This Week in Small Business: Is community-powered marketing right for you?

news you can use

Community-based marketing, email marketing, and how to handle a hostile work environment are just a few of the extremely diverse topics we’re directing you to this week. There’s something for everyone. Really.

Leadership, management, and productivity

How do you maintain “the personal touch” in an increasingly digital world? Allan Hall has some ideas.

Today, business flows to those with the best customer experience. Here are three ways to put your customers first.

In a recent survey, only 12 percent of small business owners said they were interested in an ecommerce presence; Are small business owners throwing away their future?

SCORE Counselor Dick Milon gives practical advice on how to find the right talent for your small business.

Customer engagement is where the heart is. This Kissmetrics blog covers how the right analytics can strengthen customer engagement.

Not a fun topic, but an important one: How to handle a hostile work environment.

Believe it or not: Texting and online chat get a “like” from small business owners!

Marketing and sales

If traditional B2B marketing efforts are failing for you, it may be time for a community-powered approach to marketing.

YouTube is beginning to help small business owners with video ad production…for free!

This MovableInk article delivers a lot of useful email marketing info, which will always be a cornerstone of digital marketing.

Although you may not have individuals for each and every role, you still need to understand all the players on a comprehensive content marketing team.

As part of a series on how to build a business and lifestyle, this article covers “conversations that sell” and how to convert a lead into a client.

Survey after survey prove the increasing importance of video. Here are five essential factors of great video marketing.

Entrepreneurship, startups and innovation

Startup marketing requires a special skill set and special strategies. Matthew Toren relates seven creative strategies to consider if your startup budget is tight. On the same topic, this article suggests that Apple’s “marketing first” strategy could work for your startup.

Politics, government and the economy

Heather Long offers 10 key facts about the U.S. economy…and with this economy facts are a precious commodity.

Do you know at which point your hobby becomes a business? The IRS may be interested in this. Check out this article by Barbara Weltman.

Hard data: The Cass Freight Index reflects a slowing economy via freight shipments and spending.

Congress is taking some steps to fight the Department of Labor’s new rules on who can be considered a salaried employee and who must be paid overtime rates.