Online Referrals: Will Facebook’s Small Business Snub Be a Game Changer?
The currents that carry website visitors around the Internet are always ebbing and flowing. If you watch them over time you’ll observe some big changes. For as long as most of us can remember, the major current carrying referral visitors has been organic searches, mostly via Google, however that changed in the final quarter of 2014, according to a report from Shareaholic. Social networks pushed Google out of its first place position. Eight major social networks combined for over 31 percent of Internet referral traffic. Beating Google at its own game is great, but even more impressive is social media’s year-to-year growth. In Q1 2013, this group accounted for only about 23 percent of referral traffic. That’s almost a 35 percent growth in one year. Will Smallbiz jump ship? Yet there could be more changes just around the corner. The single biggest player among the social media platforms for referral traffic is – as I’m sure you guessed – Facebook. But a recent poll conducted by Alignable says that a majority of small business owners will not be paying for promotional posts as Facebook stops putting business posts into news feeds for free, which it began to do in January. Fully 68 percent of respondents said they wouldn’t pay; 14 percent said they would, and 18 percent were undecided. Facebooks “paying for posts policy” is really putting the squeeze on small business owners, especially when it’s coupled with Facebook’s concerted effort to halt business-related posts made via a member’s personal profiles. Currently Facebook drives about a quarter of all Internet referral traffic. Pinterest ranks second and the six other properties – Twitter, StumbleUpon, Reddit, Google+, LinkedIn and YouTube – account for less than 2 percent of total web referral traffic. If the Alignable poll results are anything close to what will actually occur in the coming months, further increases in Facebook referrals will happen largely without the participation of small business. Ultimately, however, many small business owners may decide to apportion part of their advertising and marketing budgets currently earmarked for Google’s AdWords program, to Facebook advertising. Maybe mobile will pay off I should also note that Facebook’s mobile advertising revenue has seen some impressive gains in recent months, which either means that businesses are experimenting with its service or that it is delivering the results advertisers are looking for. If it’s the latter, Google should continue to see its referral share decrease. How does your business fit into this ever-changing picture? If it teaches us one thing, it’s that no business owner should “stand pat” on a specific social media marketing mix. You need to be ready to try different platforms, with varying content. You need to be willing to create an advertising and marketing budget so you can honestly test the options you have...
read moreMothers of Invention: Finding Inspiration in Brilliant, Creative Women
Solomon, who is credited with being the wisest man ever, wrote this in the first chapter of Ecclesiastes: “There is nothing new under the sun.” That may be poetically true, but it’s patently false – and I’m using the word “patent” here in the literal sense of issuing patents. New ones are being granted every day. February is National Women Inventor’s Month and I think it highlights a subject that deserves a lot more attention, for the benefit of women but even more for the benefit of society. We live in a time when ideas are the most precious commodity. When we encourage more people to have ideas, voice them, and pursue them, the more opportunities we create for everyone. Let me highlight a few women inventors for inspiration and share a couple of important tips with you. I don’t know the name of the first woman inventor I would like to discuss, but she (and it was probably a collective effort between many women) provided the basis from which civilization has been able to advance. Our debt to the cavewomen Let me suggest to you that women invented agriculture. How can I make this bold assertion? you ask. All the books on the development of societies from the primitive to the advanced say that men were hunters and women were gatherers. I believe cave paintings and other clues bear this out. If that is true, then who is most likely to have invented agriculture? I think this is interesting because it is a wonderful example of finding a solution for an everyday problem. Being able to grow all your berries in one location is far better than having to run around the hillside harvesting random patches of berries. Women, keep your eyes open for ways to do everyday tasks better and more efficiently. Beauty and brains One of the best reads of recent years is Pulitzer Prize-winning author Richard Rhodes’ “Hedy’s Folly: The Life and Breakthrough Inventions of Hedy Lamarr, The Most Beautiful Woman in the World.” Here is proof that a beautiful woman can be taken seriously for much more than her good looks. Rhodes chronicles Lamarr’s childhood in Austria and her immigration to the United States from a variety of angles. He explains her relationships, both personal and professional, and shows how she came to value science, invention and the world of ideas. She invented technology to help the war effort that is used in cell phones today. Here’s a link to an NPR story on the book, but I urge you to grab the book and read it yourself. She does it all An article in Forbes recently inspired me. It’s about – and written by – Lisa Seacat DeLuca, a self-described nerd, mother of twins, and the most prolific female inventor at IBM. Currently she has more than 150 patents to her name that deal with technologies including mobile, data and the cloud. In a recent TED@IBM talk she said, “The speed of invention in the future will be as fast as we can dream up ideas. We’ll be able to use each other’s innovations to test drive ideas and find inspiration to keep solving everyday problems.” Wow! She talked about solving everyday problems, exactly what the women who invented agriculture did. In...
read moreThis Week in Small Business: Rev Up Your Brainpower
Marketing Last week we learned why your landing pages should be naked and your prefrontal cortex should be pampered…and much more. Social media Jason Meyers, Founder and CEO of AudienceBloom, explains the difference between community management and social media marketing and why it’s so important. Sometimes good examples are better than detailed instructions. That’s the strong suit of this article on social media marketing. And if you like great instructions, this article on Twitter engagement lays them out. Here’s a rundown of how several small business owners are dealing with the small business policy changes at Facebook. Mobile and local It looks like proximity marketing is set to explode and that is reflected in this UK survey. And for a comprehensive view on how to leverage the full spectrum of your customers’ mobile activities, Adobe’s Mickael Bentz offers this rundown. Content marketing If you haven’t yet established a blog for your business, here are the essential steps to make it a good one. Greg Shuey, Co-Founder & Chief Evangelist at Stryde suggests ways to shorten the sales cycle through content marketing. Online marketing If you think that all your ecommerce marketing should be focused online, you would be wrong, says Katherine Halek in Entrepreneur. Those of you looking for fresh ways to approach your digital marketing should consider the six alternatives suggested in this Forbes article. Seriously, if you really want to up the conversion on your landing pages, try going naked. Sales and Marketing Agile marketing is the rage today, but is it compatible with “big ideas”? It’s possible that short-term tactics may kill long-term strategies. Is there a lack a love between sales and marketing in your business? Here are 10 tips that will help renew their relationship. The moms have the checkbooks, why do marketers have no idea what they need or want? Get hip to today’s moms. Small, medium and big data Everything You Wanted to Know About Google Analytics Resources for Marketers But Were Afraid to Ask can be found here. Speaking of Google, here are two case studies in the effectiveness of AdWords. If you haven’t added automation to your marketing program, you’re missing out on something that works for 90 percent of all users. Management and leadership It may not be rocket science, but it is science: Christopher Paterson contends that you need to treat your prefrontal cortex nicely if you want to make good business decisions. He offers three steps to accomplish this. Did you overlook your retirement planning in 2014? Don’t make the same mistake in 2015. Here are some solid small business owner retirement strategies. And in a related story: If you are working beyond “retirement age” or think that it’s a possibility, you need to check out this short video that warns you about some significant traps. If you’re waiting for imports that have to pass through California ports, it’s been gridlock since mid-January. Successful marketing to a wide range of cultures is getting more important each day. This Harvard Business Review article outlines a major mistake companies make. The economy goes up and down (sometimes seemingly the same time) but here’s why your reaction to the rough patches should never impact customer service. And in the spirit of “back to basics”: Be on the lookout for...
read moreHow To Not Become a Labor Department Enforcement Target
Over the last couple of years the Department of Labor has become fairly aggressive in its enforcement of wage and hours laws. It has been targeting industries suspected of being the most egregious offenders and it is going at enforcement in such a public way as to create a “ripple effect” that will motivate other industries and employers to stay in line, even though they are not targets of ongoing enforcement efforts. In an article written by Dr. David Weil, administrator DOL’s Wage and Hour Division, he lays this out clearly: We’re increasing the cost of non-compliance by using all enforcement tools provided by Congress where appropriate, including civil money penalties, liquidated damages, and debarments. We’re identifying the contracting stream, or supply chains, so those at the top of the chain will evaluate the compliance practices of those below them and consider whether it’s worth their own good name and possibly their own bottom line to utilize the services of subcontractors or suppliers who skirt the law. When we conclude significant cases, we publicize the results through traditional and digital media. Publicizing wage and hour violations is an effective way to educate other employers about their responsibilities and encourage compliance. Weil also sites the case of an Arizona drywall contractor who the department found liable for $600,000 in back pay because the company said workers were independent contractors rather than company employees. You don’t want to get swamped by one of those ripples and find yourself on the radar screen of DOL enforcers, so you need to make sure you’re in compliance, have the systems and training in place to stay in compliance, and you have implemented a good system of documenting your wage and hour practices. Peter Rich, an attorney at Spilman Thomas & Battle, has four important recommendations to help you stay out of trouble: Be sure your practices align with DOL policy with regards to the differences between employees and contractors. Use a computer-based payroll system so your records are always in order and easy to access. Have all the facts you need to determine if an employee is exempt or non-exempt. Understand the nuances of “compensable” time, which will impact the amount of overtime you are required to pay. This compensable time point is an area where employers are frequently challenged. The Supreme Court recently ruled on a case that involved employees who were required to change into clothes and protective gear prior to working. The court “threaded the needle” in the way it defined regular clothes versus protective gear and the employer essentially won the case. However, we all know that even if you end up winning your case, the time and expense are significant when lawyers get involved. If you have any doubts about your policies and practices or have never before reviewed them, sitting down with a good local labor law attorney will prove to be money well...
read more5-Member Board Set to Change Fundamental Franchise Law
Because Congress and the President have had a legislative death grip on one another for as long as most people are able to remember, one might think that little is being done in Washington D.C. One would be wrong. Even though the passage of significant legislation seems like a pipe dream to folks on both sides of the aisle, that doesn’t stop regulators and others from enacting rules and making decisions that can impose sweeping changes on the way we do business. Regulation of the Internet is on deck, but currently at bat is a proposed reinterpreting of the relationship between a franchisor and franchisee. No happy meal at the NLRB The general counsel to the five-member National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has issued an opinion that employees in McDonald’s restaurants across the land are not solely employees of the individual franchise operators, but that the McDonald’s corporation itself is a joint employer. If this opinion is allowed to stand, it would make McDonald’s and other large corporations responsible for labor violations committed by individual franchise holders. The NLRB is a quasi-judicial body that decides cases involving labor law. This, as many observers have put it, upends decades of legal precedent and has the potential to set off a tidal wave of changes in franchise industry that could lead to a retrenchment within the industry, if not the wholesale closing of some franchise locations across the country. “I operate as an independent stand-alone business. I have the autonomy to run my business as I see fit, but if the Labor Board radically changes the joint employer standard, I fear that my days as a business owner will be numbered,” says John Sims, owner and operator of Rainbow Station at the Boulders in Richmond, Virginia. Sims and his wife have 40 employees and were considering opening another location. But with this and other regulatory changes in the offing, they have decided to put their expansion plans on hold for the time being. With all the uncertainty in the air, it’s likely that this picture is being repeated in virtually every state. The goose that laid the golden egg This is tragic because the franchise sector has been leading our economy out of its doldrums. A study recently released by IHS Economics predicted that franchise businesses would add 247,000 new jobs in 2015, coming off the heels of 235,000 new jobs in 2014. This 2.9 percent growth rate would mark the fifth consecutive year that job growth in the franchise sector outpaced non-franchise workforce job creation. However, at this point, the NLRB opinion is not settled law. In fact, a recent decision in federal court seems to up hold the traditional view that individual franchisee owners are the employers of local workers. According to the International Franchise Association, in a case involving a massage therapist who alleged violations of minimum wage laws, Judge Roger T. Benitez of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California ruled on January 6 that Massage Envy, a corporate franchisor, was not the employer of therapists in its franchisees’ California stores. Further, the Republican-controlled Congress is stirring on the issue. A hearing was held in the Senate and legislation may be introduced to head off the NLRB at the pass. Even if you aren’t a...
read moreHow to Protect Your Valuable Social Media Contact Information
Who gets your social media contacts when you die? I ask the question partially in jest, but a very close variation to that query has become an important issue in law: Who gets the professional social media contacts when one of your employees leaves? The specific issue here deals with LinkedIn accounts. See if any of this sounds familiar, or at least feasible: You encourage an employee to establish a LinkedIn account and make contacts with clients and potential clients. He or she downloads the company phone list from the server on your company’s LAN and uses that info to identify more possible LinkedIn contacts. The employee does well and even starts a professional group on LinkedIn, garnering more contacts. More valuable than paper clips Of course, all good things must someday end and this employee moves on to start a competing business. Many employees will walk out with the company stapler and a ream of copy paper, but what about these contacts? Who now owns this goldmine of professional contact information? Before you render your legal opinion, let’s add one more wrinkle: According to the LinkedIn user agreement, “If you are using LinkedIn on behalf of a company or other legal entity, you are nevertheless individually bound by this Agreement even if your company has a separate agreement with us.” Now what do you say? As our use – nay, dependence – on social media increases, the law is having a bit of a struggle keeping up with the pace, so we can expect more clarity/confusion (choose one) on this in coming years. However, so far US courts seem to be siding with the individual. After one Pennsylvania woman’s former company terminated her, the company took over her LinkedIn account, changed all its details and “assigned” it to its interim CEO. Citing the LinkedIn user agreement, the court ruled on the side of private individual ownership of the social media profile. However, it didn’t find that the company had caused any damages to the woman. The worst-case scenario But what if the employee were to take that valuable contact information and use it to jump start a competing company? This brings the issue into sharp focus. And with the addition of other problems, like cyber bullying, there is no doubt that every business needs a comprehensive social media policy. To deal with the question of who owns and controls accounts such as LinkedIn, you need to spell out your expectations for the use of professional contact information gathered while employed. For example, if an employee gets the personal email address of a client, must it be uploaded to the company’s master database of contact information? Don’t allow a scattered network of employees to be the sole repositories of this valuable data. Also, clearly define who owns this information and how it may be used appropriately. You need to anticipate employees leaving and how this will be reflected in social media profiles. You can require employees to “disconnect” from your clients that they met solely through the auspices of your company, although in practice this may prove difficult. That makes non-compete and non-solicitation agreements even more important. If you don’t have these kinds of agreements, now is the ideal time to put them in place. Look at the issues...
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