreover, some studies find that green cleaning improves indoor air quality and, in turn, improves workplace productivity. The Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Indoor Air Quality Scientific Findings Resource Bank found that improving indoor air quality can bolster workplace productivity by up to 10%. Want to implement green cleaning practices effectively in your business? Here are a couple key steps: Find The Right Green Products Today, even major cleaning brands are rolling out eco-friendlier cleaning products, such as Clorox Green Works. Cleaning product aisles are awash in green as established brands compete with companies like Seventh Generation and Method, which have been selling eco-friendly cleaning products for years. Even though they all claim to be "green," you must dig deeper to find out how truly environmentally safe and effective they are. The Environmental Working Group recently put out its Guide to Healthy Cleaning, which scores various household cleaning products on their ingredient safety and disclosure. GreenSeal.org, a certification organization, also provides lists of commercial and industrial cleaning products that have been certified. (Keep in mind that household standbys like vinegar and baking soda can be just as effective cleaners in some environments.) Ask Questions Before hiring a professional cleaning service – if you do — ask some questions. Which brands and types of cleaning products does it use? Does it take steps to reduce its water and paper towel usage? You don't want to discover too late that the cleaning service was "greenwashing" (no pun intended). Consider Your Methods Green cleaning isn't just about cleaning agents. It's about the entire process, from the type of cloths used to water usage to the packaging. (Aerosol cans, for instance, aren't very "green.") Take a holistic approach to your business's cleaning, open the windows and try to reduce the use of hazardous chemicals. At the end of the day, you and your employees may feel healthier for it. Eco-Friendly Cleaning Photo via Shutterstock The post Green Cleaning The Office Makes Sense appeared first on Small Business Trends.     |
| Mobile Presence Deemed “Critical” By Users Posted: 09 Oct 2012 05:00 AM PDT It doesn't take much to notice that consumer reliance on mobile and mobile search is growing at an enormous speed. But just how important is it for businesses, even small business, to create a powerful mobile experience for their users? Well, according to a new Google-sponsored study, that need is being called "critical." To get a better understanding of what users want from mobile, Google hired third-party research firms Sterling Research and SmithGeiger to conduct a survey that polled 1,088 adults on their feelings about the mobile Web. The results may confirm what we already suspected, but still provide an interesting read. Not surprisingly, the survey showed that the opportunity that exists in mobile is considerable. Seventy-five percent of respondents say that they prefer a mobile-friendly site and 67 percent said they are more likely to buy a site's product or service when they visit a mobile-friendly website. Add that to the fact 96 percent of users said they had stumbled across sites not designed for mobile, and the opportunity available for savvy businesses is clear. And it's not just considered a "positive" to have a mobile site, it is looked at as a serious negative if you do not. Why? Because according to the survey, if consumers aren't happy with your mobile experience, they won't just end their search there. They'll keep trying competitor sites until they find an experience that works for them.
By not focusing on mobile, you not only lose that conversion, you hand-deliver it to a competitor website. You can't afford to do that.
Ouch! Do you really want to tell nearly 50 percent of people that you don't care about their business by NOT having a mobile site? My guess is no! Small business owners need to make sure that they have a functioning mobile version of their website. I know that my company is steadfast about making sure clients are doing all they can to attract customers, regardless of what device they are accessing them from. What should SMBs consider when it comes to mobile? Know how your current site looks: Have you checked your site on a mobile device lately to see how it displays? If not, there's no better day than today to find out. Google offers business owners a free tool to help SMBs learn how they're already doing and where they can improve. Understand mobile surfers are task-oriented: While the number of "casual" mobile surfers may be growing thanks to higher functioning devices, the majority of mobile users are task-oriented. They're accessing your site while on-the-go because they're looking for specific information. Perhaps it's directions or a menu or hours. Go into your analytics and see what pages are getting the most views from mobile devices and then set your site up to highlight this information and make it easily available. Help customers to work through their tasks faster and the numbers show they won't forget it. Mobile users are low on patience: Users accessing your site via their mobile device are less likely to hop through hoops looking for information. Instead, they'll just try another website. Likely a local competitor. Keep users on your mobile site by prioritizing the information you show, making content easy to read/skim through, and requiring as few clicks as possible. The more you make someone look for the information or wait for something to load, the greater the chance you're going to lose them in the process. Make conversions easy: Outside of just lowering the number of steps, make it easier for users to finish tasks. Shorten forms, use checkboxes to make data entry easier, and make phone numbers clickable. Use big buttons with lots of padding around them to prevent against accidental clicks. Without the benefit of a keyboard and mouse, it can be tricky to perform tasks on mobile that are seamless on the desktop. Be aware of these limitations and account for them. Take advantage of free resources: Google's Mobile Playbook and How To Go Mobile site offer SMBs with great resources to learn more about mobile Above are some SMB-friendly tips to make sure your presenting as great of a mobile experience as you are a desktop experience. How have you integrated mobile? Using Mobile Tech Photo via Shutterstock The post Mobile Presence Deemed "Critical" By Users appeared first on Small Business Trends.     |
| U.S. Jobless Rate Declines to 7.8 Percent Posted: 09 Oct 2012 02:30 AM PDT The U.S. jobless rate fell unexpectedly last month, adding an estimated 114,000 workers according to the U.S. Department of Labor. But experts are not heralding a rebound for the economy. Small business owners, entrepreneurs, and many self-employed may be taking matters into their own hands, unable or unwilling to return to a full-time position with another company. We’re interested to know whether your business is hiring or planning on doing so in the near future. Let’s start a discussion in the comment area after this roundup! Ups and DownsAn unexpected surprise. Experts are reluctant to call the lower than expected jobless rate a sign of robust recovery, and as we’ll see later, some of the numbers may be including workers who have given up on seeking a full-time position in another company. Regardless of the reason, increased disposable income could also be good news for entrepreneurs. Bloomberg So what does it mean? While some have claimed political motivations behind the recent jobless decrease, any inaccuracy in the numbers is more likely due to errors in the way data is collected for the estimate, writes Scott Shane, Professor of Entrepreneurial Studies at Case Western Reserve University. The economy is certainly not robust, but as we’ll see, some tough entrepreneurs are ready to weather the storm. Small Business Trends The New NormalDeclaration of independents. A growing number of “independent” workers, including many younger professionals, are opting not to return to traditional jobs once the economy rebounds. A recent study by MBO Partners claims many are opting for independent employment, essentially self-employment, due to difficulties with traditional career paths, but the study could also indicate there will be more entrepreneurs in the future. Web.com Everything in moderation. One place work-at-home business people are building new careers and businesses is in the forum and online community moderator market, according to guest blogger Stacy Pulliam. Forums and online communities continue to expand on the Web, representing almost every field or interest. If you have a particular expertise, find a community fitting your niche. The Work at Home Woman Start Me UpA Website of your own. Another option is to start your own business, and an online business offers the least capital intensive option to launch a venture of your own. But don’t make the mistake of rushing into it without a plan, blogs Kelly Fitzsimmons. Like any other business, an online venture requires a solid strategy, so here are some things to do first. Build Your Own Online Business Back to BasicsInsuring the future. No matter what kind of small business you create, some basic requirements need to be considered. You must arrange for low cost small business insurance for example, to protect you and your business as it grows. Fortunately, options exist, and in this post, guest blogger Carrie Johnson lays out some of the basics. Small Biz Diamonds Preparing for the inevitable. Another consideration for all businesses is tax time at the end of the year, and perhaps quarterly reporting, depending upon earnings. The best way to prepare for taxes, even in a small business, is to plan way ahead. Here are some suggestions from blogger Miranda Marquit. Planting Money Seeds The post U.S. Jobless Rate Declines to 7.8 Percent appeared first on Small Business Trends.     |
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