Archive for February, 2009



Small Business Finance | Banks Dig Deep For Insight

February 26th, 2009 by Erin Posted in Small Business | 2 Comments »

Is it an act of desperation?  Or a sign of the times?

Some banks – Fortune 500’s mind you – are embracing the world of social networking to finally gain insight into the financial needs of small business owners.

Banks like Bank of America, Capital One, and Visa, Inc are barrowing a page from Facebook to really get at the heart of their small business customers.

B of A – a leader in the banking world of social networking – launched its Small Business Online Community web site in October ‘07.

There’s no advertising – no user fee – just a good old fashion forum on all things small business finance. Kudos to B of A for not trying to generate revenue here.

While business owners won’t find a “status update” feature, the site does give them a place to get tips and feedback from their counterparts.

Some of the more popular topics include: how to start a home-based business, how to convert online traffic to sales, and how to develop successful marketing plans.

The other guys are using their social networks a bit differently.

Instead of just one site, Capitol One has created a network of sites as a way to reach more small business owners online.

Visa, Inc has even gone so far as to set up a Facebook business network. And get this – as part of the effort, Visa promised to give away $2M of Facebook advertising to small-business owners. 

I checked the Visa Business Network this morning. It has nearly 23,000 active monthly members – no telling, though, which of them won the $2M in advertising.

It seems to me some of these banks may be grasping at straws here.

You would have thought they had this small business insight already –  right?

Banks – I offer you this one piece of advice:

Loosen up the purse strings and start lending again.  Small business owners – and the economy – will thank you for it later.

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Small Business Networking|A Sure-Fire Solution In A Down Economy

February 20th, 2009 by Erin Posted in LinkedIn, Small Business, Stature Projects, Twitter | 1 Comment »

Even with a comprehensive government stimulus plan in place – we still have a long road to hoe.

Things won’t turn around overnight, and it seems small businesses have caught on to the notion: When the going gets tough – the tough get networking.

I’m not just talking about social networks – I’m talking all networks : Blogs, forums, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn.

They’re all being used by small businesses to their fullest advantage and  - for some – business couldn’t be better.

Case in point:

The Charlotte Observer recently featured the story of specialty food maker Donya Schweizer.

When Donya had trouble getting her line of gourmet foods off the ground she turned to blogging and social networking.  A quick WordPress setup and her blog was up and running in a day. She then used the power of Facebook and Twitter to kick start a word-of-mouth campaign. 1,300 Twitter followers later, Donya can’t get her chocolate-infused meat rubs out the door fast enough.

Wait.

Chocolate-infused meat rubs?

I digress.

Bottom line –  Web 2.0 platforms have reached a social tipping point. They’ve transformed the way we communicate and how small businesses operate.

In fact, corporate spending on Web 2.0 software – including blogs, social networks, mashups, podcasts, RSS, widgets and wikis – is expected to climb by a whopping 43% annually.

The networking revolution is here and any business that does not take full advantage of it is – well – not doing good business.

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Business Blogs, WordPress and the Fortune 500

February 16th, 2009 by Erin Posted in Business | 3 Comments »

You know what they say about blogs … everyone has one.

That is, everyone except each of the Fortune 500.

A handy directory compiled by our friends at Socialtext lists all of the Fortune 500 companies that have business blogs, defined as: active public blogs by company employees about the company and/or its products.

Shockingly, according to Socialtext, only 60 of the Fortune 500 are blogging. That’s 12%!

Whether this is accurate remains to be seen.  Still, even the thought of such a sorry display of business blogs from our Fortune 500 companies is enough to make my stomach turn.

Blogs – specifically blogs powered by WordPress, have infiltrated businesses around the world.

WordPress has consistently been a quick, low-cost business solution for marketing, sales, community building, and FAQs. What’s more – WordPress is proven efficient and effective.

I have a blog. Chances are you have a blog.

So why not the rest of the Fortune 500?

Perhaps their wealth has prevented them from entering the world of business blogging.  They simply don’t need it.

Or do they?

It’s something to think about given the state of our economy and in light of President Obama’s stimulus package.

Business blogs are a good PR tool too.  

- Hint, hint.

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A New LinkedIn Profile Feature: Tagging?

February 11th, 2009 by Erin Posted in Business, LinkedIn | No Comments »

While the big news out of LinkedIn this week is their big launch in Germany and the membership it will take away from the international business networking powerhouse Xing, I am more intrigued about the impending makeover coming soon to our LinkedIn profile pages.

LinkedIn’s expert follower, Steven Tylock, recently posted about a new LinkedIn feature called profile tagging.

Basically, as Tylock suggests, this tagging feature will give LinkedIn members more control over grouping their connection list.

Tagging – as the name suggests – is a simple word or key phrase used to identify something. In this case, a LinkedIn member would use a tag to identify certain connections in their network.

LinkedIn will kindly give you a few tag suggestions, but you’ll also be encouraged to come up with your own tag names. The possibilities are endless. However, I believe most people will stick to company, professional or social group names (i.e. Stature).

Ultimately, LinkedIn hopes you’ll be able to view your connections according to their designated tag, thus making a search for that certain someone easier than ever before. No more sifting through pages and pages of alphabetical lists.

Managing connection lists, especially for those LIONs who have an exorbitant amount, is not any easy task.

But as Tylock recommends, if you keep your tag lists short and your connections on a need-to-know basis you’ll be golden.

Generally, I’m not one for change – but this is one change LinkedIn members will not be able to live without.

LinkedIn profile tagging, coming soon…

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Is Amazon’s Design Getting Out Of Hand?

February 9th, 2009 by Gregory Silvano Posted in Technology | No Comments »

I just checked out the new Acer Aspire Netbook on this Amazon page and it occurred to me just how crazy their product page has become.  This is the list of sections on just a single page, scrolling down the page:

  1. Product Information (picture, price, etc.)
  2. ZOOM (thumbnails of pictures.
  3. Computer Setup and Training Services in Boston
  4. What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?
  5. Technical Details
  6. Product Details
  7. Product Description
  8. Buy This Product and Related Accessories
  9. Customers Who Bought Related Items Also Bought
  10. Related Items From External Website
  11. Customers Viewing This Page May Be Interested In These Sponsored Links
  12. Suggested Tags From Similar Products
  13. (now we’re at the halfway mark in the vertical scrollbar!)
  14. Rate This Item to Improve Your Recommendations
  15. Customer Discussions
  16. News and Reviews About This Product
  17. Listmania!
  18. Look for Similar Items by Category
  19. (A big advertising section with 4 other products listed)
  20. Feedback
  21. Where’s my Stuff - Shipping & Returns – Need Help?
  22. Your Recent History
  23. Footer

 

 Wow.  That’s a lot of stuff on one page.  I think Amazon needs to tone it down a bit.

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