Facebook and Small Business

If you still think a Facebook page for your small business is a waste of time, we recommend taking a look at the stats below. You just might want to change your mind! "Facebook wasn’t only the top search term in America, again, according to Experian Hitwise, it was also the most visited website for a week in the days ending 2009 and beginning 2010. With an increase of 185% in the last year, Facebook accomplished something truly remarkable, if for only but a moment, it beat Google Search as the top destination online. It should also not go unsaid, that combined, Facebook and Google accounted for 14% of all US Internet visits during the week of March 8th, 2010." Source briansolis.com

3 Deadly Threats Against Small Businesses Today

"Despite the economy apparently growing for government and corporations, most small business owners I work with are increasingly terrorized by the unholy alliance of big business  and government.  Across political parties, this alliance is creating an increasingly toxic environment for small business success."

Read More "3 Deadly Threats Against Small Business Today".

 

Advanced Media Solutions - Specializing in CD and DVD Replications

Free Desktop Apps for Small Businesses

Feeling a little intimidated by all the technology choices out there? We found a great article that has a simple list of desktop apps that will make your life a little bit easier. They don't require extensive technical knowledge either.

Communication:

"Jing – Jing is a free and functional desktop application used anytime you want to share what you see on your screen with someone else. Jing allows an easy interface for capturing, editing, and sharing screenshots for online conversations, marketing, web-posting, email, or whatever else you can think to use it for. Exclusively for the Mac, Skitch is equally effective, and just as free.

Skype – Many have already signed on with this popular communication software that can put you in contact with anyone in the world. Free and desktop-based, Skype can be used for anything from worldwide video conferencing to inter-office collaboration via instant message. Also it’s hard to beat their file-sharing with quick speeds and no limit to file size.

TweetDeck – If you use Twitter for your business, TweetDeck is a must-have desktop app. It saves you the time of opening a browser and signing in, and the visual interface makes it easy for your marketing team to craft tweets, manage contacts, and spread the word about your business."

Check out the article at SmallBizTrends.com to view more apps.

Storytelling and Marketing

Marketing is all about relating a great, memorable story to your audience (think Superbowl ads). Check out the link below to learn some great story telling tips.

 

Advanced Media Solutions - Specializing in CD and DVD Replications

Increasing Your Website Traffic

Surprisingly, the best way to increase traffic to your website is with a blog! According to All The Business, your traffic could increase up to 55%. That is an incredible return. What is it about a blog that can generate such a great return? Many times, a sale happens because your company is "in the right place at the right time when a customer is ready to purchase." A blog keeps your company's brand relevant. Enticing a customer to come back to your blog for information, gives business the the chance to remind customers about their product. This also means that your "brand" will most likely be "in the right place at the right time" when a customer is looking for a product that you sell. Some popular blogging tools for businesses are Blogger and Wordpress, both free aps with interfaces that make if fairly easy to set up.

New Study Examines U.S. Twitter Usage

Twitter Usage in America 2010 from Tom Webster on Vimeo.