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Archive for the ‘Small Business’ Category

What’s a Facebook Business Page Worth to Consumers?

November 4th, 2010 by Erin Posted in Business, Small Business | No Comments »

I have a friend who on Facebook recently has becoming a fan of every product under the sun – Renuzit, Ronzoni, Ziplock, Folgers, ect.

I’ve been seeing these products she is a fan of – because each and every one gets prominently displayed in my home feed –  and I think… really? This woman is really telling all of her friends which air freshener product she likes? Who flippin’ cares?

I certainly don’t. In fact, I think it’s annoying.

Coincidentally a new study was just released last week that addresses this very topic: Why consumers fan Facebook pages.

The report, conducted by ExactTarget and CoTweet, found that discounts and “social badging” were the primary reasons consumers “like” brands on Facebook.

Nearly 40% of Facebook users who become fans do so to receive discounts and promotions and 39% become fans to show their support for a brand to their friends.

Some other interesting findings from the study include:

- 43% of the Facebook users surveyed said they “like”, or are fans of, at least one brand on Facebook.

- 34% of Facebook users say they “like” brands in order to stay informed about company activities or to get updates on future products.

- 17% say they’re more likely to buy after liking that brand on Facebook.

Sure, Facebook is a dynamic way for brands to mobilize their fans and get introduced to even more fans – but what are those business Fan Pages really worth to consumers besides a social badge?

The answer: Absolutely nothing, unless something is in it for them.

Turns out my friend who was liking all of those products only did it for the coupon incentives the companies sent her after she became a fan of their pages. But, the brands’ marketing plans backfired, in my opinion. Sure, they got my friend’s “like” of approval – but her friends are now giving these products a BIG DISLIKE because of the sheer annoyance of seeing them on their main Facebook feeds.

This whole incentive stuff is for the birds. I say brands should stay organic. Let people come to them because they truly like their services or products. If they don’t – and continue to offer these stupid discounts – they’ll end up shooting themselves in the proverbial left foot, because you know why?

All of those fans who were lured in aren’t going to stick around. They’re not loyal. They are fair feather – just like my friend. She has “un-liked” every one of those products.

 Tags: brands on facebook, facebook business pages, facebook pages, fan pages, social badging, social media

5 Free Open-Source Software to Consider for Your Small Business

September 1st, 2010 by Erin Posted in Small Business | No Comments »

Budgets are tight. Small businesses are cash-strapped. So, why spend thousands of dollars on software for your office needs when you can turn to open source software for FREE?

What many small business owners don’t know is that there is free software that can help them operate smoothly – and professionally. I’m talking about email servers, HR software, word processing programs, graphic design software. Even antivirus programs.

Yup, all FREE.

Here are five open source software programs that are easy on the wallet and your operations.

1. OpenOffice

Kiss MS Office goodbye. This is your open-source alternative. It is FREE to download and use and it contains programs like word processing, spreadsheets, presentations – and more. It’s also available in many languages and works on common operating systems.

2. GnuCash

Get to know this software – fast.

GnuCash is a personal and small business accounting software that is FREE and available for GNU/Linux, BSD, Solaris, Mac OS X, and MS Windows. It’s easy to use and allows you to track bank accounts, stocks, income and expenses. Some have even called it “as quick and intuitive to use as a checkbook register.”

3. OrangeHRM

This human resource management software comes with rich features and a friendly UI.  The system is backed by professional support services as well as a fast-growing and knowledgeable worldwide open source community.

4. GIMP

This is your alternative to Adobe Photoshop.

GIMP is an acronym for GNU Image Manipulation Program. It has many capabilities including photo retouching, image composition and image authoring.

5. Clamwin

ClamWin is a antivirus program for Microsoft Windows 7/ Vista / XP / Me / 2000 / 98 and Windows Server 2008 and 2003. ClamWin Free Antivirus does not include an on-access real-time scanner. You need to manually scan a file in order to detect a virus or spyware – which could be a good thing for Windows users who are barraged with automatic scans and updates.

This, of course, is not an exhaustive list of free open source software for small business. There are dozens more.

The bottom line is that you’ll want to save where you can now so that you can invest in specialized computer software down the road – and really take your business to the next level.

 Tags: accounting software, business owners, free open source software, free software, human resource management software, Small Business, software programs

Bloggers Pay Up in Philly

August 25th, 2010 by Erin Posted in Small Business | No Comments »

It doesn’t pay to be a blogger, at least not in Philadelphia. In fact, some bloggers have to pay themselves – and not just for a snazzy WordPress template either.

You know those little Amazon ads you find in the corners of blogs? You know the ones that link to books that people recommend? They’re helpful, sure. But buy one, and you risk holding some Philadelphia bloggers responsible for getting a business license.

Yes, you read that right.

Since a percentage of that Amazon purchase – or any purchase from an enabled advertisement –  is money in the blogger’s pocket, the city of Philadelphia considers that business revenue. Thus it is demanding that bloggers who report even a meager $11 in revenue pay to get a business license.

The license is $300 for a lifetime or $50 a year. And, the city only knows about the ads bloggers are placing on their sites if they report that income on their taxes.

Why a blogger would report $11 baffles me, but still… something is seriously wrong with this picture.

Sean Barry, a Philadelphia blogger, writes Circle of Fits from his free Blogger account. He earned $11 in profit over two years and received a letter from Philadelphia city officials.

Barry writes:

I never expected Circle of Fits to “make money” or be deemed a “business”… I put ads on it as an experiment, and I don’t ever expect anyone to click on them..I don’t even know how to put the time in to learn how to control which ones are being presented.

Bloggers are just a subset of workers affected by this regressive tax. According to the city’s strict rules, any freelancer based in the city qualifies as a business and needs to get the license.

It seems to me that the city of Philadelphia is trying to set a new precedent for microbusinesses.

Should a person who bakes and sells homemade pies out of his or her home be required to purchase a business license? Yes – definitely.

But to call a blogger who makes less than $20 over two years a microbusiness owner is just ridiculous.

This is the time to promote economic growth, not hit workers and entrepreneurs where it hurts the most.

 Tags: amazon ads, blog revenue, blogger, bloggers pay up in philly, business license, microbusiness, philadelphia bloggers

Keep the Tone of Your Emails in Check

August 4th, 2010 by Erin Posted in Business, Small Business, Software Development | No Comments »

It’s happened to the best of us. You fire off an email to a friend or colleague, only to have a snide reply sent back. Your email was misconstrued and now a potential business deal (or dinner date) has fallen by the wayside.

You ask yourself, what just happened?

It was the tone of your email, my friend. The recipient opened it, read it, and thought, “Who does this S.O.B. think he is?”

One wrong salutation, phrase or punctuation can – believe it or not – spark World War III via email. BUT, it can be avoided with a handy new tool I just discovered. It’s called ToneCheck by Lymbix.

With ToneCheck, a simple thought will no longer be interpreted as hostile, threatening or something far different than you intended. ToneCheck actually checks your outgoing email for any false “tones.”

Simply specify your “tone tolerance” and the program will flag any phrases or sentences that look angry – then, offers a substitute. And, get this, ToneCheck also flags lines that appear too “contented” or overly cheerful when you are actually trying to strike a tougher tone.

The program’s sensitivity can also be adjusted and it offers eight different ‘emotional ratings’  - like affection and amusement- to help you get the tone of your email just right. Anger, fear, and humiliation are generally the emotions users will try and avoid.

Lymbix has also developed a program which monitors your updates on Twitter for any unintentional deviation in tone. Brilliant!

You can download ToneCheck and use the service free for 30 days.

I’ve been using it for several days now and while I have ignored a few of ToneCheck’s warnings, the program has indeed stopped me from sending the wrong message on one occasion.

As the saying goes, impressions count – even when you’re trying to make one by email.

 Tags: business deal, download tonecheck, email program, email tone, misconstrued emails, tone of your email, tonecheck

Why Your Small Business Should Be on Facebook

July 20th, 2010 by Erin Posted in Business, Small Business | No Comments »

The land of status updates, Fan Pages and Farmville is even bigger than any of us ever imagined.

In some parts of the world, Facebook is more popular than search engines. That’s right, Facebook is bigger than Google!

That means, if you’ve ever had any doubt about what Facebook can do for your small business – it’s time to give the social network another look.

Here’s why.

According to the analysts at Hitwise, Facebook’s overall web traffic pulled ahead of Google’s for the first time in the U.S. in March of this year. They also found that people in the UK are visiting social networks more than they’re visiting search engines.

When compared to the Web as a whole, Google gets around 9.3% of all web traffic, while Facebook captures just over 7%. BUT, in the UK, Hitwise stats show that social networking sites accounted for .55% MORE traffic than search engines. An unprecedented finding.

Check out the graph below. Long term stats from Alexa show global page views for Facebook and Google are neck-and-neck.

What does this mean for you?

It means that not only are people using Facebook to socialize and network, but they’re using it to FIND CONTENT and LEARN about it.

Facebook’s “like” feature is a brilliant way to spread the word about businesses, products, and services. And, quite frankly, if no one “likes” you on Facebook – you’re out of the game.

Search engines are by no means on their way out. But, just like Facebook, they’re morphing into something different… something bigger. Both entities will probably look very different – again – in another five years. Until then, do yourself and your business a favor, and join the fray on Facebook. Set up a Fan Page and get yourself seen.

These stats speak volumes about what’s to come.

 Tags: facebook business, facebook google, facebook stats, fan pages, hitwise