Whether you run a business completely online or have a small town storefront, technology can offer tools to make your everyday tasks easier. Members of our small business community have plenty of experience dealing with these tools and keeping up with the technology trends that can impact their businesses.
Read on for a full list of their tips and resources in this week’s Small Business Trends community news and information roundup.
Take Note of the New Facebook Authorship Feature
(The Social Media Hat)
Facebook just released a new authorship feature that’s very similar to that of Google. This post by Mike Allton includes some information about the new feature, along with tips for making the most of Facebook authorship for bloggers. BizSugar members also discussed the post.
Use These Best Practices to Add a Store Locator to Your Site
(The SEM Post)
Even if your business takes place largely offline, online tools can help people connect with your business. Store locators, in particular, can be essential in getting online customers to visit your stores in person. Check out these best practices for adding a store locator to your site from Jennifer Slegg.
Grow and Maintain a Healthy Email List
(Marketing Land)
To get your email marketing strategy off the ground, you need to develop a healthy email list. But you also need to maintain and continue to grow that list over time. This post by Eric Dezendorf includes some tips for not only growing your business’s email list but also maintaining it long-term.
Improve Your Social Media Campaigns with These Tips
(Lidyr Creative)
Social media campaigns can only by successful if you connect with customers on the platforms they actually use. To make your social media campaigns more effective, consider these tips from Nikki Purvy. Then check out the discussion in the BizSugar community.
Get Website Visitors to Join Your Email List
(Neil Patel)
Getting people to visit your website is great. But once they click away, they might just forget about you and never come back. If you want to create lasting relationships and return customers, your goal should be to get visitors to join your email list before they click away from your website. Neil Patel shares some tips for doing so.
Use These Social Apps to Save Time and Money
(Biz Epic)
Time is money. And in business, both of those things are incredibly important. To save yourself both some time and money while running your business, look into some of these social apps compiled by Chad Stewart.
Build Your Company’s Brand Ambassador Program from Scratch
(Viola Notes)
Customers tend to trust other customers over businesses when it comes to their buying decisions. So if you can create brand ambassadors, both online and off, your marketing strategy is off to a good start. Here, Jonny Steel shares some tips for building a brand ambassador program from scratch. BizSugar members also shared some thoughts on the post.
Check Your Google My Business Listings
(Search Engine Land)
Your My Business Listing in Google search results can be very helpful for customers looking to find your business’s location, hours and other information. But that means you need to keep that information updated, including your business’s summer hours, so customers don’t get thrown off track. Ginny Marvin shares a resource for keeping your listing updated here.
Pay Attention to These Tech Trends
(CorpNet)
Technology is constantly evolving and with it are trends that could very well impact how you run your business. If you want your business to stay relevant, keeping up with tech trends, like the ones listed by Philip Akalp, can help.
Use Data Visualization to Show Instead of Tell
(Microsoft SMB Blog)
Your clients and customers don’t always have time to pour over mountains of data. So things like charts and infographics can help you share important data with them without making it too complicated or time consuming. Anita Campbell, CEO of Small Business Trends, who is currently participating in the Microsoft Small Business Ambassador program, shares more on the subject.
Image: Facebook
