Antisocial Media: The Opposite of Social Media

Engaging with the media in an interactive manner is no longer a “nice to have” – it is a necessity.   But, how much is enough and what are the true consequences of doing “just enough?”   And, what if “just enough” isn’t? More often than not, “just enough” is anti-social, if not anti-business.

antisocial media

Here’s an example of “just enough” thinking:

Client: “Yes, we are even more active on Twitter and LinkedIn. We even post a blog now and again.   We are with the program and making great progress. Let’s move on to talk about upcoming press releases.”

It was another one of THOSE meetings.  …

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Small Business Data Protection Tips

data protection tipsLoss of data is one of the reasons why a business may result in failure. Since businesses run on information, when data is lost or access those data are disrupted, the impact may threaten business operations.

According to Ontrack Data Recovery Findings, there are five causes of data loss:

  1. Human Error
  2. Computer Viruses
  3. Natural Disasters
  4. Hardware or System Problem
  5. Software Corruption or Program Problem

The above-mentioned root causes account for loss of revenue for businesses across different industries which are alarming especially for small business owners. The lack of disaster recovery plans may spell disaster and this is not uncommon for SMBs who typically do not have the budget and internal IT expertise compared to large enterprises.…

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Top 6 Secrets To Great Customer Service

6 tips to better customer serviceEach of us has different experiences with customer service; some are good while most that we hear about are just horrible. Businesses, no matter how big or small, need to evaluate how well they are serving their customers.

There’s already a new standard and it is not just to have “good” customer service, it’s about being great. In a very competitive market, business owners cannot just ignore the importance of service excellence.

A business book review, by Ivana Taylor, of the book “Your Call Is (Not That) Important to Us”, the primary intention of the author was to make a research on what goes on with call centers.…

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The Infiltration Of Mobile Solutions In Small Business

mobile technology for small businessThe business industry is becoming more fast-paced and inventive in hopes of expanding their customer base. In fact, more entrepreneurs are now joining the mobile computing band wagon to gain more traction for their small business.

Mobile computing is part of a technology that can change your business and it is all about portability and convenience as well as providing an avenue for increased operational efficiency. As a small business owner, being away from the office can have some serious effects on your productivity and having the capability to remotely access your files definitely serves as one of the biggest advantages of this technology.…

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Tips For Dealing With Your Most Difficult Clients

dealing with difficult business clientsSome people you just can’t please. At least, that’s the truism my grandpa used to say to me. Clearly, grandpa didn’t run a small business. While some people are harder to make happy than others, as a CEO of a small business you can’t just write off difficult clients, unless of course you don’t mind taking a hit in your business.

But, after you’ve spent all day running your catering business, for example, cooking, responding to calls, and delivering orders, getting a complaint from someone because their food arrived at 5:03 instead of 5 isn’t going to make them your favorite person.…

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What Every Small Business Should Know About Business Incubation

advice and help from business incubatorsBusiness incubation has been in existence in the U.S since 1959 and has been growing ever since. In Anita Campbell’s article, Business Incubators: The Next Innovation Engine?, legislators are looking into business incubation as a way to boost job growth.

Since small businesses are the major contributors in job creation, it just makes sense that the small business sector be given as much support as the government can. More help = more small businesses= more jobs.

Business incubation has a wide range of services. It goes above and beyond just leasing a space and giving sound business advice. Some services include help with regulatory compliance, access to angel investors or venture capitalists, and other administrative services which are essential to any type of business.…

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Which Hat Is Your Site Wearing? Optimizing Your Website

black or white hat seo techniquesIf you are like most entrepreneurs, you would already have milked different social networking sites for all their worth. And why not? It sure would drive more traffic to your site. The higher traffic percentage your site gets, the higher chances of getting more sales.

There are many search engine optimization strategies which can help increase rankings. A successful internet marketing campaign needs to be well-thought of and well-planned. You should never lose sight of your goal instead; you need to be guided by it.

The article SEO- Are You Missing The Point? suggests that the more optimized your site is, the higher ranking it gets, therefore increasing site traffic and a possible increase in sales.…

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Guide To Being In More Control Over Managing Your Work

guide to better control over your businessSmall companies are often controlled by one person in particular, the CEO. Often times the CEO will take on many different kinds of tasks in order to make sure that the company will be able to enjoy better success.

The only problem is that by wearing the different hats necessary to do everything from lead generation to closing sales, it can leave little time for anything else. It is a hectic lifestyle to be sure. This is why it is important that you take a practical approach to managing yourself, your time and your future. This will help you to be more successful as well as make it where the company can be more successful.…

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Social Media: Is Visibility All There Is To It?

Gone are the days when businesses just relied on neon signs, tarpaulins and pamphlets. Since the inception of social networking sites, entrepreneurs harnessed it to maintain business relationships and attract new customers. Marketing has taken on a whole new meaning once social media became prevalent, especially for small businesses.

While it is true that the more people know your business exists, the higher chance you get of being considered to fit consumer’s needs, there is still the matter of being able to establish that you can deliver what you promised you would.

You may be sending hordes of email, tweeting left and right, posting new blogs daily all in the hopes of being noticed by more of your target market but have you measured how much of an improvement your business made since you started marketing online?…

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Business and IT – Adversaries or Partners?

business relationships with ITDoes your company’s Information Technology area act more like competitors rather than partners with the business?

A poor relationship with IT can be extremely detrimental to the efficiency, productivity and cost-effectiveness of your organization.

Watch for some of these warning situations:

“¢ Everyone knows HR cuts payroll checks, and finance pays vendors. IT doesn’t always have the opportunity to regularly show its value and can be taken for granted. People don’t want to talk until something is broken, or frustration has mounted to the point of eruption. IT is regularly in a reactive mode.

“¢ IT helps make operations more efficient, but change in organizations can be stressful and can create uncertainty.…

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