Internet marketing research company comScore released a white paper detailing which Facebook features for business receive the most usage by consumers. The results? 27% of Facebook browsing is on the news feed and home page. (Side note: this is also 4% of all time spent online in the US.)  After that, 21% of user time was spent on profiles, 17% on Photos, 10% on applications, and 25% on the rest of the site. Therefore, the bulk of user engagement with brands took place on the news feed, not Pages. Despite this data, the average brand in the top 100 Facebook Pages reaches only 16% of their fans per week if they post five days a week.

According to Inside Facebook, “These stats should illuminate that brands should put more effort into optimizing their news feed posts than developing apps for their Pages if they want to reach the most people.”  They also note that the report is based on a two million person opt-in panel of web internet users that agreed to be observed. The sample size is ample, though it might skew towards savvier and more open-minded users.

What is the take away from this? Small businesses should post to Facebook at least once every day, and then focus on getting Likes, comments, and re-shares to increase the visibility of their posts by having them viewed in users streams.

Want to make an appointment to discuss Facebook or other social media questions for your small business? Call the Southwestern College SBDC at 619-482-6391 to set it up.

File sharing is not a dirty word anymore, and many people use paid services to share larger files like powerpoint presentations. There are several free options for doing so:
http://www.dropbox.com
http://www.box.net
http://www.diglo.net
http://www.boxifyme.net (no sign up required)

After some recent ergonomics evaluations, some of us are considering standing desks. Here is a cool option you can use if you have a free-standing desk. http://lifehacker.com/5739296/build-a-diy-wide-adjustable-height-ikea-standing-desk-on-the-cheap 

Funny social media discussion… would yelp and trip advisor have changed movie plots? http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2011/jul/28/technology-killed-film-plots-hollywood 

Interactive map on tipping. http://marketplace.publicradio.org/maps/america/tipping-trends/

According to Nielsen, almost half of all Americans (143.9 million people) viewed some video online in the month of January alone. It seems pretty safe to guess some of these 143 million are customers of small businesses. So one way to get in on this action is through Video in email marketing campaigns to your customers. Why add video links to email campaigns? In a study by the World Wide Marketing Council, 73% of marketers said that integrating video with their email marketing efforts increased their click-through rates. And the website MarketingSherpa reports that video in an email can lift conversion rates by 50%.

 A great article that explains more about the importance of video sharing is at http://www.marketingprofs.com/charts/2011/5576/use-of-video-sharing-sites-on-the-rise

We found some of their key findings pretty fascinating:

• Online African-Americans and Hispanics are more likely than Internet-using whites to visit video-sharing sites, 79% vs. 69%.
• Parents use video‐sharing sites more than non‐parents, 81% vs. 61%.
• Younger adults are more likely to use video-sharing sites: 92% of adults age 18-29 use such sites, compared with 80% of those age 30-49, 54% of those age 50-64, and 31% of those age 65+.

SBDC Small Business Advisor Gabriel Reyes has been advising clients over the last few years to focus their financing efforts, especially SBA loan requests, with the smaller “community” banks. This table from the San Diego Union Tribune helps explain why:

Reyes has found these banks to be more relationship-based. They often use “make sense” underwriting, meaning that the underwriters may be a bit more lenient on certain issues, such as credit, if there are compensating factors that still make the deal work.

You may have noticed that one of the regions most recognizable banking establishments, Bank of America is not even on this list. The U-T article explains why.

More questions about loan options for your small business? Check out the Small Business Lender’s Forum at the Southwestern College SBDC in National City. This monthly event explains the differences between different SBA Loan programs, alternatives to SBA financing, and what you need to do to prepare to apply.

Want to hear Steven speak about this in person? Attend the free IRS Tax Workshop he presents on the third Thursday of the month at our center in National City. Learn more…

Many small businesses think  Customer Relationship Management tools are too expensive for the benefits they yield. But the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce is offering a new resource that is reasonably priced and offers a variety of features.

ChamberZoom is a powerful, web-based suite of software applications that provides a consolidated platform for small businesses to create and manage their own websites, customer databases, marketing campaigns, invoicing and much more. It can easily take the place of numerous applications or software programs that cost businesses as much as $200 a month if purchased separately.

“The Chamber has developed a comprehensive business resource that we can offer at the most affordable price in the industry,” said Doug Holman, vice president of membership at the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce. “With ChamberZoom, there is no need to subscribe to multiple software platforms that promise to make your life easier, but aren’t compatible. This tool is a one-stop-shop that will eliminate one or more monthly fees businesses may currently be paying.”

ChamberZoom is specifically designed to be the perfect marketing and operational management solution for small businesses, micro-businesses, sole proprietors, salespeople, nonprofits, teams, and so many other types of organizations. Through ChamberZoom, users can manage email and SMS campaigns, implement customer surveys, host their website and online stores, manage customer contacts and invoicing, monitor customer relationships, and oversee project management. Free training in all aspects of the software and set-up assistance is also available to new users, who can have their contact data transferred and email templates recreated.

The application is available for $9.95 per month and is available to all businesses, even those outside of San Diego. For more information about ChamberZoom, please visit www.chamberzoom.com.

Alternatives to ChamerZoom include SAP, Oracle, SalesForce and Microsoft Dynamics. Other tools are entering the marketplace, as well. It is likely that content management systems like Vertical Response, Constant Contact, and even open source programs may offer CRM tools in the future.

If you want to read our explanation of why group deals often work out to have a negative impact on small businesses, check out our blog post from September. To summarize:

Let’s assume the average net profit margin for most small service businesses is around 5 percent. At this profit margin, so you would have to sell $175,917 in products/services to make up the loss generated by the discount marketing deal. But the retention of discount marketing customers is not 100%. And those (as few as 22%) that do return, will expect heavily discounted prices.

New numbers are coming about the loyalty of customers generated by group deals. According to a study from Rice University, “Fifty five percent of businesses reported making money, 26.6% lost money and 17.9% broke even on their promotions.” This runs against the pitches group deals must use to sell small businesses on their services. But even if you look at the 55% figure as positive, the customer data is not inspiring.

“Although close to 80% of deal users were new customers, significantly fewer users spent beyond the deal’s value or returned to purchase at full price.” A full copy of the report is available.

These types of statistics make you wonder how many small business owners will continue offering group deals, and if this type of marketing is a fad that may not last much longer.

In any case, the SBDC is here to help if you are considering the financials of a group deal. Call us at 619-482-6391 to schedule a free appointment to discuss the numbers with a small business advisor.

• According to Constant Contact, 73% of small businesses use social media for marketing. Would you rather the customers there purchase from those businesses instead of yours?
• Moms are almost twice as likely to become fans of brands or products as they are of celebrities on social networks (Parenting Group)
• Black internet users check into to Twitter twice as much as Hispanics and four times as often as Whites, according to the Pew Research Group.
• Fashion and cosmetics brands are the most active on Facebook (L2 Think Tank)

Bottom line: a variety of consumers are using these platforms, so that’s where you should want to be. These forums are no longer just for niche industries or giant corporations, they are a legitimate place for customers to have a conversation with businesses. That conversation is going on whether or not you’re there… don’t you want to have a say?

Getting started with social media can be a little complicated, but the SBDC is here to help. Call us at 619-482-6391 to schedule an appointment with a small business advisor to discuss your options and best practices.

• Treat it like cash.
• Get it out of the car…don’t ever leave it behind.
• Keep it locked…use a security cable.
• Keep it off the floor…or at least between your feet.
• Keep passwords separate…not near the laptop or case.
• Don’t leave it “for just a sec”…no matter where you are.
• Pay attention in airports…especially at security.
• Use bells and whistles…if you’ve got an alarm, turn it on.

Get more details at the website, http://www.onguardonline.gov/topics/laptop-security.aspx

“A hater is pretty easy to spot—someone who is disgruntled enough to actively turn to every avenue they can find to talk about how much they hate you and your business. They often find their way onto social media, thanks to the low barrier of entry and promise that any invisible comment can find its way onto the highly visible first page of Google results,” writes Rohit Bhargava.

This illustrates what our small business advisors think is the #1 reason to get on social media: to listen. We have had many clients who won’t check out their profiles on Yelp, or start profiles on Facebook, or open Twitter accounts… simply because they don’t want to hear any negative comments. But those comments are going to happen whether you’re on social media or not. Wouldn’t you rather be able to respond? Wouldn’t you like to hear the positive comments that are also happening?

The article also brings up a great point that being able to respond to haters means you can convert them into supporters: “If you can find a way to fix that experience and make it right, that same person can be transformed into your biggest advocate.”

To check out 4 other reasons why you should not be scared away from social media by haters, read the entire article on American Express OPEN Forum…