Facebook Strategy For Your Small Business

facebook strategy for small businessesDo you have it backwards when it comes to Facebook?

Here’s what no one in the social media space seems to want to say: Facebook is a difficult place to reach new eyeballs organically if you do not already have good brand awareness.

There I said it. If you are trying to use Facebook to reach a new audience, organically (i.e. without paying for Ads), from scratch – you are facing an uphill battle.

Yes, the stats on how many Facebook users exist are mind-boggling. In reality most of those people will never actually encounter your brand on Facebook, unless you pay good money for them to.…

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3 Success Strategies for Small Businesses

success strategiesWith the recent financial crisis showing signs of clearing up, many small businesses are now looking to fortify their fortunes and make up for the losses they suffered over the past two years. While some find success an uphill climb, others seem to be able to breeze through the process simply because they know what makes the difference and what counts at the end of the day.

So if you’re a small business, here’s what you need to do to chalk out your strategy for long-term success:

“¢ Make customer service your USP: You may be on the same playing field as the big boys in the business and the rules of the game may remain the same.…

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How To Get SEO Value From NoFollow Links

seo value from NoFollow linksIncreasingly, it’s getting harder and harder to find sites willing to give you high-quality SEO links. Instead, most web sites today will only give you links that are blocked using a NoFollow tag.

The NoFollow tag tells Google NOT to consider your link in their ranking algorithm. Even though you may get referral traffic from this link, Google will act as if this site had never heard of you at all.

These types of NoFollow links are especially common with large portals, social media sites, blog comments and other sites that allow you to create public profiles.

Let’s take YouTube for example.…

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Three Tips – Preparing for Economic Recovery

preparing for economic recoveryA week ago, I had an opportunity to hear an economic update from a Federal Reserve Bank economist. While the numbers are far from fabulous, most seem to agree we are on the road out of recession.

Have you reduced employee counts and canceled or delayed capital projects? Do you lack the bench strength and infrastructure to support significant customer and revenue growth? Here are three tips for getting your house in order now:

1. If you haven’t yet taken advantage of the slower business cycle to make the day-to-day processes in your company more efficient, start now. Increase productivity so initial growth can be absorbed by existing employees.…

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How To Get Your Proposal Accepted

business proposalsThe commercial cleaning industry is a tough business to get started in. There’s a lot of competition for very few clients, and the work is incredibly hard & unglamorous. But if you stick with it for a long time, you’ll find that it can be a very rewarding career.

Although most of our business now comes from word-of-mouth, it wasn’t always this easy for us to attract new customers.   Early on, we had a lot of trouble getting our proposals accepted.

We’d spend a fortune on advertising… just for the opportunity to bid against 20 other companies.

And bidding often meant taking 2 hours out of my day to drive over to the prospect’s site, talk to them and look over their office.…

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A New Way To Think About Bribery-Based Business Models

bribery based business modelsIt seems like every week, I hear about another start-up with a bribery-based business model. Some genius decided that they can pay people to visit their web site, and that this would somehow evolve into loyalty. But sure enough, a few months later, they all vanish just as quickly as they appeared.

The simple fact is that bribing customers works about as well as paying money for genuine friends.

If you’d asked me to help paint your house this weekend, I’d say yes because you’re my friend. But if you offered me $25 to come help you, I’d probably feel insulted and decline your request.…

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How Oscar Wilde Used Google Buzz to Teach Savvy Leadership

leadership skills“I always pass on good advice. It is the only thing to do with it. It is never of any use to oneself.” – Oscar Wilde

Wilde’s clever line came via an email newsletter one morning.  Chuckling and admiring how he’d fit so much into so few words, I shared it on Twitter.  Several hours later it showed up in Buzz.   And a few hours after that, “Mark” replied:  “I don’t think I understand that quote, do you mind explaining it? Thanks!”

I looked at the quote and wondered: “What doesn’t he understand? It’s really simple!”

Explaining humor kills it.  …

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Your Customer Is Not A Computer

treating customers like people not just a computerSometimes Internet marketers seem to do everything right tactically… but they can’t seem to get the sales they’re after. Whenever I see this, especially with extremely hard-working entrepreneurs, the problem is usually one of those “big picture”   strategic issues that can be easily missed when you’re caught up in the work.

It’s easy to forget you’re working on a car when your head is under the hood and all you see is engine.

In the bricks-and-mortar world, sales are made based on relationships. Customers can easily visit your place of business and see your employees face-to-face. This goes a long way to build the kind of trust and comfort that accelerates the sales process.…

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Top Ways SMBS Can Save on Energy Costs Now

saving on energy costsAs the 40th Anniversary of Earth Day approaches, consumers and businesses everywhere are thinking about ways to reduce energy consumption and lower their energy bills. Affordable alternative energy sources are years away and utility-driven conservation measures like the Smart Grid won’t help SMBs in the short term, if at all.

While we await advances in energy creation and conservation, consumers and businesses are faced with skyrocketing energy costs. Businesses are particularly hard hit as they are forced to pay higher rates due to their higher peak energy usage.

SMBs looking to reduce energy use and costs quickly and affordably would be wise to look at the following biggest energy wasters and tips for controlling energy use and costs for each:…

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How Promotional Items Can Build Your Brand and Your Business

promotional marketing productsIn this age of social media marketing, it’s easy to forget that one of the easiest, most cost-effective ways   to get your small business in front of people is to give them a gift. According to an Advertising Specialties Impressions study, 84% of promotional products recipients remember the advertiser on the custom promotional items they receive. And, given that you can get items for a lot less than you can get online ad space, promotional items are a great way to market your products or business in these tough economic times.

Here are some tips on how to use promotional items to make an impact for your small business:

Think Form and Function: One of the biggest challenges in using promotional items is in choosing a gift that will end up on someone’s desktop and not in the trash can underneath it.…

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