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Jul18

Why Social Media Marketing Is the Alternative to Reliance on Search Engines

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For quite a long time, search engines were the one stop place for content marketers, and brands which wanted to reach a huge number of people, and have that international audience. As a matter of fact, search engines still rule when it comes to content marketing, but the tide is slowly changing. A few years ago, very few people would have predicted that the dominance of search engines would slowly but surely be taken over by a more dominant force, but that is now the reality. Social media is gradually taking over, and according to some experts, this comes as no surprise. This is because search engines have shifted from a place where people would get quality content, to a well of multiple ads and optimized content, which is hardly readable. People are interested in reading interested pieces of information, either to make them laugh, educate them or just entertainment them. Consumers will always go for something that adds value to their lives. The pie chart above is based on a research that was carried out in the US, whereby top-notch company marketing executives were asked about the role of social media, and whether they thought it played an important […]

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Jul17

How to improve the efficiency of your small business

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Anyone that runs a small business knows that margins can be incredibly narrow in this ultra competitive world in which were living. Thus, the key component of any business is ensuring that your company is run as efficiently as possible. This involves ensuring that your key assets are operating to their full potential, but also that you take full advantage of any opportunities open to you. The assets step every individual business holds may differ slightly. However, it is fair to say that most small business owners,key assets will include items such as cash, employees, vehicles, premises, and access to products and services. While the way such things operates are often taken for granted, the reality is that engaging in some very simple techniques and strategies Will greatly enhance deficiency with which your key assets operate. So how and how often do you check to make sure that your asses are delivering maximum efficiency for your company? Outsource Where Possible One of the key aspects of any small business entrepreneur is independence. After all, this is the reason that most small business founders launch the company in the first place. Thus, there is a tendency for people in this position […]

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Jul17

How low-cost computing can save your small business money

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It seems incredible in this age of information that small businesses are quite frequently not taking advantage of technology to its fullest potential. Many small business owners consider information technology to be merely another expense that should be kept to the bare minimum. While there is nothing wrong with this mentality in principle, the reality is that IT can in fact save every business a lot of time and a lot of money. Research has shown that particularly in the area of sales and marketing, it would be extremely wise for small businesses to take advantage of computing and information technology. The revolution that has taken place with regards to the Internet and more recently the cloud is indicative of a more modern business world in which the stringent, dated ways of working are increasingly becoming obsolete. By taking advantage of information technology, businesses can allow employees to telecommute; thus, effectively working from home. Not only is this beneficial for both the business and the employee, but there has also been published research which shows that people would be willing to accept a smaller salary in exchange for being able to complete at least some of their work from home. […]

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Jul16

How can a Small Business Obtain an Online Presence?

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While the Internet offers a world of opportunity for any business, the way that the modern Internet is organised can be rather daunting for small businesses. With a raft of massive corporations dominating Internet traffic and even the way that the worldwide web is structured today, it can be an intimidating prospect for small enterprises to attempt to develop a significant web presence. Many give up without even trying. Although this may be to some extent an understandable attitude, the fact is that small businesses can drum up a significant amount of business from the Internet. While this requires a diligent approach, following some of the following tips and strategies will help your small business make the most of its online presence. Plan Ahead Diligently Many businesses make the mistake of attempting to plough ahead with a digital strategy without taking stock first. This is an elementary mistake; it’s extremely valuable for any business to understand their current situation, what their priorities are in both the short and long-term, and the actions that can best mesh with these components of the business. While there are a vast amount of digital tools available, and this represents a massive opportunity, by the […]

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Jul16

The Ties Between the Cloud and Social Media

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One of the key areas that businesses can benefit from where there is a clear intersection is between cloud computing and social media. These are two of the most important innovations of recent years, of course; one could hardly point to a more popular social phenomenon which has emerged in the 21st century that that of social media. The fact is that the computing and business landscape is changing rapidly in these early years of the new millennium. Outmoded ways of working and marketing are disappearing over the horizon, to be replaced with new approaches that make use of 21st century tools. In this regard, there is great reward potential for any business that is able to take advantage of the opportunities that cloud computing and social media offer in conjunction with one another. Hundreds of millions of people, if not billions, connect via social media every day. The obvious sites that this takes place through are Twitter and Facebook, but the big boys have some competition nowadays as well. MySpace continues to be a significant player, while newer sites with a particular niche, such as LinkedIn, Instagram and Snapchat are also attracting users like flies to a jam pot. […]

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Jul16

What are Small Business Investors Looking For?

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Imagine yourself in the shoes of an investor. You are looking for a business with solid potential to provide returns on your money. What do you look for in order to find a business worth investing in and which isn’t destined to fail? Entrepreneur Weekly recently reported that a business has a 25% failure-rate during its first year, 36% in its second year, 44% in its third year, 50% in its fourth year, and 55% in its fifth year. An investor wants to take every measure to reduce the chance of being in that percentage of businesses that fail. What Do Investors Look For In Small Businesses? There are numerous groups of investors who are waiting to be asked for their assistance. However, they do not just put their money into anyone who comes to them. They will perform a review and analysis of the investment at hand. More particularly, they look for the following: Experience You might think, “I am only trying to start up. How do investors expect me to have experience?” At one point, this argument may have held ground. But now, the market is more saturated with small businesses; with owners who have been around the […]

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Jul11

Tips for Differentiating Your Product

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A family is out on a weekend afternoon and wants to stop in to get some lunch. There are many fast food options to choose from, but most are greasy and low in nutrients. Then, there is the “eat fresh” sign at the local Subway. Although the actual content of the food may not end up being more nutritious, Subway has differentiated themselves from other fast food options with their “fresh” food message. As of this 2014 study, Subway is the third most valuable fast food brand in the world, only second to Starbucks and McDonald’s. Is your company unique in offering a one of a kind product or service? According to a recent survey, if you think so, you are not alone. However, only 8% of companies are actually achieving product differentiation in the eyes of the customer. There is a large disconnect, with 80% of companies believing they are making themselves stand out. So, how do you go from thinking your business is different, to actually standing out from the rest? Properly differentiating your business is the key to making that impact. How do you do that? Keep It Simple The most successful businesses, differentiate themselves in a simple […]

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Jul08

Cloud Computing and the Opportunities for Small Businesses

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The Internet itself has changed the way the overwhelming majority of people live their lives and do business, but it is a recent transformative technology that is making the biggest impression on business since the advent of the world wide web. Cloud computing potentially offers businesses of all sizes a world of opportunity, and as it becomes more affordable and accessible for small to medium budgets, so the technology is steadily becoming a vital part of modern commerce. While the cloud has garnered the attention of some of the world’s biggest IT-related corporations, it arguably makes even more sense for small businesses to engage with it. Small-scale enterprises, by their very nature, need to squeeze the absolute maximum out of the resources that they have, and thus need to be run as efficiently as possible. The cloud is already making a significant impact in this respect. According to the latest study of small and mid-sized businesses by SMB Group, 92 percent are now using at least one cloud business solution, and there are plenty of obvious motivations for this cloud-based revolution. Zero Startup Capital The first obvious advantage of cloud computing over traditional IT is that it requires zero startup […]

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Jul06

Attract More Traffic to Your WordPress Blog Using Pinterest

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With the increase in the technology people have become more advanced and as such bloggers have always had to deal with the issue in ensuring that their blogs are more appealing to the readers so as to ensure that they stay relevant and that they do contain the interest of the public. Technology has seen to the introduction of social media, platforms that are used by billions of people all over the world. These include Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Pinterest among many others. To ensure that your blog attracts as many people as possible, it is therefore useful to ensure that it is friendly to social media as it is the easiest way of sharing and getting more people to check out the blog. What exactly is Pinterest Pinterest describes itself as a tool that makes it easy for people to collect, to organize and to share the things that they love. Pinterest works in quite a simple way and as such it is not difficult to use. To use it, you simply pin the images that you like to virtual bulletin boards, almost the same way as you would pin magazine cuttings and even photos to a bulletin board […]

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