This Week in Small Business: Avoid cyber crime, market smart and find out where the economy is headed.
Can you actually launch an Instagram marketing campaign in two hours? Are startups running down? Is ransomware the next “killer” app?
Inquiring minds want to know, and that’s why they check out all of these great articles.
Leadership, management and productivity
Lessons in how to run a startup and small business are always being taught in Silicon Valley. These 11 tips will work in virtually any setting.
“Ransomware” is a specific growing threat for small businesses. Be sure you and all your employees know what it is and how to avoid being caught in its snare. And in general terms, cyber crime is a topic that small business owners need to follow closely. Here are four ways you can help prevent a catastrophe in your company.
Ryan Smith turned down a $500 million offer for his startup. Find out why and see his approach to achieving a work-life balance.
The key to being a great boss is in asking the right questions, according to movie and media mogul Brian Grazer.
If you’re planning to expand, you may want to know which US cities are creating the most new tech jobs.
Ethics today save you money tomorrow. But that’s not all. Being ethical today makes you more money, every day of the year, for generations, says Ted Coiné.
Review this list of seven ways to kill staff motivation and I’m sure you’ll find at least one that you have been guilty of through the years.
Infusionsoft co-founder and CEO Clate Mask makes a good point when he says that small business is “personal” not “local.”
Run a startup or a growing business? Here are 11 customer service mistakes you can’t afford to make.
Marketing and sales
Marketers should look at what biologists have discovered over the years and apply it to the way they segment their prospects and customers.
Matthew Gonnering, Widen CEO, says that “wellness” should be the aim of your marketing campaign and he describes the seven dimensions to wellness.
If you’re planning a new, bright and shiny marketing campaign, don’t forget about your existing customers. What’s that old baby and bathwater saying?
Bill Walls does a good job comparing PPC campaigns and inbound marketing. It should help you better focus your resources.
We chronicle the advantages of email marketing here virtually every week. An EmailExpert.org study says that $1 in spending generates $44 in revenue.
Social Media/Digital
How to optimize social media marketing efforts using microcontent.
Sure you have some folks handling your Internet marketing, but how can you know that they’re doing anything worthwhile? Here are 12 red flags to watch for.
It’s definitely “ground floor” time for Meerkat and Periscope marketing. Here’s a guide that will help you get started.
Don’t have much time? Consider these two Instagram marketing campaigns you can get going in just a couple of hours.
Did you know that Facebook accounted for 64 percent of all social log-ins on the Internet during the first quarter of 2015? You’ll find that and nine more fascinating digital marketing stats right here!
17 Social media marketing experts check in on what it takes to build relationships.
If you’re planning a product launch, check out this Harvard Business Review article that outlines 10 social media tactics.
Content
Living by the KISS rule (keep it simple, stupid!) is always a great idea and here are five ways to simplify your content marketing efforts.
Anyone writing a content marketing “bible” would want to include these four keys.
Score with a viral meme in your marketing and you’ll feel like you just hit a walk-off homerun. Here Ellen Gomes gives us the inside dope.
Cracking the secrets to marketing via Reddit is as simple as understanding the difference between how marketing is done today vs. how it was done in the past, says Ross Simmonds.
Government, politics and the economy
Jerome Ternynck, CEO of Smart Recruiters, believes that the new federal program TechHire could be a boon to small businesses and startups.
Every element measured in the most recent NFIB small business optimism index survey fell – the first time since 9/11. Weather and government regulations were partly to blame, say some economists.
Michigan Senator Gary Peters introduced a bill to increase SBA lending to small businesses.
D.C. may be at a standstill on tax reform, but several states are moving in the right direction, according to the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council.
Last year, bank small-business loans jumped for the first time since 2010, up $12 billion, according to data from Sageworks Bank Information.
Entrepreneurship, startups and innovation
More and more women are joining the ranks of startup and small business owners and among minority women the jump has been even bigger.
It will be very interesting to see what comes out of GoDaddy’s and MIT’s partnership to boost small business.
Speaking of MIT, Jeff Ma is the prof who trained students to win at blackjack. Now banned from casinos, he focuses his insights into his startups.
If you’re planning a startup, you might want to print out this infographic on the 13 startup survival rules and tape it to your refrigerator.
Does your startup need a prototype to get funding and estimate production costs? Here are the issues to consider when building a prototype.
Young entrepreneurs especially need to internalize these seven startup marketing tips…although even the oldsters among us will find them useful.
Sam Altman, the head of Silicon Valley startup accelerator program Y Combinator, says that startups are blowing through $1 million a month and it’s “frightening.”
