Social Marketing With Live Video Streams

October 15, 2015 by Leave a Comment

Small business owners can now have their very own video broadcasting networks right in their pockets. Smartphone apps Periscope and Meerkat enable spontaneous or scripted recording of videos and instant broadcast to fans and customers on Twitter or Facebook. Here’s how it works…[Continue Reading…]

Filed Under: Advertising, Marketing, Mobile, Social Media

400 Free Tools For Business Building

October 7, 2015 by 2 Comments

There are a lot of specialized tasks involved in building a successful online business. If you’re a programmer, a graphic artist, a website designer, a search engine optimization whiz, a copy writer, and a social media expert, you might be able to do it all on your own. But most entrepreneurs need help. Hiring an expert is one way to get ‘er done, but first, check out this list of FREE self-service business building tools…[Continue Reading…]

Filed Under: Advertising, Marketing, Printing, Productivity, Reference, Social Media, Webmaster

Protecting Against Online Extortion

September 29, 2015 by Leave a Comment

No business is too small for online criminals. Just ask Mark Stefanick, president of Houston-based Advantage Benefits Solutions. With only about a dozen insurance and benefits consultants serving local small to medium businesses, Advantage might seem unlikely to draw the attention of online extortionists. But this little firm got hit with ransomware…[Continue Reading…]

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Social Marketing With Twitter Website Cards

September 3, 2015 by Leave a Comment

Marketing on Twitter is simple. You craft a Tweet of less than 160 characters that includes your enticing message and a compelling call to action (“Visit our site,” “Retweet this,” “Follow me,” etc.) then click “Send” and hope for results. It takes little time and costs nothing. It works, to some degree. But for a few advertising budget dollars, Twitter will help it work even better. Here’s the scoop…[Continue Reading…]

Filed Under: Advertising, Marketing, Social Media

Automating Repetitive Business Tasks

August 27, 2015 by 3 Comments

Jayme Fishman is a self-taught programmer who believes that the future of business coding should involve everyone in the organization – from the mail room to the CEO’s office. Fishman says that “the future of successful, entrepreneurial companies will be to empower employees at all levels so that they can automate workplace tasks, rather than rely on their IT department to do it for them.” Here’s how to make it happen…[Continue Reading…]

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Yes, You Need an Ecommerce Platform

August 19, 2015 by 2 Comments

Maximizing online sales is more challenging than just adding shopping cart software to your website and waiting for customers to buy. Ideally, an ecommerce platform should help you reach prospects, draw them to your site, guide them through a painless purchase, fulfill their orders efficiently, and then stay in touch to keep them coming back for more. Oh, and it should tell you how well you’re doing these things, too. Read on…[Continue Reading…]

Filed Under: Ecommerce, Marketing, Mobile Tagged With: , , , ,

New Square Reader Does Apple And Chips

July 30, 2015 by 1 Comment

Square, Inc., is helping small businesses accept the latest payment methods without breaking their budgets. The upcoming version of the Square Reader will accept Apple Pay and other NFC contactless payment systems, as well as the chipped (EMV) credit/debit cards that U. S. banks are rolling out rapidly.[Continue Reading…]

Filed Under: Ecommerce, Finance Tagged With: , , , ,

Are You Ready for Equity Crowdfunding?

July 20, 2015 by Leave a Comment

Crowdfunding – the raising of large amounts of capital by means of small contributions from many people – passed a significant milestone on June 19, 2015, when the SEC’s new Regulation A+ went into effect. Read on to see how Reg A+ may help your business raise equity capital for startup or expansion…[Continue Reading…]

Filed Under: Finance, Marketing Tagged With: , , ,

Are You Paying For Ads That Nobody Sees?

June 24, 2015 by Leave a Comment

If you buy online display ads through an ad agency, ad network, or other intermediary, you are not getting what you pay for. The results you do get may be worth the price that you pay, but in planning an online ad campaign you should never rely on the “cost per impression” figures you’re quoted. The real CPI, in terms of ads that human eyeballs see, may be ten times higher. Here’s the ugly truth…[Continue Reading…]

Filed Under: Advertising, Ecommerce, Marketing Tagged With: , , ,

Is Cloud Computing For Small Business?

June 18, 2015 by 3 Comments

“Cloud computing” has rapidly emerged from the “what are you talking about?” stage to become a business buzzword. A new survey by Goldman Sachs forecasts software-as-a-service (SaaS) sales of $106 billion worldwide in 2016, up a phenomenal 21% over 2015 estimates. So why are small business owners so reluctant to use cloud services that can make them more nimble and efficient? Let’s talk a look…[Continue Reading…]

Filed Under: Cloud Services Tagged With: ,
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