In Our Community: Lessons in Online Marketing and Better Productivity


In Our Community: Lessons in Online Marketing and Better Productivity

It’s time for another Community News and Information roundup. We’re looking at key blogs and communities to learn more about what small business leaders are discussing. This week we look at boosting both online marketing and productivity.

Marketing is Important for Everyone (Roadside MBA)

Small Business Trends book editor Ivana Taylor recently reviewed Roadside MBA: Back Road Lessons for Entrepreneurs, Executives and Small Business Owners about business professors Michael Mazzeo, Paul Oyer, and Scott Schaeffer, who ride around the country in an RV collecting small business stories. The lesson from this particular post by Oyer is that everyone needs good marketing.

Internet Marketing for Beginners (RepCap)

To hear experts like Dave McClure, founder of 500 Startups, tell it, businesses that learn (really learn) Internet marketing will have the edge…even over the most celebrated Silicon Valley startups. Here Eric Siu, the CEO of San Francisco-based digital marketing agency Single Grain, gives us some guidelines to get started.

An Example of a Big Brand Doing it Right (AltMedia)

If you want an example of a big brand doing it right, look no further than Taco Bell, says online marketing strategist Martin Jones. BizSugar member David Leonhardt shared this one with the community starting a discussion we’re hoping will continue.

So What Is This Digital Media Thing? (Shaun Constable)

If you haven’t quite gotten up to speed on the online marketing options (which, of course, include social media channels) here’s a post to get you started. Don’t worry. Many small businesses still don’t have a handle on this. But it’s never too late to learn.

A Beginner’s Guide to SEO (Keep Up with the Web)

Sherryl Perry gives this small business-friendly guide to getting your website found by the search engines. It’s another important part of online marketing. And Perry was good enough to share the post with the BizSugar community and talk about a few more relevant details.

Even the Big Guys Worry About Online Positioning (Marketing Land)

Take the recent example of Amazon’s attempts to secure the new .amazon domain. It’s a good indication that even the world’s most famous online brands think about online marketing constantly. It’s something your business needs to think about too.

Take Your Marketing Beyond Digital (Carol Amato)

Here we look at ways you can even extend your digital marketing message beyond the online world. Blogger Carol Amato gives us a look at PrintFriendly.com, a tool that helps you optimize your online content for easy printing too. Amato shared this post with the BizSugar community along with a few more details about how it can be used.

Entrepreneur’s Wake Up Call (Bloggers Bazaar)

Moving beyond marketing, blogger Bec Zacher reminds us that first and foremost this online business stuff is hard work. That goes for small business operations of all kinds, for that matter. So please don’t be fooled by flowery success stories.

Thinking Creatively Can Improve Productivity (Lingua Greca)

Though translator Nora Torres is talking about the specifics of her own business here, clearly the same thing can be seen in many kinds of entrepreneurship. You’ll need plenty of discipline from the analytical part of your brain to hit deadlines and manage cash flow. But be sure you can also call up the creativity when needed.

Measure Your Business Performance (Leadertainment)

When measuring your company’s performance as a whole, consider a capability or competency model. Ryan Hale gives us this basic view of how to use this model to maximize the return on your investment of effort and the efforts of your employees.

Small business tablet via Shutterstock

5 Comments ▼
5 Reactions
  1. I’m going to be reading A Beginner’s Guide to SEO. I’m well aware of SEO, but I feel it’s on a superficial level. As such, I still very much consider myself a beginner.

  2. I agree that creativity is probably one of the biggest productivity boosters. Using the right-brain is something I do to boost my speed on a regular basis.

    Nice roundup!

  3. Facebook Fan Page is a tool to drive traffic to your website. Creating a Facebook Fan page is very easy process and free.

  4. That goes for small business operations of all kinds, for that matter. So please don’t be fooled by flowery success stories.

  5. It’s a good indication that even the world’s most famous online brands think about online marketing constantly. It’s something your business needs to think about too.