Archive for January, 2012

Using Pinterest for Small Business?

By | January 30, 2012 | Marketing, Micro Business Tips, Social Media | No comments
Using Pinterest for Small Business?

When it comes to social networks, it seems as though brand-new platforms are popping up daily. One that is especially buzz-worthy lately is Pinterest. What is it, and how might it be applicable to your small business? Read on to find out!

The Basics
Launched just a few short years ago, the invite-only site is about inspiration…think of it as an e-bulletin board where you can virtually “pin” all the stuff you find on the Web that you love.

Year of the Rabbit Teacup Pincushion

But according to the site, it’s about more than just the act of bookmarking — it revolves around sharing content and connecting with others: “You can browse pinboards created by other people…[it’s] a fun way to discover new things and get inspiration from people who share your interests.” From the looks of it, this idea has struck a chord with the online community. One reason might be that the site stands out from “traditional” social platforms such as Facebook and Twitter, which rely more on networking, and less on the site as a creative outlet. And according to an Experian Hitwise article, Pinterest is growing in a big way. “The site received nearly 11 million total visits during the week ending December 17, 2011, almost 40 times the number of total visits versus just six months ago,” it reports. That’s not all — according to a November TechCrunch article, Pinterest saw over 420 million pageviews in the

United States in the month of October…a 2,000 percent increase since June.

Small Businesses on Pinterest
Sure, there are a ton of articles out there about how great Pinterest is for highlighting personal inspiration items, but what how you can use it for your business? As pointed out on an American Express Open Forum article, Pinterest protocol does have a few important restrictions businesses have to keep in mind. “Pinterest etiquette clearly states that it’s not a

platform for self-promotion…so brands need to approach the site a little differently,” Lauren Drell writes. The author is also quick to point out that there are, however, a number of creative ways to make the platform work well for your brand. A tip we loved highlighted something small businesses tend to do quite well: think creatively. By focusing on the core of

your brand and your company’s personality, not just what you sell, you can concentrate on what Pinterest represents. “Think outside the box and pin images that capture a lifestyle and/or the essence of your brand,” she writes. For instance, if you own a landscaping company, consider creating multiple boards with flowers you love, examples of stylish patio furniture or even favorite tools you use on the job.

Another helpful article in PCWorld takes a different look at Pinterest, and features a step-by-step guide on how to ensure your business’s website is more Pintrest-friendly. One hint calls

for making it simple for anyone on Pinterest to pin your products by adding a “Pin It” button to product pages.

Now that you have a little background on the site, do you think Pinterest might work for your small business?

Learn More
In case you’re interested in getting your Pin on, here are some additional resources for you to check out:

How Pinterest Works, Business Insider
9 Tips: Boost Your Business with Pinterest, Inc.
Pinterest: 11 Things to Know About the Surging Social Network, The Sacramento Bee

5 Ways Brands Can Use Pinterest to Boost Consumer Engagement, Mashable
Pinterest for Brands: 5 Hot Tips, American Express Open Forum
There’s even a Pinterest blog for you to check out if you’re so inclined.

Image–TinyApartmentCrafts

MBR: An organized inbox, must-have apps and a very sweet history lesson

By | January 27, 2012 | Micro Business Issues, Micro Business Roundup | No comments

Happy Friday! This week’s Micro Business Roundup brings you tips on how to tame an unruly inbox, an interesting look at the State of the Union and essential apps for entrepreneurs. Plus, don’t miss our bonus link to a delicious history lesson!

Five Ways to Tame Your Inbox — Although it might sound like a simple task, for many of us, clearing out an overloaded inbox is anything but. As a small business owner, all emails funnel to you, so it can be overwhelming. With that in mind, Entrepreneur.com has come up with five ways to get your messages under control. The entire article is pretty helpful, but one tip we love centers on archiving — an often-neglected inbox function. The last thing you want to deal with when you really need an email is spending hours searching for it, right? “While managing task items within your email inbox is important, how you handle the message you’ve decided to file away can be just as critical,” AJ Kumar points out. He also recommends using a management tool such as MailSteward to help keep track of what’s essential.

The 2 Things About Your Start-up Idea That Actually Matter — Inc.com’s Gary Tan makes a bold claim: When coming up with an idea for a product or service, there are just two things that really matter, and both of them rely on need. “The best — and often the most successful — ideas service a huge need for a huge number of people,” Tan writes. After all, according to Tan, the new biz world already has plenty of ideas for non-essential stuff. “The start-up landscape is littered with examples of less ambitious things people don’t want.”

How ‘Small Business’ and “Entrepreneur’ Fare in State of the Union Addresses — Did you watch the 2012 State of the Union address? If so, did you happen to catch exactly how many times President Obama used the words “small business” and “entrepreneur”? We’re guessing no…which is why this piece is a great read. It takes a thought-provoking look at key words, and how many times they were mentioned during SOTU addresses over the years. It’s full of interesting info, like the fact that some words now ingrained in all of us are still moderately novel. As it points out, “The word ‘entrepreneur’ didn’t even get a nod in a president’s State of the Union address until 1984.”

4 Ways Small Businesses Can Build a Great Culture — Just because you own a small business doesn’t mean you can’t cultivate a positive workplace culture — this according to American Express’s Open Forum. A simple but impactful takeaway for where to start:  “In a small business, culture is encompassed by what you do on an everyday basis, not what you say once.”

11 Vital Mobile Apps for Entrepreneurs — In this Mashable article, Young Entrepreneur Council’s Scott Gerber asks a group of successful entrepreneurs what their favorite mobile apps are. The result is a diverse list of apps that help with everything from learning a new language  to finding a ride. Do you have a favorite app? If so, what is it, and why is it a must-have?

Mmm. Cakes Throughout U.S. History — And since it’s Friday, we couldn’t resist ending this week’s Roundup with a sweet extra: a fun infographic about cake. Because let’s be honest — who doesn’t love a good infographic? (And on that note, who doesn’t love cake?)

Image courtesy of Entrepreneur.com

Is relaxation the key to creativity?

By | January 26, 2012 | Micro Business Tips, Micro Business Tips Thursday | No comments

For this week’s edition of Micro Business Tips Thursday we asked our Vistaprint Facebook community where they did their best creative thinking, and as usual, we received a number of great responses. It was tough to choose just one to highlight, so instead, we’re featuring a few. The overall theme we noticed? Comfort. Whether it’s in the shower, while on a long walk, or simply when things are quiet, according to our Facebook fans, relaxation might be the true key to creativity!

Here are some examples of the comments we received from the community:

Matt Mohrlant: “When it comes to being creative I do my best thinking as I’m lying in bed to go to sleep at night, or when I’m taking a shower.”

Meredith Miner Reese: “When I go for a walk with the dogs and sometimes at work, when things are somewhat quiet.”

Scott Anthony: “When I am alone in a quiet in room in the morning.”

Click here to see all the responses.

What about you? Are you most creative when your mind is allowed to wander?

3 reasons LinkedIn makes sense for small business

By | January 25, 2012 | Micro Business Insight, Small Business Experts, Social Media | No comments

This post originally appeared on Boston.com’s Small Business Blog.

Facebook and Twitter have long been the darlings of the social media world. Pinterest is starting to gain traction, while sharing sites like Tumblr, About.me and others have carved out a specific niche of users. One of the sites that’s often left off the list, but shouldn’t be, is LinkedIn. That’s because for the most part LinkedIn has been looked at as a networking site for consultants and job seekers only. And to some extent, that’s true. But did you know that LinkedIn has 135 million members and is adding an average of two new accounts per second?

The site has rolled out a number of new functions over the past few years, all with the aim of providing valuable resources for members to learn from but also connect with – including it’s update stream, skills and expertise section and LinkedIn Today news section. I recently spoke to Krista Canfield from LinkedIn who gave some insight on how small businesses find value in the site and the best ways to use it. Here are three key reasons every small business should consider having a presence on the site.

1. Company Pages

Similar to Facebook, LinkedIn has embraced the concept of the “company page” which allows a business to set up or claim a page and fill in the appropriate information about the owners, employees (who also may be on LinkedIn) as well as a link to their site and a list of their skills and services. As an added benefit, companies can list open positions that it is currently hiring for. Customers can also follow a business on LinkedIn to see its updates, while companies can follow clients to get updates on what they are doing, potentially giving insight into new opportunities.

But, when setting up the page, make sure you do it well, including filling out all of the fields. “The worst thing you can do as a small business owner is set up a LinkedIn Company Page without a robust description or overview of what your company does, then wonder why nothing is happening for you,” said Canfield. “Companies should also take advantage of the products and services tab on LinkedIn Company Pages, and try to get recommendations.”

While the sharing and conversation functions are not as robust or interactive as a Facebook – for instance there’s no “wall” on LinkedIn – that’s not really the point. A company page can ultimately act as another outlet for customers to find out what you’re all about. Which leads us to reason number two why LinkedIn makes sense for small businesses…

2. Enhanced Search Benefits

If you haven’t typed in your own name to Google to see what comes up, you’re letting the best in life pass you by. But as social media has taken off, so has its prominence in search rankings. Companies can now have a multitude of results pop up under a branded (or name) search, including their website, Facebook page, Twitter account and blog. LinkedIn is no different, as it is routinely coming up as a relevant search result in the major search engines. The more times you can pop up in searches for your business as well as search terms geared toward your business, the greater the chances you get a phone call or email from a prospective customer. LinkedIn gives businesses another property that can be crawled and indexed by the search engines that are driving so many eyeballs nowadays.

3. The World’s Largest Networking Event

Ultimately this is LinkedIn’s bread and butter and to their credit, it embraces this. Groups, connections, recommendations, messages and sharing all encourage users to not only see what others are doing, but reach out to one another and connect. But unlike Facebook, this is usually done with business intentions. For example, if someone wanted to open up a pastry business and get some insight from someone on how best to do it, you’re encouraged to do so on LinkedIn. Search for relevant terms, skills, education and even location to find a few people to reach out to. From there, it’s all about being personal. The site gives the opportunity to message others in a targeted way.

“It’s a great way to find other small business owners who may be facing the same problems you are” Canfield continued. “Members shouldn’t be afraid to reach out, but you should be personal and do your research to make sure you’ve got the right person. Reference things that can demonstrate you looked them up and make you stand out. The worst thing that can happen is someone doesn’t get back to you.”

But unlike an actual in-person networking event, there’s no “true” rejection. All it takes is an in-site message to potentially break the ice. If someone doesn’t get back to you, it’s not like you’re left standing on the outside of the cool group while holding your drink and staring at the ceiling. LinkedIn also gives the opportunity to join various groups of professionals, based on interests, skills and other criteria. It’s another easy way to engage with people you might not meet otherwise.

Finally, what’s one killer tip on how to get found on LinkedIn? “If you add a photo, you’re seven times more likely to get pinged or contacted on our site, so that’s something everyone should definitely have,” said Canfield.

 

 

The Low Down on Group Buying

By | January 23, 2012 | Acquiring New Customers, Marketing, Micro Business Issues, Micro Business Tips Thursday, Online Marketing, Perspectives, Social Media | 1 Comment

GroupuppyIn the latest edition of Micro Business Tips Thursday we looked to our Facebook community to provide responses to a small business-related question. This time, we were curious about group buying — we wondered if any of our fans had used it, and if so, if it was successful for their small businesses — and in a first for us, we received more questions than answers. As a follow-up to Thursday’s responses, here is a general overview of group buying and how small businesses are using it.

If you type “group buying” into Google, you’ll get over 44,500,000 results. The most recognized player however, is probably Groupon, a Chicago-based company that has enjoyed explosive growth over the past few years. The business model is simple: Groupon typically keeps half of the money generated from the deal, and the other half goes to the featured retailer. If, for instance, a $160 dinner is offered for $80 on the site, Groupon and the restaurant split the $80. As we mentioned, Groupon is just one of many group buying sites.  Others in the space include LivingSocial, Google Offers and Gilt.

What about my business?
The big question, of course, is how does (or doesn’t) group buying fit into the world of a micro business owner? The first step might be looking at a few pros and cons. Although there are a number of advantages to consider when it comes to group buying, the biggest is likely the opportunity to generate buzz and in the end, reach a deep pool of new consumers you might not have been able to before. According to a Financial Times piece, Groupon CEO Andrew Mason thinks his company is the perfect way for small businesses to do just that: “We’re hands down the best way to get customers through the door,” he says. “Which for small businesses is the difference between success and failure.”  And while customer procurement is undoubtedly vital, small business owners also have to weigh a number of important risk factors like potential financial impact, and whether or not they’ll be able to honor the deal if it takes off.

ToMuse takes a hard look at whether or not group buying is cost effective, and ultimately comes to the conclusion that it really depends on the offer. And as for delivering on the deal, one cautionary tale comes in the form of a cupcake. Rachel Brown, who runs a small bakery outside of London, featured what she thought was a simple deal on Groupon (a 75 percent discount on a dozen cupcakes) that would maybe generate a few hundred orders. Instead, she was flooded, finally cutting the orders off at a staggering 8,500 — which, for the record, is a lot of cupcakes. According to the Daily Mail, her business took a massive hit. “Because [Brown’s] deal had been so generous and the demand so huge, she made a loss on every order – wiping out her profits for the entire year,” the publication reports.  

In the end, not all businesses are the same, and the decision comes down to you as a small business owner asking the right questions, such as: Is the risk worth the potential gain? Can I afford to offer such a deep discount? Am I prepared to honor the terms of the offer if there’s no limit? We’ve only scratched the surface of group buying, but hopefully you’ve gained a little insight. Tell us in the comments section: Do you think you’ll consider group buying or will you stick to more traditional methods?

Image: Groupon

MBR: Target’s plan to embrace small business?

By | January 20, 2012 | Micro Business Issues | 1 Comment

courtesy of paperprintout.com

We are now a few weeks into 2012 and preparing plans and goals for what we want to accomplish this year. Are you planning? Do you plan month by month or look long term?  This week’s edition of the Micro Business Roundup  covers a variety of topics that can help prepare your business for the year ahead including tips on what to do if your local post office closes to what Target is doing for small business.

Small Business Strategies: Seven trends you can’t ignore­­—Recently there has been a plethora of articles telling small business owners what they should do in 2012 to expand their business. While some can be helpful, Rhonda Abrams, USAToday columnist and author, has put together a list of the trends that are happening now that you can’t ignore. One suggestion is to consider hiring. Small business owners have been restricted when it comes to hiring because of cost, with current economic issues now great talent can be in reach. Are these trends are on your radar?

How Your Small Business Can Use Technology to Replace the Post Office –Have you considered how the recent announcement of the United States Post Service scaling back operations this year will affect your small business?

Sold! More Small Businesses Exchanged Hands Last Year—Good news for small business owners who have considered selling their business. “Sales of businesses with roughly $360,000 in annual revenue rose 3.3% in 2011, according to BizBuySell.com, a San Francisco-based online marketplace for small-business acquisitions. The median revenue for small businesses sold last year rose by 6.7%, its data show.”

How to turn fuming customers into lifelong fans—Nothing is worse than being on the phone with an unhappy customer and you can’t get a word in to try to attempt to fix the problem. The Washington Post provides a few handy tips to keep in mind as you try to rectify the situation. As you hold the phone a few inches from your ear, remember that this is your opportunity to make a customer for life.

The Shops At Target Lend Retail Space To Small Businesses—Big box stores have a reputation for destroying small business. In contrast, Target has announced plans to launch a new type of design partnership this spring, named The Shops At Target, that will place products from select small boutiques and specialty shops around the country in Target stores for six-week runs beginning May 6.

63% of Small Business Owners find Social Media to create more loyal customers

By | January 18, 2012 | Micro Business Insight, Micro Business Issues, Small Business Tips | No comments

Yesterday afternoon SEO.com posted an infographic on Small Business and Marketing. The graphic included a number of great statistics on small business owners and their marketing. Below are five that jumped off the page to us:

  1. 60% of small business owners have worked in their industry for over 20 years
  2. 28% of small business owners are female
  3. 56% of small business owners are not interested in online advertising
  4. 63% of small business owners find that social media creates more loyal customers
  5. 46% of small business owners believe that they broke even on their social media efforts

Small Business and Marketing - Infographic

For a full breakdown of the sources used to create the infographic, please click here.

Google Analytics for Your Small Business

By | January 16, 2012 | How To, Search Engine Marketing | No comments

This guest post comes from Samuel Johns, who works on the Organic Search team here at Vistaprint.

As a small business owner, keeping track of your website performance on top of all your other day-to-day tasks can be a very challenging proposition. No matter how busy you might be, tracking visitors to your site is one of the most important aspects of running a website today. Installing a simple tool like Google Analytics is a great way to get started. It’s easy to install, provides simple dashboards to view the data from your site, and is completely free.

Here are four key areas that Google Analytics can help you manage your website better.

  • Daily Visits
    • The Daily Visits feature gives you an overall look at how your site is performing from a traffic volume perspective. It also splits these visits by New and Repeat, so you can tell how many potential new customers come to your site each day.
    • Seeing your daily visits metric increase or decrease is beneficial for a number of reasons in the fact it helps you answer some valuable questions quickly, like:
      •  Weekly trends, what is the busiest day of the week?
      • Site performance issues, is the site not working? Is there a bug on one page?
      • Are we getting new customers from our marketing efforts?

 

  • How long people are staying on the site for?  (Avg. Time on Site)
    • Average Time on Site provides insight into how long people are staying on your site and also tells you how many pages they are visiting.
    • Average Time on Site is beneficial in providing a real time view on what people want to interact with and where they spend the most amount of time on your site. Think about the opportunities you now have to optimize and enhance your site in the areas your visitors care most about.

  • Where are the users coming from? (Traffic Types)
    • Traffic Types showcases the various sources of traffic to your site, whether it be from another site (Referral), Search Engines (Organic), or Direct (the number of people typing in your domain URL directly into browser). These data points are great at helping you understand the effectiveness of your marketing efforts.
    • Time on Site by Country gives you a deeper breakdown of which geographic region the user is coming from.
    • Want to know where you are marketing spend is working and where it is failing? What site or search engine is driving the most traffic to your website? Traffic types can help you answer those questions.

  • What pages are people visiting? (Visitor Flows)
    • Visitor Flows helps you understand which pages are the most important/visited and where in your site customers/users are leaving the site.
    • Assessing the Visitor Flows feature can be very beneficial in helping to identify issues and opportunities to enhance the structure and flow of your website.
      • For example: You notice customers going to a specific page from your home page, but then directly after they drop off that page and your site entirely. This is pretty impactful information if you’re able to fix the issue and turn a user who would have normally left your site, into a valued customer by getting them to convert.

To learn more and get a more in depth introduction on Google Analytics check out this five-minute video titled “Introduction to Google Analytics” from Google.

Be sure to check back next month for the next installment of Google Analytics for Small Business Owners, where we’ll provide you with step-by-step instructions of how to set up your Google Analytics account in the context of tracking your own website.

MBR: How much is too much, retiring and checking references

By | January 13, 2012 | Micro Business Roundup | No comments

RelaxationHey everyone, hope you have had a great week and that you weren’t hit with any of the snow reported over the past few days across the country. This week was a busy one in the editorial offices of Micro Business Perspectives and we’re looking forward to watching some football this weekend. Our team is primarily pulling for the Patriots this weekend with one exception, who are you pulling for? This week’s edition of the Micro Business Roundup is filled with topics ranging from retirement to growing your business. Hope you enjoy it and have a great weekend!

Are You Really in Charge of Your Business? – this article from Entrepreneur focuses on a 17-year old business owner that has his mother questioning his work ethic. While you might think that he’s slacking off, the mom fears that the boy is working himself to death and threatens to shut the business down. Sure many of you reading this blog are not children, there is probably someone that you have to answer to on the time you spend investing in your business. So the question to take away from this is how much is too much?

Why Doesn’t Anyone Check References? – when you hire employees do you check references? Now we aren’t talking just calling up and leaving a message, but really talking to someone and getting a feel for the hire? If you don’t, you are not alone. This article from the New York Times notes that an employer with many temporary workers has only been called 10 times in the past 30 years about former employees and it opens up the question as to why businesses are not inquiring about potential employees.

When I Retire, I Want To … – have you ever thought about what retirement means to you? Will you be living in the Florida Keys or just spending more time with family?

Your New PR and SEO Year – as the first full work week of the New Year comes to an end; many of us are staring at our resolutions and starting to forget about them already. If your business resolution was to build up more awareness for your business, be sure to read and bookmark this article from Startup Nation on SEO and PR.

Take The Time to Grow Your Business – this article offers you three steps to grow your business. None are overly daunting and will make you take a step back and wonder why you may have overlooked them in the past.

Image - markb120

What’s the Best Way to Pick a Vendor for Your Small Business?

By | January 12, 2012 | Micro Business Tips, Small Business Tips | No comments

It’s Thursday, so you know what that means: It’s Micro Business Tips Thursday. Today, we asked our Vistaprint Facebook community how to select the right vendor to work with. As usual, it was tough to narrow down all the great answers to just one, but today, Brenda Stansfield of Dayton, Ohio made an interesting point about vendors developing a sound relationship with their clients on multiple levels:

“I go by the personal relationship they set for me. Someone who knows me when I call, can give me solutions to problems that I have and keep me informed is key. The measure of a good vendor is quality product and service. If something should go wrong, it’s how they handle it – and a personal relationship means they take care of me AND my business.”

Click here to see all the responses.

Do you agree with Brenda? Why or why not? Tell us in the comments section! And be sure to check back next Thursday for another edition of the Micro Business Tip Thursday!

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