This Week in Small Business: Sharing, trading, channel surfing and the über rich
Marketing and sales
Social media/content marketing
The content you post on the various social media platforms should be customized for each user. Here are some simple ways to do that.
Although interactive infographics take a little more time to create, Drew Hendricks outlines four ways they boost your digital marketing success.
Instagram is proving to be very valuable for small business social media marketing. Follow these tips to get your channel off the ground. But don’t bet everything on web marketing, sometimes Old School strategies work too.
Sharing and trading content with related businesses can boost your marketing reach. Follow these steps to find the right partners.
Neil Patel, co-founder of Crazy Egg, Hello Bar, and KISSmetrics, takes us on a guided tour of eight brilliant content marketing innovations from the world’s best brands.
You don’t have time to be spinning your wheels, so stop doing these seven pointless content marketing efforts right now.
Marketing trends and problem solving
If you’re getting too many abandoned shopping carts, review these 10 points to be sure you’re doing everything you can to grab the sales.
The major players are shifting positions in the digital marketing world. You need to know what’s going on.
The former head of SMB marketing at Facebook says it’s time for small businesses to look elsewhere to bring in customers.
Rakhal Ebeli, managing director of Newsmodo, outlines three of the biggest problems small business owners face with content marketing and suggests how they can be solved.
There are four channels you can leverage like a PR pro to promote your content. Understand them and use them as your budget permits. Speaking of budgets: How about a monthly marketing budget of less than $100? Here are a half dozen ideas for you to try.
If you can’t join ’em (overnight at least), learn how to market to the ultra-wealthy.
Entrepreneurship, startups and innovation
Let’s not let the techies rule the startup world. Here’s a quick start guide for startups even if you’re a non-technical person. And for even more guidance, be sure to avoid these 16 fatal startup mistakes.
Venture capital has traditionally been a “boys club.” Here’s Jenny Lee’s take on what it’s like to be the top woman in VC.
It only cost Marissa Devantier $20 to start her pop-up shop, but she has a much bigger vision for her future.
Even if your passion isn’t craft beers, you’ll probably learn something from this interview with the founder of Sam Adams.
The peer-to-peer economy can generate significant incomes, especially for Airbnb’s “superhosts.”
You’ve got food! AOL co-founder Steve Case is betting that the food industry is the next major target for disruption.
Here’s a mom who’s paying for her kid’s private school education by selling hand-sewn lip balm holders. She’s a great example of turning a craft into a career.
There are major currents at work reshaping the way we do commerce with each other. Andrew Cave explores the question of which will come first, the “sharing” or the “circular” economy.
If you have the next big idea and it requires launching a major digital platform, you’ll want to check out this how-to article from the Harvard Business Review.
This video tutorial from Shopify about how to create an online t-shirt store with no inventory, will give you a good overview of ecommerce and fulfillment.
Government, politics and economy
There’s a period of time every four years when all the top politicians are pro-small business. It’s when they’re campaigning to be president.
A Kenyan proverb says, “When elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers.” That may sum up the new net neutrality regulations and small business.
Although the initiative was originally started under Democratic leadership, small business contractor legislation is continuing to make its way through Congress.
With Operation Choke Point, federal authorities have been closing down small business bank accounts that make large cash deposits. Kyle Torpey thinks it’s a sign of a much bigger issue.
Management, leadership and productivity
We all worry about first impressions, but is the last impression in your company’s customer experience what it needs to be?
It’s hard to find a truly original article; this is one. The husband-and-wife team behind a healthy snack making business describe how they’ve been successful and automobile free at the same time.
The men and women at Buffer know a little about content and in this blog they share their favorite tools to streamline their workflow.
Study this primer on how to talk to your angriest customers so you’ll be ready when the time comes…
Having critical data and IT in the cloud can help your business quickly recover from a disaster, as one small sign shop owner found out after a fire.
Here are three attributes shared by winning teams, whether they’re in sports or in business.
A significant number of small businesses don’t have websites, or have poorly designed/managed/underutilized websites. Here are seven of the most common errors and how to avoid them.
Did you freak out in speech class? If so, touch bases with these 10 ways to make your presentations memorable…and less stressful.
Every corner of our country is prone to some kind of natural disaster so everyone needs to be ready. Here are four things you should be doing.
Being a mom – especially a new mom – makes dealing with work a challenge. Lisa Evans explores how to cope with the guilt many experience. Natalie Baumbartner draws lessons from her experience as a new mom, part-time worker and software company founder.
Don’t forgo windows and plants in your office design. They can definitely improve productivity and creativity, a recent study concludes.
There’s no room for second-rate customer service today and to really excel, you need to understand and master the psychology of customer service.
It’s tax season: Do you know where your “ghost assets” are? Find out how they can impact your IRS return. Also, here are five ways to make your tax return audit-proof and if you need more, here are another five ways.
The IoT (Internet of things) is coming to your office. Are you ready for it? Mashable has some tips.
People don’t leave jobs, they leave managers, Lauren Weber writes as she starts her article that looks at what workers want from a boss.
