Square Mobile Gift Cards |  |
- Square Mobile Gift Cards
- Make a Stand With Your Brand for 2013
- Hot Social Media Tools For 2013
- Google Increases Transparency Around Click Fraud
- J.C. Penney Struggles Through Sales Difficulties
| Posted: 18 Dec 2012 01:00 PM PST Gift cards have been a big part of the holiday shopping season for many years, and mobile payments have just recently become more widely used by many consumers and small businesses. But now the two payment methods are coming together. Square, the popular mobile payment system with over 250,000 business partners, has announced a gift card option for its Square Wallet App. All users have to do is search within the app's directory for one of the businesses Square partners with in any particular location, select the amount they'd like to purchase, and then customize the gift with a personal message or theme. The photo above shows the page in the app where users can select the amount, recipient, and add any personal details. Gift cards can be between $10 and $1000 and can be emailed directly to the recipient, who can then store and redeem the gift cards directly within the app on their iPhone, iPad, or Android device. But of course, not all consumers have smartphones and not everyone wants to use their phone in place of more traditional payment methods. For those consumers, Square does offer the option to print out gift cards with scannable codes that can be redeemed at local businesses. This new option gives some small businesses the ability to take advantage of the gift card market that might not normally have the resources to do so, since providing physical gift cards can be costly and inconvenient. It also gives consumers that are becoming increasingly mobile more convenience and options when it comes to buying gifts. PayPal offers a similar gift card option, but it is available primarily for online payments where as Square's gift cards can be redeemed at a number of local merchants and other businesses. Taking advantage of the gift card option requires no extra expenses or tools for businesses that already partner with Square. The post Square Mobile Gift Cards appeared first on Small Business Trends.      |
| Make a Stand With Your Brand for 2013 Posted: 18 Dec 2012 11:00 AM PST
We’ve worked diligently to differentiate ourselves, establish our credibility, then build community through face to face networking and online marketing communications. It takes a relentless commitment, as well as diligence and it’s always a work in progress. We’ve reviewed and asked ourselves:
Take yourself out there and show yourself off more now and in 2013:
Wasn’t that fun? Don’t get overwhelmed trying to use all of these nifty tools all at the same time. Use the ones that are best for you and your business, and have fun doing it. Here’s a glossary of 120 social media terms to help you in the 21st century. How will you make a stand with your brand in 2013? The post Make a Stand With Your Brand for 2013 appeared first on Small Business Trends.     |
| Hot Social Media Tools For 2013 Posted: 18 Dec 2012 08:00 AM PST Pinterest emerged as the social media darling of 2012. According to this Nielsen report, Pinterest had the largest year-over-year increase in audience and time spent of any social network, across PC, mobile web and apps. As if that wasn’t enough to prove the social network has staying power, Pinterest surpassed Yahoo in organic traffic, making it the 4th largest traffic driver worldwide. While Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn remain the top 3 heavy hitters in the social media marketplace, Pinterest can now be included in the top 4. As you plan next year’s social media strategy, make sure you’re considering ways to reach and engage a broader audience using Pinterest. Business Pages for Pinterest were just introduced, so it’s a great time to join. Already have an account? Convert your existing Pinterest page to a Business page with just 1 click. In 2013, you can expect to see a plethora of tools built around Pinterest, optimizing your experience, like the following: This fun tool, which comes with a bookmarklet option, allows you to create an image out of text on the Web, making the text or quote perfectly pin-able for Pinterest. Quozio also takes a cue from Instagram by allowing different “filters” once you’ve selected your quote. Pinfluencer is a marketing and analytics platform for Pinterest. It helps you measure the ROI of your Pinterest activity. It tracks pins from your website, pins from your boards, followers, and other engagement. Pinfluencer helps your brand identify brand advocates and prospective customers, ensuring you use Pinterest to its full potential. You have to contact them for pricing, but Pinfluencer is offering a 14-day trial and a free demo. Instagram is a social network that made a big impact in 2012, and is often overlooked. Instagram grew enough to catch the attention of the one and only Mark Zuckerberg, who quickly made the decision to buy the social photo sharing app for the price of $1 Billion. And with Instagram having experienced growth of more than 1,100% since being acquired by Facebook, it is still a network to be watched. Regardless of the recent Instagram-Twitter fight, photo sharing is important to users and any new tools that spring up are either going to look to Instagram for inspiration or serve as an add-on to the platform. Instagram Extension for Google Chrome This extension brings Instagram right to your browser. As businesses continue to use the mobile platform for various contest and promotions, access from a browser comes in handy. You no longer have to be on your phone to manage Instagram activity, and instead you can conveniently access everything you need to right from Chrome. And they’ve made the interface as similar to Instagram as possible, making for quick and easy adoption. Mobile Apps According to Nielsen, consumers are spending more than a third of social networking time on mobile apps. We’re going to see mobile apps springing up for use during TV watching, to manage a contest, to share music; anything that falls under the category, “Social Experience.” Look for more apps like the Facebook Pages Manager, which was only released this year, and is geared toward social media professionals. Now, we can manage our brand’s Facebook Page without interfering with our personal accounts. In 2012, Pinterest showed us that Facebook, Linkedin, and Twitter will not be guaranteed the top spots forever. All social networks will have to keep innovating in order to keep our attention. It’s clear, however, that social media should no longer be considered some separate entity when it comes to your marketing strategy. Social can now be integrated into every marketing activity you do, and definitely deserves a place in your plan for 2013. I think we can all expect to see social media tools, analytics, and apps, that will allow for us to better maximize, optimize, and report on our social media activity and spend. The post Hot Social Media Tools For 2013 appeared first on Small Business Trends.     |
| Google Increases Transparency Around Click Fraud Posted: 18 Dec 2012 05:00 AM PST For a small business owner, displaying targeted Google ads on their website has become a powerful way to earn additional revenue. However, AdSense can go from best friend to complicated enemy pretty quick when SMBs start receiving notification their account has been suspended or banned due to reported click fraud. For those new to the AdSense world and who don't understand what click fraud is or how to correct it, these reports are incredibly frustrated and frightening. But relief is coming. First, if you're not familiar, the term click fraud refers manufactured clicks designed to inflate an advertiser's cost or a publisher's earning. For example, if a publisher recruits his friends and family to repeatedly click on your ad on his site not because of interest, but to raise your costs, that would be deemed an example click fraud. There are many, many other ways click fraud can take place like the creation of click farms, automated tools, and other deceptive practices. This is the war Google is currently fighting. However, even Google realizes that sometimes click fraud isn't intentional. And as such, they're announcing new ways of handling reports of click fraud to make the ecosystem more transparent and friendlier for us nice guys. The new policy was announced in a post on the Google AdSense blog. In the post Google acknowledged that sometimes well-intentioned business owners find their accounts suspended and/or disabled for "invalid activity" without a clear understanding of why or how to fix it. Google said:
To help good publishers, Google is announcing several changes. First, Google will now consider tenure more actively when responding to detected invalid activity so that "trusted" publishers will see suspensions, instead of terminated accounts. There is also a new form to submit more informative appeals. Google is also vowing to provide more details on invalid activity's causes. When invalid clicks are detected, Google will send out emails and notifications with more information and instructions to help publishers understand what is happening. Lastly, publishers can also take advantage of the expanded AdSense Academy, as well as a new video series that explains why policies exist and how publishers can make sure they're working inside of them. The first looks specifically at invalid traffic. For small business owners, the changes are designed to help you be a more informed AdSense customer and empower you to understand what is happening on your site or with your ads. Below are some additional AdSense best practices to keep in mind: Do: Use One Click OptimizerOne Click Optimizer is a great resource from Google designed to help you choose AdSense ad locations and formats for your website. If you're just getting started, this is a great way to learn how the pros do it and what's most successful. Do NOT: Have Too Many AdsThe maximum number of AdSense ads you can have on your website is three banner ads, three link ads, and two search box ads. Any more ads and Google will end up banning your account. And while you'd think it'd be hard to fit that many ads on your site to begin with, well, people try. When thinking about the number of ads on your site, realize that more ads isn't only a turn off for Google, it's a turn off for users, as well. No one wants to land on a website and see it covered in ads. Find a balance that helps you earn additional revenue, without sacrificing the authority and professionalism of your site. Do: Match Ad Colors To Your WebsiteAds customized to the look and feel of your site will perform better than ads that do not look integrated. To integrate your ads, make the background and borders of your ads the same color as the background of your page where the ad will be placed. Three techniques to consider:
Do NOT: Promote Prohibited ContentDo not include or link to the following content:
Above are just a few tips to help SMBs get more from their AdSense activity. Are you currently using AdSense The post Google Increases Transparency Around Click Fraud appeared first on Small Business Trends.     |
| J.C. Penney Struggles Through Sales Difficulties Posted: 18 Dec 2012 02:30 AM PST We’ve reported before about J.C. Penney’s revenue problems since instituting sweeping changes in some of its stores. Businesses take many approaches to improve their performance. In our roundup today, we’ll look at the many paths your business can take toward improving profitability. Be sure to suggest any strategies that have worked for your business in the comment section below. Course CorrectionsSurvival mode. Dramatic changes at J.C. Penney under the direction of CEO Ron Johnson have not brought the results for which some had hoped. Here investment expert Jeff Macke and market commentator and entrepreneur Jon Najarian talk about strategies J.C. Penney could employ at this point to right the ship. Your business may not be a retail giant with 1,100 locations, but there are strategies any business owner can use either to change course in troubled times or to grow a company to the next level. Yahoo! Finance Mistakes and missteps. Mistakes in your business may not always be obvious, even to you. Locating and correcting these problems can make your company more profitable and less stressful to operate. Take your Website, for example. If your online presence is the main revenue generator for your business, simple mistakes could spell big trouble. Here are some of the fatal errors you could be making right now, says blogger Adam Gottlieb. The Frugal Entrepreneur Big ChangesSo much to choose from. It is easy in a digital media age to focus on the hottest channels when marketing your business, but be aware of the many options available for getting your message across. One not often considered is postcard marketing, says small business expert Daniel Kehrer. In this post, he shares 10 tips that can make this old-school marketing approach shine like new. Be creative when marketing your business. Think about those you want to reach with your brand and then figure out the best channel for doing so. BizBest A glimpse into the future. If you knew what the most profitable products and services for your business were likely to be in the future, you could shift the course of your business accordingly. The most important lesson small businesses should learn is never to assume, says Diana Pohly. Your best selling product today won’t necessarily be your best selling product tomorrow. It’s a good idea to watch trends to figure out where future revenue will come from and have a plan for change. Step by Step Marketing Growth PotentialThe search for customers. The search for more prospects and customers is an inherent part of growing your business, particularly when going through major transitions. Fortunately, there are plenty of creative ways to build your audience and, by extension, your potential customer base. Here Ileane Smith shows us a few simple approaches for building an e-mail list using nothing but a YouTube account. Consider this approach as one technique for gathering prospects your business could convert into new customers. Miss Ileane Speaks A look at the books. At the end of the year, keeping a closer eye on finances is a great way of saving some funds to grow your business. It can also be an effective method of recouping losses after a rough financial quarter. Start by doing some serious year-end financial planning for your business, says Tom Holmes, the managing director of Ballymount Accounting. No matter where in the world your company is located, planning can help you find unanticipated savings and obtain the funds you need to take your business in new directions. Tweak Your Biz Don’t be a middle man. Blogger Jenny Bhatt starts her post with some words of wisdom from marketing guru Seth Godin. “Developing expertise or assets that are not easily copied is essential; otherwise you're just a middleman.” If you want your business to survive changes in the market and in your customer base, be sure you aren’t simply passing on someone else’s product or service. Jenny provides us with some tips for how to create the “expertise” and “assets” your competitors will have a hard time duplicating. Free Agent Economics The post J.C. Penney Struggles Through Sales Difficulties appeared first on Small Business Trends.     |
Here we are in the most fun, festive and social time of the year with the perfect setting to take yourself out there and show yourself off more. It’s time to make a stand with your brand and put your stake in the space to build out your tribe and community.
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